I am the Biggest Geek

Harlan Ellison Documentary Coming Summer of '08

2008-06-29T21:13:00.003-06:00

Harlan Ellison is one of the greatest writers of the 21st Century, oh and he is also a bastard!

SHAZAM! AGAIN

2007-11-18T23:29:00.001-07:00

SHAZAM!

2007-11-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil hardcover. This is a new Captain Marvel story from Jeff Smith the creator of Bone.

The character was created in the 40s, as young Billy Batson was giving a magic word from the Wizard Shazam (his name) which transformed him into Captain Marvel, worlds mightiest mortal. Also over time the Captain got a whole family of Marvels including a teenage sister Marvel Marvel.

Right from the start this book really had me. I've been a fan of Captain Marvel since I was a young boy, watching the CBS Saturday morning live action show. From that point on I ate up everything I got my hands on which stared “the big red cheese”.

I have to admit over the years, it all wasn't very good. You see the problem with the Captain Marvel character is that during the run in the 40s and 50s it was done very tongue in cheek, whimsical and innocent. Lots of fantastic adventures and outrageous characters. But then the book was canceled and during the absence of the Captain Marvel from the 50s to the 70s, comics started to take themselves seriously. So when Captain Marvel returned to comics no one really knew how to handle a magic hero with a talking tiger. Therefore we've had many interpretation of the character not many very well done. Also many of the newer creators did not understand Billy relationship with the Captain. Most thought billy transformed into the Captain, that simply was not the case, The Captain, kinda possessed Billy. Well during the late 80s and 90s the creators wrote Captain Marvel as though Billy was stuck in an adults body “Wrong”.

With this new book, Jeff Smith has returned to the roots of Captain Marvel. Sure he has brought him to the 21^st Century with many changes and updates, but with a real innocence and charm that fits very well with the mythos. Also in a stroke of genius Jeff Smith came up with the idea of making Mary Marvel a little tiny girl, Therefore making the Captain her big brother.

The new book by Jeff Smith is a retelling of the Monster Society story originally done over multiple issues during the 40s. I won't go into the particulars of the storyline, but this was one of the funnest books in the last decade. I highly recommend it to all comic fans out there. Also it would be a great book to introduce young kids to the world of comics.

Back again

2007-11-18T22:49:00.001-07:00

Well its been quite a while since I last posted. There are many reasons for the long delay. First off and had about two and one half weeks of Appraisal classes, in preparation of getting my Idaho State appraisal license. Then after there was the move, we move down the street to a new place, and with th combination of the selling, the packing and the hauling it took a while to finish up everything. Lastly the server at the office (which was also my client machine) died and had to be replaced. We replaced the machine and using it solely as a server machine and utilized the home computer as a new client machine at the office. Which meant we needed a new home machine. This time around I decided to try my hand at linux. It is not go smoothly. Tried to do an array system which we never got working so, just using the hard drives as individual drives. However, finally got everything up and running. I expect to do a few posts the week and also to do the game night post regularly again.

Game Day August 12, 2007

2007-08-13T21:30:00.001-06:00

Marcus once again called and asked if I wanted to play a game on Sunday. So him, Michelle and Brian showed up for an evening of games.

The first game was Hoity Toity. This is a game that Michelle won at Icon, the Idaho Board Gaming Convention. This was the first play for all of us. I read the rules and watched a instructional video on Board Games with Scott just prior to playing our first game. It was fun, all the players make their moves simultaneously, playing cards which give them an action, which interact with the other players actions, all to move their pawns across the board to come in first. We enjoyed the game, but realized. that it would be even better if we played the game with a full six players. Brian won this game.

The Second game for the night was RA, which is an auction game, in which players bid on sets of tiles drawn from a common bag, in order to collect tiles of high values to them. I really love this game, the first few plays are vary bland, until you discover the rhythm of the game. I think we always have a good time with this one. And Michelle, won this game by a big landslide.

Game Night August 9, 2007

2007-08-13T21:17:00.001-06:00

In attendance were Brian, Thomas, Anna, Alan, Scott, Whitnie, Marcus, Michael, Andrew, and Myself. Oh and the other Brian showed up for a little while.

