The year is hurtling towards its end once again. And with it, come all the woes and worries we had to endure. For holidays bring spare time, spent in between meals as well as in the evenings leading up to them.
As always I tend to find something to do in those spare hours and the last couple of weeks have had me travelling across the southern provinces, playing video games as well as viewing some of the nicer indie and blockbuster movies of recent times. But that would be getting ahead of myself. And it would be better to save those for the next chaos reconstruction.
To be brief about it all.
If you liked Sherlock Holmes, you will not be disappointed when you go to see A Game of Shadows. Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page kick ass in Super. Ryan Kwanten sounds better in Griff the Invisible than most of his performances on True Blood put together. And David Hyde Pierce + Joseph Gordon-Levitt provide a very nice voice cast for a movie.
Up next: what will you be doing on New Year's Eve?
Sunday, 25 December 2011
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Which One is More Human
The last few months have been filled with rehearsal, rehearsal and a side of rehearsal, leading me to neglect every other social aboligation during week nights. The band has some tricks up their sleeve for this year, with lots of brass and reed mucking up the nice electronic noise we usually throw out there.
Luckily it still ends up as the normal hodge podge we produce.
On to more interesting matters.
The new throng of prometheans have moved on to Russia, Saint Petersburg to be exact. Here they met with the last of the new arrivals, Private, a WW II soldier and the 'other' promethean to grace the streets of the good city of Leningrad: Grigori. Luckily they adapted quite easily to the luxurious style he lives by. But how long until they see him for what he really is?
On the other hand, my session for the Winterweekend is coming along nicely.
The location is set, Morning Dew Summer Camp, a place where 8-10 year old kids can come the have te thime of their life. Unfortunately, a small mishap 10 years ago made sure it had to be closed down, but this summer it reopens and you are going to be a counselor there. You know the grounds, because you were there 10 years ago. And the last session of group therapy was the only thing left before you could confront your memories in person. Now if only I could find a couple of hours to actually draw the park. Then again, I assume that some of these summer camps will have an online map available.
Luckily it still ends up as the normal hodge podge we produce.
On to more interesting matters.
The new throng of prometheans have moved on to Russia, Saint Petersburg to be exact. Here they met with the last of the new arrivals, Private, a WW II soldier and the 'other' promethean to grace the streets of the good city of Leningrad: Grigori. Luckily they adapted quite easily to the luxurious style he lives by. But how long until they see him for what he really is?
On the other hand, my session for the Winterweekend is coming along nicely.
The location is set, Morning Dew Summer Camp, a place where 8-10 year old kids can come the have te thime of their life. Unfortunately, a small mishap 10 years ago made sure it had to be closed down, but this summer it reopens and you are going to be a counselor there. You know the grounds, because you were there 10 years ago. And the last session of group therapy was the only thing left before you could confront your memories in person. Now if only I could find a couple of hours to actually draw the park. Then again, I assume that some of these summer camps will have an online map available.
Monday, 5 September 2011
Good Friends We've Lost Along the Way
Letting go of players is never easy, but sometimes the world does not cooperate.
Three of my Truck Stop players have left the campaign due to a vocational paradigm shift; simply put, they moved to the other side of the country to start their new courses, which left them unable to travel back and forth in a timely fashion.
So this is a salute to three fine players and their efforts to stay ahead of the curve.
Mozatan, the short-fused mechanic
Mose was a quiet man, unless there was a profit to be had on the hapless customers of the Truck Stop. A small dent here, some missing fuel lines there. Nothing was too difficult to fix for him. Mostly because he had the ripped out those fuel lines only minutes before, but who would argue about that with this 6'5" mountain of muscles.
After the truck stop exploded he went on his roundabout and has since gone to the Wastes.
Hae-Yoo, the gun-toting store clerk
Why waste time helping people when you could just as easily show them the badly drawn floor plan so they can get lost in your shop for even longer and buy more stuff? Hae-Yoo snuck around, had his Shabti do everything he did not have to do and simply misinterpreting every single thing the humans did.
