State of the Blog Address

Gerfargletargle!

September was not a good month for me.  In fact, I wouldn't say I've been in the best places mentally since July.  That is part of the reason why I haven't really blogged since the bloggiversary.  What I really needed was a hiatus, a sort of no blog period from the bloggiversary to Comic-Con, which is next week.  Again, I am just going on the Saturday, and cosplaying as the Ninth Doctor instead of the Tenth.  Planning on meeting John Barrowman as well.

So I assume you want to know what happened since the death of the Dakota?  Well, since July, I have been having panic attacks off and on, stacked on top of my depression.  Had some life changes happen along that rode to.  Lost some friends, became single again, new job, and some new friends to.  I've reached out to old friends, and have rekindled some amazing things, especially with my friend whom I shall name on here Zombie Girl.  I'm hoping October will be a better month for me, and so far, it has yet to disappoint.

So alongaide that, here is my State of the Blog Address:

*Table Plan and Table Stories are returning to their regular Monday schedule, starting with a Story called "Revenge at Havyn," based at the LARP I go to.

*My friend aka the Pirate, and I, we were planning a YouTube series in which we sit back, smoke cigars and talk about all things nerdy and awesome.  If we do it, expect links!

*Speaking of, Ganon still can't surf the web, too many links.

*I've been getting into board games since my laptop started acting strange (I'm posting this from my new phone, which is basically a phablet), so expect some board game shenanigans.

*Yes I virus scanned and such on my laptop, I'm no dummy, I think it might be a hardware issue, which is beyond my expertise, and I'm too poor for Geek Squad.

*My D&D group and I are making a setting cooperatively so expect posts on that, some of which will be in Table Plan.

*Since last Blog Year I took an accidental hiatus and this year I needed a break to recuperate, I think the Bloggiversary to Comic-Con hiatus will be a thing now.

And there we have it.

By Jove did I miss this :-P

So Long, Dear Dodge Dakota

A simple little post, a simple little post to say goodbye to a truck that has been there for some really formative moments in my life.  For getting me to see Destiny in Philly, to Pagan/Buddhist festivals that shaped me, to countless D&D Nights and other a nerdy thing, I thank it for its work.  And even though you have been consigned to an early death thanks to the mechanics not really looking at my truck, know that you were always a hard worker (except for that time, of course, when you erupted like Old Faithful with coolant).

The Green Dragon, aka, Clara, Sheila, and the TruckDIS (trucks in relative dimensions

and space?)

1993-2013

ADDENDUM

Because this post wasn't over the top silly and sentimental already:

Get Him to the LARP

So here's the thing...

My part-time job pays semimonthly/biweekly (take your pick of big words), so I am sitting here with $27 in my wallet, a fistful of change that I hope makes it out to an extra $3, and me trying to plan out a trip to Dystopia Rising.  Yes, it's that time of the month again!  It's time to LARP!

I didn't go to Dystopia Rising last month due to not having the money, and it killed me.  I sat around wondering, "damn, I wonder what is happening in Havyn right about now?"  I am not passing this up this month.  My girlfriend is going, she LARPed before, and she wants to LARP with me.  I also love LARPing, it has become rather quickly a passion and a hobby, much like table-top gaming, or puzzles with my girlfriend.  I actually didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but I loved it.  I loved playing as my Baywalker.  It's relaxing.  It's realy fun not being Kyle for like 36-48 hours, and be my Baywalker Finnegan.

And I am awesomly photogenic as Finnegan

So I think I have the money thing down pat.  Next is trying to wrap this around work.  I work the weekends, my days off being Monday and Tuesday, and many a LARP are a Friday-Sunday kind of deal.  I know I can't, with how little money I have, to make the whole weekend work; so leaving from work to DR, and then from DR to work, and then homeward bound is the only way I can work it.  In total, it's about 122 miles, tacked onto my 32 already clocked on my truck, takes me to 152.  Not bad, except for the fact that my truck is a gas-guzzler, guzzling gas like I guzzle boneless wings or pizza.  my truck gets right about empty at 200 miles.  While I can get there and back on a single tank of gas, and finish off the week at work on that tank, it still annoys me.  I think this is more an annoyance at my truck, which is, while much better than my last one, still seems like it has one tire in the junkyard.  Trucks and SUVs and such are traditionally gas-guzzlers, and being the traveler that I am, I hate having that sort of limit.  My friend whom introduced me to Minecraft has a Mini, and his gas gauge barely moved when he and I once went to a video-game convention down near Philly.  My truck would have sucked down so much gas, I could hear Mother Earth groan in pain.

Back to the "making this work around work" subject, I will only get about 17-18 hours at DR until I have to go back and work for more money.  I will be missing out on 22 hours of action this time around.  Next month I will have more money to stay there for longer (an extra 86 miles back to DR and then, *gasp* back to work, maybe I could see if I could call off for a day), so I won't get THAT much time there, but time enough to have a little bit of fun and get my LARP fix for the month.  It might sound insane, but then again, there are people out there who get addicted to gambling.  At least here I lose a fixed amount of money, and not a random amount based on my aching need to give it one more spin of the wheel.

Do I love LARPing?  By Jove I do, but besides that, the act of having a hobby is very healthy.  I like being healthy.  I haven;t taken the best of care of myself in the past few months, so it's about time I pamper myself...

...by being another person for a short time and kicking Zombie ass!

The Conjuring

HELLO PEEPS, I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!



Wow, it sure has been a while since my last blogpost.  Can't really say that it was a nice vacation, I didn't really go anywhere, and it was more of "I don't want to write because of the fact that I had like three emotional breakdowns."  Oh, and finally getting a job doesn't help maters much as well.

But I think the world knew I wouldn't stay away for long.  Isn't that right China?  A big ni-hao to the insurgence of Chinese viewers.

But let us get on topic.  So recently my girlfriend, her mom, her mom's boyfriend, and I went to go see The Conjuring!

Before I get into my list of criticisms, and, by Jove, are there a lot of them, let me say some good points.  The film is successful as a horror film.  as it had "true" events to work with, the horror was balanced with some pretty scenes and comedy, besides the riffing comedy we added.  More on that later.  The acting was pretty good, it was believable to a point.  I enjoy paranormal investigation stuff, and I enjoyed seeing a debunking at one point of the film.  Usually such films make it seem like every haunting has some sort of ghost, elemental, or demon waiting around the shadowy corner.  Maybe the plumber cut corners and crappily put in your pipes?

But speaking of demons, we must get to why this movie is secretly horrible, and I mean, balls rippingly horrible in secret.

Towards the beginning of the actual investigation the movie is about, Ed Warren talk to the dad about demonic possession, and if the kids were baptised, and then tells the dad that baptism was basically an urgent requirement for protection.  Um, okay, before we continue, let me say that I am no enemy to faith.  I am a Buddhist as well as a person who prays to the Greco-Roman Gods, if anything, I have enough faith to last me this lifetime.  However, I do not see a time of crisis: physical, mental, or spiritual, as a time to proselytize, I think such a thing is immoral.  Also, for being such a protective power against demons and other spiritually icky things, I wonder why then does it seem that Christians are the most assaulted by demons?

