SHAZAM! AGAIN

SHAZAM!

I recently purchased Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil hardcover. This is a new Captain Marvel story from Jeff Smith the creator of Bone.

The character was created in the 40s, as young Billy Batson was giving a magic word from the Wizard Shazam (his name) which transformed him into Captain Marvel, worlds mightiest mortal. Also over time the Captain got a whole family of Marvels including a teenage sister Marvel Marvel.

Right from the start this book really had me. I've been a fan of Captain Marvel since I was a young boy, watching the CBS Saturday morning live action show. From that point on I ate up everything I got my hands on which stared “the big red cheese”.

I have to admit over the years, it all wasn't very good. You see the problem with the Captain Marvel character is that during the run in the 40s and 50s it was done very tongue in cheek, whimsical and innocent. Lots of fantastic adventures and outrageous characters. But then the book was canceled and during the absence of the Captain Marvel from the 50s to the 70s, comics started to take themselves seriously. So when Captain Marvel returned to comics no one really knew how to handle a magic hero with a talking tiger. Therefore we've had many interpretation of the character not many very well done. Also many of the newer creators did not understand Billy relationship with the Captain. Most thought billy transformed into the Captain, that simply was not the case, The Captain, kinda possessed Billy. Well during the late 80s and 90s the creators wrote Captain Marvel as though Billy was stuck in an adults body “Wrong”.

With this new book, Jeff Smith has returned to the roots of Captain Marvel. Sure he has brought him to the 21^st Century with many changes and updates, but with a real innocence and charm that fits very well with the mythos. Also in a stroke of genius Jeff Smith came up with the idea of making Mary Marvel a little tiny girl, Therefore making the Captain her big brother.

The new book by Jeff Smith is a retelling of the Monster Society story originally done over multiple issues during the 40s. I won't go into the particulars of the storyline, but this was one of the funnest books in the last decade. I highly recommend it to all comic fans out there. Also it would be a great book to introduce young kids to the world of comics.

Back again

Well its been quite a while since I last posted. There are many reasons for the long delay. First off and had about two and one half weeks of Appraisal classes, in preparation of getting my Idaho State appraisal license. Then after there was the move, we move down the street to a new place, and with th combination of the selling, the packing and the hauling it took a while to finish up everything. Lastly the server at the office (which was also my client machine) died and had to be replaced. We replaced the machine and using it solely as a server machine and utilized the home computer as a new client machine at the office. Which meant we needed a new home machine. This time around I decided to try my hand at linux. It is not go smoothly. Tried to do an array system which we never got working so, just using the hard drives as individual drives. However, finally got everything up and running. I expect to do a few posts the week and also to do the game night post regularly again.

Game Day August 12, 2007

Marcus once again called and asked if I wanted to play a game on Sunday. So him, Michelle and Brian showed up for an evening of games.

The first game was Hoity Toity. This is a game that Michelle won at Icon, the Idaho Board Gaming Convention. This was the first play for all of us. I read the rules and watched a instructional video on Board Games with Scott just prior to playing our first game. It was fun, all the players make their moves simultaneously, playing cards which give them an action, which interact with the other players actions, all to move their pawns across the board to come in first. We enjoyed the game, but realized. that it would be even better if we played the game with a full six players. Brian won this game.

The Second game for the night was RA, which is an auction game, in which players bid on sets of tiles drawn from a common bag, in order to collect tiles of high values to them. I really love this game, the first few plays are vary bland, until you discover the rhythm of the game.  I think we always have a good time with this one. And Michelle, won this game by a big landslide.

Game Night August 9, 2007

In attendance were Brian, Thomas, Anna, Alan, Scott, Whitnie, Marcus, Michael, Andrew, and Myself. Oh and the other Brian showed up for a little while.

Thomas, Anna, Alan and Brian showed up on time and all the others were running very late, so I decided that we would start without them. So I picked Zooloretto. I explained the rules, but everyone seemed to be having difficulty figuring out the money aspect and the snack bar part of the game. I think this is due to the familiarity with Coloretto which is very similar. By mid game I think everyone got and was enjoying themselves. Alan won that game by a large margin.

