tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65646954074085027952024-03-16T03:33:54.997-04:00Back in '81a much simpler timeyoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-44993823343163090982012-01-13T11:56:00.012-05:002012-01-13T15:09:10.265-05:00Unchained and out on the Mean Street(s) again.In the wake of some recent (mediocre) tuneage from the yet-again reunited VH/DLR combo, I feel the need to post the following old school masterpiece for your sonic pleasure:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ctKLhyy7twY" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe><br /><br />Yep, another long delay between posts, and then on top of that it's <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2011/11/11-81-music-related-post-which-you-may.html">another music-related post</a>. I simply haven't gamed in quite some time, or really even dorked around with anything game-related (minis, modules, books, etc). Life: it is what it is. Maybe I should make it a point to bust out the old polys with my boy sometime during this extended weekend. Maybe? Nah. Definitely! As Chris Knight once declared...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyn1GbEjx5FDUFl2TAGMXNqg862Tpn1-GJJixyOxc4qhUQ9L2fgZJeAvt25ucLna2iBCdTpwGDKjMBrHHAXSzR9_Ntvrd3u8HSS6tZJhvAGGPcrDCH5sSlUuZAgndjTK_7zdDUEyFUOts/s1600/toxic-cap2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 185px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyn1GbEjx5FDUFl2TAGMXNqg862Tpn1-GJJixyOxc4qhUQ9L2fgZJeAvt25ucLna2iBCdTpwGDKjMBrHHAXSzR9_Ntvrd3u8HSS6tZJhvAGGPcrDCH5sSlUuZAgndjTK_7zdDUEyFUOts/s400/toxic-cap2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697177086338531010" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"It's a moral imperative!"</span><br /></div><br />Annnnnyway, this classic VH album was in heavy rotation on my boombox, back when I was first introduced to, IMO, the best version of D&D to ever grace the (border)lands: Moldvay's Basic box set.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mXq6zYJTA_qEkcI5Pzxru4dUhB3teSiIbNupV6dil9nf5XRQMhdLGxG8PkfixVYLCiL262mSWiY9nNfnSdjgMj2WFdK79i2zA2Sp0DTYU5QWH2BlTdvsluIBFrr8ijt1JsAfi7BPyyo/s1600/basic+dnd.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mXq6zYJTA_qEkcI5Pzxru4dUhB3teSiIbNupV6dil9nf5XRQMhdLGxG8PkfixVYLCiL262mSWiY9nNfnSdjgMj2WFdK79i2zA2Sp0DTYU5QWH2BlTdvsluIBFrr8ijt1JsAfi7BPyyo/s400/basic+dnd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697184257504936098" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">Pure and utter coolness.</span><br /></div><br />OK, wait a sec. This is starting to get kinda gaming-related; I better stop. LOL - Seriously, gotta go. Have a great one folks. Gonna listen to the jams, while I try to get through this seemingly never-ending Friday at work. Hopefully you'll have a dungeon crawl happening soon, and if so maybe you'll choose to have this amazing *record* as the soundtrack to your maniacal monster killin' and tempestuous treasure lootin'. It sure worked wonders for us <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">back in '81</span>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUToD26TipxHYb4TFBCHsDpQmeTBm9wCevA4BNy2BrF5NztPrZWG0bxfQ0bAoy04SrIIC6wm2ffCjEiiE_iXLd3vfRaLlnLUlJoLlpD3f-LDrWGr3nMMkbcXsa_cz9zYxq8NcGTBORo0s/s1600/table2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUToD26TipxHYb4TFBCHsDpQmeTBm9wCevA4BNy2BrF5NztPrZWG0bxfQ0bAoy04SrIIC6wm2ffCjEiiE_iXLd3vfRaLlnLUlJoLlpD3f-LDrWGr3nMMkbcXsa_cz9zYxq8NcGTBORo0s/s400/table2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697195290753983762" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 255, 255);">They'd be so much cooler with some VH on the boombox.<br /></div>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com75tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-41625587532664773302011-11-10T14:33:00.003-05:002011-11-10T15:25:19.872-05:00'11 = '81: a music related post which you may or may not digI don't usually post about music (which is weird, 'cuz it's a serious passion of mine), but today I felt like doing just that.<br /><br />If you don't dig this kind of music, it's cool - you don't have to. But I like tons of different genres of music - from jazz to metal; soul to synthpop - and I sure do love me some <span style="font-style: italic;">old school</span> synthpop.<br /><br />These cats have been doing it for a lonnnnnnnng time, and it seems they are pretty much <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">back in'81</span> with this new stuff. Which I like.<br /><br />1981:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gudEttJlw3s" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><br />2011:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sSMbOuNBV0s" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br />I decided to post the clean MTV version of "Girls on Film" simply because I don't know for sure the age range of the potential audience here, and the original (official) version gets pretty racy in some parts - and even shows boobies! Oh dear. Anyway, in an effort to keep it somewhat clean here, I went with the censored one. If you want to see the naughty parts, then you'll just have to get your Google-Fu on. It's out there. Or so I've heard. Word on the street. A friend of mine told me he saw it. LOL<br /><br />Annnnnnnyway... Back in the day, when we rolled the polys on the dining room table, I will admit there really wasn't much Coltrane or Sam Cooke on the "tape player" (although I love them both). But there sure was plenty of Dio, Maiden, and AC/DC - mixed right in with some tracks by The Police, U2, and The Fixx. See our soundtrack was often MTV (or tuneage they would eventually play), and it was almost always on in the background. So along with those acts I just mentioned, you can bet there was a fair share of Duran Duran.<br /><br />Now I could try to make it seem fitting, like say playing "Hungry Like the Wolf" during a <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Ravenloft</span> session, or "Planet Earth" during some <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Gamma World</span> or <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Star Frontiers</span>. No? How about playing "New Religion" during a crawl through <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">B4 - The Lost City</span>? Still no? LOL - OK, I'll stop.<br /><br />Although I don't personally know <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> musical tastes, I sure know mine. And I must say that IMO, new Duran² is pretty much old Duran². And that is pretty much good².<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-66075789984704723782011-11-08T09:34:00.007-05:002011-11-08T14:06:39.703-05:00My 5 y.o. Daughter's Mixed Media Cthulhu<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFiurMfeZA40GKbfpSyO5KLkgYZ-yruPz__d-gzFcP1eKTI0ugjegIpBxl7HW6Q-7o1aFIz4r08QqLk6c-S-jIAmzStkqjJMWLiRZcekixVL0Owf_-2sijIG7U8foghz5ZoYo22gG-msY/s1600/IMG-20111108-00986.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFiurMfeZA40GKbfpSyO5KLkgYZ-yruPz__d-gzFcP1eKTI0ugjegIpBxl7HW6Q-7o1aFIz4r08QqLk6c-S-jIAmzStkqjJMWLiRZcekixVL0Owf_-2sijIG7U8foghz5ZoYo22gG-msY/s400/IMG-20111108-00986.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672633662924641762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">Apparently R'lyeh is actually located in the deep end of our backyard pool. Who knew?</span> </div><br />She said he was sad (note the tears) because the shark just bit his toes.<br /><br />Should I be worried? Should I be proud? Or maybe both?<br /><br />Regardless, I couldn't help but think of this AWESOME video gem I ran across on teh interwebz:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FOHJUrcVdJk" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="480"></iframe><br /><br /><br />Maybe I should scale back on the Lovecraft bedtime stories. Hmmn....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Q9zHY-lsSLPJyEbSZDPUg7AFssUjz3hdZCLbgWWhgZn41CsS5HSmZtg836AvaeKANNjL67ZOySrO6I72Vop0a0hl_8RV3CbPgyj7MAf8Vzlwjs7oEwlrRx9SAVloRx2aucH1aT6mHYM/s1600/303046_2368836617081_1135416588_32681503_610272280_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Q9zHY-lsSLPJyEbSZDPUg7AFssUjz3hdZCLbgWWhgZn41CsS5HSmZtg836AvaeKANNjL67ZOySrO6I72Vop0a0hl_8RV3CbPgyj7MAf8Vzlwjs7oEwlrRx9SAVloRx2aucH1aT6mHYM/s400/303046_2368836617081_1135416588_32681503_610272280_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672634165413187266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 255, 255);">"Now I lay me down to sleeeeeeeep..."</span><br /></div><br />Nah.<br /><br /><br />Or should I not let her keep checking this out from the school library?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjortGS7omfgu-RWfJpmtE13V-cgiModgeInMOBcHVRW4wxQU9h5UzAW2HkmQYVY2Vre6ATksx_ZHAsgywh_IvHdKGu_zlM1XI3obDS4KwssyxLbRT7aTRAEGexqGr2Wbjws4Z1e9HPKns/s1600/deities-demigods-1e-ad-d-d-d-w-cthulhu-1st-print-nice_120726146579.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjortGS7omfgu-RWfJpmtE13V-cgiModgeInMOBcHVRW4wxQU9h5UzAW2HkmQYVY2Vre6ATksx_ZHAsgywh_IvHdKGu_zlM1XI3obDS4KwssyxLbRT7aTRAEGexqGr2Wbjws4Z1e9HPKns/s400/deities-demigods-1e-ad-d-d-d-w-cthulhu-1st-print-nice_120726146579.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672642204370487362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Required reading for DND101 - Intro to Sweetness and Badassedness.</span><br /></div><br />I <span style="font-style: italic;">limited wish</span> they allowed that. But again... Nah.<br /><br /><br />However, it just might be time to break out the <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2009/03/when-your-child-asks-daddy-can-we-play.html">dice & minis</a> and the <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2009/03/keep-on-borderlands-redesigned-by-5.html">mat & markers</a> again.<br /><br />Yep!<br /><br /><br />BTW, I have to say this twisted... err... <span style="font-style: italic;">gifted</span> artistic trait definitely <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2009/06/jack-lantern-head-d-mini-concept.html">runs in the family</a>.yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-57254830459261932302011-11-01T22:30:00.013-04:002011-11-02T00:28:03.772-04:00Wonder Wife, Aquadude, Taz, a dragon or something... oh, and that guy from KISS?IMO, Halloween is the coolest of all the holidays. So we usually live it up while it lasts. This year my wife decided to make use of a <span style="font-style: italic;">borrowed</span> Wonder Woman costume (free = good). So, <span style="font-style: italic;">purposefully</span> avoiding the typical Superman, Batman, and new to the fold this year (due to the film, of course), Green Lantern, I decided to try quite arguably the lamest Super Friend of them all... Aquadork.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEC4_bwA7kzTFI49qts4WdtVFotIgSP19WSNL25ar9i539zybUr5kflp31LBb9O7FZ7VzEXJVnaJ_hVeXs8Y83TUC4mHr9Mo_C5gCM0-9-2qtAHUqFwQzC_DgZ-bQT5a4DtwLeSZjtizY/s1600/tumblr_lrkwcqmvhu1ql0ingo1_500.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 386px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEC4_bwA7kzTFI49qts4WdtVFotIgSP19WSNL25ar9i539zybUr5kflp31LBb9O7FZ7VzEXJVnaJ_hVeXs8Y83TUC4mHr9Mo_C5gCM0-9-2qtAHUqFwQzC_DgZ-bQT5a4DtwLeSZjtizY/s400/tumblr_lrkwcqmvhu1ql0ingo1_500.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670234523688467698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 153, 255);">Burrrrrrrrrnnn...!</span><br /></div><br /><br />Who'da thought it'd be so hard to find green tights?!? Jeesh! Anyone got a spare pair?<br /><br />After some fiendish searching, I found a suitable replacement. A pair of green thermals at a Goodwill-ish store: $2... Sold! Two rows over, a too-short, nearly <span style="font-style: italic;">half-shirt</span>, orange top: $3? Sure. Some funky belt up near the checkout: $1? OK. My daughters stuffed sea-horse toy: $0. Hey, <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> bought it to begin with, right? Oh, and a cardboard cutout uppercase "A" (And yes, I went with the actual letter, not just the more common "carrot sign" - as I figured some of the other party-goers might need all the help they could get).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHliUzbelTi6KwPzHHdxYclErtbdzAtnV1HgEJQebyt3naG-hPlAbrgzxq1zyo-NRLuRAZRKCeSY2VFuEK2ied03rk2-nO2oezQSeGjEQ2gRLgWxzPoOyO_lVNIkisfzu4KNypcdnE98/s1600/halloween+2011+ww+and+am+cropped.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZHliUzbelTi6KwPzHHdxYclErtbdzAtnV1HgEJQebyt3naG-hPlAbrgzxq1zyo-NRLuRAZRKCeSY2VFuEK2ied03rk2-nO2oezQSeGjEQ2gRLgWxzPoOyO_lVNIkisfzu4KNypcdnE98/s400/halloween+2011+ww+and+am+cropped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670226422229994514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice... Aquadude explains "Look WW, all we need are some tasty waves and a cool buzz, and we'll be fine."</span><br /></div><br /><br />And yes, my wife rocks - flat out RAWKS! So much so, that randomly throughout the night I found myself singing, <span style="font-style: italic;">"You're a wonder, Wonder Woman....!"</span><br /><br />OK, now let's talk a second about the hair, shall we? Upon seeing this above nightmarish pose, a friend of mine declared it "reminds me of that show <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081871/"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Greatest American Hero</span></a>. And it sure does. Doesn't it?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-uaqFPv3Ldhlo9be2VrQUgNmmUyDqZnBewOteP6w2D7AKpP-gxLxOQx4tWlr-HTXBuCkucpG9NGMJjOX44lQgOm3MpCKLp7UiVnnr-8LpgTGuB4nhRDEhlY9x9EJazm502E-lIegmaY/s1600/100702mag_greatesthero_williamkatt1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-uaqFPv3Ldhlo9be2VrQUgNmmUyDqZnBewOteP6w2D7AKpP-gxLxOQx4tWlr-HTXBuCkucpG9NGMJjOX44lQgOm3MpCKLp7UiVnnr-8LpgTGuB4nhRDEhlY9x9EJazm502E-lIegmaY/s400/100702mag_greatesthero_williamkatt1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670223735350484754" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">"No, I went like *this*."</span><br /></div><br />See, I have 4 wigs (a meager collection, but hey, I'm working on it), and this was the closest one to Aquadweeb's hair. I like to think that it's sort of a beach-bum, surfer-dude version of the swimmingly.... uhm... swimmer. Now, I do have a much better nu-wave one, a mullet one, and a '70s David Cassidy type (also doubles as a pretty solid Han Solo 'do), but yeah, I guess <span style="font-style: italic;">The Greatest American Hero</span> perm it was.<br /><br />All in all, it was a successful Halloween par-tay, and I for one can admit that one of my oldest schoolboy fantasies finally came true. Come on fellas, don't tell me you watched Lynda Carter back in the '70s for the <span style="font-style: italic;">plots</span>. Right?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5NOEnPRQSHLdA_4wL6DmnwXaVM8xYk-RsdK7hqp-7_tRaNiJbxWhLBkZxoZBQDHusvC2hhX7u45YJyoPweUK29YRB6ez2spJAw0I5tDuPOXGIpzOSAX82gHpISOdxEi4TieWOgc2yWs/s1600/lynda-carter-wonder-woman-01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5NOEnPRQSHLdA_4wL6DmnwXaVM8xYk-RsdK7hqp-7_tRaNiJbxWhLBkZxoZBQDHusvC2hhX7u45YJyoPweUK29YRB6ez2spJAw0I5tDuPOXGIpzOSAX82gHpISOdxEi4TieWOgc2yWs/s400/lynda-carter-wonder-woman-01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670225518304215538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">"Up here, bud."</span><br /></div><br /><br />Okie doke, back to <span style="font-style: italic;">whatever</span> it was I was talking about. Right, OK so our kiddos opted for some fun costumes this year too. Here we see "Taz" and either a dragon, a dinosaur, an alligator, or "Yoshi" - depending on which day you ask her. She was "Belle" (of Disney fame) for an earlier neighborhood party, but then decided to get her dragon on for the real deal. Like I was about to stop her.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3t0Q5N2m_k13s9OWVpvgTlSoMssFqLKMfpf-Ul2NBQmlrxSQeONeFtj1L7jHjs0Ov9O_HbFi8JJALYFc-gv_9xoTvbwwojjf9ISSxs1_mX0Z6KUpLQiHImQKXK7TxuvLcA0dOVjt4sk/s1600/IMG-20111031-00887.