Thursday, March 25, 2010

| Brewshi

Beer and Sushi sounds great. If I was around, I'd go with you for a round.

Yes, we try and keep stuff out of the landfill too. A lot goes to the Lady Friend's Mom. She is a swap meet vendor. What ever else, goes to Goodwill. Fun fact, Goodwill does not accept games. Jerks.

D>M>
in other words, you need a brewshi.

| The Crux of my Dilemma

"Don't just throw it away, gotta be someone out there who'd buy it."

Alas, my problem. It's the taking of time to figure out how to squeeze value out of this stuff and then the time to actually deliver to those interested parties that is killing me. I think after two weeks of garage sales it will be a post on Craigslist under the 'free stuff' heading, with the caveat that if you want something out of a box, you need to take the whole box... AND THEN NOT DUMP IT DOWN THE STREET!!!

Just like humans that are different from you, it's simply easier to devalue everything, call it all trash, and eradicate it however you see fit. Right guys?

I need a beer. And some sushi.
I never did get buy in from my special lady friend. She just did not like the grim subject matter of the potential end of the human race. Normally she likes dark subjects, but this one just was too much. That being said. Push her along a little more and the show definitely becomes character driven and not so much a Sci-Fi show.

Also, Ball-tard will piss you off in no matter what season you watch him in. Add the "Lady in Red" and yes that just is the gift that keeps on giving.

Speaking of special lady friends. Mine is a bit of a hoarder too. She will hem and haw about every little item. Its frustrating, especially since I am a pretty minimal person. When she mentioned possibly getting a storage unit, I said, is this stuff worth $100/month. Before you know it, the stuff has been in the unit for there years and it costs you $3600. You could have bought whatever was in that unit and more.

Anyway, she watched a few episodes of Hoarders and seems to have changed a little. At least she was more receptive to tossing a heap of old clothes last week.

D>M>
Elrick's a hoarder. There's a show about people like you and it's very depressing. They AGONIZE over throwing out shit like: plastic bag full of other plastic bags - plastic bag full of old nails - leaky batteries. It's usually super gross to watch.

I don't know - maybe you need to make thematic-lots and sell via ebay/bgg or whatever. Instead of trying to list 300 items, make a few big lumps and eat whatever loss you take. Don't just throw it away, gotta be somewhere out there who'd buy it.

Glad you like BSG J-uryathon, it's fantastic. Try True Blood next, chicks always like vampires. I love that goofy-ass show.

| Lady Appeal

Leslie didn't immediately take to the show either as it is a little too dark for her liking, but as the story changed to be more character driven and less SyFy-y, she became hooked.

Same thing happened with Buffy.

And you can all suck it if you don't like Buffy.

Man. Just reliving some of those kick-ass moments in BSG (and Buffy) gets me all giddy.

| yes

I've watched the mini-series and first four episodes. My take on it for most of the run was that it was a really well-made, good looking, tense and well-constructed show with unfortunately minimal buy-in from the ladyfriend. (She just doesn't really like sci-fi and fantasy stuff.) Too bad because I don't really watch long TV series unless she's willing to watch too (wh-psh).

(ps congrats on the hot date Rude)

Actually though the last episode of the first disc showed some promise in terms of feminine appeal. It was the episode that was mostly about Starbuck training the new pilots, and her shared baggage with Adama concerning his son and was generally all about emotions and feelings and shit. So, if there's more good stuff then I think I can see this thing through for the long haul.

In terms of spoilers, I don't know too much although I have a general idea of what the big "reveal" is in the final episode (I don't see this as really messing up the show though since my understanding is pretty vague). (Also I could have misunderstood. I thought I'd heard that a particular character in The Wire died at the end of the series, and he made it through totally unscathed. Unless he was killed in a shocking post-credits twist that I didn't watch or something.)

I also know from playing the boardgame that either nobody, or everybody will ultimately turn out to be a Cylon.

Here's are my general thoughts so far:

- I thought there were shower scenes in this show? Not even one yet.
- The way they shoot Starbuck in the viper, it looks like she has a pig nose.
- Adama sounds exactly like the Full Throttle guy. I hope there's an episode where for twenty minutes he continuously repeats "Mmm. No." and "I'm not puttin' my lips on that."
- Edward James Olmos does a lot in this show to undo the damage to his reputation caused by "American Family" (seriously, the worst show I've ever seen, and I had to watch it a bunch of times when I was doing DVD QA).
- The interactions between Baltar and the lady in red were cool/creepy the first time but got annoying quick. Please tell me this ends at some point soon.
- I was disappointed when the dude they marooned at the outpost at the end of the mini-series turned out to really be a Cylon. It absolved Baltar of being a rat bastard.
- The ladyfriend has pointed out that Boomer is a good example of why you just shouldn't trust Koreans.
- The episode 33 was really tense and awesome.
- Good show!

