10/7/14
I am bound and determined today to not make this another installment of ‘Sad Bastard Theatre’, so rather than spew out ‘feelings’ or have an over-arching theme I’m just going to go stream of consciousness, even more so than usual, and hit you up with a huge dose of….
RANDOM CRAP!
- I think I learned a very solid lesson on Sunday; never do Drunk Comic Book History on a Sunday evening. It wasn’t that I was hung over, because I surprisingly enough wasn’t; it was that I was exhausted. I was all full of piss and vinegar, my mind was racing, and I realized at about 4am that I had drank a LOT of pop in my drinks so I was chock full of caffeine. I have yet to go back and listen to the actual episode, so I have no idea if it turned out ok. All I know is I was exhausted yesterday and somehow plowed through the day and was disgustingly productive.
- I know I’ve said it before, but let me reiterate, naps are amazeballz.
- Last night Team TROLLSTRONG got together, sans a sick THE Karl & Master Kedrin 4.0, and were cruising along, LIKE WE DO, and then suddenly and drastically were derailed. We had RAW on in the background, because again that is what we do, and it was a hodge podge of terrible and entertaining when we were all shocked by The Rock showing up. For me, The Rock is a mixed bag. I find him somewhat entertaining if not boring in his macho misogynistic diatribe that has been the same for a decade plus. I think that at one time his ring work was peerless, but since he’s turned into an actor/body builder he gets blown up so easy in the ring that he is only good in the short bursts like we got last night. I think the thing that perplexed me so much last night was what point did it serve to have your white hot mid-card Heel ‘Monster’ get served up to a guy who shows up on your program two to five times a year? Was it simply that Vince loves nostalgia that much and is just so stuck trying to bask in his former successes? The only thing that in my opinion works to serve the future of the WWE is if we get a modern take on the Taz vs. Sabu feud from ECW. If the humiliated Rusev goes all crazy smashing folks till Wrestlemania calling them all ‘The Rock’, calling The Rock out CONSTANTLY, and WWE gives us little to no response from Dwayne. If we get to watch the Bulgarian Brute just perseverate on destroying the semi-retired Brahma Bull until the payoff is a month or so before Wrestlemania where Rusev raises the stakes and finally goads The Rock into a match. IF they do this right then they make Rusev look like a beast and he goes over at Wrestlemania and the ‘E’ has a legit MONSTER Heel to feed to whichever Babyface is at the top of the totem pole at the time. Now the reasons this won’t happen are numerous; 1) Vince doesn’t ‘get’ things anymore see The Wyatt Family & Cesaro, 2) This would require long range storytelling and planning, and the ‘E’ lives to ‘Hot Shot’ every belt and angle they have going, 3) This would require The Rock to put over Rusev and let’s face it if he couldn’t put over CM Punk and barely put over Jern SuperCena then why would he put over Rusev, 4) ALL OF THE ABOVE. This is another testament to why the ‘E’ is wrestling in its most dumbed down, spoon feed the troglodyte masses form. There is VERY little ‘Art’ in the ‘E’. Sure there are bright spots; The Wyatts, Cesaro, Ziggler, Ambrose, Rollins, Stardust, and a handful of others, but overall it is a landscape full of the worst common denominator of Vince’s sense of humor and idea of what wrestling ‘Is’. But I digress, we were so caught off guard by this that the Game really put us on our collective heels. In fact this session came down to the VERY last turn, with the group holding down the last two open locations and my Fighter finally finishing off the Villain. Next session we start the Hook Mountain Massacre, which is one of my favorite adventures of all time just for its vibe. I’m intrigued to see how well the card game translates that horror movie dread. That tension and ‘Holy Crap’ moment of realizing we were about to not just lose, but die really made the game a lot of fun. Well that, the turkey dumpling soup, ‘Gene Ambrose’s’ kickass jacket, #meatyhawgs, James and his Magical Beard’s dancing, Sassie Cassie’s movie outing reveal, Cassandra’s slaying with no weapons, and just all the normal wonderful vibes that happen when Team TROLLSTRONG, even down two vital members, gets together.
- The last two times we’ve played Settlers Of Catan I’ve come out victorious. Two is a trend, three is a STREAK!
