Finding a Path Through Third and a Half

Aright table top nerds, here's how I break it down.

I have played version 3.5 D&D for about six years now, fairly familiar with the system, I can make all sorts of builds and my group(s) and I can come up with mechanics for most issues we encounter.

Recently, some players in my group started using/buying Pathfinder. The words "Three point seven-five" were muttered constantly and once two members of the group purchased books and the D.M. downloaded the pdf's we actually played a couple campaigns. I have since broken down and purchased the Core and the APG and done massive builds due to a high power one shot we had two months to prep for.

Verdict:
If you can, or want to, buy Pathfinder. I wont lie, its shiny, new and sexy, BUT, it does address a lot of mechanic/customizable options and makes the super-customizable 3.5 into a massive awesomeness.
If money is tight or you have ALL the books for 3.5 already, no pressure to switch.
However, if one person buys the Pathfinder books, you are SCREWED if a second person buys the books.

3.5 is the original, and has "the real system" but Pathfinder was originally intended to be a massive supplement to 3.5, or at least that was the impression I got from reading some of opening notes, and it turned into this massive project.


Fun fact, Pathfinder taught me that Vash The Stampede

& Alucard
exist in D&D, eh?

I've Been Drilled

So, I finished watching LvB all the way through and it was great.

I don't give a damn if some of it was predictable. I don't care that near the end of the series things became very ridiculous (not as ridiculous as it had been if you think about it.) And I only care a little bit that the ending was not as amazing as it should have been for the series . . .

BECAUSE

I think this show MUST have another, if not MORE, seasons.
I will be upset if this show doesn't get picked up for multiple seasons. Much worse animes have run over ten seasons, but then of course they were popular due to eight year olds and picked up by Adult Swim, so, who knows.

Either way it was a very fun anime, the animation was fantastic all the way through and I feel the universe has SOOO much life that I enjoyed the character nuances and think there is so much untapped story. I highly recommend this anime. It is short, it is fun, great fan service, good gags. If you know me, ask and I'll try and get you a copy. I honestly want to purchase this when a U.S. compatible DVD becomes available.

3rd 4 t3h Nrrd: Dec. '10

NERDCORE COP OUT!!!























( buy one! )

Check it h47ites, FRIDAY! FRIDAY! FRIDAY! from 5pm till whenever at night, SJSU, HGH 226, I will be hosting a Nerdcore Night.
FREE FREE FREE!!

fast at 5 as soon as I can get the system set up I will be showing
Nerdcore For Life for my hardcore homies who have there fingers on the pulse of nerdcore and what its like to NOT be MC Frontalot performing at PAX.

we will then be listening to some choice Nerdcore tunes, as I DJ them,

the second showing ever of F.T.W. a blessedly short one act written by me and perfromed by some of the nerdiest theatre kids I know.

Then,
A showing of
Nerdcore Rising !!!

Rumors of food, so come by.

S.G.I.S.Con V

Con Five is ALIVE!!



The Theme is TEA PARTY!

The dates are JANUARY 2011, FRIDAY 14nth, SATURDAY 15nth, SUNDAY 16nth, and MONDAY 17nth!

Do not show up before 10 am on Friday please!

Registration is "open" its the same $25 dollars a head. If you can't handle this, contact me or T1nk. If you don't we will assume you are not coming as we will not have your money.

This year T1nk and I are not so hot financially, so we will not be able to help cover costs until people show up, SO, please get me the money by any means possible before or on JANUARY 2011, WEDNESDAY 12th BEFORE WE GO SHOPPING FOR FOOD. This means if you are paying by Paypal make sure to allow for however long it takes for it to process from your bank, into paypal, then into my bank.

If you have issue with paying for foods for the weekend contact us, we will try and work something out.

The cap limit is 25 (TWENTY FIVE!) PEOPLE, just like last year, many couples are slated to attend so get your registration in quick. I will be keeping a tab, so contact me as soon as you send money my way OR/AND make sure I put your name(s) in my book.

So many people enjoy this weekend long nerdcamp that I could not bring myself to cancel it. However, it has gotten progressively more shitty to organize without any pay and worrying about people all weekend so please help me keep putting this shindig together by keeping the drama and bullshit to a minimum. If you have ANY questions about ANYTHING to do with this event, PLEASE contact one of us and we will try to resolve something.

If you magically wish to donate to this event more than registration or even just as a Birthday/Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Graduation/Guilt Present, we will find a way to recognize you (or not, Epyon Avenger, I'm looking at you) for your contribution, whatever it may be. Contact us if your contribution is not monetary.

Aright kids, lets keep things all "two lumps O' sugar" up in here and have a kickin' Sad Geek In Snow Con V!!
(word up to Bri Chan and her awesome skills)

HI! Ate! US!

Still drifting with all this class work, trying my best not to install cataclysm so I have chance of finishing my degree.

I have like 4 or so Nerdcore Artists ready to be put up for our monthly focus, so no worries there.

Just hang in there with me till next Tuesday after 5pm, we should return to our regularly scheduled ridiculousness.

That Old Song and Dance

yes, 3rd 4 teh nrrd is late, and postponed, as well as Tuesday the 7nth's post, Due to Homework. (no, not cataclysm as I had hoped, but homework.) Hopefully this will be the last time due to homework as this should be my last semester and I will receive my Bachelors.

Despair not, h47ities, for as compensation, I will post two nerd-music things this month as well as try to get a meme-orable up along side a Tuesday post AND

a special event.

