To be honest, I think this is one of the most gorgeous photos of my wife in existence. Every time I see this photo, I think of how much I love her and how much she means to me. I think of all the things I ever did to hurt her and am so thankful that she’s forgiven me and our relationship continues to grow stronger for all of our weaknesses. I’m so glad she uses this for her Livejournal Icon, and I’m humbled that I took this photo – even if it was just a casual snapshot one day, back in the dorms.
Month: June 2004
Of course, I thought there should be a game session around the death of Ronald Regan, too. But that one would be more tongue in cheek I think.
If you read my journal regularly, and haven’t seen Bubba Ho-Tep, you should take my advise and see it. It’s a bizarre comedy with a poignant message about aging and the elderly. Either way, Bruce Campbell makes a great Elvis and Ossie Davis can actually convince you that he may, in fact, be JFK.
The Garage Sale is coming and I hope we’re ready. I also hope the weather does what the weathermen are telling us it’s going to do. It’s been really wet and stormy lately, and we don’t need it to rain on our parade. We have all the stuff for the sale currently packed into the room furthest from the Garage so in the next two and a half days, we need to move it all to the Garage and price it. We also need to get some tables to put shit on. I think we’re probably going to borrow some from the school, which means we need to find time to get them. Sheesh, this is getting to be a pretty big affair. If you want an idea of what we’re selling, and are not a subscriber to dentontx, check out this thread. We’re gonna have a huge pile of stuff. Hopefully the weather and construction don’t chase people away and we’re left with just as big a pile and no real cash. I don’t know what we did this month, but we’ve definitely overspent and we really need the cash right now. this Garage sale couldn’t have come sooner.
I’m still trying to decide if we’re having the Spycraft game this Friday. I started writing some notes, but I don’t know that I’m goign to have time to plan with all the Garage sale stuff left to do. Even if I can make time for the game the night before the sale, I don’t know that it would be up to par and I’d rather postpone than run a crappy game.
Speaking of games, I finished the Riddick game last night. Sad thing is, I beat it in less time that I would have had to return it had I rented it. So I paid $45 for a perfect rental game. Oh well, we never know these things until it’s too late. I’m sure I’ll play it at least one more time on hard. Who knows. Now I’m really looking forward to the movie though. I think I’m going to see it Sunday afternoon. We can take some of that phatt loot from the Garage Sale to go to the movies (if we sell $12 worth of stuff). We also watched 25th Hour last night. It was a pretty good movie. Not at all what I expected, though I didn’t expect it to be bad, but it definitely had a different feel than I expected. I continue to be impressed by Edward Norton, he’s a talented actor and has a very strong screen presence, even when the character is very subtle. There was also a moment in the middle of the movie dedicated to the 9/11 attack – a focus on ground zero and I have to say, of all the footage I’ve had forced on me in reference to that day, that was the most moving. Maybe it was the way it was filmed, maybe it was the context of the movie, or maybe it was Phillip Seymore Hoffman’s “Oh shit” when he saw it out of the window of the appartment in the scene and the way the conversation just dropped. I dunno. It just seemed more powerful than any of the raw footage I’ve seen on the news.
Though in a morbid sense, it made me think that a Wraith game set around the ruins of the attack has great potential to be interesting. I wouldn’t know what to do with it or how to run it, but it just seemst that something that powerful, that emotional, has to have some kind of bearing on a game about the dead. Meh, I’m a gamer, so sue me.
Protected:
I’ve been looking for something like this for weeks and have found a couple of reasonable facsimilies, but I didn’t realize that there was one from Microsoft that was completely free. So this is mostly a note to myself, but if you’re interested in a Windows XP Desktop Wallpaper manager, here ya go!
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/experiences/downloads/create_powertoy.asp
“Deep-Fried, Peanut-Butter Basted, Country Ribs… Unh-Huh!”
I wish I could come to campus in my PJs every day…
then again, I sleep naked…
Protected:
So I was really afraid that I was going to beat Riddick in one day. I played a lot on Saturday and after I’d nearly broken out of prison twice, I thought it best to set it aside for a couple days. I’d hate to actually buy a game for once and beat it in less time that I would normally have it for rent. I have to say, though, I’ve been thouroughly enjoying it. It’s been really true to form and extremely entertaining. The only thing, so far, that seems completely out of the concept of Riddick’s character is the moth gathering. I mean, come on. Richard B. Riddick: Murderer, Escaped Convict, Moth Collector. Whatever.
One final note about the game… Minigun goooooooooood.
So far, today’s been pretty mild compared to yesterday. We had the storms, yeah, but also, I finished off the shelf in the bedroom to put the TV and DVD player on so we could sell the empty file cabinet they were sitting on before. I also went through my clothes closet and my coat closet to get rid of stuff for the yard sale. Seems like I did some other crap too, but damned if I remember. I just remember that by the time 3:00 rolled around, I already felt like I’d been more than productive for a Sunday.
It’s been really slow at work and now I’m working in the lab, where it’s equally slow. I have some stuff that I could be doing in the office, but since I’m not there, I really can’t do them now, can I? I wish I had a DVD or two to watch while I’m sitting in here. One of our lab attendants was REALLY greatful that I have said that they can watch movies on their shifts during the summer. So long as they don’t make it a habit and continue doing so when the real semester starts.
Nick had his game on Friday, and I have to say, for as little experience at running as he has, and being a bit out of practice, he did a damn fine job. I think Craig and Steve were a little put off by the use of the miniatures and grid, but Nick and Sean pretty much learned through RPGA and I have to admit, I really like the extra effect of visualization and strict strategy. I know he’s reading this, and I hope he doesn’t think I’m just blindly praising him. He really did do a good job, especially when he realized that the NPCs don’t really have to have accents so long as we know who’s talking when. There’s no reason a DMs quality should be in any way tied to his ability to affect accents. And I have to say, both combats were extremely entertaining, even though the first was a cakewalk and a comedy of errors; and the second one was a hair’s breadth from killing us outright, I think the both scored high on entertainment. And that’s really the goal, isn’t it. I’m liking my character, but it’s going to take a few more sessions to get into the groove of him.
On the topic of games, I need to get the missive set for the next Spycraft mission. I think I know what I’m going to do with this one, but I need to get all the details down and get as much planned out as possible without turning it into a railroad. It’s been so long since I’ve had an overly succesful game, I hope I haven’t lost my touch. You know, really, I need to write more. Not necesarily for gaming, but just in general. You know flex those creative muscles. Did you know that David Towhy didn’t get his frist screenplay produced in hollywood until the age of 33? I guess I still have a couple years to go. Surely I can write at least as interesting stuff as that.