Thomas, Anna, Alan and Brian showed up on time and all the others were running very late, so I decided that we would start without them. So I picked Zooloretto. I explained the rules, but everyone seemed to be having difficulty figuring out the money aspect and the snack bar part of the game. I think this is due to the familiarity with Coloretto which is very similar. By mid game I think everyone got and was enjoying themselves. Alan won that game by a large margin.

By the time we had gotten into the game, everyone else showed up almost at the same time. Marcus picked the game they would play which was Shadows over Camelot. This is a Co-operative game in which everyone plays against the game mechanic in trying to complete several different quest to obtain a set number of swords(white) and if you fail you receive bad swords (black). Now there are many Co-op games out there but this tend to be one of the best , since one play could be a traitor and working against the rest. Strangely Marcus decided not to utilize this portion of the game. Scott and (the other) Brian did not make through the game and left early, the other seemed to be enjoying it, for just the fact that they had invested so much time they wanted to defeat the game. Which they did.

While the other played Shadows.... we were able to get in another game, although Alan had to leave. So Thomas, Brian, Anna and I played Thurn and Taxi. This was the first time for Anna, who seemed a little cool on it, although she won. I always enjoy this game.

Game Day August 5, 2007

2007-08-13T21:01:00.001-06:00

Marcus Called and asked about getting together and playing games. So Scott, Marcus, Michelle and Myself got together and for a Sunday afternoon of gaming.

The first game was Ticket to Ride:Marklin This was the first game for the rest and the third play for me, and also my third win(I love this game!).

Also We had dinner together as we played which was Homemade Turkey Chille and Quesadillas!

The second game for the night was Zooloretto, I had not played this game since I won it at The Gathering of Strangers. Its a fun tile collecting game very similar to Coloretto but with animals. Michelle won this game.

After Scott took off, Marcus and Michelle stayed to watch Gene Simmons Family Jewels and I went into the office to type some files, but it was much easier to go in since I had got some gaming in.

Game Night August 2, 2007

2007-08-13T16:56:00.001-06:00

In attendance were Alan, Scott, Matt, Anna, John, Marcus, Thomas, Brian and Myself.

It was a really were night, most of the Physic Students had just finished a conference and the University and were really wiped out. Three times it was requested by different people that they wanted to play "something easy".

Well I decided to play Betrayal at House on the Hill. Playing this game were Alan, Anna, Matt, Scott, John and Myself. Although everyone seemed pretty fried, we got through it and I think everyone still seem to enjoy the game. In this game John turned out to be the traitor and the rest of us were able to defeat him and win the game.

Marcus, Thomas and Brian played Ingenious and then Coloretto, I'm not sure who won each game.

After we had finished Betrayal, most people packed it in early (they were all really tried and just wanted to turn off), but Alan, Scott, Matt and I finished the evening with a game of Coloretto, which Alan won.

Game Night July 26, 2007

2007-07-27T10:30:00.001-06:00

In attendance were Brian, Megan, Anna, Michael, Andrew, Ken, Marcus, Alan, John, Thomas and Myself.

We broke into two groups.

Brian, Andrew, Thomas, Alan and Marcus played a game of Hacienda, which ran about an hour and one half with Thomas winning, well not just winning but just destroying everybody else in the game.

Michael, Ken, John and myself played Ticket to Ride: Marklin Edition. Again this is a fantastic light game with a little bit of Euro feel to it. Michael, was not enjoying himself totally since he appeared to be having terrible card draws. The game was very close between John and I at the end, and I ended up pulling way ahead due to the number of destination cards I completed.

Megan and Anna did not play a game, they both were knitting.

I want to thank everyone for coming and hope you had a great time and I'll see you next week .

Oh and Josh was not able to attend due to the recent birth of this fourth child Lillian Wheeler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Game Day July 22, 2007

2007-07-22T23:00:00.001-06:00

Earlier in the week due to the amount of work that I had facing me, I had to cancel Game Night. However, Alan was good enough to step up to the plate and host it himself. I was not able to attend but was told it was a very good turn out and games played were Puerto Rico and Settlers of Catan.

Brian called me Sunday and asked if I would be interested in playing games and that he would make a couple of calls to see who else would be also. So in attendance on Sunday for games were Alan, Brian, Whitnie and myself. Also Brian brought a pizza from Papa Murphy's along with him (thank you very much Brian).