NERDCORE NIGHT!
Thanks to TRFT Independent at SJSU
we will be having a screening of both Nerdcore for Life & Nerdcore Rising, a Nerdcore Listening hour, some refreshments, and a special performance of "F.T.W." a very short nerdgasmic play written by myself.

SJSU, HGH 226 @ 5 pm till 10pm (or later, sometimes things run long)
Be there if you're a square!

LEEROY Vs. Freak Out

Why I think Jenkins is brilliant but the kid shoving a remote in his hole is not, yet knowing full well, both are fakes.

I'm sorry if I have shattered all of your illusions, but yes, both were revealed as fakes.
Leeroy, by any wow player who was playing hardcore in vanilla.
Freak out, by Tosh.0

Just to refresh your memory



Lemme think about this for a second,
I'm willing to argue, that the Leeroy video is from a much more honest place than the kid was. L. Jenkin's is obviously a video of WoW players, playing WoW, and displaying a common occurrence in Azzeroth and it's denizens one interacts with. I guess it's a bit of self sado-masochism, watching the thing that happens all the time and you can't avoid it, and for SOME REASON you keep raiding/pvping with this guy. Also, I think it has something to do with the fact that we've all been this guy at some point, or desperately want to be. I know I have often yelled "(CLASS) ROULETTE!" and ran straight into a pat of elites or a boss and hit my aggro drop button (FD. Vanish, whatev.) It's a thrill to scream a battle cry and rush into mobs, its exhilarating.

The freak out kid, nah. I don't like the idea of a kids who get sooooo worked up that they have break downs. Especially when two kids set up a scenario where they fake it in order to gain internet fame. I've seen/heard actual freak outs over WoW, it's very, very sad to me on many levels.

WOA! WOAH! woa. Wow.

Less than two and a half hours I was on WoW after the new big patch and I have already had my mind blown by the changes, gotten two achievements and started my Forsaken Hunter out of Deathknell and into level 6-8 territory.

And as I have said and will continue to say, "I'm FREAKIN out, man!"

So, ever since the first mutters of the huge changes to Azzeroth I have been cautious and vaguely ignorant and resentful of many of the changes.

BUT, I will have to concede that this is an excellent change in order to want me to play WoW again.
It almost feels like an alternate universe and I guess it kind of is considering the World is "new" but still very familiar.
I am VERY anxious to learn all the new nooks and crannies that have been placed. I also resolve to play ally side more in order to get "my full experience." More and more it dawns on me that I have been jipped half a game experience because of my "horde only" mentality. and while I will remain Horde Loyal in all disputes, I will make a conscious effort to experience as much ally side content as Horde.

However, being who I am, I will also shed a tear, raise a glass, pour out a drop from the bottle, for vanilla WoW. I will miss lvl 12 Gamon, painfully trekking across barrens with no mount or speed increase, getting ganked by a world dragon in azshara trying to get a stupid quest done, getting lost in 1k needles cause you cant find your way in all that brown/gray with nothing but pillars and walls around you. I will miss much, much more, and I honestly feel strange about the idea no one will ever experience that again.

Yadda Yaffa, H47 Fails

Last second post, late, I know.
I had a paper that could not be F-ed off, and now I'm sick/ALERGY FUCKED! so, my brain did not make the connection that Tuesday had come and gone and that, you, my loyal readers, had been left without ramblings and whinings of an eccentric one man flash mob, so, here I am to fix that, somewhat.

I have quite a few ideas, many table-top RPG related, I finished watching Ladies V. Butlers a while back, as well as some other odd ramblings. so, there's content in the pipe and my two biggest papers are done for the semester, so regularly scheduled tom-foolery (or tina-foolery, for my ladie friends) shall resume as planned.

thanks H47ites!

Tired Post, S.G.I.S.Con V

Just as a Note, Registration for Sad Geek In Snow Con Five has not opened yet, nor have I set a date for it to open, AS WELL AS, I'm still not sure it's even going to happen.
DONT FREAK OUT
there are a few factors out of my control that would influence whether or not I would want to have the party, and none of them are linked to anyone or anything to do with the party in the past.
Just bare with me, keep in touch, and stay tuned, I will update you as soon as I know.

until then, something I find, just my style.

3rd 4 t3h Nrrd: Nov. '10

Serendipitously, I once again feature a XX chromosome for our November focus!




















MC Diabeats!!

This slick chick with the sick music creds has only been in the game so far for less than three years. She has managed to put out a few pieces under the guidance of many Scrub Club Vet's in that short time and I imagine it wont be long till she puts out her own solo album.

Loud and proud about many aspects of herself, she is a; healthy, white, young, college student, insulin pump-diabetic, musician, Spanish/English major, nerd.

All of these aspects have influenced her Nerdcore quality in positive ways. It appears her musical background has led to an excellent ear and of course she is "one of us" if her material is any indication, which, she just did a collab album about a gaming system that has been out of date for a few years now.

I saw her on the Scrub Club roster earlier this year and heard one of her songs on a compilation somewhere, or maybe just listened to her Myspace songs, don't remember right now, but kept my ear open. Lo and behold, I looked her up again recently and she has been moving along at a good pace in the Nerdcore community.

If her freshman material is any measure of quality, her progress should be phenominal. I await the next injection of sweet rhymes from Lady Diabeats, but until then, hopefully these live performances can hold us over.

S.G.I.S.Con V Theme!

MOVE DOWN! CLEAN CUP! It's Tea Party Time Bitches!!

Sad Geek In Snow Con Five shall be Tea Party Themed!

Blatantly ripping off LoL's (Lisa out Loud) birthday party theme, as well as indulging several genres and my own moniker, we will be having a "spot" on weekend, eh?