When you assume that you should throw hamburgers in peoples' faces to get free food, you know you must be a promethean.
Bollo, the card-sharking encyclopedia
Bollo never intended to end up in this mess. He just got dragged along with everything the others seemed to do. Eurydice had him stab someone. David sent him on errands and every customer treated him like thrash.
Once the group split up for three months he actually enjoyed himself as a waiter.
But after that, the group got together again and the madness ensued once more.
He saw everything, remembers even more, but why would you interfere in the affairs of others?
I have had the time of my life playing with them and I hope to see them again sometime in the near future.
Three of my Truck Stop players have left the campaign due to a vocational paradigm shift; simply put, they moved to the other side of the country to start their new courses, which left them unable to travel back and forth in a timely fashion.
So this is a salute to three fine players and their efforts to stay ahead of the curve.
Mozatan, the short-fused mechanic
Mose was a quiet man, unless there was a profit to be had on the hapless customers of the Truck Stop. A small dent here, some missing fuel lines there. Nothing was too difficult to fix for him. Mostly because he had the ripped out those fuel lines only minutes before, but who would argue about that with this 6'5" mountain of muscles.
After the truck stop exploded he went on his roundabout and has since gone to the Wastes.
Hae-Yoo, the gun-toting store clerk
Why waste time helping people when you could just as easily show them the badly drawn floor plan so they can get lost in your shop for even longer and buy more stuff? Hae-Yoo snuck around, had his Shabti do everything he did not have to do and simply misinterpreting every single thing the humans did.
When you assume that you should throw hamburgers in peoples' faces to get free food, you know you must be a promethean.
Bollo, the card-sharking encyclopedia
Bollo never intended to end up in this mess. He just got dragged along with everything the others seemed to do. Eurydice had him stab someone. David sent him on errands and every customer treated him like thrash.
Once the group split up for three months he actually enjoyed himself as a waiter.
But after that, the group got together again and the madness ensued once more.
He saw everything, remembers even more, but why would you interfere in the affairs of others?
I have had the time of my life playing with them and I hope to see them again sometime in the near future.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Season Ticket on a One Way Ride
What do you do when everything you knew is removed?
That is the question that my players had to ask themselves, when the truck stop exploded at the season finale of LTSTN.
On the back drop of a villain returned from the grave, who brought along his creations for the ride, a Firestorm raged across the area, temporarily turning the players into the humans they hope to become. Stripped of their powers, they had to deal with the Centimanus and his slobbering Pandorans.
When the storm calmed down a bit, a fire was lit in the storefront by Hae-Yoo, David and Bollo were shooting and slashing into the huge jaws of Enoch's pets. (the aforementioned Pandorans)
But as their humanity faded and the grim reality of dead flesh, sown, stitched and grafted together, took its place, the Pandorans fell upon Enoch, devouring him, leaving a limp husk behind. The creatures then formed an amalgam creature of sorts, with two heads and one enormous maw. The beast ran, as it dawned on the players that one in their midst had not returned to this lesser state.
Ellen, David's maker was human! But she did not recall anything about her former life. As they chased the beast outside, in vain alas, the store exploded, soon followed by the diner and the motel.
They made a call with Ellen's cell phone to the corporate office to find out what exactly happened. The receptionist had but one thing to say:
"That project has been terminated as of today."
Perplexed at the message, they were even more confused when that same cell got a text message with coordinates in it, signed only with the Greek letter phi. They decided to split up, gain some experience in the outside world and reconvene at that spot.
Season two picked up three months after the destruction of the truck stop.
But more on that a a later time.
That is the question that my players had to ask themselves, when the truck stop exploded at the season finale of LTSTN.
On the back drop of a villain returned from the grave, who brought along his creations for the ride, a Firestorm raged across the area, temporarily turning the players into the humans they hope to become. Stripped of their powers, they had to deal with the Centimanus and his slobbering Pandorans.