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3t0Q5N2m_k13s9OWVpvgTlSoMssFqLKMfpf-Ul2NBQmlrxSQeONeFtj1L7jHjs0Ov9O_HbFi8JJALYFc-gv_9xoTvbwwojjf9ISSxs1_mX0Z6KUpLQiHImQKXK7TxuvLcA0dOVjt4sk/s400/IMG-20111031-00887.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670238333023170850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 255, 255);">Proposed cover art for a possible new RPG:<br />"Dust Devils & Dragons"</span><br /></div><br /><br />With the big night approaching, I needed to figure out what I was going to wear out with them when they went trick-or-treating. I didn't really want to don the Aquabro getup in the cold. I probably would've frozen my ... uhm... <span style="font-style: italic;">gills</span> off!<br /><br />So, as a last minute alternate<span style="font-style: italic;"></span> costume, I threw together a bunch of previous Halloweens' crap and went with this look:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-dwMkaW0P8oPfcBDMrZLF-gNRSBtccGKAk8LE51oyDHBy6x2N24aCqwuKW3q7NjJD31sBbK6rCqi-1Y9ayzH-TCPaQiWM5u4NjHngNQZjq31G5hfDnep4tXzS9HKlnFP5XI7LdejqM7M/s1600/IMG-20111031-00911.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-dwMkaW0P8oPfcBDMrZLF-gNRSBtccGKAk8LE51oyDHBy6x2N24aCqwuKW3q7NjJD31sBbK6rCqi-1Y9ayzH-TCPaQiWM5u4NjHngNQZjq31G5hfDnep4tXzS9HKlnFP5XI7LdejqM7M/s400/IMG-20111031-00911.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670229032678298226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Juxtaposers.</span><br /></div><br />I successfully frightened several small children, a few dogs, and even one grown man. And I'm fairly certain that a few folks had their eye on me, presuming I was some psycho child-stalker or something. But the craziest reaction was when several different neighborhood trick-or-treaters said, "Hey, it's the guy from <a href="http://www.kissonline.com/">KISS</a>!" - Silly kids. So much to learn. Hopefully their folks' will let them watch VH-1 Classic someday.yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-37258496027226473352011-10-20T19:29:00.007-04:002011-10-20T20:09:21.009-04:00The casket opens...It turns out, I'm <span style="font-style: italic;">still </span>alive. But yeah... I guess it's been a little while, eh? I've simply been caught up in life's other stuff and things. Thought I'd pop in for a brief visit on the b-day of one of screen's old school boogie-men.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BtAuhcuZ6yBfEFikarn67h9rdASUEY6zj2Oh56cEpVwM0BFMN0ef9ai9tkClp9-goifP4Lj-r7bZHjc3G0DHLqN9r4Al1dVfNNEe45YrU4D2bVZ6d8Sne_VVD7yrILZghZZuT286qlY/s1600/Annex+-+Lugosi%252C+Bela+%2528Dracula%2529_NRFPT_06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BtAuhcuZ6yBfEFikarn67h9rdASUEY6zj2Oh56cEpVwM0BFMN0ef9ai9tkClp9-goifP4Lj-r7bZHjc3G0DHLqN9r4Al1dVfNNEe45YrU4D2bVZ6d8Sne_VVD7yrILZghZZuT286qlY/s400/Annex+-+Lugosi%252C+Bela+%2528Dracula%2529_NRFPT_06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665723417882035522" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"The spider spinning his web for the unwary fly."</span> </div><br />Happy Birthday to Bela Lugosi. Not the best actor, by any stretch of the imagination (nowhere near the chops of horror greats Cushing, Lee, Price, Rains, etc), but his portrayal of the Count in 1931's <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/">Dracula</a> still creeps me out to this day. And I'm a grown man. Well, sorta.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXkGdVBk_1kKyO9liLIKtM3ymgWyyMNFI0p8exkghA8MRFzLT8UTSL70q0jYbeZaz51F8BMzwIsaBcSdDTZxQyGQdpC6zwZ9I_DxGq4KG2ax7xgcaiN7ZM0b5KG4rBlv9dtVEruYHYyA/s1600/cha+mod.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXkGdVBk_1kKyO9liLIKtM3ymgWyyMNFI0p8exkghA8MRFzLT8UTSL70q0jYbeZaz51F8BMzwIsaBcSdDTZxQyGQdpC6zwZ9I_DxGq4KG2ax7xgcaiN7ZM0b5KG4rBlv9dtVEruYHYyA/s320/cha+mod.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665730411613508562" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So there it is, I guess kinda "back in '31." See ya soon.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuEuq_CLd8ZJlG6V3Vh6se1F5BJkdZdTal_beHjaIcaFlgHfIFnN9RAHf4u1Q-ycPWYsG9IPDiTHXbeOVckWxBNA3C7GOt_b4FIJVoai0-Kt7W7MASVtqFoJhn-wYlYBemVt2B4FcvY-o/s1600/vampire.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuEuq_CLd8ZJlG6V3Vh6se1F5BJkdZdTal_beHjaIcaFlgHfIFnN9RAHf4u1Q-ycPWYsG9IPDiTHXbeOVckWxBNA3C7GOt_b4FIJVoai0-Kt7W7MASVtqFoJhn-wYlYBemVt2B4FcvY-o/s400/vampire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665727196207203618" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">"*Charmed*, I'm sure."</span><br /></div>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-26725461171209266022010-12-25T23:24:00.005-05:002010-12-26T13:24:15.796-05:00Apple. Tree. Close proximity fall. - Star Wars Christmas, vintage-style!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ZxtoYyXOijktSX1FNMwWmelLAY_KU2wCyDo9b1DzFByn1tTYX_br0D_-RRWQ7O7ekcy1fsA41zCyEHDlG53V1duKe9ICnptWLB9jM9oXYSyDiiI1MIUpS_GV_h60BMw2qsRA4rQal3Q/s1600/IMG-20101224-00007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ZxtoYyXOijktSX1FNMwWmelLAY_KU2wCyDo9b1DzFByn1tTYX_br0D_-RRWQ7O7ekcy1fsA41zCyEHDlG53V1duKe9ICnptWLB9jM9oXYSyDiiI1MIUpS_GV_h60BMw2qsRA4rQal3Q/s400/IMG-20101224-00007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554842902191814690" border="0" /></a><br />Pretty sure I have a picture of me just like this 30 years ago, with the same present. Vintage Star Wars toys rock!<br /><br /><span jsid="text">Grandma&Grandpa bought this one, along with a few figs. Of course, Santa brought some more SW figs and related gear too.<br /><br />So far I think he has this Imperial Tie Fighter (above), Vader, Luke (Snowspeeder pilot version), Yoda, Darth Maul, Obi Wan (ep III-ish), a Clone Trooper (I could *swear* I told them Sandtrooper - ah well), C-3PO and R2.<br /><br />Pretty sweet loot! Err.... I mean, for my son, that is. ;^]<br /></span>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-78225288553352437512010-12-14T14:39:00.007-05:002010-12-14T15:55:45.077-05:00Spandex isn't for everyone.<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdAXfR65YJq3IYSJg5hOtrFYO8iHU_LKsTOGCQxTkZHpwcZUHzJUJ-n61mMzkt2w2zgiDBhIfbTapmB1kStDgv0VkJ32zf9V8Pcr6WP4ew9zkrwdY2sQTdgQAu2Bk1GGQf4MAZKrTuEs/s1600/tron+guy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdAXfR65YJq3IYSJg5hOtrFYO8iHU_LKsTOGCQxTkZHpwcZUHzJUJ-n61mMzkt2w2zgiDBhIfbTapmB1kStDgv0VkJ32zf9V8Pcr6WP4ew9zkrwdY2sQTdgQAu2Bk1GGQf4MAZKrTuEs/s400/tron+guy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550625285535845554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 255, 255);">Confident</span><br /></div><br />Look, I love <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tron_%28film%29">TRON</a> as much as the next guy; well, maybe not as much as <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> guy; but c'mon now.<br /><br />If you ever see me looking like that, and it's NOT Halloween... wait, scratch that... <span style="font-style: italic;">including</span> Halloween, puh-leeeeze derez me!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4tiPxBzDxoe6jaKtBDTsIlNRabxgeFdYwmJlJbzrT-QGDTNKxoQRtj9TSR2tJGWn75Epf1OrvtWoQ3vVuyOU-FU4gTffwf0fsNTg6R7t7_MXfL8iGCbsTH8K9gNx72TI9IZO21ChEH0/s1600/Skull.PNG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4tiPxBzDxoe6jaKtBDTsIlNRabxgeFdYwmJlJbzrT-QGDTNKxoQRtj9TSR2tJGWn75Epf1OrvtWoQ3vVuyOU-FU4gTffwf0fsNTg6R7t7_MXfL8iGCbsTH8K9gNx72TI9IZO21ChEH0/s400/Skull.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550637465317701026" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">Thank you, oh merciful MCP!</span><br /></div><br />I don't feel too bad making that request, because I hope that this dude doesn't really take any of this too seriously. I mean he has to know that donning that outfit is gonna get some attention, both good and bad. And I have a feeling he loves the attention. Thus, it's alllllll goooooood.<br /><br />And honestly I'm not saying it's really bad. OK, it's pretty bad, but still, it's a free country. Dude can wear anything he wants. And ya sure can't knock his spirit. Go TRON-dude!<br /><br />Sure, I <span style="font-style: italic;">did</span> "dress up" as Darth Vader this year, but it <span style="font-style: italic;">was</span> Halloween, and it involved absolutely no spandex. I save <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2009/02/80s-themed-birthday-bash-with-pics-one.html">my zebra-striped pants for '80s-themed parties</a>. Hmmnnn... maybe I do look like this on occasion. Oh dear! Oh deaaaaarh!!!!!<br /><br />Anyway, I know he's been popping-up all over teh interwebz, so I tried not to simply jump on the bandwagon, but I just couldn't help it.<br /><br />Weirdest part in all of this: What's with the bag? Apparently you still have to pack your own lunch in a virtual world of <span style="font-family:courier new;">1</span>s and <span style="font-family:courier new;">0</span>s. Who would've thunk it. Then again ya never can tell who you might run into in the cafeteria, right?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyH7MxEiCyLofljavbl8AAYxla-2iQT952gvWAwYwwOTR1nMcNuSSlf-NndwaBOfTPANytnPGiAx9Meqa-kWVeDbtJkadbnrq4Sz2Vy9G9SDW7ngm6d894KQ2bYu0bzKO6ymAPoJggZs/s1600/daft+punk+lunch.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 397px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyH7MxEiCyLofljavbl8AAYxla-2iQT952gvWAwYwwOTR1nMcNuSSlf-NndwaBOfTPANytnPGiAx9Meqa-kWVeDbtJkadbnrq4Sz2Vy9G9SDW7ngm6d894KQ2bYu0bzKO6ymAPoJggZs/s400/daft+punk+lunch.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550633917323284354" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 255);font-family:courier new;font-size:180%;" >end of line</span>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-76555339491700981652010-11-23T10:43:00.004-05:002010-11-23T11:23:33.343-05:00Cheers, Borrrrrris!Happy b-day to one <span style="font-style: italic;">creeeeeeeeeepy</span> dude.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OJgK6V1rKA12wxtSpzg9ESGPc_rmSM1o6zQU2IT8Hld70-xuhoDHpYVuhBWgNQhNDrE-EeT3rtFn4ZX1o-dBDyzlSaCUDGw3iu2jZS9qUNnx6kuw2Y9eGBrdcMLnRAPKJU82RGyq_xI/s1600/Boris_Karloff_The_Mummy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OJgK6V1rKA12wxtSpzg9ESGPc_rmSM1o6zQU2IT8Hld70-xuhoDHpYVuhBWgNQhNDrE-EeT3rtFn4ZX1o-dBDyzlSaCUDGw3iu2jZS9qUNnx6kuw2Y9eGBrdcMLnRAPKJU82RGyq_xI/s400/Boris_Karloff_The_Mummy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542771683385185314" border="0" /></a><br />If you have some free time (or free DVR space), check out <a href="http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp?startDate=11/23/2010&timezone=EST&cid=N">TCM today</a> for tons of Karloff flix (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Lost Patrol</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Walking Dead</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">West Of Shanghai</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">You'll Find Out</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Isle Of The Dead</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Body Snatcher</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Bedlam</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Terror</span>).<br /><br />Obviously a few of these have ...already played this morning, but maybe you can time-travel and you're just keeping it a secret from us all. Dunno.<br /><br />Those Val Lewton (RKO) ones are some very cool films (<span style="font-style: italic;">Body Snatcher</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Isle/Dead</span>,<span style="font-style: italic;"> Bedlam</span>). Or pull out some classic Universal <span style="font-style: italic;">Frankenstein</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Bride of Frankenstein</span>, or <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mummy</span>, if ya have them. Probably the most famous (mainstream) of his movies.<br /><br />Kinda makes ya wanna dig up that old box of <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chill_%28role-playing_game%29">CHILL</a> stuff, right? Who knows what else you might unearth...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyDMVwluxEh-2XHJadiaRfmLZJBTe8NGMSXBzckz9GtKhgV6Z3UUE__QdnwfmAPJmmoQGPwvJDtqYT3a38lpL9cIcMagDMBSyNjlXlUo5xjkuFVFMMc0e7rvG6xSm-WBLR_Xe5EU3mao/s1600/chillcbpg1.jpg.w560h457.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 326px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyDMVwluxEh-2XHJadiaRfmLZJBTe8NGMSXBzckz9GtKhgV6Z3UUE__QdnwfmAPJmmoQGPwvJDtqYT3a38lpL9cIcMagDMBSyNjlXlUo5xjkuFVFMMc0e7rvG6xSm-WBLR_Xe5EU3mao/s400/chillcbpg1.jpg.w560h457.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542775070741208050" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">pants = soiled</span><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Oh BTW, HBD2 Sara Karloff (his daughter) too! Pretty cool dualie celebration, right there.</span>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-11075594732751074522010-11-18T22:33:00.005-05:002010-11-18T23:05:32.910-05:00Super-cool birthday gifts... from back in '77I was diggin' through some old photo albums at my folks' house this week, and came across this snapshot in time:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWLkSPwNW4tzbk0pN-6VhNl_5YggH5oobivYdhp4uWcOHVgsrIc9Dy3oAUU5qGzokJJy75LbVbhcyfCIzIIHnBieRrU6VY-MFWBOZQKw5hpGBUUw3eH_SZQbHOz-yuwwsL7_-SoHZvyMM/s1600/9th+b-day+with+gifts.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWLkSPwNW4tzbk0pN-6VhNl_5YggH5oobivYdhp4uWcOHVgsrIc9Dy3oAUU5qGzokJJy75LbVbhcyfCIzIIHnBieRrU6VY-MFWBOZQKw5hpGBUUw3eH_SZQbHOz-yuwwsL7_-SoHZvyMM/s400/9th+b-day+with+gifts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541101851686320946" border="0" /></a><br />I found several years of birthday pics, including some from <span style="font-style: italic;">back in '81</span>, but this one really caught my eye, especially with some of that suh-weeeet vintage <span style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars</span> swag.<br /><br />Anyway, I thought I'd share a peek at some of those AWESOME b-day gifts from "a much simpler time."<br /><br />So let's take stock. From left to right (sorta):<br /><ul><li>a <span style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars</span> marker/coloring poster (with 3-D Vader mask, mind you!)</li><li>a Dallas Cowboys helmet lamp (I either put 12 or 33 on the back with stickers)</li><li>a set of 6 "silver" (ok, silver-colored) Hot Wheels cars (these I kept... they're my son's now)</li><li>an mpc R2-D2 *fully-articulated* model kit</li><li>a full set of all NFL teams pencils</li><li>an amt <span style="font-style: italic;">Cuckoo Nest</span> Custom Ford Van model kit</li><li>an <span style="font-style: italic;">Obsession</span> board game - "The game you can't get enough of!" (Dig that preposition-ending sentence. Nice grammar, babe!)</li><li>a <span style="font-style: italic;">Skorpion</span> (advanced design street machine) model kit - I guess I got my share of sniffing glue back then, eh?<br /></li></ul>Sadly, no TSR loot. But then again, the earliest I really got into the likes of <span style="font-style: italic;">D&D</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Gamma World</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Top Secret</span> was, well... <span style="font-style: italic;">back in '81</span>.yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-51828928008877254812010-11-17T17:45:00.008-05:002010-11-17T18:35:07.577-05:00Live a little, Chewie!<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6rH9ytvYs4s3p3Wb3vU76aBqU4YntcU44bwjuy9ipwr5zialyFFglSqAl4_xuapoX59d510xR9GxYnLtm5muSuAHGRdrTBjhvHAweqrzO3i_MqpXPiEKaWC59yvIiJSok19OnO6LoYM/s1600/chewbacca+with+leia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6rH9ytvYs4s3p3Wb3vU76aBqU4YntcU44bwjuy9ipwr5zialyFFglSqAl4_xuapoX59d510xR9GxYnLtm5muSuAHGRdrTBjhvHAweqrzO3i_MqpXPiEKaWC59yvIiJSok19OnO6LoYM/s400/chewbacca+with+leia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540654010055196722" border="0" /></a><span style="visibility: visible; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 204, 102);" id="search">"Gggggaaaarrrrrrrr!!!! Arrrrhhhn</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">!!!!!"