I'm still working out some itinerary ideas, but, expect several incarnations and concepts of "tea party" and I think we will be having tea at tea time every day as well as consuming, of course, massive amounts of herb flavored drinks.

So! Registration is not open just yet, but keep your fingers peeled to this blog, updates will be posted soon.

-H47

Work to Work

Working while working to get work done on things we'd rather work on. Maybe I should have started with a "yo dawg" meme?

I think what I am trying to articulate, is the interesting setup our society has placed on creation and/or being productive.

As a part time employee, a full time student, a regular actor, a citizen of the internet and a human being on this earth, there are many things I wish to accomplish and many things the institutions I am part of wish me to undertake. The obligations to these institutions often conflict with the things I want to do privately, or even through the institutions in cases of programs I wish to control.

Specifically, I want to write my blog, write stories, plays, put on shows or workshops at school, run convention booths for my work or just play video or table top games (things I find just as important in my life for a multitude of reasons). I also want to make money at work so I can pay for these things. I want to be educated and a man of letters which only completion of this academic institution will give me. I want to become independently stable financially through my brain power and creation alone, getting paid to write or design or storytell.

I know, that is a whole mess of "I want" but lets be honest with each other, the satisfaction of our desires are usually very high on our lists of priorities, and I don't find any of the above immoral or belittling or problematic as a healthy functioning human being.

I guess the point of all this rambling and for H47 gettin' heavy, is that (and perhaps I am nothing more than a product of my generation, culture, and upbringing) I would like to live in a situation where I could put something on hold while I complete another project I had stuck my nose into. But alas, you can only do that with private projects. And, by the time you complete the compulsory projects assigned to you, it is often too late or moot to attempt them in tandem with your organization.
I apologize if this sounds like a frustration rant, it might very well be easily seen as one, but perhaps it's also to share. As young people, or even a universal theme, let us all work for a change, perhaps help others, or should we find it in our power, to pave the way for others, and facilitate the ability to create something beautiful, or even just some spare time, for others, and ourselves.
As for answers, I don't have them, and when I do, I try to live them as oppose to postulate and throw them around. This is just something I felt the need to ruminate upon and think others who read this blog might relate to and understand, perhaps help articulate things they themselves felt but had not yet voiced.
Thank you for your time,
...[+]
H4773r

What's In a Character Name!? Forsaken

How do you name your characters?

This segment will deal with naming conventions in various gaming situations.

This installment will go over WoW, Forsaken characters specifically.So, over the last sixish years I've named several undead Forsaken characters, as well as "justified" character names for others I know when using them in fan-fic situations.

My main guideline involves, when the corpse re-animates, or gains sentient will, the first utterance from its lips is it's name. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, many Forsaken keep the names they had in life, but many of them never left the lands of their pre-unliving experience, where many "adventuring" undead have much more obscure and unique monikers. EXAMPLES!

Rah'Tin: My Forsaken Forest Troll from the d20 system table-top RPG. Our DM at the time was my buddy Jubblea sand he allowed me to be very creative with this particular creation. My idea was that it would be a nice joke to have his name sound like "rotten" but when the "corpsetenders" dug him up, his lifeless lips breathed the sound and his first friend in unlife agreed "yes, you really are, aren't you?" So the name stuck.

Termenus: my mage main, you might have met him in the past. It comes from a weak push of breath with the tongue pressed to the upper teeth with the air moving the tongue out of the way and the mouth closing "Term." Then air through the nostrils (he was moving his new undead peices about, having been a caster in life, this was his focus) and continuing, produced a hissing sound (vital for many incantations and spells [draconic languages, D&D nerds anyone?] ) which gave him "en" and "oos."

Doohoohoohoom: A warlock name I have saved on a few servers should I ever decide to stack dots & more dots. This one is actually a result of his loss of lower jaw (at least on the original avatar I used) and because he has less verbal control expels more air than necessary when speaking.


You might have also noticed by know, a second, and even more important element of naming Forsaken WoW characters, a cool, dark, multi-level-meaning, name. My friend Jubble's character was named Necrus, an obvious allusion to "necro" or death. Termenus was derived from "terminal" or "terminus" meaning "the end." As well as with Doohoohoohoom, I have often taken a long breath to pronounce DOOOOOOOooooommmmm!!!! upon enemies in other gaming situations. This leads me to another example of names used, perhaps allusions to HOW these characters came into their un-living state.

Bellamuerte: My fiance's mage, obviously a romance language is great for unique and provocative names, but in RP terms, in one of the stories I have not yet confirmed with her (so it's not 'canon' so to speak) is that her character's cousin, Termenus, saw her in her newly returned state and proclaimed, "beautiful death, my cousin." And her freshly re-awakened mind took a liking to it and used an obscure language she knew to keep the moniker.

Gruetouched & Gruette: Warriors, this is an obvious nod to RPG's of old, where wandering about in the dark without a light source meant certain death. And so is the case with this name. The story is that these two were wandering about in the dark and SOMETHING, killed them to allow The Plague to take over OR even affected their change. So when asked of their origins by other undead, they chose to keep the honorific as their identifiers.



Finally: Something I haven't been able to do too much in "normal WoW" that I miss, is the REAL RP. Most Likely in the future I will bore you all with the Most elaborate RP never RP'ed in World of Warcraft. A glimpse of it is actually one Rogue and one Hunter Pet.