Time for court.

| Moving

Ugh.

Unless our landlord decides to lower our rent, we are probably moving again. Staying in Aptos, but still moving. For those who have been there, we are moving to a complex INSIDE Nisene Marks National Forest! So that's pretty cool, and all things considered it's a better place: bigger, newer, cleaner, quieter, and split level with Wylie's room not being the hub of the house so I can actually make noise at night!

Of course the bad part is actually paying for the movers, and finally being forced to downsize all the crap in our garages. So much crap. So, so much.

To reiterate a sentiment I have made on the blog before, if it all burned down while I was at work today, I would be relieved. But since it won't, the minute I open a box and place any sort of value on what is revealed it instantly becomes a difficult decision to make and I need to find a way to either donate, sell, or keep whatever piece of junk I have found. Maybe Jon could give me the number of the guy he used to rob his storage unit?

I have accumulated so many pieces of gaming/nerd junk that is spread so far and wide, I really don't know what to do with it. The landfill is beckoning because how else am I going to move this 'product'? Goodwill sees no value in it, we will try the garage sale route for a bit, but I just don't see it moving there either.

I have boxes and boxes of good books that are niche, so probably won't sell at a garage sale and will then find a home at a local used bookstore or library (if they have staff to receive them if they happen to be open that day).

Baby clothes and toys, maternity clothes, candles, glassware, bags, tools - the list goes on....

Shoot me.

The upside, is that if and when we survive this we will be living much leaner and meaner and inching ever closer to being able to up and move at the drop of hat. You know, in case some of those horrible, horrible acts I have committed over the years ever catch up with me and we need to flee the country...
jr0n, the 200pt epic is going to be a crazy mess. I have not actually sat and counted out the minis but it is no small horde. Hopefully it doesn't bog down into a huge mire, but it probably will. Beer plus hundreds of Minis. Awesome!

Also, BSG is great. Like Rude put it, It really has a great cadence, except at a few points mid-series where the plot lines slow down a bit. The characters are really well developed as the series goes on. I agree that you should definitely stay away from spoiler sites. A lot of the plot threads are best as a surprise.

Rude and Ry: Yeah, that whole bit on Fat Mike was very bothersome. I just kept mulling over parts in my head yesterday, thinking, that is just f'd up. Depressing and disturbing. Maybe it was his little performance piece and all of the stories were fake, designed to provoke the audience. Maybe not. I suspect there is at least some truth to his stories. Maybe the whole experience is intentionally in the vain of Punk Rock proper, ala Sid Vicious or Rollins and their ilk. Still, not good pizza.

D>M>
Ry Ry: I saw that man, but I was too late. Someone had the entire show as a download but I was a little weary of the link (I dunno, just looked shady) so I'll wait on seeking it out.

bJorn: So, you're trying out BSG for the first time? Did you start with the mini-series? Try to avoid spoilers man because there are a lot of big moments that if they're spoiled would totally lessen the experience. It's a bit of a slow burn but it picks up in the first season and goes strong for awhile. There's moments in the series when my interest would wane here and there, but it picks up and finishes strong.

Speaking of The Wire (???), BSG is like Space-Wire! No, that's not my point. We have HBO and they have commercials for the new show from The Wire people about New Orleans post-Katrina. Looks excellent. Also there's another awesome looking show called Boardwalk Empire. Can't wait!

Elreyock: Maybe we can hop on skype this week/weekend for a bit and try some Small World. Sext me when you're up for it - plans with the lady friend tomorrow night (YEAH, "THOSE" KINDA PLANS, OHHH YAAAA)
Sorry Rude. I keep thinking about it too.

The weird thing is, that there was a fan filming the set. It was divided into 4 parts, and last night, the first part was up on youtube. But today, the link was taken down by Fat Wreck. The only thing that I can guess is that they plan to release it in some fashion. Maybe it was a sham. Who knows?

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

It's fine, not as embarrassing as you might think. What's fucking disturbing and embarrassing is that link Ryan gave about Fat Mike, jesus, keep thinking about that all day. :(

| OK

I really can't watch this kind of thing on the internet because I usually get sort of embarrassed and antsy so I need one of you guys to check this out for me: porn stars playing D&D (not a joke).

| My only regret is I have... Gamitis!

