Henchman Publishing

1:19AM - Comicon Continues!

I had the honor of being brought my first XBox faceplate to scribble on today! The owner requested Tyler (as Moon Shadow) and The Revenant, and I was pleased to have granted his wish (click the image to the left for a larger view). I kind of wish I'd brought some colored Sharpies to help enhance the scene, but overall, I think it worked out well.

More "scenes from San Diego 2008," starting with something odd I saw at Fred's Mexican Restaurant: Apparently, William Shatner has a new show coming out. I'd love to know if this is how they used ALL of the posters, or if the restaurant just had a clever person on staff...

I was at a store in the Gaslamp district for this next one, but someone in the con hall should have been selling these rather Jedi-esque foot coverings. They look like they're from Kenner(tm), but it's Adidas(tm) behind these shoes. Get 'em before the lawsuit. :)

I found I hadn't posted a photo of a Cylon yet, so here it is. I don't know if the sign to the left of it on the floor is a warning to humanity or a tribute to TRON's "Master Control Program," but whatever keeps the kill-bots happy is fine with me. And the SciFi channel wanted to remind us that Eureeka premieres next Tuesday, and they effectively bribed me to say so by offering me wares from an appropriately themed ice-cream truck as well as cleverly-tagged candy in a tin. Regarding the ice cream truck (they were passing out "Drumstick" cones), the person inside must have had a psyche made of iron, as that truck was in the same spot for over 4 hours playing the show's theme song. Now, I like the theme, but I'm sure even a song I liked for 4 hours would be a bit much, especially when surrounded by ice cream hungry con goers in the heat of the afternoon. Plus, after eating it, I halfway expected to be taken over by nanites or find myself turning into soft-serve as some wacky experiment-gone-wrong found its way into Blue Bunny's confections...

One other major life-event took place today: I sang karaoke in public for the first time. Cristi was so enthralled and I was so nervous that I forgot to have her take a photo as I sang the Barenaked Ladies' hit, "If I Had $1,000,000." I almost sang out "If I Had A Million Eisner's," but I thought that might be too much.

I'll continue my hunt for interesting Comicon tidbits tomorrow! In the meantime:

- As a kind of writing stimulus, i09 has their favorite opening lines from sci-fi novels. I kind of dig the one from the Dark Tower (which apparently didn't make i09's list): "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed."
- And because he was so well-received on "Have I Got News For You," we present Brian Blessed giving a speech, part 1 and part 2.
- Some more "cool real places for D&D adventures" in the form of abandoned (kinda) Russian castles.
- Similarly, these photos of science labs at night could fit into modern adventures. X-Files, anyone?
- A puzzle game called Spinin' 1 has you tilting a board to get the "smiley" tile to the exit. It kind of reminds me of Tetris mixed with those old-fashioned steel-ball maze games.
- And a spaceship shooter with leveling up fun called Space Wing. Shoot everything that moves and collect that XP, as games were meant to be. :)

2:35PM - San Diego Comiconocopia!

Cristi and I arrived safe and sound in San Diego, though our breakneck trip to the airport was a bit on the "cue the chase music" side. Incidentally, if you think you've lost your car key (when in reality you accidentally stuck it in your watch pocket), said car key will NOT set off the airport metal detectors, allowing you to sit on the plane with visions of someone finding your key and making off with your 10+ year old Honda while you're away. :)

We took a few days to enjoy the city, and we even made it out to SeaWorld for a day, which was fun, but not what we expected. Being tourists and having only seen their ads, we were expecting a lot more aquarium-type stuff, rather than "Six Flags with Fish." But we did see quite a few cool exhibits and shows, so it was well worth the trip.

Meanwhile, Comicon is being constructed for tonight's "Preview Night" kickoff, which we'll be attending as well. During the convention, my daily signing schedule at booths 5023, 5112, 5114, 5116, 5118, 5120, and 5122 (we're an atoll of booths under "Adventure Retail") will be from 10:00am to 11:30am, and 2:30pm to 4:30pm, with Cristi and me most likely hanging around the general vicinity after, assuming all swag desired has been acquired...

But anyway, here's the plan for this weekend: This LJ entry will continue to expand until Friday, where a new one for the rest of the con will be posted. I've got my trusty digital camera with me, so if anything interesting crosses my path (like the quite tasty blueberry pancakes at The Mission restaurant), I'll be sure to put it up for your viewing pleasure.

And the linkdumping will grow as well. For this afternoon, we've got:

- A new promo from the SciFi channel for Caprica, the prequel to the current BSG series.
- Robot Chicken is doing a sequel to its send-up of Star Wars with Robot Chicken Strikes Back. My favorite sketch from the first one still has to be when Palpatine takes a phone call.
- (Slight language warning on this one) I've been rather busy lately, so I haven't had a chance to confirm it, but is this REALLY the trailer shown at E3 for Duke Nuke'm? If so, this parody is brilliant.
- And for those who have ever made confection catastrophes, here's Cakewrecks, a blog of baking disasters (some are censored due to subject matter, so surf carefully).

More later tonight!

And now it's later! We're also joined by the fine sacks o' men who make boothing it up at Adventure Retail (see above for booth location) the stuff of legend. And I believe some of them are still single, in case anyone out there was a-wonderin'...

But this is mostly a photo-dump for everyone, starting with:

- "The Watchmen"'s Owl Pod was on display, and had a very detailed interior indeed! As always, with all superhero vehicles, safety comes first.
- Up for auction (with proceeds going to charity) is a PC modded into a Batman Utility Belt.
- Some gothic armor from the upcoming "Underworld" prequel.
- You may have played "LEGO Indiana Jones," but I've seen the actual LEGO Indiana Jones.
- I'm not sure what franchise owns this Drill-Machine (I think it's from the upcoming GI Joe film), but I thought it was nifty enough to share.
- It's always good to see when kids are getting into our hobbies. I've been told I shouldn't show this one to the nephews; it might give them ideas. :)
- And the best swag I've seen so far was free: this tote bag. They vanished in about 1.5 seconds, but I managed to grab one without injury.

And in case you need visual aids to find us at the con, I just put this together: Note: at time of upload, the film hadn't finished processing at YouTube, so it might be a while before it works


Tomorrow, we've got our first signings at the booth, so come one, come all!

In the meantime, here's a few fun things I found:

- Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" along with other video game hits have been covered by the Gamer Symphony Orchestra. Free MP3 downloads of their performances await insertion into your media player of choice!
- Dinosaurs are extinct? Not so fast there...

Still more on Thursday!

Okay, so not MUCH more (heh), other than to thank everyone who's come out so far. Fan response has been HUGE (we're having to overnight some copies of ps238 Vol. V for Saturday) to the point that I didn't get to snap any realy good pics today. I will have some stuff up late tomorrow night (hopefully a few photos from a party I'm attending).

But G4's "Attack of the Show" has made my "fecal roster," as they've decided to become a traffic flow problem at the con. I haven't seen such traffic backup since the year Lucasfilm brought in the life-size X-Wing and everyone who had or liked Star Wars costumes was taking photos in a crowd 5-deep.

12:15AM - Watchmen, Bye-Bye B-5, and Dr. Horrible

The trailer for The Watchmen has hit the 'net, and Doc Manhattan certainly looks like the omnipotent being he becomes. Readers of the book might find some scenes akin to showing the explosion of the Death Star during a "Star Wars" trailer, but hey, it's not like they haven't sold a few copies, right?

As for the book itself, I did enjoy it as one of the first "deconstructing superheroes" stories I read, soon to be followed by comics like "Top 10," "Astro City," "Planetary," and other graphic presentations of superheroes with a dash more "real life" than had been seen before. I think the film has the potential to be more dark than even The Dark Knight currently is (and the word "dark" appears more times in the collected reviews for the Batman film than it probably does in the database of player names in "City of Heroes"), and I do wonder how much of that they're going to let show through in the end. And will this let other comic book movies go a bit more towards the shady side of things? With Marvel putting out an "Avengres" film soon, will they take, say, the disfunctional relationship of the Pyms from "The Ultimates?" Perhaps give Tony Stark that brain tumor?

