An old school Favorite of mine, I am suprised that I never got around to rebookmarking it through my blog. A postmodern novel/criticism of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol comic, among other things. A reat source for the GM who wants so very deserately to be postmodern, but isn't sure where to start.
Steven Shaviro's DOOM PATROLS
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Sunday, February 06, 2005
The long shadow of Dracula
This must be a particularly strong meme, because every now and then you come across a story about people doing this. I'm sure that from time to time the ripping out of the heart of a corpse is required, but I am glad that it isn't my job. Not even for time and a half.
The long shadow of Dracula
"Last week, six men were jailed for ripping out the heart of a corpse they believed was 'undead'. As Monica Petrescu in Bucharest writes, to many Romanians, vampires are not legend but terrifying reality
"It was just before midnight as Gheorghe Marinescu and five of his relatives crept into the graveyard in the small Romanian village of Marotinul de Sus. They knew which plot they were looking for – a simple earth grave with a wooden cross bearing the name Petre Toma – and quickly, but quietly, set about digging."
The long shadow of Dracula
"Last week, six men were jailed for ripping out the heart of a corpse they believed was 'undead'. As Monica Petrescu in Bucharest writes, to many Romanians, vampires are not legend but terrifying reality
"It was just before midnight as Gheorghe Marinescu and five of his relatives crept into the graveyard in the small Romanian village of Marotinul de Sus. They knew which plot they were looking for – a simple earth grave with a wooden cross bearing the name Petre Toma – and quickly, but quietly, set about digging."
Thursday, February 03, 2005
When the zombies take over, how long till the electricity fails?
This is an important question that needs to be answered.
When the zombies take over, how long till the electricity fails?
"Dear Straight Dope:
"After watching Dawn of the Dead, I am left to wonder about one thing: If we were to suffer an apocalypse where most of the living became flesh-eating zombies, how long, assuming I survived, would I continue to receive hydroelectricity from my power company? Is it a mean-time-before-failure situation, or would the system automatically shut itself down after a few days? (I am assuming that most of the people who were supposed to be maintaining things at my hydro company would be out looking for brains, and that the surviving hydro employees would be busy digging shelters, etc.) Also, what's the outlook like for people whose chunk of the power grid is supplied by coal, nuclear, and other types of energy? Just wondering how many solar panels I should be putting on my roof! —Jason, Vancouver, BC, Canada"
When the zombies take over, how long till the electricity fails?
"Dear Straight Dope:
"After watching Dawn of the Dead, I am left to wonder about one thing: If we were to suffer an apocalypse where most of the living became flesh-eating zombies, how long, assuming I survived, would I continue to receive hydroelectricity from my power company? Is it a mean-time-before-failure situation, or would the system automatically shut itself down after a few days? (I am assuming that most of the people who were supposed to be maintaining things at my hydro company would be out looking for brains, and that the surviving hydro employees would be busy digging shelters, etc.) Also, what's the outlook like for people whose chunk of the power grid is supplied by coal, nuclear, and other types of energy? Just wondering how many solar panels I should be putting on my roof! —Jason, Vancouver, BC, Canada"
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Ringo Starr - Superhero
CNN.com - showbuzz - Jan 25, 2005
"Faster than a speeding snare roll: It's Ringo Starr, superhero.
"The former Beatles drummer has undertaken a joint venture with Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment to develop a multimedia franchise in which Starr will play a superpowered animated version of himself."
"Faster than a speeding snare roll: It's Ringo Starr, superhero.
"The former Beatles drummer has undertaken a joint venture with Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment to develop a multimedia franchise in which Starr will play a superpowered animated version of himself."
DELTA GREEN: 1939-1945
I found this site in a link on an old RPG.net thread. Since I am a big fan of the DG setting (I am probably going to have to get some book covers for my copies...since it doesn't look like there is ever going to be a new edition) I am always looking for new material that could be used. While I doubt that I would run a WWII era DG campaign this still has information which could be useful as backstory.
DELTA GREEN: 1939-1945
DELTA GREEN: 1939-1945
Monday, January 24, 2005
Gamers For Hope
Gamers For Hope is the upcoming charity project to raise money for the Red Cross' Tsunami Relief effort. I received the cover from comic artist and children's book illustrator Jeff Weigel. I thought that I would post an image of the preliminary cover.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Clark Ashton Smith - The Eldritch Dark
I may have linked to this before, but I think that the contribution of Clark Ashton Smith to the Cthulhu Mythos is very important, and doesn't recieve the attention that many other of the contributors.
Clark Ashton Smith - The Eldritch Dark
"Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961), perhaps best known today for his association with H.P Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos, is in his own right a unique master of fantasy, horror and science-fiction. While he considered himself primarily a poet, and wrote over 700 poems and prose poems, it is for his short stories that he is best known today. Clark Ashton Smith was also a self-taught artist whose paintings, drawings and sculptures reflect the phantasmagoric worlds of his fiction.
"The Eldritch Dark is a site to facilitate both scholars and fans in their appreciation and study of Clark Ashton Smith and his works."
This sub-page outlines the cycles of Smith's writings.
