Dork Girl Supreme Reports From The Dungeon

Cabinets and Corpses and Quidditch, oh my!

2009-07-16T09:45:00.023-05:00

In preparation of the movie release for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I decided to re-read the book. As the 15th grew closer and I came to the last pages of the tome, my excitement intensified. I started googling pictures of the actors in my spare time, reading blogs discussing what was anticipated from the film, and generally just annoying all of my friends with incessant chatter about how awesome it was going to be. It was a fun movie, but sadly, I find myself almost as let down by it as I was by the movie adaptation of The Goblet of Fire. Below, I'm going to recap the things I thought were handled rather well, and the moments that left me asking, "WTF?" There will be spoilers; proceed with caution.

In the interest of ending on an up note, I'll begin with instances of WTF-itude.

The first and foremost complaint I have was the lack of a final wizard battle at the end. What were they thinking, seriously? The ensuing battle after Dumbledore is killed by Snape is one of the most pivotal events of the entire series. So much hinges on it. And they exaggerate the tightness of Hogwarts' security at the beginning of the movie, only to allow the Death Eaters to waltz off the school grounds uncontested after murdering the Headmaster. This is all very frustrating. The last quarter of the book is what everyone was looking forward to. I was so happy to be finally seeing the movie that I was willing to let just about anything slide, but this omission makes my blood burn with White-Hot Nerd Rage. If you read the chapters involving the battle and the aftermath, it's a director's wet dream, full of special effects fodder and wrenching emotions. Why any movie exec would be okay with leaving this out is beyond my understanding.
The part in the middle where Bellatrix and Greyback show up at the Burrow and burn it down. Honestly, watching this was pretty cool. It was an entertaining sequence, though it never appeared in the book. What annoyed me is that once it happened, it was never brought up again. Ron and Ginny never seemed sad or depressed that all their possessions were destroyed and that their family was homeless, they just went back to Hogwarts after Winter break and everything was fine. I might've been able to overlook it, but I never fail to be enraged when awesome shit that happens in the book (i.e. cool wizard battle at the end) gets left out while shit that never happened (Ron's house ablaze) gets added in. I understand leaving things out due to time and budget constraints, but that excuse becomes moot once you add things in that never happened. This is a situation where an awesome ending was traded for a fabricated, mediocre middle, and that I just can't abide.
Snape was too nice in this movie. There were many opportunities for him to be snarky that should've been taken advantage of, and there's no way he would've let Harry slip off to his dormitory unpunished once using the Sectumsempra curse on Draco.
The scene when Dumbledore first met Tom Riddle as a boy was edited rather sloppily. You can tell that most of that material must've ended up on the cutting room floor.
Dumbledore dying. It didn't pack the visceral punch of the book. Harry is on his own for the first time since beginning school at Hogwarts and this time he can't expect another savior. This was among several concepts that the movie only hinted at or never approached.
The movie is called "The Half Blood Prince," right? So why wasn't it a bigger deal? Hermione only has a passing interest in who the Prince might be and it never really crosses Harry's mind to question. Then, when you find out who it is it seems tacked on. The viewers are left thinking, "Oh. So what?"
Where was the DA? I missed seeing Neville and the rest of the kids kicking ass and being funny.
Harry deciding not to come back to Hogwarts for his seventh year is a huge fucking deal and no one seemed to give a shit. Hermione's just like, "Oh really? That's cool. I guess we'll come along." This was yet another subtlety of the books that must've gone straight over the director's head.

Good Execution:

Quidditch. Oh my god, Quidditch. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing Quidditch in the movies until now. The shots were exhilarating and some of the funnest to watch in the whole film. Aside from the awesome effects, there are several Quidditch-related tidbits that I'd like to praise.

First, Cormac McLaggen. The kid who played him did so very well. He was just as skeezy and annoying as the book described him. Kudos!

Luna Lovegood's lion hat. I was so happy to see that this finally made it into the films. Though we didn't get to hear her commentating the game, this was a nice concession prize. And could she look any MORE adorable?

Ron's tryout and when he thinks he's drank the luck potion. In fact, I'll just go ahead and say that Ron stole the show for me (and not just because he's my favorite character).

Moving on, I also wanted to point out how much I enjoyed Harry on the luck potion, and Herione being tipsy after a few butterbeers. Both were comical and sweet, and very well acted. In fact, big ups to all the young stars as they seem to get better with each movie.

I loved Slughorn's Christmas party, especially sweet Luna's dress.

The relationship with Ron and Lavender was portrayed perfectly. It was great comic relief and fodder for the development of Ron and Hermione's relationship. I was pleased to see that they included the Sweetheart necklace and "Won Won!" It lessened the blow of not getting to hear "Weasley Is Our King" for the second movie in a row.

I was more than pleased to see that they left out most of the Harry/Ginny love connection. The only thing that annoys me more than Ginny Weasley is Ginny dating Harry. I never understood why so many people were ecstatic to see them together.

More Luna. I've already said she's adorable and it didn't bother me in the slightest to have her fix Harry's nose after Malfoy broke it. Which leads me to...

Malfoy was pretty silly in this movie but in an awesome way. He brooded, he obsessed, he cried, he wore the same black outfit in every scene he graced with his presence. And I loved every minute of it.

Ron on the love potion. He's such a doll, staring at the moon and climbing into bed with Harry. No one could've done it better.

Bellatrix Lestrange. She's a scary bitch. I love how much more you get to see of her in this one.

All in all it was a good movie. Not as good as Order of the Phoenix, but still good. I'll probably enjoy it even more upon subsequent viewings (of which there will be many). If I could just get them to rewrite the last twenty minutes, I'd say it was my favorite.

Texas Frightmare Weekend 2009

2009-05-05T12:46:00.010-05:00

Some of the biggest dorks in the world don't care about comic books or card games or table top rpg's. Their passion is that of on-screen terror, blood and guts, and general debauchery. Those were the attendees at this year's Texas Frightmare Weekend in Irving, Texas (right outside of Dallas).

I attended as well, though my appreciation for that genre of films is dwarfed by that of my companions. The real reason for my presence was to meet the legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper, who my sister and I have adored since our childhood. My favorite song until I hit middle school was "The Ballad of Dwight Fry". Alice Cooper, along with Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, was a staple of my household. My sister and I always joke that he's our real dad, as he slightly resembles my actual father, and my father was a huge fan as well. Last Saturday, I finally met him.