</span> </div><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Happy World Wide Wookiee Life Day!</span></span><br /><br />November 17 - And it's my birthday, too. Sorry for the self-promotion - I'm just in a happy mood today, and proud to have made it through another year.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">"Me? Old? Hhmmmm...? Think so, I do not."</span><br /><br />At any rate, in Chewbacca's honor, tonight I think I'll dig out this old fella from <span style="font-style: italic;">back in '77</span> (actually, I didn't get mine until '78, IIRC), and school my son on the wonders of late '70s action figure articulation... all <span style="font-style: italic;">four points</span> of it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDp44NbpRIJL0_N4jpigS75fwXsxWENHvnDoibCmm2Q-ymaU799o9gc9kVxVEntfRSZX_4lIcBTskfspmYHfq-Yh5SFuAppr0DJjZRMsZnOKM9z-TDVY_54wAjtUyTA5DFS4yW3tTiGh4/s1600/chewbacca_tw.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 321px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDp44NbpRIJL0_N4jpigS75fwXsxWENHvnDoibCmm2Q-ymaU799o9gc9kVxVEntfRSZX_4lIcBTskfspmYHfq-Yh5SFuAppr0DJjZRMsZnOKM9z-TDVY_54wAjtUyTA5DFS4yW3tTiGh4/s400/chewbacca_tw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540659792611221010" border="0" /></a>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-89043956248500104692010-11-11T15:37:00.002-05:002010-11-11T15:45:39.363-05:00Veterans Rock!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_MNFIKn2OxqIjCPymcv4vAeN7zV6XjvCxs9tugyagPnkNlHyptGl_1cesGUhGy1o_lopOuFUZAkuyyLyzZLXR9ygJjdavan55H_A8Z5058J2prF-7-LcePDCOWIBtXw7sVoand2S1Ngs/s1600/Sgt._Rock_Vol_1_315.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 260px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_MNFIKn2OxqIjCPymcv4vAeN7zV6XjvCxs9tugyagPnkNlHyptGl_1cesGUhGy1o_lopOuFUZAkuyyLyzZLXR9ygJjdavan55H_A8Z5058J2prF-7-LcePDCOWIBtXw7sVoand2S1Ngs/s400/Sgt._Rock_Vol_1_315.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538394525727018290" border="0" /></a><br />I did not serve. I never would've had the guts to do so. To those who did... and those who still do... every <span style="font-style: italic;">single</span> one of you ROCK! Thank you so <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> much for our freedom.<br /><br />/saluteyoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-67753744806495075102010-11-05T15:37:00.012-04:002010-11-05T17:18:41.969-04:00A belated beheading. Plus a *pac*-o-lantern and some Darth Silliness<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5Uut9dHWOnE06FmJojAxZnjSXcAU9l6CnQkX50wu3lx4-0isOkO6zX6QAyFwhLAwjisfAzujU3ZULp4B0dMx9bRqdxFmOfZC99bqqvXACUJijMpW3omEcgel0vr_N_KuRdIWO9p0zeE/s1600/Headless-HorsemanII_01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 334px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5Uut9dHWOnE06FmJojAxZnjSXcAU9l6CnQkX50wu3lx4-0isOkO6zX6QAyFwhLAwjisfAzujU3ZULp4B0dMx9bRqdxFmOfZC99bqqvXACUJijMpW3omEcgel0vr_N_KuRdIWO9p0zeE/s400/Headless-HorsemanII_01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536154050508688194" border="0" /></a><br />I had the above pic set aside for a Halloween related blog post, but 10/31 came and went. Alas, here it is, several days late. Still, what an totally AWESOME work by the late, GREAT <a href="http://www.frankfrazetta.net/">Frazetta</a>. I absolutely LOVE his stuff; always have. I still run across works of his that I have never seen before. This was one of those. The image alone is so bad@$$, but the use of color in his art is just plain stunning. God, I wish I could draw/paint/*pastel* like that! Nobody even comes close, in my mind.<br /><br />Since this is basically a <span style="font-style: italic;">post-</span>Halloween post, I may as well cover a couple other items:<br /><br />First, on the <span style="font-style: italic;">"back in '81"</span> tip ('80, really, but who's counting?), my son (6 y.o.) wanted a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man">Pac-Man</a> pumpkin this year. It's nothing extravagant (not like some of those amazing carvings I've seen posted online), but about 3/4 of the way through, it started to get a little tricky. Ya see I almost blew out the whole thing when I carved away too much of the bottom half before punching out the ghosts' eyes. Doh! Anyway... it held up, and he really dug it... and that's truly all that matters.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbL0VLCY5sPHCKA9ynQfAOye-mWzf7aaJPJKQuNijJJQrDa4w9GL7wbPmiUohvHktYaJkLqd568bj8LLdw-DOjjJZoCzLckDvvksHo-GjXREhkacZa1WQu6RUt98Nh08-4iQx4NfqyJls/s1600/IMGP2807.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbL0VLCY5sPHCKA9ynQfAOye-mWzf7aaJPJKQuNijJJQrDa4w9GL7wbPmiUohvHktYaJkLqd568bj8LLdw-DOjjJZoCzLckDvvksHo-GjXREhkacZa1WQu6RUt98Nh08-4iQx4NfqyJls/s400/IMGP2807.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536153593698011362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">"Waka-waka-waka..."</span><br /></div><br /><br />And finally, I also had a little too much fun out with the fam, as Darth Robbo, terroizin' y'alls neighborhood (hope this works - the video won't play in the *preview* pane - gives an ERROR):<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyRyRvqb_RIDBk9Tbfy4UHJjbS5509oShdJbGiVVD3z3r7JkMDbT6QJXSqM_TxJESJKpGhFmKM9pC8mXls6' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Darth Neighbor<br />"I sense something; a presence I've not felt since...</span><burrrrrrrrp style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);"> [burrrrrp]"</burrrrrrrrp><br /><burrrrrrrrp></burrrrrrrrp></div><burrrrrrrrp><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Note to self: Eating garlic-heavy lasagna for dinner and then heading out trick or-treating with the kiddos in a tightly-enclosed face-mask is NOT highly recommended.</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_HCp_TELM8ec4hWCvvo_wTthu4VHVUw9HKIbchCPcdYVhLXc2UJ9Ph_rLBE_70iZSkySzb3LdS0XlYnny4QI1X2706TxL2_QYn_aFrkuepDDz2_z0gg3hMYBnLynxbWXsFg5Ft8cRa8/s1600/IMGP2795.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_HCp_TELM8ec4hWCvvo_wTthu4VHVUw9HKIbchCPcdYVhLXc2UJ9Ph_rLBE_70iZSkySzb3LdS0XlYnny4QI1X2706TxL2_QYn_aFrkuepDDz2_z0gg3hMYBnLynxbWXsFg5Ft8cRa8/s400/IMGP2795.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536153817582069890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">"The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now *I* am the master-bathroom![sic]"</span><br /></div><br />Truth be told, if I would have had <span style="font-style: italic;">this </span>costume this year, you bet your bounty-hunter-butt that I would have worn it instead of that Target one I'm wearing above. Check out this life-like, near-movie-prop below from back in tha day (note, this is for the lesser-known, often-disregarded Darth <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 255);">Vad</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 255);">ar</span>):<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuyoXbbGbNE2BuavWATbS4BcZHUdAThNG2U3GB7Piazb5rNVKfqY14utK3JN-evt3ONjJ67wl_uTZO9bu7lgiXgvFYyShWoLIkfv1DmlZWOgryRbJXgU4gQnCod9YKVRwWufWg0UjlZc/s1600/vader+Poncho+1978.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuyoXbbGbNE2BuavWATbS4BcZHUdAThNG2U3GB7Piazb5rNVKfqY14utK3JN-evt3ONjJ67wl_uTZO9bu7lgiXgvFYyShWoLIkfv1DmlZWOgryRbJXgU4gQnCod9YKVRwWufWg0UjlZc/s400/vader+Poncho+1978.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536154365567537538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">The Dark Lord of the Sith's "fun poncho."</span><br /></div><br /></burrrrrrrrp>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-39330609189358311592010-10-07T13:30:00.019-04:002010-10-07T17:33:39.917-04:00Disney Tarzan 'toons - now with more *pulp*<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">What, like this???<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wxgJmlzfSgIfUlnq9NGx9wdjLiY41fg2ojDDCIIqlRG64Su9Jf_HFmuOqcLq8EHHjZN-n8HX8QmAWS6n51Up5zIE6CHShe5HBE7FMDrvXNhVuCERiS3n2wzcHa0LjJ9wFlaJgkSAbuA/s1600/18c.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wxgJmlzfSgIfUlnq9NGx9wdjLiY41fg2ojDDCIIqlRG64Su9Jf_HFmuOqcLq8EHHjZN-n8HX8QmAWS6n51Up5zIE6CHShe5HBE7FMDrvXNhVuCERiS3n2wzcHa0LjJ9wFlaJgkSAbuA/s400/18c.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525386393096240002" border="0" /></a><br /></div>No not like that. But still pretty pulpy. Allow me to explain:<br /><br />See, when my 4 y.o. daughter is watching the DisneyXD channel, and <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Tarzan">The Legend of Tarzan</a> cartoon comes on, I figure it's in <span style="font-style: italic;">her</span> best interest that I watch it with her... ya'know, parental guidance and all.<br /><br />Plus this episode, <span style="font-style: italic;">Tarzan and the Leopard Men Rebellion</span>, is about Queen La, Leopard Men, and the Lost City of Opar. Cool! But, uhm, yeah... only watching for my lil' girl's sake. ;^]<br /><br />Sure, it's not <span style="font-style: italic;">purist </span>Tarzan - La is (sorta) clothed. Well, at least a tad more than in this Frazetta gem:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilaRcvfluPljlA-v7jXrE4IBaM0QiUIKWAkHkEGmaiZs-bXTz2TkwoWnBAAD3QXSekflFXEzEhI_HbAizRnR2J0L-Fp1X2O8bIaZiIGk7cZGNlqHPUcf1CjMHiBw5uoTOQ976XXmeashI/s1600/ffeb51.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 350px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilaRcvfluPljlA-v7jXrE4IBaM0QiUIKWAkHkEGmaiZs-bXTz2TkwoWnBAAD3QXSekflFXEzEhI_HbAizRnR2J0L-Fp1X2O8bIaZiIGk7cZGNlqHPUcf1CjMHiBw5uoTOQ976XXmeashI/s400/ffeb51.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525413553550519762" border="0" /></a><br />BTW, I'm not totally positive that even <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> La there, but it certainly is Frazetta and it absolutely makes me think of her nastiness... errr, *highness* when I see it. I originally was going to plop the more popular <a href="http://www.frankfrazetta.net/images/Tarzan-Meets-La-of-Opar_01.jpg"><span style="font-style: italic;">Tarzan Meets La of Opar</span></a> by Frazetta right there, but I thought that there might be just a <span style="font-style: italic;">little </span>too much "boobage" (let alone "pubeage") in it for a blog post that started out about watching kids' cartoons with my daughter. Ya dig? Cool.<br /><br />Additionally, in this Disney 'toon, La's leopardmen are not really a cult (cannibalistic or other), per se...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkPO6vcnGiN_EafMRBd7c5aMAx21306uTjPtagVXVAlWxCpUcusN-2iPJHrogN5b_fYY15nF8_6w5Q_lPyMJMHjbDGnix1TYDAFwgy9zF4OB3C-L_8jBSbn0GWf8nXRDAv4h3uNsvX2w/s1600/african+leopard+men.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkPO6vcnGiN_EafMRBd7c5aMAx21306uTjPtagVXVAlWxCpUcusN-2iPJHrogN5b_fYY15nF8_6w5Q_lPyMJMHjbDGnix1TYDAFwgy9zF4OB3C-L_8jBSbn0GWf8nXRDAv4h3uNsvX2w/s400/african+leopard+men.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525383684073498706" border="0" /></a>... but actually <span style="font-style: italic;">leopard-men</span> under her command. Well, maybe that sorta <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> a cult.. whatever. Let's just say, it's not exactly true to the novels, aiiight?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLl2sT6t-Cgjx0oO3Hz9Y2eBz2Y-KTmq_jTuFUBiFKJKvQX0MZQLnC-0-fDMsXgBqV5tlu-cYpQvArudzeitfE252_e-FLWq7KIdzL_WI-m_DCmTxyQnz90aqL3i_fkn4YwyFiRHjNhTk/s1600/n4320.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 243px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLl2sT6t-Cgjx0oO3Hz9Y2eBz2Y-KTmq_jTuFUBiFKJKvQX0MZQLnC-0-fDMsXgBqV5tlu-cYpQvArudzeitfE252_e-FLWq7KIdzL_WI-m_DCmTxyQnz90aqL3i_fkn4YwyFiRHjNhTk/s400/n4320.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525382677443976146" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvu0J2ZNvN5oBrAEg5hcGVaLAsL6B-1PHqVJvpJmCelHUlZM-8-2uvW_iKvaM9NnyRPltMWL-rX-xoydShH3X1R1pbvMRHVnTAFNL0m9LrXlK3xIFdUpav8q99SaFWs2A5DayoR8cwMI/s1600/J.+Allen+St.+John+cover-8x6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvu0J2ZNvN5oBrAEg5hcGVaLAsL6B-1PHqVJvpJmCelHUlZM-8-2uvW_iKvaM9NnyRPltMWL-rX-xoydShH3X1R1pbvMRHVnTAFNL0m9LrXlK3xIFdUpav8q99SaFWs2A5DayoR8cwMI/s400/J.+Allen+St.+John+cover-8x6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525382951846579410" border="0" /></a><br />But... for a kids' show, it's still pretty freakin' cool, IMO. I usually try to scan the episode details for the week, and only DVR the ones that I think look like they might have a good pulpy storyline. After all, <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> gotta watch these things too, ya'know. LOL.<br /><br />Anyway, this particular ep looked like it would be a good one to record, and indeed it was (again, IMO). I mean, come'on... A Lost City! Leopardmen!! La!!! She was pretty downright devious too, and dig that totally bad@$$ (and way overpowered) staff she wields... niiiiiiiiiice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2OAT2plrPAjfYSQ6gcg_sFmVS8Eq8Smkj1F8s3uq37qCmsd5gCmuhEPaIC1_qmLVkGKQTri_2W_SOUQrk9yN2it0zvFQxlP3CsNsfiYKlJypGWDRN8s7dgGTN_-ebAeakzyPZlsgVF8/s1600/57.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2OAT2plrPAjfYSQ6gcg_sFmVS8Eq8Smkj1F8s3uq37qCmsd5gCmuhEPaIC1_qmLVkGKQTri_2W_SOUQrk9yN2it0zvFQxlP3CsNsfiYKlJypGWDRN8s7dgGTN_-ebAeakzyPZlsgVF8/s400/57.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525382079159001714" border="0" /></a><br />Anyway, here's the episode in 3 parts, in case you feel inclined to check it out:<br /><br /><br /><object width="400" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2-Uc4pXglhI?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2-Uc4pXglhI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="400" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vt-npGyryRI?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vt-npGyryRI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="400" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2WZzpdy-pXw?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2WZzpdy-pXw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />So, although it's not exactly this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GOMNF3O6YkZ6KRT8uTdwoZn2q_Igo8kyLIhzKviK9nYfixFXBewCj1wDceRtcyIiba_B3Mhr6KK1MDtN_jFXYW768H8es4uekxyOmwyh0mvlRqXRKbjQbA_SebuymAzNinRZFvtMoCE/s1600/lordofthejungle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 311px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GOMNF3O6YkZ6KRT8uTdwoZn2q_Igo8kyLIhzKviK9nYfixFXBewCj1wDceRtcyIiba_B3Mhr6KK1MDtN_jFXYW768H8es4uekxyOmwyh0mvlRqXRKbjQbA_SebuymAzNinRZFvtMoCE/s400/lordofthejungle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525384287012758770" border="0" /></a>... it's still pretty fun to watch... ya'know, for the sake of the children.yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-67677231929523713452010-10-01T16:49:00.009-04:002010-10-01T17:59:21.638-04:00Old school horror flicks on TCM this month, starting... TONIGHT!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77VSVtPODKQWRC-ztpTHXljGXqwffQR9HuS6HUSNMpxgMTXwIUIb8i_-crBZ5ML6X4WNwY0nmKh5YTb_d_NPtkQGB1Wkf7ig83yLFbZfWNuGSq246qwtyXlhsEBqKY2vTFZ62YcNV-YU/s1600/hammer-horror.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77VSVtPODKQWRC-ztpTHXljGXqwffQR9HuS6HUSNMpxgMTXwIUIb8i_-crBZ5ML6X4WNwY0nmKh5YTb_d_NPtkQGB1Wkf7ig83yLFbZfWNuGSq246qwtyXlhsEBqKY2vTFZ62YcNV-YU/s400/hammer-horror.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523195050947862098" border="0" /></a><br />DVR free space be damned! - <a href="http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=339818">TCM is showing some AWESOME old school horror flicks, every friday night this month (Oct)</a>.<br /><br />Included in the deal are some of my favorite films from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_Film_Productions"><span style="font-style: italic;">Hammer</span></a>. Those Brits picked up the American <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Monsters"><span style="font-style: italic;">Universal</span></a>'s torch and ran with it - after they formed an angry mob with the rest of the villagers and chased the monster to the old mill and burned it to the ground using said torch, that is.