Play Us A Song

I do love a good mystery involving musical talent and British-style intrigue!

The New Star Wars

I really enjoyed the new Star Wars movie.

All RPGs Must Be Played

Our kitchen is all but done; Liz is mopping it as I write (a one-person job, so I'm trapped on this side of the house with the Internet). I'm moving the fridge from the living room back to its appointed space in a few minutes, and after that there's one small section of white paint that managed to escape my earlier touch-ups that shall be eliminated.

We got back from running errands in Seattle - me to my comic shop and us hitting the supermegaTarget at Northgate for some much-needed house supplies. I picked up the revised copy of All Flesh Must Be Eaten in anticipation of running a game using the system on Tuesday, and a Bag 'O Zombies to go with it. I was going to run the game using the Savage Worlds system, but I'm not terribly keen on the "heroic" level of characters that game creates; it's fine for many other roleplaying situations, but for where I'm planning on taking the All Flesh game, it should stay within the system of "normal people who can die very easily."

Hopefully the others at the office will want to give it a spin.

Poem

Here's a little something based on an idea I've been tossing around in my head lately.

Sofa and toes curl together
As unimaginable horrors destroy countless lives
In high-definition with digital sound.

Late at night, like shuffling cards,
Glimpses of those hungry faces
As I half-awake walk to the bathroom.

Rather than turn away from the horror
Seeking on my own terms and facing again
The endless redefinition of nicht-zu-Hause.

Comments welcome.

Welcome to the Neighborhood (the GOOD Neighborhood)

The cable guy came at the tail end of his four-hour window this morning, so I now have home Internet again. Huzzah. Prepare to see some house pictures.

I met and spoke with at length my neighbor on the other side - or at least her sister, who visits a lot. She had two kids in tow, and there's a third that lives there who doesn't speak English much (she's from Costa Rica). We were talking about home improvement and they got the tour of the house, including the Pole Position machine, the giant TV, and the cats. The cats were the primary focus of kid attention, followed by the other two.

I mention this because I haven't had a kid in my house since I was first married, so it was a few years ago. And I realized as the kids were going around marveling at my stuff and how cool it was, that I might really have succeeded in maintaining some of my youth somewhere in there - maybe not quite Peter Pan, but I'd like to think that part of me never quite grew up, in a good way.

Also, they came over to borrow something, so I know that I'm in suburbia now!

Want to Find a Job? Shop For An Employer

Here's a unique way to look for a new job: shop for an employer. Note: this isn't me.

Ruminations on Friday the 13th

Today was a good day. The sun was blazing when I woke up, and there was a purring cat three inches from my face. Things could have been worse.

It was a jewelled cap to a pretty crazy week, though. I pulled a very long shift last night to get caught up on my work, and for the most part I'm where I need to be - which is to say still behind, but not to the point where it's crushing my spirit. There's a real ghost of negativity infecting my office these days, mostly coming from one individual who seems to have a very difficult time seperating her personal life from her work life. She's one of those people that just being around her wears down your spirit, because she's constantly negative about everything. I'd like to think that I'm negative when it's warrented and generally positive the rest of the time, so naturally my personality and hers clash. Its ugly.

Work on the house, well, goes. We're behind schedule of course, and it looks like we're not going to get to where we need to be before Crabby gets here next Friday.

The Face of Modern Conservatives

Somehow, while we were all asleep listening to tales of the undead child molestor and some spoiled-little-rich-cracker-bitch runaway bride, we missed that the Republican Congress passed legislation that will require is to have a National ID card. That is, in addition to a Social Security card, each and every citizen of the United States will need an electronic form of identification that can be read at a distance of 15 feet - so a cop could scan your personal information (and criminal record, I suppose) as you walk by in the street.

But what will be on this card? Will it show that we're on some terrorist list, or potential terrorist list? If we've made enemies of the wrong government employee, will that be reflected? And what if someone steals our information? There is no computer system impervious to hacking; this will be no different.

Maybe it's just the liberal in me, but I don't think I'll be participating in this little project. I'm sure that means I'm anti-American, or not patriotic, or some other neoCon gobbledygook, but I think it is only appropriate to look those control freaks in the face - and anyone stupid enough to vote for those freaks - and say this:

Fuck you. Fuck you for being so stupid. Fuck you for being duped into voting for them. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you a thousand times, because those of us who are smart enough to make intelligent decisions are going to be the worst ones affected by this.

Fuck you if you want to keep watching the shadows on the walls of your cave. Some of us have been outside, and we don't care to join you in your ignorance. Fuck you for being so fucking stupid, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.

You got everything you deserve, you stupid fucking redstate moron fucks. Unfortunately, you dragged the smart people down with you to wallow in your pigfilth fucking stupidity.

Lynching Madness

News out of Cannes - David Lynch is working on not one but two new films!

I never wished I could be in France so badly.

Notice to Fevered Egos

You are not more important than everyone else. You karmically poison your environment through your negativity and self-centered-ness. If being liked to your face by a few inconsequential people is more important to you than doing your job and letting others be, you need help.

Tell Sad Stories of the Death of Kings

Unfortunately, one of my favorite shows in the last ten years is now officially cancelled. I could complain about American television audiences not appreciating good TV, but instead I think I'll just imagine all the great times I'm going to have with my DVDs - and plan a role-playing adventure similar to the series.

End Writer's Block

If you want a concept for a comic book, check out this random crimefighting duo generator.

Seattle Browncoats Front and Center!

How much are you willing to pay to see Serenity first?

Become a Serenity Snob

Because I like helping the common folk, here's a secret.

If you want to be one of the few, proud, select elite who get to see a Serenity screening months before the rest of the free world, simply refresh www.cantstopthesignal.com a hundred thousand times a day until they post a time and location near you and have your Fandango account ready when the time gets posted.

Coonfighting: The New Cockfighting

I woke up this morning around fiveish to the sound of my cat galloping full-tilt under our bed and barricading herself there while growling at nothing. For those not in the Pacific Northwest, this is the time when the sallow light coming through the windowshades is just enough to make you think you don't need to turn on the light, so you end up sticking your bare foot into a semi-dried hairball your beloved pet has left you as a present beside your bed.

When she wouldn't quit growling, I woke Liz and told her that something was wrong. We decided to explore what aspect of our new abode might have caused this distress. Of course, I'm trying not to think about the various horror movie explanations.