BillyBones: my Rogue who is under 40 and GM of my family guild, partly named for the "old Captain" from Treasure Island, but also, in life his name was William Schreckwind, brother to Asthemus (who would die and return as Necrus) and Twin to Maxwell (who would also die and become BlackMax, a rogue that Jubbles rolled).
also,
Blackmax: my hunter Ribeyejack's pet cat (Humar the Pridelord) named after the fore mentioned rogue.


And so, yet another peak into my H47, with RP, WoW, and The Forsaken in mind. I would also say these similar rules might be applied to some DeathKnights, but even as I type, I think there would be other factors to consider, so don't quote me.
as always, see you around Thw Warcrafting World, and Dark Lady Watch Over You!

Dieing to See Stockades

How to get anywhere in WoW. The art of the corpse drop!

Today's segment comes to you, thanks to the mind of my good friend Jubbles, who suggested I write about something we know a lot about, Dieing, and how to use it to your advantage in the Wide World of Azeroth.

Now, this is being written Pre-Cataclysm, but most of these guidelines are universal and I have not heard any major rumblings about if Blizzard will change death once Deathwing hits.

One thing I have always wanted to do in WoW (among, other things ) was to assemble a group and do the opposing factions lowbie instance. Thanks to dungeon finder, this is super easy and ally have done RFC and Hordies have rolled all over in Stockades. BUT, I would love to get a crew together of about level tewnty-ish, run down to STV, swim up the coast, and drop into Stockades, run it, and hearth out. Legit like.

Also, I had another companion, a "melee Lock," who ninjad an epic sword in ST long ago, who would bother me from time to time. I was out in Zangamarsh, finishing up the last quest there, that's about 66 right? And this kid, still not even 55, invites me to group and comes and finds me in the middle of a bunch of naga I had just cleared. He tells me that he has corpse drop explored, almost all of Outland before even hitting upper 50's. That he got a port around 50, and hasn't actually done a quest for two months.

So, the tips.

(Optional, because these feel a bit like cheating) Scout the target
Hit Wowhead , Thottbot , or even the excellent Wowwiki. Search it up, check the terrain, what kind of mobs are there, is it deep in enemy pvp territory (not that this is a deterrent, just good to have the info)? Then hop on your closest flight path.
Stock Up
Get yourself some pots (speed/health/stealth/water walk/water breathing) food, water for regen, make sure your hearth/ port mats are stocked and off cool down for when you achieve your target.

Do!:
Get Naked!

As many of us know, dieing means our gear takes a hit in durability, this is solved by taking it off as you are not killing anything (usually) your the one getting killed! Although do wear non-durability items, like off hand frills & tabards, and many of us like cloth hats, low repair bill, but the right combo means you die in style!

RUN!
Move out, your not going to get there standing naked at the FP, dive into the danger zone!

The 5 "D"s; Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive & Dodge!
This takes some practice but when you perfect the art it can prevent quite a few deaths, if you want to be VERY fastidious, practice in progressively higher level zones until you have it down. Basically, learn where aggro ranges on mobs are relative to your level and their level. This in turn feeds to scoping out clear areas between mobs. I love high mounds as that will often be enough to take you out of a threat range, or even along the side of a hill can keep you away from angry pats and gives you the distance from the large cat chomping on your tabard tails. Which actually leads into my next tip.

Location! Find a Good Plot.
So, you have a small army of kobolds behind you thumping away and you just ran into 30 more, your HP is dropping below 20% and at the rate they are hitting you, you have 2 more seconds of "aspect of the dazed" before your "feign death" becomes "method acting death." Find a good spot to die. You will need to run back to this spot and when you rez, take just as much time to check pats around you and which mobs are about, before you hit that "resurrect" button.

(warning: Crotchety old WoW player Rant)
Back in my day, we didn't have no, new fangled graveyards around every corner, or some zippidy do-da speed increase as ghost form. If that was your problem, you rolled Nelf, and many did. When we died, we had to walk all the way back across the zone, get back to our corpse, and by the time we'd walked back to our poor, outstretched forms all the mobs wed takin 2 minutes a piece to kill, had respawned. Whats the point of this rant? Well, dont complain about not having a graveyard close enough (except for BRM, that one is still silly) and suck it up and get walking, that's part of this seminar, your going to be walking around in that crazy gray-white world with that whooshing noise of "spirit wind" or whateverthehell it is (unless of course, you turn it off in the interface, but, well, that's no fun, unless of course, you're like me and are dead all the time).

Also Optional; Take a friend!
Nothing is more fun in WoW, than doing it grouped. Like many things in life and game-life, having a companion, even if that person isn't actually doing the crazy drops with you, maybe just some guildies in g-chat, can keep you company, share your triumphs, or, deride you for being silly and not asking for a high level escort.

Finally, but not cumulatively, take pictures! Pics or it didn't happen!















Happy Dropping!

3rd 4 T3h Nrrd: Oct. '10

Let us declare that 2010 was the 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd Year for Doctors, with

DocPop!

Doctor Popular is a groovy Bay Area resident who I've been following for some time now. Not only has he been a constant contributor to the Nerdcore Scene from early on, he is a Renaissance man of Geekery.
He is a pro yo-yoer, craftsman, musical and visual artist, and connoisseur of local cuisines throughout the bay area, having many different food items around the The City named for him.

HERE you can dive into all that is DocPop and his goodness.

As for me, I love how quirky his style is. There is a very fun and proud vibe to all of his projects that keep me enthralled. Though he is by no means mute about controversial issues, the majority of his work that I enjoy is very loud and proud, and nerdy.

(Quick shout out to art/geek couples. His girlfriend UNWOMAN is also a musician and has some very awesome musical ability. Check her out if you're anything like my fiance who digs ladies with alternative musical outlets and production sensibilities.)

