"More than Once a Year Makes Them Nervous"

Woah. It has a graphic. I'm sort of climbing out of a bad patch, thanks to yesterday's non-productivity, doses of Futurama and Rome, and cracking The Gone Away World (thanks, Nick!). Nothing serious, but there's a few things in my life that are going to change. But this post has to do with the panel. I'll post about my life later.

It's a little nerve-wracking to know that the panel is coming up in less than a week and a half. Must do some brushing-up on Dracula (where is that quote? Is reading from the Unicorn edition a good idea or just bragging?) Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Laurel K. Hamilton, Nancy Collins, Suzy McKee Charnas, a touch of Leonard Wolf, perhaps quote Frank Langella. Peg the dates of Hotel Transylvania and Interview with a Vampire. I think I'll need some notecards. And when did that "Demon Lover" ballad get written down?

But the real question remains; is there anything that humans won't have sex with?

Thrill the World!

Today is Thrill the World day, when thousands of people go out and perform Michael Jackson's Thriller dance, somewhat simultaneously, all around the world. It's an interesting confluence of 80s pop culture, zombie flash mob, and internet organization. This year it's a little strange since Michael is dead.

As for myself, I thrilled the world last week in a different fashion. I finally played my zombies vs. Cthulhu game of Horrorclix. Again appropriate because Horrorclix is currently dead (but dreaming... NECA recently acquired the license). While Cthulhu lost without even eliminating a third of the fielded zombies, it was fun to see some 26 zombies slowly marching on the Great Old One. The Wizkids sculptors made those little zombies very evocative.

WarMachine!

This is the first half of the Warmachine battle report my brother put together last month. I'm pretty impressed... it's the distilled action of what happens in a Warmachine game, without the dice-rolling, the animated argument, and the tedious waiting for a player to make a decision. It establishes a good narrative, the background music is excellent, and it moves along at a good clip. Enjoy.




Two points I'd like to make. One, this wouldn't have looked half as good if the models weren't painted.

Two, I suggested the Adventures of Baron Munchausen reference.

What did You Do This Weekend?

I was incredibly geeky. My brother came up, and recorded a battle report for a Warmachine fight against the Master Painter and his mercs. Here's the first part of the battle report, which look to be more interesting that the battle itself.



Thanks, Iren Bear. This looks awesome.

Notes on the Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse

From Nick Mamatas:

You are in a mall when the zombies attack. You have:

1. one weapon.
2. one song blasting on the speakers.
3. one famous person to fight alongside you.

* Weapon can be real or fictional; you may assume endless ammo if applicable. Person can be real or fictional.

1. The Traveller-vintage Fusion Gun: Man Portable. Given the situation, there's no kill like an overkill.

2. "Mars: God of War" from Holst's Planet suite. It's reasonably long, so I won't get sick of it in ten minutes flat, while at the same time being unbelievable kickass.

3. Shane, from Shane. I don't think he missed one shot in that entire film.

The Inevitable Gygax Memorial

Mood

Unmotivated

In the wake of all the Gary Gygax tributes, it has occurred to me that many people have missed the man's ultimate legacy. Dungeons and Dragons took an antisocial demographic, the geek, and got them together for a social activity. Yes, most game groups were closed circles, but at least we were all talking. We laughed, we faced challenged in a team-building way, and we spent a lot of time interacting with each other.

This, really, is Gary Gygax's legacy. A generation of geeks and nerds who have a modicum of social ability, who can get together be social and polite, and gave us a common culture: role-playing games.

That's right. Gary Gygax united the geeks.

Templecon was Fun!

Mood:

Havin' fun playin wiv mah bruvva

I had a good time playing with my brother at Templecon, a large east coast Warmachine convention. I didn't win any prizes, because my style of play, which is to not commit fully until the enemy makes a mistake then pounce on him, really isn't as consistently effective as having an well thought-out plan.

And I still have that competitive edge that makes losing a too-personal experience for me. I get that uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, and the face-too-tight sensation when I watch my opponent really gain the upper hand in a match. Although after six months of play, this has eased off a bit. I doubt it will ever actually stop bothering me, but I think repeated defeat in public will continue to erode that humiliating feeling of utter failure when I am beaten.

The games had many interesting moments, the most visual of which is below. My Iron Lich Asphyxious (in black) fighting a Seraph (in blue and orange) on a tall rocky pinnacle. Asphyxious did not actually kill the Seraph; he severely hurt it and threw it off the tower. It was the Slayer jack (at bottom right) that struck the killing blow.



Outside of the game itself, I'm enjoying painting Warmachine models (you can see some on my website). It takes a bit less talent than I had originally feared. And it's a good rest when I'm brain-tired from writing.