As we got to the living room, it became apparent that there was some kind of fracas on our lawn. A noise like squeaking children, and some furry shapes moving very quickly. I wiped the eyecheddar out and tried to focus: there were at least two raccoons tearing each other apart. Then, I saw the third raccoon, kind of presiding over the fight like a referee. It would occasionaly go in for a hit on the smaller raccoon, but most of the time it was waddling off to the side or up on its hind legs for a better view. They fought like cats, which is to say with lots of neckbiting, head-grabbing, and kicking with the rears. In fact, I thought the two were beating up a cat until Liz said she saw three big fuzzy raccoon tails and bandit masks.

Something scared them, and they ran off.

I wonder: if I can capture these creatures and make them fight, maybe I can make some money off my redneck neighbors in booking bets?

I'll explore this option.

House Update: First Blood

The house drew first blood this weekend as I beat the hell out of my finger with a hammer. Now there's an enormous blood blister there, and a nice scab. But the baseboards are all done in the kitchen and we should have the whole fucking thing painted by the end of the week - and probably make a lot of progress on that den too!

HDTV and Gaming

Seth pointed me towards this fascinating article from the fine folks at Penny Arcade on the future of HDTV and console gaming.

Glad to hear that someone else is getting it.

Leave Them Kids Alone

If I was this student, I probably would have done a lot more than used profanity.

Still No Home Internet

That's right, no 'Net connection at home, so if you're waiting patiently for real content to return to the puppet show, you will have to keep waiting.

In other news, Esquire had this to say regarding a movie I care nothing about:

So this ordinary, middle-class American male walks into a bar. "A beer, whatevers on tap.", he says, slapping down a fiver. The bartender, smiling, reaches below the bar, audibly unzips his fly, and a moment later produces a tall glass that looks suspiciously as if it might be full of warm urine. But our guy is a trusting soul, and he gulps it down anyway. Big mistake. He retches, curses, and then storms out, furious.

Three years later, the same guy walks into the same bar and asks the same bartender for a beer. No problemo, says the bartdener. Zzzzip. Handed what again looks like something better suited to a specimen jar, the guy barely even hesitates. Down the hatch it goes, and then halfway back up the hatch again. Tears of rage are shed, a lawsuit is threatened. Exit the dude, livid.

Three years later, the same guy walks into the same and asks the same bartender for a beer. You're waiting for the punchline. It's not a joke, I'm afraid. It's a parable. The guy is you, the bar is the neighborhood cinema and the third steaming glass of piss you're about to be served with a smile is called Star Wars: Episode III.

For God's sake, don't drink it.

Beastly Comics

So if the number of the antiChrist is really 616, does that mean the Marvel Universe is the beginning of the End?

Obligatory Zombie Post

Mental note: check out Ed and His Dead Mother when I have a working TV again.

The Gothic Alphabet

For parents looking to add a little gloom to their children's lives, I recommend teaching the ABCs with the Gothic Alphabet.

House Update: I AM ALL THAT IS MAN!

Yesterday I proved my manliness by created a doorway. This may not sound like much, but it was the first full home improvement project I did entirely on my own and with power tools, with no real advice from friends. And, if I do say so myself, it came out looking pretty darn good. I may need to shim one of the planks (heh, I said "shim") but overall I toast my success!

Drama Update

When we got home yesterday, the car door was shut and the dog was no where to be seen. He was outside fixing the screen on the front door, and after that he disappeared. There was a light on last night.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all is well, and that she had a friend come over and pick her up.

Updates as they come.

All Moved In

Yup, we're all in the new house. Our bedroom is kind-of arranged. The kitchen is coming along. I fixed the dryer vent. All is well.

As a welcome to the neighborhood present, a sheriff showed up at our wannabe-trailer-trash neighbor's house yesterday, with the woman in tow. She wanted in. The husband didn't want her in. Sheriff insisted. She went in, she left. Later she comes back. She leaves the car door of her car open (maybe it's a quick trip)? She goes in. She doesn't come out. He doesn't come out. No lights on in the house all night. Car door stays open all night. Dog stays outside, no leash, all night. This morning, same story.

If car door is still open when I get home, and nothing has changed, I think the sheriff is coming back.

Real-Time Zombies

A zombie real-time strategy game where you control the zombie outbreak? As a PS3 launch title?

AWESOME!

Why I'll Never Vote Republican, Ever

Because the motherfuckers ban books.

The next uninformed fuckwit that accuses liberals of censoring opposing views is gonna get my finger in their eye.

ZOMBIE ALERT!

Prepare yourself by keeping a pair of pants handy.

And then watch the first trailer for Land of the Dead!

Dennis Hopper! June 24th!

Oh! My! God!

The Bodies of the Recently Deceased..

I admit, for a minute I actually fell for this news story about zombies in Cambodia. Maybe I just want to believe my psychosis is useful.

Attention Browncoats!

Drop what you are doing, watch the Serenity movie trailer, and then go about your work.

Movie: Undead

A few days ago, a trailer appeared on apple.com for a movie called Undead. I looked it up on IMDB: an Australian zombie comedy. It cost me less to order it on DVD from Australia than it would to buy two tickets to it when it comes here. Thank you, exchange rate!

Undead reminds me of Dead-Alive. There's a fairly silly plot that gets sillier as it goes along, gore and dismemberment and humor that keys off those things, and that strange humor from down-under that makes people like Yahoo Serious endearing for a few minutes. I'm still torn as to whether its a great zombie movie or not. Certainly its not bad, but I still keep coming back to Dead-Alive, which for me is kind of a second-tier zombie flick: good but not one I'd watch over and over. Certainly worth seeing, and there are some priceless moments in it, but the "WTF?" factor kicks in more than it should.

Its worth renting or watching on DVD, or buying if you're into the whole masses of crawling undead thing.

Light @ End of Tunnel = Oncoming Train

So as you might have surmised, I spent a lot of time on Saturday grouting the tile we've laid. Since I had no idea how to do it and no experienced grouters around to help, it was a learning experience, and there was a bit of a learning curve involved. The good news is, we didn't screw anything up too badly, and now our kitchen and entryway are grouted and look unbelievably good. That helps, because our fridge and stove are still in the living room so its one step closer to being able to move them back where they belong.