- I painted last week and finished three pieces that I am reasonably proud of. All three were Reaper Bones and all three were a joy to paint. First up was the Stone Golem. I went very simple on the scheme, but just did building layers of lightening blacks to give the stone a worn texture, then finished it with some contrasting white on the skirt and bracers with some worn penny. I think it turned out really solid. Next up was the Dark Fountain, where I used that same black to grey dry brushing technique to build depth, I used a variation on the water in the pool itself, and while it isn’t as good as I would like it to be, it is pretty damn cool! Last, but not least I started and finished one of the Wayne Reynolds inspired Fire Giants. I only used four colors, but used that lightening technique to build that texture not just on the skin, which turned out PERFECTLY, but also on the armor. With the armor it didn’t work as well as I would have hoped, but I think it looks pretty good though. Couple that with last week’s mass painting of vermin and I’ve been on a bit of a roll of late. I might try to get some Orcs and Pugwampi’s done this week/weekend. I figure if I sit down and just paint I can get quite a bit done. Sunday I think I’m going to do some DIPping and finish off the 100 plus miniatures that are just sitting there.
- Starting Harry Potter this week, wish me luck.
- I broke down and pre-ordered WWE 2K15. It wasn’t the ‘Sting’ inclusion that sold me on it. The graphics look amazing, but that wasn’t what led me to the purchase. What really drew me in was reading about the single player mode. The idea that you get to fight created wrestlers at the Developmental Center BEFORE you even get to NXT had me giddy. The fact that the roster has NXT talent on it will leave me with more CAW slots open. I am blown away by the rumor that it isn’t whether or not you win matches and feuds that will get you brought up to the main roster, but how entertaining you are in those matches and feuds has me chomping at the bit to get my hands on this game. I just hope the game lives up to the hype.
- Beer Cheese Soup, I need this…NOW!
- Saturday night I was invited to and attended a session of Advanced Heroquest with the indomitable Steve Miller, no not the singer of ‘Fly Like An Eagle’, and Terry U.! It has been a long time since I’d gamed with these gentlemen. A LONG time. I say this with the utmost affection but Steve might be the worst winner in the history of all games. This makes him a fantastic person to run a game like Warhammer Quest or Advanced Heroquest because he has an invested desire to literally ring the tears from your eyes and watch your soul be crushed while he cackles manically. So it was Steve running the game against myself, Terry, Chris, Jim, and Ricky. I’ve gamed with Terry, Chris, and Jim before and all are great guys and fantastic gamers. Ricky was a perfect addition to that team. Throw in the fact we all had Henchmen, aka Meat Shields, and we were off and running. If you have never played Warhammer Quest or Advanced Heroquest the first thing you have to know is the game HATES you! Add into that the fact that Steve will HATE you as well and you realize this isn’t D&D. There is no story of valor to be told, no narrative that is communally created, and no real role playing to be had. No. No, this is a board game about MURDER, LOOT, REPEAT! It does those three things exceptionally, and if you enjoy that with a heavy dose of potential T.P.K. (Total Party Kill) then this is the game for you. I thoroughly enjoy that experience and with those five gentlemen it is a hoot. I had to leave before we could finish, so I missed the finale, but I heard we not only survived but made out with a LOT of loot! I guess someone must have slipped a ‘mickie’ into Steve’s pop to weaken his resolve. It was a great night spent gaming with great people, playing a game that has yet to be surpassed in its ability to make cut throat dungeon crawling fun. Thank you gentlemen for inviting me back into the fold.
- For those that know, “Ditto”.
- So for the record I cancelled Antagonist Relations Podcast recording last week. It had nothing to do with Zack Attack. The reality was I hadn’t really slept, had attempted to upon arriving home, but assholes kept calling and keeping me awake. Intertwine that with the fact that for about 45 days I have been depressed. I have had a hard time getting out of bed, a hard time being motivated to do anything, and have enjoyed very little to nothing. It has ebbed and flowed a bit more the last two weeks, and honestly I am feeling a lot better this week, but I’m reticent to say I feel ‘good’ because the last time I thought that the world came crashing down around my ears. However as I stated earlier I’m not here to get into ‘Sad Bastard Mode’, what I’m trying to do here is publically apologize. So Zack, the creative force behind the Antagonist Relations Podcast & Blog, I am sorry for cancelling.
- ENDLESS SHRIMP! I need to know who’s with me and when we are going.
- I am diligently working on getting my Introductory 5E Adventures done. One is in the bag, but I may save it as it is a Role Play HEAVY adventure, and something that I’m honestly not just happy with, but proud of. One is about a third done and has a nice old school vibe to it. The other two are right now just sketches of ideas that need to be fleshed out. I’m hoping today to finish the second one, and start putting some meat on the bones of the other two ideas.
- My Monster Manual arrived and it is beautiful.
You know, I think that’s all I got…
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