Well, at least he's happy

glitch

Geeks Like Us

Hi. My name is Greg and ... I'm a gamer [sobs].

Of course, when I say gamer I mean it in the 1983 sense
of the term which is "I play D&D" not the current sense
which means "I play World of Warcraft."

Here is a great story on the BBC web site about D&D
over the years with comments from geeks like us on
how they did it (chortling all the way), where they
did it (in other people's basements) and why they did
it (it was freakin' fun).

I remember hearing about D&D from Mike Kinney, this
kid in my reading class when I was in 7th grade. I had
just finished reading "The Hobbit" and was stoked. He
asked me if I'd be interested in playing a game that let
you act out the things in "The Hobbit." Hell's yeah, was
my answer. He let me borrow his books (the ones you
see here) and I browsed through them. To be h0nest,
I've NEVER read them cover to cover. The game has
a lot of detail to it, but the basics are actually pretty
simple. No, I liked looking at the primitive artwork that
really seemed to fire up my imagination more than really
professional fantasy artwork could at the time. I mean,
seriously, look at these pics. They look like a really talented
12-year-old did them. It's great.



For me, D&D was always something played in other people's
basements. Basements with finished walls and carpet. Basements
with rising damp and piled with crap. Basements where a
kid could be a hero by rolling some funny dice. We never drank
when we played. We had pop and chips, occasionally pizza, but
for us, D&D was a wholesome good time. It cracked us the hell
up that certain religious types thought we were putting our
immortal souls in danger. I blame that mostly on Gary Gygax
for having a weird name and putting demons on two of his
game book covers.

D&D rocks and while it may not be as popular as it once was, it
is still better than the competition (video games, card games and
WOW).

NPR stories about D&D

• Dungeons, Dragons and Geek Chic
• D&D turns 30
  
• Venturing into the World of Dungeons and Dragons
• A New Dungeons and Dragons Rule Book

Smallville is not worth watching

I haven't watched the WB/CW show "Smallville" since season one.

The reason is it's just another Superman soap opera only slightly

better than Lois & Clark. Rule of thumb for me is, if my mom

and sister like a superhero movie, chances are I won't. Superheroes

aren't about romantic interludes and will they are won't they plotlines.

Superheroes are about good vs. evil, men and women in cool costumes

kicking the crap out of bad people and making us all feel that there is

a higher purpose to which we should all be committed.

All they do on CW is ponder about how sexy everyone is and titilate

us with missed moments of intimacy. I want to see Superman fly so

fast it hurts so he can stop a jet from crashing into a football stadium.

I want to see Spider-man overcome his personal problems to stop

a subway train from going off the rails. I want to see Batman outsmart

ancient evil while shoving a batarang up its doo-doo hole. I don't

care what Lois Lane, Mary Jane or Vicki Vale know, don't know or

care about. I kind of care what Superman, Spider-man and Batman

think about them because it adds depth to their character if they

deny themselves love to keep their paramours safe but these

objects of affection are not the main focus of the heroic journey.

Lucas prepares to screw up "Clone Wars," too

Apparently, the Emmy winning Cartoon Network series
"Clone Wars" wasn't as good as a new animated series
Lucas is working on which will have 3D computer
animated graphics. WOO-HOO! Excuse me, I mean
WHO CARES? Lucas doesn't get it. Special effects don't
make science fiction great, stories do.

Cartoon Network's "Clone Wars" was great if you could
watch them all in one sitting as a movie instead of in the
infuriating 5-minute chapters. That idea was so bad it
HAD to have belonged to Lucas. Seen at once, properly
edited "Clone Wars" was better than all three of the
last "Star Wars" movies combined. It had more stories,
more compelling stories, better acting and superb
direction. Genndy Tartakovsky did more for "Star Wars"
in one year than Lucas has done since the final disappointing
minutes of "Return of the Jedi." God I hate Ewoks.

Beam me up, Scotty

James "Scotty" Doohan died Wednesday. I feel like an old friend I haven't seen in years has left us for the other side. Doohan used to resent the fact he had been typecast as Scotty, but later in life, he learned to embrace the fact that millions of Star Trek fans loved him and were inspired by his performance.

Star Trek is not just another TV show; it's art. The best kind of art. Star Trek makes those of us affected by it wish for a better world and in many cases actually strive for it. It is not socially retarded to be affected by art even if that art is considered less than high culture by snobs. For myself, I know that Trek is a common form of popular art but it isn't just mind candy. It is morality and ethics, respect and potential, wonder and mystery.

The actors who showed us these things are dear to us and rightly so.

We'll miss you Scotty.

Listen up, Frellniks!

If you never saw Farscape, I pity you monkey boy. The reviews are in. "Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars" is FABULOUS! OK, it's not bad. For those of you who hate loose strings, this tied it all up into a neat little bundle. There were tears and laughs. Catch it all this Sunday back to back at 2 p.m. CST.

God ... DAMN I love "Star Trek!"

Greg Trek by Carmen Cerra

I don't care who knows it. I love "Star Trek." It's an ethos. People go on about "Star Wars" and, oh sure, it's fun and all. But when it comes to a truly sophisticated science fiction world that expresses the hope we all have for the future of mankind, Roddenbery kicks Lucas' ass every time.
And don't give me that Joseph Campbell bullshit either. Anything, I mean anything can fit into the limits of Campbell's litery criticism. It's broad. That's the point. You can find heroes who leave home, face the unknown and return with boons for their fellow man anywhere! That Lucas was smart enough to use Campbell as a blueprint just proves what a hack he is. For my money, "American Graffiti" was a much better movie, as was "THX 1138."