Speaking of moving, that's the other thing that's been going on. We've got an unbelievable amount of dishes, and its been taking forever to pack them up all safe and sound for their 8-mile journey up the road. This week is pretty much going to be all moving, all the time. I can't say I'm happy about that, but time is starting to run short.

Unfortunately, I discovered the greatness that is Rome: Total War, or should I say Rome: Total Timewaster. Its got enough fiddlybits that it plays well to my OCD, and the battle system is (thankfully) devoid of Starcraft-like battlefield building and "rushes." Its also re-ignited my interest in the Roman empire - if anyone can suggest a good book, fiction or not, set in the Roman empire, I'd read it.

Two Words

Grout sucks.

Quote of the Day

"I am just a dreamer, but you are just a dream."

-Neil Young

The Good Old Days

Remember when Republicans said things like:

However, on religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.'
- Sen. Barry Goldwater

Not exactly a fount of liberal thought, but certainly applicable to the nonsense occuring regarding the judiciary.

Movie: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

About what you'd expect. If you paid any more than a couple of dollars to watch it, I'm sorry. The best bit: the commentary for the original, "depressing" ending that the studio made them change where the director claims his idea had artistic merit. It may very well have, but boy was he on the wrong train if he thought that was the appropriate place for it.

Movie: 25th Hour

Couldn't hold my interest for more than an hour. Someday, I'll find a Spike Lee movie I can watch the entire way through. Someday.

Papal Domain Parking

Most excellent.

Via Mark Evanier: writer Rogers Cadenhead parked the domain www.benedictXVI.com, and he's got a list of demands for the Vatican before he gives it up:

I. Three days, two nights at the Vatican hotel they built for the conclave.
II. One of those hats.
III. Complete absolution, no questions asked, for the third week of March 1987.
IV. A back-cover blurb from the Pope for the next edition of Movable Type 3 Bible Desktop Edition. But only if he uses the book to create his own weblog.
V. World peace.

V is my favorite.

Gorilla Marketing

An interesting story about apes and language. They get to use vending machines!

Ten Years Ago

I walked into my American History class (Social and Geographical History of the United States) and someone told me "'they' just blew up a building in Oklahoma." Isn't that where I was going to move next summer? Indeed it was. And indeed 'they' did. Details were sketchy at first, but the death toll started rising - administrators made an announcement over the PA. We saw it at lunch, on the TV in the restaurant. I went home and watched the 24-hour CNN coverage that night. President Clinton made a speech promising to hunt down and punish the evildoers responsible. I, like many others, caught the religious overtones in Clinton's speech: he was implying that Islamic extremists committed the crime.

But it wasn't.

It was two white conservative Christian males who thought they were being patriots. They put (what they considered to be) the good of the United States over the individual rights of its citizens. They referred to the dead children in the Murrah building's daycare as "collateral damage," necessary and Utilitarian casualties to fighting their war to liberate the American people.

But these two were brought to justice. No new federal agencies were created. No color-coding system was displayed on our televisions warning us of the next attack. The Army did not invade Idaho, or Oregon, or Michigan to assault the other members of the militias to which McVeigh and Nichols belonged. There was no more "collateral damage" beyond what the evildoers themselves perpetrated. And they were caught, tried, convicted, and in one case executed within six years.

Ten years ago. How times have changed.

Movie: The Music Man

To balance my taste for horror, Liz has been educating me in the finer classics. We concluded The Music Man tonight - I see its influence everywhere. It's like having finally heard Bach after listening to Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms.

Movie: Saw

I kind of avoided this one at the theaters, but I picked it up on the cheap-cheap recently and finally got around to watching it. For all of its MTV-style editing and nasty drop-frame techniques, it was actually a pretty tight little horror-thriller. Not particularly gross and gory - not a slasher film by any stretch - but it had enough to keep me guessing until the end, and I'm usually the one who goes "he did it!" in the first ten minutes.

If you liked Seven and The Game, you'll probably like Saw.

Lazy Weekend

Liz and I joined Brook and Wendi and Chad for a weekend at a cabin outside of Mt. Rainier National Park. We did a little hiking, but mostly stayed inside and drank far too much alcohol and played way too many silly games. Most of the park is still under snow (there was quite a bit on the ground at the visitor's center), but the deer were out in force - a whole freakin' herd of them awaited us outside the cabin this morning. Kind of creepy, really.

I did some writing, but like a total doofus I left the computer sitting in the cabin. So I have to wait for it to arrive by mail. D'oh.

Expanding the Western Pantheon

Here's an interesting story: decoding ancient scrolls that could contain hundreds of lost Greek and Roman plays, poems, and philosophy. Via the SA forums.

Cheap Military Hardware

For the patriot on a budget, I suggest Amazon.com's offer of a $20,000 tank.

Zombies For Kids

Verily I say unto you, maketh thee a zombie children's show.

Listless

Rather than see the movie (read post below), we hit dinner with Angela and John at Beth's. We're preparing for a little get-together here, probably our last huzzah before the move, so the rest of the evening is going to be running to and fro. Still, I feel listless. I tried to write, got some words down, but nothing I'm terribly proud of. I have a feeling I'm going to be up fairly late tonight.

No Hustle

I was supposed to see Kung Fu Hustle tonight. Liz was detained at work, so we arrived at the theater a half-hour before it started. Unfortunately, that was too late - the theater was already full (seating isn't guaranteed for these preview shows.)

So for those of you waiting on a review, you're gonna have to ask someone else, sorry.

Undead Movie News

What happens when the writer/director of the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre puts his mind towards zombies?

This.

On Bunnies

Thanks to Seth for providing a link a nice little piece of Flash animation that shows an example of Warner's re-imagined Buzz Bunny.

Do not click on that link unless you are over 18 years of age and are wearing headphones, especially if you're at work!

Frustration

Supposedly, I work at a company that values creativity. Why is it every time I suggest something new, or a different way to do things, the first response is no?

Just once, I'd like people here to say "how can I make this work?" rather than "no." Just once.

The Secret Code

Coo-loo-coo-coo coo-loo-coo-coo = 1 3 3 3 2 3 9 9
Coo-loo-coo-coo coo-loo-coo-coo = 1 3 3 3 2 3 2 1

I Thuppowrt The Thwoops!

The next douchbag I see with a "Support the Troops" bumper sticker on the back of an SUV or pickup truck that gets less than ten miles to the gallon on gas is going to get curbstomped out of our gene pool.

