D&D Time!

The kid is into D&D tabletop at the moment, and so am I!

Some cool links:
http://thedungeoncrawl.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-monsters-i-dont-use.html

https://thetrove.net/Books/Dungeons%20and%20Dragons/AD&D%203rd%20Edition/Modules/

Update:
This has really gotten me in the mood. I've just bought the four box sets that include the miniatures... a Drizzt one, a Temple of Elemental Evil, a Ravenloft and ... that other one. And I got that art book. OK some info/links:

That art book:

Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Art-Arcana-History/dp/0399580948/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=drizzt+box&qid=1570194829&sr=8-8

The boxes with all the minis (unpainted but good ones):

Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Board Game

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Legend-Drizzt-Board/dp/0786958731/ref=sr_1_16?keywords=drizzt+box&qid=1570194829&sr=8-16

Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon Board Game

Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Board Game

Dungeons & Dragons: Temple of Elemental Evil Board Game

BTW, love the old Tomb of Horrors cover:

Godzilla

Comics and Godzilla from the '70s.
https://brainwavestalk.com/the-ten-most-awesomely-wackadoodle-moments-from-marvels-godzilla-comic-book/

Godzilla on Twitter, official:
https://twitter.com/TOHO_GODZILLA/status/1150830118127984640

And the new movie in 2019 was fun. Damn, where is my extra museum for all things Godzilla?

Retro game consoles, mini-NES, etc.

They rock, I love 'em. Emulators are fine and all on their own, but I just like buying something with the right controllers that works every damn time with no bugginess.

http://chrontendo.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html

That guy's blogspot on LEGENDARY AXE has probably sold me. I want the incoming TurboGrafx 16 (PC Engine 16) mini that is to be released soon. If I just had a better spot to put these mini consoles in my living room I'd be much happier. Still they are lots of fun. Ninja Spirit looks great, too... was it before Ninja Gaiden.

Godzilla King of the Monsters (2019)

Godzilla King of the Monsters last night. Had its moments. I dug the way they always had to touch the monsters... who wouldn't want to?

Lots of fun Easter eggs here:
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/281356/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters-easter-eggs-reference-guide

Including:

Exorcist statue Pazuzu in Godzilla's recharge cave.

Two twin ladies for Mothra.

Hollow Earth was from Kong Skull Island (oh, that is why dude said it that way).

Rodan was "born" next to a volcano, and then sort of died in the volcano (forgot)... or at least his mate died.

- In the montage of news headlines and film clips that play under the movie’s closing credits, there’s a quick flash of a headline that says a second Mothra egg has been discovered. This could be either a mate to the first Mothra, who is killed in the film, or her son, who made his debut in Toho’s Rebirth of Mothra trilogy (1996-1998).

Mothra original was 1961, and she's at Outpost 61. =]

- Several of the Monarch scientific stations used to study the Titans are given numeric names that seem to correspond to the years that key Godzilla/kaiju movies were first released: Outpost 55 (Godzilla Raids Again), Outpost 61 (Mothra), Outpost 67 (Son of Godzilla), Outpost 75 (Terror of Mechagodzilla) and Outpost 91 (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah) are the ones we caught.

Silverspun Pickups. Yeah. Damn good music!!!

Game of Thrones season 8 episode 3 , Who kills the Night King?

Game of Thrones, season 8 episode 3 was last night. And oh my God it was good!!!  The action, the mood, the music, the finale... oh yeah!

Loved the Melisandre moments, and they were many. Entrance, fire weapons, ... struggling to liht the trench.

The dragons, the carnage of flames on undead. Air battles. Fog of war snow.

Jon Snow’s fighting. Walking past Sam bc it was so tense and world of the living at stake. Got to get to that Night King.

Bran, confident, calm. Planned the whole thing. Orchestrated it all really. Dagger, himself bait, intel of when undead, and undead dragon. Down to the last Theon...

