Jhaeman's Detritus

NFL 2011 Super Bowl Predictions

2012-01-28T17:15:00.002-05:00

So it all comes down to this! Who will Steve have write a blog post on a topic of his choice? The Wife and I remain tied, and we wrote our picks on secret ballots so as not to influence each other's prediction. Here we go . . .

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Giants (my theory: Giants have the best overall balance of offense and defense, while Patriots are only really strong on offense . . .)

Steve: Patriots

Boomer @ 8 Months

2012-01-26T23:33:00.002-05:00

Boomer turns 8 months old in 26 minutes and he is more adorable than ever. Major milestones for his parents' sanity is that he now naps in his crib regularly, is happy sitting on the floor playing with toys for 10-20 minutes at a time, and usually sleeps through the night with no problems. He's inherited the late-night gene from me, as he's usually not ready for bed until almost 10 p.m., which means he often stays up later than his grandparents! But he sleeps in until 7:30 to 8:30 in the morning, so it's a pretty good trade-off as far I'm concerned. He's also a champion eater, and so far we haven't found any foods he won't go for. Although he's not crawling yet--the poor kid hates to be on his stomach--he stands up really well with something to lean on, and I wouldn't be surprised if he learns to walk before he learns to crawl. My happiest moments as a dad are how excited he is to see me when I get home from work, and how I have all sorts of ways to make him laugh. Here's a couple of good photos where you can see him hanging out with his old man and another where he's diligently at work trying to figure out which monkey is his.

What I Read (2011)

2012-01-24T23:55:00.003-05:00

First up, this constitutes my 1000th post! More on that in a future post . . .

Second, here's what I read in 2011.

Jan. 2011 Elizabeth George, A Great Deliverance "Great characters & dialogue, as Lynley & Havers investigate a murder in a rural village. Grim as hell ending." [When I was a teenager, I had several of these mysteries and really liked them, but got really annoyed for some reason when one of the books was set out of the timeline with the others--I've been carrying them around for almost a couple of decades now, and thought I owed them a re-read, and I'm glad I did]

Jan. 2011 Marie Laberge, Sans rien ni personne "'Cold case' mystery novel about murdering midwife. Very talky & boring, with biggest twist mostly foreseeable."

Jan. 15 2011 Elizabeth George, Payment in Blood "Disappointing . . . felt like a first novel, dialogue too stagey, first 1/2 too much Agatha Christie."

Jan. 23, 2011 Michael Stackpole, Isard's Revenge "Last of the X-Wing novels, and probably a good thing."

Jan. 27, 2011 Jane Austen Northanger Abbey "A fun, light romance with a great parody of gothic literary tropes."

Jan. 30, 2011 James Joyce Ulysses "The most infuriating, annoying book I've ever read. But then somehow it starts to make sense." [Actually finishing Ulysses is a badge of honor as far I'm concerned, but at what cost! Oh, what cost!]

Feb. 7, 2011 John Marsden Lettres de l'intérieur "Letters between two teen girls, one incarcerated. Realistic, touching, thought-provoking end." [and sad too, once one reaches the natural conclusions at the end]

Feb. 10, 2011 James P. Othmer, The Futurist "What a great, compulsively readable novel. Cynical, idealistic, perfect evocation of globalization and its discontents."

Feb. 11, 2011 Steven Waldman Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America "A persuasive, balanced, and cogent discussion of the religious beliefs of the 'founding fathers.'"

Feb. 13, 2011 Orson Scott Card Ender's Game "An amazing, extraordinary book--one of the best I've read in years. The 20th anniversary audio book is a quality production." [this one, and its sequel, Speaker for the Dead, have really stayed with me, and to my mind exemplify, along with Nancy Kress' Beggars in Spain, the heights to which a much-derided genre like SF can achieve in exploring the nature of humanity]

Mar. 1, 2011 Otis A. Kline, The Swordsman of Mars "Better than Moorcock's homages, interesting twists. Generic protagonist."

Mar. 12, 2011 Shae Davidson The Gathering Storm "Call of Cthulhu monograph about the Great Depression. Mostly scenarios, but worthwhile."

Mar. 14, 2011 Elizabeth George Well-Schooled in Murder "Good stuff, a big improvement over Payment in Blood. Interesting depiction of prep-school mores."

Mar. 15, 2011 Robert Jordan The Path of Daggers "Solid 8th book. Some good action scenes as Rand fights the Seanchan"

Mar. 17, 2011 Michael Reeves Street of Shadows "Second book in the 'Coruscant Nights' trilogy. Captain Typho is suddenly madly in love with Padme, and gets his dumb ass killed trying to kill Vader."

Mar. 20, 2011 Tim Wiseman Tatters of the King "A Call of Cthulhu campaign featuring 'The King in Yellow.' Purist, RP-heavy campaign. Has some structural problems in terms of adventure hooks and clues, but also some great imagery and themes."

Mar. 26, 2011 Elizabeth George A Suitable Vengeance "A prequel Inspector Lynley book. Dialogue unrealistically introspective, heartfelt, and cogent."

Mar. 30, 2011 Michael Brooks 13 Things That Don't Make Sense "An interesting and understandable discussion of 13 scientific anomalies such as dark matter, cold fusion, homeopathy, and free will."

Apr. 10, 2011 Charles Dickens Oliver Twist "Great characters, but a plot that is all over the place."

Apr. 13, 2011 Nancy Holder Blood & Fog "Buffy book with Jack the Ripper as demon tied to evil faerie lore. Some good characterization, but plot didn't hold interest."

Apr. 25, 2011 Constance Backhouse Carnal Crimes: Sexual Assault Law in Canada, 1900-1975 "Case studies--revealing, if not comprehensive."

May 2011 Philip José Farmer To Your Scattered Bodies Go "The first book in Farmer's famous Riverworld series, featuring Richard Burton awakening on a strange world with millions of others. Fascinating premise, average execution."

May 2011 Eoin Colfer Artemis Fowl "A really fun, original story about a boy criminal mastermind and his intrusion on the Faerie realms. Surprisingly excellent action scenes."

May 2011 N.D. Wilson 100 Cupboards "Well-plotted story, first in a series, about a house with 100 portals to other places. Comes with cool map."

May 2011 Elizabeth George For the Sake of Elena "Deaf university student murdered. Very well done, but I'm not sure if the end of Chapter 1 cheats considering later events."

May 2011 Dean Koontz Darkfall "Average horror novel about evil voodoo priest sending monsters after people."

May 2011 Brian Hayes Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon "Average adaptation of T.V. episodes."

May 2011 A. Lee Martinez Monster "A really funny urban fantasy about a monster-catcher and the impending end of the universe. Should buy more by this author."

May 2011 Gregory Levey Shut Up, I'm Talking and Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in the Israeli Government "At times laugh-out-loud funny book about NY law student stumbling onto important position. Very readable."

June 6, 2011 Elizabeth George Missing Joseph "I read the first 200 pages of this during my wife's delivery of our first son. About average for a George novel, and not enough Havers."

June 12, 2011 Diane Duane Omnitopia Dawn "Interesting story about massive multiplayer RPG and attempted invasion by computer hackers. Needs characters less black & white, good & evil."

June 12, 2011 J.K. Rowling Harry Potter et L'Ordre Du Phénix "1,000 page story, as Dumbledore loses Hogwarts to a great villain, Delores Umbrage. Another strong entry." [reading the Harry Potter books in French has been really enjoyable, as I already have a good conception of the characters and plot]

June 17, 2011 Carrie Vaughn Kitty and the Midnight Hour "Werewolf becomes host of late-night supernatural radio talk show. Solid, some originality, worth reading more."

June 29, 2011 Noah Feldman Divided by God "Readable, concise history of church-state relations in America. Good elucidation of conflict between 'legal secularists' and 'values evangelicals.' Proposed solution unconvincing."

June 30, 2011 M.K. Hobson The Native Star "Magic & technology intermingled in 19th century America. Interesting conception of magic and solid story. A bit sappy at the end."

July 1, 2011 Richard A. Muller The Instant Physicist "Short, fun explanation of some counter-intuitive physics principles, primarily focussed on radiation and energy sources."

July 6, 2011 Stiegg Larson The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest "Less a thriller, and no mystery, but still interesting in spots."

July 16, 2011 Michael Capuzzo The Murder Room "Nonfiction story of the Vidocq Society, a club devoted to solving cold cases. Oddly structured and unpersuasive." [I think what irked me about this virtual hagiography of the Vidocq Society and its leading members is that one has to read between the lines before realizing that the club has only really helped solve one murder in its decades-long existence]

July 22, 2011 Jude Watson A Tangled Web "Fifth book in the Last of the Jedi series, as Ferus comes under the employ of Palpatine to save his friends. Large cast of characters hard to keep track of."

July 23, 2011 James Ellroy Le Dahlia Noir "Slow start, average mystery with interesting portrayal of 1940s L.A. policing."

Sep. 2011 E.C. Bentley Trent's Last Case "Interesting deconstruction of the mystery novel, showing how same set of facts can be manipulated by author to create myriad 'solutions.'"

Sep. 2011 Jeff Kinney Journal d'un dégonflé "Hilarious fictional novel of school child, must get more in the series."

Sep. 2011 Charlaine Harris Gravesight "First book in a new series about woman who can sense location of corpses. Well-written with solid characterization. Somewhat rushed ending."

Sep. 2011 Gary Gygax Death in Delhi "Last of the Setne Inhetep novels. Good characters, but plot still needs work and more of a sense of danger for main characters."

Sep. 2011 Kat Richardson Greywalker "Private investigator who can see ghosts. Interesting premise but muddled world mixes vampires and witches into the brew."

Sep. 2011 Jeffrey Toobin The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court "Very readable portrayal of Court politics, individual personalities, and the confirmation process."

Sep. 2011 David Whitaker Doctor Who and the Crusaders "The First Doctor and companions get mixed up with Richard and Saladin. Actually pretty good and entertaining."

Sep. 17, 2011 A. Merritt The Ship of Ishtar "Original, interesting, about man pulled aboard ancient ship locked in battle between gods of love and death."

Sep. 2011 Mica Ostow & Steven Brezenoff The Quotable Slayer "Serviceable collection of Buffy quotes."

Sep. 28, 2011 Elizabeth George Playing for the Ashes "Inspector Lynley mystery involving murder of famous cricketeer. Unconvincing motive, but good subplot involving animal liberation force."

Oct. 11, 2011 Orson Scott Card Speaker for the Dead "Sequel to Ender's Game. Murder of xenographers by ostensibly peaceful aliens requires investigation. Great idea of role for Speaker of the Dead."

Oct. 19, 2011 Jak Koke The Edge of Chaos "Forgotten Realms novel set near the Plaguewrought Lands, a dangerous area of wild magic. Entertaining."

Oct. 2011 Scott Martelle The Fear Within: Spies, Commies, and American Democracy on Trial "A very readable overview of the Dennis Smith Act trial that led to the Communist Party's American leadership being imprisoned."

Nov. 3, 2011 René Barjavel La nuit des temps "Interesting and original SF novel. A polar expedition finds two people of an ancient advanced civilization frozen in suspended animation for 900,000 years."

Nov. 2011 Kate Novak & Jeff Grubbs Azure Bonds "Great Forgotten Realms novel with intriguing central mystery. Warrior wakes up with strange, mystical tattoos--who put them there and why?"

Nov. 2011 Various The Halls of Stormweather "Collection of 7 short stories by various authors featuring different members of the Uskreven family in Sembia. Enjoyable throughout."

Nov. 2011 Ray Garton Resurrecting Ravana "Buffy novel featuring Ethan Rayne trying to summon Hindu god Ravana. Competent."

Nov. 2011 Christopher Hitchens Thomas Jefferson: Author of America "Crisp, very readable short bio of Jefferson, with trenchant criticism of past scholarship on Sally Hemmings."

Dec. 10, 2011 Elizabeth George In the Presence of the Enemy "The best George novel I've read yet. A great mystery, a thrilling conclusion, great characters. Excellent & memorable."

Dec. 2011 C.W. Mevius Couching Tiger, Hidden Toddler: A Zen Guide for New Dads "A slim, sometimes humorous book that does contain some good advice."

Dec. 2011 Gamma World Core Rulebook "A fun, light-hearted post-apocalyptic game with some interesting tweaks on d20 rules."

Dec. 2011 Plate The Trial & Death of Socrates "Collects Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. Apology has relevance to charges of corrupting youth and introducing new gods."

Dec. 2011 Gregory Lang Why a Son Needs a Dad "Skimpy book with photos and statements, mostly banal."

Dec. 23, 2011 Kevin J. Anderson The Jedi Academy Trilogy "Excellent trio of novels, detailing Luke's rebuilding of the Jedi Academy, the destruction of the Sun Crusher, and more. Great dialogue & characterization."

Dec. 31, 2011 Jude Watson Return of the Dark Side "Sixth book in The Last of the Jedi series, plot continues to surprise, not 'kiddie' at all."

Dec. 31, 2011 Fluke, Levine, Meier The Gingerbread Cookie Murders "Three short novels with different characters by different authors, recipes (!) interspersed throughout. Fluke's prose is embarrassingly bad, but the other two are solid reads."

NFL 2011 Playoffs Round 3 Round-Up

2012-01-24T23:45:00.003-05:00

Billy Cundiff's missed chip shot field goal cheated me out of a win that would have locked up second place in the picks competition. What are the odds that after 267 games The Wife and I would be tied with only the Super Bowl left? Well, I'm in it to win it! (not "win it" per se, since Steve's already done that, but "I'm in it to not lose it!" doesn't have the same ring to it . . .)

Giants @ 49ers

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The Wife: Giants

Me: Giants

Steve: Giants

WINNER: Giants (when offenses and defenses are so evenly matched, special teams is going to make the difference . . .)

Ravens @ Patriots

----------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Ravens

Steve: Patriots

WINNER: Patriots (man, I got ROBBED here!)

THIS WEEK

The Wife: 2-0

Me: 1-1

Steve: 2-0

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 159-110

Me: 159-110

Steve: 172-97

NFL 2011 Division Champion Predictions in Retrospect

2012-01-20T18:57:00.003-05:00

It's always fun to look back at predictions made months previously to see just how right . . . and just how wrong everyone was about who would end up winning each division in the NFL. In my original post on the 2011 season, I made my own predictions and then listed the predictions of Lindy's, Football Outsiders, and the clear winner of the regular-season weekly predictions, Prognosticatin' Steve. As in the year prior, the goal of our little experiment is to see whether my amateurish efforts are any worse than the big glossy magazines with their paid staffs. Remember, the chances of correctly picking a division winner by random chance is 25% (which is what me and two different magazines ended up with on our picks last year), so anything better than that will, for our purposes, be considered a success. Here we go!

AFC EAST

Lindy's: New England

Football Outsiders: New England

Steve: New England

My Pick: New England ("someday we will look back at this decade's Patriots with amazement")

ACTUAL WINNER: New England (a safe bet, and everyone starts out well)

AFC WEST

Lindy's: San Diego

Football Outsiders: San Diego

Steve: San Diego ("talk about a bad division")

My Pick: Denver ("my one surprise team to add a little flavour to these proceedings")

ACTUAL WINNER: Denver (I would feel smarter about this upset success, but I didn't foresee Tebow playing at all; I assumed Kyle Orton would have played well for a mediocre team in a mediocre division)

AFC NORTH

Lindy's: Baltimore

Football Outsiders: Pittsburgh

Steve: Pittsburgh

My Pick: Pittsburgh ("Big Ben just gets it done . . .")

ACTUAL WINNER: Baltimore (that Week One blowout really set things in motion for the Ravens, and they followed through . . .)

AFC SOUTH

Lindy's: Indianapolis

Football Outsiders: Houston

Steve: Indianapolis ("despite Manning's issues")

My Pick: Houston ("if the defense can keep teams under thirty points, the Texans win with 31")

ACTUAL WINNER: Houston (Steve, as good as your picks were during the regular season, your one constant blind-spot was the Manning-less Colts!)

NFC EAST

Lindy's: Philadelphia

Football Outsiders: Philadelphia

Steve: Philadelphia

My Pick: Dallas ("they get things figured out this year and pure talent shines through")

ACTUAL WINNER: New York (we all missed the boat on this one, though a Cowboys victory in Week 17 would have swung things my way . . .)

NFC WEST

Lindy's: St. Louis

Football Outsiders: San Francisco

Steve: "The division implodes from sucking too much . . . or St. Louis for purposes of this prediction"

My Pick: Arizona ("Kolb gets this team rolling in a weak division")

ACTUAL WINNER: San Francisco (Football Outsiders' heavy-duty statistical analysis came through for this one, as I never foresaw SF winning more than 7-8 games)

NFC NORTH

Lindy's: Green Bay

Football Outsiders: Green Bay

Steve: Green Bay ("though Det will be good too")

My Pick: Green Bay ("Bears regress, Lions closing, Vikings at a standstill, leaving Packers on top")

ACTUAL WINNER: Green Bay (another unanimous pick and unanimous success)

NFC SOUTH

Lindy's: New Orleans

Football Outsiders: Atlanta

Steve: New Orleans

My Pick: New Orleans ("a coin flip with Atlanta . . .")

ACTUAL WINNER: New Orleans (everyone gets this right except for Football Outsiders--methinks they need to tinker with those algorithms)

Alright, now we can tally up the big winners and even bigger losers (though actually, everyone did pretty good):

OVERALL

Lindy's: 4/8 (50%) (pretty good results, especially for being the only one to pick Baltimore in the AFC North)

Football Outsiders: 4/8 (50%) (also good, with bonus points for being the only one to foresee SF's rise in the NFC West)

Steve: 3/8 (37.5%) (still better than random chance, though worst of the four pickers here; tempted to subtract points for picking Indianapolis and St. Louis, teams that went a combined 4-28 on the year ;)

Me: 5/8 (62.5%) (a big pat on my own back for Denver)

Thus, I am left with only one conclusion: Where my job at, Lindy's and Pro Football Outsiders?!?!

As a footnote, Lindy's and I made Super Bowl picks, neither of which can come completely true. Lindy's went with Ravens defeating Eagles, I went with Patriots defeating Cowboys.

See you again in August!

The Cat (1972) [COMICS]

2012-01-19T23:25:00.003-05:00

Marvel's short-lived 1972 series The Cat holds an interesting place in comics history, as it was one of the company's interesting, well-intentioned, and perhaps naive attempts to combine standard super-hero stories for a largely male audience with the women's liberation movement.*

Written by Linda Fite, the first issue of The Cat tells how Greer Nelson, the young widow of a macho, controlling cop killed in the line of duty, becomes the lab assistant for the brilliant Dr. Tumolo. Tumolo is working on an experimental device to help bring women to their full physical and mental potential, but the university is unwilling to give her enough funding to continue the project. She brings in an outside investor named Mal Donaldbain, but Donaldbain secretly oversees the construction of another copy of the device, planning to use it to create an army of amazons to run a new chain of health emporiums all over the world, which he can then use to help . . . I'm not sure--conquer the world or something? This part of the comic didn't make much sense.

But anyway, Greer undergoes Tumolo's experimental process and gains somewhat vague super-powers: impressive athletic ability, increased intelligence, and a new "women's intuition" sixth sense. Later, Dr. Tumolo stumbles upon Donaldbain's nefarious plan and he (apparently) has her murdered. Dressed in the guise of The Cat (complete with climbing claws), Greer confronts Mal and takes advantage of his phobia of being touched, driving the man to suicide by gunshot! A surprisingly dark ending, and not the sort of thing I associate with early 1970s Marvel super-hero comics. In an epilogue, Greer does feel torn about what she's done. Except for the ludicrous motive of the villain and the somewhat hackneyed origin story, it's actually a pretty decent comic.

In the second issue of The Cat, Greer visits the surprisingly still-alive but unconscious Dr. Tumolo at the hospital. Somehow, Greer's "women's intuition" super-power allows her to psychically communicate with Tumolo and learn that Tumolo's supposed "nephew" also visiting her is actually a fake! It turns out, actually, that he's an agent for mildly-obscure super-villain and frequent Daredevil foe, The Owl. The Owl sends henchmen to kidnap Tumolo for the purpose of draining her intelligence and memories into an artificial databank of the world's greatest minds that only he can access. Aren't comics fun! As The Cat, Greer rescues Tumolo, but not before The Owl drains the poor doc's memories and then escapes.

The third issue takes place weeks later, with Tumolo a virtual vegetable from having her mind drained. Greer's women's intuition power allows her to detect strange sonar signals. Investigating further, she discovers a massive underwater dome she believes is being operated by the Navy. The villainous Commander Kraken attacks and tries to take over the dome, but Greer and the dome's crewmen fight him off. Later, after Greer leaves, it is revealed that the inhabitants of the dome aren't Naval personnel at all--but space aliens! Yes, I could gave been reading Shakespeare instead of this, but Shakespeare didn't include enough space aliens and Commander Krakens in his work to make it worth my while.