Conversely, the next person I see with a "Support the Troops" bumper sticker on the back of a gas-electric hybrid, I'll buy that person lunch.

Another Great Meeting

The Alliterates joined for food, beverage, and writing last night. I got some more good comments on my work, and a couple of seeds were planted. I'm getting to the point where many of the seeds are starting to germinate, so I'm fairly certain I'm going to have to hit this book pretty hard in the next few months. My goal is to bring my total up to around 50,000 words by June. Ambitious, but if I can do 1000 words a day, not un-do-able.

Deliberately Misleading The American Public About A Deliberate Misleader

Via Mark Evanier, an excellent article about the media's treatment of the image of George W. Bush - statistically speaking, one of the most unpopular presidents in decades.

Paging Dr. McCoy

You scored as Beast. Codename: The Beast Full Name: Henry P. McCoy Mutant Powers: Increased agility, strength and stamina. Henry "Hank" McCoy is a founding member of the X-Men. Among all his original teamates, Hank had the best childhood, between loving parents, and so his temper and way of living was one of the happiest at the mansion. Beast's mutation at first was hardly noticable, but while away from the team, Hank made a terrible mistake: testing a new substance that he was using to study the x-factor. Beast tried the substance on himself. This caused a further mutation on his body, covering him with gray fur (that later became blue), fangs and great nails. He had then indeed become a "beast". One of the only students at the mansion who took up an education beyond that of the Xavier school, Beast's studies were in the biogenetic area of his field. Possessing a quick wit, a wry sense of humour, and scholarly wisdom, he also has a penchant for quoting the classics and poetry. Despite his beastly exterior, he is possesess incredible genius, making him one of the most intellingent minds in the world. Beast 85% Nightcrawler 80% Shadowcat 70% Iceman 55% Professor X 50% Wolverine 50% Banshee 45% Storm 40% Cyclops 40% Archangel 35% Colossus 25% Rogue 25% Jean Grey 20% Which X-Men member are You? created with QuizFarm.com

The Hitchhiker's Guide Has This To Say About Bad Versions Of Itself:

The initial reviews of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy indicate that it, well, sucks. Badly. One of my co-workers saw it on Friday, so I'm going to mine him for opinions tomorrow, but now I'm a bit worried. How hard is it to screw up a movie that was once a radio play, then a novel, and then another fairly decent if psychotropic movie? Via MeFi.

Major Mojo

Yesterday Liz and I attended a Mariners game (#5 of the season) and had a great time. Like true Seattle yuppies, we avoided peanuts and cracker jacks in favor of salmon ceaser salad and chowder from Ivars, and got coffee rather than beer. It was an excellent game: the Mariners were down, then up, then down again at the last second, and it came down to the last at-bat. I would have been disappointed in a shutout either way, or a game where no one scored.

Then we bummed around the UD for a while, going to church and picking up the lone funnybook of the week, until we hit a co-workers house for a fine dinner and great conversation. It was one of those evenings where everyone sits around the table after dinner ends, and no one suggests retiring to the living room because it might change the vibe of the discussion and things seem to be going just fine as they are, thankyouverymuch. We left several hours later without realizing how much time had passed. That's a good evening.

Writes and Wrongs

Tonight my gaming group opted to go with Star Wars d6 rather than my tarot game; I can't really say I blame them, but I was a little disappointed that I won't be able to give it a test drive. I'm thinking I might open myself to criticism galore and stick it on The Forge soon, but maybe I'll toss it to the Alliterates and see what they think.

I sat down to do a repeat of last night's chapter-writing, got a paragraph and a half in, and said "screw it." I just feel too damn tired to write at the moment, and I don't think anything I'm going to put down will be all that good.

I downloaded an album by Frou Frou, who does Dido better than Dido does Dido and does a great song on the Garden State soundtrack. Much digging it. I'm a little disappointed that the Postal Service song I like so much now seems to be on the radio every time I'm in the car; I just don't want to reach a point of oversaturation.

Wish I had more interesting things to report or discuss. I'm sure you all are sick of hearing about my house, and I'm kind of sick of working on it and talking about it. I'm going over to have dinner with a co-worker and her husband after an afternoon Mariners game this weekend; that's my exciting plans.

Writes and Wrongs

Tonight my gaming group opted to go with Star Wars d6 rather than my tarot game; I can't really say I blame them, but I was a little disappointed that I won't be able to give it a test drive. I'm thinking I might open myself to criticism galore and stick it on The Forge soon, but maybe I'll toss it to the Alliterates and see what they think.

I sat down to do a repeat of last night's chapter-writing, got a paragraph and a half in, and said "screw it." I just feel too damn tired to write at the moment, and I don't think anything I'm going to put down will be all that good.

I downloaded an album by Frou Frou, who does Dido better than Dido does Dido and does a great song on the Garden State soundtrack. Much digging it. I'm a little disappointed that the Postal Service song I like so much now seems to be on the radio every time I'm in the car; I just don't want to reach a point of oversaturation.

Wish I had more interesting things to report or discuss. I'm sure you all are sick of hearing about my house, and I'm kind of sick of working on it and talking about it. I'm going over to have dinner with a co-worker and her husband after an afternoon Mariners game this weekend; that's my exciting plans.

Writes and Wrongs

Tonight my gaming group opted to go with Star Wars d6 rather than my tarot game; I can't really say I blame them, but I was a little disappointed that I won't be able to give it a test drive. I'm thinking I might open myself to criticism galore and stick it on The Forge soon, but maybe I'll toss it to the Alliterates and see what they think.

I sat down to do a repeat of last night's chapter-writing, got a paragraph and a half in, and said "screw it." I just feel too damn tired to write at the moment, and I don't think anything I'm going to put down will be all that good.

I downloaded an album by Frou Frou, who does Dido better than Dido does Dido and does a great song on the Garden State soundtrack. Much digging it. I'm a little disappointed that the Postal Service song I like so much now seems to be on the radio every time I'm in the car; I just don't want to reach a point of oversaturation.

Wish I had more interesting things to report or discuss. I'm sure you all are sick of hearing about my house, and I'm kind of sick of working on it and talking about it. I'm going over to have dinner with a co-worker and her husband after an afternoon Mariners game this weekend; that's my exciting plans.

'Nother Chapter

Finished another chapter on the commie invader book. It looks like Wolfgang is gonna beat me like a rea-headed stepchild at the Alliterates meeting next week, but I'll at least have two chapters and a game to show for my absence.