When the storm calmed down a bit, a fire was lit in the storefront by Hae-Yoo, David and Bollo were shooting and slashing into the huge jaws of Enoch's pets. (the aforementioned Pandorans)
But as their humanity faded and the grim reality of dead flesh, sown, stitched and grafted together, took its place, the Pandorans fell upon Enoch, devouring him, leaving a limp husk behind. The creatures then formed an amalgam creature of sorts, with two heads and one enormous maw. The beast ran, as it dawned on the players that one in their midst had not returned to this lesser state.
Ellen, David's maker was human! But she did not recall anything about her former life. As they chased the beast outside, in vain alas, the store exploded, soon followed by the diner and the motel.
They made a call with Ellen's cell phone to the corporate office to find out what exactly happened. The receptionist had but one thing to say:
"That project has been terminated as of today."
Perplexed at the message, they were even more confused when that same cell got a text message with coordinates in it, signed only with the Greek letter phi. They decided to split up, gain some experience in the outside world and reconvene at that spot.
Season two picked up three months after the destruction of the truck stop.
But more on that a a later time.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Because of All the Pennies in my Head
Plans, promises, parlays, all become moot in the blink of an eye when life grinds its unending path through the canyon of time.
I have been preoccupied with Animecon, roleplaying sessions, recovering from the whiskey tasting I mentioned in an earlier post and reading in general.
The interim hours have been filled with watching some shows that I had been neglecting for some time.
Should you not have heard of Doctor Who, then I assume you have no right to be here, as any person capable of getting onto the internet, should have, at least, a basic knowledge of this time travelling, space exploring man and his big blue box.
I have not yet found the courage to start on the original run, starting with the first Doctor, all the way up to the eight, but I have watched the new series 1 through 6 and was pleasantly surprised that I could be scared of something as mundane as an angel statue. (Mr Moffat, I tip my hat to you)
And even though I still feel that Chris Eccleston is the true Doctor, Tennant and Smith do give a nice interpretation.
Alongside that came Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars.
Both shows about fashionable girls (and boys in the former), but there is a difference.
Pretty Little Liars focuses on one big conspiracy, the romantic development of the four protagonist teenage girls and how desperately they wish to stay accepted, whilst Gossip Girl has a more covert approach, appealing more to the age category of their protagonists.
Furthermore, it focuses on the 'in'-crowd of Manhattan's Upper East Side, where fashion is king and 'water cooler talk' is the least of your worries. Chances are you will be ousted from your former social circle, simply because you were wearing an outfit similar to one of your peers, suggesting that you have no fashion sense of your own.
And of course this will lead to romance as enemies become lovers, who in turn become friends with lovers of enemies. (And of course, the STD clinic should be working overtime)
Next time: Last Truck Stop to Nowhere. How far will you run?
I have been preoccupied with Animecon, roleplaying sessions, recovering from the whiskey tasting I mentioned in an earlier post and reading in general.
The interim hours have been filled with watching some shows that I had been neglecting for some time.
Should you not have heard of Doctor Who, then I assume you have no right to be here, as any person capable of getting onto the internet, should have, at least, a basic knowledge of this time travelling, space exploring man and his big blue box.
I have not yet found the courage to start on the original run, starting with the first Doctor, all the way up to the eight, but I have watched the new series 1 through 6 and was pleasantly surprised that I could be scared of something as mundane as an angel statue. (Mr Moffat, I tip my hat to you)
And even though I still feel that Chris Eccleston is the true Doctor, Tennant and Smith do give a nice interpretation.
Alongside that came Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars.
Both shows about fashionable girls (and boys in the former), but there is a difference.
Pretty Little Liars focuses on one big conspiracy, the romantic development of the four protagonist teenage girls and how desperately they wish to stay accepted, whilst Gossip Girl has a more covert approach, appealing more to the age category of their protagonists.
Furthermore, it focuses on the 'in'-crowd of Manhattan's Upper East Side, where fashion is king and 'water cooler talk' is the least of your worries. Chances are you will be ousted from your former social circle, simply because you were wearing an outfit similar to one of your peers, suggesting that you have no fashion sense of your own.