Also, if non-Christian spirituality attracts demons, as is suggested in more recent times by Lorraine Warren, I should be swimming in demons, much like St. Anthony.  The statues of the Gods and Buddhas, my two malas, shit I bought from the New Age store (like the Reiki charged candles, which I bought mainly because they smelled good), and let's not forget the time I opened my girlfriend's keychain Ouija Board in my room and moved the planchette across the board.  Damn, soon ghosts will be dragging me off my bed and head first into closets and vomiting blood into my mouth.

TIME TO MOVE!

This movie was an insult not only to non-Christian spirituality, but also to the religion that the movie seemed to lift high up on a pedestal, Catholicism.  I'm not doubting that Ed and Lorraine were not devout Catholics, I would never do that.  However, isn't there supposed to be some sort of protocall before an exorcism, including fasting and ritual preperation?  And isn't that a type of training usually given to a priest, or is usually undergone by one?  Much like I would doubt any Tom, Dick, or Sylvia claiming to practice authentic Tantra, I think a non-trained person doing an exorcism is a bit insulting to the tradition behind it.  I'm surprised the demon didn't pull a Jonah Hill and claim that the power of Christ wasn't really that compelling.

Beyond the movie being preachy, the movie seemed to be more of a hagiography of Ed and Lorraine Warren than a movie about the haunting and investigation.  I came to see this investigation.  I came to see ghosts and shit I haven't seen since The Exorcist.  Instead, we are treated to a look in the daily life of the Warrens.  While it was a nice look, it would have been more fitting for a biography than a horror film.  In fact, and interview with Andrea Perron on The Blaze (which I am not linking to due the me not wanting this site infected with Glenn Beck cooties lmao) states that some parts of the investigation were even left out (perhaps to make room for more hagiographical scenes).

But at least the family knew when it was TIME TO MOVE.

I didn't leave the theater insulted.  I guess some of the more insulting bits came more in the sense of Fridge Horror than anything else.  I had more pressing issues at hand, like where to drive to drop off people and such.  But the more I sat and thought, the more I realized that, under the layers of a decent film, was this festering hole of preachiness and a hagiography that, while interesting, had no place in this film.

Happy Blogiversary

WHEW!

I did it, we did it.

One whole year of blogging.

I do not know what to say.

Well, I could always do my cast roll like I was going to yesterday.  I've actually been kind of busy all week, trying to get this job I applied for, working on my schedule, things have been chaotic, but one thing I have looked forward to is this day.  This day is special, it's my Blogiversary!

And I'm actually not feeling too hot today, leave it to me to kind of feel a bit sick on my Blogiversary.

Fuck..........

So, tomorrow you get my Blogiversary vid and also the secret, the secret behind the one missing day that was supposed to be legitimately missing ( and not like the other missing days that are missing due to laziness).

Four Cat Pics, as I Promised

Here are my Four Cats:

Addy

Cali

Garfield

Lucky

No reason for this blog, just showing off my cats, because cats are awesome!

The 5-4-5 of My Biggest Screw-Ups

When you blog, you try to spell-check and proof-read everything you put out.  This not only makes your work look nice and at least somewhat professional, but also grants you some necessary skill work for an office setting (if that's your jam) and also makes it look like you give two shits about what you put out on the internet for everyone to read.  However, every once in a while, you tend to get the ever delightful error slip through.

Although, maybe if they introduced themselves, we wouldn't be

having this conversation, your thoughts Link?

I looked back through my blog and found some of my biggest screw-ups, some that were simple typos to things that were just plain wrong, or even just things that only I noticed, here are my Top 5 Screw-Ups!

5
In the Beginning... Was I Drunk?

In this we are going back to the VEEEERY beginning of this blog, back to last year.  After my intro piece, I wrote a blog that was supposed to be a review of Snow White and the Huntsman.  I mention that the movie felt like it had ADHD.  Talk about the movie having ADHD, that whole post needed to be on Ritalin, no offense to people who have ADHD, I'm not neurotypical either.  But I digress.  This was also before I established the "No names of friends and such unless I have permission" rule, so that was a bit odd when looking back.  So, of all my friends, you know know the names of three so far.  Again, I digress.

Was it so hard for me to keep on track?  Well, maybe it was.  I grew so much as a blogger, so much, that you can see it in my writing.  However, comparing that to my other posts back in the early days, there was no excuse.

I must've been drunk...

4
Game Trek III: The Search for Rock

Let me tell you a story about this image here:

This was taken way back when I first started playing Neverwinter Nights, and in the post called Just Don't Barge In, I referenced the story of which this picture was for.  So I type up the story, and that is when I realized that I didn't have the picture, so I searched the old desktop, no pic.  My thumbdrives turned up empty to.  In fact, one of them was completely empty, but I digress.  I knew it was on my old derelict MySpace, but I was unsure of the password.  This lead me to messaging Destiny, since I somehow got onto my MySpace on her laptop, but alas, the password wasn't saved.  So I sat there, MySpace staring into my soul like the evil abyss it is, and I typed in the first thing that came to mind...

The point of the story was that, I spent about two hours trying to find one pic that I probably didn't even need.  I mean, it's not like I take pics of the games I am playing, so already you HAVE to take my word for it.  However, all things had to be dropped until this pic was found.  If it was between finding the Grail or this pic, the Grail would be relegated to being a simple little dinky cup compared to this picture.  I feel silly for wasting a lot of time on this pic, but now you all know the backstory.

3

Grandia and I are in Couples Counseling

I still LOVE Grandia, which is still, for the lack of better terms, my favorite video game ever!  In fact, I remember stating that everytime I say the word LOVE when it comes to this game, I would put it in capital letters, LOVE and not love.

I LOVE Grandia, LOVE it, so much so I have to put LOVE in capital letters every time I write about this game.  Honestly, I don't know what it is about this game.  The plot is for the most part predictable, I've only beaten it once, so why do I love it so much?

Let me emphasize that a bit more

I've only beaten it once, so why do I love it so much?

This is just as bad as a business man who is in a monogamous relationship having a mistress, and when the wife meets the mistress under the assumption that she is just a friend, and he says to his wife, "here is my girlfriend Cindy!"  I guess the honeymoon is over...

Justin was not amused...

2

Fire in the Fast Food Joint!

Chronomancy is fun.  It's like Doctor Who meets your fantasy RPG, except without the incredibly awesome form of transport that is basically a British police box form the 60's that is basically it's own universe inside of it.  Forget Planescape and Spelljammer, this brings up the awesomeness to Matt Smith.  However, when half of your ebook discusses the complexities of the "grandfather paradox" in a magical setting, while interesting to me, you would lose people quicker than a political bandwagon.  Futurama probably couldn't keep people interested long enough!

