May the 4th be With You!

This is one of the funniest straight bits I've seen in a long, long time.

May the 4th be with you!

Just Saw Guardians of the Galaxy...Loved It!

Just saw Guardians of the Galaxy this morning and it was awesome! I will not post any spoilers, but I will say I was disappointed in one super-minor (and highly personal) thing. I'm normally not that observant, but I spotted a hilarious Easter-egg that was only on the screen and in-focus for a split-second....short enough for me to question if I saw what I saw. My suspicions were confirmed in the after-credits scene.

Also, this is what, the 10th modern Marvel movie? Who the hell bothers to get up and leave the theater when the credits start to roll? Evidently some folks in Boise, that's who.

Dr Who 50th Anniversary Project

Thanks to i09 for this wonderful link to a cool animated video from Chan Dia that shows us the 12 Doctors that was made for the Dr Who 50th Anniversary.

An Important Message From the White House......

I know it's been a while since I've posted. Been busy with other projects and some work. It felt like all my posts were complaining about the job search, so I just kind of put this blog on the back-burner.

One thing I have been doing is playing some (probably too much) Call of Duty: Ghosts. I finished the game on the hardest difficulty and have barely played around with the Extinction mode, which means I've been busy with the multiplayer. I'm in a good clan of folks I knew from my HackMaster 4th edition days and guys I've come to know online.

Anyway this video popped up on my Google+ feed and I thought it was hilarious. I hope you find it funny as well.  NSFW by the way.....

What Should We Buy?

For those of you thinking about maybe....possibly....kind of getting a next generation console this year, no doubt you've been pondering the great PS4 vs. XBONE debate.

Hopefully this NSFW Bert & Ernie Mashup will help you decide....

....ok, it won't help with anything, but I found it amusing all the same.

Two Geeky Video Game Shorts

Today was a rich video-game video day thanks to the fine folks at Kotaku.

They featured two videos today, one was a cool fan-film making fun of the venerable Resident Evil franchise. It basically makes fun of some of the absurdity of the video games, but I think it is largely still approachable for those that haven't played any of the games.

The other is actually part of a series (ok, episode two of a two-part series) that looks like it could have been made by the creators of Portal. It it really well done, but if you aren't familiar with the game this short is probably lost on you. The animation is good though. I'll post the vid for the 1st episode instead of the one released today.

Enjoy....

Geekgasm: Spyfall

There are some pretty decent fan-films floating about, but few of them are as well polished as Spyfall.

It has been quite a while since I've played Team Fortress 2, but after watching this I'd like to fire up the 'ol Xbox.

I would pay to see the movie this trailer is for.....

Two Gaming Pictures

I was going through some pictures, trying to find one particular picture I had taken last summer. I haven't found it yet, but I did come across two somewhat geeky pictures that put a smile on my face.

It's been an "interesting" week, to say the least, with a variety of ups and downs. I've blogged a bit about both ends of the spectrum this week, so I won't get into it too much.

I was able to pick up our Knights of the Dinner Table #199 from Captain Comics and was surprised to find a picture Carolyn and I sent in to Jolly gracing one of the pages. This is a special issue because Carolyn's adventure submission (KoDT had a contest) was inside, but seeing the picture was icing on the proverbial cake.

Game On!

Some mutual friends of ours (we all belong to the same Toastmasters Club) went on vacation and asked Carolyn and I to house-sit their cats. We had full run of their rather large house full of a LOT of cool toys. Since we were going to be there during game night we asked if it was alright for the rest of the group to come over. We decided it would be way too cool to don our HackMaster Association volunteer shirts and play some HackMaster in the hot-tub. We didn't really play so much as "play" with the minis and dice, but we did have a map and some terrain. I was actually surprised just how much of our gaming gear is waterproof.

Dice Don't Fail Me Now!

This was the second picture that I had all but forgotten about. A couple of years ago I decided to buy into the hype and go with Gamescience precision dice. I love my dice and I think they roll better than anything else I've had. By "better" I don't mean "high".

As you can see in this picture, the d4's are squared off at the corners. I don't remember the roll, but I was tossing out 3d4p for some reason and one of the dice landed on it's "point". My rolling surface is the lid from a cigar box that has been lined with stiff, thick leather. The dice don't roll over as much, and I tend to toss them a bit harder to compensate. Imagine my surprise when this happened. Luckily I had witnesses and my camera to document the occasion.

My wife isn't the only one in our family that gets excited by dice.....

Melting Point

I realize I've been all over the place when it comes to Kickstarter, but this local project is pretty fricken cool.

Melting Point is going to be a long stop-motion animated movie with Legos, also called a Brick Movie. For me, the cool thing is the fact that the Kickstarter Appeal itself is a small brick movie, so right off the bat you get to see this guy's talent in making the very product he wants help funding.

I'm impressed not only by the quality of the appeal (which should in itself be so revealing), but the fact that he isn't asking for a butt-load of money, just what he needs for actual materials/capital to get the project completed....not "pay me to work on the project".

 I really hope he gets this movie made with the help of Kickstarter.