News From The House of M

Seth sent me this incredible image of Magneto from the upcoming House of M series from Marvel. This is probably sketch-art, but it looks great.

Can We Talk?

The last week or so, I've been interviewing candidates for an internship we're opening at my company. Before this, I'd never interviewed a job candidate before; it's a very strange experience being on the other side of the table. If nothing else, I've learned a lot about how to present myself and answer questions during a job interview (at least, if I were the one interviewing, uh, myself).

On one level, it's a little surreal, because it represents a point in my career where I'm not just the bottom guy on the totem pole anymore. Not only will I be in charge of selecting an intern, I'll be in charge of that person's career development. Yikes!

Otherwise work has been acceptable, not necessarily good or bad. I'm in one of those phases where work is something I go to during the day and it doesn't really matter to me one way or another. Since I finished my game, I'm going to hit the novel(s) pretty hard - I want to knock out at least two more chapters on the Mars one, and I want to finish my first editing run through The Crocodile Man.

The house has been such a time-suck that it's difficult to conceive of free time beyond what we're doing to work on the house, and my weekly gaming sessions.

Speaking of, a big box of really cheap tarot decks arrived today, so I'm going to make some people playtest that system very soon.

I Like The Pope

John Paul II, the only Pope I've ever known, is dead.

The media has quit giving the pathetic souls surrounding the Schiavo case time in the limelight to focus on a person whose accomplishments will be felt well beyond his time. And not a moment too soon. See post below.

John Paul II was inagurated eight days before I was born. He presided over the Church as I grew in the Catholic faith, lost it, regained it, and lost it again. Even though I haven't been to church in years, I still feel like a piece of my life - one of the supporting pillars of it, actually - is gone.

There's no need to go into his accomplishments or shortcomings. There's no need to discuss Catholicism today, whatever its state might be.

But I do feel just a little bit empty.

A Game Completed

This evening, I finished the first draft of my RPG.

If I know you and you're a gamer, be prepared to hear all about it and be subjected to requests for playtesting. Fair warning.

Movie: Sin City

Yesterday I skipped out of work a little early to catch the last cheap-seat show of Sin City. To say this is one of the films I've been anticipating the most is an understatement; my expectations were incredibly high, and for the most part, they were met. It was a successful adaptation of the comic - frame by frame. The actors looked great and for the most part delivered their lines well (there were a couple of instances where they sounded a little too - as Jon put it - comic-book).

What I didn't leave the theater with was the feeling that I get when I'm simply overwhelmed by a film. Its a rare experience. It's the one where you don't look at your watch and you ignore the pain in your lower back because what's happening on screen is so damned interesting. I can count the number of movies where I've had this experience on one hand (OK, a hand and a half), and I wanted very badly to add Sin City to that list. I just couldn't.

It was great, though, and I'll see it again and probably a third time. I feel like I probably missed a lot of stuff. I want to appreciate the brilliant artistry without focusing as much on the action. Worth paying full price to see, it is. I hope you get the feeling I was looking for but didn't find.

Article on RPG Theory

Here's an interesting article on RPG theory, by one of the fine fellows over at The Forge.

Conservative Christian Morality Creates Blowjobs, Cornholing

Since this is from an article on Salon.com, and most of my (two) readers don't care to go through the rigamarole of watching their little movies, I'm going to reproduce it here.

Abstinence Pledges Suck -- Literally
As news spreads that teens who pledge chastity have lots more kinky sex, millions of aging boomers ask: Where was Bush when I was in high school?

New Rule: Abstinence pledges make you horny. A new eight-year study just released reveals that American teenagers who take "virginity" pledges of the sort so favored by the Bush administration wind up with just as many STDs as the other kids.

But that's not all -- taking the pledges also makes a teenage girl six times more likely to perform oral sex, and a boy four times more likely to get anal. Which leads me to an important question: where were these pledges when I was in high school?

Seriously, when I was a teenager, the only kids having anal intercourse were the ones who missed. My idea of lubrication was oiling my bike chain. If I had known I could have been getting porn star sex the same year I took Algebra II, simply by joining up with the Christian right, I'd have been so down with Jesus they would have had to pry me out of the pew.

For a bunch of teens raised on creationism, these red state kids today are pretty evolved -- sexually, anyway, and for that they can thank all who joined forces to try and legislate away human nature, specifically the ineluctable urge of teenagers to hump.

Yes, the "What do we tell the children?" crowd apparently decided not to tell them anything. Because people who talk about pee-pees are potty-mouths. And so armed with limited knowledge, and believing regular, vaginal intercourse to be either immaculate or filthy dirty, these kids did with their pledge what everybody does with contracts: they found loopholes. Two of them to be exact.

Is there any greater irony than the fact that the Christian Right actually got their precious little adolescent daughters to say to their freshly scrubbed boyfriends: "Please, I want to remain pure for my wedding night, so only in the ass. Then I'll blow you." Well, at least these kids are really thinking outside the box.

There's a lot worse things than teenagers having sex, namely, teenagers NOT having sex. Here's something you'll never hear: "That suicide bomber blew himself up because he was having too much sex. Sex, sex, sex, non-stop. All that crazy Arab ever had was sex, and look what happened."

Well, that's our story -- of how faith and the party of smaller government combined to turn your kids into a generation of super-freaks. Which shouldn't be surprising: Prohibition didn't work, "Just say no" didn't work, and I understand there's a host of Americans who illegally obtain and smoke marijuana. They're the ones who've been giggling every time I say anal sex.

Astronomy Milestone

Astronomers have taken the first photographs of an extrasolar planet.

How freakin' cool!

She's Dead, Jim

Terry Schiavo is dead. Thank God.

Here's my thoughts on the subject.

Death is a private matter for an individual. If you're going to share your wishes with anyone, you share them with a spouse or, in the absence of a spouse, your parents.

What Ms. Schiavo's parents did - parading their personal life, their daughter's suffering, and a court case they repeatedly lost - in front of the entire world is one of the lowest forms of self-serving grandstanding, and I hope their backwards "God" saves a nice warm spot in hell for them.

Jason's Laws of Home Improvement

1. No matter how much time you allot for a project, it will always take anywhere from 2-4 times the amount of time you allotted.

