Withdrawals

So, I have not played a game of D&D in almost a month or more and it SUCKS.
I should be back behind a screen or a P.C. sheet within a couple weeks, but UNTIL THEN, and even when I usually get my fix, I love to hear about other groups who have A LOT of fun.
I was debating about whether to do a Meme-Orable for this but decided to against it.

Nerd Poker
Hosted by Brian Posehn, quiet nerdy comedian.
New, fun, mature & alternative, with nothing but notable entertainment geeks. As of the 2nd or 3rd episode they start telling stories from past games, it seems many of them including other L.A. nerds like Patton Oswald & Chris Hardwick

Acquisitions Incorporated
Many adventures from these characters, not to mention no shortage of reference comics in the Penny Arcade Archives. Most Recently The Vault of Winter
Penny Arcade, PVP & Wil Wheaton
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/podcasts.aspx
Oh yeah, and this happens fairly regularly as well . . .


Table Titans!
Headed by Scott Kurtz of PVP (of the above groups), not up yet, but can't wait. apparently in association with Wizards of The Coast. Not sure in what capacity, but cool.
http://tabletitans.com/

Zak & the Porn Crew!
I have mentioned how much I love this blog, not to mention ConstantCon!
http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/
and the sadly defunct web series if you want to see what it looks like when you DO have a group full of females (oddly enough, very similar to any other game, go figure).
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/i-hit-it-with-my-axe?page=2

Give them a look over and I'm sorry if you now have some hundred hours to catch up on, it is HILARIOUS!

Memeorable: "Hit Meme!"

YouTube Poker!
That fun game you play with your friends, if you have any, when you're just hanging out and someone goes "oh yeah, have you seen that?" and someone pulls up a video.
"I will see your nyan cat vid

. . . and raise you .. a Saruman Troll!"

I think it's pretty fantastic that my friends and interests are diverse enough that I can usually pull something new out no matter what group I'm with. All without having to constantly troll Youtube. Although news blogs do help so I get fairly quick exposure to most things that circulate, but every now and then, I get to dig deep into my back catalog and go "but have you seen THIS!?!?"

Advanced players see 4chan's "You Raff You Ruse."

Know Your Role In WoW . . . But do It "Wrong."

Shammy Tank, Mage tank, Melee Lock, Regen beasts.
These are some terms that you may or may not be familiar with if you've been playing WoW for any length of time. I know a lot of people like finding ways to work outside a paradigm and succeed. sometimes that's the whole thrill is the attempt. That ability to be outside the box and try and find a unique way to use "set" rules.
Finding like minded mavericks might be fun, but they often don't have the research and knowledge to inform the strategies. This is frustrating, as well as most others who follow the "norm" roles don't have the patience or care to listen to an alternative.
Specifically, in WoW, there are one of three "roles" that a player falls into if they choose to group. Tank, which is the heavy damage taker, the guy the big baddy wails on while the rest of the group does other things. Heals, guess what he does . . . makes sure the guy Tanking stays up and also heals the other guys. DPS, literally "Damage Per Second" but has become a catchall term for any player who is not performing the first two roles.

From THIS SOURCE

As I'm sure most of you know, depending on what class you choose to play they have the ability to ONLY fill certain roles as defined by their talent specializations. Example: Paladin's can tank, heal or dps because their specializations are named "Holy" for healing, "Protection" for tanking, and "Retribution" for dps. Warriors can only Tank or dps, their Specs include "Protection," "Fury," & "Arms."
HOWEVER! There are some of us that wish to try the weird and wonderful. I'm sure many of you have heard me call my own toon "Termenus, The Incredible Tanking Mage" and my ol' buddy Necrus, who was once a Fury Spec'd-Titan's Grasp Tank, and our even OLDER comrade from the Cutthroats who was our Shammy Off-tank( the backup/secondary/tank who picks up any additional enemies). There was even this warlock who I once met that told me he was a melee lock. These are of course just actual players I have met. Many times there's a conversation about other alternatives, like Hunter Tanks (when Survival spec was heavy into the hunter's . . . survivability), Priest Tanks who stack stam, armor enhancements, mitigation specs as well as heavy heals. OR even the idea of stacking spirit on any character in such a way that your regen is ridiculous. Is it possible to give yourself such regen that your bar ticks right back every time you get hit? No idea, haven't looked it up. But the IDEA . . isn't it worth wondering? I mean, I get giddy whenever I start casting so fast the Global Cool Down stops me from casting any faster, I couldn't imagine being able to walk through combats like I was MuthaFuckin Wolverine!

Can it be done at hi end? I don't think so due to the fierce pigeon holing done by specs, gear, and the fights of instances-and-higher content. But I always have hope for leveling, especially with all the nerfs that have been done over the years, maybe even in max level instances/Heroics due to access to better gear.
One last thing though, this only applies to "at level" instanceing/partying. I consider it a "run through" or even "Cheating" if your more than 5 levels out of the encounter's suggested level or have gear that is more than like 50ish higher a gear score than the average blue/starter epic at that level range. To me, it's not only the idea of "alternative role filling" it should not be a cakewalk either.

I'm sure there are countless more "alt specs" out there. Maybe you've tried some of them? I know I would love to have enough time to not only play WoW as much as I used to but find other crazy people who play about the same time I do to try and gear up and ATTEMPT some of these crazy things. ah well. Later H47ites!

Voyeurism

Well, sort of. I have been doing a lot of watching lately.
Anime:
-FLCL again for myself, first time for Theatreg33k
-Escaflowne the Movie (still only half way through. Writting this instead of finishing it, don't you feel special). So then I can watch "Nescaflowne" and then put up a meme-Orable

Movies:
-Wreck it Ralph which was awesome, and I will repeat what I've heard before, that Disney made a Pixar movie after Pixar made a Disney Movie. Also, the soundtrack has been playing in my shop ever since Calamity Jane will sing "Sugar Rush" on her own if something else isn't playing it.

I also beat Sugar Rush and Hero's Duty. Hero's duty was a bit of a grind, but then so was Sugar Rush. Man, I really wish they would release a full version of Sugar Rush, it would be a great Mario Kart alternative.
- Rise of the Guardians which was THE BEST! I enjoyed it thoroughly and will watch it again and again if the opportunity arises. I feel that I am most like the elves since someone else I know has claimed the Yeti's as their new spirit creature and apparently will "speak yeti" at home now. For more of my thoughts and feelings on the subject I will defer to . . .
Vlogs:
-Andre: The Black Nerd:

I have watched almost  the last half year of his catalog and would love to hang with him. Just maybe not barefoot anywhere . . .
-my last post
-Keeping up with other web series and Apparently there's some collab going on between Standard Action and the Zombie Orpheus crew on GAMERS THREE!!! OMG! SQUEE!!


 watching things change, and watching out for things to happen as well as reactions to them.
 . . . and now that I've gotten his far into the post I realized it's not just some filler post but several half posts rolled into one larger post so that it is superior to the inital "imma blather about things until a post appears" even though that's exactly what happened. SUCCESS!. I feel that is good. Enjoy.
-Later Space Cowboys

A Haven, for Mages

Yall know I love me some Fantasy / RPG settinged web series and how I just want to help so bad. Not even necessarily be like "IMMA BE A BADASS Drizzt Clone in all dis gear, that would be AWESHUM!" But you know, offer some locations I have access to, give creative input as I love adding my own flair to stories, OR even contributing my skills & knowledge as a combatant & fight Director.