Below is just one of many videos and music projects the Doc has been involved with. Although often assumed, I was NOT in chess club, but I think, like many of us, it was not outside of the realm of possibility.


As much as I enjoy his music, I really dig DocPop because he is very visible in many communities close to my current home. He's almost always down at Mission Comics and his Tweets and Flickr read much like my own in that they're very observational throughout the day to day adventures. He is yet another guy who is living and surviving in one of the most expensive areas in the world and doing what he loves.

Mad props, DocPop!

Hatter Day: U.S. '10

Happy Hatter Day!

10/6, as the prolific size card reads, and in U.S. that would translate to the date October Sixth.

So, in honor of this mad day, wear a hat (very important), drink some tea, get mad, and maybe even, have a party!

I Know, It's Late

Well H47ites, here we are, a half dozen days into the month and more than 3 days into the week and I know.
In the interest of consistent and entertaining posts I will post 3rd 4 T3h Nrrd a little later in the week.

Today, I will share some things fermenting in my mind.

I'm writing and starting to develop some serious Nerdcore Hip Hop lyrics and hope to start searching out a DJ, or even learn to mix myself.
Some Con-centric stuff, table top stuff, anime and video gaming stuff, maybe even some music about my job. I think I want to start with some re-written covers of mainstream songs, one of my other plans is to finally record some of my old music and then use that for samples to mix into Nerdcore music.

Something else I have simmering is maybe National Novel Writing Month, but mostly, once my show is over, I have a Steampunk story circulating in my notes and it might just grow into something. They say "write what you know" and some of the subject matter I know VERY well.

The show is coming along well, some great stuff there. If it isn't the most amazing show I've ever been part of, it is definitely not one of the easiest shows. A lot of work has been put into it from everyone, and I think the two central characters/actors are working their hearts out. It's painful to watch over and over, they have to live it.

School: well, I'm grinding my way through reading, one reading assignment at a time and hope to be caught up by the end of the month. My sci-fi class is helping me read no less than five classic stories before Thanksgiving and I'm psyched.
My Poli-sci class and my History class have me chronically depressed by how shitty our country is. Then, our sci-fi teacher goes and shows us a chunk of "An Inconvenient Truth" so, depression all around now.
On the positive side, it is compelling me to be active and pursue the things that are important to me, even if they are not in line with preservation of earth or our Union, I should be walking my talk and living the things I said I wanted to do with my life. There is nothing stopping me but myself.

3rd 4 t3h Nrrd: Sept. '10

This month we take a look at documented Nerdery, with Nerdcore Rising & Nerdcore For Life. Two very different movies that I believe really looks into the heart of Nerdcore Hip-Hop, the light and the dark.

I've spoken about Nerdcore Rising before and can more or less point to it as the catalyst that got me into the genre. I have had some small email interactions with the head of the project, Negin Farsad, and follow her on twitter, this lady has a lot of hot brands in a lot of fires, one rad comedian.

As for the film itself, it is a banner waving piece of media to which I can point and say, this, this is what Nerdcore can be. It chronicles MC Frontalot's U.S. tour which ends at PAX (spoilers) and follows their misadventures. It also does try to answer the question of what is Nerdcore Hip-hop, what is it's purpose, is it a parody, racist, niche? Not only does it have a great amount of polish to it it tells a cohesive story with a beginning, a middle and an end. This not only helps bring most viewers along it gives an uplifting climax to the story.
If you only watch one of these films, make it Nerdcore Rising as it will give a great explanation of the genre, tells a great tale and shows Nerdcore and NerdLife (in my humble opinion) at it's pinnacle.

Nerdcore For Life is the Documentary you MUST WATCH if you want to seriously know anything about Nerdcore Hip-Hop the scene, the roots, and the players. Dan Lamoureux does an excellent job delving into the nuts and bolts of how the scene lives and breaths and struggles in the day to day. Not only does he cover the OTHER heavy hitters of the genre the movie looks at the larger internet cultures developed around the music and how they evolved.
This documentary is much more gritty, much more honest and as I said, if you want the movie that is going to set you on the path of a greater understanding of the genre as a whole, not just The King, The Godfather, and the other antediluvians, this is the documentary that needs to be viewed.

Down & Dirty

So, let me get this rollin then shall we? Through some other friends and by watching a few episodes with theatreg33k now I am addicted to "Last Airbender" I know I'm very late to this band wagon, but if you've seen anything else on this blog you know this is nothing new. I really enjoy the series, its hilarious, the characters are engaging. many of them are multifaceted beings with many thoughts and relate-able traits. I love Uncle Iroh with his depressing as hell son story and his ridiculous wisdom, I think I am Sokka as I may have my moments but they are never when I want them and as awesome as I tell other I am I feel I am in a world of people with greater abilities than me PLUS dude has the most tragic love life out of all of them in my opinion, and finally, FUCK YEAH ZUKO. 1. Rufio, no for reals, look it up and come back, I'll wait . . . . I know, right!? 2, dude is a badass with serious issues that give him depth, comedy, and great fight scenes, AND I agree with one of the Korean artists from the documentary that he has the most development out of ALL the characters, were currently at the end of book 2 and I cant wait to see where Zuko goes.

I am in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, acting is hard and don't let anyone tell you different. But, luckily we all have a sense of humor, all sorts of Russian comedy, very dark and sarcastic. Although most of us yell "for Yakov" because we cut the character named Yakov and then many "in mother Russia . . ." jokes are spewed every night.