2. Whatever you purchase at Home Depot, you will inevitably forget - or not have - something. You could buy an entire Home Depot store, including the entire inventory, the building itself, the parking lot, the employees, and the land, and you would still be missing the right size paintbrush to finish a room.

Everyone Else Is Doing It...

As seen on Grubb Street and The Monkey King: a reformatted song.

The Man Comes Around

A Man

• Going around
• Taking names
• Deciding free and guilty
• When comes:
  • Everybody not treated same
  • A Golden Letter reaching down

Terror When Eating

• Hairs stand
• Will partake or disappear?

Hearing

• Trumpets
• Pipers
• 100M angels singing
• Lots marching to drums
• Voices calling, crying

Tarot Resource

Aeclectic Tarot, a website that catalogs over 500 Tarot decks.

Movie News: Dune

Universal was planning on releasing an extended cut of David Lynch's version of Dune this May, but pulled it without reason about a month ago. Lynch has always disowned the extended cut. Now, The Digital Bits is reporting that the DVD was pulled because Lynch himself is working on the extended version!

Movie: Beauty Shop

Ways in which Beauty Shop differed from Crossroads:

I had the option to, and exercised, walking out of my free screening of Crossroads.

In the Hizzouse

Larry flew in for an extended weekend - I'm using the last of my vacation time - and we've been spending almost every waking moment at the house. Larry is extraordinarily knowledgable about home-improvement stuff, and we're nearly done with two of our major projects. We tore down all of the old, shitty drywall in the den (what was under the paneling). We tore the carpet off of the Box Man Was Not Meant To Contemplate, and found that - get this - one one side of the Box, the only thing seperating it from the Outside World was a piece of cardboard and some duct tape. So we reinforced and rebuilt the box, and then we built two small walls around it (framed them, installed them, etc.) so that the finished product will be an in-the-wall bookshelf. No more Box!

And of course, drywalling the entire room around it.

Then, the kitchen. The rest of the pergo flooring is gone. We had to put plywood down to reinforce the floor. On top of that, we installed sheets of concrete backing. Then, the tiles on top of those.

To top it off, we finished painting the trim in the (formerly) Pink room, and the entire room looks - well - amazing. The whole process has been chronicled in picture form, and we'll share it all when we're closer to being done.

Also, I think I'm going to schedule my Halloween/Housewarming party soonish, so that people can mark it on their calendars and make plans to attend.

Goddamn This Noise Inside My Head

For the last two hours, I've been listening to a strange, rythmic thrumming noise. As fair as I can tell, this noise sounds as if it's coming from inside my head. If I listen closely enough, it almost sounds musical, as if an instrument were progressing up a scale over and over.

Maybe I should get some sleep.

Sully Agrees

I must call attention to Andrew Sullivan's blog entry today, specifically "Conservative Crack-Up II."

My fear is that the zealotry he's referring to is fast becoming the centerpiece not only of the Republican party and the conservative movement, but a lot of people in the United States who have been made to feel that they have to go along with this whole thing or risk being labeled anti-American, or worse.

Capitalizing on Suffering

Here's a shock: a memo circulated among Republican Senators outlines ways they can capitalize on the suffering and contraversy of Terry Schiavo.

But hey, they're against gay marriage so they play real well in the Red states.

About that plan to split the country...

Do the De-volution

Red state news: movie theaters in the South (Red states) refuse to acknowledge scientific progress by not showing a movie containing references to evolution.

I mean, it's their call and all, but I just have to ask: can they really be that fucking ignorant cowardly free to do as they chose, no matter how moronic?

Game Night

Back to the all-small RPG Jon's been running. Tonight was particularly harsh; two out of the three of us ended up on a slab. The perfect antidote to a long day at work, though. I've made some major progress on my little RPG project; I'm thinking I might have enough to send to some playtesters soon. I've been lurking around a forum called The Forge, dedicated to development of independent, small-press RPGs (like My Life With Master or Dogs in the Vineyard). I'm happy to say that there doesn't seem to be anything there quite like what I'm doing, which is good. However, it is rather non-traditional (no dice) so we'll see how people take to it. After reading Anne's blog entry for the day, where she mentions that she has to roll dice every five minutes, I'm a apprehensive about introducing the game to a community that has been based on the tumble of a die, and the only exceptions to the rule (the Amber Diceless System, for example) have been regarded more as curiosities than serious systems.

Side note: it looks like Carnivale is in the process of concluding, but goddamn it's a fantastic series!

Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films

A website called Arts and Faith has released a list of their Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films. The list is not only interesting from a film lover's perspective, but from a religious studies perspective: Arts and Faith is a decidedly conservative, protestant Christian site (they praise the evangelical subjects of the documentary Hell House), and they place much value on films as diverse as Blade Runner, Fight Club, The Lord of the Rings, The Last Temptation of Christ, Dogma and even Monty Python's Life of Brian (the last received a special jury selection). It's heartening to see so many of these films considered for their spiritual significance, even by those who might traditionally be offended by the films - or believe they should be offended without having seen the film first.

A Zombie Family Tree

Finally, an all in one resource for the geneaology of zombie movies!

Book: Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund

I've been meaning to read Ahab's Wife for the last four years, when Liz first recommended it to me. For some reason, I could never get past the first twenty pages or so. This time, I made sure that I did, and I'm happier for it. Ahab's Wife centers around Una Spenser, none other than the wife vaguely referenced in Moby Dick. Ms. Naslund gives her a body, mind, and spirit and created a believable woman hero. The book covers a lot of ground, from the excitement and horror of whaling to the abolitionist movement and American religious discussions of the early-to-mid 1800s. The main character made me fall in love with her a little, too. The language is lush and extraordinarily emotive. A great read.

Conservatism Today

Andrew Sullivan has a wry comment that a conservative government that has to interfere in baseball and the right of a single Florida woman to live in pain or die with dignity is not a conservative government at all.

Frankly, I think this manner of meddling is exactly the hallmark of a conservative government, and I wonder why he's so surprised about it.

To Sleep, Perchance To Dream

That's what I've been doing since I got back: sleeping and dreaming. I feel like my sleep battery was completely depleted in Vegas, and no matter how long or hard I sleep to get it back, it's still only running at about 25%.

I missed a going-away party for fellow Alliterate and great guy Stan! last night, and based on the report on Wolfgang's Live Journal, it sounds like I should have gone. I nearly did, but I was caught in painting hell until about a half-hour before on the exact opposite side of town and didn't want to waltz in two hours late. Hopefully I'll get a chance to say good-bye to Stan, either before he leaves or at a convention this summer.