 

By the time we had gotten into the game, everyone else showed up almost at the same time. Marcus picked the game they would play which was Shadows over Camelot. This is a Co-operative game in which everyone plays against the game mechanic in trying to complete several different quest to obtain a set number of swords(white) and if you fail you receive bad swords (black). Now there are many Co-op games out there but this tend to be one of the best , since one play could be a traitor and working against the rest. Strangely Marcus decided not to utilize this portion of the game. Scott and (the other) Brian did not make through the game and left early, the other seemed to be enjoying it, for just the fact that they had invested so much time they wanted to defeat the game. Which they did.

 

While the other played Shadows.... we were able to get in another game, although Alan had to leave. So Thomas, Brian, Anna and I played Thurn and Taxi. This was the first time for Anna, who seemed a little cool on it, although she won. I always enjoy this game.

Game Day August 5, 2007

Marcus Called and asked about getting together and playing games. So Scott, Marcus, Michelle and Myself got together and for a Sunday afternoon of gaming.

The first game was Ticket to Ride:Marklin  This was the first game for the rest and the third play for me, and also my third win(I love this game!).

Also We had dinner together as we played which was Homemade Turkey Chille and Quesadillas!

The second game for the night was Zooloretto, I had not played this game since I won it at The Gathering of Strangers. Its a fun tile collecting game very similar to Coloretto but with animals. Michelle won this game.

After Scott took off, Marcus and Michelle stayed to watch Gene Simmons Family Jewels and I went into the office to type some files, but it was much easier to go in since I had got some gaming in.

Game Night August 2, 2007

In attendance were Alan, Scott, Matt, Anna, John, Marcus, Thomas, Brian and Myself.

It was a really were night, most of the Physic Students had just finished a conference and the University and were really wiped out. Three times it was requested by different people that they wanted to play "something easy".

Well I decided to play Betrayal at House on the Hill. Playing this game were Alan, Anna, Matt, Scott, John and Myself. Although everyone seemed pretty fried, we got through it and I think everyone still seem to enjoy the game. In this game John turned out to be the traitor and the rest of us were able to defeat him and win the game.

Marcus, Thomas and Brian played Ingenious and then Coloretto, I'm not sure who won each game.

After we had finished Betrayal, most people packed it in early (they were all really tried and just wanted to turn off), but Alan, Scott, Matt and I finished the evening with a game of Coloretto, which Alan won.

Game Night July 26, 2007

In attendance were Brian, Megan, Anna, Michael, Andrew, Ken, Marcus, Alan, John, Thomas and Myself.

We broke into two groups.

Brian, Andrew, Thomas, Alan and Marcus played a game of Hacienda, which ran about an hour and one half with Thomas winning, well not just winning but just destroying everybody else in the game.

Michael, Ken, John and myself played Ticket to Ride: Marklin Edition. Again this is a fantastic light game with a little bit of Euro feel to it. Michael, was not enjoying himself totally since he appeared to be having terrible card draws. The game was very close between John and I at the end, and I ended up pulling way ahead due to the number of destination cards I completed.

Megan and Anna did not play a game, they both were knitting.

I want to thank everyone for coming and hope you had a great time and I'll see you next week .

Oh and Josh was not able to attend due to the recent birth of this fourth child Lillian Wheeler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Game Day July 22, 2007

Earlier in the week due to the amount of work that I had facing me, I had to cancel Game Night. However, Alan was good enough to step up to the plate and host it himself. I was not able to attend but was told it was a very good turn out and games played were Puerto Rico and Settlers of Catan.

Brian called me Sunday and asked if I would be interested in playing games and that he would make a couple of calls to see who else would be also. So in attendance on Sunday for games were Alan, Brian, Whitnie and myself. Also Brian brought a pizza from Papa Murphy's along with him (thank you very much Brian).

The first game we played was Ticket to Rid: Marklin Edition, This the third version of the classic Ticket to Ride series. Game play is similar to Ticket to Ride standard version but the differences are two destination stacks, long routes and short routes and also the addition of passengers, who travel across established player tracks to collect point markers. It was a pretty tight game, but I won due to the number of destination cards I completed.