So, I nearly flipped my wig when my buddy Pablo told me about a buddy of his, who is local to me, was doing a totaly-metal fantasy Web series. MAGEHAVEN

I've watched almost all of their videos, chatted with the creator himself and even do regular check ups on their TWITTAR! and their BOOK-FACE. I have very high expectations for this particular show based on what I've seen so far.
There appears to be professionalism and passion at every aspect. From the diverse cast, to the fabricated costumes and right down to post-effects that don't look cheesy or corny.

There are many hints in the videos as well as should you talk to those on the project as to what the story holds and some of the next episodes. And with thier indiegogo fully funded, it should be very soon!

So far there is only so much to critique as far as a finished product, I really wanted to help get them on other people's radars and hopefully get them some more support so it can continue to grow.

Watch away and wait with me for more awesomeness from the world around Magehaven!

Roll your toon! All of it!

Earlier this year a good friend of mine was in town for a visit, so we had to RP cause he only visits so often from out of state and his time is often monopolized by his slew of friends & family.
Because we didn't have the entire crew from a different gaming group, and none of us really wanted to start lvl 1 chars out of nowhere, we decided to make randomized characters.
I jotted out a roll chart for classes, struck out some that I really didn't want to deal with, as was communally agreed upon by the other players (but they're still on the list if you want to use them).
We then realized to speed things up we should randomize race & alignment. And then there's more, but here are the tables as we developed them . . ..

Roll a d20 for class
1 Magus
2 alchemist
3 oracle
4 inquisitor
5 cavalier
6 summoner
7 sorcerer
8 rogue
9 ranger
10 paladin
11 monk
12 fighter
13 druid
14 cleric
15 bard
16 barbarian
17 gunslinger
18 samurai
19 ninja
20 witch
20 wizard
20 roll twice
(Strike through denotes we did not use them for that game, roll twice was for dual classing as I think we were running lvl 8's? and I don't know how we forgot the Wizard, or if we chose not to use it)

Race!  We had 3 charts associated w/ race, lets see if I can make them make sense . . .

Roll a D10
1 gnome (nobody wanted to play a gnome) orc
2 halfling
3 human
4 elf
5 1/2 elf
6 1/2 orc
7 dwarf
8,9 or 10 roll on "Next Chart"

Next Chart d10 alternative races
1 aklo
2 tengu
3 earth (elemental race, don't remember the name, not going to look it up)
4 wind ( " " )
5 fire ( " " )
6 water ( " " )
7 (Not "Heart") goblin
8 kobold - Roll on "Color Chart" below
9 Assemir
10 teifling
(there was a general agreement to not have damphires)

 I've developed some tentative alternative racial rules for Kobold sin the games I play/run that there are  different colored Kobolds, just like the dragons they emulate giving slightly different racial perks &  flaws.
Color Chart: D10
1 red
2 blue
3 green
4 black
5 white
6 brass
7 silver
8 copper
9 bronze
10 gold
I'm even looking to expand it to the alternative dragon "colors" later on.

Then you roll on your alignment chart which has been modified to only those allowed in this particular campaign.

Alignmet Chart: D10
1 or 6 Lawful Good
2 or 7 Chaotic Good
3 or 8 Neutral Good
4 or 9 Chaotic Neutral
5 or 10 Lawful Neutral


Oh yeah, these tables are intended for use with Pathfinder, but I'm sure the equivs can be translated to other system.
Now, I know these charts exist already in several incarnations, many of them inside the very source books we use, but, like many things in this ultimately customizable universe we all play in, sometimes you want something a little more tailored to your needs, so here's one for my groups and groups like mine.

Enjoy h47ites, see you later Space Cowboys!

Alex In Wonderland

Alex In Wonderland & The Mad Hattress

It's that time again, where I tell you all about one of my awesome trips to Disneyland. But wait! It's sort of like a Con post as well. T1nk's gonna post about it like it's a con, so it totally counts! I will also elaborate a bit.

Theatreg33k and I were planning on making the trek down to the Magic Kingdom for our favorite holiday (Halloween) and our friend Rabbit wanted to go to Mickey's Haunt as a gift to herself for graduating. SO that meant LisaLisa as well, and a couple others were invited. The final crew rounded out to Myself, T1nk, Rabbit, LisaLisa, Squirrel InaComa, & Fromage.

It was decided (meaning some people called dibs on outfits without asking others) that we would be dressing up as Alice in Wonderland characters, but sort of classy like. Dresses and a suit for me. But as what? LisaLisa IS our Cheshire cat, Rabbit, is called rabbit because she is LisaLisa's March Hare and Theatreg33k is ALSO a huge mad hatter fan (one of our common interests) so she really wanted to do a cute outfit for that. Ultimately Squirrel went with The Door Mouse as she felt it would be relatively simple to do, and it turned out Fromage opted for the Caterpillar.

I had trouble deciding as I didn't know how I would do certain characters justice as Mr. Dodo, Bill, Walrus & Carpenter might require prosthetic attachments or props and we really wanted "normal(for us)" clothes as we would be walking around for up to 10 hours, standing in lines, and riding rides, all in costume at Disneyland.
Someone said, "hey you can be Alice" but I wasn't keen on cross dressing for this event (only for money, a real good cause, or if I'm armed) and someone else was like, "T1nk's already gender swapping The Hatter, you can be 'Alex' in Wonderland." That sounded do-able and the other ladies kept with the "generally portrayed as male but are now being converted to female" characters.

Stitch, bitch, tea, knives, Star Wars, SPG playing on a netbook? We do it right.

So, With A LOT of help from LisaLisa a vest was gutted and rebuilt for not ONLY my "Alex" vest, meant to replace the Alice Apron, it's a Kotsetsu Vest for my Tiger & Bunny Cosplay. I also built a small plushy mushroom and a bottle to put "Eat Me" & "Drink Me" tags on them.

Costumes were "finished" (read: Passable to done) The day before everyone left. T1nk & I TRIED to leave early-early, as always, but still got a respectable start at about 6 am, and thanks to MAH NEW CAR The ride was fantastic. We hit the park the day of the Haunt so we saw some people who had dressed up early. It seemed there was sprinklings of costumes the whole weekend, so, yay festive attendees! One caught our attention

The 8yold marry poppins made me feel inadequate . . . And probably poor.
— tony elfson (@h47) October 20, 2012

She was dressed as Carousel Mary Poppins and that poofy little brat looked like someone had shrunk the original costume and thrown it on, it was good.
 But whatever, The rest of the Ladies hit Anaheim later in the afternoon so T1nk & I headed back to the rooms to change into our costumes. Then the whole crew hit the park!
We ran rampant through the park, made sure to do a few key rides to get them out of the way for the rest of the weekend, stocked up on candy and even saw one of my favorite things  . . .