<br /><br />Anyway, here's tonight's offerings (EST):<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:courier new;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span>8:00 PM<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">....</span>Horror of Dracula (1958)</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:courier new;" ><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span>9:30 PM<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">....</span>The Brides Of Dracula (1960)</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:courier new;" ><br />11:00 PM<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">....</span>Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966)</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:courier new;" ><br />12:45 AM<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">....</span>Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1969)</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:courier new;" ><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span>2:30 AM<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">....</span>Psychomania (1973)</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:courier new;" ><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span>4:00 AM<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">....</span>Daughters of Satan (1972)</span><br /><br />Anyway, if you dig the old horror, especially Hammer flicks with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and the usual bevy of babes...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWki2pRE0lqIrEfM9ubWdlZWA3vto9AX-aGaZDc-vR9B7CjZYDTI7BzJuJT3g-7Uu1FbJj8gYU7VFAc_lx8NblkFVjfAYEQk0ttMQrzFyYnBt8-rRDB1fmr7VpKbRP424sNwsYrBLWc4/s1600/vampirelovers2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWWki2pRE0lqIrEfM9ubWdlZWA3vto9AX-aGaZDc-vR9B7CjZYDTI7BzJuJT3g-7Uu1FbJj8gYU7VFAc_lx8NblkFVjfAYEQk0ttMQrzFyYnBt8-rRDB1fmr7VpKbRP424sNwsYrBLWc4/s400/vampirelovers2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523195562386425074" border="0" /></a><br />...then you'll wanna tune in or at least DVR/Tivo them (possibly <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> to actually watch them via those recordings, like me... <span style="font-style: italic;">sometimes</span> ;^]).<br /><br />Oh, BTW, I have quite a few of these already on DVD, especially most of tonight's selections, but some of them coming later this month are not very easy to find on DVD, or so it seems. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060893/"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Reptile</span></a>, for one, is up next week, and I have NEVER seen it. I'm totally GEEKED to finally get the chance.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rVszBcy-gxQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rVszBcy-gxQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Same deal with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060841/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Plague of the Zombies</span></a>.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oynquOmh3SM?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oynquOmh3SM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />OK, put a stake in me... I'm done.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScvVUrP00EFgZOw9MJitQcgJY42vjooIaJahShXt3ew0ImqVLpxIANhPpzUetwwYznpKbzxZ5jkbNEw9vCu_hf6h5quh1h84UouevxhQ0WH2HhOFoPW3X2JOF5c4HxI0OyaXW2UyNqTg/s1600/dracula-has-risen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScvVUrP00EFgZOw9MJitQcgJY42vjooIaJahShXt3ew0ImqVLpxIANhPpzUetwwYznpKbzxZ5jkbNEw9vCu_hf6h5quh1h84UouevxhQ0WH2HhOFoPW3X2JOF5c4HxI0OyaXW2UyNqTg/s400/dracula-has-risen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523194964072555490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102); font-weight: bold;">"Aw, cripe!"</span><br /></div>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-73996740495497535112010-09-30T11:32:00.014-04:002010-09-30T13:18:48.321-04:00Bedrock as a sandbox? Or just a one-shot through Uncle Giggles' haunted house?First things, first: Happy 50th Anniversary to "the modern stone age family!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSuNl4eBd-snMC2zNlvStc2DyYh9SLKdM_0u2qju28xnTTE22EK8ZZq_drENdL-ir-lin23KN0Ta9TCC1SnnrjVZjU16kX9a0V7Md9a4xLR7WoIn-abBfgP8em3WhNZzyjCeJQJXPWLs/s1600/wallpaper-of-flintstones-lrg.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSuNl4eBd-snMC2zNlvStc2DyYh9SLKdM_0u2qju28xnTTE22EK8ZZq_drENdL-ir-lin23KN0Ta9TCC1SnnrjVZjU16kX9a0V7Md9a4xLR7WoIn-abBfgP8em3WhNZzyjCeJQJXPWLs/s400/wallpaper-of-flintstones-lrg.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522741534172358322" border="0" /></a><br />Yep, 50 years, folks. Wow! Or maybe more relevant: "Yabbbbbba Dabbbbbbba Dooooooo!" Now,<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstones">The Flintstones</a> may not be totally RPG/D&D/etc-related, or even really <span style="font-style: italic;">Back in '81</span>-ish (although I know for sure I was still watching them back then, everyday, after school, so we'll count it, right?<br /><br />Having some fun with the Flintstones thing this morning I couldn't help but think about Bedrock as a place for a group of adventurers to discover, or even to roleplay the main characters through some sort of scenario. There certainly were many episodes where we got to enjoy the <span style="font-style: italic;">adventures</span> of Fred & Barney. They were always getting themselves into some sort of trouble.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KlZKL3nfuxwsle2My4P6oJBoQjuBrT-J7qMLYa3kX7bFvf-KSbLAV4RQWND4cbK98M2T9Y2q_TsTVO-5CmIWmPTvlv3thJ5XFxoSWbNgcNwpDtyxNXUo9_BZgJAOk6NWEUeAK-GX0ik/s1600/The-Flintstones-Wallpaper-the-flintstones-3740555-1024-768.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KlZKL3nfuxwsle2My4P6oJBoQjuBrT-J7qMLYa3kX7bFvf-KSbLAV4RQWND4cbK98M2T9Y2q_TsTVO-5CmIWmPTvlv3thJ5XFxoSWbNgcNwpDtyxNXUo9_BZgJAOk6NWEUeAK-GX0ik/s400/The-Flintstones-Wallpaper-the-flintstones-3740555-1024-768.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522741678608014866" border="0" /></a><br />One in particular that makes me think RPG was the episode called "A Haunted House Is Not A Home." This creepy joint could make for some fun times in any sort of haunted house session - you pick the game/ruleset. I mean seriously, check out some of those traps to disable and dark rooms to explore. Also, dig that sweet "switchbladed" axe at the end of the clip - first it's a Hand Axe <span style="font-style: italic;">then</span> it's a Battle Axe!<br /><br /><object width="400" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oV7zo2Qthvc?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oV7zo2Qthvc?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />If that doesn't feel quite right, then maybe float the Lost World/Hollow World/Savage Worlds type of boat and either mix in the 'stones and some of their gadgets (i.e. artifacts?), or maybe just the setting of Bedrock itself. Sound crazy? Yeah. Stupid? Possibly. Fun? Who knows. I'd give it a whirl, just to find out. In fact maybe I'll have some Flintstones-inspired quick&EZ RPG fun with my kiddos later today. After all it is their anniversary, for <span style="font-style: italic;">Dino's</span> sake!<br /><br /><object width="400" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DINuAWoxy4Q?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DINuAWoxy4Q?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="385"></embed></object>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-82843044583565347762010-09-27T14:40:00.016-04:002010-09-27T17:14:42.512-04:00Brand new old school pulp tales 2-in-1: "I'd buy *that* for a dollar!"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfkzGUCwEml-1oVL_3iPEJdNw06sJbCjKmaJOSP2Bf08j9zv7c5zYNEbc3jLFJLiJT4PRdTPy2dqeI95CMthVr9cnl4Q5H6SP86LX620u-gxFvlf0aO0LKJRAulD8Dcbq0dMxXujFm8M/s1600/6a0105359929e6970c01157020a64f970b-320wi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfkzGUCwEml-1oVL_3iPEJdNw06sJbCjKmaJOSP2Bf08j9zv7c5zYNEbc3jLFJLiJT4PRdTPy2dqeI95CMthVr9cnl4Q5H6SP86LX620u-gxFvlf0aO0LKJRAulD8Dcbq0dMxXujFm8M/s400/6a0105359929e6970c01157020a64f970b-320wi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521689355964992450" border="0" /></a><br />Just a quickie here, because time is money... or money costs a lot of time... or ya can't buy good time for a nickel any more... or somethin' like that. Plus this little tale is actually about money... or at least <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> spending much of it.<br /><br />Anyway, my family and I hit the Halloween shop yesterday (after lunch, after church) and right next door to it is a <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.dollartree.com/home.jsp">Dollar Tree</a> store. So I made a quick stop to check the Star Wars action figs/cards/etc, 'cause sometimes they have some cool stuff in these joints.<br /><br />Now, in case you don't have them in your area, or if you've never heard of them before, the <span style="font-style: italic;">Dollar Tree</span> is just one of the myriad dollar-store chains that seem to be everywhere these days. This one in particular truly is "everything for a dollar" (not *everything* in one huge pile for only a dollar, but a dollar per item).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOePQZfAbi_tYt-6SQRtd1PasvToMYplj-GMFtB75fpt5MCqsdsJAkrDn-XHiCBiz5RTZalM1dhBemUlKszeL1FSV28cDj7bD0Pr-HrVtjsjnycEFaF7uLbG03_Hfc04oT_do4-8KShyphenhyphenw/s1600/dtree.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOePQZfAbi_tYt-6SQRtd1PasvToMYplj-GMFtB75fpt5MCqsdsJAkrDn-XHiCBiz5RTZalM1dhBemUlKszeL1FSV28cDj7bD0Pr-HrVtjsjnycEFaF7uLbG03_Hfc04oT_do4-8KShyphenhyphenw/s400/dtree.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521690133046266882" border="0" /></a><br />So... I check the toys section real quick (for my kiddos, of course, right?... yeah right - LOL) and see nothing really cool, so I turn back and take a gander in the books section. Now these are usually some <span style="font-style: italic;">pretttttttty</span> sucky offerings, ranging from cheesy knockoffs of legit characters/stories/etc to self-help/diet books and the like. But I did see a couple sci-fi/fantasy covers and authors (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Norton">Andre Norton</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Cook">Glen Cook</a>, etc) so I dug a little deeper in behind the mess on the shelf.<br /><br />That's when I saw this bad boy:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1r3ilRuvqbfTguyRr1XWMvoMQ7HxtZRHXCtAgynIg9KwNoyjh1bo685VsdEW7Ug6Gy9bdxzYo_VrAoNsR6sQG0Mu0HW8hYryDGfc8ZrtevZcg9NKEvT7I7cmStJTqF0_TtTGEMa9oHQ/s1600/IMG04168.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1r3ilRuvqbfTguyRr1XWMvoMQ7HxtZRHXCtAgynIg9KwNoyjh1bo685VsdEW7Ug6Gy9bdxzYo_VrAoNsR6sQG0Mu0HW8hYryDGfc8ZrtevZcg9NKEvT7I7cmStJTqF0_TtTGEMa9oHQ/s400/IMG04168.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521668958378607074" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">Slaves of the Laughing Death/Satan's Murder Machines</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"> - Some nice family reading time material, right?</span><br /></div><br /><br />Yep, two original <a href="http://thepulp.net/thespider.html">The Spider</a> stories in one paperback novel sized book. Sa-weeeeeeeeet! Now I'm not a HUGE Spider fan, as I haven't had a ton of experience with these stories. I am, however, a very BIG fan of pulp in general, especially the oldschool '30s/'40s stuff like <a href="http://thepulp.net/docsavage.html">Doc Savage</a>, <a href="http://thepulp.net/PulpWiki/wikka.php?wakka=AvengerThe">The Avenger</a>... even <a href="http://thepulp.net/theshadow.html">The Shadow</a>. I have far too many of the Bantam Doc Savage reprints to list here (most of those I actually only paid $1 each for too, but that's not a deal I can pass along like this Dollar Tree one), a dozen or so of the Warner Avenger books, and a handful of the Shadow books as well. I also have a small selection of the Nostalgia Ventures/Sanctum Books pulp-style magazine reprints that came out not too long ago, mostly of Doc. But I only have one, <span style="font-style: italic;">single-solitary</span> book/magazine reprint of The Spider, so this one I found yesterday was a rare gem to my cheap@$$ eyes. (We're talkin' <span style="font-style: italic;">Dollar Tree</span>, remember?)<br /><br />OK, back to this book: These are NOT the Pocket books rewritten/updated versions that came out in the '70s. Those had a whole new image and artwork, and new(er) cars/gadgets/etc. Don't get me wrong, I dig these types of Men's Adventure books/illos too, but when you're expecting a creepy '30s pulp dude, you don't really want to see a blonde Mack Bolan on the cover. Dig?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEsixLLjlXXOrr0iBA-2HhyphenhyphenkFZkrVn6EAuYsOkcHu9HHstJfHpfZ-X9Lw5dQoxbpAWEXT7HYc_7Sy-yHkDVr1Gtc4UOCVLQn5VV9i12gG4dgAavvpA9N-SnIbPXGAhkvX2PjpVqWWn-A/s1600/2514636505_2dc5e85cbe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEsixLLjlXXOrr0iBA-2HhyphenhyphenkFZkrVn6EAuYsOkcHu9HHstJfHpfZ-X9Lw5dQoxbpAWEXT7HYc_7Sy-yHkDVr1Gtc4UOCVLQn5VV9i12gG4dgAavvpA9N-SnIbPXGAhkvX2PjpVqWWn-A/s400/2514636505_2dc5e85cbe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521690418246429426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;">Yeah, *not* this.</span> </div><br />As far as I can tell these are the original stories, just reprinted in the '90s as doubles, in novel paperback form, not pulpish, trade paperback/magazine form. Here it is at <a href="http://www.vintagelibrary.com/pd.php?pcode=sp000006">The Vintage Library</a>. Browsing that site, it looks like I may have <span style="font-style: italic;">overpaid</span> for this little tome. Some of these are <a href="http://www.vintagelibrary.com/pd.php?pcode=spfree">FREE</a> there. Doh! - Of course there's that little thing of the $7.95 shipping (not sure if that applies to free stuff, but I suspect it does). Yeah, I'll just stick with the Dollar Tree for now.<br /><br />So of course I immediately (nearly) tore the place apart looking for more titles, as this is #6 in a series of these doubles, but sadly I didn't find any more. So I'll be hitting a few more locations near my home and near work, just in case there are any more treasures there just waiting for me to find. If you dig pulp, you may wish to do the same.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_eEESbI1tpjLnY5sZ_5DAKet9Qx_SsDDaPaZQJ-PxMmSHDs7dc5NUZn7jIjQP51g4UTl9G3tKtn_4lQ3cyAMvbv7KeKScvoj8pGA5V_6RCC1-ext8-oe9YKrwtgl5cpCuUSO8_r9fu1c/s1600/piratestories7.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 273px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_eEESbI1tpjLnY5sZ_5DAKet9Qx_SsDDaPaZQJ-PxMmSHDs7dc5NUZn7jIjQP51g4UTl9G3tKtn_4lQ3cyAMvbv7KeKScvoj8pGA5V_6RCC1-ext8-oe9YKrwtgl5cpCuUSO8_r9fu1c/s400/piratestories7.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521690745814241730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">Now get 'yer hands off me booty!</span><br /></div>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-3974797196316943262010-09-09T16:34:00.015-04:002010-09-09T17:54:09.712-04:00"I was falsely accused of a hideous crime... yada-yada-yada..."Am I the only one getting totally GEEKED about the new (old) show <a href="http://www.cwtv.com/shows/nikita/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Nikita</span></a>? Maybe. Still, be it a remake, a reboot, a reimagining, or even just a regurgitation, I'm usually always a sucker for this crap.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoP7NkY8Wjr44MfYFEz8SqsxIo_gS-AfYKwmaxBcR9p4tj9zztS9Aucm0SzOtF4FFQhIT316ntExanew5LCdfUhaD_VemJOS21ITK3bb7lC9ouTKWrLYZzNCcmylllDHz5ybAgQNbIA28/s1600/nikita-cw-600x250.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoP7NkY8Wjr44MfYFEz8SqsxIo_gS-AfYKwmaxBcR9p4tj9zztS9Aucm0SzOtF4FFQhIT316ntExanew5LCdfUhaD_VemJOS21ITK3bb7lC9ouTKWrLYZzNCcmylllDHz5ybAgQNbIA28/s400/nikita-cw-600x250.