Spock Vs. Spock

Even though I should be working on a couple of difficult class projects due Friday, I still start off my morning with a quick hop around the interwebs. At first I thought this video was pretty "meh", but ....well, I should let you discover that on your own, spoiler-free.

I cannot find the site where I came across this this morning, but I was able to find it again on YouTube.

Definitely worth a couple minutes of your time:

GaryCon V Photos

I realized I had never posted about my trip to GaryCon last month.

In short: awesome convention.

I ran one Learn-to-Hack game at the convention and spent the rest of the time either hanging out or playing.  I got in more HackMaster in this one con than I have in the last 5 years of game conventions combined, and I've been to more than a few cons.  The last half-a-decade I'd been volunteering at the Origins Game Fair and a couple of GenCons, organizing the HackMaster events for Kenzer & Company.  All my time had been spent running events (working) and not playing in any.

To say that GaryCon was an enlightening experience is an understatement.  Not only did I get to meet and play with a bunch of old KenzerCo friends, I got to meet some legends of the industry.  Yes, these are relatively normal guys, but still....their work has given me so much enjoyment over the years.  I didn't really sign up for any games since I was there more to chill, but I was able to jump into several and there was a big pick-up game I got into.  I didn't loose any PCs, but there were a few close calls.

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but here are some of the better ones.....(click for larger pic):

Funny Home Video: Darth Baby's Lightsaber

This video has been making the rounds lately, which is a good thing because it.....is.....awesome.

Amazing what people can do with home video editing and after effects these days.  Makes me want to get a nice recorder and go to town...as if I need another project to take up my time.

The only thing I didn't like was the very end.

A Good KoDT Day for Me

Today was a good geek day for me.

I got to pick up Knights of the Dinner Table Issue #196 at our local comic book store, the only reliable place for getting this monthly comic.

Carolyn and I went out to lunch and when we got back there was a package waiting for me on the front step.  It was from a couple of friends of ours down in Salt Lake City.  I knew the package was a late Christmas gift, but I'd have been happy if I had to wait until next Christmas....as long as I got it.  This was something I was getting one way or another, our friends just saved me some wait and some cash.

Funny College Humor Clip Featuring the Avengers

Every once in a while I come across a funny video or animation poking a little bit of fun at Batman or the Avengers.

Some of the clips from HISHE immediately come to mind, especially the running Superman & Batman chatting in a diner.

This morning I did a little link-hopping and came across this bit from College Humor and thought some like-minded folks might enjoy it:

Geekgasm: The Big Whobowski

I like the mashups.

Mashups are labors of love usually combining two geeky things.  This Dr. Who and The Big Lebowski mashup is no different.  Awesome just scratches the surface on this one.

I have no idea how people even come up with the idea, much less manage to keep at it until there is a finished video.  I'm sure I could probably come up with an idea.....hell I'm sure I have before, but managing to execute on an idea is what separates geeks like me from the übergeeks like Bob Mitsch (if that is his real name!)

Awesome Mixed Media Video: Paper War

Even though this style of art doesn't "speak to me", even I had to admit that this video is simply awesome.

Made by Chinese students Su Zhiwu and Liao Xiangzhong, Paper War, is just a hair over six minutes long.  It must have taken months of work to put together.

Hopefully you'll agree that they did a great job.

A Little Entertainment For All You Bruces and Shielas

I've always had an affinity for Monty Python.  In high school I probably watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail far too many times.  I've owned it on VHS, Laser Disc, and now on DVD.

Recently I got to see it again on the big screen and realized that I've never seen it in that format and really....I've never seen it.

Anyway, I digress.  The whole point of this post is that I found a video of my favorite Monty Python song, which is the "Philosopher's Song".  I think most people like the "Lumberjack Song" the best.  "Every Sperm is Sacred" and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" are pretty good too, but the seldom-heard song for Bruces & Shielas is the one I like the best.

Of course I get the words wrong all the time when I try to sing along, which is one of the reasons I like this video so much.

Powerpuff Avengers

Ok this just put a big smile on my face.  I don't watch this cartoon, but I have seen it before.

I don't think it needs a lot of introduction, so just enjoy it.  Obviously a labor of love.

Analysis of the Battle of Hoth

Okay, now this is a geeky way to spend a Tuesday morning, doing a military analysis of the Battle of Hoth from The Empire strikes Back.

It's a good read that you might enjoy.....I did.

Upside Downton Abbey

About a month ago the Mrs. and I decided to watch an old (I mean really old) episode of Sesame Street on Netflix.  It was pretty cool in a flashback kind of way, but trippy since there was such an innocence back then that seemed so shocking by today's standards.

There were shots of the project high-rises in the background (set dressing), adults were creepily chatting up young girls, and there was no Elmo or Mr. Snuffleupagus.  Contrast all this with the super catchy learning shorts that transitioned the segments.  Deep down in my mind I had remembered all of those shorts but forgotten about the rest of the show. One, two, three, four-five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, el-le-eh-eh-ven twelve!

Ok, that last sentence is much more lyrical in my head.