Being completely unaware of the private joke that he's my real dad, when I sat down he said to me, "If you were my daughter, I wouldn't let you out of the house dressed like that." We all laughed and then he said, "And I wouldn't let you go out with that guy," and pointed at my brother-in-law. We all laughed again and took the picture. This one goes on the wall. I can honestly say that I only gushed a little bit. I shook his hand and told him what a huge fan I was. I couldn't get that smile off my face for at least half an hour.

The next celebrity I was excited to meet was Jason Mewes of Jay and Silent Bob fame. My friend Stephanie was just as excited to meet him as my sister and I were to meet Alice Cooper. She passed him a picture to autograph and he asked how to spell her name. The only answer she could muster was, "Yeah...." He stared for a sec and then said, "Ok" and just signed it. More hilarity ensued when I went to get my picture. Stephanie's boyfriend Ray volunteered to be our camera man, but when the time came he ran over and told me my camera had turned off. I explained it was only in energy saver mode. Jason Mewes said, "It's probably just in sleep mode Dude. God, don't you know anything?" Then he looked at me and said, "I hope you don't fuck this guy." We all laughed and I said, "Nope, not me." Then he said he was only kidding and told us to have a good day. He was a really nice guy, full of energy and very grateful of the fans.

It was about this time that my sister, our friend Stephanie and I decided to take a break from the convention and hang in the lobby. As it turned out, they were having contests out there, and I won a documentary on vampires in cinema. Score!

After an hour or so, my sister, brother-in-law and I went back into the convention to peruse some of the tables and merchandise. There were other actors signing inside, mingling with the vendors. We ended up passing the table of C.J. Graham who played Jason Vorhees in the the sixth Friday the 13th movie, Jason Lives. When we passed his table, he pulled me out of the crowd to take a picture with him. Posing with a celebrity is only supposed to be allowed with the purchase of an autograph, so it was pretty cool. He told me to put my hand over his heart, and look at him like he was my lover. It was a bit awkward, but an awesome photo op nonetheless, and later I went back and he gave me an autograph. Check out how gigantic this guy is!

There were a slew of other stars in attendance who I didn't get to meet, including Linda Blair, Faruzia Balk, and Derek Mears just to name a few. Even James Hampton was there (the dad from Teen Wolf). I've posted more pics below of some of the cool costumes people had.

This is the villain for a movie I've already forgotten the name of. It might've been called The Threader.

Needless to say this was the coolest thing I've done in awhile, and I doubt anything else I do this year will beat it. I can't wait until 2010!

Today is William Gibson's Birthday

2009-03-17T11:32:00.010-05:00

For those who don't know, William Gibson is the father of cyberpunk, coiner of the term "cyberspace," and a general God in the genre of Sci-Fi. His books have influenced many authors, including Bruce Sterling.

The first introduction I had to his writing was with his groundbreaking novel Neuromancer. Published first in 1984, it made its way to my shelf in 2000. While being somewhat outdated (it's hard to get excited over gigs of RAM when you're using the internet from your phone), it still held meaning. Long before there was an Internet, Gibson created The Sprawl: a spread of urban development mired in decay. It was the playground of hackers and thieves, prostitutes and weapons dealers; it was my first peek into a rich world of technological possibility birthed by the lowest of human conditions. I continued in the series, reading Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive. Both I found to hold the same spirit and intrigue as their predecessor. Meandering backward a bit, I read his short story Johnny Mnemonic (which had been made into a horrible film starring Ice-T and Keanu Reeves).

I touched upon his "Bridge Series" in reading Virtual Light, but then went on hiatus from his works. I'd love to read Pattern Recognition and Idoru, but every time I see them at the bookstore I think to myself, "Not yet!" I may be stalling on those, but that isn't to say his influence isn't still guiding me. If I'd never read Neuromancer, I certainly wouldn't have picked up Snow Crash, Zodiac or The Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, or any number of books I've read since.

Not to end on a down-note, but in the last few years, rumors of Hayden Christansen starring in a movie adaptation of Neuromancer have been floating around the web, although I've yet to see anything concrete. One can only hope they don't slay it. Gibson deserves to have his work taken seriously and potrayed accurately. Until then, I offer this unworthy nod, on this, his 61st birthday.

The Watchmen: You knew it was coming.

2009-03-12T12:55:00.015-05:00

As discussed in this post, I've been pretty excited to see The Watchmen for quite awhile, as most nerds have been. This is something like the release of The Phantom Menace for comic book lovers. Having come late to the party, I hadn't had years of anticipation like many of my brethren in dorkdom, but I was no less eager. Having said that, I learned from the X-Men II fiasco of 2003 not to try and go opening night. The theater was nearly empty at 10:25 p.m. last Sunday. This sparked a flame of worry in me. Was I going to be disappointed? Were the trailers really too good to be true? The answer to both questions is a resounding, "No."

Where to begin? I guess a bullet list is in order (there may be spoilers):

Book to Movie: Parts were cut, including all sequences involving the Black Freighter, and the end was changed. This didn't bother me nearly as much as I previously thought. While the ending they chose may not have made sense in the novel, it came across as perfect for the movie - and let's face it: a squid would've seemed strange on screen. All in all, I'd say this was a near perfect translation of ideas from page to film. Ropeofsilicon.com did an article after the initial trailer comparing shots from the movie to panels in the comic, and it's rather impressive. You can find that here.
Acting: I found no problem with the portrayals of The Watchmen by the chosen actors, although I've heard some take issue with Malin Akerman. I say, for a model, not too shabby. Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson as Rorschach and Nite Owl were exemplary. Seriously, I have no complaints in this department.
Pacing: I won't deny there were moments when it could've moved a little faster, and a few people I've known have bemoaned the 2.5 hours-ish length. But come on. In the days of three hour Harry Potter movies, you really can't complain, especially when this particular movie is so engrossing. There wasn't a moment that I wasn't fully involved with the unfolding story and images. This is definitely one to see in the theaters, possibly more than once.
Soundtrack: This is another area of contention for some people, but really, most songs were chosen because of the time period and because they were specifically quoted in the novel. "99 Luftballoons" had some people scratching their heads, but it made perfect sense to me. It's a song written about the Cold War in the 80's, which is all too relevant to our story. It's a happy sounding song actually discussing something incredibly depressing, and that captures the attitude of the scene it's played during.

Favorite Parts:

Pretty much any part with Nite Owl and Silk Spectre. Their chemistry was fantastic, and the costumes dazzling. I always hated Silk Spectre's costume in the novel, and I feel they kept it close enough to the original without losing the basic idea. Nite Owl's look was completely revamped, but I didn't find it detracting from the legitimacy of the idea. And can you say "sex scene?" Very hot- and true to the novel!

