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So I’m finally getting around to posting the picture mentioned here. Here’s the picture with just us (click on it for the full size view):

And here’s the full page for the curious: The Whole Article.

The past several years, for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to recollect my dreams. I’m pretty sure I have them, but waking up in the morning the only thing I remember is going to sleep the night before. So remembering two dreams in as many weeks is a little unusual. Granted, the first of those I’ve since forgotten the dream itself, but remember remembering it. This morning’s dream, however, is still fresh as a newly picked flower. It was pretty short, dream-time-wise only a minute or two, but it packed an amazing amount of hope and promise for the future. And then I woke up.

There’s probably some deep meaning there.

Sorry to keep on rolling with the less than happy posts, but I felt the need to mention this one: Michael Jackson has died. Not the reclusive pop star, of course, but the Michael Jackson who wrote on a subject much more near and dear to my heart: beer. He wrote and contributed to a large number of books on the subject, and a book I purchased was my first introduction to the man. I haven’t read much of what he wrote, but I recognize that he made a significant contribution to the world of beer and for that, the next time I have a beer it will be in his honor.

Or so it seems at the moment. I’m in Tulsa as I write this, where my Grandparents live, where my Mom and Dad grew up and where the extended family is now gathering together. The why is that my Grandmother passed away last Thursday at the age of 82. If it were only that, this might not qualify as “Saddest Weekend on Record”, but other things have been happening as well (though I won’t say what specifically, as it is not my place to do so) that increase the sadness index. Enough for top honors? Seem likely. But certainly putting it in the Top Five at the least.

At any rate I still own you, my fine readership, a scan of the Dragon magazine picture (I’d link to the post, but really, just scroll down the page a bit) as well as an after-action report for GenCon (which was last weekend). These things will wait until Tuesday (at the earliest), however, as I won’t be back in Cleveland until then.

If you were to pick up the most recent copy of Dragon Magazine (Issue 357, to be specific), you would find a small article about NASCRAG (A GenCon role-playing tournament) near the front. This article would also contain a few pictures, one of those pictures would be a large number of NASCRAG teams lined up waiting to be assigned judges. If you were to then look very closely at this picture, you might spot a familiar face. Several of them in fact.

Yes, it’s true, there is a picture of me (and some of my friends) in Dragon Magazine. How cool is that? I’ll try to get the article scanned with picture in the next little bit here, so you won’t actually need to pick up Dragon #357.

Tom Wilson is funny! (If you don’t recognize his name, I’m sure reading his website or looking at his IMDb entry will set you straight soon enough.

Some friends and I went to see his stand-up show last night. And man, is that guy funny. His act opened with him doing a little muscial number and some audience interaction, which lead to him mocking those who were just there to see him say things from that famous trilogy he was in and ended that portion with a hilarious song about all the questions people ask him. I laughed long and hard, largely because I knew he was talking about people like me. With that out of the way, he proceeded to tell humorous stores about himself, which included some hilarious audience interactions and finished with some funny songs.

All in all, it was quite enjoyable, and I’d say that if you ever get a chance, you should definitely see him in person. Just don’t expect him to say more than a few lines from those time-traveling movies he was in.

Yum! This needs to be a GenCon event. Seriously. (Link found via Accidental Hedonist)

I was part of a group outing to see 300 this weekend. Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but not for the reason you might expect.

First off, a little background. For those of you not aware, 300 is based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name, which in turn is modeled on the historical Battle of Thermopylae (and also apparently draws inspiration from the 1962 movie The 300 Spartans). I say “modeled on” because while there are many similarities to the actual battle, this movie presents a story that is as much fantasy as anything else.

Which is fine, I certainly can’t fault anyone for taking a historical basis and trying to make an enjoyable story out of it. What ended up happening for me though, was that the movie began spiralling into absurdity partway through. To the point where by the end I was laughing at the movie. And not just at the scenes that were meant to be funny, but even the scenes where limbs were being severed and people were dying. Either I’m just seriously disturbed, or the movie managed to get so over-the-top ridiculous that even the action scenes became funny.

But it is enjoyable to laugh like that, and so I enjoyed the movie in that “so bad its good” sort of way. But that’s not to say there’s nothing redeemable about the movie. I think stylistically, the movie is very well done. Many of the scenes are very artistically done. It also captures the feel of a comic book more better than most other comic book adaptations. The music, while MTVesque at times, is good and generally fits the tone of the movie. And I’ll admit, the “dying to protect the freedoms of others” theme tugged at the ol’ heartstrings at the very end. (Ignoring for the moment that the real-life Spartans owned slaves, and several thousand of them also died at Thermopylae)

Should you see 300? Well, that’s up to you, but I hope you have a better idea of what you’re getting yourself into now.

Courtesy of my dad, one freakin’ hilarious video.