But my biggest question about these films is... will there be permits issued for Doc Manhattan cosplayers? This could be REALLY important.

Has B5 gone beyond the rim for good? JMS seems to think it has, and I kind of agree with his premise; further installations should add to Babylon-5, rather than detract from it. And if Warner Bros isn't willing to cough up more than $2 million per DvD feature, and that's not enough to do something worthwhile, then it's probably best not to go ahead. Not that I wouldn't mind an honest-to-Valen theatrical movie, but that would probably take a lot of persuasion for most studios. I say that because things seem to go south for Straczynski when studios begin to cut back or meddle.

But more importanly, the final chapter of Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog is up for download, and it goes on to iTunes (where you have to pay) after Sunday, so what are you waiting for? Stop filling out that to be his sidekick and watch, already!

- Some point-n-click adventure fun with Escape From Octlien. I managed to "win" without getting the full score. Be sure to click on all of the wall panels.
- From the "real places that would make awesome D&D adventure settings" comes the underground town of Kariz, Iran.
- Star Rebellion is a turret defense game with some resource gathering tossed in just to make everything more strategic.
- Habanera, as performed by the Swedish Chef, Beaker, and Animal.
- Ever wanted a blog where you can find celebrites and oddball match-ups that they Totally Look Like? I never knew Fred Thompson looked so much like Vigo...
- There's a new (warning for the young'uns, as there's mutant head-shots in store) Fallout 3 trailer that includes some pretty sweet-looking gameplay footage.
- Lastly, from the "I wish I'd thought of that for a t-shirt" file, comes the worlds nerdiest cross-stitch.

3:55PM - Kicking bones and banning spam

The San Diego Comicon is next week, and Team Williams (me and the wife, who keeps me from chatting on about the last episode of Doctor Who or who I'd like to see play Machine Man in a Nextwave movie) will be there! We're in the guide under "Adventure Retail, LTD," and we'll be in an island comprised of booths 5023, 5112, 5114, 5116, 5118, 5120, and 5122. Cristi and I will try to spend most of our free time signing and greeting everyone there, and a signing schedule for definite presence by us will be posted at the booth. We'll even have a small supply of the ps238 Role-Playing Game, so get it while it's hot!

Work continues apace on ps238 #32, which I will send to press this week (the computer going splat last week did NOT help in the least), and I've already got #33 and #34 written and ready to draw! I've also got a little story planned for the future involving a detour from "heavy plot land" into "creative writing class," which I think will be a hoot, as readers will finally get to see what they've been craving: crayon drawings by Zodon. I'm serious.

Anyway, last week I was warned to skip "Bonekickers," a new show that just aired its second episode in the UK. Much like how I've often defied things that say "requires adult supervision," I took a look at it. I've watched me some bad TV in my day, and this... Here's the thing: I can see where there was almost a good idea here, combining the supernatural with archaeology. However, it wound up being the product of the worst mix of Indiana Jones, CSI, Tomb Raider, and, at least in the first episode, Highlander. The acting is something I usually ignore with most new series, at least in the beginning, since (1) I want the story hook to be the strongest part and (2) I know it takes the actors and writers a while to figure out what the characters are about. In this case, we've got a site in England being excavated where some Templar Knights were killed, and they've got a bit of what could be the True Cross. We also have a religious fanatic who wants to start a crusade against Muslims (our main baddie for this first show. The fanatic, not the Muslims), and a lot of followers of said fanatic that go so far as to wear overcoats to hide their broadswords (Doesn't everyone in Britain have one? Isn't it a law or something?) and shirts with Templar crosses on them. Of course they get wind of the dig and the clues there that might lead to the True Cross itself, buried somewhere nearby. The final set piece just screams "Raiders of the Lost Ark," but by then you've kind of decided to forget about the plot and wait for the closing credits. They also have what I assume is going to be the "mystery" that arcs through the first season, involving the leader of the team who has some connection to finding a mystic sword (if I guess it's Excalibur, do I win something if I'm right?). Between "Bonekickers," "Primeval," and "Torchwood," I think we've got quite enough wacky teams doing things to save the world from CGI effects for a while. :)

Additional: I just saw the second episode. Add "National Treasure" to the source material for "Bonekickers."

I know LiveJournal has had a lot of drama in its past over various topics, but I've noticed something new that seems troublesome, and wondered if anyone else out there has: Spammers with actual LJ accounts. As I understand it, a lot of forums and places where comments can be left are being spammed initially by seemingly innocent short comments, usually of light praise, like "great site, keep up the good work." The reports then say after these are left alone or become somehow "trusted," the spamming starts with the usual links to junk you don't want, don't need, or don't like to see.

In the past, these were anonymous postings with gobbldegook screen names, but now they are actual accounts with LJ's made up of semi-gibberish that read like a bad translation of Japanese news items or something (the yellow template on that link is also pretty common among the ones I've found thus far). The comments, while pretty easy to catch (they often make little sense) seem to operate on an algorithm that scans what they're replying to and tries to match text strings to the topic. Replying to a reader comment about the "Primeval" TV series, one suspect LJ post read, "He says with great spirit, "As it's my first drama series I'd like to have fun acting in it but, because it's such a special setting, it looks like I may turn stoic in my daily life too (laughs)."

I can only guess that these are dummy accounts that will someday be used to perpetuate link-spam or some other clutter. While I've caught every one (they also often show up on REALLY old posts), I've had to delete and ban about 10 accounts today alone. I mark each comment as spam, and hope LiveJournal can do something about it, as I can see this being a really big problem for some of the more active journals who can't police their archives and stay sane.

Diversion is the key to sanity, mostly, so here goes:

- Let's start with a puzzle game: Open Doors. 30 levels of figuring out how to get past increasingly difficult passageways to the exit.
- What hit movie franchise is heading to Broadway? Here's a hint: it does whatever a spider can. I wonder if that classic ditty will be the overture?
- One of the internet's funniest animated felines is back! Simon's Cat: TV Dinner is live. And Simon really needs a DVR.
- I have yet to meet my cat quota. Some might remember the classic flash-loop Catdrums, but he might lose his kitty-bongo crown, for a challenger has appeared!
- There are cosplay costumes that are unique, some that are dumbfounding in effort, and others that you have to be very brave to wear. This knitted Wonder Woman costume is all three, and will be seen around the San Diego Comicon!
- I got 10 out of 10, but I did guess on two questions when I took this MST3K quiz.
- And for those toy collectors headed to SDCC, here's a pretty comprehensive list of the goodies available if your action figure collection feels "unfinished." I kind of dig the Red Baron TIE Fighter.
- Fans of "Worms" will get a kick out of Sling Wars, where you pick a conquering civilzation and take over the world by picking stuff up and hurling it at your opponent!
- And Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog has posted its first act! Thanks to frequent poster Codeguyj for the head's up!

12:08AM - XPSinistar 720!

I feel SO much better now. A replacement computer for my old one arrived today (which I think the insurance check will cover), and I was able to restore my digital art pursuits just in time to panic-draw my way up to when I leave for San Diego in a few weeks. :) Incidentally, while doing a search for the Sinistar sprite for my post's image, I ran across an interesting treatise on Sinistar's simple philosophical outlook (with accompanying audio links). Recommended reading, along with Plato's Republic, of course. For the kids, Sinistar also has important life-lessons to teach.

Getting this computer to my house was a comedy of errors, starting with the person who took my order over the phone. My address has three fives and a four in it, but the one she keyed in had two fives and two fours, which meant that everything I ordered was headed towards a rental house a block and a half away. After we saw the confirmation e-mail with its unfortunate destination for my box of silicon salvation, we had a frantic time trying to get Dell to send it to the proper house. It's amazing how hard it is to get something simple changed for "security reasons." When making the initial order, I could have told them I was the Duke of Gloopdunkle-on-Drainage Ditch, and that would have gone into their system unchallenged. Trying to get them to correct the spelling of my address (Gloopdunkle has several umlauts and accents, without which the mail goes to a nearby Jiffy Lube) AFTER I'd ordered was about as difficult as trying to get Congress to pass legislation to repaint the White House a festive shade of teal.