Due to scheduling conflicts of some sort of another, the fourth and final issue of The Cat combines a shorter-than normal Greer story with a reprint back-up featuring the X-Men's Ms. Marvel. In the main feature, Greer is having an afternoon out with an old high school friend named Sally when the two stop for lunch in a tavern. Greer rebuffs a lecherous patron who accosts them, but it turns out that lech is actually the Man-Bull! They have a very truncated fight at a stockyard, in which the Man-Bull is quickly knocked unconscious. The end.

There's no acknowledgements in the letters' page that this would be the final installment of The Cat--indeed, it even talks about what will happen "next ish." Wikipedia says a fifth issue was drawn but never released.

A somewhat pathetic ending, then, for a series that tried to accomplish something good. Linda Fite successfully managed to outfit The Cat with standard super-hero tropes (costumed adversaries, outlandish plots, etc.) while at the same time imbuing the title character with a feminist outlook on life that avoided the shrewish caricatures many male writers had portrayed feminists in the past (and would continue to do so in the future). Unfortunately, mainstream comics have simply not had much success with female headliners, much less female headliners that don't walk around in skimpy costumes and anatomically-impossible large bosoms. As for the fictional Greer Nelson, she's had an interesting history--two years after The Cat ended, Tony Isabella transformed her into Tigra, while another copy of her cat suit was found and donned by Patsy Walker, who assumed the identity Hellcat.

* As a sign of the times, the back cover of the first issue of The Cat is an advertisement for LaSalle Extension University, a home-correspondence course school. In a big list of programs available, there is a smaller list titled "Careers for Women", including, among other things, Dental Office Assistant, Interior Decorating, Secretarial, and Stenotype--absent are presumed male-only fields like Business Management, Law, and Diesel Mechanics.

NFL 2011 Playoffs Round 3 Predictions

2012-01-18T23:26:00.002-05:00

Championship weekend!

Giants @ 49ers

-----------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Giants (a really tough pick here!)

Steve: Giants ("San Francisco has had a great year, and their defense is very good, however Smith and the offense have yet to prove they can hold up their end to me despite the shootout against the Saints.")

Ravens @ Patriots

----------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Ravens (another tough pick, but I'm theorizing the Ravens aren't going to be intimidated by Brady as they've shut him down before)

Steve: Patriots ("Baltimore's D just can't stop the NE offense enough for the Ravens offense to keep up...")

NFL Playoffs Round 2 Round-Up

2012-01-18T00:13:00.002-05:00

Yes, I picked against the 15-1 Green Bay Packers--and it paid off! I now have a one game lead over The Wife heading into Championship weekend . . .

Saints @ 49ers

------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints

WINNER: 49ers (I'm prepared to say that's the most exciting ending I've ever seen in a playoff game; there were probably four times I thought to myself 'Well, this game's over--no way they can come back from *that*' and then each team kept on doing it . . .)

Broncos @ Patriots

-------------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Broncos

Steve: Patriots

WINNER: Patriots

Texans @ Ravens

---------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens

Steve: Ravens

WINNER: Ravens

Giants @ Packers

--------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Giants

Steve: Packers

WINNER: Giants (a perfect example that even the best NFL QBs can wilt under quick pressure up the middle by a strong pass-rushing D-line)

THIS WEEK

The Wife: 1-3

Me: 2-2

Steve: 2-2

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 157-110

Me: 158-109

Steve: 170-97

Defenders (2005 Limited Series) [COMICS]

2012-01-13T17:26:00.003-05:00

Marvel seems to try and bring back the Defenders as a viable property every few years, and every few years it doesn't seem to really go anywhere. In 2005, the Defenders were presented in an intentionally light-hearted & silly light, as comic trio Giffen, DeMatteis, & Maquire were given the reigns for a 5-issue limited series. When I first got into comics in the mid-to-late 1980s, I soon stumbled on that creative team's Justice League International and I was immediately hooked--I found it absolutely hilarious, thought Blue and Gold (Blue Beetle & Booster Gold) and Fire & Ice (Fire and Icemaiden) were great characters, and collected the title diligently for years. Unfortunately, what worked so well with then-third string characters fails pretty badly with some of Marvel's biggest guns with long legacies of being serious characters, like Dr. Strange, Namor, the Hulk, and the Silver Surfer. There's a few good jokes and funny faces in the the 2005 Defenders, but although a text page says everything is in continuity and the characters will be treated with their established personalities intact, the characterization of the main heroes and the main villain (Dormammu) is far removed from any portrayal we've seen before. I'm probably being a bit curmudgeonly, but in a shared universe it's important to try to keep a reasonable amount of consistency with the portrayal of core characters, and that certainly wasn't the case here. That, and the jokes probably just weren't as funny to me as a guy in his thirties as they were when I was thirteen . . .

NFL 2011 Playoffs Round 2 Predictions

2012-01-12T23:22:00.002-05:00

Seven games left, and The Wife and I are still tied . . .

Saints @ 49ers

------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints (I just need to see more of Alex Smith before I put big game faith in him to get it done against what is arguably the best offense in NFL history . . .)

Steve: Saints ("I'd love for SF to prove me wrong but I don't think they will.")

Broncos @ Patriots

-------------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Broncos (I remember back when the pundits were confident Tebow would play for one or two games before John Fox would sit him for the rest of the season; I remember when the pundits said there was no way Tebow could beat the Jets because Rex Ryan had literally written the book on stopping option offenses; I remember how the pundits said there was no way the Broncos would make it past the Steelers and their stifling defense; so hell, I'm picking Tebow!)

Steve: Patriots ("No way, NO way, I see Denver getting past New England.")

Texans @ Ravens

---------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens (Flacco has more experience than Yates, and, exactly contrary to what I said above, I foresee a Ravens/Patriots AFC Championship game that should be a fun one to watch)

Steve: Ravens ("This is the one this week where I went back and forth before deciding on my pick")

Giants @ Packers

--------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Giants (feelin' an upset comin' on!)

Steve: Packers ("Green Bay's offense is just too much to handle... ")

Doom [Comics]

2012-01-12T00:32:00.003-05:00

I'm not one to pass up $ 1.99 trade paperbacks in the bargain bin, and Dr. Doom is one of favorite villains, so . . . Doom! Collecting two three-issue limited series, Doom is overall pretty poor. The first limited series is set on Counter-Earth (a duplicate Earth created/maintained by Franklin Richards) and sees Doom traveling across Mad-Max style wastelands in order to get back to New York where his assistant Lancer is trying to maintain control for him. It's okay, and Lancer is actually fairly interesting. The second limited series is worse by far, as it's a confusing, often nonsensical account of Doom's battles with Franklin Richards over the fate of his (Doom's) mother. I'm a big fan of continuity, but in each case these two limited series have high learning curves that don't seem worth the trouble.

The Buffy Comic Project: "Lost and Found"

2012-01-09T20:05:00.006-05:00

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 31

Dark Horse (Vol. 1, 1998-2003)

Creators: Tom Fassbender & Jim Pascoe (writers); Cliff Richards (penciller); Joe Pimentel (inker)

Setting: Season Four

T.V. Character Appearances: Buffy, Giles, Joyce, Riley, Willow, Xander, Anya,

Major Original Characters: Rebecca Stansberry (librarian); Cole (Initiative member); Ghost of Homeless Man (unnamed)

Summary: Buffy, bored during summer vacation, asks Giles for advice on suitable hobbies but to no avail. Sometime later, two vampires kill a homeless man and take a gold ring from the corpse. That same night, Giles is approached by a fan after one of his guitar/singing performances at the Espresso Pump. The fan, a librarian named Rebecca Stansberry, hits it off with Giles and the two arrange a date. A week later, Riley and a fellow member of the Initiative named Cole walk down an alleyway and are assailed by a ghost moaning "Give it back . . ." The ghost grasps Riley, and he collapses into a coma. Later, Willow's research uncovers a pattern of ghostly hauntings in that same alleyway. Buffy and Willow travel to the scene and rescue Xander and Anya from a vampire attack. The ghost manifests and gives Buffy some clues, which she combines with information beaten out of a bartender and from another vampire to track down the vampire which stole the homeless man's ring. Buffy slays the vampire easily and returns the ring to the alleyway, where the ghost manifests, takes the ring, and disappears. Meanwhile, Giles date has gone swimmingly, as it has ended in a kiss and a promise for future dates. Rebecca, however, wears a necklace with an insect in amber, an insect-shaped shadow seems to follow Giles, and the next morning a strange humanoid-insect creature is discovered by boys playing baseball.

Review: The A-plot, involving the ghost of the homeless man, is simply pretty dumb; we don't know anything about this guy, what the ring meant to him, why he's manifesting as a ghost to get it back, etc. The subplot, on the other hand, is far more fun, as Giles doesn't get a lot of action in the dating scene and it's fun to see him in romantic situations--even if clues indicate it may not last long. The artwork overall remains quite strong, and the likenesses of the characters are easy to recognize--a big improvement over some early issues of the series.

Notes

* Riley, you poor sap--making the cover and then getting knocked out in two pages.

* In the letters' page, editor Scott Allie promises "an even higher level of connection between the show and the comics, beginning with this story, set immediately after Season Four." I remain skeptical, but willing to wait and see . . .

* Here's Giles, getting his groove back.

NFL 2012 Playoffs Round One Round-Up

2012-01-09T00:32:00.003-05:00

The Wife steals a game this week due to Tebow pulling another miracle, and ties things up with me.

Bengals @ Texans

----------------------

The Wife: Bengals

Me: Bengals

Steve: Texans

WINNER: Texans (solid if unspectacular QB play by Yates and an awesome Arian Foster makes for a good offense)

Lions @ Saints

---------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints

WINNER: Saints (for all the hype, Lions D-Line couldn't get any pressure on Brees)

Falcons @ Giants

-------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Giants

Steve: Giants

WINNER: Giants (a lot of people made fun before this season for Eli saying he was an "elite" QB, but he's played some of the best football of his career this season . . .)

Steelers @ Broncos

-----------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Steelers

Steve: Steelers

WINNER: Broncos (gotta admit, that was a damned exciting ending and I was jumping up and down and cheering--and I don't even *like* the Broncos!)

THIS WEEK

The Wife: 3-1

Me: 2-2

Steve: 3-1

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 156-107

Me: 156-107

Steve: 168-95

Tyrone Drake, An American Star! [RPG]

2012-01-06T21:25:00.004-05:00

Tyrone Drake was a character I created to run in occasional one-shots using the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG. Coming off a couple successful "seasons" of running the game in a very serious tone, it was great fun to play a character in an intentionally more light-hearted type of "series." Tyrone Drake is the host of a late-night cable horror movie show, much in the vein of Elvira, though his more direct inspiration was the character played by Roddy McDowall in Fright Night. Presented as an affable, somewhat dim showman with a good heart and little real knowledge of the occult, Tyrone Drake manages to get by with the help of his assistant, the buxom and vapid Delores. After having played him in a couple of adventures, I went on a cruise with The Wife and saw a delightfully earnest and incredibly cheesy performer who fit exactly the persona I'd been trying for with Tyrone Drake. I went on that performer's real-life website and slightly modified the main-page to create the attached advertisement for Tyrone's fictional program, "Midnight Showing". I only run the character once every year or so, but it's always a blast when I do--and word on the street is that The Wife is planning another adventure soon!

EPISODES of "MIDNIGHT SHOWING"

Curse of the Desperate Dame (Pilot): Tyrone Drake investigates a haunted house with the help of Delores and Stanley, a production assistant from his show. One thing leads to another, and Tyrone uncovers an ancient mystery involving ghosts, vampires, and even a vengeance demon!

Swamp Bling: Rival horror movie host Edward Johnston is climbing in popularity, and Tyrone has to scramble to stay on top. Investigating secret tunnels dating back to Prohibition at the old Hiram Walker plant, Tyrone finds himself on the trail of murder, mobsters, and rock-like Midas Demons!

The House on Flaunted Hill: Tyrone is invited to stay at Bingham Mansion along with fellow guest stars Jeffrey Weber and Ilia. Before the party can start, the bodies start dropping, and the guests have to team up to solve the murders. Secret passages, demons, and mystic incantations provide a whirlwind of entertainment!

The Headless Sportsmen of Piccadilly Falls: Tyrone arrives in Piccadilly Falls as the honorary judge of the annual Harvest Queen Pageant. When the contestants begin getting bumped off, it's up to Tyrone and special guest stars Jasper Morgan and Jeffrey Weber to discover the culprit. Headless zombies, hellhounds, and vampires make for a festival no one will soon forget!

Tyrone Drake, An American Star!

Appearing Fridays on the WGBS "Midnight Showing"

Type: Investigator

Real Name: Hyram Lipschitz

Life Points: 38

Drama Points: 6

Experience Points: 2

Initiative: +3

Perception: d10+7

Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Constitution 2, Intelligence 4, Perception 4, Willpower 4 (-1 to resist emotionality)

Skills: Artist (Actor) 3, Occultism 6, Driving 3, Getting Medieval 5, Influence 2 (+2 to influence or persuade), Notice 3, Doctor 1, Knowledge (Science) 2, Mr. Fix-It 1, Knowledge (Movies) 2

Qualities: Artist: Actor, Attractive, Contacts (National Inquirer), Occult Investigator, Good Library, Hard to Kill (x4), Good Luck (x2)

Drawbacks: Adversary (rival: Edward Johnston), Dependent (Momsy), Unrequited Love (Delores), Obligation (Weekly TV Show), Gullible, Showoff

Combat: Cross +8 d. 2+success; Holy Water +7 d. 5+success, Stake +8 d. 4+success (x2 slash, x5 heart), Pistol Crossbow +8 d. 10+success (x2 slash), Dodge +5 (-2 vs. ranged), Parry +8 (-2 vs. Thrown, -6 vs. arrows)

Fantasy Football 2011 Playoffs Round 2

2012-01-06T20:58:00.003-05:00

Me against The Wife in a head-to-head match-up in the final round of the playoffs--couldn't have been any better unless we were vying for the league championship instead of the # 3 spot in the final rankings. Still, it turned out to be a great match-up that came down to the final game of the season with one of my wideouts (Victor Cruz) going head-to-head with one of her wideouts (Hakeem Nicks). Cruz got it done and carried me to a 1 point victory, which is a damned slim margin for a two-week playoff game. I left week 1 with a sizable 97-73 lead, but The Wife came back strong in week two, scoring 114 to my 91. I was lucky to hold on!

The win left me # 3 in the league overall, which is my strongest finish in my three years of fantasy football so far. Good stuff, but somewhat disappointing after a 12-1 regular season finish that left me the # 1 seed and in the driver's seat for the playoffs.

ULTIMATE SUN RUNNERS

WEEK 16 (97 Points)

QB T. Tebow: 12

RB A. Foster: 22

RB D. Sproles: 14

RB/WR T. Smith: 3

WR V. Cruz: 22

WR A. Brown: 3

TE R. Gronkowski: 7

D/ST Texans: 5

K S. Janikowski: 97

WEEK 17 (91 Points)

QB T. Tebow: -1

RB A. Foster: 0

RB D. Sproles: 12

RB/WR K. Bell: 5

WR V. Cruz: 23

WR A. Brown: 9

TE R. Gronkowski: 22

D/ST Texans: 4

K S. Janikowski: 17

I'M WITH BOOMER

WEEK 16 (73 Points)

QB M. Vick: 20

RB P. Thomas: 11

RB D. McCluster: 9

RB/WR S. Holmes: 5

WR H. Nicks: 2

WR V. Jackson: 4

TE J. Graham: 10

D/ST Bears: -3

K D. Akers: 15

WEEK 17 (114 Points)

QB M. Vick: 21

RB P. Thomas: 6

RB D. McCluster: 14

RB/WR S. Holmes: 0

WR H. Nicks: 13

WR V. Jackson: 12

TE J. Graham: 15

D/ST Bears: 19

K D. Akers: 14

NFL 2011 Playoffs Round 1 Predictions

2012-01-06T01:48:00.003-05:00

Playoffs!

Bengals @ Texans

----------------------

The Wife: Bengals

Me: Bengals (neither of these teams should expect to go any further than this game, but each team should be proud they finally made it to the playoffs)

Steve: Texans ("Not sold on Cincy being worthy of a pick ... but then again I'm not sold on Houston as well...")

Lions @ Saints

---------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints (could be a closer game than people expect, as the Lions can put points on the board too . . .)

Steve: Saints ("I think the problems we're seeing with the Det D get them in trouble in this one. They should be better than they are. Maybe they'll get Denard in the upcoming draft...")

Falcons @ Giants

-------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Giants (not sure about this one . . .)

Steve: Giants ("I could see this one going either way...")

Steelers @ Broncos

-----------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Steelers (it'd be fun to see Tebow work some divine magic and win this one, but I just don't see it happening)

Steve: Steelers ("Tebow can't save them this week after they backed into the playoffs these last few weeks.")

NFL 2011 Week 17 Round-Up

2012-01-04T13:13:00.002-05:00

A good week for everybody is bad news for The Wife and me, as we're still 11-12 games back with just 11 playoff games left; Steve almost has this one mathematically in the bag, leaving The Wife and me to fight it out for last place--could it come down to the Super Bowl pick?

Panthers @ Saints

-------------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints

WINNER: Saints

Bills @ Patriots

------------------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots

Steve: Patriots

WINNER: Patriots (worst defense, best offense, a great mix!)

Bears @ Vikings

-----------------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Vikings

Steve: Bears

WINNER: Bears

Jets @ Dolphins

----------------------

The Wife: Jets

Me: Dolphins

Steve: Jets

WINNER: Dolphins

49ers @ Rams

-------------------

The Wife: 49ers

Me: 49ers

Steve: 49ers

WINNER: 49ers

Lions @ Packers

----------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Lions

Steve: Packers

WINNER: Packers (sounds like this was a great game . . .)

Redskins @ Eagles

-------------------------

The Wife: Redskins

Me: Eagles

Steve: Eagles

WINNER: Eagles

Colts @ Jaguars

----------------------

The Wife: Jaguars

Me: Jaguars

Steve: Colts

WINNER: Jaguars

Titans @ Texans

---------------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Titans

Steve: Texans

WINNER: Titans

Seahawks @ Cardinals

------------------------------

The Wife: Seahawks

Me: Cardinals

Steve: Seahawks

WINNER: Cardinals (quietly put together a great second half of the season after a terrible start . . .)

Chiefs @ Broncos

-------------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Chiefs

Steve: Broncos

WINNER: Chiefs

Bucs @ Falcons

----------------------

The Wife: Falcons

Me: Falcons

Steve: Falcons

WINNER: Falcons (couldn't believe it when I saw 42-0 in the SECOND QUARTER!)

Ravens @ Bengals

-------------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Bengals

Steve: Ravens

WINNER: Ravens

Steelers @ Browns

-------------------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers

Steve: Steelers

WINNER: Steelers (a merciful ending to a pitiful Browns season . . .)

Chargers @ Raiders

---------------------------

The Wife: Raiders

Me: Raiders

Steve: Chargers

WINNER: Chargers (God wanted Tebow in the playoffs . . .)

Cowboys @ Giants

--------------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Cowboys

Steve: Giants

WINNER: Giants

THIS WEEK

The Wife: 10-6

Me: 11-5

Steve: 11-5

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 153-106

Me: 154-105

Steve: 165-94

Temeris @ Level Six [RPG]

2012-01-03T19:02:00.003-05:00

Last time I wrote about Temeris, he had just reached level 4. My favorite "throw caution to the wind" explorer has now reached level 6 and is still going strong--albeit with a distressing interruption when he was turned to stone by a basilisk! I've stuck with the plan of having him qualify for the Royal Explorer Society prestige class, and (if he survives) he'll be able to take his first level in that at level 7.

As I write this, the character is in another pickle: the Royal Karameikan Fist Adventuring Company is under siege by dozens of worshippers of Orcus (including several ogres) and hasn't had much success trying to fight its way out. Stay tuned . . .