As well as a special Parade & Fireworks show just for Haunt Patrons. Overall I enjoyed the event, but I had hoped there would be just a BIT more. The haunt at full price is about $60+ dollars extra, and if you don't already have a pass for the day, probably a decent deal. But a lot of the attractions we had come to see that weekend were up all season long (the rides, mostly) and I felt the exclusives were just a little short of the price tag. Honestly, for $40-just under $50 I feel would be fair. But either way, we had fun.

Alex, Mad Hatress, March Hare, Disney's Red Queen, Cheshire Cat, Caterpillar & Doormouse (Red Queen was not part of our group)

The weather that weekend was ALMOST perfect. It was only slightly too warm and muggy for like, half of a day, otherwise it was grey to lightly cloudy and never got too warm. One of my favorite trips weather wise.

Never been in Disney while it was this moist. #newexperinces
— tony elfson (@h47) October 20, 2012

At my recommendation, we hit Disney's California Adventure park first so we had the most time to spend there, and the we could finish the night at Disneyland proper, and then devote the final day to Disneyland. We tried to get in on that CarsLand "Radiator Springs Racer" ride, but it shut down on top of a potentially 2 hour wait time, so, we opted for Tower (some excellently embarrassing photo's there) then some food at the wharf. good times. Then Screamin' followed by Midway.

Goofy Conducting the water with that fantastic voice over he always has in his old cartoons. Click for enlarge.

At a certain point we ended up back near the front of DCA and came across this fantastic woman Named Donna who complimented Fromage on her hair color (it's a purpley, marooney, violet highlight shade). Donna had a lovely muppet dog named Lady who was dressed for Hallowen as a witch. It would sniff and be petted, it was adorable. We chatted with Donna for a short bit, exchanged puns and then Lisalisa was consumed by a disgusting amount of Cheshire merch, and her & Fromage got mouse ears.

If I remember correctly, we then moseyed over to Disneyland to see if we could do Space Mt. Ghost Galaxy, it was closed. So we opted for Cpt. Eo. I then dropped off the Ladies back at their room and T1nk & I shut down the park

In trying to keep our waiting time to a minimum as we had persons with serious back issues, a couple people downloaded on of the many handy apps that track open & wait times for the rides.
The next day we hit DCA first to get fast passes for World of color for later that eve. In doing just that, we saw the Newsies performance that Squirrel had been promised, and while Squirrel, T1nk & Fromage went for coffe, Lisalisa, Rabbit & myself went to grab the fastpasses. On our way back we watched Minnies Fly Girls, a swingin musical review by some of the flight attendants, or dare I say, Stewardesses, from the Minnie Mouse Arline. An audio Queue had them concerned that Minnie had crashed, but it turned out Goofy's flight school had another student NOT QUITE pass his test. I then shared with LisaLisa & Rabbit that Launchpad had studied at that very school. And as we made our way back out to the Magic Kingdom for a day of StorybookLand rides (we were on a mission to unlock a personal achievement for one of the crew) we mused how awesome it would be to see Donna & Lady again. And low and behold, there she was, strolling into the confectionery. So we stalked her and noticed she was chatting with a cast member, so all six of us did that silly thing where you look around at odds and ends as if you're truly interested in the wares and not waiting like a silly grinned child.

Us with Donna & Lady

After that we decided to tattle on Donna to a supervisor as she was FANTASTIC and a real treat, especially when she found Fromage's nickname was in fact Fromage. She had a bit of fun with that. So we went to DCA's version of town hall, I think the "Civic center" or some such, and ask the cast member behind the desk if there was any way to compliment on an interaction, and she whipped out a whole order form for us.
Having complimented a fellow performer on a job well done we headed back to where Walt had started things and dove right into FantasyLand StoryBook rides. While some of us hit restrooms others flirted with some camera men stationed near the Sword in The Stone/Carousel. They were discussing some app or another that was in Beta to actually LIFT the sword on command, or had a chance to. Something like that.

Re:Last tweet. "yeah, a beta app that activates the sword from the stone." "hey, the Mt back up?" "not yet, checked the app."
— tony elfson (@h47) October 21, 2012

(Upon further research by T1nk, I doubt there is an app that does it, it still runs off whatever schedule or Queue it always has, because as we stood in line for another ride we saw this small troupe of rugrats, 4-9 years old, tug and yank with all their combined strength to slide that blade out, but when this tween girl who probably thought Disneyland was lame pulled, up came the sword, she grinned, and quickly tried to hold the sword up and beckoned over the squad of runts so they could pose with the sword, it was adorable . . . BUT there is an independent App that is sort of a scavenger hunt app for the park for people who ALWAYS go to give them something else to do.)

At some point we Rode the restored Matterhorn and it was fun. I kind of dig the new style of bobsleds. I'm a little bummed the old bench styles are gone, but the update is still fun. Now we just have to ride both tracks next time we go.
Oh yeah, I have always dreamed of climbing the Matterhorn and placing the Flag atop it's summit. I mentioned this desire to T1nk, and as usual, she began to use her phone to look it up while we stood in line. Apparently, the only way to do that, short of becoming famous and getting a special pass, is to become a Cast Member, as the "Matterhorn Climbers" were added and NAMED by Walt himself as a part of the attraction. They are named Hans, Fritz & Otto and in order to become one of them you have to audition and have some extensive experience.

After some FantasyLand action we booked it over to Space Mt. because we heard the line was LESS than 2 hours long and dedicated to waiting the line as we all wanted to see Ghost Galaxy. It was really cool. I'm not really a fan of that sort of "horror" to be really honest, but it was really well done as far as I'm concerned. T1nk & I both felt they could have done just a BIT more and it would have really made the whole experience, but I would gladly ride that ride over & over again.
Once we had Galaxy-Ghosted, we hoofed it over to DCA for World of Color and . . .

FRANKENWEENIE!!!! (it was delicous)

Then we all watched World of Color. T1nk & I decided that World of Color needs something more. It's cool but it's missing a story telling element or the BANG of full blown fireworks, or just something ELSE. After this we all limped over to the Mad Hatters Mad T Party to take in the sounds
Where T1nk managed to successfully stalk(yay twitter, FB & D.A. accnts) and with my help shoot a previously rare, now epic find in either of the parks (using a camera), a Bri-Chan! We still grin to ourselves when we talk about it, because, we MIGHT actually get some art done by her one day and she seemed really chill with a random couple coming up to her to chat, and squee.
I think we all sidled back to the the main park at that point, rode a ride, then half The Ladies headed home, while Rabbit, LisaLisa, T1nk & myself finished off the last of the rides that were open, then headed back to the room.

