Saturday, May 31, 2008

Journey



I’ve had some bad dates, but the absolute worst date of my life was back in 1986, at an all day music and art festival in the California "Gold country" called "Mountain Air". What made it the worst date was the fact that the girl I took wanted to leave halfway through the day, before the concert portion began.
The headliner was Journey.
I took her home and needless to say it was a long quiet drive back to Sacramento. I was so pissed I could have chewed through a beer can.
That was the first, last, and only time I ever had the chance to see Journey in concert. Of course there have been concerts since but once Steve Perry left the band it just wasn't the same. “Van Hagar” wasn't as traumatic of a switch for me, since I was always a fan of the "Red Rocker", but Journey without Steve Perry just wasn't Journey.
The other day on the radio I heard a journey song I never heard before. I was stunned- it was the Journey sound, the Journey guitars, and Steve Perry on lead vocals. I was ecstatic. When the song ended the DJ said it was a cut from their new album “Revelation” featuring a new lead singer named Arnel Pineda. I couldn't believe how much this guy sounds like Steve Perry, it's like they cloned him from a lock of Steve's hair. Of course when I got home I went online and did a little research...
Arnel Pineda was a member of a bar band in the Philippines. Neal Schon was surfing you Tube one night and came across some videos of Pineda covering some Journey songs. Schon was so impressed with Pineda he flew him out to California for an audition and a few days later offered him the spot as Journey's new lead singer. Talk about a Cinderella story.
So now Journey has a new singer, a new album and a summer tour with Heart and Cheap trick.
The guy sounds good (go on you tube and check him out).

No he isn't Steve Perry. But it doesn't look like Steve is ever gonna change his mind and work with Journey again.
And I'm not getting any younger. I figure I better go see them now while I can still hold up a Bic lighter.
Besides, Heart will be there, and I’ve always had a thing for Nancy Wilson.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

I'm a Blackgate correspondent

Does that mean I get paid?

Anyway, I have a review up at the Blackgate website. The book is called the Sword Edged Blonde. Visit the website, read the review, buy the book.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Golden Compass airship at Big Lots!






Over at BIG LOTS! they have the Golden Compass airship for $15.00. I picked one up and it's a great toy for the price.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Friday, May 16, 2008

Conan figure at Ross



Looking for a great Conan figure?
These just started showing up in the toy Dept at Ross for $8.00

Thursday, May 15, 2008

GI Joe and OD&D



I’m noticing a trend lately that I find interesting not for its own sake but for the larger picture it paints of age, nostalgia and trying to recapture youth- The movement to get back to an “old school” style of gaming.
What I find amusing is that I’ve been on this ride before with my buddies who collect action figures. A few years back there was a huge resurgence in nostalgia amongst us guys who played with GI Joes back in the late 60’s through the mid 70’s. The net filled up with message boards and websites where middle aged men would wax nostalgic about their GI Joe collections and their most recent attempts to reacquire the lost treasures of their youth. The boards would buzz with opinion and debate over which Joes were better, whose collections were the most authentic, which companies were re-releasing which figures to cash in on the nostalgia craze and how every effort to do so sucked.
We would bitch and whine about how kids these days wouldn’t know a fun toy if it bit them in the ass. We complained about the little GI Joes, the “Real American Hero” GI Joes from the late 80’s (which of course would offend the “young pup” collectors who grew up in the 80’s watching GI Joe and He Man), We would complain about the high prices and low quality of the new stuff coming out and how it would never compare to what we had “back in the day.”

Back in the day…
That’s the key isn’t it?
A few years ago the GI Joe guys started hitting middle age. Suddenly there was a rush to get back to simpler times, where backyard adventures filled our summer days. Nothing now would ever, could ever, bring those days of bottle rockets and dirt clod fights back.
So we did the next best thing. We went on EBay and paid outrageous prices for moth eaten tokens of our youth and cleaned them, patched them up and put them on display. Eventually, the craze wore down. The casual collector picked up a $9.00 anniversary Land Adventurer at Wal Mart and moved on. The rest of us die hard’s still haunt the boards and still wait for the re release of the Mobile Command Center, much like Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin.

So now, a few years later a new group of guys are reaching their 40’s. These guys didn’t have much to do with Kung Fu grips or Big Jim’s P.A.C.K. They were too busy trying not to get killed in the Tomb of Horrors or have all their levels drained by a Succubus. These are the guys waking up and finding a new version of D&D coming very soon. And there are many who say it looks nothing like the D&D we played as we listened to “Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, or The Red Hot Chili Peppers. This is some new fangled D&D. Hence, the movement to recapture simpler times. To get back to late night sessions at mom’s dinner table. Nights filled with character sheets, funny dice, graph paper, clunky lead miniatures and of course Taco Bell wrappers. Can we get back to “old school?” I really don’t know. It didn’t work for the GI Joe guys. But if there’s a chance of recapturing a sliver of that excitement the first time you went up a level, then I’d say it’s worth a shot.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Lets do this thing!