Temeris Reginal Cottingswald III

CG* Human Male, Rog3/Ran3

Strength: 14 (+2), Dexterity: 18 (+4), Constitution: 14 (+2), Intelligence: 16 (+3), Wisdom 12 (+1), Charisma: 18 (+4)

Saves: Fortitude +5, Reflex +10 (+11 vs. Traps), Will +3

AC: 18 (19 vs. Traps)

Hit Points: 40

Attacks: Light Crossbow +9, d. 1d8; Dual Melee: Shortsword +7 (1d6+2)/Dagger +8 (1d4+2)

Equipment: Bedroll, Crossbow Bolts (x12), Map Case, Chalk, Dagger, Flint & Steel, Flecks of Strange Material, Leather Armor +2, Explorer's Outfit, Trail Rations (x4), Torch, Signet Ring, Masterwork Thieves' Tools, Noble's Outfit, Treasure Map, Area Map, Shortsword, Sun rods (x5), Dagger +1, Statue w/ Fungus, Banner, Masterwork Cartographer's Tools, Spyglass, 1061 gp, 4 sp, 3 pp, 85 cp

Skills: Appraise +11, Balance +5, Bluff +5, Climb +7, Concentration +2, Craft (Cartography) +13, Decipher Script +10, Diplomacy +5, Disable Device +12, Disguise +6, Escape Artist +6, Forgery +5, Gather Info +4, Handle Info +4, Handle Animal +4, Heal +1, Hide +9, Intimidate +4, Jump +2, Knowledge: Geography +7, Knowledge: Nature +10, Knowledge Nobility +5, Knowledge: Local (Cormyr) +4, Listen +6, Move Silently +7, Open Lock +13, Ride +6, Search +10, Sense Motive +1, Sleight of Hand +4, Spellcraft +3, Spot +8, Survival +6 (+8 when following tracks; +8 in aboveground natural environments; +10 when following tracks in aboveground natural environments); Swim +7, Tumble +5, Use Magic Device +4 (+6 with scrolls), Use Rope +4

Languages: Common, Dwarven, Halfling, Elvish

Class Features: Sneak Attack (2d6), Trapfinding, Wild Empathy, Favored Enemy (Zhentarim), Combat Style (2-weapon fighting)

Feats: Diligent, Nimble Fingers, AP: Light, WP: Simple, WP: Martial, Evasion, Trap Sense, Weapon Finesse, Track, Endurance, Alertness

* The more I've played Temeris, the more I start to think he may actually be Lawful Good instead of Chaotic Good.

Robinson Gruesome [Cthulhu]

2011-12-31T18:34:00.003-05:00

With icy roads curtailing my birthday plans somewhat, an alternative took the form of spending the afternoon running a Call of Cthulhu session for The Wife. I used the scenario Robinson Gruesome from the excellent collection Monophobia: A Fear of Solitude, which consists of three adventures designed for just one Keeper and one PC. With little or no prep time, I found Robinson Gruesome easy to run and play, and The Wife and I had a great time.

The scenario began with The Wife's character, Dabnus Uxbridge (a hardboiled detective and crimebuster) on board a small two-passenger plane over the Pacific on the trail of Alexander Dane, a dashing adventurer who had gone missing in the area some months earlier. When the plane's engines went kaput and a crash was imminent, with only a small deserted island available to land on (or near, in this case), the reason for the pun in the title and similarities to the beginning of Lost became apparent. Although the plane's pilot was killed by a shark shortly after it crash-landed near the island, Dabnus survived the short swim and washed up on the beach. He made do for about a week before spotting a canoe approaching, containing six native warriors, a native priest, and a sacrifice intended for a volcanic chimney in the center of the island. Not exactly politically correct or historically accurate for the vast majority of native cultures, but, in any event, Dabnus waited until the natives were about to throw their poor sacrifice into the volcanic chimney and then jumped out of hiding, setting off flares, firing his pistol in the air, and dancing around like a madman. He scared away some of the warriors, and then shot another warrior and the priest into unconsciousness. When the Son of Dagon (a monstrous Deep One) appeared to claim his sacrifice, a good Luck roll resulted in the wounded and unconscious priest being eaten instead. In the style of pulp adventures of the time period (1920s and 1930s), the remaining natives recognized Dabnus as some sort of spiritual being and followed his directions to take him off the island in their canoe. After a short voyage at sea, the canoe reached the native village; and waiting there was the object of Dabnus' search, Alexander Dane.

As always, the fun thing with gaming is how almost nothing goes according to script. According to the scenario, the PC was supposed to lose all of his equipment in the crash; I enforced this as much as I could, but The Wife emphasized that, as the plane was going down, the one thing Dabnus was making sure he held on to was his pistol (and a successful Luck roll kept the ammo dry and intact). Having a pistol then changed subsequent events, as Dabnus did exactly what the scenario stated no sane PC would ever do: challenge the priest and warriors the first time they came to the island. With some great rolls and rewards for clever strategy, Dabnus emerged more-or-less unscathed by the adventure. Perhaps not what was intended, but we had a lot of fun and helped to flesh out a brand new PC who might appear in a future campaign. So all in all, a good time and we're looking forward to trying the other two scenarios in the collection in the near future.

NFL 2011 Week 17 Predictions

2011-12-31T16:52:00.000-05:00

The final week of the regular season! I made some risky picks this time around, in the hopes of a dramatic comeback!

Panthers @ Saints

-------------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints

Bills @ Patriots

------------------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots

Steve: Patriots

Bears @ Vikings

-----------------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Vikings

Steve: Bears

Jets @ Dolphins

----------------------

The Wife: Jets

Me: Dolphins (mainly because I have to make up ground somewhere . . .)

Steve: Jets

49ers @ Rams

-------------------

The Wife: 49ers

Me: 49ers

Steve: 49ers (“Tempted to pick StL as I think SF will have a letdown week . . .”)

Lions @ Packers

----------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Lions

Steve: Packers (“What could have been had they not overlooked KC . . .”)

Redskins @ Eagles

-------------------------

The Wife: Redskins

Me: Eagles

Steve: Eagles

Colts @ Jaguars

----------------------

The Wife: Jaguars

Me: Jaguars

Steve: Colts (“but with StL having their young QB in place they’ll still get Luck to replace Manning”)

Titans @ Texans

---------------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Titans

Steve: Texans

Seahawks @ Cardinals

------------------------------

The Wife: Seahawks

Me: Cardinals

Steve: Seahawks

Chiefs @ Broncos

-------------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Chiefs

Steve: Broncos (“completing a comeback to win the division no one would have seen when Tebow took over”)

Bucs @ Falcons

----------------------

The Wife: Falcons

Me: Falcons

Steve: Falcons

Ravens @ Bengals

-------------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Bengals

Steve: Ravens

Steelers @ Browns

-------------------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers

Steve: Steelers

Chargers @ Raiders

---------------------------

The Wife: Raiders

Me: Raiders

Steve: Chargers

Cowboys @ Giants

--------------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Cowboys

Steve: Giants

The Buffy Comic Project: "Past Lives" (Part 4)

2011-12-28T14:40:00.004-05:00

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 30

Dark Horse (Vol. 1, 1998-2003)

Creators: Christopher Golden & Tom Sniegoski (writers); Cliff Richards (pencils); Joe Pimentel (inks)

Setting: Season Four

T.V. Character Appearances: Buffy, Angel, Giles, Quentin Travers, Angelus (flashback only); Xander, Willow, Anya, Tara, Cordelia, Wesley, Riley

Major Original Characters: Sir Andrew Landry (vampire hunter; flashback only); Alexis Landry (evil former Watcher's Council operative)

Summary: At the hospital, Buffy, Angel, and Giles confer about what to do after Quentin Travers' vicious beating at the hands of Alexis Landry. Angel explains why it is that Alexis hates him so much: because a century and a half earlier, Angelus tortured Alexis' ancestor, Sir Andrew Landry. While Xander, Anya, and Wesley guard an injured Cordelia in the hospital, Buffy, Giles, and Angel decide to provoke fights with Alexis' demon minions in a bid to draw her out of hiding. Meanwhile, Willow and Tara visit a magic supply store. A demon attack on Cordelia is quickly driven off by her protectors, but soon after, Alexis ambushes Angel and paralyzes him with a magic dagger. Buffy and Alexis fight, but Alexis is defeated after Willow and Tara cast a spell to strip her of all magical charms and protective devices. Standing over an unconscious Alexis, Buffy says it will be up to Quentin Travers to decide on punishment. Later that day, Buffy and Angel say wistful goodbyes, and Buffy heads back to Sunnydale to find Riley.

Review: Again, some really strong characterization: Angel & Buffy's interaction and sad parting is handled quite well and could easily be envisioned as happening on the small screen, while Willow and Tara share some nice moments. Not much is done with Angel's crew, but one assumes they got more of the spotlight in his part of the crossover. Not having read the other two parts, I'm not quite sure why Alexis is so enraged about something that happened to her ancestor a good 15 decades earlier, but all in all this was a strong story and a big improvement over some past efforts in the Buffy comic.

Notes

* In-house ads indicate a new writing team will take over starting next issue.

* Here's a shot of poor Riley in the final panel of the comic, sitting alone and reading that great work of scholarship, Cliff's History. Don't worry dude, Buffy kept her hands off Angel. Mostly.

* The solicitations for this issue state that "After the dust settles, the lives of Buffy and Angel will never be the same." Okay . . .

NFL 2011 Week 16 Round-Up

2011-12-28T00:07:00.002-05:00

Just one week in the regular season and then the playoffs left, and The Wife and I are still fighting to not be in last place!

Texans @ Colts

------------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Colts

Steve: Texans

WINNER: Colts (I just don't see the Texans going far in the playoffs . . .)

Raiders @ Chiefs

------------------------

The Wife: Raiders

Me: Chiefs

Steve: Raiders

WINNER: Raiders

Jaguars @ Titans

----------------------

The Wife: Jaguars

Me: Titans

Steve: Jaguars

WINNER: Titans

Dolphins @ Patriots

--------------------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots

Steve: Patriots

WINNER: Patriots

Cardinals @ Bengals

--------------------------

The Wife: Bengals

Me: Cardinals

Steve: Cardinals

WINNER: Bengals

Broncos @ Bills

----------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Broncos

Steve: Broncos

WINNER: Bills (sets up a fun Tebow vs. Orton showdown next week . . .)

Rams @ Steelers

----------------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers

Steve: Steelers

WINNER: Steelers (did anyone foresee the Rams being this bad this year?)

Giants @ Jets

-------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Jets

Steve: Jets

WINNER: Giants

Vikings @ Redskins

--------------------------

The Wife: Redskins

Me: Redskins

Steve: Redskins

WINNER: Vikings

Bucs @ Panthers

---------------------

The Wife: Panthers

Me: Panthers

Steve: Panthers

WINNER: Panthers (going to be in contention in the division next year)

Browns @ Ravens

------------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens

Steve: Ravens

WINNER: Ravens

Chargers @ Lions

-----------------------

The Wife: Chargers

Me: Chargers

Steve: Chargers

WINNER: Lions

Eagles @ Cowboys

-------------------------

The Wife: Cowboys

Me: Cowboys

Steve: Eagles

WINNER: Eagles

49ers @ Seahawks

-----------------------

The Wife: 49ers

Me: 49ers

Steve: 49ers

WINNER: 49ers

Bears @ Packers

----------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Packers

Steve: Packers

WINNER: Packers

Falcons @ Saints

----------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints

WINNER: Saints (Brees deserves all the hoopla setting that passing record brings him)

THIS WEEK

The Wife: 10-6

Me: 9-7

Steve: 9-7

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 143-100

Me: 143-100

Steve: 154-89

The Clockwork Man [Games]

2011-12-24T00:15:00.002-05:00

SPECIAL JOINT REVIEW!

The Wife and I are going to review The Clockwork Man, a short puzzle game we recently downloaded and finished on our Mac.

The Wife: I love playing puzzle games with you - it's a great way to get some quality time - and since the games usually aren't that intellectually challenging, we end up feeling like geniuses. This game was decent - pretty standard as far as the puzzles went, but with some interesting twists. What did you think of the different puzzle types?

Jhaeman: Well, most of it was standard seek-and-find puzzles, with a twist: some of the scenes could be scrolled left to right or zoomed in and out. Kinda neat. I actually quite enjoyed the end, as some brainwork was involved in solving the "ancient Mayan puzzles" which were just difficult enough to, as you said, make us feel like geniuses when we solved them. What did you think of the quasi-steampunk setting and characters?

The Wife: Meh. Didn't communicate much flavour to me, other than her little robot sidekick. I didn't feel like we got as much "character development" as we did in say "Berlin Nights" - which managed to actually be a bit risque. Or maybe that was just us. Anyway, story aside, I agree with you about MOST of the end puzzles. The Mayan Door puzzle was good, but the labyrinth was stale and not challenging at all. ........Interested in downloading the sequel?

Jhaeman: Yep, as long as it's reasonably cheap.

The Wife: Cheap is good. Let's keep the Boomer in diapers.

NFL 2011 Week 16 Predictions

2011-12-23T17:00:00.003-05:00

The Wife hacked an earlier version of this post, so whilst everything she said is true, she's in big trouble! Now, on to Week 16 . . .

Texans @ Colts

------------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Colts

Steve: Texans ("While tempted to pick Indy again here they got their 1 win of the season last week so I'd be pushing my luck...")

Raiders @ Chiefs

------------------------

The Wife: Raiders

Me: Chiefs (on the theory that Romeo Crennel's defense may be stifling . . .)

Steve: Raiders ("KC ruined GBs perfect season but they won't build on it.")

Jaguars @ Titans

----------------------

The Wife: Jaguars

Me: Titans (now or never . . .)

Steve: Jaguars ("Two teams that don't impress me. Don't really know who to give the edge to here, so I'll go with the team that has the big win a couple weeks ago.")

Dolphins @ Patriots

--------------------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots

Steve: Patriots ("While Miami has definitely turned things around, they won't beat a superior team in New England")

Cardinals @ Bengals

--------------------------

The Wife: Bengals

Me: Cardinals (who woulda thunk Skelton would have this team in playoff contention?)

Steve: Cardinals ("Another one that could go either way, I almost chose Cincy but I think Atlanta plays better than last week."

Broncos @ Bills

----------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Broncos

Steve: Broncos ("I hate to say it, but I think Denver completes the turnaround and after a horrid start wins the division.")

Rams @ Steelers

----------------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers (even starting their backup QB, the Steelers get the nod)

Steve: Steelers

Giants @ Jets

-------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Jets (an interesting match-up here . . .)

Steve: Jets ("The Jets win the battle of New York")

Vikings @ Redskins

--------------------------

The Wife: Redskins

Me: Redskins

Steve: Redskins ("Two teams that haven't really done anything to impress me, but Washington and Helu run over Minnesota.")

Bucs @ Panthers

---------------------

The Wife: Panthers

Me: Panthers

Steve: Panthers

Browns @ Ravens

------------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens (Boo!)

Steve: Ravens ("Baltimore got crushed by the Chargers, but the Browns are not the Chargers and Baltimore will play better.")

Chargers @ Lions

-----------------------

The Wife: Chargers

Me: Chargers

Steve: Chargers ("Detroit may yet miss the playoffs and San Diego is playing better as the season goes on. For the record I'm rooting for the Lions, and my $20 bet that they would have a better record than the Broncos made before the season, and that looked so good 5 weeks in, really isn't looking great right now.")

Eagles @ Cowboys

-------------------------

The Wife: Cowboys

Me: Cowboys

Steve: Eagles ("Two teams that should be better, the coin flip came up Philly...")

49ers @ Seahawks

-----------------------

The Wife: 49ers

Me: 49ers

Steve: 49ers ("I haven't given San Francisco much credit this year, and writing this before the game against Pitt I could be swayed either way by their performance tonight, but against Seattle I think they come away with the win and only getting embarressed by the Steelers would change that answer for me.")

Bears @ Packers

----------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Packers

Steve: Packers ("Overlooking KC for this game is what I believe happened this past week, however they'll take out the lost perfect season on the Bears.")

Falcons @ Saints

----------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints ("Brees will follow up a good week with another good week and win this one handily.")

Fantasy Football 2011 Playoffs Round 1

2011-12-23T16:51:00.003-05:00

Well, an amazing run like mine had to end sooner or later, and I got beat down pretty badly in the first round of the playoffs by the # 4 seed (a 7-6 team that just edged into the top bracket). It was a blowout even after the first week of the two-week round, and the final score was a somewhat embarrassing 244-158. My only consolation was that even if I had put up my best numbers of the season in each week (a little over 100), I still would have lost against a team that averaged an amazing 122 points each week.

The loss drops me to the Winner's Consolation Bracket, where I'll go up against The Wife's team for the third time this season, as we battle it out to be ranked # 3 in the ten team league.

TRANSACTIONS (244 POINTS)

WEEK 14 (131 Points)

QB T. Romo: 28

RB R. Rice: 18

RB M. Lynch: 17

RB/WR R. Mathews: 14

WR R. White: 14

WR L. Fitzgerald: 20

TE J. Finley: 0

D/ST Bengals: 10

K Jason Hanson: 10

WEEK 15 (113 Points)

QB T. Romo: 25

RB R. Rice: 10

RB S. Greene: 7

RB/WR R. Mathews: 22

WR R. White: 25

WR L. Fitzgerald: 6

TE J. Finley: 8

D/ST Bengals: 6

K J. Hanson: 4

ULTIMATE SUN RUNNERS (158 Points)

WEEK 14 (79 Points)

QB T. Tebow: 13

RB A. Foster: 5

RB D. Murray: 2

RB/WR D. Sproles: 8

WR D. Branch: 0

WR V. Cruz: 7

TE R. Gronkowski: 28

D/ST Jets: 14

K S. Janikowski: 2

WEEK 15 (79 Points)

QB T. Tebow: 26

RB A. Foster: 19

RB M. Barber: 3

RB/WR J. Jones: 1

WR V. Cruz: 4

WR A. Brown: 5

TE R. Gronkowski: 5

D/ST Jets: 5

K S. Janikowski: 11

NFL 2011 Week 15 Round-Up

2011-12-22T15:10:00.002-05:00

Steve runs away with it this week, and, barring a total collapse, better start thinking of what blog post he'd like to see . . .

Jax @ Atl
-------------
The Wife: Atl
Me: Atl
Steve: Atl
WINNER: Falcons

Dal @ TB
-------------
The Wife: Cowboys
Me: Dal
Steve: Dal
WINNER: Cowboys

Car @ Hou
--------------
The Wife: Texans
Me: Car
Steve: Hou
WINNER: Panthers

Wash @ NYG
-------------------
The Wife: Giants
Me: NYG
Steve: NYG
WINNER: Redskins

Mia @ Buf
---------------
The Wife: Bills
Me: Buf
Steve: Mia
WINNER: Dolphins (Bush is looking pretty good, I must admit)

Sea @ Chi
--------------
The Wife: Bears
Me: Sea
Steve: Sea
WINNER: Seahawks

NO @ Minn
----------------
The Wife: Saints
Me: NO
Steve: NO
WINNER: Saints

Cin @ StL
--------------
The Wife: Bengals
Me: Cin
Steve: Cin
WINNER: Bengals

Tenn @ Indy
-----------------
The Wife: Titans
Me: Tenn
Steve: Indy
WINNER: Colts (Steve's faith pays off finally!)

GB @ KC
--------------
The Wife: Packers
Me: GB
Steve: GB
WINNER: Chiefs (huh?)

Det @ Oak
--------------
The Wife: Raiders
Me: Oak
Steve: Det
WINNER: Lions (would make an interesting wild card team)

NE @ Den
---------------
The Wife: Patriots
Me: NE
Steve: NE
WINNER: Patriots (they got shredded in the first qtr, but Denver fumbles turned this one into a rout)

NYJ @ Phi
--------------
The Wife: Jets
Me: NYJ
Steve: Phi
WINNER: Eagles

Cle @ Ari
-------------
The Wife: Cardinals
Me: Ari
Steve: Ari
WINNER: Cardinals (well, there's always next year . . .)

Balt @ SD
---------------
The Wife: Ravens
Me: Balt
Steve: SD
WINNER: Chargers

Pitt @ SF
------------
The Wife: Steelers
Me: Pitt
Steve: Pitt
WINNER: 49ers (could they be for real?)

THIS WEEK
The Wife: 6-10
Me: 8-8
Steve: 12-4

CUMULATIVE
The Wife: 133-94
Me: 134-93
Steve: 145-82

Bel Sekand, Dashing Crimelord [Clone Wars Campaign]

2011-12-19T00:35:00.003-05:00

Bel Sekand was a fun NPC originally created by The Wife and later run as a PC by the player who normally ran A'tel. Sekand was a charming, somewhat foppish crimelord on the planet Ansion, serving as a Black Sun Vigo over that remote region of the galaxy. In his first appearance, Sekand was responsible for the kidnapping of Arresta and her designation as the "grand prize" in a public competition. After Arresta's rescue, the campaign moved on from Ansion and Sekand wasn't seen for quite some time. As a special gift, Stefan Cassadine set up an opportunity for Arresta to murder Sekand, but the couple settled for humiliating him instead. However, Sekand returned with aplomb as the new beau to Arresta's sister, Corrinne, in what quickly became apparent was revenge on Stefan for these earlier slights.