Finally, I am getting into Steampunk with a vengeance and I have read H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" and Westerfeld's "Leviathan" which I would argue are a "deep roots" piece as well as a modern pillar of Steampunk literature.
The Time Machine was excellent, Well's is a great literary mind, everyone should put at least ONE of his books on their "read before I die" list. it was blessedly short and concise and now I know that story.
"Leviathan" utterly whelmed me. I liked it, it was a great read, it was fun, it was interesting and I was constantly fascinated by the different technology and the alternative history aspect. BUT, it did not change my life nor did I feel it had any soul shaking depth. I hope I am clear that I enjoyed the book and will most likely read the sequel Behemoth as I want to continue to follow the adventures of Alek & "Daryl" and that the book greatly helped to give me more perspective on what the culture of "steampunk" looks to for its influences and roots.

So far, in general, I can not point to any product of the culture that has a "great work." Many of its "ancient roots" like Wells & Verne don't count in my opinion but to be fair, I have not gone half as deep as I intend to. I still need to talk to some active people living the culture and I think my next reads will be from the gentlemen who actually began using the term.

Please Stand By

I am having a very busy month or so and if it continues I will consciously take some time out to tend to things I feel are very important in my life, such as this blog. I still want to put up a 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd for this month, as well as perhaps a couple memeorables to make up for the last couple weeks sparseness.
I appreciate all of you sticking with me right now and I very much am aware of the quality & quantity of my content (relative to what has been standard on this blog).
I only know a few of you personally who have been reading it form day 1, but I am constantly trying to think of ways to have you read old posts as I feel many of them are just as entertaining as the day I first typed them.
So let me be blunt at this point and recommend you check out my back log, perhaps there was a Nerdcore Artist you missed or try seeing what labels bring up, as I use them in a way I dont think Blogger intended.
Thanks again H47ites! Stay nerdy.

Sticking to It

It's still technically Tuesday, and I should have time later this week to throw up something more substantial, but if I don't, I do guarantee that I have quite a bit to go over, especially considering some new endeavors:
-show (the Seagull)
-2 classes I don't actually need but WANTED to take (which I might have to drop)
-My personal dive into SteamPunk (this will probably be several posts)

thanks for sticking with me H47ites!

Nrrd Update

This months 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd will be reviewing these two documentaries, but I don't currently have the time I would like to dedicate to there reviews, but I WILL post before the end of the month. Stay tuned H47ites!

Allies, WTF Mate?

A letter to Alliance concerning XR raids:

Why?

This is a question I ask a lot in life, but especially in WoW.

Ever since the early years of vanilla and definitely since I can remember, Crossroads, in northern Barrens is constantly set upon by max level Alliance players.

This makes no sense to me in any conceivable way other than to be a raging dick. And that might be reason enough, but it doesn't make me less upset.

If no one has guessed yet, I LOATHE PvP servers. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy PvP, mostly BG's and worthwhile world objectives (killing faction leaders) I even totally understand Arena (even though I don't play). BUT!! Incorrectly, I was led to believe there was some sort of etiquette that if you / wave to an enemy player, they will probably leave you alone if you are both questing out in the world. Nope, red = dead for you or the other player. I had a warrior on a pvp server for, two years? I BARELY got him to 64 over that time because every 7 levels, I would get ganked, repeatedly, rage quit and not return to that server for 3 months, like an Alzheimer patient. No level difference is too great nor bag not douche enough that another player will attack you in flagged areas. I had toons 3 levels lower than me openly try to gank me on that server. What about that makes sense? "gee that 52 war who is clearing 3 mobs at a time is flagged. I'm running to somewhere across the zone and he's ignoring me, and I'm not even 49 yet . . I ! MUST! ATTACK!"

So, once again, why? Boredom? I have several high end toons. Even if you ONLY do PvP, do you have this stash of unlimited gold that you cant be farming for mats for enchants or gold to buy mounts or whatever? Have you "beat the game" so completely that you must resort to decimating a town that has guards 20+ levels below you? Even back in vanilla the biggest threat was the 60 elite hunter who is there. Now, 4 years later you can probably solo her at 60 with some nice outland greens. How is this any sort of challenge or even noteworthy achievement?Go to northrend and clear out Agmar's Hammer or if you wanna be a real beast, Warsong Hold with two RP bosses. Just Soloing? Try an outland city where no one will bother you. Want people to bother you? Try hanging out outside Ogrimmar gates, someone will humor you. Too many people humoring you? well . . . Fuck off then.
I can maybe understand the enjoyment of being able to clear something out that is established and integral, that sounds fun, but not when it is so easy.

Crossroads is just a central example, and I've seen hordies attempt to do the same to Westfall, as well as the constant war between Southshore & Terran Mill (which actually makes sense on occasion as levels 25 through 45 travel through there, this is okay since the guards are about that level) but when you're character has no reason to be in that area or can solo 5 of any mob in the zone or more, it becomes silly.

Am I the only person who thinks this? Am I a crotchety noob QQing into the wind because I am not l337 enough to understand how fun running into Northshire Abbey as a full PvP geared frost mage and killing every NPC AND mobs for a good half hour until someone informs another 80 in Stormwind and then running off, is?

I may be preaching to the choir, but this has been rattling around in my brain for a while, thank you for humoring me.

Brutal Honesty

I am semi-sleep & schedule borked. . . for me. I don't care what your schedule is or how little you sleep or how bad your life is, that is you. If you want to REALLY complain, talk to one of my OTHER Doctors, which is why I don't complain. (the above was not me complaining, it was letting you, the reader, know why I have not been supplying my regularly scheduled mind-spew.)