I have all the software.
All I need is a game.
If any of you guys want to join in and get something going with this Savage Worlds online thingamajig let me know.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Motivational Monday


H/T to Last of the few

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Lazy Sunday Photo dump (Mother's day edition)

First off, a shout out to all those very special Mom's on Mother's Day. You know who they are. We all had one. Whether they were the single mom next door who always needed her lawn mowed, your buddies mom who never quite dressed her age, your girlfriend's mom who was a hell of a lot more interesting than your girlfriend, or the highly involved "Team Mom". They stoked the fires of imagination in many a young lads dreams.







And now back to our regularly scheduled Photodump...






Saturday, May 10, 2008

The Iron Man Movie Kicks Ass!




In my opinion the Iron Man Movie is the BEST Screen adaption of any of the Marvel Heroes.
Robert Downey Jr. nailed the character of Tony Stark.
Nuff said.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Would you like to play a game? - Savage Worlds Online




Savage Worlds is one of the top ten games I would love to play but never have.
A combination of personal issues and lack of like minded folks interested in the system has kept SW in the wings for months.


Recently a group of Savage World enthusiasts have started Savage Worlds Online. SWO hopes to gather SW players via the Internet and the Fantasy Grounds online gaming software. I purchased FGII a few months ago but never really put it to the test. However, now that it looks like it will be featuring strong support for the SW system I'm going to give it a shot and see if I can get in on a game or two.

GM'ing is a bit much for me at the moment especially since I'm not familiar with the system in actual play but I really would love to get into a Pulp or S&S game as a player. Who knows, if it works out I may be able to use this as a play tester for future WoB scenarios or the Lost Worlds pulp source book I'm currently working on. Any one else out there interested in SW or the online project?

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

WoB & LoS

The April numbers for World of Broadsword are in it looks like I’ve sold about 100+ through RPGNow and Precis Intermedia. The reviews are really positive. The most recent one by the Chatty DM was an especially solid critique He applauded the use of the SWOT analysis used in the nations section and felt WoB had applications beyond the Broadsword RPG. I was happy to see that, WoB is designed for the Broadsword game I really want people to realize that it can be used for any type of low magic fantasy setting.

This last week I’ve been working on another gazetteer / adventure in the same vein as WoB but this one will be focusing on the classic pulp genre of the “Lost World” adventure. The supplement will have additional information specific to the Dime Heroes setting from Deep7 but it will also have much of the material in a generic format so as to be adaptable to just about any pulp adventure rule set.

I’m currently working to commission a cover for the Legends of Steel game with artist Jeremy Mohler. Thanks to the success of WoB I will be able get the snazziest cover I can afford. I’ll be using the characters I created with Jeff Hebert as the subjects on the cover.


Here is the last of the core characters I'll be using in the game. He has no name yet. Right now I'm calling him "Barbarian guy" - But I'll work on something better.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Saturday, May 03, 2008

A couple of snippets from Legends of Steel


Grim and gritty or Sunswords and somersaults?
Within the genre of Swords & Sorcery there are varying types. Among them are the grim and gritty tales of Frank Frazetta’s “Death Dealer”, the action packed and sometimes campy tales of television’s “Xena: Warrior Princess”, or the techno-sorcery post apocalyptic world of the “Thundarr the Barbarian” cartoon. All of these variations of the genre are equally enjoyable in their own rights, but there is the possibility that when the GM says “I’m going to run a Sword & Sorcery adventure”, he may be thinking- King Kull while the players are thinking “Army of Darkness”. So before getting started on the character sheets, make sure that everyone playing is on the same page regarding the tone of the game.

Sword & Sorcery doesn't always have to mean "Barbarian"
When people mention Sword & Sorcery the first image that usually pops into ones head is the brawny bare-chested barbarian carrying a great big axe or sword. The fact is that while the barbarian warrior is the most popular character type in the Sword & Sorcery genre it’s not the only one. Heroes in Sword & Sorcery tales include kings, thieves, sailors, soldiers, farmers, and sorcerers. For example in Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad trilogy, the hero is a merchant sailor who travels the known world on epic quests. In the Lankhmar stories of Fritz Leiber, The Grey Mouser is a city-bred thief with a thirst for adventure and a love of the good life. Jirel of Joiry, by C.L. Moore, is a warrior queen who faces off against supernatural foes that threaten her kingdom. When you are creating characters for Legends of Steel, try to think “outside of the box” in terms of Sword & Sorcery characters. Don’t limit yourself to the barbarian warrior stereotype. The advantages and skills presented in LoS allow for an endless combination of character types. By exploring all the options and combinations found in the genre, your gaming experience with LoS will be truly memorable.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Free Comic Book Day!

Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day! Head to your local comic store for some great freebies.