After Alan and Whitnie left for the evening, and Brian and I played a two player game of Hacienda. This is an area control and building game in which each players are establishing land tracks and then building livestock herds off them to collect money and score points. It was a very nice two player game, but I could definitly see the potential for really close and confrontational games with three for four players. At the end of the game, when we totaled points I came out front due to my last minute building of the water.

It was a nice game day and everyone enjoyed themselves and I'm looking forward to our regular game night this Thursday.

Game Night July 12, 2007

In attendance were Alan (after a long absence vacationing in Spain), Whitnie, Scott, Matthew, Brian, Megan, John, Thomas and Myself.

I made brownies for everyone for snacks(mmmmmmm.....)

Brian, Alan, Scott, Thomas and Matthew played Railroad Tycoon which Brian was really looking forward to since last week. However Alan was the one to come out on top.

Whitnie, John and Megan and myself played Barbie Queen of the Prom Game. Megan had brought the game and Whitnie insisted that I play. So in order to get a forth I bribed John with a promise to play battlelore when it was finished. It actually turned out to be fun (sometimes its not the game its the people who play with). Megan won that game (making her extremely happy since it was her game).

After that game John and I sat down for a game of Battlelore which is a really great simple two player wargame. I own Memoir '44 and Command and Colors Ancients and I think I like this game most of all. John won the game but we both had a really great time.

All in all it was another great game night and I can't wait to see everyone next week.

Create an Avatar at the Simpson's Movie Site

Over at the Simpson's Movie web site they have an online tool for creating a Simpson's like character for yourself. All you have to do is register and not only can you make characters of yourself but also friends and family. Lots of fun, try it out.

Sicko

Okay, okay I know I usually blog on very trivial stuff, game night, comics, dvds and so forth. However I felt compelled to at the very least to say a few words about Michael Moore's new film Sicko. I know Moore is a controversial figure and there is are two definite camps "Love him" and "Hate him" and never shall the twain meet, but this issue is so important and goes beyond politics that I believe we all can agree, our health care system presently DOES NOT WORK!!!!!!!

In this film, Moore really takes a back seat, and has the least amount of on camera time as in any of his previous films. Although many might think that this is a film about the millions of people who lack health care (and there are) it really about the ones that do, but that it does little for them.

We all at some time have been sick enough that we considered going to the Doctor or the hospital. We consider it and weigh all the factors (my co-pay, if I need referral, do I have to call my HMO first). This is a sad commentary that going to the doctor has to be a consideration, and we have to think about it at all.

What is even sadder is that in the film, Moore visits other countries to examine their Health care system, such as Canada, Britain, France and Cuba. In all cases their system appeared to be superior to ours in the fact that there was no cost to the individual for any visits or procedures. This is horrendous considering that we supposedly live in the greatest country in the world and Cuba has a superior health care system.

I will admit that Mr. Moore did not outline the cost in taxes and/or freedoms, but come on, we can't have better health care than Cuba!

Now I know there are many of you out there going, either love this country or leave and go live in one of those other countries (pinko). I just want to note, I do love this country, but I'm saddened by what its becoming and that we lose sight of the most important aspect, the people. I feel that the Governments, Corporations and such always put the all mighty dollar before anything else, and of course Businesses are in the business of making money (I understand that, I'm not an idiot), but when these same corporation are recording profits in the billions and CEOs are getting bonuses in the millions, is it right that someone in a hospital bed right now this minute this very moment can't get $5.00 worth of medication because their insurance company won't pay for it.

So please, please just see this film.

Game Night July 5, 2007

 

First off Happy Birthday United States of America, secondly Happy Birthday Megan!

In attendance on game night that evening were Anna, Brian, Megan, Whitnie, Matthew, Katie, Scott and Myself. Also Anna brought her friend Abby from Boston with her this evening.

Katie, Megan, Brian and Myself played Thurn and Taxis, a game about establishing Postal routes in Germany. We were all familiar with the game expect Megan, who it was her first time playing. Like always its always a close game as far as scoring goes, however Katie came out on top and took the win.