The prison scene. All of it.
The fight between Ozymandias, Rorschach and Nite Owl. Great work there.
Dr. Manhattan's time alone on Mars. I was really concerned this wouldn't translate well or be too annoying for most people to stomach, but it went over very nicely.

Despite being accepted by 95% of viewers as awesome, there's always going to be some backlash of the White-Hot Nerd Rage variety any time a comic book movie is made. Some were disappointed not to see the Black Freighter (though I don't see why), and others were upset that side characters weren't focused on more (these weren't the same guys bitching about length). I even heard one guy complain that the movie was TOO MUCH like the novel, and that it was boring to him in that respect. My opinion: you just can't please everyone. As for me, this is going to be near impossible to top on my Best Movies of 2009 list.

See you in line to buy the special edition dvd!

EXCITEMENT!

2009-02-09T11:00:00.003-06:00

I just heard about this and I'm extremely excited! It appears that my favorite teenage vampire romance series is going to be made into a TV show!

The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith are (in my opinion) the best in their genre. They were published originally in 1993 and continue to be relevant. (Well, as relevant as teenage vampire romance could ever be.)

In any case, I'm anxious to see how things pan out.

The Expansion of My Buffyverse

2009-01-05T09:53:00.009-06:00

Much to my surprise, I ended up loving the Buffy series. Who would've thought? Probably the thousands of people already rocking that fandom. So I took the next steps, although out of order.

First: I started reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. Season Eight is a continuation of the series as depicted in comic book format. Joss Wheadon has managed to maintain all the likability of the characters on the page. It's all there. The banter, the witty remarks, the ridiculous situations. Even Dracula comes back for a visit. For some one who wasn't quite sated at the end of the show's seven season running, this is a nice consolation prize. I can't wait for the next trade.

Second: I started watching the Buffy spin-off for Angel. At first I didn't like it. It took itself too seriously for what it was and that didn't work. What made Buffy watchable was it's silliness. We are dealing with mythical creatures thrown into everyday settings, after all. But after the first disc and a half or so, things started looking up. The action is much better in this show than in Buffy, hands down. The drama picks up and the characters take on more dimensions. Then, of course, there's Angel himself. His good looks couldn't carry the show, but paired with any of the other great attributes it's taken on, it makes for a nice bonus. I may have a new celebrity crush. (And can I just say that the scene where he drinks Buffy's blood in Season 3 of BTVS is the hottest blood sucking scene ever?)

Third: My boyfriend suggested I read Fray, which is a series of comics turned graphic novel written by Wheadon set in the future, during a time when there hasn't been a vampire slayer in centuries. Melaka Fray is the newest slayer and must learn to battle the "lurks" (nee "vampires") to save her community. To be honest, I didn't much care for this installment of the Buffyverse. I can't say why exactly, but the characters didn't strike a chord with me and I didn't much care what happened to any of them. Eh.

All that leaves (to my knowledge) is the Spike comic, which I plan on devouring after I finish the Angel series. I've yet to hear any reviews on that title, and anticipate it greatly. In the meantime, I plan on going home tonight, making myself some pasta, and slipping into some quality time with my favorite soul-bearing vamp.

The Obligatory Twilight Movie Review

2008-11-25T13:27:00.011-06:00

So November 21st finally arrived, and all the little fangirls flocked to the theaters in their Team Edward shirts to moon over their celebrity boyfriends, but I stayed home. I managed to control myself and put off seeing Twilight until Saturday November 22nd. My sister and I went, telling my mom we were going shopping so she'd agree to watch my nephews without being annoyed that we didn't invite her. I'll admit, my sister and I were giggling like two teenyboppers on their way to Hot Topic as the lights went down. The showing we chose was at 12:30 p.m., and that was a good choice. It was nearly sold out, and when we left the movie at 2:35 there were already fifty or so people lined up for the 3:00 screening.

We watched, completely enthralled. Each time something significant happened we'd turn to each other and giggle, or share a knowing look. We'd been waiting for this for months, and now that it was finally here, we were crawling out of our skin and could barely sit still long enough to pay attention. When it was over, we got to the car and couldn't stop talking about it. "I want to see it again," she told me, and I did too.

What can I say? I loved it! I'll allow that there were some incredibly cheesey parts, but the good far outweighed the bad. And also, how could I not love it? It's teenage vampire romance!

I've outlined good and bad points below. Proceed with caution - there are spoilers:

The Bad:

The special effects. More than anything else, this really disappointed me.
Edward's random and sudden decision to show Bella what he looks like in the sun. It just came out of nowhere. I don't see why this approach was preferable to the meadow scene described in the book. Not that I'm particularly attached to the book's description like some of the fans, I just think it was really clumsily done in the movie and I don't see what the point was in changing it.
The whole "lion/lamb" speech. I understand why they left that in there. I know there would've been massive backlash if it had been omitted. But still. Cheeseball.
Not discussing Jasper's power of crowd control. How did this get swept under the rug?
Kristin Stewart. Oh man, that girl can't act. It might've bothered me less if she hadn't spent half the film stuttering.
Cam Gigandet. He completely overacted.

The Good:

Robert Pattinson and Jackson Rathbone. I loved their portrayals of Edward and Jasper, respectively. Jasper only had a handful of lines, but Jackson knew how to play up the performance, even when not speaking, and he really left an impression.
Taylor Lautner. This one surprised me. I'd gone in there expecting him to be mediocre at best, but while I didn't like the goofy wig they had him wearing, I think his portrayal of Jacob was really good. Way to prove me wrong.
Peter Facinelli. What a treat to see him on screen again! It had felt like ages. I'm glad such a talented actor is getting meaningful work.
Billy Burke and Michael Welch. Playing Charlie and Mike Newton doesn't leave them with much screen time, but they did an excellent job with what little they had. I look forward to seeing them reprise their roles in New Moon.
The scene where Bella first comes to Edward's house to meet his family. This scene wasn't even in the book, but it fit perfectly with the movie. The awkwardness between her and the vampires was perfect and adorable. This is yet another scene where Jasper shone.
Vampire baseball. I was worried this wouldn't translate well to screen, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was one of the most enjoyable scenes in the entire movie.
Weird dream and flashback scenes and cinematography. I loved the quirky camera angles and dream sequences, especially when Bella is investigating the origin of the Cullens and has the vampire dream and when Carlisle bites Edward. Can you say "shmexy?"

which leads me to...

Eye candy. That's what this whole movie was. It was just entertaining the whole way through, even when it was being ridiculous.

So was it the best movie I've ever seen? No. Did it meet my expectations? Honestly, it surpassed them. Will I buy the dvd? Abso-fucking-lutely! I'll be getting the special edition 3 disc dvd that costs a bazillion dollars, and I'll watch every single extra that comes with it.