But this is not about Philosophy, this is about Fast Food, and one thing you find in every fast food joint, fire!. Yes, fire, one of the Four Elements, and the most fun to.  This is also about fries, those delicious little cuts of potato that America loves so much, an attempt was made to change their name from French Fries to Freedom Fries

Well, I think, when you order fast food, and it has been a while since I did this, last time I went my friend ordered for me since I lost money at a casino like an idiot (never play slots), but I think you don't order any fire with your meal.  What is this, the Neolithic Era?  What's next, ordering a good Auroch Steak?  Yet, there I go...

It just too bad the only thing a Philosophy degree would ever get me is the chance to ask why someone would like fires with that. I kid, I kid.

Destiny pointed out this error to me, and I found it too funny to not keep.  So there it stands for posterity.

 Okay, so you apparently CAN order fire from a restaurant.  Thanks

for making shit invalid yet tasty Taco Bell!

1

Amadeus, the Not-So-Punctual Paladin

So right after the Winter Solstice in 2012, as we were picking up the pieces of our post-apocalyptic world (since, as we all know, the world ended December 21st, 2012), I wrote up a blog post about how I finally got to see The Hobbit, which answered, for me, what happens when one's best-friend and bromantic partner fakes their death by falling off of a tall building.

My apologies to the Sherlock Fandom, which means apologies 

to myself to

However, the reason I bring up that post is that at the end of it I mentioned that the next blog post would be about Amadeus the Naked Paladin.  About half-way into January and we finally get to him.  What brings this up, and why is this my biggest screw-up?  Well, it is the best example of my procrastination.  This also inculdes why there is no Post for the number 7 in my Blogiversary count-down, or why Table Plan didn't exist for a while.  I am a procrastinator.  Scrap metal in my truck?  Let's leave it sit in there for like two months and not go to a scrapyard (yet I will HAVE to do so next week).  Temp Agency?  We'll just see where my current application gets me, maybe it'll work out.  

However, I also bring it up because, as fate would have it, my post about the Naked Paladin turned out to be the most popular post on my blog, now pushing triple digits (it's not the most read, however), and the words "dnd" and "naked" are together one of the most popular searches for my blog.  Most of you were probably looking for this awesome blog, called Playing D&D With Porn Stars, it is an awesome blog, and was where I found out that Stoya plays D&D.  Sorry Milla Monroe, but until you start rolling the 20's, Stoya has taken your spot as the #1 Porn Star I would like to meet..... kind of creepy that I have a list like that.... moving on.

While Amadeus may no longer be with us, we now have, in the campaign I am playing, Lazlo inside Amadeus' body, and the blog describing that chapter is still forth coming.  Maybe Lazlo the Rogue Paladin shall become the biggest meme of this blog.  Move over Charlemagne!

Campaign World 8

Normally I do not type a lot about my campaign world for a lot of my fantasy game stuff, but today, I will tell you eight things about my fantasy setting, which I have been working on and writing up for a while.  Note that these are the mainstays for my settings, and are not the full details:

Pendragon's Cauldron, the Hub of the Setting
A lot of my setting revolves around a big port city that grew from and old trade route taver/hostel from which the city got its name.  The city is, despite being between two nations, generally self-ruling, with a some-what elected City Council.  I say somewhat elected since mainly it's a plutocratic government.  Because of this, despite there being general protection, corruption is somewhat commonplace.  One thing, however, that makes this plutocracy better than others, is that the poor do not really go hungry or without shelter.  Sure, there is no guarantee that they are safe, protected, or healthy, but that sense of hospitality never left the city.  The city has a canal system that links it to a river that runs through the city, splitting one-third of the city off from the rest of it.  The river was constructed, but by whom they do not remember, seeing as it was there since the days when the city was just one tavern/hostel.

The Church of Illian, God of Light and Order
The setting generally follows a monistic religion that worships the god Illian.  Illian was at one time a minor deity in the pantheon until his cultus grew to be the largest (akin to the god Vishnu in real life).  Illian is said to be omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent.  However, Illian is also said to only be one of these at one time, and is approached in the form of four different deities.  Illian the All-Powerful takes the form of a mighty Warrior-King, whom wields both a Sword of Power,  Illian the All-Knowing takes the form of a blind-seeress, blinded with a cloth around her eyes, and wields a Black Mirror that can see the flow of time itself.  Illian the Ever-Present takes the form of a pregnant mother, whom holds in her hands a chalice that never runs empty.  Illian the Beneficient is seen as a wise priest or sage, whom holds a Scepter that grants wishes.  While approached in these four forms, the worshipers remember that there is only One Illian, whom is said to take the form of a mighty Gold Dragon or Eagle.

Dwarves and Elves on an Empire Sized Scale... only conquered by Humans
The two main empires in my setting were once Dwarven and Elven whom, at one time were peaceful, during Orc and Goblin raids from a nearby land (the land fell to shit, so they were pushed to survival, the Orcs and Goblins really are nice people, see below) they entered into arguments that became all out warfare.  This lead to having them subsumed into the Empire of Amenthes.  Granted, now there is the Eastern and Western Amenthes Empires, but at one time it was really grand.  The Western Empire, inspired by the Elves and the more magic based and liberal population; and the Eastern Empire, conservative and built strong on tradition and Dwarven independence.  However, they are peripheral in my adventures, usually only the capitals of each being important.  The Western capital being Phildelos, once known to the Elves as Beth-Il (it's a really old city), and the Eastern capital being Camdros.

Orcs and Goblins aren't evil!
Once upon a time, they scratched a living in the Borderlands, a region near this desert.  However, during a time of desertification, they turn to bloody rituals devoted to a deranged, eldritch god.  For a time, in return for their worship and bloody sacrifices, the forgotten deity blessed them, but then the deity grew greedy and even more blood-thirsty, and the people staged a popular uprising again their priest-kings.  Because of this, Goblins and Orcs had caused their empire to fall, and turned to looting and pillaging to survive in some regards.  Despite this, they try not to kill, and if they have to, they try to do it as bloodlessly as possible, in fear of the possibility that the Forgotten God is still watching.  Many Orcs and Goblins also turned to civilization for protection, and lead very comfortable lives.

The Sea-Kin Kingdom and the Sahuagin Kingdoms under the sea
Under the seas near Pendragon's Cauldron are two small kingdoms that have been at war with each other for centuries, the Sea-Kin and the Sahuagin.  Both share claim to territory they both say are special to their respective Gods.  Both trade with Pendragon's Cauldron, which leads to very interesting adventures and incidents, making the Docks one of the most dangerous places in the city.