The first game we played was Ticket to Rid: Marklin Edition, This the third version of the classic Ticket to Ride series. Game play is similar to Ticket to Ride standard version but the differences are two destination stacks, long routes and short routes and also the addition of passengers, who travel across established player tracks to collect point markers. It was a pretty tight game, but I won due to the number of destination cards I completed.

After Alan and Whitnie left for the evening, and Brian and I played a two player game of Hacienda. This is an area control and building game in which each players are establishing land tracks and then building livestock herds off them to collect money and score points. It was a very nice two player game, but I could definitly see the potential for really close and confrontational games with three for four players. At the end of the game, when we totaled points I came out front due to my last minute building of the water.

It was a nice game day and everyone enjoyed themselves and I'm looking forward to our regular game night this Thursday.

Game Night July 12, 2007

2007-07-14T20:13:00.001-06:00

In attendance were Alan (after a long absence vacationing in Spain), Whitnie, Scott, Matthew, Brian, Megan, John, Thomas and Myself.

I made brownies for everyone for snacks(mmmmmmm.....)

Brian, Alan, Scott, Thomas and Matthew played Railroad Tycoon which Brian was really looking forward to since last week. However Alan was the one to come out on top.

Whitnie, John and Megan and myself played Barbie Queen of the Prom Game. Megan had brought the game and Whitnie insisted that I play. So in order to get a forth I bribed John with a promise to play battlelore when it was finished. It actually turned out to be fun (sometimes its not the game its the people who play with). Megan won that game (making her extremely happy since it was her game).

After that game John and I sat down for a game of Battlelore which is a really great simple two player wargame. I own Memoir '44 and Command and Colors Ancients and I think I like this game most of all. John won the game but we both had a really great time.

All in all it was another great game night and I can't wait to see everyone next week.

Create an Avatar at the Simpson's Movie Site

2007-07-14T14:53:00.000-06:00

Over at the Simpson's Movie web site they have an online tool for creating a Simpson's like character for yourself. All you have to do is register and not only can you make characters of yourself but also friends and family. Lots of fun, try it out.

Sicko

2007-07-08T21:53:00.001-06:00

Okay, okay I know I usually blog on very trivial stuff, game night, comics, dvds and so forth. However I felt compelled to at the very least to say a few words about Michael Moore's new film Sicko. I know Moore is a controversial figure and there is are two definite camps "Love him" and "Hate him" and never shall the twain meet, but this issue is so important and goes beyond politics that I believe we all can agree, our health care system presently DOES NOT WORK!!!!!!!

In this film, Moore really takes a back seat, and has the least amount of on camera time as in any of his previous films. Although many might think that this is a film about the millions of people who lack health care (and there are) it really about the ones that do, but that it does little for them.

We all at some time have been sick enough that we considered going to the Doctor or the hospital. We consider it and weigh all the factors (my co-pay, if I need referral, do I have to call my HMO first). This is a sad commentary that going to the doctor has to be a consideration, and we have to think about it at all.

What is even sadder is that in the film, Moore visits other countries to examine their Health care system, such as Canada, Britain, France and Cuba. In all cases their system appeared to be superior to ours in the fact that there was no cost to the individual for any visits or procedures. This is horrendous considering that we supposedly live in the greatest country in the world and Cuba has a superior health care system.

I will admit that Mr. Moore did not outline the cost in taxes and/or freedoms, but come on, we can't have better health care than Cuba!

Now I know there are many of you out there going, either love this country or leave and go live in one of those other countries (pinko). I just want to note, I do love this country, but I'm saddened by what its becoming and that we lose sight of the most important aspect, the people. I feel that the Governments, Corporations and such always put the all mighty dollar before anything else, and of course Businesses are in the business of making money (I understand that, I'm not an idiot), but when these same corporation are recording profits in the billions and CEOs are getting bonuses in the millions, is it right that someone in a hospital bed right now this minute this very moment can't get $5.00 worth of medication because their insurance company won't pay for it.

So please, please just see this film.

Game Night July 5, 2007

2007-07-08T21:15:00.001-06:00

First off Happy Birthday United States of America, secondly Happy Birthday Megan!