Thankfully, I have a secret weapon: My wife, Cristi. Though she won't admit it, she could probably settle any war if she could get the leaders involved on the phone for five minutes. With much cajoling, laughing, and chit-chat, she convinced the shipping company that we weren't terrorists, scam artists, or a secret society bent on using the computer in a dark ceremony to upset the balance of the universe, and they changed the single digit that was keeping me from being condemed to using a 5-year-old laptop for attempted art.

And that's one thing that'll make you appreciate your computer more than you do already; find one you used three or more years ago, and try do anything with it. I've been doing some editing work on a webcomic (the Microsoft/Seagate sponsored "Heroes Happen Here" comic), and what would have taken me about two hours to do was taking all day. I found myself yelling at the poor laptop, "what the heck are you THINKING about?!" as its hard drive spun furiously when asked to do the impossible, like check e-mail. When I got the new comp up and running this afternoon... let's just say I think I know what Superman feels like when someone puts away the Kryptonite.

A little sci-fi review for everyone, as I was presented with a look at the direct-to-DvD film, "Stargate: Continuum." Overall, fans will be pleased. It gives a proper wrap-up to SG-1 (if, indeed, this is the final story for the original team) and its fight with the Goa'uld. It's also got time travel, and yeah, it does have a lot of dramatic goings-on that we all know will be "undone" by the show's close. However, I think it ties in with the show's history (the method for time travel has been used before in "Stargate," but it's been refined by the bad guys). Oddly enough, the most jarring thing is the use of bleepable language by the cast in places (Daniel saying the "s" word was enough to make me back track to make sure I hadn't imagined it). Sure, there are probably huge, gaping paradoxes in how time travel is used (i.e. how can you witness the timeline changing and be aware of the changes if the timeline you're in was "changed" almost a century ago, and so on), but it's no worse than what we've seen in other shows (with the exception of my favorite two time-travel stories: ST:TNG's "Yesterday's Enterprise" and the nigh-temporally perfect Babylon-5 episodes, "Babylon Squared" and "War Without End"). This disc is a good addition to any SG collection, and I wouldn't mind more sci-fi franchises putting out the odd chapter or two like this as well...

But link we must, so link we shall:

- Recently, Iran released a doctored photo of a missile test (you can see the similarities in two of the smoke plumes). Thankfully, the original photo was made available. :)
- Speaking of explosives, here's a photoblog of some interesting firework packaging. There are some marketing departments I REALLY want to visit now...
- Combining fireworks with what killed my PC, here's a video of a dog who has a close call with lightning, but seems to enjoy the experience. I didn't know Thor liked to play with dogs.
- A "Baby Got Back" warning to those who don't want those nearby exposed to Sir Mix-A-Lot, and a general sanity warning to everyone else: Big Butt Roll manages to fuse the Rickroll with what has become the standard ode to large posteriors. Forget the Hadron Collider, THIS is how the world will end. :)
- Buttonhunt is a clever little game where you have to solve each level by revealing the red button and clicking it.
- Bowja the Ninja is back in his second point-n-click game. For those who missed the first episode, you can play it here.
- And one more game. Orball is a "turn on the lights" game. Use your mouse to spin the wheel and get the Orballs to hit and activate all of the lights on the rim. Harder than it looks...

8:21PM - Why must electrons be so negative?

Regular viewers will remember when my last PC bit the big one due (probably) to age and a bad drive in a RAID array. This time, my one year (to the freakin' DAY, practically) old Dell XPS 710 ran afoul of mother nature and her motherboard-zapping wrath. I've been "off the grid" as deadlines continued to pile up. My local Council of Geeks tried to save my workstation, but to no avail, their diagnostics and component tests pointing to something dead on the motherboard. At the moment, I'm working on our trusty ol' laptop hooked up to my WACOM and my primary monitor, pulling my files from the drive removed from the remains of my XPS and placed in an external case.

Yes, it was on a grounded outlet, with a surge supressor, UPS, and power conditioner. My wife's computer, which sits next to mine, escaped unscathed, so theories abound about my proximity to an outer wall, connections to other peripherals and so forth. All in all, I'm grateful that my data is intact.

I did learn from my last experience that I needed more insurance (which I obtained, and which will hopefully go far to getting back up and running). Further, I now know that I really need to unplug if a storm looks bad, no matter how busy I am. So hug your computer tonight and give it a surge supressor to help keep an eye on it, if you can't be there. :)

This also means that ps238, the comic, will miss a solicitation this month (which really only impacts things a few months down the road). I plan on using the extra time to get ahead, and hopefully, the gap won't be noticable. I'm still monkeying around with the site re-design, too, so that should be forthcoming, hopefully before the San Diego Comicon.

But before I had the Great Dell Kablooie of '08, I was fortunate enough to see Doctor Who's season finale (not counting the Christmas episode, which is... the real finale? The season opener? Dunno). Again, without spoilers, this was a nice rippin' yarn that is kind of restoring the rogues gallery from classic "Who" continuity. This episode raises a few questions for me about how Time Lords repair themselves, but I'm sure that there will be easy work-arounds somewhere down the road. The preview for the Christmas epsiode seemed to be a little heavy-handed (it said in the titles who the big bad was going to be), but it's not like I'll refuse to watch based on that. :) I'm still not looking forward to sparseness of shows in '09, but as long as the show continues, I'm happy. Were I to bend the sci-fi channel's ear, if they do have the license to show the old Doctor Who shows, PLEASE DO SO. I mean, you've got an audience that might dig the classic stuff, if only to see where the new show came from...

But I must get back to fixing what's left of my home office, counting my blessings and feeling relief that all of my peripherals (especially my TARDIS USB hub) still seem to function properly. I apologize to everyone who sent me e-mails, especially the ones with interesting linkage, as they're stuck in limbo until I get a primary PC up and runnin'. In the meantime, here's some I ran across as I tried to find comfort in the internet:

- I think my compy woes deserve a visit from the great John Cleese as he shares his wisdom about the marvelous Compaq line of products.
- And for the young buccaneers needing to write that history report, you can consult the Pirate Encyclopedia.
- With all of the recent delves into fantasy by Hollywood, it looks like Elfquest might be hitting the big screen.
- Marvel Comics is apparently going ape (as comics are wont to do, showing their characters as gorillas and so forth), but this time with Ghost Rider. I must admit, that was an image I never thought I'd see...
- I'm up to 19 miles logged on my new Vespa scooter, which is about 8,000,000 fewer than I'd want under my belt before I even attempted something this dangerous.
- This week's FFN and my recent scooter purchase are all about the increasing costs of energy. Thankfully, nature (when not destroying computers) seems to be letting some animals evolve with helpful conservation skills.
- Totem Destroyer is a fun little balancing game. Blow up the blocks without letting the golden totem fall too far or too hard!
- Not that they were all that nutritious before, but Pringles are officially not 'crisps' (that's "potato chips" to yanks like me) according to the High Court in London. Next, I think they should start ruling on what constitutes "cheese" especially if it's spelled with a "z" somewhere in the name. :)
- Rescue astronauts and fight gravitational pull from planets in Orbital. Asteroids-ish controls with physics meets you running out of fuel and air. Neat, eh?
- Lastly, in celebrity news, C'thulhu is apparently staying at a building in France. Locals are asked to respect its privacy and it will respect their sanity (for now).

3:12AM - It's an Alternative Transportation Weekend!

Gas prices just hit four bucks a gallon in much of Kansas City (that's not complaining that things are harder here than elsewhere or anything; it's just a record high for this part of the country, and that throws things all off-kilter), and I've taken steps to reduce how much fuel I use while at the same time avoiding exercise. This is me astride an '07 Vespa LX 150. The Vespa is colored "Daring Plum," which I prefer to think of in the more (but not much more) macho-sounding Italian name for the color, "Prugna."

Yes, "Prugna" probably means "prune," or "itsa purple scooter, wassamatta you blind?" perhaps. It actually resembles that "luxury car burgundy" that was so popular in the 80's and '90's. However, the one car I owned that color (an '85 Mitsubishi Galant) was probably the largest 4-wheeled black hole for cash I've ever driven, so let's not dwell on the paint job...