Entheart Forest and Blacknell Mire, regions of Opposites
Notice a theme in my main setting, there are a lot of opposites, and no place symbolizes that more than the differences between the Entheart and Blacknell.  The Entheart is a huge forest filled with life, said to have portals to different planes that fill it with life.  Blacknell Mire is a region full of death, and many necromancers travel here to find rare reagents to strengthen their spells.  Zombies and Skeletons walk the land, especially Undead Giant Crocodiles and Snapping Turtles.

The Order of Flametenders
The Flametenders is an order of combat nuns sworn originally to the Mother of Fire, and old Goddess that is still worshiped in some frontier towns.  The order today, for the most part is devoted to Illian the All-Powerful.  They are his brides, and thus learn to use the spear and the bow, to be the piercing rays of the sun (originally, they were the sacred weapons of the Mother of Fire).  They royally kick ass.  Besides being masters of combat, they are similar to the Geisha, where they are told many varieties of entertainment, seeing as how the Mother of Fire was also a Goddess of the Home and Mirth.  Despite being rededicated to Illian, the highest rank is still the Daughter of Fire, and some frontier abbeys do still have shrines to their patron Goddess.

Practical Magic
From Phildelos to Camdros, from the Dragonridge Mountains to the Sea, the world uses practical magic a la Mystara and Eberron.  As such, it is accurate to say this is a magitech world.

Nine Philosophical Thoughts About Blogging

With a year of blogging, and now running two blogs, I have come to think about a lot of things, a lot of interesting things:

You're not always going to get readers

I think my first major shock was that, despite some marketing, I am not a very well read or circulated blog, and that's okay.  I don't think blogging will ever become a living for me, and that's okay to.  Blogging is an artform to some degree, and the most important thing about art is that it comes from within, and that it becomes your passion.  I don't write the best poems, or play a mean game of Floorball, but I enjoy it, and I turn it into art.

Aristotle saw that we experience catharsis through art, and that the imitation art brings is good.  To me, that is a lot healthier than the ever ascetic Plato, who saw art as a lie (and that is coming from a Neoplatonist, then again, Neoplatonists love art).


You meet a lot of other interesting bloggers

Burlesque performers, atheist philosophers, not much else beyond that, but still.  In a sense, blogging opens up the world, because people actually wind up wanting to read your thoughts on kittens, sex, video games, important stuff, etc.  This opens you up to new ideas and new expressions.


Verbosity and Expression

Writing blogs has lead to me being more verbose and thus more able to express myself.  I always had a sucky time trying to put my thoughts in writing, well, accorsing to SOME English teachers, some thought I was a-ok at it.  Either way, this has opened up new things for me, like my campaign setting and table-top rpg that I am making.  In a sense, bloging has helped me reach a sense of eudaimona, and knowledge of what could possibly be my True Will.  It has opened me to experiencing new emotions as well.


Wuv, twu wuv

Mawage, mawage is what bwings us togevuh today.

Blogging has opened me up emotionally to new experiences to, as I stated right above this.  My Dystopia Rising character was in some ways born because of this blog.  Finnegan as a character I believe shares a birthday with this blog.  I have broken out of my shell and set my emotional shield aside for the first time, and its exciting.


Talking about my hobbies strengthens them

Like I also stated above, this blog has started me on the path of strengthening my Role-Playing, and even writing my own stuff for role-playing (like my own table-top RPG).  Strengthening my hobby also makes it possible to turn it into a source of income, which can fuel my life  They say you should do what you love, and I think that is, for once, a diamond of wisdom within capitalism that echos eudaimona and the True Will.


Dear Kyberia, it's me, Kyle

Remember how I said that, for the most part, no more spirituality here, here is one of those exceptions.  Blogging has opened me to new spiritual experiences.  For whatever fears I had over Pagan Blog Project consuming this nerdy blog (and thus why it switched to my Pagan blog), it deepened my connection to the divine, and brought new inspiration.


What is laziness?

So blogging means I spend a lot of time in front of the computer, which means my very active carpenter father thinks I am being lazy.  But what is laziness, but idling ones time not doing something constructive.  And as we have seen what this blog has done for me, isn't that contructive?  And working on my RPG entails a lot of trial, error, and testing.  That doesn't sound lazy at all.

Allie and I have a very similar idea of how to spend an evening

What is Blogging

So then what is blogging if it is not inspiration and art?  Is it also entertainment, it sure keeps me entertained.  It brings me joy, and thus...


The Meaning of Life
Life is suffering and pain.  We seek to find joy and happiness despite that.  Therefore, the meaning of life is to find joy, the good life, the eudaimona.  This blog has given me that :)

The Top Ten most read of my Blog Posts

I'm sure you are just as curious as I was as to the most read blog posts of this Blogging Year.  Well I did not look at my most read Blog Posts of All Time until fairly recently, and as of today June 3rd, I make this list.  This list had surprises in it, we cannot deny that at all.  My old fear of having Pagan Blog Project take over my blog apparently was sound, half of this list was Pagan Blog Project, which I switched over to my other Blog: Once 'Round the Temple.  The rest of the list, however, was fairly interesting:

Pagan Blog Project: Eclecticism Pt.1
You will read more on this below...

D&D Origin Month Pt.2: Eye of the Beholder
Looking back on this post, I noticed that I had a lot of padding to make it much bigger than it actually was.  I think I could have summed the Self-Hating Evangelical Bisexual bit.  I also made myself sound a lot dumber and like a certain game reviewer  who complains about the controls sucking when he doesn't even read the instructions, and copies another, more well known reviewer (let's leave it at that, I love his ghost hunting show).

Pagan Blog Project: Eclecticism Pt.2
This was a big step on my blog, and for my involvement with PBP.  Here I tackled a subject so heatedly debated, and unfortunately held onto by a lot of Neopagans, the ole "if it's not nailed down, then its fair game to me" doctrine.  I'm surprised they weren't higher on the list, because this is big shit right here.  I think my analogy with the fanfic of a fanfic was spot on about it.

Looking back on the two posts, I think I was a little harsh on the New Age Movement in them.  I am not anti-New Age nor do I think people in the New Age Movement are dumb.  The New Age and Neopaganism have a shared history if you go back to before they split off back around the time of the Occult Revival in the 19th Century.  I also think new Age stores are really neat, and have an interesting numen about them.  To have that criticism about the Movement is not hate, and I think I came off kind of strong when I wrote the posts.

I still, however, think that both should be given a good read, it's an eye opener, for both the unenlightened and the ones who are visceral about it.

Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves
When I first heard this on Faux News, I thught this would be comedy GOLD!  Looking back on it today, it still is comedy gold.  I love when I get a chance to sarcastically take things to extremes like that, and any excuse for a Beyond Thunderdome reference is a god excuse.  I still think Project Adventure was way worse than Dodgeball, and even though we never officially played it in school, I still prefered it to climbing up poles and trust falls.

I also have an interesting wax-play story, but that's a story for another time...

Me in wax and BDSM, I think you might need this again...

Pagan Blog Project: Jehova

I think this video sums this up nicely...