As a PC during the "Return to Mongui" story arc, Bel Sekand was excellently role-played and became quite a memorable character. He went down in a blaze of glory trying to outwit a Purity First capital ship in his yacht: a critical hit by a full broadside of the larger ship's turbolaser batteries provided the dramatic ending to Sekand's roguish life.

Though odd rumors persist that he somehow survived . . .

---------------------

Bel Sekand

Male Human Noble 7/Crimelord 3

Str +0, Dex +2, Con +0, Int +3, Wis +2, Cha +4

Hit Points: 48, Damage Threshold: 20

Defenses (add 10 if not using house rules): Fort +11, Ref +15, Will +17

Base Attack: 7

Skills: Acrobatics +7, Climb +5, Deception +14, Endurance +7, Gather Info +14, Initiative +12, Jump +5, Knowledge: Criminal +13, Mechanics +8, Perception +12, Persuasion +14, Pilot +12, Ride +12, Stealth +7, Survival +7, Swim +5, Treat Injury +7, Use Computer +13

Languages: Basic, Huttese, Mando'a, Ryl, Lekku

Talents: Connections, Wealth, Educated, Spontaneous Skill, Dastardly Strike, Disruptive, Attract Minion

Feats: Linguist, WP: Simple, WP: Pistol, Weapon Finesse, Exotic Weapon Prof (amphistaff), Melee Defense, Improved Defenses, Knack

Background/Bio

You were born on the mid-rim planet on Ansion. A planet of wide plains dotted with cities and villages, Ansion is considered an out-of-the-way, backwater world. It has remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone War, and experienced a brief period of military importance when a strange “anomaly” kept prevented ships from leaving the system and stopped all communication. That anomaly has since vanished.

You were educated off-planet and returned to Ansion to find yourself too big a fish for this small pond. The type of student who achieved decent grade without having to study, you spent your time amassing an extensive social network and beginning the various entrepreneurial activities that would form the foundation of your criminal enterprise.

There are few crimes you have never dabbled in, but your tastes run to those activities that are colourful, flashy – attention-getting. You have lived life for so long with multiple out-standing warrants – as well as an outstanding contract on your head from the Assassin’s Guild – that it has now become a source of pride.

Unknown to most, you are the Black Sun Vigo for that sector of the galaxy. You make your homeworld on remote Ansion for both safety and cover, but you have contacts on several key planets—for example, on Coruscant your interests are represented by a Bith barrister named Hyek Laruse.

The Tournament

Several years ago you were spending some time on Ansion, avoiding several outstanding “legal” issues on other worlds. You were amusing yourself with an “entertainment” business. You ran a series of life and death tournaments, offering real life and death for the amusement of the holovid masses. For those involved, the risk was off-set with handsome rewards – including piles of credits and captured slave girls.

Just in time for the tournament’s main event, your “talent scouts” picked up a blonde human woman that a quick check revealed to be a Princess from some tiny world called Mongui. Although she was beautiful, your intuition said that there was more going on there than a pretty face, as she killed two guards and it took four more to subdue her. She was clearly a handful – perfect for the type of adventurers your tournaments attract. You advertised her as the main prize.

The winners, who really ran away with the tournament, were an unusual trio – a Duro, a droid and a young Jedi Padawan who were obviously no strangers to the Princess. It was odd to see a Padawan wandering around with no Master – and stranger to still to see a member of the famously chaste Jedi Order looking at the Princess the way any young man would look at a girl he desired. Your curiosity was piqued.

Leverage

You realized the young Jedi who had helped rescue the Princess could be a useful tool in fulfilling some of your business obligations. A quick check revealed that Tarn Tamarand’s sister was in heavy debt with a Hutt. You promised Tamarand to help extricate her from that situation, in exchange for his help with a future task and he agreed.

When Tamarand and his friends made it back to Coruscant, he was called on to capture the Rodian Assassin Greesh Leedo. He botched the first attempt, but did eventually manage to bring him in. After Tarn turned over information to you about the existence and his experiences inside the anomaly, you arranged for his sister’s debt to be cancelled. You kept an eye on the situation and your sources informed you that Tarn and Arresta had begun an affair, one that received much tabloid attention….

New Connections

Some months later, you were surprised to learn that your former captive was now the wife of Stefan Cassadine – a “business rival” you have had several run-ins with in the past. But, that isn’t what makes the news you hear is so delicious – Stefan’s bride had disappeared, along with a certain Jedi Padawan, and her husband went on a rampage to find her. Over the next two years, you are amused to see Cassadine continue searching for his wife – and doing violence to anyone who implies she left him for another, younger man. His wife (and her presumed lover) are clearly Stefan’s Achilles heal…one that requires only the right opportunity to be taken advantage of.

Just a few months ago, your sources inform you that Arresta Cassadine has returned and that she and Stefan have welcomed a baby girl. Interestingly enough, Jedi Tarn Tamarand also returned to the Jedi temple, at least for a short time. As yet, Stefan Cassadine has no idea that you have any knowledge or influence with his hated romantic rival…..

Recently, you had a run-in with Arresta and Stefan Cassadine on a pleasure cruise that ended with your arrest. After easily arranging for the subsequent charges against you to be dropped, you decided to have a little fun (and a little revenge) by tracking down Stefan’s sister-in-law, Corinne D’avilos, former ruler of Mongui. You arranged to “bump into” Corinne at a resort and quickly seduced her. Although now Corinne realizes you’re not exactly who you said she was, you expertly played the two sisters against one another to the point that Corinne is more devoted to you than ever. You even went so far as to inquire from Kordo Desillich, Hutt slavemaster, whether you could buy Corinne’s true love, Miklos and have him killed. Kordo, through his majordomo, replied that another buyer is interested in Miklos and suggests you come personally to bid in the auction.

In addition to toying with Stefan and his family, you’ve become interested recently in tracking down more information about this anomaly that Tarn Tamarand told you about—it could be the source of very valuable information you could sell throughout the galaxy. Althoughs several of your inside sources have mysteriously disappeared, all signs point to a major undertaking (the purchase of a fleet of freighters, the purchase of a slave crew of Republic technicians, some sort of biological and physical research program) launched by a woman named Jocasta (whom you know to have some sort of relationship with Stefan Cassadine), centered around the planet Etti IV in the Corporate Sector. You’re considering paying the Etti IV facility a visit (with a cadre of your best armed men, just in case) in order to see the looks on their faces when they realize you know about their “secret” project.

------------------------------------------

Return to Clone Wars Campaign Page

NFL 2011 Week 15 Predictions

2011-12-17T20:06:00.003-05:00

Jax @ Atl

-------------

The Wife: Atl

Me: Atl

Steve: Atl ("Jacksonville shocked the hell out of me last week, but won't do it again.")

Dal @ TB

-------------

The Wife: Cowboys

Me: Dal

Steve: Dal ("Dallas let last week's game slip through their fingers but TB looked awful.")

Car @ Hou

--------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Car (I like Yates, but I think Newton puts up enough points to win)

Steve: Hou

Wash @ NYG

-------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: NYG

Steve: NYG ("This is another game that I could see going either way but homefield and the comeback last week ... edge to New York. Do like what Husker Helu has been doing though.")

Mia @ Buf

---------------

The Wife: Bills

Me: Buf (really have no idea here . . .)

Steve: Mia ("Miami has really turned things around, and while not a great team Buffalo isn't either.")

Sea @ Chi

--------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Sea (Lynch provides enough offense . . .)

Steve: Sea ("Chicago beat themselves last week, this week Seattle does it for them.")

NO @ Minn

----------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: NO (blow-out on the horizon . . .)

Steve: NO ("I could see Minnesota pulling this one out, so if Brees struggles in this one I'll expect to be wrong here.")

Cin @ StL

--------------

The Wife: Bengals

Me: Cin (Bengals on the very edge of realistic playoff elimination . . .)

Steve: Cin ("Though Cincy failed to prove they were a contender when you called them out a while back, this isn't a strong team they face.")

Tenn @ Indy

-----------------

The Wife: Titans

Me: Tenn

Steve: Indy ("I maintain that Indy will win 1 game this year, and while this might not be it I'm stubborn.")

GB @ KC

--------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: GB (sold on perfect regular season as well, can't wait to see them against some good teams in the playoffs)

Steve: GB (Detroit might be the one to ruin 16-0, but I'm pretty sold on a perfect record this year.)

Det @ Oak

--------------

The Wife: Raiders

Me: Oak (not sure why, but I need to make up a game here and there . . .))

Steve: Det ("Detroit should overpower Oakland even with a poor running game.")

NE @ Den

---------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: NE (Brady & Pats won't make big 4th QTR mistakes . . .)

Steve: NE ("If Denver pulls this off may as well give them the Super Bowl because they'll have proven divine intervention on their side...")

NYJ @ Phi

--------------

The Wife: Jets

Me: NYJ (Jets are looking solid, if not spectacular)

Steve: Phi ("May go either way ... not that I care for either one.")

Cle @ Ari

-------------

The Wife: Cardinals

Me: Ari (hate to say it . . .)

Steve: Ari ("Think Cleveland could use a game against a weaker opponent? I do too ... and while Arizona is one, to go weaker than Cleveland this year you might have to check the local high schools. :-P ")

Balt @ SD

---------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Balt

Steve: SD ("The Chargers edge out the Ravens in a low scoring affair.")

Pitt @ SF

------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Pitt (who's he kidding? Rothlesberger will end up playing . . .)

Steve: Pitt ("Pretty sad really that given I was a '9ers fan (and still am to an extent) for so long that I would pick against them so many times this year.")

Gamma World: Trouble in Freesboro [RPG]

2011-12-16T16:48:00.003-05:00

With our weekly Forgotten Realms campaign session understandably cancelled last night due to holiday festivities, The Wife, Scurvy Ron, and myself decided to instead try out Gamma World for the first time. I had bought the box set months ago as much out of curiosity as anything else, as I'd never played or directed a post-apocalyptic game before. When I bought the set, the store gave me a free copy of the Trouble in Freesboro module.

The eponymous Freesboro is the PCs' home village in the module, but since it's barely detailed at all (only the Mayor is mentioned before the PCs are set off on their quest), I changed the setting to add a little more flavour for my players. Their characters became members of the Eatonite tribe, a hardy band of survivors that defended their settlement, Eaton Steadfast, against jealous rival tribes. Eaton Steadfast is a massive structure built by the Ancients for an unknown purpose, but it remained relatively intact during The Big Mistake. Surrounded as far as any tribes-member has ever ventured and returned by a concrete wasteland, Eaton Steadfast offers a direct southerly view of the great, mysterious Tower of the Ancients, which legend has it is stocked with their greatest secrets.

The session began with the Eatonites waking up to a strange sound, as a strange flying chariot circled near the settlement and then landed some distance away, giving up a plume of black smoke. Boss-Leader Thomspoon (hereditary possessor of the token of rulership containing the mystical inscription "Mall Security") summoned the Great Divine Oracle, a device of the ancients, in which numbered white balls emanated to provide the answer to questions. When Boss-Leader Thompspoon asked it to designate which members of the tribe should go on a holy quest to obtain this flying chariot, the PCs were naturally called!

With just two players, I was a little worried that they might be underpowered in a module designed for 4 to 5. I had each of them play one level 2 PC and one level 1 PC, which may have overpowered them a tad, but not greatly. The four PCs (rolled completely randomly, as directed) consisted of:

Slate, a Cockroach Seismic;

Bolt, a Cockroach Felinoid;

Beeper, a Radioactive Rat Swarm (my favorite of the bunch, as The Wife described him as being comprised of lego blocks); and

Madge, a Pyrokinetic Radioactive

The four PCs set off and made fairly quick work of the first encounter in the module, destroying five Porkers and a Blood Bird Flock thanks to some awesome Omega Tech and Alpha Mutation cards. These two decks, and their inherent randomness, proved to be one of the favorite parts of the games for my players, as they liked getting something new every encounter.

When they reached the building east of Eaton Steadfast where the flying chariot had been seen landing (in the deserted region known as Stmikals), the PCs completely departed from module script. Instead of either going in through the garage or the first floor doors and then working their way up the interior of the building, my PCs climbed the outer walls and thus avoided all the planned encounters! (the two cockroach characters could climb automatically, one of the PCs had an applicable Alpha Mutation card, and the fourth had a Climber's Kit and help). After securing the rooftop from the lone Hoop guard, the PCs barricaded the rooftop access door and sent the signal for an Eatonite recovery team (consisting of a gravity controller). The module's main bad guy, Boss Tangh, eventually managed to bust through the door with his cohort to provide a final challenge, though the PCs had some amazing tactics and rolls and managed to quickly render him prone, deafened, blinded, and (for one round) immobilized, all at the same time! Boss Tangh only got one attack off before he was knocked to 0 points, and on that he rolled a natural 1. Suffice it to say, it wasn't the bad guys' day, and they retreated, carrying the unconscious Boss Tangh with them (after swearing eternal revenge on the Eatonites).

All in all, it was a quite fun 2 1/2 hours. I can't speak much to the quality of the module, since my PCs avoided most of the planned encounters. Everyone seemed to have fun with the quirky, somewhat silly setting and I think it'll be easy to talk them into trying it again sometime.

NFL 2011 Week 14 Round-Up

2011-12-14T18:53:00.005-05:00

Steve maintains a six game lead with just three weeks and the playoffs left . . .

Browns @ Steelers

----------------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers

Steve: Steelers

WINNER: Steelers (I'll give McCoy one more year to show he's worth being a franchise QB)

Chiefs @ Jets

----------------

The Wife: Jets

Me: Jets

Steve: Jets

WINNER: Jets

Bucs @ Jags

--------------

The Wife: Bucs

Me: Bucs

Steve: Bucs

WINNER: Jags (when the Jaguars put up 40+ on you, you know there's something really wrong with your team)

Patriots @ Redskins

-----------------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots

Steve: Patriots

WINNER: Patriots

Falcons @ Panthers

-----------------------

The Wife: Falcons

Me: Panthers

Steve: Falcons

WINNER: Falcons (if the Panthers improved on defense next year, they could be quite a good team)

Colts @ Ravens

---------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens

Steve: Ravens

WINNER: Ravens

Eagles @ Dolphins

---------------------

The Wife: Eagles

Me: Dolphins

Steve: Eagles

WINNER: Eagles

Vikings @ Lions

--------------------

The Wife: Lions

Me: Lions

Steve: Lions

WINNER: Lions (Webb made things interesting . . .)

Saints @ Titans

------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints

WINNER: Saints (Locker looked decent, but hopefully Hasselbeck will be back soon)

Texans @ Bengals

----------------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Bengals

Steve: Bengals

WINNER: Texans (nice, gutsy win)

Bears @ Broncos

-------------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Broncos

Steve: Bears

WINNER: Broncos (the only explanation that fits all available evidence is that, this year, God is a Broncos fan)

49ers @ Cardinals

----------------------

The Wife: 49ers

Me: 49ers

Steve: 49ers

WINNER: Cardinals

Bills @ Chargers

---------------------

The Wife: Chargers

Me: Chargers

Steve: Chargers

WINNER: Chargers

Raiders @ Packers

----------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Packers

Steve: Packers

WINNER: Packers

Giants @ Cowboys

---------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Giants

Steve: Cowboys

WINNER: Giants

Rams @ Seahawks

----------------------

The Wife: Seahawks

Me: Seahawks

Steve: Seahawks

WINNER: Seahawks (both the Cardinals and Seahawks have started playing decent football lately, but it's too late for it to matter)

THIS WEEK

The Wife: 13-3

Me: 11-5

Steve: 11-5

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 127-84

Me: 126-85

Steve: 133-78

Clone Wars Campaign: Session # 50 Recap

2011-12-09T22:40:00.005-05:00

It took some clever and subtle maneuvering and adventure hooking, but I succeeded in getting some PCs to Coruscant on A.G. 1067, just days before the big Battle of Coruscant, the institution of Order 66, and the official end of the Clone Wars. I had some big plans in store for those events (which, as I'll talk about in a future post, never came to fruition), but in the meantime there was plenty of adventure to be hand. This session saw the PCs hunted by a Republic black-ops team for mysterious reasons and fleeing to the Hapan Consulate for sanctuary. I was inspired to do something with the Hapes Consortium after reading The Courtship of Princess Leia, and it seemed a logical alternative place for the Cassadines to try to flee to in order to escape the Republic. After doing some research online, it became clear to me just how restrictive the Consortium is about allowing outsiders, so I made the immigration process an extraordinarily difficult and time-consuming affair.

The battle in and around the Consulate was quite exciting, as it had all sorts of dramatic stuff: Doxen rolling a natural 1 on his Hide check and being spotted (something that pretty much never happened); Jasper making a mad-dash for The Gentle Lover and almost being shot dead on the spot; and the big escape scene where The Gentle Lover crashes into the front of the Consulate and lowers its ramp so everyone can get on board. The running battle between the freighter and the Republic gunships was a great capstone to the whole scene, as the freighter was forced to crash-land on a major tourist area and its passengers blend into the crowd to escape. I did a lot of skimming of Wookiepedia in order to bring all sorts of Coruscant flavor into the session: Monument Plaza, Chin-Bret, monads, named starports, etc. I don't think any of the players noticed or cared, but I always like making the campaign feel as close as possible to "real" Star Wars as incarnated in the Expanded Universe.

After Array's coldblooded carjacking murder on Mongui and A'tel's coldblooded murder of a Sun Runner on the planet of the Altered, the next memorable "what the hell?" moment came this session when Doxen eviscerated a wussy would-be gang "tough" who was trying to rob them. Arresta used her almost limitless reserves of wealth to buy their way out of the situation, but it was a good reminder to the players just how powerful they were now compared to "normal" people.

Importantly, this session sees Arresta coming clean with Stefan about everything that happened regarding Tarn and the voyage to the planet of the Altered. Some great role-playing here set the stage for a dramatic confrontation between Stefan and Tarn (and Creen!) in a future session.

----------------------------------

Session # 50

Within days, the Republic will become an Empire, and for the first time in thousands of years the Sith will once again rule the Galaxy. Palpatine’s labyrinthine machinations have engineered the largest war ever seen and resulted in the deaths of millions. Soon his secretly constructed Star Destroyers will appear, his hand-chosen leaders will govern a thousand star systems, and the Jedi Order will be exterminated. And the beginning of the end will take part on a planet called Coruscant.

Now in hyperspace on the way to Coruscant, Doxen turns his attention to security arrangements. He works with Jasper to alter the passenger and crew manifests to reflect that he is a second Jawa crewman named Klik-Klik. Following a similar line of thinking Arresta Cassadine consults with the bodyguard Xam to see what security protocols Stefan has left for them to follow. She too has the manifest altered to reflect false IDs for herself and Allegra. Stefan’s protocols indicate that they should send the false manifest to Coruscant ground control and indicate they are landing at a private pad. Jasper will indicate he intends a high altitude fly-over to show his passengers views of the city planet. Then, if they aren’t followed, they will land at the abandoned Newport landing terminal before travelling overland to the Elite Hotel and leaving a message for Mr. “Nichols Stefanovich.” Arresta and Doxen have a quick chat about Stefan and Tarn. Arresta says that she thinks Tarn will quickly lose interest in her and Allegra again, since that is what happened before.

[A.G. 1067]

Shortly before the ship drops out of hyperspace, Doxen’s instincts tell him that their tampering with the manifest will not work. He and his friends hide their weaponry and he switches places with Kako. Sure enough, Coruscant ground control sees an issue with the crew manifest. Jasper begins to make a run for it, but Arresta and Doxen intervene and decide to try to bluff their way through. After landing, Doxen and Kako succeed in fast-talking the officer in charge and after a search, he advises Jasper that they are free to go. The team then follows the plan. Jasper drops off his passengers at Newport and heads to Republic City to find a docking bay to await further instructions.

Doxen, Arresta, Allegra, Xam and the Nanny Droid slowly make their way out of a run-down ghetto in the abandoned docking area. When they approach two youths about getting them an air car, Doxen gets into an altercation that turns deadly: one of the toughs attempts to hit Doxen with a lead pipe and, in response, the Ewok guts him. His friend runs off, horrified. Arresta is taken aback, as is Doxen--he admits to her that after so long fighting difficult opponents he has become accustomed to reacting with deadly force and over-estimated the danger that the hoodlum presented. Finally, they reach an outlying area where they can call for an air taxi. Suddenly though, they are surrounded by the gang that the dead youth belonged to. Although shots are fired and Doxen prepares to fight, Arresta steps in. She offers the leader of the gang a bribe to ‘compensate him for the unfortunate accident which cost him his cousin’. Greed overcomes loyalty and the gang-leader agrees.

Meanwhile, as Jasper and Kako find a landing bay for the ship, they discuss their most recent passengers. Jasper admits that they are ‘scary people’ that he doesn’t want to cross – but he does like their money. Later, a technician arrives to complete an inspection. Though Jasper and Kako both watch her closely, she is able to introduce some spyware into their system. They are able to contain it, but cannot track it back to the source. Jasper contacts Doxen and warns him that someone is looking into their whereabouts.