Final day, T1nk & I headed back to the resort for last day shopping AND MY CANDY APPLE. I had been jonesin for one since day one and finally got it. There was also an epic pineapple spear covered in chocolate which Lisalisa unfortunately didn't get to experience, but she did get her Pineapple Dole Whip, so win there.
We passed the Ladies eating at the Jazz Kitchen to-go counter and said our goodbyes for the trip. Made it safely home before too late in the eve. One of our best trips yet!
Thanks again for listening in H47ites, hope you enjoy our adventures and I hope to keep sharing them with you. Later Space Cowboys!

A Fellow Traveler

I would like to thank everyone who gave me ideas and suggestions for the new moniker for my new vehicle.

The car is named Ryoko-Sha, or "Yoko" for short!

Roughly, Travel in Japanese is "Ryoko."
Apparently also This Character from Tenchi Muyo
And according to a few translators I found "Traveler" translates to Ryoko-sha (with a dash over the last 'o' but I can't figure out how to make one.
Apparently "Ryoko" is also a fairly common Japanese female name.


As is "Yoko" and of course, one of my FAVORITE Yoko's. So overall, I'm digging the associations I'm making with the car, it's name, and how I view it as one of the things in my life.

 It was Christened Thursday Night 10/18/12, and began it's maiden trip with me & my fiancee at 6:30 am 10/19/12 to Anaheim,CA.

As per my tweet "MPG stands for 'My Pimpass Gasmileage!' "

She performed admirably all the way down I-5, got us to & from the Disneyland resort all weekend, and then got us home safely.

AND THEN, I dragged her out to the central valley for a family visit, and helped me get out of that hell hole just as quickly.
All told, 1k miles, easy and I am loving my car.




To continue pampering and asserting my ownership we picked up a little souvenir before we left the Magic Kingdom . . .

I don't even have the license plates themselves yet, but that cover is on my car. ha! That is of course until I get customs that advertise my 2nd favorite blog! (this one. my blog is my second favorite, my first favorite is T1nks.) Then it goes on the front, so It's the first thing that sees Disneyland.

Any more on mods to the car will probably be another post so I wont bore you. Thanks again for listening to me go on about my new shiny, and I think some of you already know how much my vehicles mean to me. Later H47ites, Cruise on Space Cowboys!

Clockwork Vaudville

Steam Powered Giraffe
My latest musical obsession has finally busted a barrier I had discussed IN a COUPLE previous posts. Mostly about how I felt that most "steampunk" expressions try a bit to hard to fill the culture with more of the same instead of creating something to be amazing and it happens to fit the scene.

I have mentioned a couple previous endeavors that really speak to me as far as being Steampunk or just being a creation that's amazing and not trying too hard.

"SPG" does this, and really screams to me as a group, as music, as performance, as art.
The above video has, from left to right, "The Jon" who left the group recently, The Spine, Rabbit, and Upgrade, who left the group a while back, performing on their "home turf" busking at a local park.
All of them having trained in Mime, Clown, music & dance, formed this group and developed these characters as well as a backstory and everything.
Anyone who knows me in a theatrical sense knows this sort of thing really turns me on artistically and I have fallen in love.
Honestly, if given the opportunity, I would buy a concertina & develop a robot in a heartbeat if given the chance to perform with them. No lie, I would LOVE to add my tenor to the troupe.

A year or so back they even produced a DVD through a Kickstarter, which led to some excellent music videos showcasing a new clean sound along with some superb music videos.

Although their ravenous fans post excellent video after video from their numerous performances in Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo, and the Steampunk Con circuits, its also great to have high quality, high production value samples to show new potential fans. As of the composing of this post I have infected half a dozen other new SPG fans directly and countless other secondary targets.

I would of course like to give thanks to THIS SOURCE where I came across  #5 Brass Goggles Via Houston Press "Top 10 Steampunk Songs" and have been hooked ever since. I literally consumed their media for the week preceding our trip to Disneyland.

I love the attention to detail of their robotic movements and how The Spine has a pneumatic "bounce" to him, and how Rabbit truly moves like one of those mechanical show bots from an amusement park, with the small little isolated ticks and rotations. And then of course their musical talent as a group. In every incarnation of the group so far each member is a master of multiple instruments (vocals count) often switching instruments for different songs. If you have not listened to any of thier music yet, let me tell you, hearing The Spine go from a high sustained harmony and suddenly dropping to a rich baritone just makes your music heart rumble with his vocal chords. And watching Rabbit prance around to Captain Albert Alexander reminds you they're true performers in every respect, not just a band with a gimmick.

They recently added Hatchworth to the lineup, to round out the trio (no punn intended) as he was one of their "humans" until The Jon left, so now the Ticking Mantle shall tell how it sits upon the newest robot.

Above is the song I was introduced to them with and I hope it gets you just as excited as it did me. HERE IS THEIR SITE! There you can get almost everything Steam Powered Giraffe related, including info on where the bots are from, where they went, how to throw money at them for things, as well as a COMIC! It hasn't been updated in a while, but rumor has it from a friend of mine that Rabbit is also a graphic designer (good reason as to why he designed most of their art) so, he might understandably be busy.


And as a nod to "Honeybee," their song which they've intro'd with Rabbit talking about his love Jenny the toaster, I give you, my own bit of SPG fanfic, Jenny
 
She has gone into a life of performance as well, this is her after a production of Taming of The Shrew. Petruchio used her to tie up Kate, it was set in the generic time frame of 50-60's sitcoms.

Bragging

This post going up early so we all have more time to consider it, I will try to put up a small post on Tuesday to "stay on schedule."
There are few things that I do that I am verbally proud of. One of them is my driving. And now I can do that with . . .

 . . . 

Well, I can NOT find a simple clip of Rod Roddy saying "A new Car!!!"

Anyway . . .

I bought my first car that I bought all myself that ISNT over 5 years old. 

I'm not just showing off my new shiny but I'm also asking my friends family & readers to help me out with something. NO, it's not the payments (although, if you like, there is a donate button over there on the right. More money means more ridiculousness here, just saying).

As you might know from previous posts that anything "worth naming" should be. And so now I'm looking for suggestions for the newest member of my family.

Instagram pic by T1nk. Mmm, extra filters makes it taste of nostalgia.

For some background, Subaru is Japanese for the constellation known as the Pleiades. There is a rad little magical girl anime that was made a while back, HERE'S a post on it, with some more info on the mythos of the Pleiades in one of the links to the wiki.

Apparently Impreza is commonly believed to be derived from Italian or Polish meaning "impressive," "a party," "something worth note."
The car itself is a 2011, as the pics show, the Exterior is "Marine Blue Pearl" with "Dark Grey" interior.
Apparently it was a rental in Hawaii before being ordered by a customer who backed out. I don't know why but it sort of gave me a mercenary feel to the car.

Full frontal. Gonna have to wait till I get my vanity plates. Probably a good thing since the name might influence them.