I've had this two-wheeled ticket to (if I take it easy on the throttle) 80mpg+ mode of getting around in my garage for almost a month, but I only recently took it out for a spin. Why? Apparently, there's a helmet shortage to go along with the scooter shortage. Also, the bike isn't "finished" yet. All the chrome bits that protect your paint job from crashes, falling over, or having someone open their door into the side of the scoot are sold separately, and those parts, too, are in short supply. The dealer basically dropped it off at my house to clear space on the showroom floor. On a recent trip back to the dealer to re-order some noggin protection, he told me that he had to explain to a customer, "when I say, 'we're out of red Vespas,' I mean 'we' as in 'every Vespa dealer everywhere.'" His advice was if you see a scooter for sale and you like it, buy it now.

Now, I'm very aware of the safety issues with motorbikes, and I've taken a lot of advice from very experienced riders. I've purchased a scoot that can keep up with city traffic, I'll be on back streets in a midtown-urban area so I can avoid highways and interstates, and I'll be using it for errands at "off peak" driving hours which reduces the number of cars I'll face on the road. Even with all that, 30 miles per hour seems a LOT faster than in a car if you're basically sitting on a two-wheeled chair with no seat belt.

The only other difficulty I have is the turn signals. They don't shut off automatically like they do in a car, relying on the rider to deactivate them. Since I can't hear a "clunk-clunk" noise to tell me "the signal you used five blocks back is still on, so everyone following you thinks you're a moron or old or both," I have to occasionally look down and make sure I thumbed the control properly. I also sloshed a little gas into the seat compartment when fueling it up for the first time, but since it only cost 5 bucks to do so, I'll just air it out and call it a lesson learned. :)

The other up side to this type of vehicle is, thanks to the pioneering efforts of others, I and other two-wheeled road warriors can operate lucrative taxi services.

I'm sure I'll have some future reports on how I'm getting on with this new mode of mobility. I just hope it doesn't become the only way I can make it to conventions in the future; two people plus comics are going to play havoc with the mileage, I'm sure.

The Vespa LX. The LX stands for "LinX":

- If gas becomes extinct, there's always new Vespa replacements waiting in the wings. I can see "Akira" driving one of those...
- There's another Shift game out, Shift 3. Good thing it's the weekend...
- Not that we needed more to worry about, but we might be about a decade away from using up several rare-earth elements that figure into, among other things, LCD panels.
- A humorous "lost script" from Michael Bay has been found, allegedly concerning his take on Batman. "Back in Black," indeed. :)
- I'm not sure if I'd call these "spoilers" per se, but AICN has posted photos of Caprica from the Battlestar Series Finale for your viewing and speculative pleasure. Since it could be a dream, a vision, or a time-loop something or other, it's really only something to look at to see futuristic baby carriages.
- And speaking of BSG, you can get a better look at the official toaster along with some of the other geek-swag available at this year's San Diego Comicon. What? No Dalek helmet? Harrumph!
- A big ol' (red, white and) blue language warning on this one, as it features the "America, F--- Yeah" song from "Team America" along with vintage Captain America footage. My, superhero movies have come a long way...
- Even though the 4th is over for another year, I'm sure there are loads of leftover fireworks in the hands of those in need of some safety instruction. The guys from Red vs. Blue are ready to help.
- Finally, spend some times launching hedgehogs into space! Upgrade your hog, launcher, and other stuff to achieve orbit.

7:40PM - General Hammond fails to regenerate...

Don S. Davis, known to many fellow Stargate fans as "General Hammond" passed away on June 29th. Gateworld.net has the details. He was one of my favorite characters, and a great foil for Richard Dean Anderson. He was one of those few who could pull off playing the straight-man-in-charge as well being the one to come out ahead in verbal sparring with the central characters with wit and humor. He shone in his other roles (and not just due to his hairline) and was quite an accomplished artist (I do admire woodcarvers. I wish I had the patience and skills for that medium). He'll make an appearance in the upcoming DvD movie "Stargate: Continuum" as well as in the movie adaptation of the video game Far Cry. I really hope he's not remembered for ending his acting career with a Uwe Boll film...

But speaking of films, I was shown a sneak preview of the "Batman: Gotham Knight" anime movie. Was it good? Overall, yes, but for some, it'll be contingent on a few things. If you like anime and the work of the various directors, you'll dig it. If you like seeing characters re-interpreted to new visions, this is a very nice piece, indeed. If you're a purist, you might have problems. Batman looks VERY different from his standard dress, body type, etc. in most of the chapters of this film, and the movie lacks a "classic" villain as the overarching nemesis. We do get two well-known villain figures, but I would have liked to see Raz Al Gul or Bane as a core character. I know the Joker would be too much to ask for, since they probably want the only Joker this year to be Heath Ledger. The animated action is quite up to par of current anime standards, with a lot of very nicely choreographed battles.

What "Gotham Knight" demonstrated, at least in the first acts, was how interesting a superhero vigilante could be if his eyes weren't the eyes we saw the plot through. We saw the Batman through the kids who watched him as he did his thing, and to them, he was a nearly supernatural being that could become a thick mist at will and vanish into shadows. I wouldn't mind seeing an entire movie from that perspective, as it reminds me of one of my favorite comic series, "Astro City." I can dream, right?

Anyway, I wouldn't mind seeing this "Animatrix" treatment done to several comic book heroes. Superman would be a great next subject...

There's another upcoming release to DvD that should prove interesting. Apparently, a new animated GI Joe movie is in the works, and it looks to be a vehicle for getting the adults back into the franchise they liked as children. It focuses on the earlier Joes, has bullets instead of lasers, and no parachutes saving people at the last minute. It's planned as a PG-13 release. I must admit to being intrigued, but if Refrigerator Perry shows up, I'm gone.

Onward into other media: The Middleman. This show is still clunky in spots, I'll freely admit. However, I think it's established a gonzo-whacko universe that goes beyond comparisons to "Men In Black." It's reached "The Tick" levels of absurd, which is awesome. It also drops more geek references than a VW Bus full of caffeinated college students on their way to a Star Trek convention. The "J.R. Bob Dobbs Airport" was a particular favorite from last week's ep. I suppose that, unless the actors can grow more into their roles and flesh them out, what will keep "The Middleman" on the air is just how off-center it is. I can happily watch the show, but I'll admit it doesn't have me salivating for more as the current crop of "Who" does. I'd say this is a good companion piece to the sci-fi channel's "Eureka," which starts up again later this month.

I don't want to say too much about Doctor Who this week, as there's really not much you can describe without more spoilage than a fridge that's been unplugged for a month. However, I did find a little YouTube vid of "unedited" footage from a past episode, where the Doctor was recording a message to Martha before he temporarily changes into a human and wipes his memory. Having to fill for when he wasn't being listened to by the viewers, David Tennant gives us a rather entertaining diversion between his actual lines. :)

I hear tell that some folks were disappointed I couldn't hit Origins this year, but it couldn't be avoided. I'd neglected family gatherings for quite some time, and apparently my sister's husband isn't properly able to make people forget I'm off somewhere else (he's a great guy otherwise. Grin). Anyway, we spent the weekend at a cabin-encrusted area near a small river, fended off the tick population (I had two manage to get a free meal off of me), and ate some great (but probably completely unhealthy) food. If nothing else, the homeward-bound visit to Fantastic Caverns gave me a greater appreciation for underground adventures, especially when it comes to seeing in the dark.

Chevron 6 encoded, downloading transmission...