Halloween Wrap Up

2008-11-06T10:55:00.012-06:00

For Halloween I was the Deadlands character I made: Wilhemina the Gunslinger. I have to say that this costume was a success. For the first time in a few years, I was really satisfied with what came of it. I wore it to work on Friday for the first annual costume contest, but sadly, I didn't place. I guess a bunch of lawyers couldn't be expected to appreciate the awesomeness that is an undead cowgirl. I think there were several folks who just didn't "get it." After work and a brief respite of sitting on my couch and eating dinner in my underwear, I suited up once again to head down to Dragon's Lair. We were meeting up with friends and fellow dorks to head down to 6th Street and check out all the weirdos.

Dragon's Lair was pretty slow that night, as to be expected, but there were a few ghouls about. As it happened, they were having a costume contest and I went ahead and signed up for it. I ended up winning third place! Here's a better picture of David and I:

David's attempt at being a goblin was pretty disastrous. His nose didn't want to stay on and he was picking glue out of his hair and nose for days.

Onward to downtown, the crowd was huge and unruly, as per usual. But I had the added bonus this year of being burned out on it before we even got there. Here are some things that happened:

Some one stepped on my foot, hard.
We lost David's nephew in the crush of bodies only to reappear half an hour later at the car.
A vampire with blood dripping out of his mouth told me I was hot.
I saw no less than ten Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles.
One of our friends had too much to drink and began yelling from the top of a parking garage, "I'm old Greg! I'm old Greg!"
I spent waaaay too much money on alcohol, considering I didn't drink any myself.

It was an ok night, but I've decided that's the last time I'll go down to 6th for Halloween. We've been going there the last three years, so it's time to move on, and honestly, it's always the same scene.

The day after Halloween I went to a costume party for post-holiday revelers. I didn't want to do the gunslinger thing again. After wearing it for the entire day on Friday, I was about done with the huge corset belt and pantyhose. I ended up throwing together some things I had at the house to create Svetlana, the Socialist Sympathizer.

Behold the cockeyed glance and precariously placed cigarette. I was upset that I couldn't find an AK47 to carry around, but I think it still works. The party I went to ended up being full of incredibly rich republicans at least twenty years my senior, most of which gave me a wide berth. I guess the ol' hammer and sickle completely turned them off. But you know what, fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

And with that, a note on my feelings concerning the result of our presidential election:

I am once again proud to be an American, even if some of the older set thinks this means I'm a Socialist. I'd rather be a Socialist than a person so afraid to part with their money that they'd rather vote into office one of Bush's cronies and a person who enjoys killing animals, and encourages the destroying of the natural habitats of endangered species so we can all save a few bucks at the pump in the short term. I'd rather pay $10 a gallon than see another species go extinct at our hands. And if I were wealthy I'd rather share my good fortune with those struggling than hoard it all away for myself. Anyway, I could go on about this for quite some time if I allow myself (and I've only begun to scratch the surface), but that's not what this blog is about.

I hope you all had a great holiday!

Spooky Houses and Spookier RPG's

2008-10-30T10:41:00.004-05:00

The haunted house at The Vortex was really fun. It was just the right amount of spooky and silly and jump out and get you. They took their roles seriously, but not so much so that you couldn't have fun. Audience participation was also good. After you've hung out with the ghouls in the house you can head into the bar and get yourself a beverage. The sangria gets 4 stars, though it was a bit pricey. In the front, there's a graveyard, complete with a tour guide. If you stay late enough you can catch a burlesque show on their outdoor stage (this one may not be appropriate for the kiddies). All in all it was a really well thought out experience and I'm sure it'll be the highlight of my Halloween season, since my costume hasn't been coming along so well. I've been working on it a bit and what started out as a vampire costume has become an undead gunslinger a la Deadlands, which brings me to my next topic:

Zombies vs. Cowboys = Win.

How did I not know about this game sooner? It's had several incarnations over the years, the most recent being Deadlands: Reloaded. I've only made one character for it, but she's pretty cool. The system seems easy enough and the complications and merits are a blast to choose from. Add a little steampunk flavor and what you have is a truly unique game with enough grounding in real world history to kick D20 Modern on its ass. I can't wait to see what kind of trouble I can get into.

Halloween!

2008-10-21T09:57:00.009-05:00

Halloween is an extra special day for me. I start planning my costumes months in advance, thinking through the details and picking accessories. Then, inevitably, some unforseen financial burden rears its ugly head and I end up having to use one of the old standbys: Vampire, witch, zombie. As per usual, that has happened this year and I'm being faced with the same choices. I suppose I'll be a vampire this year because I was supposed to be one last year but ended up being a witch instead. Also, I already have tons of clothes for it, and the teeth. Ahem.

But October isn't all about costumes for me, though that is a huge part. It's about candy and sharing and spooky movies and haunted houses and embracing the kid in all of us. In that spirit, David and I are going to The Vortex (http://www.vortexrep.org/) on Friday night to experience "The Shocker." It's a tour through the building with spooks and surprises, and holds the tongue-in-cheek tagline of "Be careful where you put your fingers...." I'll post a full review afterwards.

To send you off, here's a few shots from the last few costume blunders:

2006: A fool walking around downtown with a Yoda backpack.

2007: Witch

So I'm Pretty Freaking Excited

2008-10-01T10:45:00.007-05:00

Last weekend, David joined a role playing group that was already being run by one of his friends from work. I was supposed to join also, but due to extenuating circumstances, the closest I got was getting to hang out for awhile during the last half hour of the game before I took him home. But let me tell you, it was pretty freaking sweet.

The group (run by our friend Tristan) was playing Vampire: The Requiem, but there were a few characters from Changeling. I thought it was pretty inventive for him to incorporate the two sects, but not a long shot as they're both part of the World of Darkness series by White Wolf and run on the same die-ten system. Still though, I hadn't played in a game like this before and it was a lot of fun to watch. Tristan and his wife, Rachel, were both running Russian characters and their chemistry was excellent. Their exchanges were hilarious. Just sitting to the side as the game unfolded was enough to entertain me. Usually, this isn't the case. If I'm not playing the game, it's bloody boring to watch. But not this time. I'm excited to make my character so I can join in next time. Tristan is going to create an elaborate story for my Embrace.

So I'm going to be a vampire. My character and David's (who is a changeling) are going to have some sort of twisted romance thing going on. I haven't thought too much on what kind of vamp I want to be. For all I know, Tristan might have a specific set of rules for character creation that I don't know about. What I do know is that he's excited to have another female on board. For the longest time the only woman in his campaign has been his wife, so my presence should add a nice new flavor to the interactions.

