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Posted by: Synner667 Jan 14 2009, 10:58 PM

There are several Topics about books and movies and comics that people have enjoyed.

But what are you people reading, listening to or watching now ??
Any of it inspiring you with your gaming ??


Me...
...I'm part way through the Eisenhorn Trilogy of Warhammer 40k books [again] and loving it for its Cthulhu-in-the-future high-tech grittiness.
I'd highly recommend the books [Xenos, Malleus, Hereticus] for anyone into a fleshed-out grimy, gritty future.

Posted by: cybertrucker Jan 16 2009, 12:23 PM

Currently I am reading The Shadowrun novel "A Fistful of Data" Great read so far. After that I am planning on picking up the Hellgate London Novels i have heard they are really good from someone I know.

Movie wise i am anticipating Star Trek which is funny because when i first heard about them using the old crew i was against it but it looks like it could be good.

Another addition to this list would be computer games or console

Currently I am playing Fallout 3 for single player, and Vanguard Saga of Heroes for MMO (you should check out the free trial if you heard the game was bad you heard wrong)
I am anticipating Aieon and Earth Rising both MMOs they will have to be really good to get me to stop playing Vanguard though.

Posted by: apollo124 Jan 18 2009, 06:13 AM

Currently reading: "Wonder Woman", based on the screenplay of the upcoming animated movie. (Okay, so I'm a comic book geek who likes hot looking busty superheroes)

Currently watching: I saw "The Spirit" at the theater in December. Again with the "hot looking women in superhero style" thing.

Currently playing: The Sims 2 Double Deluxe, which I bought with a Christmas gift card and Neverwinter Nights 1. I'm an old school roleplayer and NWN 2 is just way too much 4th ed D+D to me, and I HATE what they've done with it, and to my beloved Forgotten Realms.

Posted by: Critias Jan 18 2009, 05:58 PM

Reading: The Book of Two Guns: the martial art of the 1911 pistol and the AR carbine, by Tiger McGee, is my current book, the last novel sort of gig I read was Hardwired for the zillionth time.

Watching: The last movie I watched at home was The Incredible Hulk. To stave off any actual dvd purchases, my wife and I just snagged a Netflix deal, and we'll be watching Hancock later tonight. Before Hulk, the last thing I watched on dvd was the entirety of seasons one and two of Frisky Dingo, in one sitting. It makes me happy in my pants.

Playing: Fallout 3. Nom nom nom, bloatfly meat!

Posted by: Wesley Street Jan 18 2009, 08:52 PM

Currently Reading: Matter by Iain M. Banks, his latest Culture novel and a crap-ton of comic books and graphic novels

Currently Listening: The Cool by Lupe Fiasco

Currently Watching: The Shield, Season 5, and the final seasons of The Wire and Battlestar Galactica

Currently Playing: Fallout 3, Mercenaries 2 (video games) and D&D 4e, Spycraft 2.0, and 2300AD (P&P RPGs)

Posted by: Backgammon Jan 18 2009, 09:59 PM

Reading: I'm currently a bit more than half way through Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price. When that's done, I've got The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan ready to go. REEEAALLY looking forward to that one.

Movies/TW: Looking forward to Terminator 4 and Watchmen mostly. TV-wise, the upcoming last season of Battlestar has me and my wife very excited, Lost and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are what I watch. Plus I started watching Entourage on my newly acquired HBO Canada which is pretty cool.

Gaming: Finishing up FarCry 2, which is pretty mediocre. I've got Gears of Wars 2 still in shrinkwrap, but I need to go buy a 2nd xbox remote so I can split-screen with my wife. On my shortlist is then Fable 2, but what I'm really looking forward to is the new Total War (for PC) coming up. There's tons of good games lining up, but for now that's what I have my eyes on.

Posted by: Malicant Jan 19 2009, 02:45 AM

Ok, this is going off-topic, but what the hell? NWN 1 and 2 use the same fucking rules, there is nothing in NWN 2 that reminds me of 4th edition. It's one of these days again...