I remember saying back when I started shopping for a car that I might name whatever I got "Pleiades" but then that always feel sort of like that scene from DragonHeart where the Sean Connery dragon is like "So you call my dragon in another language?" but it's still an option. I am a fan of non-English languages for names. one friend has recommended "Blue Steel" in Japanese. Thanks to the "Born on The Island, raised on The Islands, hired out Merc. life, now to serve faithfully as my companion" history to it I kind of developed a "Pacific Adventurer" persona to it that I like. But not sure how to develop that into a name. But of course I'm not married to that idea so feel free to suggest anything.

So, please, in the comments, on my FB page, tweet me, email me text me your recommendation & why (like the story or the definition of the name) and I plan to pick one on or before THURSDAY so it has a name before we go on our roadtrip to DISNAYLAND!! (most likely a post on a couple weeks once we've recovered.) Thanks for the Help, I will announce it's name in another post!

Vanilla Fun

As in "Vanilla World of Warcraft" no, not like . . .in the bedroom, although that is where my computer is . . . not for that, specifically . . .
But on to Wow.
As most of us know, on Tuesday Sep. 25th, The one race EVERYONE thought should have been in WoW, whether they wanted it or not FINALLY came to Azzeroth, after four expansions. I was on "the wows" that day and was delighted to discover SO MUCH of the content was available without the expansion proper, such as being able to roll Panderan (not as a monk though, that required the Xpac), and the new Pet Battle system.

So, of course, having never seriously played or owned a copy of Pokemon, or Digimon, Or Monster Rancher, I was instantly addicted to the Pet Battle system. (I also weakly justified it because of the vague potential to acquire a geode pet which, T1nk expressed that she wanted. although now I think you can't trade that one so I will have to farm it off Elementium, but, anyway). My buddy Moose was also on and was chatting with me a bit about the PokeWow, as I realized I had dinged the "Big City Pet Brawlin' - Horde" I saw the Alliance Version as well as the "Multicity" version and knew I had to do them!
So I told Moose to meet me and we flew off to Darnassus on our Horde Toons, ready for sneaky cross faction Capitol Poke-WoW. It was a blast, flying up into Darnassus, forgetting how to get to Exodar and then dying repeatedly because all the guards are 90 now, escaping a hunter in The Deeprun Tram by just hopping on the Tram even though I guess he thought he could take a raid spec'ed Tank & a PvP geared Frost Mage by himself, corpse dropping through IF where we REALIZED the guards had been buffed, and then corpse dropping through SW, avoiding ALL THE WARLOCKS ON THE SERVER (Ally side) and watching allies who DEFINITLY COULD(crazy, most recent season PvPgear) take me and moose not even realize we were only a few miles above them, waiting for the boat to Darn, then Exodar.
 It wasn't until the next day till Moose texted me while I was at work "Dude, we could have just done the battles on Alliance toons and gotten the achievement." To which I replied along the lines of, "yeah, that sounds right, but FUCK THAT! That would have been cheating"
Wich reminds me of a anecdote I often recite:
"Back in my day, we used to grind 15 hours in Winterspring, Uphill! With a 40% speed mount and a .05% drop rate. And we were happy for it! None of your silly cross-realm auto Queues. We had to WAIT for BG's & FIND PUG's and then you had to LIVE with the consequences of your actions and those of the idiots you grouped with CAUSE THEY WERE THERE! EVERYDAY, in Orgrimmar, on top of the bank, yelling about how they were the savior of the Horde and would lead us into victory against the disgusting alliance with their more attractive females, even though they weren't even max level and never really left the capitol city, nor was part of a Guild."
(For more, "ol' Man Ribeye" Rants . . . Hang out with me.)

Ol' RibeyeJack has hunted above his weight class on numerous occasions . . . Back when hunters had mana.

It was shortly after that text I realized a certain TYPE or feel of fun had left WoW, or had to be found, instead of an integral part of it. I have lamented certain changes in the past HERE, and there are a number of posts discussing other aspects of the game. Funny enough, I read a couple old posts and realized some of the information was no longer relevant due to many changes with different patches & expansions.
But here I talk about the power slip and the drop of the challenge curve.

Neutering of pets, where you don't have to go train others and then learn their abilities, no feeding, normalization where all pets are created equal, even more so NOW that you can spec whatevr pet you like the way you like. WHich I think is cool, but I like the idea of "hunting" and "tameing" and THEN if you like "re-training." Having played a hunter with a LOT of RP during Vanilla, and even on into today, these are small things I miss.
Bigger things it seems really began with what I've heard dubbed, and what I call, EZ-Patch, a few months before Lich King came out, when many things in Wow changed numerically. NPC's and mobs were nerfed and the amount of XP to get to 60 (cap was 70 at the time) was reduced at each level. At the time, the raiding guild I was with, was having serious issues pushing past certain content in a couple different Raids, but as soon as that patch hit, I was able to see a LARGE amount of content I thought we would spend a month or so on. And although it was very cool, it felt a bit cheapened, because I had hard won 2 peices of raiding gear and then with a couple nights of  rushed wipes, I had half a dozen more pieces of various tiers.
More recently with the achievements, titles, pets & mounts going cross-account. Once again, I like it in so far that certain things I want to be able to access no matter what toon I'm on, like ultra rare pets & mounts such as the Lil' T.K. & my Blizzard Blizzcon Bear mount. But with OTHER super-rare items, like Time-Lost Proto Drakes & Emerald Whelplings, a player puts in serious time and energy on one character, I think that's sort of a unique vanity that the character you accomplished it on should be able to sport, not just having a level 12 run around with a critter who's the same level as him.

We came out of the sea and strode through town, desolation in our wake. They killed one of our own attempting a quest that came too near their border, there mightiest(read: lvl 70's) then ran raids into our settlement. Our retribution was swift and sure.

It sort of feels like WoW evolved a lot like consoles did. I mean like how, when some of us were younger we played games on the NES or Sega, I'll even include PS1, and at those tween/adolescent years, those games were HARD. Then you go back to them almost a decade later, and realize, yeah! they were difficult. That's why there were cheats & bugs & game genies. But now, as consoles & the games have evolved, they are still hard, but it's no more "you need a lantern to get through there or you die because that should make sense to you. There is no sign post or multiple ways to light up the area" now the challenge is the AI, other players, more complex styles of play than just the inherent game itself in the form of achievements & awards.
The traditional way to do huge things in WoW was to get a 40 person raid together, and if you didn't have a massive guild, you had to find alternate ways to do things. Sometimes just for the shiggles of having done it. For example, I STILL need to get a 5 man together of level 20 somethings, corpse drop through SW and do Stockades, cause that's not cheating.

"Back in my day, Tarren Mill didn't even have ground! And we were thankful for that lack of floor!" Yay rendering bugs!

Well, I think I've made my point, but then again, I am really looking forward to this expansion because of the story promised by devs & designers, maybe some of that old flavor will creep back in. Time will tell.

Bat(man) Country

Pic from http://www.bryanyoungfiction.com/2011/10/lost-at-con-audiobook.html

I saw this book blip up on my radar a while back and tucked it away for later, like I do (speaking of which, I think I need out seek out "Scoundrels") and when (I saw it "free on Kindle for limited time" I jumped on it and thought I might read it on the cloud through my browser, but then I "shared" it with my fiance through her Kindle and blasted through the book in no time. I read it like a fiend.  After I read it, I actually bought the hard copy because I found it fantastic. As far as why, below I leave, what I believe to my my only Amazon review of ANYTHING to date.