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515020988176095922" border="0" /></a><br />Now, I will admit that there really isn't much <span style="font-style: italic;">"Back in '81"-ish</span> about this show, BUT these types of shows and movies, when done right, <span style="font-style: italic;">can</span> take me back to the days, somewhere in '81-'86, sitting with some buddies around a kitchen table, with this rulebook,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlIE1IGPsoYwXZcKconYCkl6oZHsDUWrdc5qM6AhRDYXG2J8vLtp1a9wyaVZhb0gScnS2RNbQVm1vvbrBEBpNHW6Hyv9tPpwYjbkLmFqcw6JhEwS0ypRy7Bftknpz3vDN1llEKLen1rM/s1600/Top+Secret+RPG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlIE1IGPsoYwXZcKconYCkl6oZHsDUWrdc5qM6AhRDYXG2J8vLtp1a9wyaVZhb0gScnS2RNbQVm1vvbrBEBpNHW6Hyv9tPpwYjbkLmFqcw6JhEwS0ypRy7Bftknpz3vDN1llEKLen1rM/s400/Top+Secret+RPG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515021313725877458" border="0" /></a><br />and these dice,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVnZOpHIJSFxjRww2u2q-fiAedW5N9vqfk2vcSi_AF_YX2n97v8Fr5k_h3JCc8LRR0GrZpa9UDJmKP_w-FRJ2P7Q17u66oJk-DNnx8MIX-v78EuIOHxK2zYwspZxdGhLbX1yhDf71JWM/s1600/TS+percent+dice.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 147px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVnZOpHIJSFxjRww2u2q-fiAedW5N9vqfk2vcSi_AF_YX2n97v8Fr5k_h3JCc8LRR0GrZpa9UDJmKP_w-FRJ2P7Q17u66oJk-DNnx8MIX-v78EuIOHxK2zYwspZxdGhLbX1yhDf71JWM/s400/TS+percent+dice.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515029374070734978" border="0" /></a><br />playing through modules like this (or a totally ad-lib'd one),<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiSLBb-vkw60SBeHcNhcJY5HChIekFUyv7nb85nQaPMZ2-WOqLChiw6U_IJZ9fYiQYdlX-38doiZXTD7BxETUskW-4LMfqVG6WbDV8nXahZ-h2VJhNlvGri7f11Lb3FbQDVhaN4AA4kw/s1600/operation_rapidstrike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiSLBb-vkw60SBeHcNhcJY5HChIekFUyv7nb85nQaPMZ2-WOqLChiw6U_IJZ9fYiQYdlX-38doiZXTD7BxETUskW-4LMfqVG6WbDV8nXahZ-h2VJhNlvGri7f11Lb3FbQDVhaN4AA4kw/s400/operation_rapidstrike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515026969932117618" border="0" /></a><br />with slick, bad@$$ dudes and chicks like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0QirBD7qCkbucD9G4OanRPaKHbGm3Ueg6wiyiKPrOszToxxoKtFWc1g5hTuSBdwirTMKl5nfK_hx59XjYowGRPyCNFXmdvaGmdqlsQW9u-_oDPEtbQ_a6ewipP8Dz9mi8OI8vEvh0vkw/s1600/TS+dude+and+chick.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0QirBD7qCkbucD9G4OanRPaKHbGm3Ueg6wiyiKPrOszToxxoKtFWc1g5hTuSBdwirTMKl5nfK_hx59XjYowGRPyCNFXmdvaGmdqlsQW9u-_oDPEtbQ_a6ewipP8Dz9mi8OI8vEvh0vkw/s400/TS+dude+and+chick.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515028267227347010" border="0" /></a><br />See, I'm a HUGE fan of the late '90s (-early '00s) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Femme_Nikita_%28TV_series%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">La Femme Nikita</span></a>,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6E7D-_cq_Qm_1tDJN_Q3NF-dXSEsOpAzRs5erNCPRm23qJYkhgPp-JKJgY4FaLCV7eh1JvPb3gT7nHykV1XlZfJvx1tOEMeFOUwWJKco2kSy6BCr94l6dHAevWZVnBYjh7CtAbFgwseg/s1600/LFN+bw.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6E7D-_cq_Qm_1tDJN_Q3NF-dXSEsOpAzRs5erNCPRm23qJYkhgPp-JKJgY4FaLCV7eh1JvPb3gT7nHykV1XlZfJvx1tOEMeFOUwWJKco2kSy6BCr94l6dHAevWZVnBYjh7CtAbFgwseg/s400/LFN+bw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515031533396569650" border="0" /></a><br />the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_%28film%29">original French film</a>, subtitles and all,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRU9TtvEKdXYrBmiq3rYoOoLwovW1QfQ9M23rvTR0q9Qh7DFLQQ5kodVUrnzrbDrpmAMfqhRaPzaPfO86KAQshBPequ_3WzIYUFBLd45AGurgRnO5a9kHmdVN4A5tNpQR34tmUcD7sR8/s1600/French+Nikita.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRU9TtvEKdXYrBmiq3rYoOoLwovW1QfQ9M23rvTR0q9Qh7DFLQQ5kodVUrnzrbDrpmAMfqhRaPzaPfO86KAQshBPequ_3WzIYUFBLd45AGurgRnO5a9kHmdVN4A5tNpQR34tmUcD7sR8/s400/French+Nikita.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515031656727340274" border="0" /></a><br />and even the re...make with my girl Bridget (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_No_Return_%28film%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">Point of No Return</span></a>),<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVG9EXFy0QbR05DCoqAe-LNDLLVCaSB0jXyZy9MuWOpLCVACUMgqdb8n9QibDn0eXI9XR9I3EU0c3p8m_JdAfXpNe0RimyjI3cuNPtmc1RQ2PkNVFqOZH_yFH80RI6MuzbVHmcjPSrzm4/s1600/Fonda+Nikita.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 330px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVG9EXFy0QbR05DCoqAe-LNDLLVCaSB0jXyZy9MuWOpLCVACUMgqdb8n9QibDn0eXI9XR9I3EU0c3p8m_JdAfXpNe0RimyjI3cuNPtmc1RQ2PkNVFqOZH_yFH80RI6MuzbVHmcjPSrzm4/s400/Fonda+Nikita.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515031740874373522" border="0" /></a><br />... so this new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_%28TV_series%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">Nikita</span></a> might be a total suckfest, but I just HAVE to give it a shot. Tonight at 9 (EST), on The CW... we'll see. OK, now I'd better get back to Section, before they decide to cancel<span style="font-style: italic;"> me</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvU9KboRrf0ekhdbBKE-qcZQWt5v3MGa3MmLokO7w4R6GCfBswNKZIGYmkeJJeEqmE_Z5r0f05BqVT-u0Mvn_V0DnROpGDWNmxknycDutTHxA_OEsN0nIoovFNqU_g0AD70_LAHxn-gU/s1600/LFN+section.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvU9KboRrf0ekhdbBKE-qcZQWt5v3MGa3MmLokO7w4R6GCfBswNKZIGYmkeJJeEqmE_Z5r0f05BqVT-u0Mvn_V0DnROpGDWNmxknycDutTHxA_OEsN0nIoovFNqU_g0AD70_LAHxn-gU/s400/LFN+section.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515031811706519090" border="0" /></a>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-19778543788805002512010-08-25T13:03:00.016-04:002010-08-25T15:13:22.993-04:00"OK, now *these* are the droids we're looking for." - retro Star Wars night with the kiddos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAAZhGD3I3T4BaxoeULA1QSTn1NA02AduOVPFEoZS0rJLrONeZEnC5NeW-aMRyryPbpaLsjXx5KqfMd4ymE0SsPbtVyJmAwwX0d7dqocYFoQOcBPjZ4dwqMcm_csEjHRyCHNgU_MufwI/s1600/obi+droids.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAAZhGD3I3T4BaxoeULA1QSTn1NA02AduOVPFEoZS0rJLrONeZEnC5NeW-aMRyryPbpaLsjXx5KqfMd4ymE0SsPbtVyJmAwwX0d7dqocYFoQOcBPjZ4dwqMcm_csEjHRyCHNgU_MufwI/s400/obi+droids.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509427650172323746" border="0" /></a><br />OK, so I lied... <span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">a little</span></span>. Way <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2010/04/anyone-got-spare-raise-dead-blog-or.html">back in April, I noted</a> that it had been since <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2009/11/prisoner-in-rpg-form.html">way back in November</a> that I had blogged. I vowed to blog more, but I failed my <span style="font-style: italic;">save vs. (the_universe - this_blog)</span>. In other words, life has been so fun for me that I just haven't had much chance to get on here and talk about it.<br /><br />See, I've been very busy with family stuff, especially since it has been the summer, and my kiddos and my wife were on summer break. That means lots of time spent doing cool, fun, kiddo things with them. This is a good thing, BTW.<br /><br />Still, in keeping with some level of <a href="http://www.wired.com/geekdad/"><span style="font-style: italic;">geekdadliness</span></a>, I have continued to mix as much gaming, fantasy, sci-fi, etc as possible into many of our activities. So just recently I decided it was time (why did I wait so long?!?!?) to introduce my son to some <span style="font-style: italic;">real</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/">Star Wars</a>. See, he started getting interested in the animated <a href="http://www.starwars.com/theclonewars/">Clone Wars</a> stuff, which is pretty sweet in its own right, but I wanted to make sure he experienced the really-<span style="font-style: italic;">REALLY</span> cool stuff.<br /><br />So I got out the "original theatrical version" DVD of the beloved '77 gem:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0AeCn1H1uPa9ATkG0UYirxMrLopTia9OQnbTh3q5THwmK4RF6niBeBVzxYJWTcEDgooUiMU6X6yJxogPq1K5B60FWe94b0ImRNfgchx6nbPqnxwKEQp4rgyKaYYLFEzVM7px2apzqgO8/s1600/sw+anh+otv+dvd+cover.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0AeCn1H1uPa9ATkG0UYirxMrLopTia9OQnbTh3q5THwmK4RF6niBeBVzxYJWTcEDgooUiMU6X6yJxogPq1K5B60FWe94b0ImRNfgchx6nbPqnxwKEQp4rgyKaYYLFEzVM7px2apzqgO8/s400/sw+anh+otv+dvd+cover.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509407739401544338" border="0" /></a><br />Yeah, yeah... I know... there are <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_changes_in_Star_Wars_re-releases"><span style="font-style: italic;">numerous</span> "original" versions</a> which have been released, and this DVD one certainly isn't <span style="font-style: italic;">exactly</span> the way we saw it back in the day. But, as far as I know, it's the best we have as far as DVD format goes.<br /><br />Because of this, and for better aspect-ratio purposes, I <span style="font-style: italic;">almost </span>took 'em back to the VHS world. Maybe next time:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmKqrr5q4myP4fS7ycPHf4oeHjTBNDx2XBfyfIBxWl_3Rf4hTBq3tOJ7UYXVgBJ9ysyiv_zbKFA8FN6eQ0oBVUkdjntwC9r3LUTToabAH8H8Sa4JgzAvb6cTC-o1o1U0diDc1sZPO5gI/s1600/sw+anh+vhs+cover.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmKqrr5q4myP4fS7ycPHf4oeHjTBNDx2XBfyfIBxWl_3Rf4hTBq3tOJ7UYXVgBJ9ysyiv_zbKFA8FN6eQ0oBVUkdjntwC9r3LUTToabAH8H8Sa4JgzAvb6cTC-o1o1U0diDc1sZPO5gI/s400/sw+anh+vhs+cover.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509409778821596962" border="0" /></a><br />Certainly, it is pretty easy to fall into the trap of just watching the newer edited versions, which seem to be on SpikeTV every other week. However, my conscious just wouldn't be happy with that move. So we went back (pretty darn close) to the way <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> saw it, in a tiny two-screen cinema in my hometown, back in... err... '77.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjuMcChyphenhyphen2g2wH3Oj8WfepIafImuhYfXx8B_vfjXYKrqLMKMRb-Srsf7kwB_r8k6ZuTRh6xnmO8urpcRY2A9xZCzq_p599yjaTnKbC6IaiJwd2GSttgIAIeNCsR3pdGaz8cIS7jMFdl-E/s1600/star_wars_hildebrandt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjuMcChyphenhyphen2g2wH3Oj8WfepIafImuhYfXx8B_vfjXYKrqLMKMRb-Srsf7kwB_r8k6ZuTRh6xnmO8urpcRY2A9xZCzq_p599yjaTnKbC6IaiJwd2GSttgIAIeNCsR3pdGaz8cIS7jMFdl-E/s400/star_wars_hildebrandt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509405798045809170" border="0" /></a><br />You bet yer shaggy bantha-butt that my kiddos will know, without a doubt, that "Han shot first." Greedo's a punk!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqlaCYGgG_lyzgxogDAblzF_uVJfHQHYWY0JLHNuq86EVjfUDTI39i2G3uVrnrbutftzJnSxfktkZyUNFI_9-UtP3Phan-8SW-e_X_cYIlCmrHT-MakpQLokNXqWtMvXT3_dXmMFUmDw/s1600/greedo+cereal.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqlaCYGgG_lyzgxogDAblzF_uVJfHQHYWY0JLHNuq86EVjfUDTI39i2G3uVrnrbutftzJnSxfktkZyUNFI_9-UtP3Phan-8SW-e_X_cYIlCmrHT-MakpQLokNXqWtMvXT3_dXmMFUmDw/s400/greedo+cereal.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509415224808205314" border="0" /></a><br />Similar to good ol' Luke Starkiller... err, <span style="font-style: italic;">Skywalker</span>, my son skipped right past that silly "Jedi Youngling" stage. Lame title, anyway.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsKywjOut_fOiIhyphenhyphen4vAtVATyrIHvCxgqKmAR5w4wp1OkrS8Z53gpvDY8eZvjef4l3hAOxFc_V69wKS4Tq4AYdvtnnH7H1aXv1sX1UHCmglzGtpNgXt5pp0GLGytYZvnv9uYgQ9vQy52Y/s1600/IMG03499.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsKywjOut_fOiIhyphenhyphen4vAtVATyrIHvCxgqKmAR5w4wp1OkrS8Z53gpvDY8eZvjef4l3hAOxFc_V69wKS4Tq4AYdvtnnH7H1aXv1sX1UHCmglzGtpNgXt5pp0GLGytYZvnv9uYgQ9vQy52Y/s400/IMG03499.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509410043487514626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;">Darth Bobby - "The circle is now complete."</span> </div>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-30367264412971188252010-05-11T14:53:00.003-04:002010-05-11T14:56:50.153-04:00RIP, Frank Frazetta... and soar.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHuKe7ftqBDhov0M5gtNFAFN72Sncg-hKwol1B8tfGnFghGOROnsqNX_3buz42bhHO-qZfa2XdoIh6REFNLV2OhNF0LLOfhW-7kIZa5uQ5GobRPLZFIWXXA8YqTkrMAIagS708PQ3q14/s1600/Birdman_01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHuKe7ftqBDhov0M5gtNFAFN72Sncg-hKwol1B8tfGnFghGOROnsqNX_3buz42bhHO-qZfa2XdoIh6REFNLV2OhNF0LLOfhW-7kIZa5uQ5GobRPLZFIWXXA8YqTkrMAIagS708PQ3q14/s400/Birdman_01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470087743186822578" border="0" /></a><br />Simply amazing. My all-time fave fantasy/sci-fi artist. RIP.yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-79324925589721026112010-04-16T10:01:00.012-04:002010-05-11T15:43:58.402-04:00Anyone got a spare raise dead blog or resurrect site?... and maybe a few restorations while you're at it?<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-04pXNU-Te3yd6Rb2-E-YgO2GBDW2HEGuDXYCPOKk65o9BJ_7SQk8a6hbLGqnGd7WPAIFIUlhUToa_iu1fYF3OkiHfZkPMsbp_ZB2SA4bsqAIjeDkQ_X2Mf3h5NO4w6fwEbz7aV5BxEY/s1600/fallen.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-04pXNU-Te3yd6Rb2-E-YgO2GBDW2HEGuDXYCPOKk65o9BJ_7SQk8a6hbLGqnGd7WPAIFIUlhUToa_iu1fYF3OkiHfZkPMsbp_ZB2SA4bsqAIjeDkQ_X2Mf3h5NO4w6fwEbz7aV5BxEY/s320/fallen.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460771344222967698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"I've fallen... and I can't get up!"</span><br /></div><br />According to the historical log here, <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2009/11/prisoner-in-rpg-form.html">my last actual blog entry</a> was on waaaaaaaaayyy back on Friday, November 13, 2009. Yikes! There's no <span style="font-style: italic;">specific </span>reason for the downtime. Life just sorta got in the way somewhere along the line. I guess that happens every now and again.<br /><br />Then along came rpg blog vet (and one of my all time fave bloggers around these parts) Jeff Rients, from <a href="http://jrients.blogspot.com/">Jeff's Gameblog</a>. He sorta nudged my <span style="font-style: italic;">blog</span>-corpse a bit, in a comment response to a comment I made on <a href="http://jrients.blogspot.com/2010/03/images-from-gary-con-2.html">one of his recent posts</a>, basically pouring a virtual <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">potion of healing</span> down my <span style="font-style: italic;">blog</span>-gullet. So I guess I'll consider Jeff the group cleric in this one-shot here. I sure hope he's got the XP levels to pull this off. It's been so long though, that it might actually take a group effort. So gather around if ya would, please.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNofeK0AMwq-IPfUGhj6Je9lJkh0TKv9C9fckHegk9rIrZfWTEwIGaTK3HEYLe3ImxvA6MPeFcJhsjaiwAiSsYPiFCrQMi1_V8uYpVmbk6PfQ6dS-2eMPOHDARHuQltezroRuTwq0nDJY/s1600/healing+crew.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNofeK0AMwq-IPfUGhj6Je9lJkh0TKv9C9fckHegk9rIrZfWTEwIGaTK3HEYLe3ImxvA6MPeFcJhsjaiwAiSsYPiFCrQMi1_V8uYpVmbk6PfQ6dS-2eMPOHDARHuQltezroRuTwq0nDJY/s320/healing+crew.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460771819326286434" border="0" /></a><br />I hope to get back in the groove and post again here on some sorta consistent frequency. In the past I've gone from once every other week to a few times a day. We'll just have to see how it plays out I guess.<br /><br />Please <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">(limited) wish</span> me luck. With your blessings, I just might be able to get this blog back on it's feet.<br /><br />I'd really hate to have to resort to darker methods, ya'know?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyMeohB9mJqdBw52C6G-IgoaZ9thLcxvMHiFYQvMrEqNzw9ps2e3nmSdS-f5C4kmlXcNJfXlZsoEtwn2a28DA9ulRndExADU-gBipU2nx32xQiyr5RDRaspBVm_PbSZX47cAkvoZwz04/s1600/necrod.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyMeohB9mJqdBw52C6G-IgoaZ9thLcxvMHiFYQvMrEqNzw9ps2e3nmSdS-f5C4kmlXcNJfXlZsoEtwn2a28DA9ulRndExADU-gBipU2nx32xQiyr5RDRaspBVm_PbSZX47cAkvoZwz04/s320/necrod.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460771937424669922" border="0" /></a>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-54568347020675332782009-11-13T13:23:00.012-05:002009-11-13T14:04:05.425-05:00The Prisoner - in RPG form?