- Hellboy II is coming soon, and as a part of the promotion for the film, Hellboy appeared on 'Inside the Actor's Studio' but completely fails to injure James Lipton.
- There's also a small preview of Johann Krauss over at Topless Robot, but the video comes from MTV, which I've heard is rather un-friendly to non-domestic viewers on the 'net.
- Someone has done WAY too much scientific research about the planet in World of Warcraft, 'Azeroth.' Planetary size, shape, density of the world's matter and more things we never thought about are here for your geekificatin.
- An amusing mash-up of Star Trek and Monty Python. And no singing!
- Neon Layers is a puzzle game with a reflex angle. Click the red and green buttons to activate and deactivate the corresponding neon platforms and get the ball to the goal.
- 3.5 and 4e players can agree, we all need to know how to make our own d12 handbag.
- Here's Ruins of Pantheon, because there aren't enough decent point-n-click adventures out there!
- And lastly, many alert readers wrote in to alert everyone to the wonderously strange Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog. Be sure to click the teaser at the top, if you're unfamiliar with this Joss Whedon project, and prepare for lovely, lovely weirdness with Neil Patrick Harris.

5:24PM - Right, Said Fred... no, not that one...

I may seem a bit thick and slow on the uptake, but I just realized who one of the supporting cast in "Doctor Who" is: Bernard Cribbins, who plays Donna Noble's father! This wouldn't have meant much to me had I not had this little ditty in my MP3 rotation after I first heard it on the "Mad Music Archive." And I understand that a certain dance club duo took their name from that song as well. It's a small universe, sometimes...

I've had my head down over the Wacom tablet pretty much non-stop, working on getting the next issues and what-not out the door in digital form or otherwise. For Monday's "Backward Compatible," I found this to be a worthy subject. Of all the secondary configurations for controlling a game (like "power gloves" or those frisbee-shaped keyboards), this one looks like it might be promising. Now if only I had actual room on my desk...

And speaking of games, there are some new screenshots from Champions Online for your viewing pleasure. I like the adoption of the 2-dimensional 3D look, with the black outlines around the characters. It brings the game closer, visually, to comics I think. News that the costume creator allows for "infinite possibilities" means, I fear, that those of us that were hooked on City of Heroes' costume design functions are doomed.

Now, I fear, I have to return to work-like stuff. But I leave you linkage:

- "Jump the Shark" might be old and busted, as the phrase "Nuke the Fridge" becomes the new hotness... maybe... thanks to Indiana Jones.
- I once quoted someone on IRC as calling Warcraft as being akin to a treadmill that made you fatter. Thanks to someone hacking a WiiFit, weight gain might be a thing of the past.
- We all like achievements. Now you can create your own 'unlocked' XBox achievement. G'wan, unlock something you deserve today!
- A new (to me) gallery of pretty nifty Fantasy Art of all kinds. I didn't see anything truly NSFW, but it is fantasy, so you might want to look at this one after you get home.
- Swing your partner by the chain in Knuckleheads. An interesting mechanic that also involves color matching and other challenges.
- Since it's the weekend and we need to relax, here's Pink Floyd coupled with a recent fantasy film to bring you "Comfortably Mimzy. Trip responsibly.
- And finally, Batman is back, and so is Batman, and Batman. Yes, it's Batman vs. Batman vs. Batman, coming soon to a theater near you.

4:44PM - V for Volume... Vive. Hmmm...

The fifth ps238 collection is finally up in the store! Thanks for your patience, everyone. I also just sent out a massive mailing (over two postal bins full) and only have a few outstanding orders left (I'm waiting on a few older issues to be restocked from the warehouse). We also have ps238 #31 up for grabs, where our returning Las Vegas vacationers find the town they left has assumed a new identity and even added... a new super-school? Dun-dun-dun-dunnnn!

And speaking of dun-dun-duns, the UK epsiode of Doctor Who gave us quite a large one. The opinions on this fell into the "liked it, but" or "loved it" camps over at "Ain't it Cool News," and has a callback to the first season of the new Doctor Who. Has Russell T. Davies been planning something all along, or was this a "last chance to tie things together" moment before he left the show?

For mega-spoilage on the next UK ep of Who, check out this sneak-teaser on YouTube (thank you, Daniel!). I can't wait!

Back to the US. The Middleman failed to air last week in my area for some reason. Was that the case nationwide? Anyway, after encouraging folks to stick around for Sensei Ping, I found that the volume he appears in is available for viewing on-line. Just look for the guy in the wrestling mask.

The first episode of "Stargate: Atlantis" season 5 has dribbled onto the interwebs, and it's a "shake things up a bit" start for the returning program. There's an apparent cast change at the end, but I think that might be more to set a place in the series for the next SG-1 DvD to "happen" in the greater continuity. While I enjoyed it, after "Battlestar Galactica"'s epic plot and "Doctor Who"'s "fun & fantastic" sci-fi, I'm finding it hard to get back into my Stargate groove. I figure that'll change once things get started, I hope, and I'm eagerly awaiting "Continuum," even with my usual reservations about time travel (sans TARDIS, of course).

"Limbo of the Lost" is a possible future internete meme, so I figure it's my duty to share. Apparently, a video game company called "Majestic Studios" (their geocities site... yep, they were on geocities... is, of course, gone) lifted a lot of visuals from several very popular games, including "Oblivion," "Thief 3" and "Diablo 2" to make their puzzle-adventure game. A pretty full listing of the game's nigh-unbelievable saga can be had here, including trailers and videos. You don't have to be a gamer to appreciate the audacity of the "artful" appropriation of the game elements. For a truly painful experience, you can subject yourself to the winning sequence from the game. I'm going to hear that song in my nightmares...

Lastly, I have to bow out of attending Origins this year, because of a family vacation that's taking place over this weekend. I shall be in a cabin near a creek, adapting the experience to some forthcoming FFN strips, I think. That'll teach 'em to make me leave my computer, video game console, and the comfort of my other substitutes for human interaction. :)

Think Link:

- In honor of my mathematician parental units, I'm genetically disposed to further math literacy. Here's an example to help us wrap our heads around what 20 petabytes "looks like," representing the daily traffic of Google.
- And now some anti-education (grin). Back in the 80's, I ran across a hilarious (and Hugo-award winning) book called "Science Made Stupid." It's now on the 'net in abridged form. If nothing else, the reference tables are almost worthy of being printed on t-shirts.
- Ragdoll Cannon is a cute "sketched" flash game where your goal is to make your rag doll(s) land on an increasingly hard-to-reach target.
- Cheyenne Wright, known to fans of Girl Genius, Pseudopod, Arcane Times, and Deadlands, showed me this fun piece from the "Hell on Earth" RPG. It's from a part of the game where the players are faced with sacrificing a team member to save everyone else. Decisions, decisions...
- I had some small semblance of faith in humanity cruelly restored by the short film, Where the Hell is Matt?: Dancing. The music is available for purchase/download at Amazon.com.
- And "Mightygodking" gives us (language warning on a few of 'em) a humorous look at the old Fighting Fantasy solo RPG books.
- Mindless wild west shooting and mayhem are to be had in Bounty Killers. Very similar to the "Boxhead" series of zombie-shooting games.

10:00PM - T-Shirts and other diversions...

Some T-shirtery for you this fine Friday evening! I don't think I ever posted the "Mr. Natural" design that hit me when I saw an ad for kids' TV in an airport. I also have one for the politically minded undead that should be available at Offworld Designs soon, as well as at major conventions all throughout the summer. And we might have a new "Grand Theft Auto" design in the works as well...

A "Champions Online" rumor about an "Omega System" caused a minor hoo-hah in those following the MMO. According to the article, it looks like CO will have some rich solo play features. I dunno about everyone out there, but sometimes "City of Heroes" is fun to solo. It gives one a kind of "Batman" vibe to be single-handedly taking on the bad guys, stoically running back to the mission after you get teleported to hospital (sometimes. Grin). I know the point of an MMO is to do things with a group, but having some dedicated stuff you had to do on your lonesome would be an interesting mechanic, I think.

Battlestar Galactica ended its mid-season closer firmly in "What the Frak?" territory. Without delving into too many spoilers (as I understand it gets broadcast later in some countries), this can't be the end of the line, naturally. Unless someone can point out the "build Starbuck a new Viper over six episodes ago" factory, we can't have seen everything. I'm wondering if we're going to get those guys in the ship made of lights from the first series. I'm open to the possibility as long as we steer clear of the flying motorcycles.