Pagan Blog Project: Celtic Appropriation

See above for most of the just for this...

D&D Stories: Poke the Hydra with a Dagger

Or else it gets the hose again...

This was the only time I ever rolled three 20's in a roll, and to this day I have never seen that again.  I've almost seen two 20's come up, but it is phenomenal how the chances are with this kind of stuff, especially since, if you know how they smooth the dice, you don't actually have a 1/20 chance on a d20 to get the highest roll.

Unless you use these lil buggers...

Pagan Blog Project: Altars

My first PBP post was also my most viewed one.  In truth, my altars have changed up and moved around my room.  I might, on Once 'Round the Temple, do a look back on that post.

I also want to take a moment to discuss my involvement with PBP on this blog, and how this current post (the Top 10, not the Altars post) cemented my termination with PBP here and moving it to the other blog, and this will be, for the most part, the end of my discussion on real-world religion on this blog.  I had a fear going into this that my involvement will turn my nerdy commentary blog into a Pagan one.  While there is nothing wrong with Pagan Blogs (my other blog is one), that wasn't what Musings of a Lehigh Valley guy is supposed to be at all.  And yet, seeing half of this list be Pagan posts kind of grounded the fear in reality.  It's nobodies fault really, this blog was marketed there, and that brought the crowds.  Build it and they will come, as they say.

D&D Origins: Warriors of the Eternal Sun

That whole month was an interesting walk down memory lane, but none more so than this post.  Here I was going back to my own childhood, way way back.  I remember rereading the whole series of five posts and just shedding that single sexy tear, thinking back on the stories of the past, and reflecting on my much of my life I lived in them.  I really grew as a person playing those games.  And look at me now, I expanded to Pathfinder, The Window and Fable and Fudge, GURPS, and LARPing.  I once denied I was a nerd, I have never been so wrong.

D&D Stories: Amadeus the Naked Paladin

The man in the image to the left is Taylor Lautner, who played the roll of Jacob Black in the movie adaptation of Sucklight..... I mean, Twilight.  We cannot deny that he is sexy.  As a Bi man, even I must admit, sploosh, or whatever the male equivalent of sploosh is (which is sploosh, only with semen).  Normally, ripped men aren't exactly my think, but there are times one must make exceptions.

And yet, Amadeus is, well, let's end this blog post with an embedded video...

11 Doctor Who Thoughts

I come to today on a very news-worthy time for Doctor Who.  We have the 50th, Matt Smith is leaving, and 12th Doctor speculations abound.  So much to write about, so let's begin my 11 Doctor Who Thoughts!

1
As I'm sure you have read back in my blog post about the season finale, the chance to see William Hartnell and Jenna-Louise Coleman "together" was a remarkable moment.  I was starting to get worried that we would see very little of the classic series, and I still am worried that seeing those glimpses would be the extent of it, but I will have to wait until November to see if I was all worried for nothing.  Right now, just knowing that William Hartnell got to have a posthumous appearance as the Doctor is good enough for me.

2
So Matt Smith is leaving.  That was the BBC's big news last night.  I talked about it to some friends while watching Star Wars, and reactions are mixed, obviously.  Myself?  While Matt Smith isn't my favorite Doctor, I act so much like him, and grew used to him.  A little ambivalent to see the death/regeneration scene, would it be like watching myself die?  I mean, seeing as how I am, apparently, so much like him.  Is it going to be like the Buddhist meditation on visualizing your body decaying after death?  I'm not scared of death, not in the least bit; it would just be weird to watch my own death.

3
I do not know how I would feel about a female Doctor.  Mainly for two reasons.  One is that there are female Gallifreyans (Time Ladies) that exist, and if they wanted one, just have like Romana hidden away with a Chameleon Arch like The Master.  Also, as much as he can write some good storied, Steven Moffat isn't the best at writing believable female characters sometimes.  I wouldn't go as far as some people do and call him sexist, because I strongly doubt he is sexist at all, its just that I think he relies too much on tropes dealing with women.  Don't believe me, just go to TV Tropes and read some of them, and then think back to one of his episodes.

On second thought, don't.  I think I might have consigned you

to a slow yet informative death...

4

If anyone should play the Doctor, I would want to see either Rupert Grint or Sean Pertwee.  Rupert would definitely beat out Matt Smith as the youngest actor to play the Doctor (before Smith it was Davison who was youngest).  And I think it would be fitting to finally have the Doctor have his one biological wish, to be ginger, especially since what comes after the Twelth Doctor is... well... erm... how to explain this to the fan girls.

This.

Sean Pertwee is the son of Jon Pertwee, who played the Third Doctor.  I like Jon's Doctor, especially how boss he was.  Plus, it would also be interesting to see what would happen if the Doctor retook a form from early on in his life, but with some differences.  Sean looks a lot like his father.

5

So with the Great Intelligence gone, and no Silence or Daleks really, who should the next Big Bad be for the Doctor.  It is possible it could be the Valeyard, or whatever John Hurt would very curiously bring forth (I apologize for the Ollivanders reference there), I would love to possibly see Sutekh again.  Sutekh the Destroyer was the antagonist of one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes of all time, the Pyramids of Mars.  He is an Osirian, and Osirians are God-Like.  I think one of the problems would be that this would have to be Sutekh before the Fourth Doctor encountered him, and also before his imprisonment by Horus, which might make things messy.  Oh well, it was a good thought.

6

Whatever happened to Davros?  Did the Planets in the Sky and the Reality Bomb actually happen?  Was that restored after the Doctor fixed the cracks in space?  If so, is Davros still alive?  Moffat, please answer about this, and please don't make a stupid Reality Bomb plot.  I think Davros is smart enough to not make some sort of Xanatos Gambit to defeat the Doctor.

7

I don't know what happened, but at least for one small cameo, bring back Christopher Eccleston.  I actually rather liked the Ninth Doctor.  It's a shame that he was only on for one season.

8

On that note, bring back Paul McGann for an episode or so.  Despite the 8th Doctor being in more Radio Plays and Comics than any other Doctor, he only had one TV appearance in the somewhat lackluster TV Movie.

He's still waiting for an invite for the 50th...

9

I'm starting to run out of thinks to think about, so I'm just going to type out a few words like: bingle bongle dingle dangle yickity do yickity ta ping pong lippy tappy too taa...

10

I want to see more of Jenny, no, not the Jenny with Vastra and Strax, but Jenny, Georgia Moffet's Jenny; Peter Davison's daughter's Jenny.  She still has an awful lot of running to do, and I hated leaving her with that.  I want her to possibly come back, if not as a companion, as a cameo in another episode.

11

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WHERE IS CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS!!!

Even Lemurs love John Barrowman!

Seriously, he was probably one of the best characters to ever come out of the New Series so far!  He was like a charismatic William Riker to the more laid-back Picard of the Doctor.  I was really hoping he would be there for the 50th.  Alas, he won't be there, but I can always hope he will make another appearance, or that at least Torchwood will continue.  I have my own thoughts on Torchwood to...