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXmFpehQjwRaNMVagtxOS35bgBpWBqR-sK2s9heG-O4H5KAtN6xOg2tYVWkz_r6GKHvDGAZh3R8dkYis44I-kv_DLPsclrzoZpxPX4lcBYfX9HZV9xQkZyiDLjEYzKgFDADmViZJiAZs/s1600-h/prisoner_1-300x234.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXmFpehQjwRaNMVagtxOS35bgBpWBqR-sK2s9heG-O4H5KAtN6xOg2tYVWkz_r6GKHvDGAZh3R8dkYis44I-kv_DLPsclrzoZpxPX4lcBYfX9HZV9xQkZyiDLjEYzKgFDADmViZJiAZs/s320/prisoner_1-300x234.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403663398535986562" border="0" /></a><br />Ok, so I've been away for quite some time here. Just crazy times around here, with lots going on.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm <span id="profile_status"><span id="status_text">getting geared up for "The Prisoner" - AMC's reimagined miniseries version of the insane yet incredible late-'60s British TV series, which begins this Sunday night.</span></span> The original is one of my all time favorite TV shows. I'm a bit nervous about how this new take will turn out, but still I'm planning on watching it, and giving it the chance it deserves. Hope it rocks, actually.<br /><br />On that note, I started thinking about The Prisoner as an RPG. Was there ever such a thing? If so, how did I miss it? Have folks run their own take on it, just house-ruling stuff, using their favorite system(s)?<br /><br />I poked around briefly on teh interwebzz, and only saw <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Prisoner/">one official product</a> which was for the GURPS system.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdZmhPuhcg85vqwrpGnK1T8HA-M78jPjXeksre95GpeEKfhGpKXnsUuGih3yApaeBe7aqgzqG8BNu8YZbYd0Ami5PKT1sLTsfSOO5kU2zM77iZ2qgMqIYfBUsgNFGr0ammQFsv7RhKNM/s1600-h/GURPS+prisoner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdZmhPuhcg85vqwrpGnK1T8HA-M78jPjXeksre95GpeEKfhGpKXnsUuGih3yApaeBe7aqgzqG8BNu8YZbYd0Ami5PKT1sLTsfSOO5kU2zM77iZ2qgMqIYfBUsgNFGr0ammQFsv7RhKNM/s320/GURPS+prisoner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403663573467348322" border="0" /></a><br />Here is <a href="http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=28202">some discussion on the idea</a> in general at RPGnet forums, which actually includes some talk of the GURPS supplement.<br /><br />And here is the <a href="http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=1502">main review entry for it</a> (the GURPS one) over at RPGnet.<br /><br />I've never played GURPS. I do have one GURPS product - the Conan Solitaire Adventure, which I have yet to try. But other than that I never got into GURPS as a system. Anyone ever use this GURPS Prisoner product?<br /><br />Or even better, anyone ever run any other RPG, involving ol' Number 6?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBl2v4qEV2qthkNrqxm-5QztDK5y6E-7zjLT-Y36hn7PkVd-xYC2ESxLA_YE6hg51BiZMxdIdTp1TYUDyEFff6xLoQXjC0V-yP3L7Z9JiymAQJyHOoBd0LHt9PvNKJz9AKROyZJBLcRU/s1600-h/mcgoohan_prisoner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBl2v4qEV2qthkNrqxm-5QztDK5y6E-7zjLT-Y36hn7PkVd-xYC2ESxLA_YE6hg51BiZMxdIdTp1TYUDyEFff6xLoQXjC0V-yP3L7Z9JiymAQJyHOoBd0LHt9PvNKJz9AKROyZJBLcRU/s320/mcgoohan_prisoner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403663494975436354" border="0" /></a><br />I mean, the map/world is pretty well-defined already.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHo_p4Ru5KorUZSHaJ6dAyfohKqO8yvF06jF8YgeAms6eafFPOAENadufZVSTcN5BkF3tItBD_iPUQsJrD-Jvwc2moWsBcqINg_X9V9kt1JVQ-xw5zVF4SGqccCVVt4O_h7J76QcbdQI/s1600-h/village-map.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZHo_p4Ru5KorUZSHaJ6dAyfohKqO8yvF06jF8YgeAms6eafFPOAENadufZVSTcN5BkF3tItBD_iPUQsJrD-Jvwc2moWsBcqINg_X9V9kt1JVQ-xw5zVF4SGqccCVVt4O_h7J76QcbdQI/s320/village-map.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403663140832645266" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyW8v-LLxs96vtBjpHj08FiEVP-c515ch5aKc0abNdUns3EYmarTiJ84TisvXDuFB7yXGoVcGqGCifgHRA_unfXWQ5Pd2gGI10bbt8uyAybCW2zP4C9eBIVEio7Wlo9kZIeMWoqyeLww/s1600-h/map-1280.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyW8v-LLxs96vtBjpHj08FiEVP-c515ch5aKc0abNdUns3EYmarTiJ84TisvXDuFB7yXGoVcGqGCifgHRA_unfXWQ5Pd2gGI10bbt8uyAybCW2zP4C9eBIVEio7Wlo9kZIeMWoqyeLww/s320/map-1280.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403665179667632210" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I wonder what the stats on a rover might look like.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZNghfIlNI9OlVB5u9b401MmtckO2lEclnNAP9l89RO8mx4gzaU93HWbTxpE_1PRJpc6ZpkXvE2EtozmOXsI78Gphg-lt_vCijn0qyys2ySYM-Jk3YFci-coGtEC36_jerLz8qU1reCQ/s1600-h/rover2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZNghfIlNI9OlVB5u9b401MmtckO2lEclnNAP9l89RO8mx4gzaU93HWbTxpE_1PRJpc6ZpkXvE2EtozmOXsI78Gphg-lt_vCijn0qyys2ySYM-Jk3YFci-coGtEC36_jerLz8qU1reCQ/s320/rover2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403663309060231538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_THXLXhjjknzu10BxKfTcCu4X8AyfuE6Z7XO9L-Gl8z1gu3jU6ZJL95JrJPnII6LF8L53ReBLcJjnHWfodyTKm9X57Pxk5sZqRk3nUjhNO9ogux-MJG0byzowhvHN5AIMMo1BQNmXGMA/s1600-h/etouff.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_THXLXhjjknzu10BxKfTcCu4X8AyfuE6Z7XO9L-Gl8z1gu3jU6ZJL95JrJPnII6LF8L53ReBLcJjnHWfodyTKm9X57Pxk5sZqRk3nUjhNO9ogux-MJG0byzowhvHN5AIMMo1BQNmXGMA/s320/etouff.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403663222302447282" border="0" /></a><br />And man!, the NPCs are sa-weet! Plus they are pretty easily indexed...ha!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvfNFuWxjsTQyYoOT7kSa4cFUjJRs7RIenKdJPvjlxQWj6vRrXF6u_34R3P51B3DWLsyKlzjeG9lM8xk90HmS5D8Zf0wrXWpgkwuzetDZWaByapcb7RRYjw3SroFmw-5Tl6PGv-K17UQ/s1600-h/bcnu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvfNFuWxjsTQyYoOT7kSa4cFUjJRs7RIenKdJPvjlxQWj6vRrXF6u_34R3P51B3DWLsyKlzjeG9lM8xk90HmS5D8Zf0wrXWpgkwuzetDZWaByapcb7RRYjw3SroFmw-5Tl6PGv-K17UQ/s320/bcnu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403663036618214002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 51);" id="profile_status"><span id="status_text">"Be seeing you!"</span></span> </div>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-24968421114229110492009-09-18T17:26:00.014-04:002009-09-18T19:17:57.310-04:00Mismarked Gamescience dice: 1d6 = 1d4+1?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3IXKPd3agPwCTBRaXWDPFhyphenhyphennf9JITz726Stb0mE26MdoyrqnLW2MiRhPZr1Nr-DhTNBMv0vRO4l_ZBZIjjJttsHR5b-wxWjDh1QGh76ecH6g-Ak9JOr_MHBUH2VsdL2-D9m9qh6ew3M/s1600-h/question+dice.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3IXKPd3agPwCTBRaXWDPFhyphenhyphennf9JITz726Stb0mE26MdoyrqnLW2MiRhPZr1Nr-DhTNBMv0vRO4l_ZBZIjjJttsHR5b-wxWjDh1QGh76ecH6g-Ak9JOr_MHBUH2VsdL2-D9m9qh6ew3M/s320/question+dice.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382942855833238898" border="0" /></a><br />So, I recently added to my (embarrassingly too large) pile of <a href="http://www.gamescience.com/home">Gamescience dice</a>. I just can't help myself, really. It's quite sad.<br /><br />I snagged a few packs from a FLGS, as I noticed that they were new additions to the front counter glass showcase. I left the shop with a lighter wallet, but a heavier dice bag, as I just couldn't say no to any of these bad boys: all 7-dice poly sets in the colors Coal Black, Pumpkin Orange, Seashell White, and Peridot (gem).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZgp4ZpIYj0Du63cvSXBDu7-DYq0JFjdtwRm9QVyVh7HJHwtfsXfq2jYXSHymYxWfRe10E9T0zRyVnk_POrcDBksIaKH8UitNRMx9qE2xYpntrxLorixw1C8F9IPgTtkKOstpJtKHRjFY/s1600-h/GS+Coal+Black+set.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZgp4ZpIYj0Du63cvSXBDu7-DYq0JFjdtwRm9QVyVh7HJHwtfsXfq2jYXSHymYxWfRe10E9T0zRyVnk_POrcDBksIaKH8UitNRMx9qE2xYpntrxLorixw1C8F9IPgTtkKOstpJtKHRjFY/s320/GS+Coal+Black+set.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382933855232870482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7_BM95BzWsb7Y8DlT7NZ-d4hsJ_t60fifz4aW0W9gosbO_A1H0Vc23TNm_A4KPsKnc71dYBLeyXHl9Sq95e-1wmIZgvQmPQG8uiKwfFFA2UEYKbZGnNWvuwADCsjjYS1qgFlCTyoDtc/s1600-h/GS+Pumpkin+Orange+set.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7_BM95BzWsb7Y8DlT7NZ-d4hsJ_t60fifz4aW0W9gosbO_A1H0Vc23TNm_A4KPsKnc71dYBLeyXHl9Sq95e-1wmIZgvQmPQG8uiKwfFFA2UEYKbZGnNWvuwADCsjjYS1qgFlCTyoDtc/s320/GS+Pumpkin+Orange+set.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382933926191395250" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1TlTGNLOSyOWi9OOEgV41j6dOZ4gjhV4LmNrWB-yh0-MYHJ5cBzMz-TUJ1Mc0x2tYdc5c0jOFOo3OgEUxkkVTBtEB-hR6NMyMab7F2fRVidbKfn3UcB7aVPtP67zsRpPauEGPr8UJ-Kc/s1600-h/GS+Seashell+White+set.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1TlTGNLOSyOWi9OOEgV41j6dOZ4gjhV4LmNrWB-yh0-MYHJ5cBzMz-TUJ1Mc0x2tYdc5c0jOFOo3OgEUxkkVTBtEB-hR6NMyMab7F2fRVidbKfn3UcB7aVPtP67zsRpPauEGPr8UJ-Kc/s320/GS+Seashell+White+set.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382933283157890226" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWruj6hmwE1tO8UBKgoypLy1zzynWluhNTXTbQPYjxxresDyk4P6eUZEFYAYVYmFWJQVfOE40Yx6j27uMp_ixtpy2Oe6ZzIfyOOYPBzhj3E-D7pdoyUPDaQUMfcfcr4NY7kD1QYBllt6w/s1600-h/GS+Peridot+set.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWruj6hmwE1tO8UBKgoypLy1zzynWluhNTXTbQPYjxxresDyk4P6eUZEFYAYVYmFWJQVfOE40Yx6j27uMp_ixtpy2Oe6ZzIfyOOYPBzhj3E-D7pdoyUPDaQUMfcfcr4NY7kD1QYBllt6w/s320/GS+Peridot+set.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382934015110653442" border="0" /></a><br />When I got home, I promptly broke out the trusty Pilot ultra-fine black permanent marker and began inking them. BTW, for a real nice personal procedure on inking GS dice, check out <a href="http://jrients.blogspot.com/2009/08/inking-gamescience-dice.html">Jeff Rients' post on the subject</a>. Well except for the periodot (gem) set. That one was destined for the white paint pen treatment.<br /><br />Anyway, I usually set out the whole set and just go down the row, inking a single digit on a single die, and then moving on to the next in line, to allow the ink to dry on the previous die. For some strange reason this time I started with the seashell white set, and more specifically the 00-90 d10. I inked the whole die (mostly I guess because I had some downtime on that die, as I was playing a bit with my kids during the inking exercise) and then grabbed the d6.<br /><br />I spun it around, looking for my normal starting digit, the 1. Hhhmmn....where is that pesky loneliest number? Here? Nope Oh wait, here it is...nope. Hmmn...well, isn't it on the opposite side of the 6? Yeah, I think so. So where's the 6? Hhhmmn..... WTF?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzajND_fcO08fA9ty3KtDkRfxLycC4RV7BeTp1N7jFsnATwrjb2UFLpYnTdGjj6L1Oq1p3cDRtzELd64PqG_oxagc6qwIaadNXVVR303cOaUG-7McoX_6EeebAjuEFomvyUaTnP1gOPw/s1600-h/omg-wtf-cat-rubiks-cube.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 297px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzajND_fcO08fA9ty3KtDkRfxLycC4RV7BeTp1N7jFsnATwrjb2UFLpYnTdGjj6L1Oq1p3cDRtzELd64PqG_oxagc6qwIaadNXVVR303cOaUG-7McoX_6EeebAjuEFomvyUaTnP1gOPw/s320/omg-wtf-cat-rubiks-cube.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382949947425070210" border="0" /></a><br />Truth be told, it didn't take <span style="font-style: italic;">that </span>long to figure it out. But I must say I was a bit perplexed, as I have never had any issue with any Gamescience dice like this in the past. Upon further investigation (hehe), I noted that this d6 was numbered 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5. Weird.<br /><br />So it's not really a cheater dice (not that I would ever use such a vile thing!). I mean yeah, it will never role a measily 1 damage. Nor will it ever hinder the "3d6 in-order" hero creation process in the worst of ways. But...it also will never max out with max damage. Nor will it ever allow a natural 18 ability score (cuz we all normally get those all the time, right?).<br /><br />Weird, I say. Weird.<br /><br />Have any of you seen this kind of mismark? Especially on such a precision-heavy (wow, that sounds weirdly weighted) product as Gamescience dice?<br /><br />I know I haven't. I called the shop to let the owner know, and he said there would be no problem exchanging them. I say <span style="font-style: italic;">them</span>, because this was the case with the d6 in both the seashell white and the pumpin sets. The black set and the peridot set bot had normally marked d6s.<br /><br />I also informed the shop owner that the only issue I feared he may have with the return/exchange was the fact that I had already inked the 00-90 d10 in the white set, before I even noticed the flawed d6. He reassured me that he had no problem with it and he would take care of it for me, no questions. Coolness.<br /><br />I kinda wonder if he secretly has a <span style="font-style: italic;">role </span>in mind for the defective d6s. Maybe he's tired of doing the math on a 1d4+1. These bad boys look to be the perfect solution for that 2-5 range...in a mutant-bell-curve sorta way. Hhhmmnn......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0M1eFE79XL3Q5jZwJDyb7oX1mQo98yrr95P0XTXhJQKrJTQCv4UU9kZlJ89hXlckO3lpaqo1M3c06dV8Fv1QOXevFp8MGHMm79U5hjYUyuTinmJq1LeWmm9CHm-hNsd36aSKWXtiPFfo/s1600-h/dee+millingham+hhmmnnnnn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0M1eFE79XL3Q5jZwJDyb7oX1mQo98yrr95P0XTXhJQKrJTQCv4UU9kZlJ89hXlckO3lpaqo1M3c06dV8Fv1QOXevFp8MGHMm79U5hjYUyuTinmJq1LeWmm9CHm-hNsd36aSKWXtiPFfo/s320/dee+millingham+hhmmnnnnn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382945146499666946" border="0" /></a>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-1776225957020519982009-09-03T02:01:00.013-04:002009-09-03T03:13:25.037-04:00El Chupacabra found (again)? or just another hairless mutated coyote?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRJjwH6jXx4kJvFc44FEOxWCU9EfDNsmjW2USsg7yHG1ALLukY6OBTL3zcXsXI9K6U5nUifGbNhGz9cum01hzNzHcFSCv2MsEzNjibADmer0vruaeijlutx1ET-LG3-SSpVCge81kYF8/s1600-h/elchupacabra.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRJjwH6jXx4kJvFc44FEOxWCU9EfDNsmjW2USsg7yHG1ALLukY6OBTL3zcXsXI9K6U5nUifGbNhGz9cum01hzNzHcFSCv2MsEzNjibADmer0vruaeijlutx1ET-LG3-SSpVCge81kYF8/s320/elchupacabra.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377119889559289586" border="0" /></a><br />Looks like another <span style="font-style: italic;">el </span>Chupacabra has been found...allegedly. Weird how a single entity like <span style="font-style: italic;">the</span> Chupacabra can be found (dead) again, right?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXQxVpM4XSNRUAMkmEsl_K9xNne9vjmjG6RIHPAxcPu59HV87D99BJv6_2epIXTao5o9wAxs9XL1TSQBToalp0YGygT5N2k_4IHo2iaxAcHYolwcRMp54cHCODXq4HdYzZKCfUWh8v_o/s1600-h/chupacabra3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMXQxVpM4XSNRUAMkmEsl_K9xNne9vjmjG6RIHPAxcPu59HV87D99BJv6_2epIXTao5o9wAxs9XL1TSQBToalp0YGygT5N2k_4IHo2iaxAcHYolwcRMp54cHCODXq4HdYzZKCfUWh8v_o/s320/chupacabra3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377132807843789906" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">"Here goatie-goatie...here, goatie-goatie..."</span><br /></div><br />Anyway, here's the <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/09/chupacabra-found-and-stuffed-by-taxidermist-in-texas.html">news link</a> which provides the following pics and video of this poor pooch... errr... ferocious beast:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg1fYAQUCeh9gnoTh12SQXbL2UXnLzml8_wQPLT6WUCCDTzCPw87Ov0kOxoal-kh8qac16X6VUASyHXaFefQ2zS8OFlEUftRH_E0XmBXlbCaGT5ywqNSEWax24vnIBN8D1X4kStz7FQc/s1600-h/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a5995d69970c-800wi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg1fYAQUCeh9gnoTh12SQXbL2UXnLzml8_wQPLT6WUCCDTzCPw87Ov0kOxoal-kh8qac16X6VUASyHXaFefQ2zS8OFlEUftRH_E0XmBXlbCaGT5ywqNSEWax24vnIBN8D1X4kStz7FQc/s320/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a5995d69970c-800wi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377120033926816994" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSE7AEY8qcmu8s-aQCHCO7EJWU9OZbNG7Cq12mO5sM7-pXDMBEyAg8f4wfLYv2JcTybqdMFRtAMfBZ39a2jOsgbXuRzZ8V1ClmS80JFiiJukTgnm67II4PqPFL3caqiBVdRmNAZXmN-Y/s1600-h/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a5427ca0970b-800wi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 264px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSE7AEY8qcmu8s-aQCHCO7EJWU9OZbNG7Cq12mO5sM7-pXDMBEyAg8f4wfLYv2JcTybqdMFRtAMfBZ39a2jOsgbXuRzZ8V1ClmS80JFiiJukTgnm67II4PqPFL3caqiBVdRmNAZXmN-Y/s320/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a5427ca0970b-800wi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377119973719112706" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/O04hYpmOoiI&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/O04hYpmOoiI&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Well, it's certainly not the first time we've seen <a href="http://www.goblinoidgames.com/mutantfuture.htm">Mutant Future</a>-esque canines like this. In fact these seem to crop up all the time, but this one just cracked me up a little more than usual. <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295481,00.html">Here's another story</a> of some lady who found one of these close-shaven, anti-dentite doggies, pretty much exactly 2 years ago. Do you see a trend?