After arriving at the Elite, Doxen observes that they are being watched and he fades into the shadows to try to learn the reason. Arresta obtains an update from her intelligence network and learns that, although the Coruscanti Judicials have no knowledge that she and her friends are wanted by the GAR, a special black ops team has been dispatched to bring them in – including A’tel. Checking in, Arresta leaves a message for “Mr. Stefanovich” advising that she would be pleased to renew their acquaintance, but warning him to avoid the valet service at the hotel (which she believes has been compromised).

Doxen stalks the valet who has caught his attention and though he is able to remain out of sight, he doesn’t pick up any useful information. He then has to contact Arresta when hotel security is reluctant to allow the “Jawa” to move freely throughout the high-class hotel. When he joins the others in the expansive multi-room suite that Arresta has rented, they engage in some quick security measures and strategizing. Finally, late into the night, a blue-protocol droid arrives bearing a message from Mr. Stefanovich: He requests that they join him the following night to witness the Chin-Bret match at T’Chk arena. They decide to proceed, but as a precaution, Arresta plans to purchase additional tickets so that they can observe the box seats and make sure it is safe. She also purchases tickets for Jasper and Kako. For his part, Jasper seems eager to take in the popular sporting event.

[A.G. 1068]

The next day, Doxen and Arresta go shopping: for weapons and new clothes, respectively. Doxen wonders why the G.A.R. would devote scarce resources to hunting down suspects for a possible war crime on a minor planet like Mongui, but no answers are forthcoming. Jasper and Kako, on the other hand, are approached by mysterious figures who try to intimidate them into giving up information about the Cassadines. The two are allowed to depart with a warning, and try to send a coded message to Arresta—but the Princess is unable to decipher it.

That night, outside the Elite, Arresta is surprised when The Gentle Lover suddenly appears overhead and Jasper shouts that she and the others should come on-board because their cover is blown. Everyone scrambles aboard except for Doxen, who jumps into an air taxi and agrees to meet up at the arena. Arresta informs Jasper that they must continue on to the arena because if this is a trap, her husband could be walking right into it. Doxen arrives at the stadium and, after a quick conversation with a guard in which he is mistaken for a company “mystery-shopper” he slips inside. He begins the near impossible task of searching for Stefan Cassadine in the crowd of thousands.

Arresta bribes her way to the front of the long-line at the “will-call” ticket booth and makes her way inside. Since she is unable to use the stadium broadcast system to her advantage, she decides to risk going to her assigned seat. She speaks to Doxen and asks him to watch and see who approaches. Finally, after a tense twenty minutes she is joined by her husband. “Hello Pet – I missed you.” She breaks the news that they are in deep trouble. Stefan suggests that Doxen create a diversion and that they all rendezvous at the Hapan Consulate, the nearest safe haven available. Doxen shoots out the support holding up a large banner and it creates a stir, allowing the others to make a run for it.

Stefan and Arresta briefly encounter some of the men who had been watching the hotel, but chance works in their favour, as the would-be assailant trips and they are able to get away. They hop into an air car and catch up with The Gentle Lover, but two Republic gunships pursue them closely. Kako is able to return fire and forces one of the gunships to veer into traffic, but the other stays close. Arriving at Embassy Row Megablock, The Gentle Lover makes a forced landing on top of several parked air cars, and everyone runs for the Hapan Consulate. The gunship fires at them and though Xam and Stefan take minor injuries, they all make it inside.

Inside, the unimpressed secretary recognizes Stefan and after a few moments, he, Arresta and Allegra are allowed entry into the third of the Consulate’s nine “circles” to continue their immigration process. Xam, Jasper, and Kako remain stuck in the first level, and without knowledge of Hapan language and customs are advised that they are unlikely to make it any further. The Cassadines are likewise stuck, though they may be able to eventually proceed further thanks to the tutoring Stefan has been receiving from a blue protocol droid.

Jasper engages in serious flirting with the secretary and, seemingly in spite of herself, she is receptive to his charms. She suggests that he book lessons with the protocol droid that has just arrived and attempt to see if he can pass the tests needed to enter the Consortium. But when the droid arrives, Jasper has other plans: while he distracts the Secretary, Kako will try to reprogram the droid to enter The Gentle Lover and pilot it to the doorway so they can attempt escape.

Meanwhile, Doxen has slowly made his way to Embassy Row and taken up position on a roof-top that overlooks the Hapan Consulate. He sees that a black ops team has set guards to watch the exit, which they are apparently loathe to breach for fear of causing a diplomatic incident. One of the soldiers comes forward and stops at the door to the Consulate. He speaks to Jasper and tells him to pass on a message to Stefan Cassadine they he and the others had better turn themselves in “before things get worse.”.

When he leaves the building, Doxen suddenly begins to lay down sniper fire. Some glint of sunlight echoing off of his rifle briefly gives away Doxen’s position and the sniper suddenly finds that he is the target. Taking advantage of the chaos, Jasper runs from the embassy towards his ship – only to be shot at. However, despite taking three blaster bolts, he is saved when the soldiers turn their attention to Doxen. With this diversion, Jasper scrambles onto his ship and uses it as a battering ram to knock the soldiers off of their feet. He then quickly picks up a fleeing Kako.

In a desperate bid to escape, Jasper crashes his ship into the front door of the Consulate and lowers the ship’s landing ramp. He contacts Arresta and tells her that if she wants out of the embassy, this is her chance. Although Stefan is sceptical, Arresta convinces him there’s no way they can stay in the Consulate for weeks or months. Along with Allegra, Xam, and the Nanny droid, they dash aboard The Gentle Lover. Pursued by the G.A.R. gunship, the freighter is forced to make an emergency landing at Monument Plaza, scattering tourists. The freighter’s crew and passengers disperse into the crowd and hire separate air cars to take them to Stefan Cassadine’s safehouse: a suite in Magra Monad, a massive spire thousands of kilometres away from Republic City.

As their Air Taxi pulls away from the others, Stefan and Arresta Cassadine are at last alone, with the exception of their infant daughter. Once the privacy screen is activated, isolating them from the driver, they are finally able to greet one another properly. When they come up for air, Stefan is pleased to see his wife, though frustrated that the attack by the GAR has effectively ruined his plans to move the family to the Hapes Consortium. He tells his wife that they will likely need to head for the Centrality as soon as possible to continue with their plans to leave the Republic and its interminable war.

Arresta hesitates and then abruptly changes the subject to ask after the crippling headaches that he had hidden from her on Etti IV. Stefan assures her that they have all but disappeared. He apologizes for deceiving her but pledges that he hadn’t wanted to distract her from going to see to her sick Uncle Ignatius. She asks him to try to remember the circumstances of when she told him about her “trip to Ansion”. He displays no physical symptoms of his headaches, but cannot bring the memory to mind.

“There’s something you should know – something that I wanted to tell you before I left, but I couldn’t. I think you should read this.” Arresta produces a flimsy containing the letter she had left behind for her husband in case he learned that she had not gone to visit her Uncle. Stefan looks at her quizzically but puts on his spectacles and beings to read.

Stefan –

Please try not to be too angry with me. If you are reading this, you have learned that I have not gone to visit my Uncle. That was a fiction I had no part in – created by Master Creen and implanted in your mind without my knowledge or consent. My friends and I are following Jocasta – I will not tell you our destination for fear you will decide to follow me. Allegra and I need you too much for me to risk your life.

I fear that if I do not go, I may lose my sanity. For some time now, my mind and my dreams have not been my own. Tarn has been reaching out to me – he is in desperate danger and has been begging for my help. I ignored him for as long as I could, knowing that my loyalty to you demanded my presence on Mongui.

I don’t know if you remember this, but while we were on Mongui I suffered a collapse. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of sudden agony – more powerful than I have ever felt before. I fear what has happened and what could happen – to me or Allegra if she were somehow swept up in this strange connection. I must find a way to put a stop to this…and that means finding my way to him, this one last time.

Please forgive me and please do not believe that my leaving for this short time means that I do not love you. I do – no matter how we’ve hurt each other, I have always loved you. I do not want to go, but the only I can resolve this is to find Tarn and finally face him. This has to end of I will never be free.

I need you to know that I intended to tell you where I was going. I knew you would fight me on it – but I believe this is something that I have to do. I also believe that for you and I to have the marriage we both want, we have to start trusting each other. When I learned what Creen had done to your mind, I was furious. Creen told me that to tell you the truth was to risk damaging you permanently and I couldn’t take that chance.

Allegra needs you – and I need to know she is safe, so I can focus on the mission. You are a wonderful father – I know she will be protected and loved as long as she is with you. I need you, too. You often drive me crazy, but I could not live without you. Stefan – I will come back. I promise you, no matter what, I will return. Please trust me and let me do what I have to do. Take Allegra and wait for me as we planned. Show me that you love me that much. I will find you both and when I return this will all be over.

My family is everything to me. Never doubt that I am yours – body and soul.

Your loving wife,

Arresta

Stefan is upset that Arresta once again ran off after Tarn – but he seems to believe her intentions were good and that she is telling the truth concerning Creen’s manipulations. However, he becomes angry when Arresta confesses that there is more – that Tarn now knows he had a daughter, that the Jedi is determined to see Allegra again and that she promised to wait one month for him to return before leaving the Republic. Stefan is bitter that Tarn is interfering in their lives again – and scornful that his rival so quickly abandoned Arresta and Allegra to go on another mission.

Arresta pleads with Stefan to believe that she is committed to their family – but that she doesn’t want to see Tarn hurt because of her. She begs him to support her in this, and to promise not to extract revenge against Tarn. She suggests that since Coruscant is now compromised, that they and their friends travel to Haruun Kal to intercept the others. There, she hopes that they can get Tarn to accept that she and Allegra are better off being left alone. Arresta swears to her husband that she will not run off after Tarn again and tells Stefan that no other man can take her away from him. She tells Stefan that he controls the fate of their relationship: she would never leave him unless he tried to kill Tarn. That is the one line she could never forgive him for crossing.

After consideration, Stefan agrees to her request – though his promise to stay his hand has conditions. “You and Allegra belong to me. If he tries to take either of you away from me, I will do what I must.”

----------------------------

Return to: Clone Wars Campaign Page

Zee, Dedicated Bodyguard [Clone Wars Campaign]

2011-12-09T22:23:00.003-05:00

Zee was a character who appeared in just two session: # 22 and # 23, run by the player who would soon make Doxen (in)famous across the galaxy. Introduced as a bodyguard hired by Stefan Cassadine to protect his bride Arresta, Zee took his job seriously and was quite determined to keep her out of trouble. While on the planet Zeta-11, Zee was grievously wounded by a Separatist crab droid just as Session # 23 ended. When Zee, Arresta, and Krevlax were captured by the Separatists and taken into a Core Ship, only Arresta and Krevlax managed to escape, leaving Zee behind! The poor bodyguard was later delivered to Stefan Cassadine with his lips sewn shut, a message that Arresta had better not say anything about her discoveries on Zeta-11.

---------------------

Zee, Dedicated Bodyguard

Male Human Soldier 6

Strength +2, Dexterity +4, Constitution +2, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +0, Charisma +1

Hit Points: 69, Damage Threshold: 20, Speed 6

Defenses (add 10 if not using house rules): Fortitude +10, Reflex +11, Will +6

Weapons: Knife +8/+10, d. 1d4+5; Blaster Pistol +11, d. 3d8+5, Frag Grenade +10, d. 4d6+7

Feats: AP: Light, AP: Medium, WP: Pistol, WP: Rifle, WP Simple, Point Blank Shot, Dual Weapon I, Dual Weapon II, WF: Pistol, Precision Shot, Sniper, Quick Draw

Talents: Armored Defense, Improved Armored Defense, Weapon Specialization: Pistol

Equipment: 5,240 Credits, Combat Jump Suit, 2 Medpaks, Long Range Comlink, All-Temperature Cloak

Skills: Acrobatics +7, Climb +5, Deception +4, Endurance +10, Gather Info +4, Initiative +12, Jump +5, Knowledge +5, Mechanics +10, Perception +8, Persuasion +4, Pilot +12, Ride +7, Stealth +12, Survival +3, Swim +5, Treat Injury +3, Use Computer +5

Kassa, Gungan Jedi [Clone Wars Campaign]

2011-12-09T22:08:00.003-05:00

Kassa was a PC who appeared only in the three-session Journey to Dramos V story arc. Run by the player who normally controlled Doxen, Kassa was an interesting combination: a Gungan Jedi. Instead of playing it for comedy, however, Kassa was a serious character who was awesome at martial arts, Force Slamming, and (mostly) keeping the peace between two other bickering Jedis during the adventure. What happened to Kassa after the adventure on Dramos V remains a mystery . . .

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Kassa, Gungan Jedi

Male Gungan Jedi 7

Strength -1, Dexterity +4, Constitution +0, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +1, Charisma +2

Hit Points: 70, Damage Threshold: 17, Speed: 6

Defenses (add 10 if not using house rules): Fortitude +7, Reflex +17, Will +9

Weapons: Lightsaber +11, d. 2d8+2; Combat Gloves +6, d. 1d8+4

Feats: Martial Arts I, II, III; Improved Defence, Skill Focus: Use the Force; Force Training; WP: Simple, WP: Lightsaber, Force Sensitive

Force Powers: Farseeing, Move Object, Negate Energy

Talents: Thrown Lightsaber, Clear Mind, Elusive Target, Force Focus

Languages: Basic, Gungan, Bocce, High Galactic

Equipment: 186 Credits, Knife (x2), Combat Gloves, Slugthrower, All Temperature Cloak, Concealed Holster, Utility Belt, Electrobinoculars

Skills: Perception +9, Initiative +12, Persuasion +5, Pilot +12, Use the Force +15

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Return to Clone Wars Campaign Page

NFL 2011 Week 14 Predictions

2011-12-09T01:02:00.002-05:00

Week 14

Browns @ Steelers

----------------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers (Steve: The Browns have had high draft picks ever since the expansion . . . they just never seem to really pan out, especially on offense)

Steve: Steelers ("Sorry man, Cleveland has really sucked again. They need to just pull a Detroit and get some high picks to try to build around instead of continue to wallow in misery.")

Chiefs @ Jets

----------------

The Wife: Jets

Me: Jets (Jets should win this and keep the Patriots from clinching for another week)

Steve: Jets ("Neither of these teams thrill me.")

Bucs @ Jags

--------------

The Wife: Bucs

Me: Bucs (blah)

Steve: Bucs

Patriots @ Redskins

-----------------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots

Steve: Patriots

Falcons @ Panthers

-----------------------

The Wife: Falcons

Me: Panthers

Steve: Falcons ("Nearly picked Carolina. This could go either way.")

Colts @ Ravens

---------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens

Steve: Ravens ("This will be the week Indy wins, but I've been burnt by that thought before too many times already.")

Eagles @ Dolphins

---------------------

The Wife: Eagles

Me: Dolphins

Steve: Eagles ("Miami has been much better of late, but I think Philly puts together a good week for a change.")

Vikings @ Lions

--------------------

The Wife: Lions

Me: Lions

Steve: Lions ("Detroit really needs this one. They started strong but have fallen off. Suh being out hurts, but I'm starting to sour on him from the continued bad decisions on the field and recently off.")

Saints @ Titans

------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints

Texans @ Bengals

----------------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Bengals

Steve: Bengals

Bears @ Broncos

-------------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Broncos (Bears without Forte & Cutler just aren't the same)

Steve: Bears ("No, Tebow will not do it again. I won't believe it.")

49ers @ Cardinals

----------------------

The Wife: 49ers

Me: 49ers

Steve: 49ers ("What is the true potential of this SF squad? Deep playoff run really possible???")

Bills @ Chargers

---------------------

The Wife: Chargers

Me: Chargers

Steve: Chargers

Raiders @ Packers

----------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Packers

Steve: Packers ("16-0 ... very possible...")

Giants @ Cowboys

---------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Giants

Steve: Cowboys ("Should be a good game that could go either way this week. I gave Dallas the edge because of location.")

Rams @ Seahawks

----------------------

The Wife: Seahawks

Me: Seahawks (another MNF snoozer)

Steve: Seahawks ("St Louis could surprise me this week, but I think Seattle builds from last week's game.")

Resurrecting Ravana [Buffy]

2011-12-07T18:05:00.003-05:00

Resurrecting Ravana

By Ray Garton (2000)

RATING: 3/5 Stakes

SETTING: Season Three

T.V. CHARACTER APPEARANCES: Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Giles, Oz, Joyce, Angel, Ethan Rayne

MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Promila Daruwalla (guidance counseler); Phyllis Lovecraft (dupe); Benson Lovecraft (occult collector); Ravana (demon goddess)

BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: "With midterms looming, the students at Sunnydale High are predictably stressed-out. Even super-student Willow is feeling the pressure to succeed. And when her usual study buddies--Buffy, Xander, and Oz--decide they don't need her tutorial sessions, Willow wonders if she's really what they don't need. But her hurt feelings don't explain her sudden antagonism toward Buffy--or the strange dreams they've both been having. As tensions in the school escalate into brutal acts of violence--and the perpetrators turn up horribly mutilated--Buffy and the gang search for a supernatural source. The evidence indicates that someone is attempting to resurrect a powerful Hindu demon. Willow's new confidante, guidance counselor Promila Daruwalla, becomes the prime suspect . . . until Giles runs into an old 'friend' who is always causing trouble. It will take all of the Slayer's resources . . . and the help of all her friends . . . to find the culprit and destroy the key to the demon's resurrection."

REVIEW

Let's start with what's good: the incorporation of Hindu religion is interesting, and the character of Promila Daruwalla is well-rounded and one I wouldn't have minded seeing another. The overall plot has a couple of nice twists, even if on the whole it's the basic "Buffy has to stop a major demon summoning" idea that runs through way too many Buffy novels. Buffy, Angel and Willow are also characterized fairly well. Action scenes are about average.

Now, the not-so-good: the characterization of Giles, Xander, Oz, and especially Ethan Rayne all seems off. It's not *terrible*, it just makes the reader feel like Garton didn't have a good sense of each character's personality and distinct style of speaking. As discussed above, the plot is quite cliched and the narration/dialogue is not clever or witty enough to hide this fact. And more, some plot points aren't tied together well at the end.

Add the good and the not-so-good together, and Resurrecting Ravana sums to one perfectly average Buffy novel.

Fantasy Football 2011 Week 13

2011-12-07T17:43:00.003-05:00

Another win in Week 13 sees me finish at an awesome 12-1 for the regular season, with my one loss being that flukey 1 point defeat due to DeSean Jackson's ineptitude on MNF. Through the first half of the season I got a *lot* of lucky victories due to catching opposing teams on bad days, but in the second half of the season my offense really came alive and I often scored in triple digits. For the season, I averaged 93.7 PPG and "allowed" just 75.7 PPG.

By far my all around best performers were running back Arian Foster, who started slow due to an injury, but finished strong to average 16.0 PPG, and Rob Gronkowski, who averaged a stunning 14.3 PPG, which is pretty damned good for a tight end. Darren Sproles stayed consistently strong (10.5 PPG), and late pickup Victor Cruz (11.8 PPG) was handy. Major disappointments this year were my QBs--both Philip Rivers & Ryan Fitzpatrick were pretty crappy; I was lucky Tim Tebow came into the league & I managed to claim him before anyone else. DeSean Jackson was also mediocre at best.

The 12-1 record earned me the # 1 Seed for the playoffs, and next week I'm up against the # 4 seed, a team with a 7-6 record; that team has been on a bit of a run recently, so I'm not resting on my online laurels.

The Wife's team also had a great record: 8-5, the # 3 seed. Will we meet in the Championship?

ULTIMATE SUN RUNNERS (101 Points)

QB T. Tebow: 17

RB A. Foster: 21

RB D. Murray: 3

RB/WR D. Sproles: 12

WR D. Jackson: 3

WR V. Cruz: 11

TE R. Gronkowski: 24

D/ST Jets: 8

K S. Janikowski: 2

TEAM MCFADDEN (90 Points)

QB T. Brady: 19

RB R. Bush: 16

RB M. Bush: 3

RB/WR R. Mendenhall: 18

WR D. Nelson: 3

WR N. Burleson: 9

TE A. Hernandez: 4

D/ST 49ers: 16

K R. Gould: 2

NFL Week 13 Round-Up

2011-12-07T17:30:00.003-05:00

Week 13 saw a lot of unanimous picks, and a few unanimous mistakes, but in the end Steve added a game to his lead.

Eagles @ Seahawks
----------------
The Wife: Eagles
Me: Eagles
Steve: Eagles

WINNER: Seahawks (I still have no idea how the Eagles could lose so many games given how much talent and speed they have on that roster . . .)