...but that's a story for another time.

12 Zodiac Horoscopes from an Asshole Astrologer

I know this was supposed to be up yesterday, but this is close enough, and yesterday I was a bit of a wreck.  So here is my first of twelve days on my second of them lol:

ARIES - Cut the dramatic bullshit when it comes to thinking you have prophetic dreams.  With that said, you have had prophetic dreams.  Shits about to go down.  And remember, none of that histrionic bullshit!

TAURUS - You are Deanna Troi for today.  Remember, Captain Picard depends on you!

GEMINI - Live like me.... lonely.... Gods do I need a god lay -_-

CANCER - You're on high energy today, so give me some of the stuff you're on, could use a bit of a boost!

LEO - Things hare just too complicated for you simple dumb mind.  Thats okay, it looks to be the Season inale of Season 5 of the New Doctor Who kind of complicated.  Just remember, the Doctor lies.

VIRGO - Today is the day to be a lazy ass.  Make sure to spend the time to plan, but, screw it, you're probably too lazy to do that today to.

LIBRA - Be flexible, like the power cord I just
*SNAP*
On second thought, don't be flexible like the cord I just found....

SCORPIO - Today is a day to be artsy, so blow your paycheck at Michaels and then realize in horror that you have no art talent, and cannot recoup your losses on Etsy.

SAGITTARIUS - When one door closes, you must open a window.  Seriously, it's hot out!  Blah-dee-blah about opportunities too.

CAPRICORN - Reach out, reach out and touch someone, reach out, just to say.... hi... also, do not go all "sure, I'll hold."  You dad will cut off your boyfriend's balls!

AQUAIUS - WHat Would Jesus Do?  Hippie Jesus, not the Pat Robertson Jesus.  Seriously, what's wrong with that guy?

PISCES - Be happy for who you are.  If not, you will have to do work, and have you even felt the temperature and humidity out.  Hot as balls out!

Epic Cleaning Day

I smell sex and candy....

....well, at least just the candy...

My ex is visiting to return some of my books, and so I can give her some of her stuff that somehow stayed in my house for over a year, hidden away in the dark recesses of my room, like some sort of Lovecraftian horror.  One of her books seems to be resting somewhere, waiting for the stars to align I guess.  But I found even greater horrors hidden in the recesses of my room, like an exploded bottle of Gods-know-what.  I know, I'm a bit of a slob in real life.

The thing is, is that this is a remarkable time to reorganize and walk down memory lane, and find ancient campaigns and adventures hidden away under stacks of paper and shit.  It is interesting to see bits and pieces of my old settings again, and how they persisted to my current settings and adventures, like Pendragon's Cauldron and the Church of Illian.  Perhaps in time I will go over some of these things, but for now, just the memory of them lingering on is enough.

A while back, I mentioned the blurb on the back of the D&D Adventure Game box.  My epic clean also uncovered that.

There is something moving behind that door... Perhaps it's a vicious ogre waiting to tear you limb from limb.  Or a horde of zombies thirsting for blood.  Or maybe a terrifying dragon ready to engulf you in a maelstrom of fire.  Problem?  Nope, not for you.  You're a hero - a powerful wizard, a strong fighter, or a sneaky rogue.  You can handle whatever comes at you in this introduction to the greatest fantasy game of all time.

You should have seen my face light up when I found it during my trek to find her one book.  I had four of her vampire novels, since she tried to get me into Anne Rice.

Let's see, there's the ones I found, and there is the one I was searching for.  One, two, three... OH FUCK!  I LOST ANOTHER ONE!

Pagan Blog Project: Kind of Strange (parte the last for here)

Before I begin this post, I want to say what an honor it has been to do Pagan Blog Project with my blog Musings of a Lehigh Valley Guy.  It brought a whole new bunch of readers to my main blog.  I was afraid that this would supplant the main theme of nerdiness and understanding modern culture, sub-culture, and counter-culture, but it really didn't.  With that being said, I am switching over all Pagan/Religious topics to Once 'Round The Temple.  It is another blog that I have had and abandoned, but am bringing back.  At the same time that I am posting this here, I am posting this there.  After this post, Pagan Blog Project will no longer be posted at this blog, but at Once 'Round The Temple.  I hope those of you who are interested will keep reading this blog, a lot of fun will still be had here, from aboleths or zombies, a lot of fun is yet to be had here.

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In 1975, a low-budget Hindi film known as Jai Santoshi Maa was released, popularizing what was once a small cult devoted to a Goddess of Satisfaction, and daughter of Ganesha.  Her growth was because of pop-culture at the time, as well as the needs of the common people.

Let me digress from that and talk about how different deities become popularized and change.  Over time, the needs of the people change, like, for example, a primarily agrarian culture becoming urban due to a trade route.  The changing needs and perspectives lead to inspired poets to write about the Gods and their changes, which, in turn, are interpreted by philosophers.  Ra-Hoor-Khuit is not the Ra or Horus of Egypt, yet he is important to the modern Thelemite because of what he is.  Columbia, the tutelary deity of the United States, is also a good example of this.  And to bring it all back, the biggest example being Santoshi Maa.

Deities grow and change all the time.  It's because of this we have the Central American Folk Saints like Santa Muerte, Maximon, Jesus Malverde, and San Ernesto (more commonly known as Che Guevera).

Halos even look cool on the guy.  And this art piece was done

by Saiyuki989

What isn't a part of this, is the growing worship of Superheroes and Fanfiction-based religions that have grown in the past few years.  Now, granted, some of these grew out of a good sense of Neopagan mirth, like the Friendship is Pagan rituals.  However, some of this, I sense, comes from nothing more than Escapism.  I fully understand that this post will not win me any friends, and will probably piss people off, but, in some regards, the battlelines have been drawn.

I understand, our modern world kind of sucks.  Sure, we have all these comforts of living that I probably can give up for like a week at most (I would miss the microwave too much, and Skype), but we have such a disconnect to the world around us, to our past, and what we do have a connection to, the sacredness of it died off years ago as a part of the continuation of disenchantment that has been going on since the Industrial Revolution.  A mantle of family pictures and memories has been replaced by the latest model flat-screen TV.  Our biggest problems are not whether we will have food or money to live comfortably, but over celebrities and whether or not our internet is going fast enough.

However, escapism is not the medicine to our sickness, escapism is a symptom of the sickness.  A comment on Sannion's blog rightfully states that we don't see this kind of debate come up in Christian or Hindu traditions, or in a lot of traditions for that matter.  Many traditions have fiction writers and fiction about them, it doesn't mean that the fiction is a part of their liturgy or history.  I doubt you will find many Buddhists who believe that, in 1975, Avalokiteshvara defended an incarnation of Maitreya from a gang who wanted to tear down an old temple and put up a hotel in its place, if any at all.