Just Like A Con
It started a little slow, but the Gonzo Journalism feel it had kept me in until . . . I don't want to spoil anything, so I will say, to me, it felt like after the first third of the tale, it got into full swing. And don't worry, the first third will zoom by, just like an actual con, it was over much too quickly.
I will openly admit here that for a short time I thought this book was non-fiction and based on actual events (other than all the ridiculous things us con-goers KNOW actually happen every con) and was ready to start reading another Thompson-esque author with a secret Nerd-on. But alas, this was a beautiful, heartfelt, perfectly plausible flight of fantasy.
When I got into, what I felt was the "guts" of the story (Saturday night into Sunday night?) I could not put down the book. I blazed through the pages ready for the next event, no matter how terrible, or absurd. I was well rewarded.
I felt it got a little mushy at the end but it's brief enough and it was all info I wanted for closure, and I've read worse, so it was fine.
So yes, much like attending a con, all excited to start, trying to pace it out, make it last, then you get embroiled in the flurry of it all, a whirlwind of adventure punctuated by exhausted blackouts. And finally, the lingering painful ending filled with heartache that it's over but the safe knowledge that it will be there again, and is happening all over the world, hopefully making the human race a little less revolting to be a part of.

Pic from http://www.flickr.com/photos/itsatrap/2820804290/in/photostream/

 If you want to borrow it from me, let me know, its short, and it's an awesome read, highly recommended.

Gallagher, Topless, with Flaming Sledge-o-matic, in Slow-Mo

I know I've been away for a while, I SURE hope you weren't expecting something more . . . deep. But then again, as I watched this I realized I was having a spiritual experience.
This fantastic representative of "Fly by Night Industries" has had a profound effect on my life for those that don't know. Watch and Enjoy!


Gallagher in Slow Motion from FCTN on Vimeo.

And, just in case you are going "whu? . . . " First, watch this video and all the rest recommended that feature this comedian,


and then, please never tell me you went "whu?" because You did not know who Gallagher was!!!!

NOT "A Very Special Post"

"Treal speak up in'her."
I decided to stop blogging.
No really, I was telling friends & family I was done and had lost the mojo.
BUT!
I think I was depressed, considering events in my life and the workload on top of it, plus family, ya know. Sometimes life kicks you in the balls. SO, you can either sit there and catch your breath, which there's no shame in doing, but once your able to breathe again and your voice comes back down to a normal register, you can either CONTINUE to sit there and cry and wail and get mad that someone jammed your jewels, OR, you can get up, check your junk, and keep moving. So, I grabbed myself over the last week or so, and I'm ready to crack out a couple posts and start into it again, I have some new ideas for 3rd 4 t3h nrrd, and some major posts planned, so, stick around all ye h47ful, or FEED MEH! So all the crazy content comes straight to you as it's posted. Thanks for those who believe, I will try to not let you down!

3rd 4 t3h NRRD: Aug. '12

Dual Core
A Nerdcore staple and consistently producing & performing act since as far back as '07, these guys have serious roots into the joke "I'm from the Internet."

Int80, the raptastic half of Dual Core

Though dominantly only "evidence" of Int80 can be found as he is the one who rocks the mic, the duo's music is proof of Nerdcore's legitimacy as a musical genre, whatever the hell that means, or if any of us really cared.
Their sounds are clean, with tantalizing samples and compelling baselines. I love all of beats on the tracks I have ever heard from them. The sound is polished & finished, and that makes a huge impact when I listen to an artist.

The ever elusive c64, the beats half of the group.

The lyrics, the flow, the content, also fantastic. Everything from their debut content about fps' and webcomics, to some of their heavier tracks about the grind of life in tech, or corporate at large, with fantastic collabs with a slew of other Nerdcore players.


Overall, a very solid sound, group and discography, and should be a firm cornerstone of any Nerdcore collection.

Filler . . .

 . . . I hardly knew her! *zing*
Yeah, so. I keep telling you guys how busy I am, and I still am, so, sorry the Blog suffers, but until it starts making me money (hint, hint, hit the "donate button over there on the right and throw me some doll-hairs!) I have to go to work, and look for more work so I can afford a car so I can go to work some more, you know, "responsible" things. pht.
Enough Complaining though, i wanted to let you know why there STIULL hasn't been a 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd this month. It's because I have not had a single day this month so far where I had more than 6 hours to myself. No, it does not take that long total for me to write a 4rd for t3h nrrd post, but it does take that much time to do my normal morning catching up on feeds, feeding myself, doing theatre catchup stuff (because as a Fight DIrector I actually have things to do after rehearsals that involve yelling at actors, politely asking other designers to please stop screwing with my choreography by changing their designs, and making sure my weapons . . . exist, and then are not slightly defective (anticipated), configured in ways I hadn't anticipated, and dangerous.
Crap, there I go complaining again. Anyway, yeah, to flesh out a proper review can take minimum of 2 hours, and has taken me up to 8 when I didn't have an artist to start with.

But! Worry not, to compensate for the "blah blah blah" noise and the gripeing, I hereby supply you with a "cool things" dump, as per "Joesky's Law"


Fun. especially the "bang! bang! BANGBANGBANG B A N G !" and only just on the edge of too much.

The Six SuperVillains of Nerd Culture
I am friends with 4 out of the six, and find it . . . interesting they chose a female as "The Imposter." and Although I would readily agree that the majority of "Imposters" are female (I believe due to the readily social nature of a lot of the Nerd Net-culture), I know a lot of Lady Nerds who might take offense to it being a female there, or perhaps I post that "the Imposter" & "The Bro" are simply the same Villain, just gender personified, which, we see a lot in super heroes/villains.


I really like it. The first time I could recall seeing this particular art style was in The AniMatrix and I really enjoy it. I also like the Asian flavor to the characters, except maybe Bane, perhaps they do more with him.


AAAnnnddd, I can't get this fucking song out of my head and neither can you. And I hate to admit it, I really enjoy it.

Stick with me H47ites. I should have full fledged posts as soon as I have a car. So wish me an expedient purchase. Later!

Ab Sense

Was prepping for & just got back from San Diego.
Will post when I have some time, should be . . . I don't know as I still need to buy a new car (WHOO!!), junk the old car (meh), find time to take the CBEST (meh) and find time to acquire over half a dozen lightsabres while working and rehearsing (woo-ack!) all while trying to catch up on a weeks worth of feeds (woo!)
So, hang in there with me H47ites. Updates soon, I promise.