Let's kick off the weekend right:

- Apparently, the original (well, not really) and hilarious (as well as spoiler-ridden) script for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was found. Language warning for all the small whip-n-fedora fans...
- Yes, this game is about... wind. Puzzle Farter is also a clever platformer. If the premise is too distasteful, turn down the sound and assume a jet-pack is involved.
- Surely not the 10 best (for that title never lasts long) but definitely 10 pretty darn good lightsaber mashups. The sparks that "Highlander" threw everywhere really made its lightsaber-ing inevitable. :)
- As we saw in the comments last Wednesday, the Spore creature creator has already produced quite a few famous faces as well as many classic D&D monsters. Now here are some of the same famous monsters in Origami form!
- Furthering my hope that "The Middleman" will be good enough to continue, here's an interview with the man who is playing the titular part, Matt Keeslar.
- Sadly, he didn't get many good lines in, but this vintage episode of the BBC news quiz comedy show, 'Have I Got News For You, features the late Douglas Adams on the panel. It was neat to see Adams "in action" instead of just being a still photo on the back of a book jacket. Parts 2 and 3 are also YouTube'd.
- And finally, it's "Missile Command" with magnets: MIRC has you using a magnetically repelling mouse pointer to loft blocks into the air so they collide with incoming warheads. Pretty challenging, but fun!

12:28AM - Fringe-y Middlemen!

I got a sneak peek at the first episode of "Fringe," a show from J.J. Abrams that will appear on Fox this fall. The first episode was quite impressive (and, as pictured here, featured a criminally small cameo from Peter Outerbridge, star of "ReGenesis"), with plenty of good stuff for those who miss the X-Files. The show takes its name from "fringe science," which I'd heard about recently on NPR's "Fresh Air." However, the topic was covered mostly as a "you won't believe what the government spent money on" subject, as opposed to the "Fringe" TV premise of "you won't believe what the government spent money on and it's coming to get us all." :)

The special effects were very good, and it looks as if on this show and others ("Supernatural" springs to mind) writers are bringing horror to the small screen as something novel. It's probably also FFC-proof, since violence is a-okay (grin). Without venturing into spoiler territory, put the kids to bed before "Fringe"'s opening credits roll. One other interesting "quirk" the pilot had that I hope they keep was how they established location. Rather than having a small tag across the bottom of the screen, Baghdad, Iraq was labeled by giant computer-rendered letters that looked to be part of the city as helicopters flew over the landscape. It appealed to me for some reason.

As did "The Middleman." This show is not for the serious minded in the least. The special effects budget for this program looked to be somewhere below "Stargate episode that takes place on Earth" but above "classic Tom Baker episode of Doctor Who." But it worked. The vibe was similar to that of "The Tick," and most of the best lines from the comic wound up in the script. For those who didn't find it snappy enough, I'd ask for you to wait until Master Ping shows up; if his appearance is anything like that of the comic (and if they cast the right actor), it should be hilarious.

And since I mentioned Doctor Who, let's further mention last week's UK Doctor Who. This was a kind of "filler" episode, and seemed to be very much in the vein of Rod Serling "Twilight Zone" episodes about Communism, but was (I presume) meant to be a take on today's fear of terrorism and/or anyone seen as "other." It was nice to see the Doctor in need of a companion to at least put in a good word for him, and the mechanism for generating tension was pretty well played. However, I don't think there was anything in this one that's going to carry forward into the rest of the season. There's also another K-9 series in the works.

I'm still reading up on the new 4e D&D, and I planned to even have an FFN strip up about it, but a "date" with the wife ran long this evening, so all I can do is report that I'm rolling up test characters and reading forums on what's been discovered so far. One of our group is annoyed that the "recommended" system for character generation doesn't involve rolling dice, so "rolling up a character" might become an anachronistic phrase like "tune into channel 5" or "dial the telephone." :) I just want to know why "Melf" doesn't get credit for his acid arrow anymore. We might have to do some kind of memorial concert or something to perpetuate his memory...

On a related note, this article on gaming theivery (that is, borrowing from successful game systems to make new ones) is interesting, especially given the relationship between video game RPGs using D&D's core ideas, and now D&D modeling some of the language and mechanics in its own way. It's 7 pages, so you might want to pack some iron rations.

But on to linkier things:

- A huge video game engine 'Rube Goldberg' film that probably took more effort than I put in to actually playing games...
- A very neat gallery/site of Steampunk-y art. Be sure to scroll to the bottom and look at the desk. No, we probably couldn't buy it, even if we sold all of our magic cards.
- I may be late to the party on finding these, but Wizards of the Coast put out some well-done cartoons about their 4e rules, starring a Beholder, a Tiefling and a Gnome, and my favorite, an interview with a Mind Flayer. You don't have to play D&D to enjoy 'em, but it might help. :)
- "Microwave Madness" is a collection of films displaying what happens to several objects when microwaved. The first one is fictional (and a little scary for the young'uns), and none of them should be duplicated in the house, especially the ostritch egg.
- Need to relax? Try poking this Jell-O with your mouse.
- What the heck happened to Strawberry Shortcake?
- Ninja Hunter is a game where you defend your temple by slicing up invading ninjas... just by typing! Spell words correctly and slice your foes into ninja-bits.
- Defend Earth and avoid black holes in the tongue-in-cheek Suckaz. WASD to move, mouse to fire.
- The Spore creature creator has (legally) hit the net, and already someone has made a Trogdor! I must have this game...

8:03PM - Dead or Alive, you're getting remade... creep.

(Image from davidszondy.com) There's a new Robocop coming, and now he's not only an "homage" to Judge Dredd, but he's got a Cylon-lookin' visor as well. We've discussed remakes before, but I think this one might not come close to the original, since (1) it was a fun take on the materialism of the 80's and really captured that dystopian vibe with the wonderfully cynical touches which even director Paul Verhoven couldn't wholly revive in "Starship Troopers", and (2) Kurtwood Smith IS "Clarence Boddiker." Recasting him will be like recasting a role filled by Christopher Walken; you can try, but that's quite a hill to climb.

And the third film just didn't work for me, especially because Peter Weller wasn't in the armor. It was also a little late to the party to make Japanese corporations a believable source of antagonism, but I guess that was to fit the era of the previous two films.

Work continues apace on revamping everything 'round here, including ps238.com (thankfully). I've had the tech-boffins at Gamespy install Wordpress for me, and I'm tinkering with Comicpress templates as we speak. Hopefully, I can streamline everything into a (more) seamless whole. I have no plans to abandon LiveJournal; if I have to, I'll "echo" everything to all the usual places everyone reads. :)

Stargate SG-1's next direct-to-DvD movie will come out on July 29th, and i09 has a spoiler-filled article about it. It's no secret that this episode involves time travel, which I'm hoping isn't an excuse to fake-kill half the cast and then reboot everything back to normal. I always felt cheated when that kind of thing happened in sci-fi TV (like that two-part "Year of Hell" Voyager story, where, if you cut out the history that was reset at the end, you'd wind up with a 5-minute video of normal space-cruising for Voyager and the aforementioned Kurtwood Smith's character going off to spend time with his wife), so I hope the writers are more ambitious on this one.

And the new Punisher: War Zone trailer is out. There's little I can figure out from this one, but it's got guns and blue glowy-stuff (which is, based on my movie-watching skills, either drugs or a weapon). Punisher is a hard character to do well, without either stepping over into hard-R territory or making him a parody of the grim action anti-hero. M'self, I'd love to see a Spider-Man cameo, just for laughs. :)

It's Friday night and the links are on me:

- Fans of Labyrinth know about "full contact juggling." If (when?) there's ever a remake, I think I know who I'd nominate to handle the crystals.
- There's a new web toy for all of your avatar/sig needs, especially if you have a desire to be among the 'net's "nobility": The Scion crest maker. Just click on "create your own crest" and get started on your heraldry.
- From the nigh-utterly-random humor department comes: Garfield comics with text provided by a Markov chain. Reload the page for new strips with text that may or may not make sense.
- A flash game that reminds me of a 2-D version of "Homeworld," Drone Wars is a resource management shoot-em up (or can be more of a shooter, depending on the options chosen).
- A simple straightforward shoot 'em up: Super Shooter. Mouse to control, hold down the left button for continuous fire.
- Filmwad.com has a list of (some with adult themes and language) films that peak in the first 10 minutes. I'd add "Blade" to the list, as the rest of the movie, while quite watchable, never tops the fight at the vampire-rave in the opener.
- And finally, an instructional art video (or at least an interesting one to watch): How to draw 100 Manga eyes.