Anna, Abby, Whitnie and Matthew played El Grande. El Grande is an area control game with an auction mechanic built in as well with three scoring stages. This game went on fairly long as we were done with our game long before their finish. I got to watch the end game, which was a tough finish between Anna and Whitnie, but Whitnie was able to utilize her last card very well giving her the ability to score the Castillo all on her own, pulling her out way in front to come in for the win.

After the during the end game and after I was able to have a nice conversation with Abby, who like I noted is currently from Boston (Newton actually just outside the city). It was nice to talk to some from the back east who knew all the places I knew.

Gathering of Strangers June 30, 2007

This weekend I attend the Gathering of Strangers board game convention in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah.

Brian, Whitnie, Marcus and Myself drove down from Pocatello early Saturday morning, its about an two and one half hour drive.

When we arrived in the city we decided to have lunch first, and Brian made us drive around for about a half an hour looking for an Indian place that he was sure of where it was located. After not finding it we Brian suggested the Lemon Grass, A Thai place, of course we we got there we found out that they do not serve lunch on Saturday. Luckily Trang Restaurant is located right next door.

Trang Restaurant is a an Asian place that I usually try to stop at every time I'm in Salt Lake, The food is excellent with a very diverse menu and the best dumplings I have ever had in my life.

Lunch was about an hour so we did not get to the convention till 1:oo pm. The first game we played was Inkognito, older deduction game, Whitnie and Marcus won that game.

After I was asked by David to play Succession: Intrigue in the Royal Court, a small negotiation bluffing game, which I did not really care for, it was extremely light, but we were only playing with three, and I think it would be better with a full five players.

Next David asked me to play Plunder, a small Pirate card game, which I like much more than the previous game, although it was light, I felt that if I had more experience with the game and there was at least one additional player this would be a lot of fun, don't get me wrong I did have fun, but with more players it would be a blast.

While David and I played Plunder they had the raffle, Marcus, Brian, David and I all won prizes. I won a copy of Zooloretto.

Funny enough, the next game I played was my spanking new copy of Zooloretto. I played this game with Robert, Tammy and Jordan. Nice little game from the creators of Coloretto. It was quick and fun and a really nice prize. Oh and Jordan won the game.

While I was playing these games Brian, Whitnie, Marcus and one other person played Thurn and Taxis. I don't know who won that game.

After that they played a game of Power Grid, which Marcus won.

After that Marcus said he was hungry though we were planning on playing a game of Mall of Horror with Josh from our game group who was also there.

Josh and Eric were in the middle of a game of Twilight Struggle and probably had another hour to go, so we decided we would get pizza and bring it back. I asked Tim from Game Night Games for a local pizza place and he suggested The Pie.

We got over there ordered a 16" ultimate veggie and a 23" pepperoni, The 23" was huge, I mean gigantic we couldn't even fit in the back seat of Marcus' car. I mean it was massive (no really it was big).

Got back to the convention just as Josh and Eric were finishing their game and chowed down on some Pizza and started a game of Mall of Horror.

Playing the game was Josh, Brian, Eric, Marcus, Jordan, Myself and Whitnie, this is a Voting Negotiation game about survival from a zombie invasion. A kind of last man standing type of game, much like Lifeboats. During the game they made the announcement that the convention was shutting down shortly, but we were able to finish with Brian and Myself tying for the win.

All in all, Gathering of Strangers is a great con, and I know I'll be attending again next year.

Game Night June 28, 2007

In attendance was Anna, Scott, Whitnie, Brian, Megan, John, Thomas, Matthew and Myself. Arriving late was Katie and Scott.

Anna, Scott, Whitnie, John and Thomas played Lifeboats, with Whitnie winning that game.

Brian, Matthew, Megan and myself played Ticket to Ride, with Brian winning.

After Brian, Katie and Myself played Thurn and Taxis with Katie winning that one.

Thanks everyone for attending and I hope to see you next week. 

Mountain Dew's New Ad, I'm left speechless!

I just saw this today, and I was stuck between laughing out loud and stunned silence.

Game Night June 22, 2007

In attendance this evening were Anna, Whitnie, Scott, Thomas, John, Brian, Megan, Josh, Marcus and after a long absence Matthew.

Off the bat, Thomas asked what game I would really like to play, and I decided on Die Macher, and then asked who did not have to get up early and could stay for a long one. Josh, John and Thomas said they could stay late and we would play that.