Holdups

Imma shoot straight with ya H47ites. I know I'm behind on my 3rd 4 t3h nrrd, even though i have one researched, & I know my updates have been spotty and random. I know it sounds like I have a serious case of the Piro's Disease (see Trope  ) but honestly, Life has hit me in the balls harder than usual.
Dead car, sick grama, feeble mother who can't perform tasks needed to quell grama, rehearsal, fight directing at rehearsals, building set for rehearsals, work at a job where we HAD full strength but 3/4 of staff now have second jobs that prioritize over this one, leaving myself and the manager with the most flexible schedules, AND I HAVE A SHOW, plus trying to find time to take the CBEST so I can start a "real job" while I start on my Masters Degree. Oh yeah, and we're going to Comic Con next weekend and literally only have 1/3 the funds to pay for it all.
Sorry for the rant, but as per Joesky's law, here are cool things

HAwkings, has a sense of humor . . . .



The music itself lacks the "UMPH" of the original, but I do enjoy the whole thing on its own.


and . .  something I would have probabaly done if i'd had a camera when I was that young, cute

Get a Steampunk RUSH in Your Head!

I've mentioned in the past, somewhere, I don't remember where, that I don't come into contact with NEARLY enough Steampunk things, so that I'm left with the vague impression that there are good Steampunk things, but I had not come across anything Steampunk that I came away thinking "AWESOME!"

Well, the wait is over, and something amazing has come.

Can you feel that Bass!?!?!
YES! YEAS! its a Steampunk album  by the epic rock band Rush that isn't a gimmick, they made the music because they felt like it. What part of that sentence does not hold great promise? Want some more? From there official Youtube channel?


But wait, there's more, if you thought that wasn't awesome enough . . HOW BOUT SOME FICTION BY NOTED AUTHOR AND FREIND OF RUSH DRUMMER/LYRICIST NEIL PEART, KEVIN J. ANDERSON!?!?!?! Imma-punch-you-in-the-dick is how awesome it is!!

I have attempted to chronicle the saga for you in order since February and you can follow Anderson's Blog HERE for continual KJA news. Oh yeah, and if you can't wait to read even part of it, Check the links above as they pertain to a free preview of the novel!

Stuff I Missed

While I was away from the internet, having a "real life" pphhtt.

Because I feel they can't wait till next week, plus I have a really solid post brewing already that I can use for it, I will present these new findings here . . .

First, NEW "Meet the . . ." Yes! they did come out wiht the Medic, and there are even some fantastic outakes for that particular story, but more recently,

THISS

 

If I don't see the "pryo-vison" flame thrower as a cosplay by the end of Con season, I'm not sure our nerds are doing their jobs.

Also, I might be reading a little too much into this, and I am not consciously trying to be a sexist pig, but I love how one MIGHT interpret the Pyro as a sadistic woman, as alluded to by The Heavy, the "girly" world the Pyro lives in and perhaps even the need to "take care" of the Blu babies as a maternal instinct? Oh yes, and please read all of those thoughts as if recited by a nerd voice with lots of lisping.



Also's THE FP CAME OUT ON BLU-RAY & DVD AHHAHAH!!!!

What's "The FP" you may ask? GET YOURSELF LEARNED SON!

WHATS TAT BITCH!? YOU WANT MORE!?! you got it, tatsy-tits . . .
3
two
WON!
BEAT BEAT!!!!

HOLY BALLS BUSY

Don't worry, not dead, just Terminally busy (and no, not on Termenus, as much as I would like)

And also, unfortunately it's not about anything in particular I havn't talked about previously or care to expound upon.

For those that REALLY MUST KNOW, I had a sort of family emergency that put me out of wack for a good two days solid, and then on top of work and rehearsal, our store is at the Cow Palace again this weekend for the Gun Show, so that kept us busy as well, AND T1nk finally opened all three of her shows over the last two weeks, so of course I had to go see those, usually after work, after fight call's on Saturdays, or even taking her to rehearsal, doing some reading while I waited for her to be finished (as wireless is spotty out at the farm, I could not really work on the blog).

Just as reminders though:

T1nk

Me

and then we're both going down to SDCC and will actually be spending most of our time at G4m3rCon!!!

THREE YEARS!

Wow, thats like, the Styrifoam Anniversary isn't it? or is that the 3rd month?
Yes! I know the 3rd is the actual date but, damn if I wasnt busy from Fanime, and now my show, and of course work as we hired one new guy and still only have 3 halves of 3 other employees, so hopefully we will hire one more to balance it out.

ANYWAY. In the vein of our regular Anniversayr Posts, I will LINK TO OLD POSTS!!!!

This is me holding a functional Odachi. No big deal.

As well as to hopefully get some of my more recent readers acquainted with the kind of frippery I post up here. Let's dive right in, shall we!

Finding A Path Through Three and a Half!
A short breakdown of my initial forays into Pathfinder as oppsed to 3.5. It still holds true and am running two short campaigns, both using Pathfinder system as the two games I normally play in are on hiatus for a month or two and THOSE TWO ARE ALSO PATHFINDER!
Bonus Link! BLACK BOX REVIEW!

3rd 4 Teh NRRD: April '10
MC Hawking. an old guard Nerdcore playa that will always be Rollin! For Extra Credit Check These Other Doc's! I still hope and dream that one day The hot Doc Hawk will drop some Science on us again.

Remember Memeorables!
Silent! & Sultry AND Silly!

AND A Couple Reviews on media, like
Cartoons! and Books! And Cartoons (for those who can't scroll down two posts!)

And a video . . . . To round out our usual theme. (Made me think of my buddy Knapplesauce, who IS my IRL Guile. Love ya Bro!*)

3rd 4 t3h NRRD: June '12

Should Oceania ever rise to power, these guys will be among the many to be put to death, as they are unashamedly . . .
Thoughtcriminals

JOKE!

Like some previous Bosses, this crew is a buy one get more free setup as a several bright lights keep this group aflame! They have been a fixture on the scene for some time now and continue to produce fantastic content.

Either individually,
as founder Mikal kHill has a smooth steady pace with occasional super speed realms vocally that compells the listener to concentrate and really hear what's being said, this provides an excellent contrast and compliment to fairly consistent partner Sulfur.
This cat provides a snarl, a dark, bouncy and poignant emphasis with rhythm that pulls you in with visceral intent.
Combine this with masterful mixing and pro-level beats. The only reason to NOT listen to them would be lyrical content.

All about those roots, son! Know your references!

And that would be silly as they cover a wide swath of topics form the fantastically nerdy to the painfully real, as well as throwing down collab. after collab. to keep the sound itself fresh.
They have often worked with Tribe One, Romero Shaw, Shane Hall & Adam Warrock, just to name a few. 
If that last one seems familiar in context, well you would be right as there was an EPIC BROWNCOATS MIXTAPE born of that union.
And this particular focus is timely in that apparently some of the last touches on the Slyhtherin Mixtape are being finished.

Recording final mixes for Slytherin Mixtape. So boring. Saying hooks 28+ times for one song.
— Euge (Adam WarRock) (@eugewarrock) June 6, 2012

I can't wait to snag that! Bang it while reppin' that Hogwarts crest!

summer wars

Holy Cow This movie is a adorable and you need to go out and watch it NOW, like NAO!
Okay, I will concede, it's a little "cute" but really, I was riveted for the last hour & a half of the movie. T1nk noted early on in the movie that it was a bit slow, but shortly after she said that she didn't ask a single question till the film finished.