9:00PM - Leading off: I SO called it...

Sure, it took them until the last season to do it, and yeah, they left of two of my suggested features (a moving red light while the unit operates and a "blast off" sound for when it finishes), but you'll soon be able to buy your own Battlestar Galactica toaster (now I have to get one and have it autographed as well. Sigh... the trials and tribulations of a geek). I hope Jamie Bamber was one of the forces behind this, since when I brought my rusty ol' bread-burner in for him to scribble on, he exclaimed, "We're owned by G.E.! Why the hell aren't WE making toasters?!"

There will also no doubt be endless speculation: Was the (previously) most famous sci-fi toaster actually a Cylon? :)

More and more people are playing D&D 4.0. Sadly, not our group yet. The guy who inspired "Nelson" pre-ordered his books from Amazon like the rest of the gang, but he made the mistake of adding some adventure modules to the order. He clicked "ship everything separately," but the Amazon.com servers (which have been feeling rather under the weather lately) tied everything together and delayed the whole mess until August. So this week's FFN is in honor of his trials and tribulations, which will hopefully come to an end soon, one way or another.

Doctor Who pulled off a really good two-parter last week, the whole story being repleat with foreshadowing (maybe) and hints about stuff to come (possibly). I only wonder because there's a lot of the Doctor's "past" that falls into the "assumed to have happened/will happen offscreen," so I dunno if we've seen the introduction of a new character, or just a plot device. In either case, this was among the best stories recently, though I think "Blink" was just a tad more taut and suspenseful.

And in other TV news, I'm really looking forward to The Middleman. The graphic novel from Viper Comics is hi-freaking-larious, with lots of wit as well as action. I'm hoping we'll see something that will remind viewers of the best parts of "The Tick" with a female lead in the mold of Georgia from "Dead Like Me." More info (about the show and the comics) can be had here. Be sure to hit the video section down the right-hand side.

Turning to movies, Marvel has cut 70 minutes from the new Hulk film, including a reported cameo by Captain America. The buzz is that the movie is still quite good, so it's on my "need to see before the convention rush hits" list.

But enough Bruce Banter (sorry):

- Have you seen the popular "I Love the World" video from the Discovery Channel? Well, then you need to see it's counterpart, "I Love the Videogame World."
- Do you have a website enough that you want to destroy it? Now you can. Evil laughter must be provided by user...
- Ever need to complement someone and blow their minds at the same time? Then the Surrealist Complement Generator is just the ticket.
- Can't get enough "Tower Defense?" Have some Gemcraft.
- "Through the Machine" is an interesting mouse-controlled obstacle course game with a nifty industrial style, along with a deadly machine that rocks to the soundtrack.
- An interesting (and probably painful, if you know the answers first-hand) 'net-quiz thing: How Many Sequels Were There?
- And lastly, from the world of MMO's, an example of grief-killing in the new Conan game. The commenters seem split on whether or not this is funny; I'm sure it depends on which part of the horse you interact with. :)

11:37PM - Gar(b)age Sale at my place!

Sorry for the lack o' posting here this week, but I've been emptying my basement and attick in preparation for a big ol' yard sale at our humble abode tomorrow (Saturday). Editor's note: For some reason, Google Maps isn't showing the proper "street view." We're the house on the southern end of the block with the red hatchback. Not too much in the way of comic artifacts/relics, as even though D&D 4.0 came out, I'm keeping my old books. I should have some piles of old gaming magazines, though. :)

And I've only had time to skim the new rulebooks so far, so these impressions are very preliminary until I can actually shake some dice at this system. What first strikes me is how very introductory the books are. You get about 2 chapters into the DMG before you really start seeing game mechanics instead of "how to run your game and who's got the snacks?" text.

Being a total wizard-nut, I immediately tore to the section in the Player's Handbook and... wizards, and other spell-casters, have changed a bit. Spells work something like superpowers now, aided by a focus of some kind (an orb, a staff, or what-have you). True wizards start with spellbooks of 128 pages. I guess memory limits have their origins in more mystical places than I thought (grin). You get more spells in your book as you progress (they "appear") and I'm not quite sure if the focus items that they and other spellcasters use are commonly found or if their loss is devastating.

Other magic-types get their spells (powers) via a pact with an offworldly entity, worshiping a deity, etc. Every ability (power) that every character has comes with a name, like "Split the Sky" and "Griffon's Wrath." I wonder how many episodes of "Dragonball Z" were channeled to come up with them? And we don't even have new books out yet that will surely contain even more abilities (powers). Players that shout what they're doing in faux-anime voices will think that's funny at first, but rest assured that DMs can still ruin your day, so watch it, Goku... :)

Is this D&D? It won't be to many veterans of previous versions, whether they like it or not. It's D&D the pen-and-paper MMO, and that's okay, since other RPGs are still out there, and nobody has sent ninja-squads to destroy the previous rulebooks. It seems to be targeted at the console audience, and on that note it does a good job; I can almost see the icons floating in front of my eyes. This will no doubt see the rules translated into some kind of actual MMO, along with the Gleemax on-line gaming table version.

I think I'm going to see this as "another system," apart from what I grew up playing. The only real disincentive to "fun" I can predict is that message boards will have a lot of min-max setups for various classes, much in the same way that MMOs have guides on how to kill a boss mob with the fewest amount of keystrokes. I wouldn't be suprised if macros were built to work on laptops that resolved combat, assuming the most advantageous use of one's spells, powers, and feats.

And to be honest, the spell thing isn't all that troubling. Most games I've played in largely ignored things like material components (except with really powerful spells and/or ones that were cast away from combat), but it was nice to know that the rules were there. And I can't help wondering if favorite races and some classes were omitted in the hopes of selling future books... Nah. They wouldn't do that, right?

Addendum: I didn't get a chance to post any comments until today (Sunday), not only because of the garage sale, but also the fact that I apparently ran afoul of a Sonic #2 Cheeseburger, which has been having a part of gargantuan proportions in my lower digestive system. I'll spare the details, but I almost feel like I'd have to swallow a 2x4's worth of sawdust fiber to "pull everything down there together." Ugh...

But enough banter about something I have little experience with as of yet. I have a garage sale to prepare for, and that 10-gallon aquarium isn't going to walk out into the yard by itself. So lets link up:

- "Hey, Bob? Why is that the ninth hole grass so much greener when you play after having a few?"
- A bunch of space-fight footage set to the music of Akira. I give you spaceship fight-a-rama.
- I'm sure there's a very simple psychological trick to this, but this webpage can guess your secret number.
- How's the weather been in KC this past few weeks? Glad you asked...
- Very similar to previous bow-games, but Kingdom Bow has a very satisfying "splortch" when you hit your opponent.
- Here we are again. A cool electronically enhanced t-shirt and the biggest size they offer is 'gamer small.' Harrumph and fie on their house.
- So is your significant other a high priest(ess) of C'thulhu, but you can't get them to stop snarling and drooling to ask what they want for your anniversary? Your worries are over, at least the ones involving jewelry.
- Yarr. 'Tis a more difficult game I be postin': Pirate Race. Use yer arrow keys to row left, then right, then left and so on to reach the treasure and use space to fire yer cannon. I didn't know me boat even used oars, but so be it, yarr...

7:26PM - In the beginning, there was music and opening credits...

I want to hold off on events "in the life of Aaron" until I get a little further in my current vehicular pursuits (I'm not done with the paperwork yet. Heh). So, I thought I'd drone on a bit about something that came to me when I was perusing some old CDs of MP3 files that I used to take with me to work at SBC's Yellow Pages: Genre TV show theme songs.