In attendance on game night that evening were Anna, Brian, Megan, Whitnie, Matthew, Katie, Scott and Myself. Also Anna brought her friend Abby from Boston with her this evening.

Katie, Megan, Brian and Myself played Thurn and Taxis, a game about establishing Postal routes in Germany. We were all familiar with the game expect Megan, who it was her first time playing. Like always its always a close game as far as scoring goes, however Katie came out on top and took the win.

Anna, Abby, Whitnie and Matthew played El Grande. El Grande is an area control game with an auction mechanic built in as well with three scoring stages. This game went on fairly long as we were done with our game long before their finish. I got to watch the end game, which was a tough finish between Anna and Whitnie, but Whitnie was able to utilize her last card very well giving her the ability to score the Castillo all on her own, pulling her out way in front to come in for the win.

After the during the end game and after I was able to have a nice conversation with Abby, who like I noted is currently from Boston (Newton actually just outside the city). It was nice to talk to some from the back east who knew all the places I knew.

Gathering of Strangers June 30, 2007

2007-07-01T22:16:00.001-06:00

This weekend I attend the Gathering of Strangers board game convention in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah.

Brian, Whitnie, Marcus and Myself drove down from Pocatello early Saturday morning, its about an two and one half hour drive.

When we arrived in the city we decided to have lunch first, and Brian made us drive around for about a half an hour looking for an Indian place that he was sure of where it was located. After not finding it we Brian suggested the Lemon Grass, A Thai place, of course we we got there we found out that they do not serve lunch on Saturday. Luckily Trang Restaurant is located right next door.

Trang Restaurant is a an Asian place that I usually try to stop at every time I'm in Salt Lake, The food is excellent with a very diverse menu and the best dumplings I have ever had in my life.

Lunch was about an hour so we did not get to the convention till 1:oo pm. The first game we played was Inkognito, older deduction game, Whitnie and Marcus won that game.

After I was asked by David to play Succession: Intrigue in the Royal Court, a small negotiation bluffing game, which I did not really care for, it was extremely light, but we were only playing with three, and I think it would be better with a full five players.

Next David asked me to play Plunder, a small Pirate card game, which I like much more than the previous game, although it was light, I felt that if I had more experience with the game and there was at least one additional player this would be a lot of fun, don't get me wrong I did have fun, but with more players it would be a blast.

While David and I played Plunder they had the raffle, Marcus, Brian, David and I all won prizes. I won a copy of Zooloretto.

Funny enough, the next game I played was my spanking new copy of Zooloretto. I played this game with Robert, Tammy and Jordan. Nice little game from the creators of Coloretto. It was quick and fun and a really nice prize. Oh and Jordan won the game.

While I was playing these games Brian, Whitnie, Marcus and one other person played Thurn and Taxis. I don't know who won that game.

After that they played a game of Power Grid, which Marcus won.

After that Marcus said he was hungry though we were planning on playing a game of Mall of Horror with Josh from our game group who was also there.

Josh and Eric were in the middle of a game of Twilight Struggle and probably had another hour to go, so we decided we would get pizza and bring it back. I asked Tim from Game Night Games for a local pizza place and he suggested The Pie.

We got over there ordered a 16" ultimate veggie and a 23" pepperoni, The 23" was huge, I mean gigantic we couldn't even fit in the back seat of Marcus' car. I mean it was massive (no really it was big).

Got back to the convention just as Josh and Eric were finishing their game and chowed down on some Pizza and started a game of Mall of Horror.

Playing the game was Josh, Brian, Eric, Marcus, Jordan, Myself and Whitnie, this is a Voting Negotiation game about survival from a zombie invasion. A kind of last man standing type of game, much like Lifeboats. During the game they made the announcement that the convention was shutting down shortly, but we were able to finish with Brian and Myself tying for the win.

All in all, Gathering of Strangers is a great con, and I know I'll be attending again next year.

Game Night June 28, 2007

2007-07-01T21:34:00.001-06:00

In attendance was Anna, Scott, Whitnie, Brian, Megan, John, Thomas, Matthew and Myself. Arriving late was Katie and Scott.

Anna, Scott, Whitnie, John and Thomas played Lifeboats, with Whitnie winning that game.

Brian, Matthew, Megan and myself played Ticket to Ride, with Brian winning.