Anyway, I can't wait. As soon as I can get David to sketch up my character I'll post it and my character sheet here. It'll be nice to play something besides D&D for a change.

"Battlestar Galactica: TV Is Good Again!" or "I Want to Haunt Gaius Baltar's Brain"

2008-09-03T15:45:00.016-05:00

To say that Battlestar Galactica is popular in the dork community is an understatment. People adore this show, as much as any Lost fan adores Lost. And can you blame them? It's a cult favorite from the seventies refabbed with hot cast members, excellent dialog and a great plot full of twists. I don't remember the last time I've been this excited to see what would happen next.

Like so many of my other dork-loves, I was at first reluctant to watch the new Battlestar Galactica. I'll admit that most of it was out of laziness. The show had already been on for nearly three seasons and it seemed a chore to have to start at the beginning while everyone else was so far ahead. Eventually, it became impossible for me to meet anyone online who wasn't singing its praises. So what did I do? I netflixed the miniseries, that's what. To be perfectly honest, it didn't grab me at first, but I stuck with it. I'd sat through worse movies, and so many people loved it that I had to give it a chance. By the middle of season one I was hooked. My boyfriend and I watched the entire series together, staying on top of the quirky series chronology just to make sure we didn't miss anything.

Several factors contribute to my enthusiasm for this show. One of the more obvious ones is my weak spot for cyborgs. The Cylons were originally robots, but have since learned how to emulate human behaviour. They have skin, blood and emotions. So... are Cylons the opposite of cyborgs? It's fascinating to me, really. Their whole mentality: Improve humanity by getting rid of humans.

Battlestar Galactica also pulls from some very relevant themes. They cover terrorism, an administration that hides much of what it knows from the public, personal relationships in times of strife. It has a very "Who can you trust?" feel to it. It does all of this and still manages to be smart, funny, sexy and thrilling. The characters are very real, even the Cylons. I alternately love and hate each of them during different times and seasons. Ultimately, it's the characters that have kept me along for the ride.

And at last, here we are at the final season. The second half was supposed to pick up in January, but I've heard rumors of it being pushed back until April. While this annoys some fans, to me it only sweetens the anticipation. I'm simply not ready for it to be over, and keeping the end looming in the distance allows me to continue speculating about possible endings. There are so many directions it could still go, even with only a handful of episodes left. That's the beauty of Battlestar Galactica. From the very beginning, you knew things weren't what they seemed, but the viewer doesn't get the full flavor of how deep the rabbit hole goes (so to speak) until season three, which is (arguably) its best. I feel it would be imprudent for me to say anything further in case I accidentally spoil something for some one. Just know that this series is one worth putting in the hours for. It simply never disappoints. So say we all!

White-Hot Nerd Rage: Twilight Edition

2008-08-08T10:06:00.008-05:00

I didn't want to write about the newest installment in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, but I guess I just feel too strongly about it to not say something. There are already plenty of book reviews out there, including the one I posted on my goodreads.com profile, so I'll try to stay away from that as much as possible. What I did want to address are the rabid fans and the issues I have with them.

My views are as follows:

1. Stephenie Meyer is not a great writer. In fact, she's not even a good writer. She's an ok writer. I didn't read the books for her brilliant prose. I read the books because I've always loved vampires and teenage vampire romance in general since I was a kid. I was predisposed to loving this series before I'd even opened the book. I think I've said as much in previous posts. I am sick of hearing her fans compare her to J.K. Rowling. Rowling is an outstanding storyteller and a great writer. The story of their successes are similar and they both write teen fiction but that's where the similarities end.

2. Fans keep insisting that Stephenie Meyer has taken the vampire mythos to places it's never been with the Twilight books. They usually give the following reasons: her vampires have no fangs, her vampires can walk in sunlight, her vampires eat only the blood of animals, its' a love story between a vampire and a human, and her vampires sparkle in the sunlight.

It's these examples that truly ignite the white-hot nerd rage in me. Allow me to break it down for any fans out there who still believe Meyer is a trailblazer in her genre:

a) There have been plenty of books and movies featuring vampires with no fangs prior to the release of Twilight. There have been variations on the theme for years including the fangless variety as found in Twilight, and vampires whose fangs only grow when they're about to drink blood. I even remember watching a movie as a kid in which vampires' tongues split down the middle at mealtime revealing a set of teeth like a shark's. Sadly, the only example of fangless vampires before Meyer's time that I can think of offhand is the movie Innocent Blood, which came out in 1992. But trust me, they're out there.

b) Vampires have been walking in sunlight forever. Seriously. There's this awesome little novel called Dracula. Yeah, it was written by some old dude named Bram Stoker. Maybe you've heard of it? Anyway, he totally has Dracula walking in the daylight all the time. Isn't that neat?

c) In almost every vampire story, a vampire drinks the blood of an animal at least once. Some do it all the time. A good example is Anne Rice. In Interview With The Vampire, she has Louis drinking the blood of rats, chickens, doves, all manner of things to avoid killing humans. This is old news.

d) Don't even get me started on it being a love story. Teenage vampire romance has been around since way before Twilight. I'll cite my favorite series as a kid for this one: The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith. It was also a four part book series about the doomed love of a mortal high school girl for a two hundred year old vampire. And guess what? These books were better than Meyers'. (Ok, maybe now I'm just being catty.) Also, don't forget Buffy!

e) As to sparkling in the sunlight, I guess I really have nothing to say. You win Meyer. You are the very first person to ever have your vampires sparkle.

3. I think my biggest complaint of the hour is with TwilightMoms.com. I am a member of this forum and I do read their blogs daily, but I've always felt their policy regarding posts on the site is ridiculous. It says in the rules that if you're going to post on their forums you aren't allowed to say anything negative. If you say anything they construe as negative about the Twilight books, Stephenie Meyer, or anything having to do with the movies your posts will be deleted. I've respected their rules for the most part, feeling that if I had nothing nice to say I wouldn't say anything at all. But with Breaking Dawn coming out and getting such poor reviews, I've had enough.

A Twilight Mom was recently quoted in this article as saying, "There's a very vocal minority (estimated at 10% of the hundreds posting) that doesn't like [Breaking Dawn]." But this just isn't true. Ten percent? I think not. If you go to amazon.com or goodreads.com or just about anywhere else, you'll see the ratio of people who hated it to people who loved it landing around 5:1. I myself am in the camp of those who really didn't like the new novel and felt almost betrayed by it, but that's neither here nor there. What really gets me is that I can't go to TwilightMoms and talk about it.