Sometimes the genre shows of the past stank. Sometimes they got cancelled. Sometimes they deserved it, as the opening was better than any episode the show ever produced. Love or hate the productions listed beyond, what follows is a collection of "The Best Genre TV Show Intros I Could Find on YouTube." Sometimes it's the visuals that hooked me, other times it was the musical score, but very often it was the combination of the two that promised a decent hour of escapism. Let's begin with:

Earth 2. This show had some really good potential and was one of the first to do multi-show arcs before Babylon-5 took the ongoing narrative in genre TV to a new level. The opening score has been in my MP3 collection for years, and every so often I have to cue it up.

The 80's Twilight Zone. This was the best 'Zone revival ever, making the one a few years ago on UPN look even worse by comparison. For this, the familiar tones are there at the end, in a very subtle and creepy way, but the visuals (especially the face that we see near the end. Grin) sold it.

Amazing Stories. Uncle Steven made movies, so the score for this show was grand. It also had some of the earliest CGI sequences I saw on TV, so I'd tune in every week for the credits, at least.

ReGenesis. This amazing show has a nice jazzy tune with a good thematic set of visuals. Death by virus has never been so hip.

The Others. Another show that was, in my opinion, cancelled too soon. It had its problems, but they seemed to be setting up a mythology that I wanted to see more of.

Showtime's 'Masters of Horror.' (parental discresion advised). The simple piano work that follows the 'drips' of red, the distorted bass to counterpoint it... The stories aren't bad, either; the first season was kind of rough, but it has potential.

Kingdom Hospital. The music is the best part of this opening sequence (though the visuals are in keeping with the show's tone). It's by a group/person called "Ivy," and this particular song was used in a LOT of TV, including the 4400, Roswell, and others.

V: The Miniseries. Probably owing a lot to "The Terminiator," this simple bit of music and iconic logo creeped me out as a kid... and still kind of does. :)

There were more that I couldn't find, especially the season one theme to "Witchblade." I also left off ones from more obvious shows (Star Trek, B-5, Stargate, etc.) in favor of the ones some out there may have missed or forgotten about. Yeah, my brain can't remember the periodic table, but it recalls almost every theme song for shows involving laser beams or aliens...

But back to current sci-fi TV. Last week's first run UK episode of Doctor Who: by the Eye of Rasilon, I think I've seen an epsiode I liked better than "Blink," and that might only be due to there being at least two episodes to this new story. I had to ask myself, "this is a KIDS show?" several times, and fans will get several new catch-phrases out of this one for the upcoming convention season, I'm sure.

Linking, as of yet, has no theme-song:

- Adding to the vid-heaviness of this update, here's a trailer/ad for 'Buy-N-Large', the fictional corporation from the upcoming Pixar movie, Wall-E.
- Not so much a video as a future internet meme. I give you the Narcoleptic Cat.
- As the Wednesday 'Backward Compatible' strip alludes to, the Sci-Fi channel is planning an MMO-guided show. Well, it can't be worse than "Tremors, the Series," I guess...
- And while I'm sure you DO know about many of these, here's 30 movie sequels you might NOT know about and have been perfectly happy to remain in the dark about.
- More video AND more cats? Yep, it's the Cat of 1,000 Faces. This series, as well as part 2, will either seem hilarious or completely without merit. Oh, and they did a Star Wars special, too.
- A rather simplistic game (and rather bloody, too), but with a title like Pirates vs. Ninjas, we had to give it a try.
- Mayaball is a breakout clone with powerups, but I felt it worthy of attention if for no other reason that the ball's trajectory is affected by where it strikes the bat (too many Arkanoid wanna-bes leave that sort of aiming tool out of their programs).
- Collecting muffins has never been so violent: Pandemonium is a WASD run-around game where mines, falling blocks, and running off the edge of the mesa will spell doom for your muffin-collecting mission.
- And I leave you with a bit of Who-news. Someone VERY big in... well, death, dreams, and eternity may be putting pen to paper for our favorite Time Lord someday.

9:07PM - Play MST for me...

I just found out that this year's San Diego Comicon will see a live Rifftrax on site! Of all the seminars, parties, and panels that have ever been in San Diego, THIS is the one I don't want to miss!

Which is why I want to lay out a plan that could bring Mystery Science Theater 3000 in some form back where it belongs: With new releases on DvD. How is this wizardry accomplished? I would send you hence to the "extras" on the Ghostbusters DvD. There is a track for director commentary, naturally. When selected, some familiar-looking theater seats rise up, and three silhouettes enter: Harold Raimis, Ivan Reitman and Joe Medjuk come in and riff on their own movie. Why isn't this available on ALL DvDs?

So to any Hollywood-types reading, I'm telling you this: Get Joel and/or Mike along with as many "Best Brains" as you can find, and let them make fun of whatever movies your studio releases. Have an optional track where the viewer can see your film, complete with bumper sketches and theater silhouettes, and give the MSTies free reign to do what they do best.

"Why should I, a powerful Hollywood executive DO this?" you may ask. Consider the following:

1. You would sell more DvDs, guaranteed. I rarely buy movies anymore. The last ones I waited for with geeky abandon were the "Lord of the Rings" extended-cut DvDs. My wife buys more discs, but that's because she's a romantic comedy nut. If there was a human captive on a satellite with his two robot companions to entertain me, I'd even purchase Sandra Bullock films (note: She's just an actress who peeves me for some reason; nothing personal) directed by Uwe Boll, and so would a ton of other people. Rifftrax are great, but having a Mystery Science Theater 3000 show embedded on a disc I could just pop into the player and watch would be heaven. This is me, asking, nay begging, for a reason to purchase "Zoom."

2. You would see distribution on TV of your films increase. If your film was an [insert genre here] movie AND a comedy, depending on which version was shown, you could rake in the syndication fees from Comedy Central, the Sci-Fi Channel, and mainstream networks no matter what the film was actually about. This is "the ka-ching thing" to this proposal.

3. Film is art, art is sacred, but so is laughter. A friend of mine dislikes MST3K because it made fun of a beloved film of his youth ("Marooned" with Gene Hackman and Gregory Peck). I've talked with others who didn't think it was "fair" to make fun of something that someone had worked hard on. I'm sure some directors would cringe at the thought of their labors being poked at with the sharp stick of satire. To them I say: Get over it. There are movies and TV shows I love dearly, which puts me in the best position to make fun of them and admit their weak points. I've devoured science fiction shows where sets move, where you can see the zippers on the aliens' costumes, and lines are delivered so woodenly you could build furniture out of the audio, but that doesn't stop me from liking their essential qualities. Most films these days aren't the property of the directors who might be offended (some can barely lay claim to their organs, it seems), so they likely would have no say in the matter. And there are movies that are begging to be riffed on (I'm looking at YOU, "Wing Commander"). Besides, MST was responsible for, I believe, the surge of Gamera mania we saw for a while, as well as a rekindled interest in Ed Wood. Much as when Weird Al lampoons a song, having your movie made fun of on the Satellite of Love guarantees immortality beyond the movie's original appeal.

So please, Hollywood types, consider this simple proposal to make movies fun again, especially if they bombed horribly at the box office and you'd like to not only get revenge on the cast & crew but make a buck while doing it. And a revival of the "Turkey Day Marathon" on a cable channel of your choice would be much appreciated as well.

Can I sweeten the deal with a weekend linkdump?

- First, from the last entry's comments, comes an appeal to name the "bridging" movie between "The Hobbit" and "Fellowship of the Ring". Everything is better with "Electric Boogaloo."
- A great top-down WASD shooter that puts me in the mind of Battletech and Robotech: Robokill. Upgrade your mech and unload on hordes of metal menaces.
- The wife and I love our Kitchenaid. But not as much as those who have pimped out their mixers.
- A more challenging game: Planet Defender. Build bunkers, plan reasearch, and deploy weapons to save Earth from invasion.
- Forget Gizmodo. Nerd Approved is where I'm getting all of my gadget info from now on.
- Cyberpunk meets reality with the Taser Jacket.
- Finally, "Miss Cellania" has a take on gas and oil prices. Scroll down for an amusing look at other liquids that could be more expensive to use, as well as a top 10 list of reasons why gas is so expensive. :)

9:44PM - The Cake is Dead, Jim...