These works make a great resource for Call of Cthulhu Keepers, particularly those running a Dreamlands or Cthulhu Dark Ages game. His work is well worth seeking out, and there are some very good resources on this page. I think that his work was a big influence on the movie The Brotherhood of the Wolf.
A quick update, I would like to thank John Rateliff for sending me a link to his very engaging article on Smith's writing, from the Wizards of the Coast website.
Clark Ashton Smith - The Eldritch Dark
"Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961), perhaps best known today for his association with H.P Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos, is in his own right a unique master of fantasy, horror and science-fiction. While he considered himself primarily a poet, and wrote over 700 poems and prose poems, it is for his short stories that he is best known today. Clark Ashton Smith was also a self-taught artist whose paintings, drawings and sculptures reflect the phantasmagoric worlds of his fiction.
"The Eldritch Dark is a site to facilitate both scholars and fans in their appreciation and study of Clark Ashton Smith and his works."
This sub-page outlines the cycles of Smith's writings.
These works make a great resource for Call of Cthulhu Keepers, particularly those running a Dreamlands or Cthulhu Dark Ages game. His work is well worth seeking out, and there are some very good resources on this page. I think that his work was a big influence on the movie The Brotherhood of the Wolf.
A quick update, I would like to thank John Rateliff for sending me a link to his very engaging article on Smith's writing, from the Wizards of the Coast website.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Stan Lee Gets Spidey Cents
Stan Lee Gets Spidey Cents
"Stan Lee has scored a first round victory in his lawsuit against Marvel Enterprises. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled Wednesday that Lee is entitled to 10% of the profits Marvel has received since November, 1998 from studios for the right to produce movies and TV shows, and from movie-based toys that it sells itself.
"The court ruling was less favorable to Lee on a couple of other counts. First, the court ruled that a jury would have to decide if Lee was entitled to a percentage of Marvel's profits from its joint venture with Sony for Spider-Man movie licensing. And second, the court ruled that Lee was not entitled to a share of moneys received by Marvel from third parties for movie-related licensing."
"Stan Lee has scored a first round victory in his lawsuit against Marvel Enterprises. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled Wednesday that Lee is entitled to 10% of the profits Marvel has received since November, 1998 from studios for the right to produce movies and TV shows, and from movie-based toys that it sells itself.
"The court ruling was less favorable to Lee on a couple of other counts. First, the court ruled that a jury would have to decide if Lee was entitled to a percentage of Marvel's profits from its joint venture with Sony for Spider-Man movie licensing. And second, the court ruled that Lee was not entitled to a share of moneys received by Marvel from third parties for movie-related licensing."
Busy Lately
I haven't made a post in a while on here. Despite the fact that I am unemployed (although I did receive a couple of encouraging calls this morning), I have been very busy lately.
I have been organizing a benefit PDF project called Gamers For Hope to raise money for the Red Cross' Tsunami Relief efforts. It has been interesting work. I have a number of smaller companies, individual designers, and a surprising handfull of larger publishers who are interested in the project.
There isn't much that I can talk about yet, as most of the big names haven't fully committed yet. But, hopefully soon I will have more to say about it.
I have been organizing a benefit PDF project called Gamers For Hope to raise money for the Red Cross' Tsunami Relief efforts. It has been interesting work. I have a number of smaller companies, individual designers, and a surprising handfull of larger publishers who are interested in the project.
There isn't much that I can talk about yet, as most of the big names haven't fully committed yet. But, hopefully soon I will have more to say about it.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Feral Cities
I came across this on a gaming discussion board and thought that it was a good thing to share. This could be an interesting resource for GMs who run distinctly city-based campaigns, particularly ones with dark or corrupt cities. There is another interesting resource that I know about that is outside the norm of what would be a resource for GMs, but I will have to find the link for it.
I like looking for resources for my campaigns that are outside of what you would find in game books, it gives a nice edge to my campaigns.
Feral Cities
"Imagine a great metropolis covering hundreds of square miles. Once a vital component in a national economy, this sprawling urban environment is now a vast collection of blighted buildings, an immense petri dish of both ancient and new diseases, a territory where the rule of law has long been replaced by near anarchy in which the only security available is that which is attained through brute power.1 Such cities have been routinely imagined in apocalyptic movies and in certain science-fiction genres, where they are often portrayed as gigantic versions of T. S. Eliot’s Rat’s Alley. Yet this city would still be globally connected. It would possess at least a modicum of commercial linkages, and some of its inhabitants would have access to the world’s most modern communication and computing technologies. It would, in effect, be a feral city."
I like looking for resources for my campaigns that are outside of what you would find in game books, it gives a nice edge to my campaigns.
Feral Cities
"Imagine a great metropolis covering hundreds of square miles. Once a vital component in a national economy, this sprawling urban environment is now a vast collection of blighted buildings, an immense petri dish of both ancient and new diseases, a territory where the rule of law has long been replaced by near anarchy in which the only security available is that which is attained through brute power.1 Such cities have been routinely imagined in apocalyptic movies and in certain science-fiction genres, where they are often portrayed as gigantic versions of T. S. Eliot’s Rat’s Alley. Yet this city would still be globally connected. It would possess at least a modicum of commercial linkages, and some of its inhabitants would have access to the world’s most modern communication and computing technologies. It would, in effect, be a feral city."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)