<br /><br />That 2007 finding was blasted as a hoax (as it should be) in articles like <a href="http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0904-chupacabra.html">this one</a>. Ah well, good times regardless...ha!<br /><br />Somehow, I always pictured the grisly "goat-sucker" a little more...oh I dunno....<span style="font-style: italic;">scary</span>?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcx0AXg4lHny3mqFl1E4nQaN1HEB34AJZzypALMqF2N4fx-RpRX5TFDLiu-7wEkPQ3gRfxiAAKguR1wUcU1GldQdVxKTHhoL8kOf7GRN4ZtYM8qgHFVixZZCrKLNeUZj5s0fjTYO7-vCA/s1600-h/chupacabras-model.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcx0AXg4lHny3mqFl1E4nQaN1HEB34AJZzypALMqF2N4fx-RpRX5TFDLiu-7wEkPQ3gRfxiAAKguR1wUcU1GldQdVxKTHhoL8kOf7GRN4ZtYM8qgHFVixZZCrKLNeUZj5s0fjTYO7-vCA/s320/chupacabras-model.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377132719192733474" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"Grrrr....Arrrrggh!"</span> </div>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-14016930032951639272009-08-31T11:32:00.017-04:002009-09-01T11:12:00.662-04:00AD&D DMG Appendix P: ¿Como se huh?Never heard of it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WgON-yScYG8s151EeripbIOin6TBkPVgRRXa4247DGUbOhagB5icDeI_Zqm4AlWd2CXwyihma-dGuClRJfRrpOoKGWWFbWx2MIXQ1ZPM8-Na8I6e1Qv1Ct0fZpNoV9b1MCmA_D5sjD8/s1600-h/nerd+book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WgON-yScYG8s151EeripbIOin6TBkPVgRRXa4247DGUbOhagB5icDeI_Zqm4AlWd2CXwyihma-dGuClRJfRrpOoKGWWFbWx2MIXQ1ZPM8-Na8I6e1Qv1Ct0fZpNoV9b1MCmA_D5sjD8/s320/nerd+book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376253342481498706" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">"let's see...Appendix L, M, N, O....."</span><br /></div><br />Until this past weekend, that is.<br /><br />I was poking around locally last week for some B/X D&D to either join or start if need be, but really had no takers. I then decided to add 1st edition AD&D as a possible option too. That's when I got a bite. The local D&D Meetup around these parts seems to pull in mostly 3.5 and 4e players. I have met up with them at a couple past meetups and played 4e at both of those with other members of the meetup crew.<br /><br />The <span style="font-style: italic;">bite </span>came from one of the organizers of that meetup. He invited me to join their existing 1st edition AD&D game that gets together somewhat irregularly, which actually is a bonus for me. I'm already committed to one weekly gaming night, and I can't add another strict commitment to my calendar. So an <span style="font-style: italic;">irregular </span>hookup for some 1st ed AD&D sounded very cool to me.<br /><br />I was informed that the party consisted of 2 rangers (one of them multiclassed as a cleric), a fighter, a thief, and an every-once-in-a-while cleric. They would appreciate another caster, but I could play anything I wanted. I went with magic-user. I don't think I ever played one in 1st edition AD&D, so that would be fun.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVr-oM6IkNQ7bhewFSIw5GIYxTMwETpHKqNao_ggxW2HA18WpGgBUVwiWL5V7IN5M0klh641PIfH9DHZ5y7kMqN4YklrjewpZTrLMjNq8ripFMG4MjMyytrXSkSGF9CVNw1Z-COTm7AaY/s1600-h/magic-user.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 153px; height: 193px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVr-oM6IkNQ7bhewFSIw5GIYxTMwETpHKqNao_ggxW2HA18WpGgBUVwiWL5V7IN5M0klh641PIfH9DHZ5y7kMqN4YklrjewpZTrLMjNq8ripFMG4MjMyytrXSkSGF9CVNw1Z-COTm7AaY/s320/magic-user.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376251454457611202" border="0" /></a>I was told to that I could roll up a 5th level character either prior to the session or when I got there. This is where I was directed to Appendix P of the DMG. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"Appendix P? WTF is that?"</span><br /><br />Well, I haven't played in a true tabletop PnP 1st edition AD&D game since somewhere in the mid '80s. I'd say probably during the 1983-85 timeframe. That campaign was highly homebrewed, mixing in some B/X, some AD&D, and some of whatever our DM wanted. It was a blast back then, but it could possibly cause me some issues jumping into an existing game like this new one.<br /><br />Now, I do occasionally play in a 2nd edition AD&D game, online using a chatroom with a built-in voice program, with some friends of mine around the country. We all met playing DDO (the D&D MMO) and make use of it's chat/voice/dice functions to play every few months. That game, however is <span style="font-style: italic;">very </span>homebrewed, as the world, races, classes, etc have been customized if not altogether created from scratch in many ways. It's been a ton of fun and I should write a post about it soon as well.<br /><br />At any rate, the point is I was a little out of touch with 1st ed AD&D, by-the-book.<br /><br />So, I pulled out the old DMG and looked for Appendix P, whatever that is. If you don't know (you all probably do, but still) it's a quick way of creating a level X character or party. In fact it is officially stated as <span style="font-weight: bold;">APPENDIX P: CREATING A PARTY ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT</span>. You still roll 4d6, drop the lowest for abilities, arrange as you like, pick a class/race, adjust based on that if able, and then the fun comes in. You get to roll for magic items!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGHdmFuQ8fU4VUmvRQT2Eg6Yk2RimMnlqdkZt42QezKHRDGT856xZmIvJMSr107OD_jk6AEmTFdcAmJqK8_H5awmNfcqy5geOA_cGVqNzjR7CmHU9aekM-Qm4GZccmPm1Ecz8IQ-NPnk/s1600-h/loot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGHdmFuQ8fU4VUmvRQT2Eg6Yk2RimMnlqdkZt42QezKHRDGT856xZmIvJMSr107OD_jk6AEmTFdcAmJqK8_H5awmNfcqy5geOA_cGVqNzjR7CmHU9aekM-Qm4GZccmPm1Ecz8IQ-NPnk/s320/loot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376251617944199762" border="0" /></a><br />Seeing how my new M-U was 5th level, it is presumed that he may have come across some sweet loot in his 5 levels of smoothness. So I rolled the bones and got tons of cool stuff, right? Wrong. I will say that I felt very blessed to have rolled very good on the Ring of Protection in the armor section, as having succeeded on the initial roll (75% chance) to see if I got one, I also rolled good enough to bump it to a +2. That was a measily %5 chance, IIRC. Yay, me!<br /><br />But sadly, that's where the yay ends. I did not get bracers (20% shot). No scrolls (75%). No weapons (75% for a +1 dagger). Not even a single freakin' potion (50%). Ah well, +2 Ring of Protection it is.<br /><br />Now I understand that this method of generating a level X character isn't some massivively amazing finding, but it was something that I missed in all the years of owning a 1st ed DMG, and I think I got mine back in '81. Imagine that. Ok, maybe '82, but that kinda ruins the vibe, right?<br /><br />Anyway, on to the play session...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgws_hu_CxewBud_RaD7jl2zgnIgeoOsftjQh9Mnf2RcHeAbnwUr_OwmkTMVQbUVTgMG-W6aL25DS3eAA4F_ocef8EKkIQ5iXWXCU5d0oYfGygWSo6EpxSePg5ynQuLIzyCm39jQxb4og/s1600-h/sheet+dice+and+dm+screen+50+IMG00940.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgws_hu_CxewBud_RaD7jl2zgnIgeoOsftjQh9Mnf2RcHeAbnwUr_OwmkTMVQbUVTgMG-W6aL25DS3eAA4F_ocef8EKkIQ5iXWXCU5d0oYfGygWSo6EpxSePg5ynQuLIzyCm39jQxb4og/s320/sheet+dice+and+dm+screen+50+IMG00940.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376257218955351106" border="0" /></a><br />The group was very friendly, very helpful, and very open to me jumping into their group, even it might be with very sporadic frequency. My character found employment with them while hanging out in a local tavern. Crazy, right? Skipping right along, off we went on a journey together.<br /><br />I won't go all into the story, but I will tell you that the first day of adventuring was pretty hilarious. Reason I say that is the only spell-casting the party ever saw me do during that first day (and that's questionable if they actually saw me do it or not) was one <span style="font-style: italic;">shield </span>spell. Ya' see the problem was that I memorized sleep (x2), shield (x2), web (x2), and a fireball. Sounded pretty good to me. Sadly, things didn't quite gel with that spell array. For one, the DM had originally (and admittedly) created this romp with no caster in mind, so many of the baddies were either immune or highly resistant to these selections. We faced zombies (they don't <span style="font-style: italic;">sleep </span>very well), hell hounds (hit dice to high, and the whole flaming thing), a door mimic (again with the high HD, etc), more zombies, a few crab-like creatures with tentacles? (drawing a blank here and at work without my books to help me out - I'll find them and edit the post), more hell hounds, and finally a pair of Bone devils, IIRC (waaaaay to high HD, not to mention magic resistance).<br /><br />Actually the last few there were in day 2 of the adventuring. Seeing how I was pretty useless with my original selection, I memorized a slightly different batch for that day's work. I went with one sleep ('cause, well, it's still sleep for Pete's sake), one shield (still a bit of a wuss M-U, and the AC bump is nice), one web (again, maybe they'll let me use it at least once, even if it's to help in our escape from the place), but threw in magic missle (x2), one ray of enfeeblement, and one lightning bolt. I was gambling that the fire-based baddies would continue to pop up, and maybe lightning would harm them better, and magic missle would be good for just about anything.<br /><br />See, I originally went with a more controlling approach to my magic-user, making him lawful neutral and RPing him a little on the "there must be order in this crazy world", "I'll put you where I want you and keep you there", stuff like that. Well, the party was kinda used to a little more of an offensive night out, and they must have had some bad experience with web before, as they really didn't want me to cast that...ha!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2j5Ss_lS6eNIRm2lo7yZUz7_mrjyNC56OMvts3mZvUmYoBmQrYZBbBETXLU5Dzke6dcK0J_TEdtBCQ5qVBy8wKQwgjFUJG4ufL39XYd0MjEhD0Z6qSWmV1dOvdmq41NIcevzCFUZbaX8/s1600-h/a2_cobwebs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 317px; height: 107px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2j5Ss_lS6eNIRm2lo7yZUz7_mrjyNC56OMvts3mZvUmYoBmQrYZBbBETXLU5Dzke6dcK0J_TEdtBCQ5qVBy8wKQwgjFUJG4ufL39XYd0MjEhD0Z6qSWmV1dOvdmq41NIcevzCFUZbaX8/s320/a2_cobwebs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376249235297016930" border="0" /></a>They were basically all frontline fighters (save the thief, who tried to do his thieving tasks and then get the heck back - smart man), so firing offensive spells into the mix was very risky. The melee folks dished out a real nice wallop when needed, and actually for most of the encounters they really didn't have much trouble. Fire damage from the hell hounds' breath weapon attack was probably the most trouble early on. The mimic was a little touchy as he grabbed the thief during his find/remove traps and open locks checks on the door. Still, not too bad of a fight for the rest of the thugs in our party. The zombies were a pushover for our cleric/ranger, even though they did come back from <span style="font-style: italic;">turning </span>quite quickly.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmuiPOB7fY4OY5S_rAXUK4Uzqjz6kQS-DxwMKbNMeSUXC38GmerF_nHH8nCp21TDp3PZCJ8ofn_RZv8p-1mFzvdUpDmGUODxgvOyklXwkreDMVYcYO0ytAIUBGNYWfrOlhVLeLQeCoHY/s1600-h/zombies+50+IMG00935.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmuiPOB7fY4OY5S_rAXUK4Uzqjz6kQS-DxwMKbNMeSUXC38GmerF_nHH8nCp21TDp3PZCJ8ofn_RZv8p-1mFzvdUpDmGUODxgvOyklXwkreDMVYcYO0ytAIUBGNYWfrOlhVLeLQeCoHY/s320/zombies+50+IMG00935.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376257147195098610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Turned, and returned. Screw it, just waste 'em.</span><br /></div><br />There was a clue to the last fight, that I guess my character was supposed to pick up on. Although in this case, it would seem that I the player would have to pick up on it, using some knowledge that I just don't have: a symbol for sulfur. Originally, the party thought it was a directional, as it did look a bit like an arrow pointing which way to go. However, I was later told by the DM that my character recognizes it as a symbol for sulfur. Ok, well we had been discussing salt, and how it might affect certain creatures (undead?), but still none of us had any on us. I recalled some bags and boxes that we had not checked yet in some rooms earlier in the crawl. In the end, we were told that that mark also symbolizes demon or devil. I'm not sure if I was supposed to have known that or surmised it, but if I had we might have known what was luring behind that final doorway. Ah well.<br /><br />Regardless, I was still having a blast playing with them, even though they were worried that I was bored, as I hadn't really been able to contribute much. The thief actually RP'd some <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">"I'm beginning to wonder if we really </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">did </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">hire </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">a wizard."</span> To which my guy replied <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;">"well I have this pointy hat, these robes, and this staff...isn't that the right getup?"</span> (muttering <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 255); font-weight: bold;">"that costume shop back in town better not have steered me wrong..."</span>)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DVQbleKxjdtIb32G8RMQf97NTZGvcOWAJa95gBJpXPTTWUf6cyFoQqn5E1N8a-vsuBP4ngJYQ-rLgG9LRjiRW0qoAXNmJlhIS_xvsQt-l9fUPDbsVVBvsZrfjVz5_VYWkK58-B3IWx0/s1600-h/t1_burnerufus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DVQbleKxjdtIb32G8RMQf97NTZGvcOWAJa95gBJpXPTTWUf6cyFoQqn5E1N8a-vsuBP4ngJYQ-rLgG9LRjiRW0qoAXNmJlhIS_xvsQt-l9fUPDbsVVBvsZrfjVz5_VYWkK58-B3IWx0/s320/t1_burnerufus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376249478881590450" border="0" /></a><br />My big, bright shining moment came (or would have came) when we reached the big bad devils. I could be wrong on the type of devil, I just recall the size, the hooked weapon, the wall-of-ice (I'll get to that), etc...so I'm thinking they were Bone Devils. Anyway, they had just <span style="font-style: italic;">suggested </span>(possibly part of their <span style="font-style: italic;">fear </span>attack?) our main damage dealer into joining their team or at least siding with them to some degree, and <span style="font-style: italic;">feared </span>our other frontliner (who also happened to be our healer - multiclassed cleric/ranger) into running away. So that left our thief, who doesn't dig the up-close-and-personal, another party member PC who was basically mapping for us as an intern (ha!), and me the wuss magic-user. Well, I got an idea. They were basically lined up for me, one in the doorway and the other back inside the room a bit, with a nice wall right behind him. So I let loose a <span style="font-style: italic;">lightning bolt</span> hoping to hit one, then the next, then the back wall them back through those two again for max damage (60 hp to each of them), of course, right? RIGHT?!?!?