Whatever, on Topic: I'm reading The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck right now. Hurray for comics. That's about it, no interesting books or movies on the near horizon right now, sadly.

Posted by: TonkaTuff Jan 19 2009, 05:09 AM

Reading: Invader, the second book in C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series.

Watching: I think the last movie I watched all the way through was Spiderbaby a couple of weeks back. Sat through the last few hours of the Battlestar Galactica (a show I like, but never seem to end up watching) marathon and the new episode last Friday. And I've been enjoying the Batman and Clone Wars series that've been running on Cartoon Network for the last few months. The former is much like a cross between the 60's TV version and the latter-day Justice League show, and better than that probably sounds. The latter is surprisingly good and feels a bit more faithful to the spirit of the original trilogy - probably due to limited creator meddling.

Playing: I recently dug out my gameboy and started playing Golden Sun again. And I'm about 2/3 of the way through a playthrough of Fallout 2, which has lead to my discovery of the both the PnP adaptation of the game system and a modding community I had no idea even existed (and may prompt yet another playthrough to take advantage of the expanded/fixed content).

Posted by: chainsawash Jan 19 2009, 05:21 PM

Funny enough I just finished that one. It was ok, I liked the idea of the Crypt and would try to work something like it into a campaign if we ever start playing SR. I read Aftershock right before though and liked that one better out of the two. I'm about to start "Captain's Fury", book four of Jim Butcher's Codex Alera which has fast become my favorite fantasy series.

Posted by: Eugene Jan 19 2009, 08:21 PM

Reading: "A Garden of Martyrs" by Michael White (about an early 1800s trial of Irish immigrants in MA).

Watching: Movies - Transsiberian (about the train, tourists, and drug smuggling); TV - Leverage, Supernatural, Burn Notice (soon!)

Playing: Shadowrun (weekly Skype), Jadeclaw (2-3/month), 4e (1/month), + lots of board games (Power Grid and Settlers are current faves)

Posted by: Dr. John Desmond Jan 19 2009, 11:42 PM

Reading: Just finished "Killing Pablo" by Mark Bowden, which is the story or how Pablo Escobar was taken down back in the early 90's. Getting ready to start "100 years of Solitude" by Gabirel Garcia Marquez for the 3rd time.

Watching: Finally saw "Slumdog Millionaire" which was outstanding. Also watching Leverage.

Playing: Sporadically playing "Rise of the Argonaughts" and currently on the opening details of a campaign based in luxurious Caracas 2070.

Posted by: rafebelmont Jan 20 2009, 07:23 PM

Currently reading Swords And Deviltry by Fritz Leiber, very good short stories so far. Just finished the Chaykin and Mignola's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser comic book, excellent adaptation.

The last movie i saw on dvd was the average Resident Evil, i just can't remember the name, i think it's degenerations...
It's a CG movie, just okay.

Playing: Deus Ex on PC, amazing so far, Neverwinter Nights 1, idem. On Pen and Paper rpg, a playtest campaign using the Pathfinder rules, it has been an excellent game and we're preparing to play SR4, to test the new rules, see if we were not wrong to trade the SR3 rules...

Posted by: Adarael Jan 20 2009, 11:05 PM

Watching:
Neon Genesis Evangelion again, because I wanted to see if I still thought it sucked, 15 years later. (Verdict so far: I still hate the main character's spinelessness, and I think the giant robots are grossly incongruous to the theme, but I respect it a lot more.)
The Prisoner. Again. Started it again when Patrick McGoohan died.

Reading:
Trying to finish The Cassini Division, but failing because I keep getting sidetracked.
Reading The 48 Laws of Power, because a pretty girl threatened my testicles if I didn't.