Arya beating ass then on her heels, then sneaking. Very tense. Then, jump attack, oh no....that special move!!!

https://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment/news/international-news/article/all-hail-arya-stark-to-turn-up-the-lights-everything-twitterverse-felt-during-game-of-thrones-episode/408883

Conan's foe Xaltotun. Undead and lichlike.

'You _are_ Xaltotun!' cried Orastes. 'You are not dead! You live!'

Free original story, The Hour of the Dragon, to read here: 

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/42243/pg42243.txt

And this page talks about the foe, at least where he appears in the comics I take it:

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/xaltot.htm

Real name: Xaltotun

Identity/Class: Human
(Hyborian
Era) magic user

Occupation: Sorcerer, would-be World Conqueror; former
High Priest of Set


Base of Operations: currently unknown; 

formerly Python, Acheron; Khemi, Stygia; Nemedia; HYBORIAN
ERA

First Appearance: REH's "Hour of the Dragon" from Weird
Tales (1935-1936), 

Powers/Abilities: Xaltotun was a sorcerer of great
knowledge and power. In the time of Acheron, he was perhaps the most powerful
mystic on the planet. His powers were vastly amplified when he used the
Heart of
Ahriman, which enabled him to cause sudden floods,
avalanches, deadly plagues, and other forces of mass death and destruction.
He could cast illusions, generate consciousness-robbing mists, paralyze others
on contact, and animate inanimate objects. His own abilities, however, could
be overcome by another learned mystic in possession of the Heart of
Ahriman.

Xaltotun also held other magic items, such as the Heart of Tammuz, the Hand
of Nergal, a Sleep Crystal, and others.

Weaknesses: One of Xaltotun's weaknesses was the Black
Lotus, a narcotic drug which would rob him of his senses when he enjoyed
its effects.


History: Xaltotun was the High Priest of Set in the
city of Python, in ancient Acheron, @ 13, 000 BC. In that role, many blood
sacrifices were performed on the altar of their snake god.

In Love with Nine Parchments, the game on the Ninitendo Switch

At first glance it looks like Magicka and plays a lot like it. That's a good thing. Takes a while to get used to the dual stick and trigger buttons. But man, I just love this game. Love the colors on the levels, the natural settings, the little details like an owl in a nest that you only see if you walk to the far upper right path on this one mountainous area, or the giant shark that swims by in the background on another level. The characters are funny and cool. The unlocking mechanics are addictive... we just unlocked another so that we now have 3 versions of each character, save Amadeus. Soon, we'll go for the Gilded (Winged) versions!

But yeah, I love the gameplay, and just can't get over how good the whole thing looks. It blows me away every time. It is the only game in recent history where I just can sit still and look at the background and foreground for a good long time instead of just getting bored. What are the crazy seashells that look like ribs? The glowy flowers. The trees and caves and little side buildings with hidden items and stuff... it's just all super cool.

The spells are great too. The "bullet" spells are some of the best AOE effects with the spinning and whatnot, very unique. How cool does the extra mini-fireballs (from that one Marvek skill) look when doing the fire mass spam (what's it called again?)? The purples and pinks on trees that sway in the wind just look damn good. Love it all around, and the kids really like playing coop, which is a blast. Can't really do that on PC with old Magicka, but I'll be cranking up Magicka 2 sooner or later on PS4. 

You definitely get the sense that they love the National Parks in the US, and some other famous international sites. The crazy rock columns for instance look like the type in Devil's Tower in Wyoming. 

Dark Souls - Fun Game After You Get Into It

Dark Souls has some weirdness in the beginnings, but it quickly got fun after I was able to use a variety of weapons just to see what they did. I don't exactly love the fact you don't get a second spell as a pyro for like... days into the game, but if you understand these things you will be surprised how fun the melee is. Normally I find the spell-casting classes more fun in games, but in this game the melee is just that detailed and cool. And this dragon looks pretty cool.

I also really really love the way each area feels unique and the lowly monsters are all actually very deadly if you don't give them respect. And skellies are not the lowbie monsters like in a lot of games... oh boy, no they are not.