TwilightMoms posted this statement yesterday:

"We have decided to lock the forum down tonight and possibly each night this week. We have a lot of ... people posting right now. Our moderators are all married or moms or have jobs and lives and many of them (myself included) have been on the site all day. We need a break so we are going to take one. We'll lock down sometime after 9 pm Eastern tonight and we will open sometime after 9 am Eastern tomorrow. We'll keep this policy in place until things settle down. I for one don't want to wake up to a bunch of negative posts that need to be edited or deleted."

Apparently they're so protective of Stephenie Meyer and her books, and so determined to present an image of success no matter how poorly received they are that they're simply hushing up anyone who doesn't agree with them. This doesn't sit well with me.

I adore Twilight and Eclipse. New Moon was ok and Breaking Dawn sucked. I'm not afraid to admit how I feel about these things. I'm still excited to see the movie, I'm still going to eagerly devour any updates on it, and if Meyer does end up releasing yet another book in the series I'll probably go out and buy it eventually. But I never had any illusions about what this series was. It was a guilty pleasure, not high literary art, and Stephenie Meyer certainly isn't the intrepid genius her more loyal fans would have you believe.

So I suppose I'm done. If you've made it with me this far I commend you. I assure you the next post will have less acid.

Book to Movie, Part II

2008-08-01T10:30:00.004-05:00

To continue my train of thought from last week's post, I wanted to say a little bit about Harry Potter. Surely, the boy wizard is a character that needs no introduction. There are few in any halfway developed country who can claim ignorance of him and his pals Ron and Hermione, whether they've read the books and seen the movies or not. No one can deny the impact of these books. It has some in the Christian community up in arms over witchcraft and devil worship, while the rest of the faith supports it's message of good vs. evil. It's gotten kids interested in books again after years of nothing but TV and video games. In my opinion, each of the seven books are worth experiencing at least once. It's just too bad I can't say that of the movies.

I'm willing to make some allowances here. The first two books, for all intents and purposes, are children's books. It makes perfect sense to have the first two movies be made for kids. They were true enough to the story to not dumb it down, and fluffy enough to not leave children crying in the theaters. The third one was better and more serious. A new director had come on board who wanted to do more with the film than his predecessor. The atmosphere of the movie felt more like the atmosphere of the books, which are markedly dark - bordering on morbid at times.

The fourth film was a nightmare. It was a real shame too, because until then they had only been getting better. Perhaps I'm biased because the fourth book is my favorite, but I truly think they murdered it. I went to see it opening night and was already infuriated within the first ten minutes. Mike Newell was brought in to direct it. He carved out entire chapters citing time constraints only to add in scenes that didn't exist in the book. He turned a book that was purely story and character driven into a special effects movie. Very important plot points were totally ignored. So much was left out or glossed over that I wondered how they would ever salvage the story enough to continue making movies. The only part of the film portrayed correctly was when Harry arrives back at the arena with (dead) Cedric Diggory. The rest was pretty much garbage. I was overjoyed to hear they were getting yet another director for the fifth one.

Order of the Phoenix was directed by David Yates and it's the best one yet. There were a few changes, but that's typical. The story was upheld, the characters well developed, the acting much improved. It didn't hurt that the three child stars were growing into themselves in their profession and learning to emote more convincingly. It really was and is a terrific movie. When I heard that Yates had signed on to direct the movies for the remaining two novels I felt an immense relief. When he confirmed that the final book will be made into two separate films I think I fell in love a little.

I adore the books, and (oh well, ok, I guess) the movies too. Even the disastrous fourth one. I was camped outside the store at 11:49p.m. for a midnight release of the seventh and final installment, and took this picture in my car moments later. I read it in two days. I've read the entire series from start to finish a few times already and am planning to do it again sometime soon. I start to miss the characters. I've come to think of them as old friends, and I need to check in on them every once in awhile. I've become invested in this silly franchise.

The movie for the sixth book, The Half-Blood Prince, is set to come out in November of this year. I admit it's been overshadowed by my Twilight obsession and its looming film release, but that doesn't make me any less excited about Harry. It's been a long time coming and I'll be there on opening night, as per usual. If I can get to a midnight showing, I might even take the next day off work. The first teaser trailer for it was released a few days ago, and watching it I can't help but feel like the series has achieved some sort of victory. It doesn't feel like kid stuff anymore.

Book to Movie, Part I

2008-07-24T09:47:00.022-05:00

As most people are aware, the new Batman movie just came out and everyone is excited about it. Of course, I've seen it myself and only have a few minor complaints and several praises. But there are lots of write ups about The Dark Knight already, and I'm afraid I don't have much new to add. Besides, I'm not a Batman fan in general, so I'll leave it to others better equipped for waxing intellectual about the gray areas of justice in Gotham City and the caped crusader's wonderful toys.

What I left the theater most excited about wasn't the fantastic portrayal of The Joker by Heath Ledger (though it was brilliant), but the teaser trailer for The Watchmen. I mean, have you seen this thing? I've watched it twice just now.

I've never read the graphic novel, and though this could make me lose some street cred as an official nerd, I just didn't think I'd like it. It was written in 1986. It's almost as old as I am. Where I recognize and appreciate what it's done for graphic novels and comics in general since then, I was worried it would be like listening to electronic music from 1994: Groundbreaking in its time but sounding a little too much like the old Casio keyboard my dad bought me for my 12th birthday. This preview has changed all that.

I had my trusty boyfriend nab a copy of the novel for me and put it in my file at the comic book store so I can buy it after payday. He's read it (of course) and assures me that I won't be disappointed. I'm still a little wary because a few years back I tried to read V For Vendetta (another graphic novel by the same author), and couldn't make it through the first quarter of the book. I found the movie preferable, which is yet another chink in my geek armor. But what can I say? As a woman gamer, I prefer strong female characters to weak ones, and Natalie Portman did such an excellent job being bold and intelligent that it couldn't compete with her simpering counterpart in the novel.

The point of this rambling blog is that I'm about to read what some people have called the most influential and groundbreaking graphic novel of all time, and the trailer has inspired me to be more than just lukewarm about the prospect. This got me thinking about other novels being made into movies that some in the dork community have been anticipating (or dreading) for years.

First up, Ender's Game. Written by Orson Scott Card in 1985, it has garnered critical acclaim from several venues. It is the winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was the first novel to be available for free online before being published in print. It's a personal favorite of mine. I read it for the first time when I was twelve and have re-read it and its first three sequels at least five times since then. It's comfortable as home to me.