Anyway . . . I am still dedicated to updating SOMETHING every week, so I will do my best to put something up soon. I appreciate all you guys and I have some rough posts I need to polish off and I should have some goofy/fun stuff up next month, as well as regularly scheduled 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd!

L8er nerds.

S.G.I.S.Con V Alert!

Yes Kids, Six Months Till we revisit that undisclosed wilderness location for a weekend of debauch & dastardly Nerdiness!

Only 25 spots as per last year, so far, $25 Dollar Reg (until Jan 1, 2011) and if this is any sort of an issue contact us immediately. But enough of the SrS Bznz, the real reason I'm posting, in addition to giving notification that ITS ON, is, I don't yet have a theme.

I reserve the Right to proclaim any theme I choose for the Con, BUT . . any and all suggestions will be . . . viewed.

To get things started, A few ideas that have been thrown around are;

-Pirate (kind of obvious, but doing it whole hog might be fun)

-Tea Party (being A Hatter, this could be totally fun, as I sure you agree)

-Anime/J-Culture (yo aniki, I blought my game-uh cube-eru, maybe we can "hang")

-Wild West (Few people know I wanted to be a Cowboy, & NO! this does not = steampunk)

While I'm on the subject, I don't think I will let Steampunk be an option this year, I'm not saying no altogether, just, a lot of our shenanigans devolve into cross-genres.

OR

-Nerdcore . . . Again (I have a new documentary and new music to share, as well as the attendee make-up changes every year, I would love to expose more to the genre, if I'm allowed.)

Comment here, email me, text, whatev's!

I Don't Know What You're Talking About

As per a tweet earlier today, I have been in mountainous regions for the last three days (not a euphemism, I assure you. I wish.) with no cushion of updates to keep me through the week. I will have a post up of some substance later today.

Stay With Me H47ites!

Meme-Orable: WoWmemeomatic

Holy Tauren are you gonna get a Legendary size dose of nerd & WoW. Ready? Okay, PULL!

First mob includes a treat from those crazy cats over at College Humor. As we know I am devotee of hip hop in its geekier forms so I often belt out to this.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Next "trash" includes numerous nerdgasmic samples combining three awesome things. Machinima, WoW, & Nerdy Music ( JoCo, Paul & Storm, rap covers). HERE ARE LINKS to appropriate YouTube Channels. BUT, below are a few of my favorites.

Now for THE BOSS, Illegal Danish! Myndflame (after a few years) has completed the Azzerothean Opus. You can watch all of it here, also, avail yourself of his other works, they are tasty. And below, I give you MC Raiders, the end credits to Super Snacks.

W007! EPIC L3WtZ!

Memeorable - Memeand Costello

A classic with a new spin. First, the original by comedy duo Abbott & Costello from the film Naughty Ninety's (not what you think).



And the more accesable to a nerd like me, because I like baseball neither would I call myself a huge Abbott & Costello enthusiast: Who's The Tank? And if I have my stories correct, one of its creators is friends with my old room mate and spiritual guide Jubbles:



It has spawned a few parodies (lol, spawn could be a pun in that situation, im so funny) but none of them are as inspired as this one. GJ NUBS!

Tired R4n7

State of The H47 time kids.

My show Treasure Island got canceled due to scheduling conflicts. Don't ever believe that you don't need actors do do a show . . . unless you have a couple months to re-write the show. That was a major bummer but I had been staring at that bullet from day one, I just couldn't "Neo" out of the way. First it wasn't getting approved, so I ended up waiting till AFTER spring semester had ended to do auditions, THEN not being a student/other local theatre/the film pulled about a dozen actors from my potential pool, after that it still took two whole months to get a full approval. Once we were green light he had no idea where some of our designers were as well as losing a few to not being students anymore. And finally, couldn't get enough actors to do the show as written with not enough time to overhaul the script.*

My work only had two employees for a good two weeks so I have been working 9 day weeks. Thankfully we finally hired some new guys but training takes a solid two weeks under good conditions AND our boss lady decides to take a week off. So me and "not new guy anymore" get to play shop keep until the end of the week. We are running low on paper towels, small change and Mt. Dew, things are getting dire and it's only Tuesday.

My lovely fiance has been ASM with a local stage company and she loves her some cast parties. And me, being a paranoid/concerned other half would rather be with her at every cast function in order to; reap the benefits of an inebriated S.O., be designated driver, provide buzz killing services, than be at home resting after full days of work staying out til 3 A.M. Then having to open at 10, with a 45 minute commute, plus I'm slow as molasses when it comes to my morning rituals.

*looks up* Wow, wasn't that a glorious bitchfest? Want more? Well shut your damn dirty mouth, you're getting more.

My mother killed her car, because for some reason the women in my family treat cars like . . . something thats gonna last for a while but as soon as it breaks down they just buy another one thats old and busted but cheap as hell (because its already old and busted) and continue to not maintain it. SO, instead of taking the 95 Explorer that is already where they live (2hours from me and not far enough) the Matriarchs decide I need to give up my van (which I've branded with the Horde symbol, given a name too and put over a thousand dollars into over the last 2ish years). The breakdown goes, my mom gets grandmas newer 07ish subaru impreza (too much power for my mom to be responsible with), my grandma gets my van(which she has killed the battery on in less than two days because she doesn't know what the "radio only" setting is below the off position where the ignition is), and I get the decade and a half old behemoth which is dirty as a Boy Scout camp out on a dusty road, has spiders living in it (they respin the web at night and I have to clean them when I leave for work in the morning. it's a little game we play), with dog snot on the back windows, rotting banana peels on the floorboard and jumbo size granny panty pads in the armrest cubby. Yeah, tastes good in your brain doesn't it?