Panthers @ Bucs
--------------
The Wife: Bucs
Me: Bucs
Steve: Panthers

WINNER: Panthers

Bengals @ Steelers
--------------
The Wife: Steelers
Me: Bengals
Steve: Steelers

WINNER: Steelers

Falcons @ Texans
---------------
The Wife: Falcons
Me: Falcons
Steve: Texans

WINNER: Texans (well, I said the Falcons are "a veritable lock", but Yates proved me wrong . . .)

Jets @ Redskins
---------------
The Wife: Jets
Me: Jets
Steve: Jets

WINNER: Jets (the Jets are good at beating the teams they're supposed to beat)

Colts @ Patriots
--------------
The Wife: Pats
Me: Pats
Steve: Pats

WINNER: Patriots (huh, a nice game from Orlovsky . . . )

Raiders @ Dolphins
--------------
The Wife: Raiders
Me: Raiders
Steve: Raiders

WINNER: Dolphins

Broncos @ Vikings
-------------
The Wife: Broncos
Me: Broncos
Steve: Vikings

WINNER: Broncos (Steve, you've been Tebowed!)

Titans @ Bills
-------------
The Wife: Bills
Me: Titans
Steve: Bills

WINNER: Titans (C.J.'s looking better, but I'm not sure what to make of this team as a whole if they get a wild card spot)

Chiefs @ Bears
-------------
The Wife: Bears
Me: Bears
Steve: Bears

WINNER: Chiefs

Ravens @ Browns
--------------
The Wife: Ravens
Me: Ravens
Steve: Ravens

WINNER: Ravens (I honestly think the Browns are worse this year than the two previous years under Mangini; at least then, they fought hard and were tough. Also, not sure if McCoy has done enough to earn a starting spot next year, as most of his production comes in "garbage time").

Cowboys @ Cardinals
-----------------
The Wife: Cowboys
Me: Cowboys
Steve: Cowboys

WINNER: Cardinals

Packers @ Giants
--------------
The Wife: Packers
Me: Packers
Steve: Packers

WINNER: Packers

Rams @ 49ers
--------------
The Wife: 49ers
Me: 49ers
Steve: 49ers

WINNER: 49ers (as long as they don't get in a big deficit early, they have a proven method of success)

Lions @ Saints
------------
The Wife: Saints
Me: Saints
Steve: Saints

WINNER: Saints

Chargers @ Jaguars
----------------
The Wife: Jaguars
Me: Chargers
Steve: Chargers

WINNER: Chargers (I don't think I've seen announcers rag on a QB as much as Jaws & Gruden did on Gabbert . . .)

THE WEEK

The Wife: 8-8

Me: 9-7

Steve: 10-6

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 114-81

Me: 115-80

Steve: 122-73

NFL 2011 Week 13 Predictions

2011-12-01T19:32:00.002-05:00

Week 13 sees a lot of unanimous picks . . .

Eagles @ Seahawks
----------------
The Wife: Eagles
Me: Eagles (Vince Young & LeSean McCoy should get it done)
Steve: Eagles

Panthers @ Bucs
--------------
The Wife: Bucs
Me: Bucs
Steve: Panthers

Bengals @ Steelers
--------------
The Wife: Steelers
Me: Bengals (Bengals have to win one of these to prove they're for real)
Steve: Steelers

Falcons @ Texans
---------------
The Wife: Falcons
Me: Falcons (with Texans on their third-string rookie QB making his first start, Falcons are a veritable lock)
Steve: Texans

Jets @ Redskins
---------------
The Wife: Jets
Me: Jets
Steve: Jets

Colts @ Patriots
--------------
The Wife: Pats
Me: Pats (sad the NFL's former marquee match-up has come to this . . .)
Steve: Pats ("ok, I won't pick Indy this week")

Raiders @ Dolphins
--------------
The Wife: Raiders
Me: Raiders
Steve: Raiders

Broncos @ Vikings
-------------
The Wife: Broncos
Me: Broncos
Steve: Vikings

Titans @ Bills
-------------
The Wife: Bills
Me: Titans
Steve: Bills

Chiefs @ Bears
-------------
The Wife: Bears
Me: Bears (battle of the second-string QBs . . .)
Steve: Bears

Ravens @ Browns
--------------
The Wife: Ravens
Me: Ravens
Steve: Ravens

Cowboys @ Cardinals
-----------------
The Wife: Cowboys
Me: Cowboys
Steve: Cowboys

Packers @ Giants
--------------
The Wife: Packers
Me: Packers
Steve: Packers

Rams @ 49ers
--------------
The Wife: 49ers
Me: 49ers
Steve: 49ers

Lions @ Saints
------------
The Wife: Saints
Me: Saints
Steve: Saints

Chargers @ Jaguars
----------------
The Wife: Jaguars
Me: Chargers (another mediocre prime-time game; I can only assume ratings are down this year . . .)
Steve: Chargers

Fantasy Football 2011 Week 12

2011-11-29T17:46:00.002-05:00

A big win over The Wife thanks to Victor Cruz on MNF, and I clinch the division (and the # 1 seed in the playoffs) while improving my record to 11-1. The team is firing on all cylinders now, and I got a double-digit performance from every player except Darren Sproles (7) and Jason Hanson (0). I made a big mistake in retrospect going with Hanson and dropping Janikowski because of his hamstring boo-boo, so I plan to rectify that for next week.

Ultimate Sun Runners (110 Points)
-----------------------------

QB Tim Tebow: 15
RB Arian Foster: 12
RB DeMarco Murray: 12
RB/WR Darren Sproles: 7
WR Deion Branch: 12
WR Victor Cruz: 27
TE Rob Gronkowski: 11
D/ST Texans: 14
K Jason Hanson: 0

I'm With Boomer (86 Points)
------------------------

QB Josh Freeman: 8
RB Matt Forte: 7
RB Pierre Thomas: 16
RB/WR Santonio Holmes: 10
WR Hakeem Nicks: 8
WR Vincent Jackson: 2
TE Jimmy Graham: 20
D/ST Bears: 6
K David Akers: 9

NFL 2012 Week 12 Round-Up

2011-11-29T16:33:00.003-05:00

3/4 of the way through the regular season, and a good week of picks for everyone, but The Wife wins big going 13-3!

Packers @ Lions
-------------------
The Wife: Packers
Me: Lions
Steve: Packers
WINNER: Packers (I'm starting to believe . . .)

Dolphins @ Cowboys
-------------------
The Wife: Cowboys
Me: Cowboys
Steve: Cowboys
WINNER: Cowboys (flying under the radar a little this year . . .)

49ers @ Ravens
------------------
The Wife: Ravens
Me: Ravens
Steve: Ravens
WINNER: Ravens (I'm persuaded each of these teams has a great defense and a great running game, but not sure if either has a reliable clutch passing game)

Texans @ Jaguars
--------------------
The Wife: Texans
Me: Texans
Steve: Texans
WINNER: Texans (talk about a Pyrrhic victory! feel bad that this team finally had everything put together to make the playoffs and QB injuries make them a likely first-round out)

Bills @ Jets
-------------------
The Wife: Jets
Me: Jets
Steve: Jets
WINNER: Jets

Browns @ Bengals
------------------
The Wife: Bengals
Me: Bengals
Steve: Bengals
WINNER: Bengals (another the Browns *could've* won in a generally disappointing season)

Vikings @ Falcons
----------------------
The Wife: Falcons
Me: Falcons
Steve: Falcons
WINNER: Falcons

Cardinals @ Rams
--------------------
The Wife: Rams
Me: Cardinals
Steve: Cardinals
WINNER: Cardinals (I tried to get Beanie Wells on my fantasy team . . .)

Panthers @ Colts
-----------------
The Wife: Panthers
Me: Panthers
Steve: Colts
WINNER: Panthers (note to Steve: stop picking the Colts!)

Bucs @ Titans
------------------
The Wife: Bucs
Me: Bucs
Steve: Bucs
WINNER: Titans (might just catch up to the Texans . . .)

Bears @ Raiders
------------------
The Wife: Raiders
Me: Raiders
Steve: Bears
WINNER: Raiders

Redskins @ Seahawks
------------------------
The Wife: Seahawks
Me: Seahawks
Steve: Redskins
WINNER: Redskins

Broncos @ Chargers
----------------------
The Wife: Broncos
Me: Chargers
Steve: Chargers
WINNER: Broncos

Patriots @ Eagles
---------------------
The Wife: Patriots
Me: Patriots
Steve: Patriots
WINNER: Patriots

Steelers @ Chiefs
----------------
The Wife: Steelers
Me: Steelers
Steve: Steelers
WINNER: Steelers (almost a stupid loss)

Giants @ Saints
-------------------
The Wife: Saints
Me: Saints
Steve: Giants
WINNER: Saints (hoping for a Packers/Saints rematch in the playoffs!)

THIS WEEK

The Wife: 13-3
Me: 12-4
Steve: 11-5

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 106-73
Me: 106-73
Steve: 112-67

The Halls of Stormweather [Books]

2011-11-28T22:46:00.002-05:00

This was a consistently entertaining collection of short stories featuring members of the Uskevren family in the Forgotten Realms' country of Sembia. One gets a picture of Sembia as a country where wealthy merchant families compete for money, power, and prestige through intrigue and subterfuge. Viewing individual family members through a linked collection of short stories proved to be an interesting and effective way to show how different perspectives create different impressions on what people are "really" like. The Uskrevens are individually well-drawn, and it appears they receive more sustained attention in subsequent books in the Sembia line. As an RPG-inspired book, it also serves as a good model of how to run purely urban adventures.

Fantasy Football 2011 Week 11

2011-11-26T20:38:00.002-05:00

An interesting week and an interesting game, as I found a couple of my key RBs (Darren Sproles and Arian Foster) on byes and had to sub in some dubious back-ups (Battle & Branch), neither of whom produced much. I had an interesting quandary at QB: Tebow vs. a stout Jets defense, a sinking Ryan Fitzpatrick against the Dolphins, or a mediocre (this season) Philip Rivers against the Bears? I squared the circle by dropping Fitzpatrick and claiming Carson Palmer off of waivers, and he did pretty good (though not significantly different than Tebow would have). What one me this game was (for once!) some quality production from my wide receivers and another great game from Gronkowski, the best free agent pick-up I've made this season by far.

The win puts me at 10-1, two games ahead of The Wife with two games left! And who do I play this Sunday? The Wife!

ULTIMATE SUN RUNNERS (90 Points)

QB C. Palmer: 16

RB D. Murray: 10

RB J. Battle: 3

RB/WR D. Branch: 1

WR D. Jackson: 8

WR V. Cruz: 18

TE R. Gronkowski: 21

D/ST Jets: 6

K J. Hanson: 7

SACKED AGAIN (79 Points)

QB A. Smith: 17

RB C. Johnson: 2

RB M. Morris: 2

RB/WR D. Bryant: 12

WR B. Marshall: 0

WR N. Washington: 23

TE V. Davis: 12

D/ST Ravens: 3

K N. Novak: 8

NFL Week 11 Round-Up

2011-11-26T20:27:00.002-05:00

A belated round-up of Week 11, in which I had by far my best performance of the season, getting 11 of the fourteen games right.

Jets @ Broncos

------------------

The Wife: Jets

Me: Jets

Steve: Jets

WINNER: Broncos (that was a pretty damned exciting final drive by the Broncos . . .)

Bucs @ Packers

------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Packers

Steve: Packers

WINNER: Packers

Panthers @ Lions

------------------

The Wife: Panthers

Me: Lions

Steve: Lions

WINNER: Lions

Jags @ Browns

-----------------

The Wife: Browns

Me: Browns

Steve: Browns

WINNER: Browns (a win that shows just how far the Browns have to go in order to be competitive in the AFC North . . .)

Raiders @ Vikings

-------------------

The Wife: Raiders

Me: Raiders

Steve: Raiders

WINNER: Raiders

Bills @ Dolphins

------------------

The Wife: Bills

Me: Dolphins

Steve: Bills

WINNER: Dolphins

Cowboys @ Redskins

------------------

The Wife: Cowboys

Me: Cowboys

Steve: Cowboys

WINNER: Cowboys

Bengals @ Ravens

-------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens

Steve: Bengals

WINNER: Ravens

Cardinals @ 49ers

-----------------

The Wife: 49ers

Me: 49ers

Steve: 49ers

WINNER: 49ers

Seahawks @ Rams

-----------------

The Wife: Rams

Me: Seahawks

Steve: Seahawks

WINNER: Seahawks

Titans @ Falcons

--------------------

The Wife: Falcons

Me: Titans

Steve: Titans

WINNER: Falcons

Chargers @ Bears

------------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Bears

Steve: Bears

WINNER: Bears

Eagles @ Giants

----------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Giants

Steve: Giants

WINNER: Eagles (keeping faint hopes alive . . .)

Chiefs @ Patriots

---------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots

Steve:Patriots

WINNER: Patriots

THIS WEEK

------------

The Wife: 9-5

Me: 11-3

Steve: 9-5

CUMULATIVE

----------------

The Wife: 93-70

Me: 94-69

Steve: 101-62

NFL Week 12 Predictions

2011-11-23T18:01:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving week special!

Packers @ Lions

-------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Lions

Steve: Packers ("Detroit will give them a run for their money but GB maintains a perfect record.")

Dolphins @ Cowboys

-------------------

The Wife: Cowboys

Me: Cowboys

Steve: Cowboys ("A couple wins in Miami doesn't make them good suddenly")

49ers @ Ravens

------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens (really looking forward to this one)

Steve: Ravens ("For a team I loved to follow and still have a soft spot for I don't have much faith despite a near perfect season to this point")

Texans @ Jaguars

--------------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Texans (skeptical of Matt Leinart, but Jags shouldn't have enough)

Steve: Texans

Bills @ Jets

-------------------

The Wife: Jets

Me: Jets

Steve: Jets

Browns @ Bengals

------------------

The Wife: Bengals

Me: Bengals

Steve: Bengals ("Sorry Browns, got a feeling this is going to be a 18+ point Bengal victory")

Vikings @ Falcons

----------------------

The Wife: Falcons

Me: Falcons

Steve: Falcons

Cardinals @ Rams

--------------------

The Wife: Rams

Me: Cardinals (The "who cares?" game of the week . . .)

Steve: Cardinals

Panthers @ Colts

-----------------

The Wife: Panthers

Me: Panthers

Steve: Colts ("Finally?")

Bucs @ Titans

------------------

The Wife: Bucs

Me: Bucs

Steve: Bucs

Bears @ Raiders

------------------

The Wife: Raiders

Me: Raiders (started to type Bears, then remembered Cutler is out . . .)

Steve: Bears

Redskins @ Seahawks

------------------------

The Wife: Seahawks

Me: Seahawks

Steve: Redskins

Broncos @ Chargers

----------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Chargers

Steve: Chargers

Patriots @ Eagles

---------------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots

Steve: Patriots

Steelers @ Chiefs

----------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers

Steve: Steelers

Giants @ Saints

-------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Giants ("Two teams that should be better than they are, but the Giants will play hungrier.")

The Buffy Comic Project: "Past Lives" (Part 2)

2011-11-19T23:53:00.003-05:00

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 29

Dark Horse (Vol. 1, 1998-2003)

Creators: Christopher Golden & Tom Sniegoski (writers), Christian Zanier & Cliff Richards (pencillers), Joe Pimentel (inker)

Setting: Season Four

T.V. Character Appearances: Buffy, Riley, Xander, Anya, Dawn, Willow, Giles, Wesley, Cordelia, Quentin Travers, Angel, Angelus (flashback only)

Major Original Characters: Sir Andrew Landry (vampire hunter; flashback only); Alexis Landry (evil former Watcher's Council operative)

Summary: On the campus of Sunnydale University, Buffy and Riley succeed in hunting down a shape-changing demon named Kludde the Goblin. The next day, Buffy and the Scoobies are having coffee at the Expresso Pump when Giles bursts in with news that Angel's office has been attacked and that Wesley and Coredlia have been hospitalized. Buffy decides to head to L.A., telling Riley that he should stay behind so she can have a clear head. Meanwhile, in an L.A. hospital room, Wesley explains to Cordelia that the woman who beat them both up was Alexis Landry, a former operative for the Watcher's Council. Later, on his way to the hospital, Angel is ambushed by demons and then Alexis Landry herself. Buffy and Giles arrive at Angel's office to discover Quentin Travers there, investigating as well, but all three of them are attacked by several demons. In a flashback to Victorian times, Angelus defeats a group of vampire hunters led by Sir Andrew Landry and leaves the man humbled.

Review: Golden seems to have a knack for the comics, as whenever he writes it feels like a lot happens (in a good way) and there's a lot of bang for the buck. He's not a witty scripter, but his stories hit all the right beats and have excellent characterization. Stepping into this four-part story after missing the first part makes it hard to tell whether everything coheres, but Alexis Landry seems like a solid villain, even if her demon accomplices are terribly generic. Good Buffy/Riley moment as she once again seems to choose Angel over him, and nice to see Quentin Travers get some comic book "screen" time.

Notes

* The Scoobies actually have a thought-provoking discussion over coffee: why are so many demons attracted to the Hellmouth given that Buffy slays every one of them she can get her stakes on?

* A good idea posed by a letter writer: how about a Young Giles comic to answer questions like "How did the angry young English man that he once was surrender his dreams and join the Council? What is it about the Council that engenders such loyalty among its members despite its corrupting power?"

Fantasy Football 2011 Week 10

2011-11-18T00:25:00.002-05:00

A surprise blow-out victory against the best team in the league. Once again, my luck holds on "defense" as the opposing team scored only 65 points, but I also had my best week of the season offensively, putting up 121 points. I had five players in double-digits (led by Arian Foster's 30), and two players putting up big fat zeros. The win puts me at 9-1 with a two game lead in the division with three games left.

Next game could be tough, as Foster and Sproles are on byes, and I decided to start Ryan Fitzpatrick instead of Tim Tebow . . .

Ultimate Sun Runners (121 Points)

QB Tim Tebow: 16

RB Arian Foster: 30

RB Darren Sproles: 0

RB/WR DeMarco Murray: 22

WR DeSean Jackson: 0

WR Victor Cruz: 8

TE Rob Gronkowski: 23

D/ST Texans: 17

K Connor Barth: 5

Tantor Houser (65 Points)

QB Cam Newton: 11

RB Adrian Peterson: 11

RB Michael Turner: 10

RB/WR Frank Gore: 0

WR Dwayne Bowe: 1

WR Steve Smith: 3

TE Jason Witten: 3

D/ST Jaguars: 17

K Mason Crosby: 9

Azure Bonds [Books]

2011-11-17T00:24:00.002-05:00

I first read Azure Bonds somewhere around fifteen years ago, and my recently renewed interested in the Forgotten Realms meant I couldn't pass it by when I saw a used copy on sale for a buck. It's a book with a fantastic opening premise: a warrior wakes up in an inn with strange, mystical tattoos on her arm and absolutely no recollection of how they got there. Who ensorcelled her, and why? The search for answers leads deep into a conspiracy involving evil magicks, exiled gods, assassin cults, and more. Alias, the main character, is memorable, as are the companions she makes on her quest: a saurial named Dragonbait, a halfling "bard" named Olive Ruskettle, and a merchant-turned-mage named Akabar. The book is set in Cormyr and the Dalelands, which is where the adventures of the Royal Karameikan Fist Adventuring Company have taken place, so it was fun to see how the novels depict places like Shadowdale, Suzail, etc. Intriguing mystery, interesting characters, fast-paced action scenes: it's all there.

NFL 2011 Week 11 Predictions

2011-11-16T19:58:00.003-05:00

Some early picks, with more to come before Sunday . . .

Jets @ Broncos

------------------

The Wife: Jets

Me: Jets (an interesting match-up, with Broncos the real "ground and pound")

Steve: Jets

Bucs @ Packers

------------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Packers

Steve:

Panthers @ Lions

------------------

The Wife: Panthers

Me: Lions

Steve:

Jags @ Browns

-----------------

The Wife: Browns

Me: Browns (last year, the Browns were a physical team that kept games close and weren't an easy out for anyone; this year, they just seem kinda there)

Steve:

Raiders @ Vikings

-------------------

The Wife: Raiders

Me: Raiders (must admit, Carson Palmer is playing better than I thought he would)

Steve:

Bills @ Dolphins

------------------

The Wife: Bills

Me: Dolphins (if Matt Moore wins a few more games, will Chad Henne be gone next season?)

Steve:

Cowboys @ Redskins

------------------

The Wife: Cowboys

Me: Cowboys

Steve:

Bengals @ Ravens

-------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens (which Ravens team will show up? My guess, the one that only takes AFC North games seriously . . .)