Did I mention the house? Yes! One bedroom is completely painted except for the trim. The other will receive its second coat today. The living room is primed and ready to go. And Liz, Brook, and Wendi gleefully demolished the strange kitchen island and the kitchen floor yesterday, to prepare for an upcoming weekend of tiling hell.

I promise that this blog (and my life) will become much less house-oriented at the end of April, when we must be completely moved in.

Today, I'm going to go see The Aviator again with Brook and Wendi and Liz, and hopefully hit the funnybook store, a duty I've been ignoring for too long. I'd also like to get The Incredibles on DVD while it's still at the first-week discount price.

Quote of the Day

"'All my life,' I answered, 'I have been a natural skeptic.' And I turned my life - is it too much to say? - away from her. My body seemed a boat, my clothes the sails, myself the captain."

From Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund

What Happens In Vegas Stays In Viva Las Fucking Vegas Baby

I think I got all the cliches/free associations wrapped up in the title, except maybe Fear and Loathing in and Leaving. I'm back, a little worse for wear - I've got a bruise the size of a grapefruit on my left calf with a hard thing the size of a golfball in the middle of it, and I can't remember for the life of me how it got there. Oh, and I lost all my gambling money, but I figured I would, so there you go. But it teased me, and I was left with the thrill of the chase and zero payoff, like the entire city exists to cause a massive case of karmic blue balls before it bends you over.

I think everyone has a "defining Vegas moment" where they realize what the city is and more importantly means to them. Mine came while I was still up at the tables, and I went to the Rio to catch Penn and Teller with some co-workers. We wandered through the lobby, and by the bar sat what looked like a gorgeous, backlit ice sculpture of the hotel's logo. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be nothing more than a piece of cheap (hollow) plastic designed to look like ice. They hadn't even taken the effort to remove the seams from the mold. And I thought - and verbally expressed to one of my co-workers - "this is Vegas, right here. Beautiful from a distance, as all shining artificial things are beautiful, but plain and even a little shabby when inspected."

Not like any of this is new, people have been saying this about Vegas for years, but Vegas may be one of the few unique places in the world that defy description and must be singly experienced in all of its sensory-overloading glory. I could tell you all about Stonehenge, and from my description, you'd pretty much understand what it's all about. Vegas may be beyond such. Perhaps that's why there's relatively few books/movies/etc. about Las Vegas as compared to say New York?

The long and the short if it are, I lost 60, was up 40, and then lost everything. The last part of that took about 25 minutes all told. I had the good sense to walk away, but damn.

I saw shows. I saw Zumanity, the "adult" Cirque du Soleil show, which meant it was Cirque du Soleil with a lot of nudity, male and female, and implied and not-so-implied sex acts of all kinds. I admit it was very good; it was also my first Cirque du Soliel show. The music complimented the performance perfectly. My recommendation is to bring a date, because it's something best experienced with a lover.

Penn and Teller was disappointing. Their TV specials are better, and free.

Vegas itself - I have no desire to go back, but perhaps it will grow on me again, when I have time to forget. It seems the entire city is based around the idea of encouraging negative karma; it has a tendency to wear on the soul a bit.

On The Road Again, Home Again

I'm back from my little trip to GAMA 2005 to represent my company at that trade show, in lovely Las Vegas. Needless to say, I'm gonna get caught up around here.

What The Fuck Is Wrong With People?

I've asked that question many times, and I'm sure I'll ask it many more.

Yesterday, we went to Lowes, a store not unlike Home Depot if Home Depot were the House of Usher inhabited by Deep Old Ones. Where Home Depot is large, easy to navigate, and full of nice people, Lowes is cramped, angles don't seem to meet up correctly giving you a headache after being inside after three minutes, and the staff seemed to be competing in some kind of surly contest. We had to make a couple of returns, so I stop by the service desk and get in line. Almost immediately, I notice that there's a guy sitting in a wheelchair next to the door. More disconcerting is the fact that this guy is bleeding from several places on his face. Even worse, the blood isn't just tricking out, it's at the ooze stage - I can actually see it kind of coming out of the bridge of his nose, a big spot by his eye, and a large patch on his cheek. I immediately go into Boy Scout mode, and figure that he has gotten hurt recently, and that no one seems to be helping him. I turn to another guy in line.

"Is someone helping that guy?"

"I think they're calling the manager."

The manager? What the fuck. They ought to be calling an ambulance. I go over to the guy and ask if he's OK. He nods, but doesn't seem especially coherant. The guy I asked in line informs me that the guy in the wheelchair fell on his way in, and his glasses cut his face. He must have hit his head right on his glasses, because at this point blood is dripping down his nose. I also notice that the plastic nose pad has embedded itself in his skin and broken off from his glasses, so there's a big hunk of plastic under the blood and a nasty bit sticking out of his face.

I look around for a second, and the manager doesn't seem to be anywhere around. I turn to the girl working the return desk. "Call the paramedics," I said. "This guy needs some help." She tells me she already did. I decided to re-iterate, and she assured me they were on their way. Meanwhile, no one else is doing anything, and most of them aren't even trying to help.

I went to the bathroom, scrubbed the hell out of my hands, and got some paper towels so he could start mopping up the blood. When I came back, some kind of manager was standing there. I handed the guy the towels so he could start cleaning himself up. There was enough blood that he soaked them in a matter of seconds. The manager left, and said - I shit you not - "I'm going to go get a band-aid." I suggested, not to her face, that she might want to get some bactine while she was at it, for all the good it would do.

I uttered a four-letter word and went back to the bathroom for more towels. The manager still hasn't come back with the "band-aids" by the time I'm back, and the guy looks awful. And no one else is helping him. For fuck's sake. One of the employees comes over, and they wheel the guy over to the area in front of the bathroom, because it's more convenient (and out of the way of the people trying to shop who don't want to see a bloody old man in a wheelchair, I guess). To their credit, the paramedics arrive moments later and I direct them over to the guy. I seem to have been the only one who's noticed that a piece of the guy's glasses is jammed under his skin, so I inform the medical professionals of this fact.

After completing my return a few minutes later, I went over to the guy to see if he was OK. It turns out his name was Warren. The paramedics say:

"Warren here would like to still do some shopping before he leaves, will you be able to help with that?"