This is because they have a link to their own past.  Many Pagans and such were converts to a young tradition.  It is also a Pagan virtue to be open-minded.  Yet, let us heed Aristotle or else our brains will fall out.

Or you all could convert back to a God that is true...

I feel alone in this conversation.  Roland help

meout here... Roland?

Every morning I wake up and I take a moment to thank the Gods for another day, both the Old Gods and the New.  I pray to Kyberia at times when a problem arises on my laptop, so that I will have assistance in fixing said problem (I believe all prayers and such should be backed up with action, praying for healing and then not visiting a doctor is kind of silly).  I reflect on how the Final Fantasy series pushed me onto the path that lead me here Spiritually.  If I had kids I would probably have them read Francis Bonnet's Suburban Fairy-Tales and watch a lot of Sci-Fi, especially Doctor Who.  My lararium has a sort of pastel look and has a crystal skull by it.  I am definitely not some sort of "everything by the history books" Pagan.  I have my fandoms, but I understand the difference between The Doctor and Hermes, or Cloud Strife and Herakles.

The Ancients also understood this.  They has Aesop and Aristophanes for their fictions.  Nobody worshiped Pisthetaerus as King of the Gods.  They understood that the fictions were commentaries, filled with truths and story-telling tropes, but they were commentaries on life.  Some fictions also held good values to teach, but they were fictional nonetheless.  Fiction can be filled with inspiration, I mentioned that back a few months ago in another Pagan Blog Project post.  Inspiration is important.  There is a chance that maybe Amaterasu had something to do with the game Okami, that doesn't mean that she now takes the form of a white wolf with the One-Inch Boy riding on her back.

Or maybe she does now.  That is the thing about the idea of progressive revelation, things change.  New Gods can wind up replacing or absorbing old ones, foreign Gods become beloved of a different people (Quan-Yin amongst the New Agers is one), and new ancestors become heroes celebrated by a nation.  Some people grow to accept these changes, and some don't.  Dionysus is both King of the Gods (according to some Orphics) and at the same time he hasn't supplanted Zeus as King.

Am I skeptical of Pop-Culture Paganism, obviously.  Outside of mirth and irony, I am very skeptical of Pop-Culture Paganism, I just don't see Captain America in the same light as like Ra-Hoor-Khuit or Columbia.  However, it is a growing cultus.  Do I think a lot of this is escapism,  personally?  Yes.  However, it is still a young movement.  It's kind of strange, but I like strange, even if it doesn't resonate with me.

Table Plan: Super Filth Ebola Fever

I am admittedly a douche DM.  My world is not like others, nor are my adventures/quests.  I put the survival skill to good use out in the wilds, and diplomacy and such in towns and cities.

One aspect I am particularly fond of is disease and poisons.  Things I feel like sometimes don't come up much, but really should.  One of my favorite campaign ideas (never did do it yet) would be a plague, and having the possibility of the party to be infected by this plague as they try to find a cure.

Disease can really mess up an adventurer's day.  Take Filth Fever for example, 1d3 Dexterity and Constitution damage.  Ouch!  In fact, all disease that do Constitution damage is ouch!  Correction, and Ability damage just plain sucks!   In the most recent session I played, I got stung by Hellwasps and was taken down to 2 Dex, so imagine Lazlo (I never did tell that story about what happened with the Raise Dead spell.... well, surprise, Amadeus is Lazlo now) stricken with arthritis and moving around like a drunk person. It's not fun, whatsoever.

Disease in game doesn't even have to be Ability damage based.  For example, even if I get the common cold, I can still do stuff, but I wouldn't be able to work at maximum efficiency.  So maybe a disease like that could only have one move action per round.  How about disease like Ebola, that would cause HP damage I reckon.  Actually, Ebola would probably be like 1d6 Con and 1d6 damage in my mind.  Making up diseases is fun guys!

Bringing disease into the mix makes the players think smart, and think realistically.  While D&D and Pathfinder have Blinding Sickness in tainted water, what about other diseases one could get, like dysentery, or the ever popular Montezuma's Revenge, that one can get by drinking bad or foreign water?  This will make the player want to find ways to purify the water, or even bring their own water, just in case something bad might be lurking in the water supply.  Also, Malaria can be a huge problem to the thirsty PC who thinks themselves invincible to the mosquito.

Earworm of the Day Week

The point is to make the PCs ever aware that harm does not only come from the edge of a sword, but also from things that they wouldn't normally think of.  Therefor, there is a sense of realism, and a sense that the party needs to be well prepared for whatever may come after them, whether it comes in Goblin, Dragon, or Mosquito form.

It's So Beautiful Out

I just felt like randomly musing about things in the world and in life.

I've been thinking about the future a lot lately, and also about what I am, and how fucked up the world is when I fully understand myself, but it's okay, because between the dark bits are radiant points of light that, while blinding sometimes, are truly remarkable and beautiful.  Let me explain a bit, so I don't sound like I took a whole bunch or E or joined some cult.

I've grown used to underestimating myself and thinking I'm alone in all of this.  Long-time readers might remember my January post "I Slept Too Long," and see that I tend to not do things out of a fear of not being good enough.  Well, truth is, I still haven't progressed much in some ways from January.  I still haven't chosen a college for a Bachelors, I still don't have a job, and I still haven't taken my EMT Exam, and it might lapse to the point where I have to take a Core class just to take the test again.  However, I have written so much, and planned so much, and I am in the process of possibly getting a pretty decent job.  Also, the possibility of a secondary, supplemental income from this blog is possible.  In January, I had only 256 views on my blog, and in a few short months I have gotten over 500 views a month, and growing.

Of course, I don't say this to mention that this is the beginnings of a supplementary income, no, this is bigger. I am sharing my views and my thoughts to the world, and that was why this blog was established in the first place, it's why the name is "Musings of a Lehigh Valley Guy."  Sure, I muse about gaming a lot, and write about gaming a lot, but I try to, in some posts, link it all to the here and now.  And I think I have been, so far, effective in expressing my thoughts that way.  I never thought I would have my thoughts read by so many.  I've talked about the deepest of philosophy to the inspiration real life can give to fiction, to how fiction can affect real-life, joy at April Poetry Month, to even a bit about dodgeball and Tina Turner in chainmail.

When I checked my stats for my blog a few months ago, back in March, I also received the sobering proof that not only am I read about here in the US, but globally to.  In fact, I have noticed that my blog has quite a readership in Russia and Germany.  I remember seeing once that I had three readers from Japan, and I remember remarking to Destiny about it, about how interesting it was to have readers from all over the world.  I might not be the biggest blog out there.... yet, but reading that made me realize just how big of an impact blogging has.  It's like being an ambassador of sorts, and that is both awesome and terrifying.