Steve:

Cardinals @ 49ers

-----------------

The Wife: 49ers

Me: 49ers

Steve:

Seahawks @ Rams

-----------------

The Wife: Rams

Me: Seahawks

Steve:

Titans @ Falcons

--------------------

The Wife: Falcons

Me: Titans (skirting on the edges of playoff relevance, especially if Matt Leinart sinks the Texans)

Steve:

Chargers @ Bears

------------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Bears (I think the Chargers are a bit like the Eagles; they have a lot of talented pieces, but just can't cohere into a talented team)

Steve:

Eagles @ Giants

----------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: Giants (I am officially off the Eagles bandwagon)

Steve:

Chiefs @ Patriots

---------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots (another prime-time blowout in the making. The MNF crew just haven't had a lot of luck this season . . .)

Steve:

NFL 2011 Week 10 Round-Up

2011-11-15T23:11:00.002-05:00

The play-off picture is starting to become clear in the NFL, and as it does Steve's lead in the picks competition is slowly, ever so slowly, slipping away!

Raiders @ Chargers

------------------------

The Wife: Raiders*

Me: Chargers

Steve: Chargers

WINNER: Raiders

Cardinals @ Eagles

--------------------

The Wife: Eagles

Me: Eagles

Steve: Eagles

WINNER: Cardinals (I guessed an Eagles blow-out. Seriously, are they the most talented bad team ever?)

Titans @ Panthers

--------------------

The Wife: Panthers

Me: Panthers

Steve: Panthers

WINNER: Titans

Texans @ Buccaneers

-------------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Texans

Steve: Texans

WINNER: Texans

Redskins @ Dolphins

------------------

The Wife: Redskins

Me: Dolphins

Steve: Redskins

WINNER: Dolphins (Reggie Bush is finally starting to look like the RB the Dolphins were hoping he'd be when they signed him . . .)

Jaguars @ Colts

-----------------

The Wife: Jaguars

Me: Colts

Steve: Colts

WINNER: Jaguars (a QB controversy in Indianapolis! Why bother?)

Broncos @ Chiefs

--------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Chiefs

Steve: Broncos

WINNER: Broncos (I don't watch college football, so how did I get swept up in the Tebow saga? In this post, I'll make two main points. First, it's kinda fun and refreshing to see a team try an offense that distinguishes them from the other 31 teams in the league. I loved it when Miami had the Wildcat and further back when the Oilers rocked the Run N' Shoot. If the Broncos can't compete playing a "modern NFL passing offense", why not try something different? Second, win or lose, Tebow is fun to watch--you feel like he can make a big play from anywhere on the field. As a Browns fan subject to their perennial low-scoring, low-excitement games, a risky playmaker like Tebow would be a welcome change.

Bills @ Cowboys

-------------------

The Wife: Bills

Me: Cowboys

Steve: Cowboys

WINNER: Cowboys (Bills have only one or two chances left to turn things around if they want a wildcard . . .)

Saints @ Falcons

------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints

WINNER: Saints (Mike Smith's call will be talked about for a long time to come . . .)

Rams @ Browns

-----------------

The Wife: Rams

Me: Browns

Steve: Browns

WINNER: Rams (the end of that game was really a travesty. But if the Browns's offense were really any good this year, they wouldn't have needed a last minute field goal attempt to win the game anyway)

Steelers @ Bengals

--------------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers

Steve: Steelers

WINNER: Steelers (interesting; wish I could've watched this one, still haven't seen the Bengals play . . .)

Ravens @ Seahawks

-------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens

Steve: Ravens

WINNER: Seahawks (inexplicable . . .)

Giants @ 49ers

-------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: 49ers

Steve: Giants

WINNER: 49ers (a solid performance, even without Gore . . .)

Lions @ Bears

---------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Bears

Steve: Lions

WINNER: Bears (this statement may seem nonsensical, but I feel the Bears are playing much better now than the end of last year when they made it to the NFC Championship game)

Patriots @ Jets

--------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Jets

Steve: Patriots

WINNER: Patriots (Jets probably stuck doing things the hard way again come playoff time)

Vikings @ Packers

----------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Packers

Steve: Packers

WINNER: Packers

THIS WEEK

The Wife: 10-6

Me: 8-8

Steve: 7-9

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 84-65

Me: 83-66

Steve: 92-57

* I originally had The Wife down for Chargers for this game, but she promptly explained that my listing was a mistake and she had chosen Raiders.

Clone Wars Campaign: Session # 49 Recap

2011-11-13T00:30:00.003-05:00

This session, formally the beginning of the last story arc, is really something of an interlude as the PCs decided on what they wanted to do next. I set up a couple of major possibilities: go to Coruscant to reunite with Stefan Cassadine (and be in position for Order 66) or go to the steaming jungles of Haruun Kal to find a weapon to use against the Accelerated in the form of Thought Spores--a telepathy virus. To make a good director's life a little bit harder, the PCs couldn't agree and decided to split up. Since both plot threads were important and worth seeing "on screen", I had the players whose main characters weren't in the current thread use their alternate character so that everyone got a chance to play at the same time. With A'tel departing the game to become an NPC, his player was left with the pilot Jasper Falen and the need to create a new character, which we'll see in a session or two.

In retrospect, I wish I would have done more with Doxen's mentor, Senator Orelus, besides having him be kidnapped or placed in peril so often. Unfortunately, as I've mentioned in the past, it was quite hard coming up with adventure hooks for a group of PCs that was independently wealthy, non-heroic, non-ideological, and ultra-cautious. That meant that putting friends and family in danger was one of the few reliable means I had to get things moving sometimes.

When prepping this session, the key thing to me was the revelation of what the anomaly was, how the Forgotten Sith could be stopped, and the fact that the Accelerated were going to try to take control of the anomaly: all things that could drive the big finale of the campaign. I knew that Tarn's rescue could lead to a lot of romantic melodrama with Arresta (played by The Wife), so I warned her that we probably wouldn't dwell on that part too much because the other players probably wouldn't be interested in it. I could not have been more wrong. The other players ate it up with a spoon, and everyone had an opinion in-game and out-of-game as to whether Arresta should choose Tarn or Stefan, with Daal on Team Tarn, Doxen on Team Stefan, and Arresta in the middle. There was a lot of good role-playing and in-game asides on what Arresta should do, and Tarn's leaving for Haruun Kal rather than Coruscant to confront Stefan came down to a slightly higher Persuasion result by Doxen than Daal. All of the campaign mythos plot stuff of uber-importance to me landed with a dull thud!

This was the first and (I think) only time I managed to use the random hyperspace event table I created near the end of the campaign to liven up those long voyages. It turned out pretty well, and would definitely be something I'd do again in another Star Wars campaign. Speaking of hyperspace voyages, the random factor in how long trips took and the long base travel times in Saga made it quite hard to get the party back together once they split up without one subgroup or the other having long periods in-game of just waiting around. This became a particular problem near the end of the campaign, as Doxen's player had to use a red chip just to get him to the final battle on time!

Speaking of Doxen, it was always fun to see how the character was actually a real softie around children and babies, but only when no adults were watching (he had to retain his gruff reputation!). I liked how I handled his guardian force spirit, a Force Talent that allowed him to get guidance on what to do; I had Doxen receive visions that, in the form of Ewok parables, contained the advice.

SESSION # 49

A dangerous mission to rescue Jedi Tarn Tamarand has gone better than anyone could have hoped: not only was he freed without a shot being fired, but Arresta Cassadine and Daal Mordo were cured of terminal diseases. Yet, such success came with strange consequences: the man known as A’tel Por’ten is no more, and in his place is one of the emotionless Accelerated, and his motivations remain unclear.

On another freighter across the galaxy, another adventurer returns from a successful mission. Yet, he has discovered something inside himself that will change his life forever . . .

On board The Gentle Lover, Senator Orelus, exhausted and weakened from the ordeal of his kidnapping by Rodian pirates, gratefully thanks his old friend and rescuer Doxen for coming after him. He apologizes for not having been as good a friend to Doxen as the Ewok has been to him. Doxen assures him that he was happy to do it. After the Senator retires to the quarters that Jasper provides, a strange sound is heard and to the surprise of the others on board, a robed figure emerges: Master Creen has hidden himself on board The Gentle Lover and has only now revealed his presence. He announces that Doxen is “ready” and that they must travel to Rhinnal. Doxen though, is determined to return Senator Orelus to Coruscant, so he orders Jasper to set course for the nearest planet with access to charter ships and hyper-space lanes. The group will head to Cerea.

Meanwhile, on the ship The Flaming Halo, Lucef notices an unusual signal on his command console: the remaining escape pod is being launched despite the fact that the ship is in hyperspace, something that should be impossible! Lucef rushes to the escape pod, darting past a corridor where Princess Arresta Cassadine and Tarn Tamarand are in deep conversation. He sees the escape pod pulling away from the ship and then it is almost as if space bends around the pod and it disappears. Shocked, Lucef returns and tells Arresta and Tarn what he saw. Tarn is sceptical that such a thing is even possible, but when a quick check reveals that it was the Accelerated A’tel who has departed, it becomes somewhat more believable.

Seeking more privacy, Arresta and Tarn go to the ship’s lounge where Arresta becomes more and more agitated as Tarn starts talking about the new mission that they must go on. She confirms that his memories are spotty since he placed himself into a deep Force hibernation on Endregaad. Finally, Arresta works up her courage and tells him that she can’t go with him on any mission. Hesitantly, she breaks the news to the shocked Tarn that two weeks after he left her on Coruscant she found out she was pregnant with his child. Confused about the time lapse, Tarn asks how far along she is, forcing her to tell him that more than three years have passed (two of those thanks to the time flow in the City Under the Sand) and that they have an infant baby girl.

Tarn tries to apologize and tells her that when this mission is over, that they can be together with their daughter. Arresta closes her eyes and tells him that she and Allegra are already part of a family. She tries to explain that she felt lost, alone and abandoned on Coruscant, until someone from her past came into her life – and that person is now her husband. Further, she and Stefan plan to leave the Republic. They are all (including Tarn) wanted by the Republic for various offences. Arresta is evasive as she responds to Tarn’s questions, telling him only that her husband is “complicated” and a “businessman”, but he clearly senses that there is more she is not telling him. Overwhelmed at what he’s learned, Tarn storms out of the room, leaving Arresta to tearfully retreat to her quarters. In his quarters, Daal hears the former lovers retreat to their separate quarters and sighs, placing a damp towel over his face.

Across the galaxy, The Gentle Lover makes a brief stop on Cerea, where Doxen escorts the Senator to the local Republic guardpost. From there he will be able to secure passage back to Coruscant. Orelus warns Doxen that the Republic is changing and anti-alien sentiment is rising. He pledges to stand up for Doxen and others like him, but Doxen advises his friend to play it safe – he would rather have a live friend available to help him than a dead martyr. Doxen visits a local bar and attempts to determine his next move. He decides to head to Rhinnal, where he knows that Stefan and Arresta Cassadine have maintained a residence in the past, hoping that someone there will be able to give him a lead on the Princess.

While Doxen is away, Jasper speaks with Creen and, intimidated by the strange Jedi, agrees to provide him passage if the old man stays out of the cockpit. Creen agrees. Jasper’s aide Kako reminds his boss that Jedi can play tricks on your mind and promises to stun his friend if he sees him turning over money or valuables to Creen.

Creen seeks out Doxen again when the Ewok returns to the ship. He asks if Doxen “felt it”. Doxen is confused and Creen clarifies that Doxen has had the “spark of the Force” awakened within him and that one of his friends is now strangely altered. A’tel is alive, but no longer the same. Doxen tells Creen that in his experience, Jedi are not terribly useful. Creen though, tells him that he transformed Tarn Tamarand into a stronger warrior and that moreover, he is the former teacher of Jocasta. That impresses Doxen enough that he is willing to make a deal with the old man: If he can teach Doxen about the Force healing trance during the journey to Rhinnal, Doxen will consider having Creen train him.

On board The Flaming Halo, something strange is happening. Intruder alerts begin sounding, indicating that thirty very large individuals are on board the ship. Doors begin sliding open and closed of their own volition and the fire suppression system activates itself. Lucef and Daal investigate and try to validate the intruder alert. Arresta knocks on Tarn’s door and hands him the lightsaber that she had built for him. When she is summoned to the cockpit to help Daal with the computer system, she gives Tarn a holorecorder full of pictures of their daughter. Working together, Daal and Arresta are able to lock down the computer glitch which has caused the problems. There are no intruders and all they are left with is a mess to clean up.

Tarn goes to speak with Lucef and tries to gather more information about Arresta’s husband, but the pilot has little to share. All he knows is that her husband is some kind of wealthy businessman. Tarn tries to secure Lucef as a pilot to travel to Haruun Kal, though the mercenary is sceptical that Tarn could afford the fare. For his part, Tarn tries to bring out the heroic side of Lucef’s nature, arguing that this is the pilot’s chance to serve the greater good.

[A.G. 1056]

Arriving at Arkania, Lucef and Daal conduct repairs to the ship and secure hyper-space coordinates for Rhinnal. Arresta connects with her intelligence network and learns some useful information:

- The Separatists are being continually pushed back on the Outer Rim, but it could be a trap: General Grievous’ fleet hasn’t been spotted in weeks.

- Senator Orelus has been reported in the press as having been rescued and requested a break from his legislative duties to recuperate.

- The Mongui economy is booming due to a major construction project on the planet’s magnetic pole.

- Stefan Cassadine checked out of the medcentre on Rhinnal: he has rented the same villa as before.

[A.G. 1057]

After about half a day’s worth of repairs, the ship is ready to depart. Just in time, Daal catches a potentially fatal error in the navicomputer. They are on the way and anticipate an eight day journey to Rhinnal.

Meanwhile, The Gentle Lover has already arrived at Rhinnal and the Cerean adventurer Korriban-Adi says his good-byes to Doxen and Jasper with a promise to consider contacting them for future adventures. Doxen advises Jasper that he may spend several days on Rhinnal and that the pilot should remain ready for the next stage of the journey. Arriving at the Cassadine villa, Doxen finds Stefan’s Aqualish bodyguard and security chief Xam at home, with the infant Allegra in tow. Xam is pleased to see Doxen, noting that “Mr. C” thinks highly of the Ewok. He advises Doxen that “Mrs. C” has not yet returned from her journey “to visit her Uncle on Ansion” and that Stefan has travelled to Coruscant to make arrangements for the family to emigrate to the Hapes Consortium. However, he notes that the process has been much more difficult than expected and that Stefan is very displeased. Xam happily allows Doxen to wait for Arresta at the compound. Although he is reserved and shows little interest in front of the Aqualish, when left alone, “Uncle Doxen” fusses over the baby.

One of the nights at the villa, a sleeping Doxen dreams of an older Ewok with white-stripes on his fur and wearing a strange necklace of teeth and bone. The figure tells Doxen a parable about the dangers of falling in league with strange mentors whose trustworthiness is uncertain.

Having spent several days wrestling with all of the information dumped on him, Tarn finally goes to speak with Arresta. She is happy to hear that he wants to be part of his daughter’s life, but alarmed when he starts talking about custody arrangements. She tells him that they will have to be very careful, that her husband will not be happy if Tarn interferes in their lives. She is also upset to hear him talk about remaining part of the Jedi Order and convincing the Council that he intends to retain his attachment and be part of his daughter’s life. They begin to argue, as Arresta won’t come clean regarding Stefan’s criminal ties, making Tarn more and more concerned about the man who has taken his place in their lives, while Arresta is hurt and frightened that Tarn has another dangerous mission planned. She is also upset that he refuses to believe her that Master Creen has ill-intentions or that Creen really attempted to erase Arresta’s memories of Tarn for his own purposes.

Tarn tells her that the Accelerated taunted him with the true nature of the Anomaly. According to them, the massive, ageless vessel allows those inside to survive the eventual heat death of the universe and create the type of primordial singularity that leads to the “Big Bang” origin of another universe. There’s no telling how many universes the Anomaly has seen, or whether its creators still reside inside. The Accelerated, however, have grown bored with the current state of sentient life and plan to create a singularity in the near future, so as to witness the birth of a new universe. Unfortunately, this will create untold devastation in the present universe. Tarn intends to stop them by using “Thought Spores” stockpiled by the Plaguewomb on the planet Haruun Kal.

Even with this problem solved, another would remain. The Forgotten Sith became trapped aboard the Anomaly millennia ago, and for some reason that still remains unclear, Tarn’s removal of the strange lightsaber has allowed the Sith to begin to break free from their prison. Tarn believes that only by regaining the strange lightsaber from Jocasta and returning it to the Anomaly will any remaining Sith be stopped from escaping.

Arresta is confused and sending mixed signals: Tarn tells her he knows that she still loves him – which she does not deny – but she is upset that he once again plans to put his mission before her and their daughter, even though she also tells him that they have no future together. For his part, Tarn keeps talking to her about the importance of the mission and of “custody arrangements” – unable to convince her that everything he is doing is out of love for her and their child. Instead, he convinces her that nothing has changed and he is still putting everything else ahead of her.

Frustrated, Tarn goes to talk to Daal. His tells his Duro friend about his mission and secures his promise of help. He asks Daal to tell him more about Stefan Cassadine. Daal too is evasive: he says that Arresta seems to love her husband, though he admits that Stefan has criminal ties and is very dangerous. He advises Tarn to avoid a confrontation with Stefan and tells him that simply resolving a dispute using normal channels won’t be possible. Tarn becomes more and more agitated and tells Daal in no uncertain terms that he intends to be part of his daughter’s life, whatever Arresta’s husband has to say about it.

Concerned, Daal goes to see Arresta and they agree that a confrontation between Tarn and Stefan would end badly. Arresta goes to see Tarn and tries to convince him that confronting Stefan is a bad idea, as her husband loves her and the baby and would never hurt them. Tarn is worried about the influence that a criminal would have over his daughter. Arresta asks him to please wait until his mission is over before resolving this. She wants him to take the time to see that she and Allegra are better off where they are. Reluctantly Tarn agrees, though he resolves to convince the Princess that he has the means to help raise his child.

[A.G. 1065]

Arriving on Rhinnal, Arresta takes her leave of Lucef, although she gives him a 1000 credit retainer to “look after her interests” and be available for future jobs. She speaks with Xam, learns that her husband is off-planet and has the Aqualish send a car for her. She and Daal convince Tarn to change out of his Jedi robes and to conceal his identity from Stefan’s men.

Disembarking, they find Master Creen waiting for them. Arresta angrily storms past him and heads for her waiting limousine. Tarn speaks with his Master and informs Daal that after talking with Creen, he realizes that it would be too dangerous for the Duro to accompany him on this part of the mission. Though Tarn asks his friend to stay and keep an eye on Allegra for him, Daal is adamant that he go along – he intends to protect Tarn. Tarn agrees to speak to Creen. Before leaving the ship, Tarn also speaks with Lucef who reluctantly agrees to take on the job, quoting Tarn a bargain-basement price of just 2000 credits. Tarn says he will attempt to raise the funds.

Arriving at the villa, Tarn is shocked to see how casually Arresta and Daal react to the sight of a small, furry creature with a sniper rifle sitting on the roof. For their part, the two adventurers are happy to find Doxen waiting for them. Inside, Arresta is greeted by Xam but immediately turns her attention to her baby daughter. Fussing over the baby and getting updates on her care, she learns her husband is waiting for her on Coruscant and that he has left a holovid message.

Arresta conceals Tarn’s identity from Xam and sends the Aqualish off to arrange for refreshments. She tells Doxen the story of what happened to A’tel and then asks her friends to leave her alone with Tarn and their daughter. Daal is happy to agree, but Doxen requires some persuading. He reminds Arresta that Stefan will be very unhappy about this. Finally, little Allegra is alone with her parents. Arresta carefully shows Tarn how to hold the baby and tells Allegra “This is your Daddy.” Tarn and the baby lock eyes and something seems to pass between them. Awed, Tarn tells the Princess that he can feel the connection between the two of them and the baby. He tells Arresta that he thinks Allegra may have the “spark” within her. Horrified, Arresta snatches the baby from the puzzled Jedi and backs away. Though he cannot understand her fear of “Jedi baby snatchers”, Tarn does give his word that he would never try to take Allegra away from her or turn the baby over to the Jedi Order. Taking him at his word, Arresta hands the baby back and goes to speak to Xam, stopping on the way to make sure Doxen keeps an eye on Tarn.

Doxen has contacted the Bounty Hunters’ Guild and placed a price on information leading to the whereabouts of A’tel Porten. With that out of the way, he enters the sunroom and speaks to Tarn. The two get off on the wrong foot as Doxen berates Tarn for having abandoned Arresta. Tarn protests that he had no idea that the Princess had been pregnant when he left her. Doxen tells Tarn that it sounds like he cares little for the mother of his child, which Tarn denies. Doxen threatens Tarn with bodily harm if he ever causes hurt to the baby. Tarn is taken aback that this seemingly psychotic being is a close friend of Arresta’s.