The movie version of Ender's Game has been categorized as "in production" on IMDB.com for years. The last I heard, Card was so fed up with all the different drafts of scripts he's been given over the years that he decided to write his own. While I completely support his decision, he sure is taking his sweet time to do it. I agree that anything worth doing is worth doing right, but another tenet of my personal belief system is that one should shit or get off the pot.

I would love to see this outstanding novel immortalized on film, but I'm not even entirely sure it would be done right. I assume that's why Card has insisted on handling it himself, but even if he gets the script down impeccably, what about the cast? It'll be nigh impossible for him to find enough capable child actors to fill all the important roles. At the beginning of the book, Ender is six years old. I don't see that translating to film very accurately.

Next (and last, because this is becoming quite lengthy), is the classic manga Ghost In The Shell by Masamune Shirow. This is a tricky one, because since it's release it's been made into two anime movies, at least one video game and two different spin off shows. It seems to have already been exhausted as far as adaptations go, but no. Hollywood has decided to take a crack at creating a live action version, to be directed by none other than Steven Spielberg. I'm unsure if this is going to be based off the manga, the movie or the show, but I have a feeling they're going to murder it. I can't imagine most of the scenes of any of the animated adaptations translating to live action well at all. And the actors. Who will play my beloved Motoko Kusanagi? Batou? There's not a single actress or actor I can think of that could take on such roles. Ghost in the Shell is a true classic, and they better get it right or they could be facing the white-hot nerd rage of thousands of incensed fanboys and girls.

So we'll see. We'll see about The Watchmen and Ender's Game and Ghost in the Shell. I can only hope there won't be another travesty as infuriating as The Two Towers.

Confessional

2008-07-11T08:48:00.007-05:00

Today I will discuss what is possibly the most embarrassing fandom I belong to: I'm a "Twilighter."

When I first heard of the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer, I rolled my eyes. Teenage vampire romance? I love vampires, as I've mentioned in previous posts, but these books were for kids. But when I heard there was a movie coming out based on the first book I broke. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

So one Friday evening after work, I found myself standing in the teen section of BookPeople, staring down my nose at the display of Meyer books on a table in front of me. The bright red apple on the cover boldly taunted me, daring me to pick it up in full view of the other adults milling around nearby. Forbidden fruit indeed. It was a challenge from which I wasn't about to back down. I did, however, hastily tell the cashier (who didn't ask) that the book was for my niece (who doesn't exist). Once I got home, I couldn't bring myself to start reading it. It sat on my bookshelf untouched for a month because I was too afraid. Even then I knew I'd love it, that I'd be sucked in and feel ridiculous for it. I was trying to delay the inevitable.

When I finally began Twilight, I found it incredibly easy to read. Too easy, really. The writing was sub-par and the plot all too predictable, and it's a feminist's nightmare. I finished it in two days and immediately went out and bought the next two. All three were devoured in a week. It was the characters, dammit! I fell in love. I fell in love with a fictional, undead teenage boy. I was ashamed, but I'm even more ashamed to admit it's happened before. My love for men that don't exist has been a problem of mine since adolescence. Maybe I need therapy. But if I do, then so do thousands of other women across the globe.

The books have had incredible success, with people comparing Meyer to J.K. Rowling. While I still maintain that the Harry Potter author is more pen savvy, you can't deny that Meyer has become a formidable contemporary. Both have writing styles that are easily accessible to a broad spectrum of readers from all ages and walks of life. Both have characters I adore. And now, both have movies based on them.

Here is an example of the insanity my love of all things Twilight has become: When I saw the cover of the new Entertainment Weekly yesterday, I immediately emailed it to five people who love it as much as me, and then promptly went into a co-worker's cubicle. As she opened up my message and the picture popped up large on her screen, I started squealing and jumping up and down. No lie. Squealing. And jumping. I might've even been clapping a little. I have been reduced to a twelve year old girl. Stephenie Meyer has done this to me.

On Friday, August 1st, I will be at BookPeople attending a midnight release party for the 4th book: Breaking Dawn. It's a compulsion I cannot refuse. To wait even an extra twelve hours to buy the book when I can get it at 12:01am on August 2nd is a travesty. I'm sure I'll be done with it by August 4th, tops. And this time, I won't pretend it's for my niece.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or "Another One Bites the Dust?"

2008-06-27T15:57:00.015-05:00

In 1992, Joss Whedon wrote a little movie called Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starring Luke Perry and a girl no one had ever heard of named Kristy Swanson. It failed to wow most audiences (although I remember loving it as a ten year old girl). For those not in the know, it's about a teenage girl named Buffy who has been chosen to spend her life defeating vampires and other dark forces of evil. She is imbued with super-human strength and other abilities to aid her in this process. I haven't seen the movie in... Well, since I was ten years old, so you'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit fuzzy on this part. What I can tell you is that when the character and concept were picked up by the WB in 1997 for a show of the same name, there were more than a few raised eyebrows, mine included. After all, I was a mature fifteen year old by then and had no time for such fluff.

To everyone's surprise, the show was pretty damn successful. It starred Sarah Michelle Gellar (who was barely known at the time) and that's about it. It tenured seven seasons before being canceled, which is longer than a lot of higher profile shows with more serious subject matter.

Those of you who know me might be asking why I wasn't into it. Seeing as how I love vampires and all, you'd think this show would be right up my alley. There are several reasons. The first is that it was on the WB. It became popular during a time when my favorite channel was MTV. I only associated the WB with 7th Heaven, which isn't exactly the show to watch if you're trying to prove to yourself and the world how cool and hardxcore you are. The next is that I just didn't have time. I spent most of my weekends hanging out with friends and most of my week nights doing homework. The last (and most ridiculous) reason is that I watched the daytime soap All My Children with my mom when I was in elementary school. She would tape it while she was at work and then we'd watch it together after dinner. Why is this relevant? Let me explain.

In 1993, a new character was introduced on All My Children: Kendall Hart. She was unveiled as Erica Kane's daughter; the product of a teen pregnancy resulting from a rape. Kendall proved to be one of the most evil characters ever to grace the storyline of the drama. She lied, seduced, manipulated, and attempted to murder other characters on the show. She was a Grade-A BITCH and I hated her. Kendall Hart was played by none other than Sarah Michelle Gellar. See below:

So as you can see, my grudge against all things Gellar started at an early age. By the time I was in high school it had worn off to an extent, but just the thought of her left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't want to see any of her movies or watch any stupid show she might be on, even if it was about vampires and I loved the movie when I was ten.

But my resistance is crumbling.