Scott and Matthew played a game of Battlelore. Scott won that game hands down.

Anna, Whitnie, Brian and Megan played Coloretto,then a game of Cluzzle and finally Marcus joined in Megan dropped out for a game of Betrayal of House on the Hill.

I don't know who won the first two games, however Anna became the traitor and won the game against the other.

In all this time, our group was playing our one game of Die Macher which lasted until 12:00 am, with Josh coming out victorious.

I hope everyone had a good time and hope to see you again next week.

Game Night, May 14, 2007

It has been awhile since the previous game night, I've been away on vacation and last week was a busy work week.

In attendance that evening was Anna, Whitnie, Brian, John, Michael, Andrew, Thomas, myself and this time Karen joined in.


John, Thomas, Michael, Andrew and Myself played Puerto Rico , this was the first time for most except for Michael, who had two games under his belt and of course me. It ran long approximately two and one half hours. However, everyone really seemed to enjoy it especially Michael who won the game.

Anna, Brian, Whitnie and Karen played Pinochle this was the first time for Karen, however the other are all Pinochle veterans. That game took just about as long as the Puerto Rico, and Anna and Karen Won, the score being 1,780 to -10.

I hope everyone had a good time and hope to see you next week.

Icon, Idaho Convention for Boardgamers May 19, 2007

In May I attended and ran a few games at the Icon convention. This is a Board gaming convention held in eastern Idaho in the city of Idaho Falls. So far this event has been semi annually and is run by Josh Wheeler a gaming enthusiast and friend of mine.

The conventions features mostly open gaming, featuring many types of games, Euro games, classic board games and some Wargames. There are also a couple of tournaments,and lots and lots of door prizes.

The convention typically runs from 9:00am and until midnight.

Like I stated, I demoed a few games, ElGrande, Battlelore, Twilight Struggle, Cluzzle and Wits and Wagers.

Conventions Like these are a great way of meeting other board gamers in the area and although this one is in its infancy, its a great little Con!!!!!

I highly recommending attending and will post the next date here!!!!

Robot Chicken Star Wars

You can't beat this combination, of Robot Chicken (one of the funniest shows on TV) and Star Wars. You can watch the whole thing on the Cartoon Network website.

Abbott and Costello "Whos on First"

This is one of the greatest comedy routines ever, and one of the best performances of the routine taken from the film The Naughty Nineties.

Batman the Animated Series

I recently purchased the Dvds of the complete Batman the Animated Series. This series first aired in 1992 after the release of the Batman Returns feature film. This series featured the animated adventures of DC comics Dark Knight, produced by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski. This “cartoon” took a serious approach to the Batman mythos, showing a grim Batman set in a very dark Gotham City. From the start with the first episode “On Leather Wings”, Batman fans knew that this was the Batman we had been waiting for, there was no camp, no mugging for the camera, and grown up tales of a Batman we had seen only before in some of the best Comics of the series.

It is certainly evidenced that the creators were Batman fans based on the detail given all the characters of the series. It’s widely known that Batman has the best rouges gallery of any hero and it shows in all its glory within the series.

One of the best features of the series in the voice acting, no longer did a company use the stock performers we all grew up with from the Hanna Barbara stable, no this time real actors took on the roles giving it their all. For example Mark Hamill, brings the Joker to manically life throughout the entire series, so much so that when ever you see the Joker all you can here is Hamill’s distinct laugh for the character.

Also the series features some of the best writing for these characters ever produced with many of the best episodes being written by Paul Dini. Dini not only utilize all the elements of what made all the characters great, but in many cases reinvented them and gave them more depth, for example Mr. Freeze in the first season episode “Heart of Ice”.

Also the look of the series was very distinct, given a very dark look, with very detailed lighting effects and a style which can easily be traced back to the old Max Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 40s. The pictures in this series are dark, extremely dark and this fits the mood of the entire series and the characters. Again, much of what animation had looked like in the past thirty hears had been established by companies like Hana Barbara and Flimation, which utilized very limited background stills and reused the foreground art over and over again.