"I guess, if no one from the store can help him I'd be glad to."

"You mean you don't work for the store?"

"No."

But there was something unspoken there, too: "if you don't work for the store, why did you get involved?"

"Because it's the right thing to fucking do, and if I were an 80-year-old man who just hit my fucking head on the pavement and drove a chunk of my fucking glasses into my skin, I'd damn well want someone to help me out, too!"

At least, that's what I would have said had he posed the unasked question.

What bothers me though, is that out of the ten people standing in that area, I was the only one who went out of my way to help.

Like A Good Neighbor

The neighbors are nice, but it almost seems like they're trying too hard to be nice. Like, going out of their way to do strange, little nice things for us. Example: yesterday as I was hacking down the holly bush (as in, destroying a plant), I commented to the neighbor that her flowers were coming in. Being that it's spring and all. She said that she'd used a big sprinkler full of fertilizer on her flowers, and attributed their blooming to this (I didn't have the heart to tell her that we had flowers blooming all over our backyard without the benefits of nasty, awful chemicals - I dedided the time to get all hippy on these folks hasn't come yet).

I nodded and said something nice. She then offered me the fertlizer. I looked at the plant I was in the middle of destroying, thinking I could make a snarky comment about not really needing it, but decided against this. I thanked her politely, and she slid it under the split-rail fence that divides our properties.

A few minutes later, Liz comes out to see how I'm doing. She gets the same treatment. Liz is typically the one who can refuse thing. I can be a bit of a pussy about not wanting to piss someone off or offend someone, especially if it's a) a person I have only recently met and b) a person I may have to spend a fair amount of time being around. For example, a new neighbor.

Maybe Liz really did take the fertilizer and go use it. I don't know. But I've kind of gotten the impression that she's trying to be super-nice to us, like she wants to convince us of sometime. I hate to say this, but it's setting off some of the same little sensors I developed as a social worker, when someone was trying to be super-polite and nice and all to distract me from the fact that they were beating their kids in the next room. Not that I'm saying that's what's happening, but it's got my screwed-up little imagination running.

House Work

The plan was to get up early, get our shopping done, and hit the house hard yesterday. The getting up early part, we accomplished. The shopping, for some reason, was like this negative-zone black hole where time twisted and folded in on itself, and we didn't finish until 1 PM (and I don't even want to think about how much it cost, either. Glad I've got a bonus coming).

Part of what we purchased was a cheap gas mower, because the lawn was too damn bushy for the pushmower I bought. So I put that together, and cleared the last of the tree branches out of the front yard, and then hacked down this awful-looking holly bush. Now, I've got a bunch of holly branches and twigs to use as firewood. Woohoo! Then I mowed. I pretty much had to cover the lawn twice because the grass was so high, but when I was done, I had one of those "realization" moments where I went holy shit, this is my house now. And the lawn is so small, the mowing took about a half-hour; not too shabby.

Liz meanwhile was inside prepping two more rooms for painting; the pink room's trim, and the purple room's floor. Meanwhile, I installed the new uber-security locks on our doors, which I have to admit Seth is correct regarding: those are probably much better investments in home security than a shotgun. Then, we painted, priming the purple room and doing the first coat of paint in the (no longer) pink room. Pink will need one more coat, but when we were done, it looked great. We made a solid plan for the rest of the house's paint scheme and, for the first time, it seems like we're going to be able to accopmlish a lot of our goals (most of them before we move in, too.)

It's a really nice feeling.

Moving and Stuff

We're in the slow process of moving ourselves bit-by-bit to the new place. I got a bunch of boxes from work, and we're trying to take stuff each time we go to the house.

Last night, the gaming group skipped roleplaying in favor of Apples to Apples, and there were no complaints. I told them a little about the system I devised, and informed them that I plan to experiment upon them at some point.

House Progress

The pink room is now a pleasing primer color, ready for a more artistic interpretation this weekend.

A Rose By Any Other Game

I've been batting around an idea for a role-playing system for about a month and a half, mostly with Seth in our lunch hours at work. Last night, I put most of it into a rough draft. I've already got some changes, but I feel like I made a major accomplishment. And I gotta say, I'm excited to try it out because I think it will be really cool.

Feeding My Inner Redneck

With a 1989 Dodge Dakota pickup! YEE-HAW!!!!!!!

The price was right, and it runs and does what we want it to do. Now for the gun rack and the country music 8-tracks!

Back To The Rat Race

The vacation is over. Work and worry begin again.

I need to buy a cheap pickup truck. Anyone know where I might aquire such a vehicle?

Vacation Vacation

Friday night, I hung out with Andy and Bean, two of my pals from high school. We hit a dance club in Tulsa's downtown district. The high points: my friends bought me alcohol and the club was much less smokey than I'm used to. The low points: it was a meat market full of singles (I guess) grinding each other to very loud music, and apparently because the ventilation was too good, there was a smoke machine to fill the dance floor with nasty-smelling smoke. Yum!

I actually had a good time, drank a little more than I should have, but it was almost a moment like Zach Braff surrounded by his friends in Garden State: one of those "what the fuck?" moments where you're watching your friends do their thing, and you realize that the gulf between you and them is getting wider. But, at the same time, they are some of the best friends you will ever have.

Yesterday, I did a nice little tour of some people I missed seeing when I was here for Thanksgiving. I saw Jimmy, which meant I got to talk comic books and horror movies for three hours, and I headed up to Larry and Cindi's for dinner and gaming with one of my old gaming groups. Larry and I hit Home Depot where I found some really stellar ideas for painting and wall texturing, and we came back for smoked brisket and a marathon game of Munchkin with the group. They were going to role-play to playtest a system on of the guys is working on self publishing, but I was dragging some serious ass by that point and begged off to drive home for some sleep. I'm glad I did, because I nearly fell asleep three or four times on the drive home.

Liz reports that the lock has been changed on the security-risk door, and the panels have been removed from the den. I'm excited, I can't wait to take a sander to that last wall and get to work on priming it so I can try this awesome Venetian-plaster finish!

The Links

Considering I haven't picked up a club in more than two years, I did very well today - some holes I sucked on, but at the end I was hitting even with my dad. Got a couple of bogeys, even putted for par on one hole. I nailed a couple of drives (one of my major golf weaknesses) and had a couple of excellent chips and putts (my other major golf weakness).