A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay This was a re-read for me, as it just became available on Kindle. It in fact wrapped up my complete re-read of Kay's fiction, which I mostly handled in 2018. Grant by Ron Chernow (incomplete) After reading the award-winning (and musical-inspiring) Hamilton by Chernow, I was moved to pick [...]
Jauf, human fighter
Just Another Uninteresting Fighter I'm steadily making spare characters for D&D 5e, partly to help me gain insight into game mechanics while I work on my Musketeers-inspired campaign, but mostly because it's a fun exercise. I don't usually do fighters so I thought it was time to give it a try. I'l say this: D&D [...]
Marvek, halfling warlock
This is Marvek, my second D&D character. (It's for a one-shot, so don't worry -- Jeribon is still alive and well.) Warlocks are a new class -- new to me, at least, as they weren't in AD&D. They're an odd type of spellcaster, who has few slots but recharges quickly. I have a custom character [...]
It must be tough being a film critic
and always having to say something supposedly original and hopefully contrary. The thesis of this article in Deadspin is that Avengers Endgame suffers because it dives headfirst into the mythology and doesn't pause or slow down for any non-fans watching. I'm just gonna say it: That's just dumb. (No spoilers for Endgame -- it's safe [...]
Jeribon
Update 2019 May 8: Here's Jeribon's 3rd-level character sheet. I'm getting back into D&D, hopefully, and I'm starting with Jeribon, a gnomish rogue. In the best traditions of the Internet, I've just stolen this image (from http://wow.blizzgame.ru/gallery/hazlow-mudshuggle-by-matt-cavotta/ ) until I can figure out one for myself. Backstory Jeribon was a young gnome at the time [...]
The Orville v. Discovery: Small reference Pools
I was watching a YouTube video comparing The Orville to Star Trek: Discovery. As it went on, it became almost surreal. At first, it was fine. The YouTuber likes The Orville over ST:D, because it feels more like "classic Trek" -- which is a reasonable opinion, and one I more or less agree with. But [...]
Movies 2019
Aquaman (12/27/2018)Bumblebee (1/3/2019)Teen Titans Go! To The Movies (2/16/2019, Google Play)Captain America: The First Avenger (3/15/2019, rewatch, amazon rental)Captain America: The Winter Soldier (3/16/2019, rewatch, amazon rental)Captain America: Civil War (3/17/2019, rewatch, amazon)Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse (3/20/2019, amazon rental)Captain Marvel (3/21/2019, AMC Southroads)Little (4/22/2019, B&B Starworld)Avengers Endgame (4/29/3019, B&B Starworld)SHAZAM! (5/17/2019, B&B Starworld)
America is a Choice
It’s been two years since I woke up to a country I didn’t recognize, and I’ve spent a lot of time wrestling with what that means. I suspect that won’t be ending any time soon. Over the course of this administration, my social media feeds have been peppered with reactions to outrages that were virtually [...]
Agents of SHIELD meets its “End”
It took only a week for me to catch the Season 5 finale of Agents of SHIELD, fittingly called "The End". It was pretty fantastic, actually, even if it barely tied into the Avengers flick. Agents of SHIELD has been the little show that could, toiling away while the MCU bounces from spectacle to spectacle. [...]
The best thing about The Last Jedi
I finally got to see The Last Jedi (after two previous failed attempts, both amazingly sold out afternoon shows, a month after the premier). I liked it a lot. My personal rankings of the "main" Star Wars movies is now something like The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars (A New Hope) The Force Awakens The Last Jedi [...]