In my opinion the creators of the series had done the definitive Batman……The Batman that every fan knew and didn’t know, and wanted more of each week. I can’t recommend this series enough; it’s a treat for every Batman fan out there and possibly for any anime fan as well.

Also it is noted that Paul Dini, is currently writing Batman in Detective Comics and is introducing many of the animated elements into current Batman continuity, so check it out!

Game Night, May 17, 2007

In attendance were Thomas, John, Josh, Marcus, Brian, Scott, Anna, Ted (after a long absence) and joining us were Whitney and Trish and of course myself.

Starting off, Whitney, Scott, Anna and Brian played The Game of Real Life
, while Trish, Ted and John played Settlers of Catan, and finally Josh, Thomas and I played Settlers of the Stone Age.

Marcus did not play a game right off the bat and sat out on the three that were going on.

The Game of Real Life ended earlier than the other two games with Scott wining, after that the same group played a game of Cluzzle which according to most accounts Anna was victorious.

I the time it took that group to play two games, the other two groups continued with there game with finally Thomas wining Settlers of Stone Age and Trish wining Settlers of Catan.

After, Whitney, Scott and Anna left for the evening leaving Brian, Marcus, Trish, Ted and John playing a game of Ticket to Ride.

At the same time Josh, Thomas and myself played a game of RA.

Both game took about the equal amount of time to play with Josh wining RA and Ted wining Ticket to Ride.

Just one side note, This was my fifth play of RA, and I'm just now starting to see all the layers this game has, on the surface appears to be a very simple auction game but it contains much more depth, and complexity that is only apparent after several plays.


I want to thank everyone for coming to game night and I hope that you all had a really great time.

Just a reminder, I will be on vacation next week so game night is cancelled for the 24th and 30th.

However it will be back on June 7th.

thanks

Game Night, May 10, 2007

Game Night had arrived again. In attendance were Marcus, Alan, Anna, Brian, Scott, Thomas, Michael, Andrew, Josh (and his little daughter), myself and after a long absence John.

The previous Monday had been had been Thomas' birthday and so John had brought a cake for us all to share (thank you very much John), (and Happy Birthday Thomas).

Well last week Scott had requested a game of Marvel Heroes and earlier this week
Anna had emailed me that she wanted to play Fury of Dracula.

So we split into three groups, Scott, Thomas, John and myself playing Marvel Heroes. I had played this once before but this was the first time for all the others.

Anna, Brian, Alan, Michael and Andrew playing Fury of Dracula. Anna and Brain had played this previously but this was the first time for all the others.

Marcus, Josh and Josh's daughter playing Cluzzle.

The game of Cluzzle is fairly short so that game finished much earlier than the other two, and I don't know who won that game. After Josh had to get home to put his daughter to bed and Marcus left early also.

The Fury of Dracula ran long, till about 11:00 pm, from what I'm told it was coolly received which is a disappointment since usually we have a really good time with that one, Anna had played Dracula and the other players beat her (though she said near the end she was being reckless).

Our game of Marvel Heroes was the last to finish, at approximately 12:45 am (boy am I tired today), but we had a really great time. The first hour of the game was a little tense since it was taking a while for everyone to catch on, but finally when that did it was a blast. Scott won the game breaking a tie with John, after I had 5 points detected in my last turn. (really have to play this again!)

Oh and Alan had brought some Baklava (thanks Alan!!!)

I want to thank everyone for come to game night and I hope to see you next week!!!!!

Game Night, May 3, 2007

In attendance was Alan, Marcus, Brian, Scott, Andrew, Michael, Josh and Myself.

Marcus, Josh, Scott and Michael started the evening off with a game of Lifeboats, which ran much shorter than the first game the group played a few weeks ago. Scott was the winner of that game. Then that same group played a game of RA, which Michael won.

In the time it took those guys to play two games we played one game of Starfarers of Catan, this was the second time, Alan and Brian had played and first time for Andrew and I, we all really enjoyed the hell out of this one, and in the end I came out on top and won the game.


Thanks everyone for attending and I hope to see you all next week.

p.s. Scott made a request to play Marvel Heroes game, lets see if that get done.