Anyway. To make up for this I'm throwing up TWO Meme-orables this week. A lot of WoW, but it's cross cultural so should be entertaining even if your not a BlizzDrone

*oh yeah, somebody died too. Nobody ON the show, but I still like to mention that fun fact.

Memeorable - Meme is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Back when I lived in The Geek Commune with my buddy Jubbles he would find random things on the internet, force me to watch them, and on occasion, they were amusing. One of them was The Torn Mime and Jubbles showed him to me early after we all moved in together.

There is a full version HERE . . . BUT BEFORE YOU LOOK THERE! . . .

After a year or so we looked him up again for some cheering up and found something amazing.

Note: if you see the names David Armand or Johann Lippowitz, don't worry, it's the same guy, see?

3rd 4 t3h Nrrd: Aug. '10

This month we take a look at a constant hand in the west coast Nerdcore scene, Ultraklystron or Karl Olson. Ultra is not only a consummate contributor of his own musical styleings he has been known to contribute to other artists endeavors.

I dig this cat. He has a very quintessential "nerd" look, but he moves forward, a true Nerdcore Playa, being himself and living his art. His rhythms are clean and articulate with a sound that can become identifiable.


Although he may not be the most well versed in vocal variation (we all know, I'm a stickler for this) he can throw down raps fast and keep a beat quick as any other rapper I've ever heard while still being decipherable, which counts for mad points. After you finish reading this, hit up his myspace page (as linked above) or the bandcamp page (same) and put some Ultraklystron in your earhole!

True Player

I think about a year back or so, I was watching Inside The Actors Studio and I caught the episode with Jamie Foxx. There was a small interplay between Lipton and Foxx that has stayed with me ever since and been my go to definition for a slang term I use.
Playa, or Player. I have used this term to describe others who I feel exemplify the term and secretly hope that others consider me worthy of the title.
Watch from 30 seconds in till 2 minutes in, roughly OR, watch it until he starts crossing his eyes,

OR OR, watch the whole thing from part one as his story REALLY resonates with me. Not coming from the poorest of poor, but not coming from well off, having a VERY strong Grandmother figure in my life and trying to find what you're SUPPOSED to be doing while you find other things to do in the mean time, and hopefully, for me, be successful at them all.

Memeorable - Meme-ar-pee-gee

Many of us are gamers. Even fewer, are Table-Top gamers. It takes a special breed of nerd to partake of the truly . . . unique experience that is assembling like minded individuals for a session of shared imagining.

A skit by the Dead Alewives has had a massive resonance with my own personal experience and I think I could venture to assume it has impacted others who have come before me and those who shall come after.

HERE is the audio file, but I recommend watching both of the videos below.






AND, the less known, but, in my opinion, just as accurate and amusing SECOND SKIT. Stick it in your ear hole while shoving cheetos in your Mt. Dew hole!

H
O
L
E
!!!

Bonus Nerd Friendly Rap: MC Chris

(Due to the late 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd I thought this might be a good choice to put up. I have another for MC Lars should the occasion arise. Enoy!)


SO MUCH AWESOME!!!!! This high pitched home slice has been working and moving for a while and if you don't know who he is but are reading this blog even partially on purpose you are probably familiar with his work. He also goes by MC Pee Pants and originally Chris Ward. He has done work all over Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, specifically on Aqua Teen Hunger Force as well as others. He is a mover and shaker throwing down his sub-pop-culture awareness everywhere he goes, and as indicative of the hilarious skits on his albums hes good at telling a joke.








Here is a one of my favorite clips of him breaking down his thoughts on a beloved "JRPG"


But WAIT! Yes, he's funny, and he makes a great Dungeon Master of Ceremonies, AND he gets work on a internationally known television network, big deal? THATS NOT ALL!!
Check these fat beats and slick rhymes.


you might have heard this one . . . somewhere . . .



this one is for Theatreg33k!



Regardless of self labels and relationships with "communities" MC Chris is a great Hip Hop Artist, he raps about content I enjoy, the music gets me moving and I hope to continue to see him tour and produce. MC CHRIS IS NOT DEAD!

Fake, Fo' Real

"I do not wish to keep it real. Well, maybe realistic. I like to keep it fantastic. Or for the vulgar, keep it fake." I said this to an acquaintance of mine when she asked if I was "keeping it real?" I thought about it for a second to come up with a jibe or trite comment because I'm a snarky jerk, but instead it struck a philosophical chord with me.

Shortly after saying that it got me to thinking on how I'm big on escapism and fantasy as a way to get away from what the greater world imposes upon me.

Perhaps this is why Nerdcore can be so easily seen as a parody. In many ways it is, but I think this comes from the natural self deprecation of many nerds and geeks. I have heard countless nerdcore songs that have lame, flat, rambling about how un-hard they are and just as most of our universal dialogue is, it's very self aware.

Are we not being true to ourselves if we don't examine and acknowledge these themes in our art? I find the parody purely acceptable. Being a culture of outcasts mocked and mocking, to point at ourselves is only natural.

Just to be hypocritical though, I do know should an artist who isn't "blatantly geeky" make "nerdcore mock" music he would be chastised by the community. Or if the songs are openly belittling of hip hop roots and culture that thats not fair out of context. I believe many elements of modern and even older mainstream hip hop are "worthy" of some jokes and parody, but I think the mockER should be educated on their subject and informed of what they do.

Oh art, you so crazy. And if you don't like these couple of pennies feel free to leave them in the little tin below, someone else might need them.