Playing:
Fable II.
Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Posted by: The Jake Jan 20 2009, 11:43 PM

Reading: Save Our Sleep (it's actually a book for new parents on getting kids to sleep since I'm expecting my first). In between, I'm reading bits and pieces of various SR4 sourcebooks to better learn the rules and flesh out the campaign.

Watching: The Dark Knight, Blade Runner (trying to, constant interruptions), Babylon A.D.

Playing: Mass Effect, Fallout 3 occasionally. We roleplay weekly but I am for fortnightly participation. Lately I've been playing weekly (and SR4 has proven a hit with my players).

- J.

Posted by: Malicant Jan 21 2009, 02:17 AM

Oh boy, it still sucks, but one is unable to really get away from it.
I would kinda recommend The new (oh boy) Rebuild of Evangelion version. They redo a lot of crap, that made no friggin sense in the original. Some new stuff will be added. The characters are still the same morons, though, so.... well. It's only kinda a recommendation anyways. And it will be like 3 or 4 movies total, so, well... If you can get your hand on it, give it a shot. If you don't care enough, good for you.

This thing will haunt me for the rest of my days...

Posted by: Synner667 Jan 21 2009, 08:33 AM

Now reading "Legion of the Damned" [William C Dietz] about a mercenary unit of cybersoldiers recruited from the condemned, the terminally ill and those without any other hope.

Is that the series or the "film" - it's been a long time since I watched anything Evangelion.

Posted by: Wesley Street Jan 21 2009, 02:45 PM

Playing: I just finished Fallout 3. Interesting but not completely satisfying. I'll exchange it at GameStop. I don't feel that it's worth a second play-through. Now I'm working my way through Mercenaries 2. I've started over a few times but I've now got the hang of it. Lots of fun!

Watching: Macross Zero fan-sub. Enjoyable but I'd kill for a Macross series without the requisite pop-idol/girlie-girl love-interest bullshit. I can't imagine why anyone would want to watch what's essentially a war story with a romance stapled into it. Macross is for guys. They want to see transforming jets shooting at each other. Trying to cross-market WAR for the ladies is always going to fail. This is why I liked Cowboy Bebop. Spike and Jet didn't have time for women. They kicked guys in the face and the only woman they ever loved betrayed them. That's a good story.

Reading: Wonder Woman: The Circle. Surprisingly good hardback comics collection by excellent writer Gail Simone of Birds of Prey fame. While Wonder Woman, the angry swimsuit model, will always be a ridiculous concept, this works. DC Comics is perpetually shooting itself in the foot by not allowing for a slight costume redesign.

Posted by: Adarael Jan 21 2009, 02:46 PM

The series, not the film.

I'm less annoyed by it now, I think, because I am much better able to see the effect it had on the form and marketability of more 'experimental' anime. I don't think anime like Serial Experiments Lain, Paranoia Agent, or even Ghost in the Shell 2 could have been made WITHOUT it being a roaring success despite rampant incoherency at parts.

Besides, it lead to FLCL, for which I am eternally grateful.

This is the truest thing I have read all week.

Posted by: ravensmuse Jan 21 2009, 05:44 PM

Playing - I just finished up Lego Star Wars Complete for the Ps3. I'm debating between trying to convince the girlfriend to free up some money for the first Penny Arcade adventures game and going back and finishing off my backlog, consisting of Folklore (Ps3), Metroid Prime 3 and Super Paper Mario (Wii)

Watching - Clone Wars, the new one on Cartoon Network. Not as over the top super-awesome as the Tartakovsky version (and nothing will ever top that one) but it's got everything I love about the Prequel era - Jedi masters, Clone Troopers, villainous badguys, and comic warmachines. The action, for a kid's show, is surprisingly hardcore.

Reading - Just finished up The Good Thief's Guide to Paris, which is a great action mystery book starring a part-time thief, full time author trying to figure out why there's a dead painter sitting in the living room of his apartment. Next I think I'll look out for Jennifer Government, which looks like a cross between Mirror's Edge and Shadowrun. The author of Paris reccomended it, so I'm going to track it down via the wonder of my local library.