SuperFriends

I Just loved this series when I was a kid, but looking at it now it really appears simplistic and not keeping with many of the characters. However it will always have a fond place in my heart.

Game Night, April 26, 2007

In Attendance were Alan, Brian, Scott, Marcus, Thomas and Myself.

Alan had recently purchased a new game Starfarers of Catan, and Marcus and he sat down to go over the rules, while they did that Brian, Scott, Thomas and myself played a game of Ingenious, it was an odd game everyone scored very high, brian actually got Ingenious on all the colors and won even before the last tile was played.

After that game, Thomas had to leave shortly so Brian, Alan and Marcus played Starfarers while Scott and I played 2 games of Command and Colors Ancients. This was Scott's first time, although he had played Memoir '44 a few time. He said that he enjoyed Ancients more, since it appeared that the cards gave you more options and the player aid sheet included with the game, gave a player all the information they needed to know during the course of play. Scott won the first game and I won the second.

In the time it took for Scott and I to play two games of Command and Colors, Marcus, Alan and Brian was just finishing up their game of Starfarers. Alan won the game making the purchase that much sweeter, although he did say that a four player game would probably be better since each player would have less room to move across the board.

All in all the three of them agreed that it was a fun game and would gladly play again.

Thanks all for coming and hope to see you next week.

Creature Double Feature WLVI TV56

I grew in central Massachusetts about forty miles outside of Boston and when I was a child Channel 56 a local UHF channel aired "Creature Double Feature" every Saturday afternoon starting at 1:00 pm and running till 4:00 pm. I was glued to the set every time this ran, they showed a wide range of classic horror movies from Universal Monster, Roger Corman cheap B moves and Japanese Monster Movies. This is were I was first introduced to Frankenstein, Dracula, Godzilla and many little know monsters. Its a shame that these films are now considered by a wide circle to be outdated and no longer commercial. These were classic films which I fell in love with and still have a place in my heart for to this very day. This was when horror, for me was mood (sometimes cheese) but never gore.

Game Night, April 19, 2007

In attendance were Anna, Alan, Marcus, Thomas, Brian, Andrew, Michael, Megan and Myself.

Alan, Anna, Andrew, March, and Michael played a game of Settlers of Catan with the expansion and Alan came out the winner!!

Brian, Thomas, Megan and Myself played a game of Hare and the Tortoise in which I came out victorious.

Later we were joined by Josh and Todd, but Todd could not stay long enough to play and Megan was finished with games for the night, so Josh, Brian, Thomas and Myself had a four player game of RA, and Thomas first game and He won!

I hope everyone had a great time and enjoy seeing you all again next week.

Game Night, April, 5 2007

In attendance were Brian, Andrew(for the first time), Thomas, Alan, Micheal and myself.

I had picked up a copy of Lifeboats and was itching to play for the past month. Tonight was a rare night which a small number of people had attended and therefore I thought it a good opportunity to bring it out.

I explained the rules, its a simple negotiations games whereas you elect which boats spring a leak, then which player gets kicked off the boat and then which boat (out of seven) get advanced towards the island.

The rules state that the game can be played in 90 minutes (our game took 3 hours), but they were a very enjoyable 3 hours :)

All our negotiation went very long there was much arguing, pleading and convincing throughout the entire evening.

After all was said and done, I came out on top and won the game.

Everyone who played enjoyed themselves very much and all agreed that it would be one they would be very willing to play again.

I was very pleased that Andrew enjoyed himself so much since this was his first night with the group.

thanks again everyone see you next week.

Game Night, March 15, 2007

In attendance was Anna, Marcus, Scott, Matthew, Alan, Brian and Ted and myself.

Anna, Matthew, Marcus and Myself played Order of the Stick adventure game. Anna won this game.

Alan, Brian, Scott and Ted played Railroad Tycoon, which Brian won!

Game Night, March 8, 2007

In attendance was Alan, Scott, Brian and Myself.

The first game for the evening was Tigris & Euphrates I have not played this in a long while and it was Alan, Scott and Brian's first time. Brian won this game with Scott coming in second.

The second game was Coloretto, which Alan won.

Thanks everyone who game and I hoped you enjoyed the evening.