My Blogiversary is next month on the 12th.  So, just for you guys, my readers, I will be doing a 12 Days of Blogging journey counting down the days from June 1st-12th.  Oh sure, a Blogathon might not be the greatest of presents, but right now, I'm poor, so a Give-Away is out of the question, and if I was to do a video, I will have to plan it out.  So we have, starting on June 1st:

12 Zodiac Jokes

11 Doctor Who Thoughts

10 things on a Top-Ten

9 Philosophies

8 Campaign Tidbits (My World)

7 Hints to my Game

6 Days a Sacrifice (totally not a hint to anything)

5 Biggest Fuck-Ups!

4 Cat Pics

3 Epic Locales

2 Staff Rolls

And an epic Blogiversary

Once again, I want to extend a pre-Blogiversary Bash thanks to all my viewers.  Thank you, спасибо, dankeschön, ありがとう, and see ya then.

Well, see ya tomorrow with some Table Plan!

I Survived the Best Worst Movie

This week, I just didn't feel like blogging.  I had a Table Plan set up, some other gaming/nerd news, musings on the Boy Scouts, a PBP post about superhero worship, and a reflection on Dystopia Rising, but nope, I decided on an impromptu vacation from blogging.  However, something happened last night, I survived the worst horror movie ever.

Troll 2, for the uninitiated, was a horror movie, originally to be titled Goblins, but had the name changed to make it a part of the Troll series.  The Troll series is probably most well known for having the largest number of sequels that have NOTHING to do with the original movie, and also for having two Troll 3's.  I haven't been this confused by chronology since I discovered the confusing links between the Adventure Island, Wonder Boy, and Monster World series.  Troll also had a brief return to the limelight when the people behind Troll, in 2008, criticized J.K. Rowling for perceived copyright issues, but it's not like there was a character named Harry Potter in the film.  That's a troll in the dungeon that I wouldn't want, thought you oughta know.

As you can find the plot of Troll 2 practically anywhere online, due to it receiving a cult status much akin to Rocky Horror Picture Show (and I can honestly see why), I won't go into plot, except to say that there were some random left-field style plot points, but at least I could see what they were going for.  It's a growing-up/coming of age film, for both kids transitioning to being older, and teens to adults, well, kind of, at least I thought so.  I also loved how some of the horror aspects fell laughably on their respective faces, creating perhaps one of the funniest movie experiences that I have ever had.

This is the weirdest porn movie I have ever watched of all

time... oh wait, it's just a scene from Troll 2

It certainly was a bad movie.  There have certainly been worse movies out there, like Nudist Colony of the Dead, or Twilight (sorry, not sorry).  The acting was much like that little attempt at making an actual movie that I know you did, I know I did.  My cousins and I tried making a very low budget version of Goldeneye with me as James Bond, a seven-or-eight year old me as the main character, and the acting was piss poor.  At least this was before the YouTube era, so it never wound up online, and it was taped over to have on film me getting hugged by my first girlfriend after she squeed at the present I got her.  Me at 6th grade, before I became Mr. "Have You Accepted Jesus As Your Lord and Saviour."  At least I didn't piss on hospitality like some people did during those transitory years.

However, this movie was so sincere in its delivery.  You knew that the people were trying their hardest to perform their roles, and we can't fault them for that.  It reminds me of an old campfire story.  They weren't scary, but they had a sense of home, a sense of the familiar, and yes, the ridiculous.  This was a very sucky horror movie, and if you view it as just that, then yes, this would be one of the worst movies of all time.  However, Troll 2 is more than that.  Troll 2 is definitely a party movie, a movie to watch with a large group of people, to experience the hilarity of it together.  If you can find it on Netflix, or if you have it on DVD (or you can find it online, like I did with Best Worst Film), make a night out of it, serving green colored foods, and Rocky Horror-esque acts, like throwing popcorn at the scene I displayed above.

Has this film made a fan of me, yes, yes it has.  As soon as I got done watching it, I had to find Best Worst Film, and watch that, and I enjoyed that to.  Many call Troll 2 the Rocky Horror of the MySpace era, and I can see why.  This film is very entertaining, and it definitely requires a watch.  That's my muse on it.

The Name of the Doctor

You know we have had a rather interesting season finale for a show that has been around for 50 years when...

This Guy

And This Girl

Can interact with each other in the same scene.  We have come a long way in cinematography, and to have William Hartnell's Doctor, on Gallifrey (which was not really shown nor discussed util the end of the Second Doctor's run), with Clara Oswin Oswald.  I was proud of this episode from the very beginning I guess you could say.  For a storyline that is going to be wrapped up in the 50th Anniversary Special, to have interaction with the very first Doctor was the best way to kick it off.

In fact, let's watch the scene shall we?

You will probably love it as much as I did.  We also get to see Susan briefly in that scene to.  The feels man, the feels.  I always told people who knew of Classic Who that one day, she would come back, yes, she would come back.  Until then, no fears, no regrets, no anxieties.  We would just go forward in watching Doctor Who, and hope that I am not mistaken in my hopes.  Hello Susan, hello my dear.

I will not discuss a lot of it, for spoilers sake (except for the kind of sort of big reveal, but I think the journey to that point is what makes it epic, plus, it's plastered all over the intarwebz already), but this was I think a fantastic way to kick off a two parter, even if we now have to wait until November 23rd.  This episode, in my honest opinion, was full of win.

River Song returned, which lead to a few heart-wrenching moments.  River sometimes reminds me of a certain somebody I know, and this same person remarks to me about how I sometimes act like the Eleventh Doctor.  We got to see the Great Intelligence again.  I always tend to remark how the Great Intelligence was kind of sort of equated to the Old One Yog-Sothoth in the Doctor Who novels, so seeing the Great Intelligence in the form of Doctor Simeon, to me, after knowing that fact, is a bit weird.  Yog-Sothoth (and the Great Intelligence in the old series) is supposed to be a conglomeration of iridescent, glowing spheres, but hey, with great power come great abilities to look like whatever the hell you want.

And, spoilerific section time, skip to the bold ASDFGHJKL; if you don't want to read (and try to avoid the image):

John Hurt playing a regeneration of the Doctor that we haven't scene before was a bit of a surprise.  When I heard he was going to be in the 50th, I assumed a third actor playing the First Doctor, but seeing him as a Valeyardesque not-so-good-guy Doctor was, shall I say, curious... very curious.

And the in general demeanor, shows a man wracked by guilt.  I can't wait to see where they go with this.

ASDFGHJKL;

I hope that was enough spaces.

Anyway, if you haven't caught the episode yet, you can probably find it online somewhere, or you can wait until Thursday to watch it (for us BBCA people that is, I don't know for the UK).  You won't regret it.

I guess the only bad thing I could say about the episode is how I feel like certain parts were a bit rushed, and that I would have liked to have seen more Classic Doctors interact with Clara, beyond the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) glancing at her in the rear-view mirror of Bessie.

That's all I have to say.

 P.S. And yes, I have a celeb-crush on Jenna Louise-Coleman