The Black Knight was fun the first time I stumbled upon him (umm, one of them I mean). Damn he looks cool.

Books, free books, and Robert E. Howard of Conan

So the public domain is cool. Some free stuff you can read online or on a Kindle or whatever ereader.

The Hour of the Dragon, a free book by Robert E. Howard (written in 1935):

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42243/42243-h/42243-h.htm

Beowulf:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16328

Others:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=dragon

MYTHS THAT EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW seems extra good:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16537/16537-h/16537-h.htm

THE THREE GOLDEN APPLES - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")

THE POMEGRANATE SEEDS - (Hawthorne's "Tanglewood Tales")

THE CHIMÆRA - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")

THE GOLDEN TOUCH - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")

THE GORGON'S HEAD - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")

THE DRAGON'S TEETH - (Hawthorne's "Tanglewood Tales")

THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")

THE PARADISE OF CHILDREN - (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book")

THE CYCLOPS - (Church's "Stories from Homer")

THE ARGONAUTS - (Kingsley's "Greek Heroes")

THE GIANT BUILDER - ("In Days of Giants")

HOW ODIN LOST HIS EYE - ("In Days of Giants")

THE QUEST OF THE HAMMER - ("In Days of Giants")

THE APPLES OF IDUN - ("In Days of Giants")

THE DEATH OF BALDER - ("Norse Stories")

THE STAR AND THE LILY - (Miss Emerson's "Indian Myths")

Vintage News has some cool Stuff

That comical scream in so many movies, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark for instance:
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/04/23/wilhelm-scream/?utm_source=penultimate

The laugh track - I think Scooby Doo and a billion sitcoms:
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/15/laugh-track/

Taxidermy and Dr. Seuss. His dad ran a zoo. And... "Young Ted delighted in the animals found there and undoubtedly this would influence his later works. Years later, when Ted was pursuing his love of the arts, his father would send bits of beaks, feathers, and bones to inspire him.

Ted tucked these animal bits into boxes under his bed and, when inspiration struck, would use them to craft Seussian animals in a whimsical blend of taxidermy and fantasy."

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/14/taxidermy-of-dr-seuss/

Weird Irish Potato Famine facts - "How could famine have caused such a dramatic and long-lasting drop in population over such a short period? Unlike other famines, Ireland’s was not caused by a drought, nor by a sudden change in the climate, nor deterioration of the soil. It was caused by a combination of political corruption, religious persecution, and poorly-timed crop disease.":
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/14/irish-population/

Sin-Eaters... not a Harry Potter invention:
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/06/sin-eaters/?utm_source=penultimate

Abracadabra: "Ancient Romans Used the Word “Abracadabra” to Cure Malaria":
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/03/abracadabra/ 

Alien by Giger, or Gargoyle in Paisley, Scotland?

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/15/alien-gargoyle-scotland/

On a 12th century building, but the old gargoyles were redone apparently. It was added in modern times... somebody having a laugh. Dang, I thought we were witnessing something special... too good to be true:

Above the arched doorways of Paisley’s Abbey sits the stone “Alien” which many assume to have been created as an honorable mention of the cult sci-fi film series. Mr. Briss explained to the BBC that they hired stonemasons from an Edinburgh company to make new the gargoyles.

According to tradition, no two gargoyles can be the same, so each is the unique product of the mason’s imagination and personal influences. According to Mr. Briss, the Alien-like gargoyle was the product of one of the stonemasons inventive humor. “I think it was a stonemason having a bit of fun”

Others there:

Monster Blogs

This is cool I bet:

http://themonsterblogofmonsters.tumblr.com

What a great idea, monster costume day in some cool town somewhere:

http://monsterdaygreeley.com/monster-day-greeley-2018-costume-contest/

I really hate Pinterest for not letting me go back and forth with browser buttons. I love Pinterest's saving of picts with about 2 or 3 clicks though.

https://www.pinterest.com/trilodroid/