After Brian, Katie and Myself played Thurn and Taxis with Katie winning that one.

Thanks everyone for attending and I hope to see you next week.

Mountain Dew's New Ad, I'm left speechless!

2007-06-23T20:33:00.001-06:00

I just saw this today, and I was stuck between laughing out loud and stunned silence.

Game Night June 22, 2007

2007-06-22T20:25:00.001-06:00

In attendance this evening were Anna, Whitnie, Scott, Thomas, John, Brian, Megan, Josh, Marcus and after a long absence Matthew.

Off the bat, Thomas asked what game I would really like to play, and I decided on Die Macher, and then asked who did not have to get up early and could stay for a long one. Josh, John and Thomas said they could stay late and we would play that.

Scott and Matthew played a game of Battlelore. Scott won that game hands down.

Anna, Whitnie, Brian and Megan played Coloretto,then a game of Cluzzle and finally Marcus joined in Megan dropped out for a game of Betrayal of House on the Hill.

I don't know who won the first two games, however Anna became the traitor and won the game against the other.

In all this time, our group was playing our one game of Die Macher which lasted until 12:00 am, with Josh coming out victorious.

I hope everyone had a good time and hope to see you again next week.

Game Night, May 14, 2007

2007-06-18T21:47:00.000-06:00

It has been awhile since the previous game night, I've been away on vacation and last week was a busy work week.

In attendance that evening was Anna, Whitnie, Brian, John, Michael, Andrew, Thomas, myself and this time Karen joined in.

John, Thomas, Michael, Andrew and Myself played Puerto Rico , this was the first time for most except for Michael, who had two games under his belt and of course me. It ran long approximately two and one half hours. However, everyone really seemed to enjoy it especially Michael who won the game.

Anna, Brian, Whitnie and Karen played Pinochle this was the first time for Karen, however the other are all Pinochle veterans. That game took just about as long as the Puerto Rico, and Anna and Karen Won, the score being 1,780 to -10.

I hope everyone had a good time and hope to see you next week.

Icon, Idaho Convention for Boardgamers May 19, 2007

2007-06-18T20:26:00.000-06:00

In May I attended and ran a few games at the Icon convention. This is a Board gaming convention held in eastern Idaho in the city of Idaho Falls. So far this event has been semi annually and is run by Josh Wheeler a gaming enthusiast and friend of mine.

The conventions features mostly open gaming, featuring many types of games, Euro games, classic board games and some Wargames. There are also a couple of tournaments,and lots and lots of door prizes.

The convention typically runs from 9:00am and until midnight.

Like I stated, I demoed a few games, ElGrande, Battlelore, Twilight Struggle, Cluzzle and Wits and Wagers.

Conventions Like these are a great way of meeting other board gamers in the area and although this one is in its infancy, its a great little Con!!!!!

I highly recommending attending and will post the next date here!!!!

Robot Chicken Star Wars

2007-06-18T20:20:00.001-06:00

You can't beat this combination, of Robot Chicken (one of the funniest shows on TV) and Star Wars. You can watch the whole thing on the Cartoon Network website.

Abbott and Costello "Whos on First"

2007-06-12T21:37:00.000-06:00

This is one of the greatest comedy routines ever, and one of the best performances of the routine taken from the film The Naughty Nineties.

Batman the Animated Series

2007-06-01T18:09:00.001-06:00

I recently purchased the Dvds of the complete Batman the Animated Series. This series first aired in 1992 after the release of the Batman Returns feature film. This series featured the animated adventures of DC comics Dark Knight, produced by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski. This “cartoon” took a serious approach to the Batman mythos, showing a grim Batman set in a very dark Gotham City. From the start with the first episode “On Leather Wings”, Batman fans knew that this was the Batman we had been waiting for, there was no camp, no mugging for the camera, and grown up tales of a Batman we had seen only before in some of the best Comics of the series.

It is certainly evidenced that the creators were Batman fans based on the detail given all the characters of the series. It’s widely known that Batman has the best rouges gallery of any hero and it shows in all its glory within the series.

One of the best features of the series in the voice acting, no longer did a company use the stock performers we all grew up with from the Hanna Barbara stable, no this time real actors took on the roles giving it their all. For example Mark Hamill, brings the Joker to manically life throughout the entire series, so much so that when ever you see the Joker all you can here is Hamill’s distinct laugh for the character.