This is partially due to the mad fanbase the show has garnered in the last ten years. You can't google the word "Buffy" without pulling up a plethora of fansites dedicated to the fictional Slayer and her misfit group of friends. The show has inspired tons of fan created media including stories, videos, and art. Sign on to any social networking site and you'll find dozens of chat groups and forums dedicated to discussing all aspects of the show. After the series ended, a comic book was created to chronicle her antics in a new medium. There's even a spin-off show called Angel about one of the vampires from the series.

Even with all this build up, I had managed to distance myself from it and look down upon those who watched it with disdain. That is, until a month ago. My dear boyfriend, David, is a serious fan. He adores Buffy, bad jokes and cheesy special effects included. And it's not just him. His parents love the show as well, possibly more than he does. They all use to watch it together as a family. If that's not enough to make you puke, he decided that if I wanted to prove my love for him I'd give it a shot. Nausea aside, he did bring up a good point. Two years ago, I forced him to watch Arrested Development with me against his better judgment and now he quotes it more often than I do. I decided he's right and that it's only fair if I give Buffy the benefit of the doubt.

We started watching it a few weeks ago from the very first episode. Let me tell you, it's just as horrible as I always figured it would be. The plot is predictable and the acting is atrocious. The jokes aren't funny and the special effects are laughable, even for a low budget show on the WB. As we watched Season 1, I wondered how it ever could've gotten picked up for another season. But now that we're almost halfway through Season 2, I've noticed a change in myself. I've begun to look forward to watching it after dinner, and only watching one episode is never enough. The jokes are still bad, but I laugh anyway because they're awesomely bad. It's gotten to where I recognize that it's a really crummy show, but I'm enjoying the crumminess of it, reveling in how ridiculous it is. After a long day behind my desk at work, it's been nice to go home and turn my brain off and let Buffy and the gang take over for awhile.

So am I doomed to become one of the show's many fanatics? I still think not, though that remains to be seen - there are a whole six seasons left to watch. But I have developed a sort of fondness for it, and watching it has become a familiar safe haven after all the stress of real life. And when a show can do that for you, isn't that what makes it good?

Dungeons and Dragons 4.0

2008-06-24T22:32:00.006-05:00

Last Sunday evening I played the new version of D&D for the second time. This brings the number of games I currently participate in to two. We play on alternating Sundays, so as not to burn anyone out or conflict with pre-existing schedules. The gamers I played with most recently are a fairly large group for D&D. There are nine of us playing together in this campaign, including one other girl besides myself. This is the first time I've really gamed with another female player. Since it's such a large crowd, I imagine it'll be a rare night when a full party is present.

The Dungeon Master is none other than my boyfriend, the handsome David. He's an old hand at this. He started playing D&D when it first came out. He was very young then, and his dad DM'ed the games for him, his older brother, and their nephews. Even his mom would get in on the action occasionally, usually playing an elf. If there's anyone more qualified to run a campaign, I haven't met them.

David is an avid gamer. He spends hours making and drawing characters for his campaigns, planning encounters and researching rules and stats. If only I could be that focused at something, anything.

The majority of the evening was spent making our characters. I've gotten pretty quick at it over the years, but there are new books and new quirks to deal with. I had a few questions. This is the side of D&D that annoys me to no end. As a woman, I run into plenty of sidelong glances from male players once they realize that yes, I really am here to play and also, I am good at it. I know the rules. I know the system. I can role play. While creating my character, I asked one guy a question. One, single question. I was immediately bombarded with answers from three different male players, all of whom kept rambling on about the rules even after they'd answered my question with their first sentence. I actually had to hold up and hand and say, "Guys, I got it. Thanks." One of them even continued arguing with me after I asserted that he was wrong on one point about a racial bonus. I had the book right in front of me. If I'd wanted to be really catty I could've held it up and rubbed it in his face that a girl was right where he was mistaken. Instead, I let this slide. If you're a woman, you learn to pick your battles with male gamers early on. I'll make a mental note of it and save it for later in case it comes up again.

The game itself was lots of fun. The story was well thought out, as I knew it would be. Two of the players in our group were first time gamers, and after the session they seemed enthused to be part of our campaign.

Dungeons and Dragons is the granddaddy of role playing games and 4.0 simplifies the rules and streamlines character creation. In particular, I like the new skill point distribution system. Instead of being given a set amount of skill points to allocate as you see fit and add to the ability modifiers, you're given a choice of (usually) three or four skills to be "trained" in. You receive 5 extra points to add to those scores and that's it (at first level, anyway). I'm also digging on the new daily, will and encounter powers. Health surges are a nice touch as well. And kudos to whoever designed the new character sheets!

Overall, this most recent incarnation of D&D has it's kinks, but a good DM will iron those out as appropriate in their game for their specific group. I'm satisfied.

Happy gaming!

First Post

2008-06-23T14:20:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday (June 21st), I found myself laying on a massage table in my local school of Chinese medicine about to receive acupuncture. This is a weekly thing for me. Fate has given me a plethora of medical problems requiring regular maintenance, and I've found that acupuncture is a great alternative to sterile, white rooms where men in white coats stick even more unpleasant things into you than a few slender needles. The drawback to this is that it's expensive, and a new student works on you each time. You have to get to know some one all over again, explain what's wrong with you and for how long, etc. It necessitates a sort of routine Q&A that you must run through each time you go; getting-to-know-you questions to distract from the insertion of a dozen or more thread-thin needles.

On this last visit, my acupuncturist was a middle aged woman who called herself "Cloud." There was a different name on her ID tag, but I went along with it. As she placed the needles, she asked me what I do to relax. I replied that I read, I take walks, I watch movies. Then, reluctantly, I said, "And I... you know... play games."

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "What kind of games?"

I knew it. From the moment I'd walked in, I could sense that she was a sister of mine, a comrade in dorkdom, a fellow role playing gamer. Maybe it was the hippie nickname, maybe the way she carried herself, who knows. After 5+ years of being a gamer, I can smell my own.

We almost immediately fell into a conversation about Dungeons and Dragons 4.0 which was just released earlier this month. I mentioned how some of the classes had been trimmed and how it annoys me because we all know they're just leaving them out to repackage them and sell them to us again in a new book, doubling their profit. We discussed the new skill point allocation system with trained and untrained skills. We went over the new core races and character sheets. It was the quickest needling session I'd ever had.

I'm telling this story to make a point: We're everywhere. The once rare gamer-dork is becoming a more and more common phenomena. We're bagging your groceries, waiting your tables, preparing your loan documents, designing your website, using the stair-climber next to yours at the gym. Even I forget this sometimes, but it's true.

This blog is for people like Cloud and I: Gamers, geeks, nerds, fanboys, fangirls, readers, writers, collectors, intellectual-waxers, and the people who love them.

It's time to relax and have some fun, people.