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvjVPmuNsJFsW4d_7XyqD-gMKJfaYfS6wJhmQZT9l1aQf2wYgK7S4u88_tNTslm8QyGgVbA8ApnX9ZV7eqfzJjQXrlxn2_2Ej5QuziIIlIovd0onBixpjgAPbJPEs-iJELwJ5OV0mIBg/s1600-h/passwall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 88px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvjVPmuNsJFsW4d_7XyqD-gMKJfaYfS6wJhmQZT9l1aQf2wYgK7S4u88_tNTslm8QyGgVbA8ApnX9ZV7eqfzJjQXrlxn2_2Ej5QuziIIlIovd0onBixpjgAPbJPEs-iJELwJ5OV0mIBg/s320/passwall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376249530026657298" border="0" /></a><br />Everyone was geeked for this uber spell to save the day. I rolled those 5d6 down through the old dice boot/tower, and stared down at a whopping 13 damage....ugh. Ah well, 26 hp to each of them with that backlash double strike would still be ok. Certainly they would both fail their saves and had no magic resistance to speak of, right? RIGHT?!?!?!? Well they both saved, both times, and even with half damage, their 40% MR basically said...nope, sorry, try again sir. Sadly that was the only shot I had, with only one level 3 spell in the aresnal.<br /><br />There went my shining moment. The only good thing to come out of the attempt was that the thief became a believer. He witnessed electricity arch from my fingertips and blast across the room. Ok, so it didn't seem to do anything to the big baddies, at least he felt confident in his hiring procedures, believing me to at least be the magic-user I claimed to be. I think.<br /><br />At this point our main frontliner shook off the <span style="font-style: italic;">suggestion/fear</span> so she started to engage them, along with the thief. Yes, I said the thief. See, he happened to notice that the fleeing cleric/ranger dropped his nice sunblade when he decided to run away. This looked like a nice choice for a weapon (shortsword, IIRC), so he decided to demo it on these devils. I readied a <span style="font-style: italic;">magic missle</span> (well, 3 missles actually, being 5th level), and was about to let them fly, when the devils threw up a wall of ice on the doorway, blocking me out and our fighter and our thief in. The good guys put the fatal smack down on the baddies, with the thief stealing a 1 hp kill shot on the last one...ha! Awesome, but that's kinda what a thief does...steals. Our intern cartographer had tackled our cleric/ranger to hold him down until he shook the <span style="font-style: italic;">fear </span>effect, and we all began picking away at the wall of ice. Man, sure could use a <span style="font-style: italic;">fireball </span>right about now. Ugh.<br /><br />In summary, I had a blast! It has been far too long since I've played 1st edition, especially in person, across the table from the rest of the crew. Even though my magic-user was fairly useless this time around, I still had a ton of fun, and I really appreciate the gaming group for allowing me to join them. It turns out that they actually try to meet up more frequently than I can commit to, but they often have issues with that anyway, as others in the group have other RL conflicts too. Hopefully I can join them at least once a month dust off the old books, as well as the old skills, all from back in .... errr ... close enough.yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6564695407408502795.post-31901648126460639882009-08-26T15:33:00.020-04:002009-08-27T10:29:42.997-04:00Dunwich Detectives, Call of Cthulhu Minions, and other loot: I am sooooo weak!Oh dear. Oh deaaarrr! I told you I was weak. I knew it would happen. It happened.<br /><br />When I <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2009/08/call-of-cthulhu-rpg-andor-arkham-horror.html">recently asked for some input on Call of Cthulhu the RPG vs Arkham Horror the board game</a> for a gaming purchase by yours truly, I fully called it. I said that I was very weak, and if I came across some good deals on any of this stuff that I would cave. Well I did, and I did.<br /><br />I initially held off on the quick impulse buy for the one night alone at home that I was going to have, sans family, and <a href="http://backin81.blogspot.com/2009/08/call-of-cthulhu-dvd-some-silent-movie.html">decided to watch The Call of Cthulhu silent film</a> by the HPLHS. That was very cool and was enough for me to make it through without buying anything for that activity. Good deal.<br /><br />But, two days later on the return trip from the weekend getaway where I met up with my family after the night home alone, I stopped at an LGS on the way home. Well, I guess it's not really an LGS as it's not local to my home. But since it's local to where I was during my trip, we'll leave it at that.<br /><br />Anyway, when I asked if they had any CoC stuff, they informed me that they had the rulebook but that was it. So I snagged that:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Call of Cthulhu (6th ed)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyx84uAQUnrBXiTIdg-3dt1fDdsvHhcV4emZI3IvxXbpjiNiW2Ugrl4RQnJJtS0h73u7_4kLG0Lj_fAKcDlflYgo4tjQSCsMEWanfYSOWm_iMoq69cQfd8hf06tHQdg1j2qx8701YodEw/s1600-h/CoC+6th+ed+book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyx84uAQUnrBXiTIdg-3dt1fDdsvHhcV4emZI3IvxXbpjiNiW2Ugrl4RQnJJtS0h73u7_4kLG0Lj_fAKcDlflYgo4tjQSCsMEWanfYSOWm_iMoq69cQfd8hf06tHQdg1j2qx8701YodEw/s320/CoC+6th+ed+book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374372798900685154" border="0" /></a><br />So that's it, eh? That's all they had? Nope. When I hit the shelves looking for anything else that might catch my eye I found these awesome little dudes:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Dunwich Detectives</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ae-y-QJx82yhr9wzWmloZnxOzC-MRx6PxNgvaEf60ntDw7EmntbQr4dyHVbkFqlbu9aAMR0vY5Bmc48DvptCgrk6LGWyEP1DqYNLz_XrowUsRi4GhzNtyz1V7Km2a-r3dCmVYIEi0FU/s1600-h/Dunwich+Detectives+box+45+IMGP2411.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ae-y-QJx82yhr9wzWmloZnxOzC-MRx6PxNgvaEf60ntDw7EmntbQr4dyHVbkFqlbu9aAMR0vY5Bmc48DvptCgrk6LGWyEP1DqYNLz_XrowUsRi4GhzNtyz1V7Km2a-r3dCmVYIEi0FU/s320/Dunwich+Detectives+box+45+IMGP2411.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374372955225314706" border="0" /></a><br />...and this collection of brief encounters:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Minions</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6pIBXSnFQVcWlGrJeaYfg7KPNFvhJIP8pw3vnbacLkE5n2fsHbC4qEFDq2FZwB_l7M8vcZ4aB0VPRvP8rYgphTbNqhLpP7u1o-765JBDskXNelFrCqLvhuDK6tI-QcUPoSwkT88cLag/s1600-h/CoC+minions.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6pIBXSnFQVcWlGrJeaYfg7KPNFvhJIP8pw3vnbacLkE5n2fsHbC4qEFDq2FZwB_l7M8vcZ4aB0VPRvP8rYgphTbNqhLpP7u1o-765JBDskXNelFrCqLvhuDK6tI-QcUPoSwkT88cLag/s320/CoC+minions.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374373026738951826" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">bad flash...bad!</span><br /></div><br />...and these additional supplements:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Keeper's Companion 2</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdSSQwhEPmVzWQXzv9xjGZ5SW5FWs9M3H-js3JpiRCnMtG514k_SyVZskr0vfpceDiv5MOxP_RP-aTHiXjQDeszX_lrYT54uE0Us57uMlaMTTGJ76H_a4fACwKiEftb_8pczPiK6-siDc/s1600-h/CoC+Keepers+Companion+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdSSQwhEPmVzWQXzv9xjGZ5SW5FWs9M3H-js3JpiRCnMtG514k_SyVZskr0vfpceDiv5MOxP_RP-aTHiXjQDeszX_lrYT54uE0Us57uMlaMTTGJ76H_a4fACwKiEftb_8pczPiK6-siDc/s320/CoC+Keepers+Companion+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374373147176577490" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Secrets of New York</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NoSlhkWqXA8nGMupdLVYEO2714u-quYC09Uf7iRd3DTFjp0M3mB7XSROl2gXOg_xK2FI8HC5f7HNrvqppaJiwTYmMCSse63tKQFReGMUqWq3VpfTwashtEIkU3OpXdOnr10LFXe38p4/s1600-h/CoC+Secrets+of+NY.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NoSlhkWqXA8nGMupdLVYEO2714u-quYC09Uf7iRd3DTFjp0M3mB7XSROl2gXOg_xK2FI8HC5f7HNrvqppaJiwTYmMCSse63tKQFReGMUqWq3VpfTwashtEIkU3OpXdOnr10LFXe38p4/s320/CoC+Secrets+of+NY.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374373089544495954" border="0" /></a><br />Then I saw the clearance section, which housed these two gems:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Eldritch Horrors & Occult Investigators counter pack</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxid4R5hyphenhyphensT9CTkWDRLCgitTV6V61-mMLZqYzpikg-Hjms7P2poStLfMH8yDJUr6kxxRBIxy5Omso5GneX8JTS9NA6hCl-6sW53wDhzOpQWEVv1idQ4Wi5vWsazLTjnxU1oFbrFwdZmI/s1600-h/Edritch+Horrors+counter+pack.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxid4R5hyphenhyphensT9CTkWDRLCgitTV6V61-mMLZqYzpikg-Hjms7P2poStLfMH8yDJUr6kxxRBIxy5Omso5GneX8JTS9NA6hCl-6sW53wDhzOpQWEVv1idQ4Wi5vWsazLTjnxU1oFbrFwdZmI/s320/Edritch+Horrors+counter+pack.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374383190170999218" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Elric! Gamemaster Screen</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitv2cPKVzXE4MwAs7AyRvoXZhMt3wlx47eW1dasVn24aUjjGvpWPglq2RlcshwzWXX8kSmFhzRhfA_OiaoBoiy2u6YFaieyhei-0xhfBzjX8SLPSahHNrEExqgKRTqJP5xyKb_2SMkmTY/s1600-h/Elric+GM+screen+45+IMGP2414.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitv2cPKVzXE4MwAs7AyRvoXZhMt3wlx47eW1dasVn24aUjjGvpWPglq2RlcshwzWXX8kSmFhzRhfA_OiaoBoiy2u6YFaieyhei-0xhfBzjX8SLPSahHNrEExqgKRTqJP5xyKb_2SMkmTY/s320/Elric+GM+screen+45+IMGP2414.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374373221326793154" border="0" /></a><br />I also couldn't make it past the dice section where I noticed the sole 12-pc Gamescience set, which although highly overpriced (IMO) was still worth grabbing as I have always wanted a full 12-pc set of these. I have several 7-pc sets of Gamescience dice, both opaque and gem styles, but I have yet to find locally one of the 12-pc sets. So I snagged it too.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Gamescience 12-pc dice set</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlgo3YgDKJczsmilT9K72_LRpXNYyIJvFpY1ymZQJg28aoy5GVuHTXgT09HjzGdw84n6fB6bjo6VfrZbs11eh6Cr5C-o4dlatJTNes5UvfyfK5O9kyNGfjnyZou8hJLvw0ewDXhfjKjU/s1600-h/GS+12+pc+emerald+dice+set+40+IMGP2413.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlgo3YgDKJczsmilT9K72_LRpXNYyIJvFpY1ymZQJg28aoy5GVuHTXgT09HjzGdw84n6fB6bjo6VfrZbs11eh6Cr5C-o4dlatJTNes5UvfyfK5O9kyNGfjnyZou8hJLvw0ewDXhfjKjU/s320/GS+12+pc+emerald+dice+set+40+IMGP2413.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374373289423864402" border="0" /></a><br />Did I mention yet that I was weak?<br /><br />Now, as of this purchase I have discovered a somewhat-local GS that carries a few of the 12-pc Gamescience sets, but I think I will be strong and roll with this one alone. I will very likely never have a reason to even use any of the additional "5 unique shapes"...but still sometimes you just have to own something, ya'know?<br /><br />Now back to the fack that I was weak. Ya' see, normally I wouldn't just plop down hard earned cash for supplements and other goodies for a game (CoC) that I don't even know if I will like or not. But in this case I trust the many opinions of the folks that commented on my initial post, and their high ratings, along with the fact that this store had all of this stuff marked down...waaaaay down in some cases. I just bit the bullet and grabbed it all.<br /><br />If they would have had a copy of Arkham Horror in the clearance section, I'd be posting a pic of that too...ha! Maybe next time, eh?<br /><br />Anyway, I'm not posting this stuff to be all "naner, naner, naner...look what I got!" Well, maybe a little. But really it's because most of us (if not all of us) geek out on this stuff, and I figured I'd let you in on a few goodies that I'm geekin' on and maybe you'd dig them too.<br /><br />Also, I'm curious on opinions as to if these supplements are decent for the game or not. If you have any XP with any of the, please chime in on that. It's ok if something I just bought sucks. I'd prefer that it didn't, but again such a good deal was made on the lot, that I'd accept that is it was true. Regardless I looooove the minis (even if CoC doesn't call for them as much as other games), and I was going to snag the main CoC rulebook (6th ed) from another local source in a couple days anyway. I also think the Minions encounter book will be nice for me to use in trying out some CoC locally, if I can muster up a group. It looks perfect for some one-shots to try out the game. The dice set is a keeper for sure, and the counters pack and Elric screen were so cheap they were an automatic grab. I guess the Secrets of NY and the Keeper's Companion supplements are the two that may have been overkill and possible not worth the dough. I just don't see much 1920s CoC stuff around here (more '90s and Now) and that's the era I would prefer to run, if and when I finally do. It just seems right.<br /><br />Ah well, I'll leave you with some pics of some fun I had dorking around with these Detectives, posing them on what I thought was a somewhat relative backdrop:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpGgU205j-CUYetnoiY5zHnC_VicM4H41NbfWFJUsdnwbBTIr8lH3KVg2VZPKgNi7MsPKmx-jzpHcB8LCqAjUPxMd8vSK6I7uN1lhbV7T6TJkaFK-PMf-r4YzpEwvQ4ieN3uev5fC9uc/s1600-h/Dunwich+Det+1+45+IMGP2416.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpGgU205j-CUYetnoiY5zHnC_VicM4H41NbfWFJUsdnwbBTIr8lH3KVg2VZPKgNi7MsPKmx-jzpHcB8LCqAjUPxMd8vSK6I7uN1lhbV7T6TJkaFK-PMf-r4YzpEwvQ4ieN3uev5fC9uc/s320/Dunwich+Det+1+45+IMGP2416.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374373351024360482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWN9YpG8ZQbzodbDYd6WPri5TAJl0QKuuYVp1wEiB_L-StK-4QN_hgHB11GfSb2dEafl-HQT7FGdfRYDn3CWK5HWHXOnlp7KqgwACGoQ6OyGNrxRWHesTopZUM-NR9MVB2Faq4rAmZtw/s1600-h/Dunwich+Det+2+45+IMGP2417.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWN9YpG8ZQbzodbDYd6WPri5TAJl0QKuuYVp1wEiB_L-StK-4QN_hgHB11GfSb2dEafl-HQT7FGdfRYDn3CWK5HWHXOnlp7KqgwACGoQ6OyGNrxRWHesTopZUM-NR9MVB2Faq4rAmZtw/s320/Dunwich+Det+2+45+IMGP2417.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374373460324192482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQGIGVMKjZ6QLkQVSiypsbAY3psFR7BQsjpPvzo4DMwFVVRgzDcq0NuHvg31OrSMLdSddYmrCLKoZH5tA1hXcurRI-1hZBspfQVcwLksXca-9bf9V0eVtgy-3wqc3fqwTv3TDFvfZdN8/s1600-h/Dunwich+Det+3+45+IMGP2418.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQGIGVMKjZ6QLkQVSiypsbAY3psFR7BQsjpPvzo4DMwFVVRgzDcq0NuHvg31OrSMLdSddYmrCLKoZH5tA1hXcurRI-1hZBspfQVcwLksXca-9bf9V0eVtgy-3wqc3fqwTv3TDFvfZdN8/s320/Dunwich+Det+3+45+IMGP2418.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374373537311945010" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI9Ba10gpsw6rlVhsQESgRqZcfQWIX_se8yMV6-bv4JTq4fmW7w5k5OwaqDnqi_trMvYfPMbRSD30hcPL9QCPlSmM6H1dNm9fi_HJwmE6elzeypTUmjj6vE9l63ok5Ky-LFw1Z6Tkj8w/s1600-h/Dunwich+Det+4+45+IMGP2419.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI9Ba10gpsw6rlVhsQESgRqZcfQWIX_se8yMV6-bv4JTq4fmW7w5k5OwaqDnqi_trMvYfPMbRSD30hcPL9QCPlSmM6H1dNm9fi_HJwmE6elzeypTUmjj6vE9l63ok5Ky-LFw1Z6Tkj8w/s320/Dunwich+Det+4+45+IMGP2419.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374373600404021490" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, I am a dork. Apparently a very, very weak-willed one.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ruWNbpAcesfm3j3N6U-qyMP6lZ7S_KnDZkzMA7D4-U6i97qbvQjYupud17EtyCXyY7sxLebmiShIqRmYDLMKj46bz96ZmQDfsRw9QjSpd_1YYZ_gMPB8E_tjr1O77wrb8L1NpVX3ErA/s1600-h/Dee+zapped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ruWNbpAcesfm3j3N6U-qyMP6lZ7S_KnDZkzMA7D4-U6i97qbvQjYupud17EtyCXyY7sxLebmiShIqRmYDLMKj46bz96ZmQDfsRw9QjSpd_1YYZ_gMPB8E_tjr1O77wrb8L1NpVX3ErA/s320/Dee+zapped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374381284612239586" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">"Must...not...give...in! Must...not...spend!"</span><br /><br /></div>yoyorobbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08375340160423546919noreply@blogger.com10