Game Night, March 1, 2007

Starting with this Game Night, we decided to no longer serve dinner.

Game Night started in October of 2005 with a small group and dinner was provided as an incentive to grow the group, and the group has grown.

I believe that we have a nice size group which consists of people who love to get together each week with others to have fun, interact and play games. I'm sad to see the dinner portion of the evening end since it kicked everything off and gave everyone a chance to catch up and connect, before possibly spliting up into separate games for the evening.

I wil be very sorry if this change causes some people not to attend, however I am confidence that it will not and I do believe though that game night will continue and grow and evolve. soooo......


People in attendance were Marcus, Alan, Brian, Matthew, Thomas, John and Myself.

Alan, Marcus and Brian played a game of Settlers of Catan, which Alan won, then after they played a game of Traders of Genoa, which I believe Brian won.

Matthew, John, Thomas and myself played Fury of Dracula, with me being Dracula. This game lasted a few hours and ended with the hunters winning.

I want to thank everyone who attended and hope that they had a great time.

Adventures of Supeman on DVD

My first experience with the man of steel as a child was episodes of the Adventures of Superman in syndication.

George Reeves has been in my mind the iconic Clark Kent if not Superman.

The show was a simple half hour program with most episodes aimed at kids. I say most because the first season of the show (filmed in black & white) was made up of little "crime noir" dramas, that were very much aimed at an adult audience. Still to this day "The Haunted Lighthouse" still creeps me out a bit and the episode "The Evil Three" is just crazy. In these first season episodes you really believed that the cast of characters of Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane and Perry White, where is danger for their lives.

The second season, saw Noel Neill join the cast as Lois Lane, and a toning down of the violence on the show. Still in Black and White, and still with some pretty dramatic episodes, some later adapted to the comics such as "Panic in the Sky" and "Around the World with Superman". Also the second season introduced Kryptonite to the television episodes. During this season Jack Larson's Jimmy Olsen character was starting to take on a more comedic role, and due to his popularity a new Superman comic was created "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.

The Third season introduced cutting edge technology to the program "Color", although originally aired in black and white the producers of the show, were thinking ahead. Brilliant move on their part, this is very much part of the reason that the show has been in syndication all these years. It is noted that the third and fourth season were released in the same box set, since both were only 13 episodes long. With the these seasons all the edge had finally been eliminated from the show making into a "kid program". Although there are still quite a few gems to be found in this season as well. By the third season, this cast also melded perfectly and it shows on the screen.

The fifth and sixth seasons were released in one box set as well and like the previous two seasons they have a much similar tone. However some of the worst episodes can be found in this last box set, but there are also a few classics as well.

Also all the box sets include a special documentary and box sets one and two (seasons one and two also include a couple of audio commentaries)

The Documentaries are Adventures of Superman from Inkwell to Backlot (S1), The first Lady of Metropolis (S2), Adventures of Superman: The Color Era, Faster Than A Speeding Bullet: The Special Effects of Adventures of Superman, Look Up In The Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman (excerpts) (S3,4) and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen (S5,6)

The video quality of the episodes vary, some are crystal clear and brilliant in color and other appear muddy and washed out. The content however is magical, and wondrous. This is a great set for any Superman fan, especially if you grew up with this being your first Superman !

My Top 10 Episodes

The Haunted Lighthouse
The Stolen Costume
The Deserted Village
The Evil Three
The Defeat of Superman
Superman in Exile
Panic in the Sky
The Big Freeze
The Mysterious Cube
The Perils of Superman (Directed by George Reeves)

Worst Episodes
Through the Time Barrier
Mr Zero (This is Awful)
The Gentle Monster

Game Night, February 22, 2007

Another Game Night, In attendance was Marcus, Anna, Brian, Mike, Matthew, John, Thomas, Josh and Myself.

Dinner was a homemade minestrone soup , pizza and salad.

One Game consisted of Thurn and Taxis in which John, Brian, Thomas and I played. John won that game.

The other game was Memoir '44 which Mike and Matthew played. Mike won that one.

Josh arrived late and played a game of To Court The King with Anna. Anna won.

Then after John, Brian, Josh, Thomas and Myself played a game of Railroad Tycoon. John won that game.