I keep telling people that it's kind of like what would happen if Miyazaki took War Games and updated it and set it in Japan, and instead of a government defense computer it's Google.

I was at Fanime and was looking at the programing to find something that tickled my interest and saw this title. I couldn't remember a single thing about it but something at the back of my brain went, "yeah, that one!" So I listened. I was well rewarded.

There was a malfunction near the end of the film and it seemed as if the computer they were running the film on died, and everyone kinda sat in stunned silence for a minute. As soon as it became apparent that the PC was back up and running, restarting the movie and then fast forwarding to the place we left off, NOBODY LEFT. And the AV guy was like "no, I have to start it from exactly where we left off as we don't have much time, the next film needs to start on time" but I think they made the wise decision to let us watch it till a little over time as we would have nerd raged had they cut the film short.

And in a rare occurrence, I ran right out and bought it Tuesday after the Con and made T1nk watch it with me. I have also been slavering on about it to my other friends that they need to watch it. AND NOW YOU!
Here's a music vid I found that was fairly cool. I TRIED finding a clip or a trailer for it but the English dub was kind of lame. Doesn't matter either way CAUSE YOU NEED TO GO WATCH THE MOVIE!

Fanime 2012

Holy Cow was this a great FanimeCon.
Even though I had to ride the Line Ride TWICE, we did'nt have a hotel room, my "cosplay" on Friday was no where near as complete as I want it,  and I was asked to make sure Phish was peace tied twice, I had a blast and none of it bothered me.

It all began Day 0 while I was running around trying to find a few cheap pieces for my Kot-"eh"-tsu Cosplay. (that's where all of the pieces are not heavily moded or finished. the idea is that it's everyday wear and closet cosplay items so I can wear it on first day and last day and not be in an "uncomfortable" costume) and I was planning to head home and put a few touches on it and call it a night when some friends asked where I was in the pre-reg line. So I decide to go down and hang out with them. It was at that point I discovered there had been  a blown transformer and the power was out. Rumor has it that reg was DOING IT BY HAND ON PAPER. So, The line ride was on MANIAC difficulty, so after 5 hours of a sax who blessedly knew more songs than just the Epic Sax song and one rousing sing along of the Pokemon Opening theme, to celebrate a successful badge acquisition, there was delicious fancy food afterwards.
Oh yeah, the vest I found with white paneling on the front, I BOUGHT THE LAST ONE IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY! RLY though, I asked them to find me one in a larger size and they checked if they had ANY in four other stores and theirs was the only one. Good thing I know how to take this thing apart and put it back together, GO THEATRE SKILLS! Kudos to me though, I had two people call it and even one OTHER Kotetsu, whose cosplay was WAY better than mine, give me props, so, success!

CHECK THE SOURCE!

Day 1 started early since I wanted to snag my badge voucher and badge ASAP and check in on The Dojo to say high to the Knights. Kicked off the Con with some of the FIRST programming of the weekend watching some AMV Hell, always a great start. Bounced around seeing people, meeting up with people, wandering the halls. And then I had to get to rehearsal, to find out I wasn't called for rehearsal, so I ran back to wait in line to get a badge for my cousin who may or may not have gotten there before they closed Reg. Twice Line RIDE! Acheive Unlocked! We had some Pizza My Heart for dinner and watched some Midnight Madness, then called it a night. Dub of The Northstar FTW!

Day 2. "Is It Real?" 1 day, parking was balls since I got there AFTER 10 A M, so I got to lug my "weapon box", my backpack with prizes & netbook, my projector, and all while wearing my snazzy clothes. Always fun. Got there with time to spare, set up and found out that the reason attendance was so low MAY have had something to do with the fact that The Dojo was somehow left out of the Weekend pocket Schedule. Whatevs, the few people who showed for my Panel were chill and I educated like a boss.
Ducked our heads in to half of a panel. It wasn't exactly what we thought it would be so we ducked out. T1nk wanted to go to a few meet ups and see some anime, but was prepared to watch all the programming!
Summer Wars? That sounded familiar, lets go see that . . OH MY GOD WHAT AN AWESOME ANIME!!! A review to follw in the nearer future, no Lie, I ran out and bought it. Mostly because it's only one movie.
 ooh! Abridged Series . . DBZ!? Sweet, I have no real desire to ever watch any of the DBZ's so Abridged make sit so I have sort of watched it and can get the jokes.
(Watch from 5:50 to about 8:38, or just till 6:45. that part gets me every time, I think its the mostly the voice of Lord Guru. it makes me giggle.)


Then there was some snackage and I dug in for marathon mode of Gainax goodness. The first Gurren Movie followed by the First Eva Remake Movie, OH YEAH! welll..... after Gurren, one of our compatriots wanted some more light hearted fare than Shinji crying like a bitch so . . BEST OF ZERO PUNCTUATION!! Leave half way through for food at a local eatery which I need to remember to never go to again. (The food is fine, the service is fine, the prices are decent, the location is great, I just cant stand how busy it is all the time and the clientele.) Called it an early night as there was no AMV Hell or Midnight MAdness on the schedule. EARLY DAY TOMORROW THEN!

yeah right.
Day 3. T1nk & I went to visit some Gothic Lolita peeps who were having a meetup, we knew one or to and T1nk is ALWAYS looking to get further into the culture, made some new friends, all of them ADORABLE! Ohh Abridged again . . . AVATAR ABRIDGED? HELL YES! PLEASE! A few good episodes of that, then a couple episodes of Battle Ship Yamato 2199. At that point we decided to schlep to the car to get all my gear for my panel. had a late lunch/supper, then threw down for more Paneling. Great crew for that, lots of questions and they seemed interested. Gave out some prizes and packed it in to let the next crew get set up then packed everything back out of the con. It was well timed with having my cousin Lefty get picked up by his mom, so after that . . .  T1nk & I went to check out The Masquerade. It was better than usual, meaning, not terrible. It gives me hope for the future! Gee, maybe we should go to the B&W ball seeing as our outfits are fancy & the proper colors! Nope, met up with folks, hung out, called it a night and went home since T1nk had to open at balls o'clock.

Oh yeah, for a few years now I have been taking my stuffed Phish to cons and have had it peace tied as a gag. And this year it had the old Anime Expo tie on it so I actually had two separate rovers ask me to make sure I had this years peace tie. I'm fairly sure they were feeding the joke OR they had orders to make sure any old peace ties were up to date. Either way, when I got to Safety on Site the glad recognized my Phish and were happy to keep me up to date. I love Fanime!

Day 4. Slept in! Sort of, Did Laundry! Hit the con last day late, schmoozed in the Dealer Hall with friends who work there and same with Artist Alley. Decided to cap off the weekend with one last trip to Pizza My Heart. This year was a good one.
See yall at other Cons or next year!
Stay Classy H47ites!