And of course this will lead to romance as enemies become lovers, who in turn become friends with lovers of enemies. (And of course, the STD clinic should be working overtime)
Next time: Last Truck Stop to Nowhere. How far will you run?
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
All the Fun of the Fair
And once again, four more months without posts. That should really be avoided next time around.
But seeing as the hectic season of Carnaval and the subsequent dificulties with my mother's health have passed, time has come once more (as walruses tend to say)
to talk of many things.
Firstly, my Puppetland session at the Spring Weekend.
Although the system is meant for a much more grim experience, seeing as you play puppets under the junta of a megalomaniacal Punch, it still seemed to work.
As players for this game we had Pieter, the sad Panda, Willem, the circus Elephant with one ear missing, Cyrano, self-proclaimed hero and casanova (although a bit touchy about his nose), Aad Soldaat, a shadow puppet whose delusions were much greater than he was and Poppedijn, the small, agile, concocter of convoluted ideas.
The session kicked off with everyone waking up in their own beds, heading out towards the fountain in the middle of the town square. Here they had to face a 'monster' in the form of a shadow that one of trees cast upon the wall.
Although this was not to be the main antagonist for the session, it did get my players into their roles and soon everybody was playing as they should, verbatim and using thrown voices where necessary, with Aad bravely fighting the shadow with his own, Poppedijn offering advice and Pieter lamenting his lot in life.
Soon, however, the real trouble came, when Haunt (one of Punch's boys) came wailing over to the Nurse's house, with a squad of Nutcrackers in tow, as well as the ever chuckling Knuckles.
Apparently Nurse Wiesje was hiding some very incriminating evidence under her bed, which Cyrano soon found out. She hid a map with numbers behind dyscalculic Willem´s ear and substituted dyslexic Aad´s ´Aard het Paard´ with a story explaining a route.
After which, the stuffing hit the fan. Knuckles ordered the nutcrackers to get Wiesje and hold her as he ripped off her limbs.
Whilst Willem created a distraction with his large drums, Cyrano took off his mask and tried to rescue Wiesje, who told him with her last words that the papers would lead them to Judy.
Which was only half of their journey, but that is a story that should be told some other time.
Secondly, the annual whiskey tasting is to commence this Thursday, with a whopping eleven people wanting to attend. I do hope their palates are ready for some single malts from all over (due to a lack of single Irish malts, some different parts of the world had to provide the necessary spirits)
Also, this monday marks the grand finale of the first story arc for Last Truck Stop To Nowhere. Where will everyone stand once the rain has gone? What will be left?
I hope that everyone will be satisfied with the outcome.
But seeing as the hectic season of Carnaval and the subsequent dificulties with my mother's health have passed, time has come once more (as walruses tend to say)
to talk of many things.
Firstly, my Puppetland session at the Spring Weekend.
Although the system is meant for a much more grim experience, seeing as you play puppets under the junta of a megalomaniacal Punch, it still seemed to work.
As players for this game we had Pieter, the sad Panda, Willem, the circus Elephant with one ear missing, Cyrano, self-proclaimed hero and casanova (although a bit touchy about his nose), Aad Soldaat, a shadow puppet whose delusions were much greater than he was and Poppedijn, the small, agile, concocter of convoluted ideas.
The session kicked off with everyone waking up in their own beds, heading out towards the fountain in the middle of the town square. Here they had to face a 'monster' in the form of a shadow that one of trees cast upon the wall.
Although this was not to be the main antagonist for the session, it did get my players into their roles and soon everybody was playing as they should, verbatim and using thrown voices where necessary, with Aad bravely fighting the shadow with his own, Poppedijn offering advice and Pieter lamenting his lot in life.
Soon, however, the real trouble came, when Haunt (one of Punch's boys) came wailing over to the Nurse's house, with a squad of Nutcrackers in tow, as well as the ever chuckling Knuckles.
Apparently Nurse Wiesje was hiding some very incriminating evidence under her bed, which Cyrano soon found out. She hid a map with numbers behind dyscalculic Willem´s ear and substituted dyslexic Aad´s ´Aard het Paard´ with a story explaining a route.