Good to see this outbreak of games. Yeah Small World is such an unexpectedly fun game! I know that my expectations were similarly low to yours Aeryk before actually playing it too. I think I'll hold off on the expansions for a while. I have other expenditures coming up:

- GM's Toolkit for WFRP 3e (I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH AND WANT TO PLAY IT AGAIN SO BAD)
- Days of Wonder's new game, Mystery Express (heard good things)

In other news, Enron and I are going to play a truly epic Warmachine battle soon. After playing Cygnar for five years I have decided to focus on my other three armies. So we are going to jump Cygnar out featuring essentially every model Aaron has vs. all of my Cygnar stuff. Adding up what will be on my side of the board alone it will consist of: four warcasters, 16 warjacks, and about 110 warrior models. Since Aaron is playing the Cryxian swarm I imagine the numbers will be substantially higher on his side. I'm pretty sure it's going to take about eight hours, one beer per hour, starting at 9:00 AM.

| Pray tell us, what 4 other games hath sickened you?

I'm curious what games would seduce the "Enemy o' Games".... Race for the Galaxy AND the expansions AND sleeves? Makes me think Denis had some sort of spiritual awakening brought on by some horrible, horrible trauma.

I mean, while possible, it would be unlikely to find a way to incorporate miniatures into a game like RftG...

And Cokie the Clown is just not for me. I get it. I'm glad he's doing it, but I'm just not anywhere in my life where I feel I need to experience this type of thing first hand, or even via youtube. The article was enough. Good for Mike if this is his catharsis and way to deal with personal issues he hides with his 'Fat' persona. Usually you need to pay for therapy, not the other way around.

And I played some more Small World last night. I won.
I was just listening to that ep and Coasters this morning on the way into work, weird.

Edit: And after just reading that article, oh my god... that's crazy fucked up... man..

| Is this funny?

So, NoFX released a 7" earlier this year called "Cokie the Clown" where Fat Mike has this alternate personality where he dresses up as a punk rock clown and fucks with people. He has a squirting flower that is loaded with a white powder, and with the help of a CO2 cartridge he squirts it on people. To get a better idea what this is all about, check out THE VIDEO... the song's not bad.

Anyway, you have to read what Fat Mike did at South By Southwest as his Cokie the Clown character. Pretty dark, weird, and fucked up. THE ARTICLE

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

| Smaller Wallet

Amen! Preach it brother!

I have recently come down from a boardgame buying binge. For a while I was scouring the Boardgame Geek forums like a junkie looking for his next fix. It wasn't pretty.

I ended up getting Race for the Galaxy (and both current expansions aaand some sleeve protectors for the cards). Empire building/resource production card game. It's interesting so far. Need to play more games. Though my sister has become addicted to the solitaire play.

I also bought (cough)4(cough) more games... Yeah, it wasn't pretty.

| Small World

Alright, I'm totally hooked and addicted to this little game. I picked up a copy and have played 5 solo games in two nights now - me likey. It scratches a nice wargamey itch with variable army powers, but plays so fast and easily you can get it done, even solo, in like 30 minutes.

So I wanted to get the expansions and had them in my cart to pickup when I send my next big order in using the last of my Traded Cards Credit with coolstuffinc.com , and wouldn't you know it, someone bought them out from under me. "Fine", I think, I'll wait 'til they get back in stock, then discover they will probably never be reprinted and every online retailer is OUT OF STOCK PERMANENTLY!

Well, this of course is cause for alarm because up until 2 weeks ago I had no desire for this game at all, and now I NEED IT LIKE MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. I check BGG and ebay, and one doof is selling a one of the expansions for $99 ($10 when instock at an online retailer) and someone on ebay is selling for $34.99. I began to sink into depression thinking I would never land such a meaningless and unimportant game item in my lifetime!

I scoured the intarwebz and found one expansion at Noble Knight Games for $11 and the other expansion at a weird company in Pacifica for $10 and bought both copies he had in stock, maybe I too can sell one for $99 dollars when they all officially dry up.

Moral of the story? There is none. Except that collector/completist sickness is real, and even when forced into dormancy by things like "putting food on the table and paying bills and rent instead of games", it can and will rear its ugly head.

Oh yeah, the other moral is that Small World is awesome.

PS jr0n, you can get the promo expansion 'Leaders of Small World' for $5 shipped from the BGG store, I picked that up too. DO IT!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

hah, tron 2 looks pretty rad. I don't think I've ever fully seen the first one either but I've heard it's not very good. I want to rent it now though.

Yeah, I had a feeling Alice in Wonderland was gonna be lame. Tim Burton's just not very good.