Arresta speaks to Xam about Stefan. He reassures her that Stefan received a clean bill of health from the medcentre and that his headaches have disappeared. Arresta lets the Aqualish know that she isn’t happy that he helped Stefan keep his medical condition a secret. She then watches the holovid, which arrived the prior evening. In it, Stefan, who appears frustrated, informs Xam that gaining access to the Hapes Consortium is proving very challenging. He has hired tutors in customs and language, but the Consortium allows just a handful of immigrants every year. He tells Xam that he is anxious to have Arresta and Allegra join him on Coruscant as he misses his wife and daughter very much and that the process could take weeks.

Arresta asks Xam to begin making arrangements for transport. He sends a security team over to The Gentle Lover to conduct an advanced screening. They negotiate a price with Jasper and he agrees to baby-proof the ship. He is also warned not to flirt or in anyway make advances towards Mrs. Cassadine while she is onboard. Jasper begins to make plans for the trip.

Returning to the others, Arresta is dismayed to find that Tarn is already planning to leave. He suggests that she and the baby travel with him, but on learning that the planet is volcanic and full of dangerous toxic gases, she informs that it does not seem like a safe place to take a child. She also reminds him that she has a husband to return to. She is hurt that he finds it so easy to walk away from Allegra (and from her). As per Tarn’s request, she tries to convince Daal to stay behind, but the Duro won’t be swayed. He does ask Arresta to use both Stefan’s and her own contacts to help make sure his mother has been freed. She assures him that since Stefan is Jocasta’s business partner, that she will do everything she can to help him.

Tarn is shocked to hear that Stefan and Jocasta are connected and begins to waver in his resolve to accompany Creen on the first part of the mission to Haruun Kal, suggesting that perhaps his Master could travel alone. Tarn hesitantly suggests that he accompany Arresta to Coruscant so that he can meet Stefan for himself. Surprisingly, Arresta seems open to this plan, to the confusion of Daal and Doxen who believe that such a meeting would only lead to murder! Hearing their protests, Tarn becomes more and more convinced that Stefan is a negative influence.

Daal and Arresta take opposite sides and Tarn sides with the Princess. But, when Daal pulls her out of the room for a quick conference, Doxen takes the opportunity to change tactics. Suddenly using cold reason instead of intimidation, Doxen reminds Tarn that he has a very dangerous mission ahead of him, one that could likely lead to his death. He suggests that Tarn could be causing both Arresta and Allegra unnecessary distress. He pleads with the Jedi to wait until the mission is over to have any kind of confrontation with Arresta’s husband, and even offers to foot the bill for Tarn’s voyage to Haruun Kal. Tarn asks Doxen if Stefan is a good husband and father and the Ewok emphatically states he is.

Meanwhile, Daal demands an explanation from the Princess. He feels that by getting Tarn out of the way on this mission, he is buying Arresta time to leave the Republic with Stefan and the baby in tow, thereby avoiding a confrontation he is sure will end in death. Arresta tries to explain her reasoning: she loves Tarn and Stefan both, and she doesn’t want either of them to die. But she also wants her marriage to work and to do that, she feels that she must be honest with her husband. She believes that she can convince Stefan that if he hurts Tarn that he would lose her forever. Daal remains sceptical of this plan.

Arresta soon discovers that Tarn seems to have had a change of heart brought about by his chat with Doxen. He pleads with Arresta to give him one month (until A.G. 1095) to complete his mission to Haruun Kal and to return to find her and the baby on Coruscant. Then they will resolve this issue and determine what role Tarn will play in Allegra’s life. The Princess isn’t happy, as she doesn’t trust Creen and she fears for Tarn’s safety, but she agrees not to leave the Republic before a month has passed.

Tarn takes his leave from his newfound baby daughter. “Good-bye, little one. I’ll see you soon.” He cannot meet Arresta’s gaze and leaves without saying good-bye to her. She holds the baby and watches him from the window. After Tarn and Daal have left, Doxen talks to Arresta as she packs the baby’s things for the trip. His advice is simple: Make a choice! Which man does she want? Sadly, Arresta tries to explain that she feels that she doesn’t have a choice to make. She is in love with Tarn, but she is married to Stefan and leaving him would only lead to pain and bloodshed. Besides, she does love her husband. “This isn’t about which man I love more – I’ve made choices I can’t take back. Allegra and I are Cassadines – that isn’t going to change.”

Back at The Flaming Halo, Lucef welcomes his passengers on board, giving Creen the most spacious accommodations. The Jedi Master speaks to Daal and informs him that this mission is highly dangerous and that if the Duro falls behind, that he is expendable. Daal calmly maintains his intention to protect his friend. Lucef advises that the journey to Haruun Kal will take ten days (with arrival expected on A.G. 1074) and that they can depart in the morning. Tarn sadly notes that his parting from those he loves was more traumatic than he’d intended and he agrees with Daal’s suggestion that they remain on board until departure.

Hours later, Arresta, Allegra (with Nanny droid in tow), Doxen, Xam and the security entourage arrive at The Gentle Lover. Although surprised at the lurid artwork on the outside of the ship, Arresta notes that it appears clean and professional on the inside. Jasper, who was also warned by Doxen not to try his charms on Arresta, greets her politely and shows her to the quarters he has arranged for her and the baby. He also speaks with Xam, who offers a 1000 credit bonus for a quick and uneventful journey. Arresta and Doxen chat and she tells him that Jocasta is a shape-shifter and tells him that she and Daal have agreed to a password in case there is any question to anyone’s identity. The password is the name of Arresta’s late, estranged father: Alphonse D’avilos.

Expertly programming in the co-ordinates, Jasper informs Arresta that the journey to Coruscant will take just two days (with arrival expected on A.G. 1067) and that they can leave whenever she is ready. Arresta gives the word. Jasper takes The Gentle Lover into hyperspace, carrying the Princess away from Rhinnal and Tarn Tamarand--and towards Coruscant and Stefan Cassadine.

Jasper Falen, Romantic Pilot [Clone Wars Campaign]

2011-11-11T23:38:00.004-05:00

Jasper Falen was a fun, somewhat lighthearted character created in the latter portion of the campaign by the player who ran A'tel. Conceived of as a dashing ladies' man in space, Jasper and his sidekick (an NPC Jawa named Kako) piloted a freighter named The Gentle Lover. Originally retained by Doxen to help rescue Senator Orelus of Melosia, Jasper and his ship later carried party members to Coruscant. There, Jasper has perhaps his best moment when the party came under attack and sought refuge in the Hapan Consulate: Jasper dodged a fusillade of blaster bolts and dramatically crashed The Gentle Lover into the front of the building so his allies could board and escape. Soon thereafter, when The Gentle Lover was shot down, Jasper became an employee of the Cassadines as pilot of The Knife's Edge.

Although it's hard for characters introduced late in the campaign to receive the attention and plotlines that the longstanding PCs do, Jasper proved to be an interesting addition to the group.

Jasper Falen

Male Human Scoundrel 7/Master Privateer 8

Age 31, Height 6'3, Weight 192 lbs.

Strength +1, Dexterity +4, Constitution +2, Intelligence +4, Wisdom +2, Charisma +3

Hit Points: 110, Damage Threshold: 26

Defenses (add 10 if not using house rules): Fortitude +17, Reflex +23, Will +19

Base Attack Bonus: +13

Languages: Basic, Huttese, Shyriiwook, High Galactic, Jawa Trade Language

Talents: Veteran Privateer (4), Disruptive, Walk the Line, Spacehound, Hyperdriven, Attract Privateer, Blaster & Blade III

Maneuvers: Afterburn, Engine Hit, I Have You Now

Feats: Point Blank Shot, WP Simple, WP Pistol, WP: Advanced Melee, Weapons Finesse, Vehicular Combat, Duel Weapons I, SF: Pilot, Starship Tactics

Skills: Acrobatics +16, Climb +8, Deception +15, Endurance +9, Gather Info +10, Initiative +16, Jump +8, Knowledge: Streetwise +16, Mechanics +11, Perception +14, Persuasion +15, Pilot +21, Ride +11, Stealth +11, Survival +9, Swim +8, Treat Injury +9, Use Computer +16

Equipment: Clone Armour, Blastech E-Web Repeating, Vibro Rapier, Blastech DH-23, Ascension Gun, Breath Mask, Fusion Lantern, Glow Rod, Datapad, All Temperature Cloak, Medkit, Pocket Scrambler, Medpac

Jasper's Epilogue

------------------------

"Following his adventures with Daal, Doxen, and Arresta, Jasper receives a message from a strange source: The Crimson Blade, his former ship, but they were dead and gone. But the weirdest thing is the message is from 2000 years in the past on the hull of a derelict from the Hyperspace Wars. The message is the emblem of The Crimson Blade spraypainted on the hull of a Mandalorian vessel. An Imperial archaeological team discovered it a wreck to fall out of Other Space. He had a mission, find his family. Purchasing a new vehicle christened The Loving Embrace and he starts his search. On his quest to find a path to Other Space he stayed in constant contact with Arresta true to his word to the strange Jedi. On his travels he liberates many masters of their slaves and women of their underthings with a wry smile and a wicked glance and a grumbling Jawa in tow."

Fantasy Football 2011 Week 9 (a.k.a., You're on the List, DeSean Jackson!)

2011-11-11T13:16:00.003-05:00

A heartbreaking upset delivered my first loss in 2011, and I know just who to blame: DeSean Jackson! Trailing by just one point going into Monday Night Football, I still had the Eagles best deep-threat left to play. One catch for 20+ yards is all I asked! Instead, Jackson ran once for 10 yards (+1 point), fumbled once on a kick return (-2 points), and then had two catches for 16 yards (+1 point), leaving him with a big fat zero for the game. The fact that he was targeted 8 times and dropped a pass on the final play of the game made for an agonizing MNF experience for me ;)

I would rescind my tithes to Tymora, but I really can't complain as I've been extremely lucky this season. Although it's ironic that the first time I lost was the same game I scored my highest point total so far this season, at least the extra points will help out in a tie-breaker--which may end up being necessary, as now The Wife's team is just one game back in the division and I play the dreaded Tantor Houser team this weekend.

Whipped Cream (118 Points)

QB A. Rodgers: 30

RB S. Jackson: 14

RB J. Starks: 6

RB/WR J. Nelson: 16

WR G. Jennings: 10

WR W. Welker: 14

TE S. Chandler: 2

D/ST Packers: 12

K N. Rackers: 14

Ultimate Sun Runners (117 Points)

QB T. Tebow: 23

RB A. Foster: 20

RB D. Sproles: 15

RB/WR D. Murray: 17

WR D. Jackson: 0

WR V. Cruz: 9

TE R. Gronkowski: 16

D/ST Texans: 14

K R. Lindell: 3

NFL 2011 Week 10 Predictions

2011-11-09T19:14:00.002-05:00

Here we go!

Raiders @ Chargers

------------------------

The Wife: Chargers

Me: Chargers (Carson Palmer made some great throws last week, but some terrible ones as well. But so did Rivers, so who the hell knows?)

Steve: Chargers

Cardinals @ Eagles

--------------------

The Wife: Eagles

Me: Eagles (my guess: a blow-out)

Steve: Eagles

Titans @ Panthers

--------------------

The Wife: Panthers

Me: Panthers

Steve: Panthers

Texans @ Buccaneers

-------------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Texans (they finally look like they're going to win the South)

Steve: Texans

Redskins @ Dolphins

------------------

The Wife: Redskins

Me: Dolphins (Redskins continue the downward spiral)

Steve: Redskins

Jaguars @ Colts

-----------------

The Wife: Jaguars

Me: Colts

Steve: Colts ("could this finally be the week???")

Broncos @ Chiefs

--------------------

The Wife: Broncos

Me: Chiefs (not sure here . . .)

Steve: Broncos ("KC is going the wrong direction . . . could we see a 7-9 or 8-8 Broncos win the division?")

Bills @ Cowboys

-------------------

The Wife: Bills

Me: Cowboys

Steve: Cowboys ("though I'm waffling on this choice even as I go to hit send")

Saints @ Falcons

------------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints

Steve: Saints ("still not liking the Saints right now")

Rams @ Browns

-----------------

The Wife: Rams

Me: Browns (okay, okay, now everything comes together for the Browns!)

Steve: Browns ("I hope for your sake because they need to win once in a while, right?")

Steelers @ Bengals

--------------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers (a real test of how good the Bengals really are this year)

Steve: Steelers ("I wanted to say Cincy but changed my mind")

Ravens @ Seahawks

-------------------

The Wife: Ravens

Me: Ravens

Steve: Ravens

Giants @ 49ers

-------------------

The Wife: Giants

Me: 49ers

Steve: Giants ("this game used to mean a lot . . . remember a time when both teams were looking forward to an undefeated Monday night matchup before they each lost the week before and thus were like 8-1 going in instead . . . and while I'd love to see the '9ers return to that glory I'm just not sold on their record being an indicator of where they are even though their only loss was in OT")

Lions @ Bears

---------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Bears (Cutler and Forte are playing well . . .)

Steve: Lions ("why do I feel I'm making the 'Suh homer vote' here and should choose Chicago if I'm being honest")

Patriots @ Jets

--------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Jets (becoming a real rivalry in the AFC East)

Steve: Patriots

Vikings @ Packers

----------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Packers

Steve: Packers ("lookout Miami of '72 . . . these Pack could threaten that only undefeated team beginning to end record of yours")

NFL 2011 Week 9 Round-Up

2011-11-09T11:48:00.002-05:00

I've hunted-and-pecked this whole post with a snoozing baby in my arms! That's dedication!

Jets at Bills
-------------
The Wife: Jets
Me: Jets
Steve: Bills

WINNER: Jets

Browns at Texans
---------------
The Wife: Texans
Me: Texans
Steve: Texans
WINNER: Texans (sigh...)

Dolphins at Chiefs
-----------------
The Wife: Chiefs
Me: Chiefs
Steve: Chiefs
WINNER: Dolphins (Matt Moore's redemption!)

Seahawks at Cowboys
----------------
The Wife: Cowboys
Me: Cowboys
Steve: Cowboys
WINNER: Cowboys

49ers at Redskins
-----------------
The Wife: 49ers
Me: 49ers
Steve: 49ers
WINNER: 49ers (7-1! How?)

Bucs at Saints
----------------
The Wife: Saints
Me: Saints
Steve: Bucs
WINNER: Saints

Falcons at Colts
----------------
The Wife: Falcons
Me: Falcons
Steve: Falcons
WINNER: Falcons

Broncos at Raiders
--------------
The Wife: Raiders
Me: Broncos
Steve: Raiders
WINNER: Broncos (Tebow-mania lasts another week! Seriously, he's won more games than Orton this year, and an inaccurate playmaker still makes plays ...)

Bengals at Titans
----------------
The Wife: Titans
Me: Bengals
Steve: Bengals
WINNER: Bengals (moral of 2011 season: pundits know nothing)

Giants at Pats
----------------
The Wife: Patriots
Me: Patriots
Steve: Patriots
WINNER: Giants (time to start taking them seriously ...)

Packers at Chargers
----------------
The Wife: Packers
Me: Packers
Steve: Packers
WINNER: Packers

Rams at Cardinals
----------------
The Wife: Rams
Me: Rams
Steve: Rams
WINNER: Cardinals

Ravens at Steelers
----------------
The Wife: Steelers
Me: Steelers
Steve: Steelers
WINNER: Ravens (a classic game between rivals, with a twist ending ....)

Bears at Eagles
---------------
The Wife: Bears
Me: Eagles
Steve: Eagles

WINNER: Bears (re: 3-5 Eagles and 3-5 Browns; is it better to have wasted potential or have no potential?)

THIS WEEK

The Wife: 8-6

Me: 9-5

Steve: 6-8

CUMULATIVE

The Wife: 74-59

Me: 75-58

Steve: 85-48

La nuit des temps [Books]

2011-11-04T00:59:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure how to literally translate the title of René Barjavel's book La nuit des temps--"The Night of Time" and variations thereof sounds really weird. The book has been published in English under the title "The Ice People", which makes it sound like a tale about the Inuit. In fact, this SF novel begins with a polar expedition discovering strange signals emanating thousands of feet below the surface of the Antarctic. A massive international force is assembled to unearth the cause of the signal, and after a period of digging a small structure is found. Inside, are two people frozen in suspended animation. The first one awoken, a woman named Eléa, tells of an ancient, highly-advanced civilization that existed almost 900,000 years. Eléa and another member were placed in suspended animation with the purpose of leading whatever remnants of the civilization survived after an impending war threatened to annihilate the planet. Part of the book takes place in flashback form to this civilization, with the rest concerning how the international expedition struggles to decide what to do with its discovery.

It's a bit of an odd book, and it takes a while to figure out where the story is going--though there's a nice twist at the very end. It certainly has an interesting premise, though only a couple of the characters are well-rounded and memorable from page to page. Wikipedia says Barjavel's work "often involved the fall of civilisation due to technocratic hubris and the madness of war", and that seems to fit La nuit des temps to a T.

NFL 2011 Week 9 Predictions

2011-11-04T00:15:00.002-04:00

The official halfway point of the season! All I have to do is make up two games a week to have a slight lead going into the playoffs . . . Easy!

On a more serious note, this week has some good games--with the Sunday and Monday night games perhaps the best duo so far this season . . .

Jets at Bills

-------------

The Wife: Jets

Me: Jets (it takes me a while to trust a team that got good all of a sudden, like the Bills, so for now I go with the established winners . . .)

Steve: Bills

Browns at Texans

---------------

The Wife: Texans

Me: Texans (considering their lack of big-name players, the Browns defense is really doing exceptionally well, but an offense that averages just 15.3 points per game, tied for 28th in the league, is not going to produce many wins . . .)

Steve: Texans

Dolphins at Chiefs

-----------------

The Wife: Chiefs

Me: Chiefs (though Matt Moore is doing halfway decent. Apropos of nothing, I wonder why the Dolphins moved so far away from the wildcat offense that seemed to be really producing for them a couple of years back?)

Steve: Chiefs

Seahawks at Cowboys

----------------

The Wife: Cowboys

Me: Cowboys (as Jim Mora said on No Huddle the other night sometimes it becomes obvious why back-ups were back-ups, and with Tavaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst that seems to be the case)

Steve: Cowboys

49ers at Redskins

-----------------

The Wife: 49ers

Me: 49ers (so is Beck better than Grossman? Or are they both just bad?)

Steve: 49ers ("Ok, you can use this game to get one back on me. I think the '9ers are going to have a bad showing. Don't know why, just a feeling.")

Bucs at Saints

----------------

The Wife: Saints

Me: Saints (both teams have had some wild inconsistency this year, but the Saints have more core firepower . . .)

Steve: Bucs ("NO hasn't looked great this year despite that game 2 weeks ago in my opinion and lose again this week.")

Falcons at Colts

----------------

The Wife: Falcons

Me: Falcons (for what it's worth, at least Curtis Painter has shown he can be a decent back-up, something that was very much in doubt at the beginning of the season)

Steve: Falcons ("Is Indy going to win any this year? Was going to pick them again but just don't think this will be the game they win.")

Broncos at Raiders

--------------

The Wife: Raiders

Me: Broncos (my theory: Palmer is still going to be hurling picks left and right)

Steve: Raiders ("I typed Denver half a dozen times before finally settling on Oakland. This could go either way as I am not sold on Tebow and the entire Broncos, but I don't think Oakland is going to be a good team this week either.")

Bengals at Titans

----------------

The Wife: Titans

Me: Bengals (I'd actually like to see the Bengals play this year . . . one of the downsides of a network broadcast schedule premised on what teams were good last year)

Steve: Bengals ("Screw Johnson. He needs benched.")

Giants at Pats

----------------

The Wife: Patriots

Me: Patriots

Steve: Patriots

Packers at Chargers

----------------

The Wife: Packers

Me: Packers (almost picked the Chargers just for the hell of it, but they've been really weird this season and I'm not that desperate yet)

Steve: Packers ("They have a chance to go 16-0 this year. Two games against Detroit still though and that might be their biggest tests. Only team to beat them this year ... Cleveland the first week of the preseason...")

Rams at Cardinals

----------------

The Wife: Rams

Me: Rams (was going to pick Cardinals, but then heard Kolb wouldn't play . . . though, it could be improvement . . .)

Steve: Rams ("StL is going to ride last week into a hard fought win this week.")

Ravens at Steelers

----------------

The Wife: Steelers

Me: Steelers (they got their mojo back)

Steve: Steelers

Bears at Eagles

---------------

The Wife: Bears

Me: Eagles (a really interesting match-up . . .)

Steve: Eagles