After which, the stuffing hit the fan. Knuckles ordered the nutcrackers to get Wiesje and hold her as he ripped off her limbs.
Whilst Willem created a distraction with his large drums, Cyrano took off his mask and tried to rescue Wiesje, who told him with her last words that the papers would lead them to Judy.
Which was only half of their journey, but that is a story that should be told some other time.
Secondly, the annual whiskey tasting is to commence this Thursday, with a whopping eleven people wanting to attend. I do hope their palates are ready for some single malts from all over (due to a lack of single Irish malts, some different parts of the world had to provide the necessary spirits)
Also, this monday marks the grand finale of the first story arc for Last Truck Stop To Nowhere. Where will everyone stand once the rain has gone? What will be left?
I hope that everyone will be satisfied with the outcome.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Wet Beaches and Dry Martinis
Will you look at that, 5 months since my last post.
Never mind that, let us jump back into the fray once again.
Life has been busy with watching series, playing video games, reading books, studying and of course, rehearsal with the band.
In no particular order, we start off with Chuck: a regular comedy series with spy gadgets thrown in for good measure. The premise of the series: lonely late 20's Nerd Herd employee Chuck Bartowski gets an encrypted government database implanted in his brain, which causes the CIA and NSA to send some of their top agents to keep an eye out.
Most of the episodes are not that original in concept, when viewed per genre itself, as the spy aspect or the comedy part have both been used far too often, but the mash-up makes it enjoyable enough to have a smile on your faces when the tropes start rolling by, because they usually do not happen during a jewel heist or seeing spies try to act 'normal' at one of the most dysfunctional retail stores you can imagine.
Not so with Burn Notice: this show grabs you by the neck and throws you right into the antics of Michael Westen, former agent, who has recently been 'burned,' terminated from service, which puts him in a pickle as you apparently have nothing left of your former assets.
Luckily, some of his former companions do help him and he just starts doing odd jobs with his operative tactics. (and some very nice voice over explaining it all)
I have finally started playing Pokémon Pearl again, after a long stint of inactivity, just getting round to EV training #5, which leaves just one after that.
And then it will be time to grind, grind, grind experience.
To stop myself from dying of boredom on that, Chrono Trigger gives a welcome distraction. Although the game is more than 10 years old, I still have not unlocked all endings, so a second playthrough on the NDS should prove helpful with that.
On the band, we made 5th place again this year, so we were able to record this year's song too, which will go live coming Sunday.
Never mind that, let us jump back into the fray once again.
Life has been busy with watching series, playing video games, reading books, studying and of course, rehearsal with the band.
In no particular order, we start off with Chuck: a regular comedy series with spy gadgets thrown in for good measure. The premise of the series: lonely late 20's Nerd Herd employee Chuck Bartowski gets an encrypted government database implanted in his brain, which causes the CIA and NSA to send some of their top agents to keep an eye out.
Most of the episodes are not that original in concept, when viewed per genre itself, as the spy aspect or the comedy part have both been used far too often, but the mash-up makes it enjoyable enough to have a smile on your faces when the tropes start rolling by, because they usually do not happen during a jewel heist or seeing spies try to act 'normal' at one of the most dysfunctional retail stores you can imagine.
Not so with Burn Notice: this show grabs you by the neck and throws you right into the antics of Michael Westen, former agent, who has recently been 'burned,' terminated from service, which puts him in a pickle as you apparently have nothing left of your former assets.
Luckily, some of his former companions do help him and he just starts doing odd jobs with his operative tactics. (and some very nice voice over explaining it all)
I have finally started playing Pokémon Pearl again, after a long stint of inactivity, just getting round to EV training #5, which leaves just one after that.
And then it will be time to grind, grind, grind experience.
To stop myself from dying of boredom on that, Chrono Trigger gives a welcome distraction. Although the game is more than 10 years old, I still have not unlocked all endings, so a second playthrough on the NDS should prove helpful with that.
On the band, we made 5th place again this year, so we were able to record this year's song too, which will go live coming Sunday.
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