Also the series features some of the best writing for these characters ever produced with many of the best episodes being written by Paul Dini. Dini not only utilize all the elements of what made all the characters great, but in many cases reinvented them and gave them more depth, for example Mr. Freeze in the first season episode “Heart of Ice”.

Also the look of the series was very distinct, given a very dark look, with very detailed lighting effects and a style which can easily be traced back to the old Max Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 40s. The pictures in this series are dark, extremely dark and this fits the mood of the entire series and the characters. Again, much of what animation had looked like in the past thirty hears had been established by companies like Hana Barbara and Flimation, which utilized very limited background stills and reused the foreground art over and over again.

In my opinion the creators of the series had done the definitive Batman……The Batman that every fan knew and didn’t know, and wanted more of each week. I can’t recommend this series enough; it’s a treat for every Batman fan out there and possibly for any anime fan as well.

Also it is noted that Paul Dini, is currently writing Batman in Detective Comics and is introducing many of the animated elements into current Batman continuity, so check it out!

Game Night, May 17, 2007

2007-05-20T12:30:00.000-06:00

In attendance were Thomas, John, Josh, Marcus, Brian, Scott, Anna, Ted (after a long absence) and joining us were Whitney and Trish and of course myself.

Starting off, Whitney, Scott, Anna and Brian played The Game of Real Life
, while Trish, Ted and John played Settlers of Catan, and finally Josh, Thomas and I played Settlers of the Stone Age.

Marcus did not play a game right off the bat and sat out on the three that were going on.

The Game of Real Life ended earlier than the other two games with Scott wining, after that the same group played a game of Cluzzle which according to most accounts Anna was victorious.

I the time it took that group to play two games, the other two groups continued with there game with finally Thomas wining Settlers of Stone Age and Trish wining Settlers of Catan.

After, Whitney, Scott and Anna left for the evening leaving Brian, Marcus, Trish, Ted and John playing a game of Ticket to Ride.

At the same time Josh, Thomas and myself played a game of RA.

Both game took about the equal amount of time to play with Josh wining RA and Ted wining Ticket to Ride.

Just one side note, This was my fifth play of RA, and I'm just now starting to see all the layers this game has, on the surface appears to be a very simple auction game but it contains much more depth, and complexity that is only apparent after several plays.

I want to thank everyone for coming to game night and I hope that you all had a really great time.

Just a reminder, I will be on vacation next week so game night is cancelled for the 24th and 30th.

However it will be back on June 7th.

thanks

Game Night, May 10, 2007

2007-05-11T17:22:00.000-06:00

Game Night had arrived again. In attendance were Marcus, Alan, Anna, Brian, Scott, Thomas, Michael, Andrew, Josh (and his little daughter), myself and after a long absence John.

The previous Monday had been had been Thomas' birthday and so John had brought a cake for us all to share (thank you very much John), (and Happy Birthday Thomas).

Well last week Scott had requested a game of Marvel Heroes and earlier this week
Anna had emailed me that she wanted to play Fury of Dracula.

So we split into three groups, Scott, Thomas, John and myself playing Marvel Heroes. I had played this once before but this was the first time for all the others.

Anna, Brian, Alan, Michael and Andrew playing Fury of Dracula. Anna and Brain had played this previously but this was the first time for all the others.

Marcus, Josh and Josh's daughter playing Cluzzle.

The game of Cluzzle is fairly short so that game finished much earlier than the other two, and I don't know who won that game. After Josh had to get home to put his daughter to bed and Marcus left early also.

The Fury of Dracula ran long, till about 11:00 pm, from what I'm told it was coolly received which is a disappointment since usually we have a really good time with that one, Anna had played Dracula and the other players beat her (though she said near the end she was being reckless).

Our game of Marvel Heroes was the last to finish, at approximately 12:45 am (boy am I tired today), but we had a really great time. The first hour of the game was a little tense since it was taking a while for everyone to catch on, but finally when that did it was a blast. Scott won the game breaking a tie with John, after I had 5 points detected in my last turn. (really have to play this again!)

Oh and Alan had brought some Baklava (thanks Alan!!!)

I want to thank everyone for come to game night and I hope to see you next week!!!!!