Also, FLCL is one of the greatest things to come out of anime in like, ever.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Jan 21 2009, 08:03 PM

Ugh, I saw the movie and an episode of this new stuff and I absolutely hate it. Terrible dialogue, terrible plots, contrived situations, stupid, stupid tactics. I'll shut up now.

Oh, someone mentioned Neon Genesis? Geez, that series will never die in Japan. When I was visiting Oasaka last summer, all the pachinko parlours that I walked past had the posters up everywhere on their windows and repeatedly blared out the theme song.
Oh, the maid cafe concept there... it was odd. I'm still trying to sort out why people go there often.

What I'm playing:
Team Fortress 2, on xbox360 and pc, and Left 4 Dead on the 360.

As for current books and movies:
I just finished the Fables graphic novels, all 11 of them, waiting for the 12th one to come out in the summer.
Rereading A Small Colonial War.

As for movies... whatever is on HBO that catches my eye. I finally saw 300.
My roommate grabbed the Jericho series and I saw a bit of that. Interesting postapocalyptic series.
Been watching Tower of Druaga as it gets released on youtube/crunchyroll. They've been simultaneously releasing it in Japan and subtitled which is great. Good fun fantasy series based off an old videogame, a few episodes were great as it made fun of the fantasy genre and rpg genre. Also been watching a bit of Tytania, it's the only serious scifi anime series coming out that has catched my eye, the novels were written by the same guy who did Legend of Galactic Heroes.

Posted by: Wesley Street Jan 21 2009, 08:41 PM

So, in other words... it's a Star Wars movie. No, it won't win any awards but it isn't as terrible as everyone claims it is. It's surprisingly watchable for a kids' movie.


It's good. It's more like Snow Crash meets 1984 meets Wall Street with a little THX 1138 thrown in. It's an intelligent hyper-satire though there is a little bit of action if I recall; the conversion of the NRA into a private mercenary contractor was chuckle-worthy.

Posted by: ravensmuse Jan 21 2009, 09:02 PM

I didn't go into Clone Wars expecting Shakespear. I went into it expecting - surprise - Prequel era Star Wars. Which means it must have: Jedi, Clone and ARC Troopers, CIS battle droids, decent (snappy) dialogue, and good fight scenes - all of which the series has.

They've killed people on this show, on and off screen. Two of them have gotten lightsabers through the chest. The battle droids had an episode where they traveled through the ruins of a capital ship cutting into escape pods to kill the captive crews inside while humming. They've even done Clone Trooper-centric episodes focused just on the clones (with a single ARC) with no Jedi in sight. Very same episode, they name-dropped the 501st!

Plus there's been new planets, new characters, they've allowed the non-martial characters like Padme and Jar Jar to have center stage - it's not just Jedi blow up machines, here you go! Heck, my very favorite episode so far was the very first one, where Yoda and a small squad of Clones are traveling cross-country to make a meet-up they're late for.

I mean, I know it's quite popular to look down with a sniff on anything Star Wars nowadays but shit, it's a good series full of action and adventure for little kids and lots of little things for the parents to latch onto. They've had a fight with IG-88 droids; I mean come on.

Posted by: ravensmuse Jan 21 2009, 09:04 PM

It's not like, crazy serious is it? I'm not in the mood for serious dystopia lately. The author made it sound upbeat and a little wacky.

Posted by: Wesley Street Jan 22 2009, 02:54 PM

When you have characters named Julia Nike-McDonalds and Jennifer Government (all of the characters' surnames are taken by their employers; even the protagonist's daughter has the last name of Mattel as it's the company that owns the elementary school) it's hard to claim that it's a "serious" (re: depressing) dystopia. But it's not woka-woka-woka! crazy either. If you're familiar with the works of James Morrow (ie: Towing Jehovah), it's that level of serious. If you're expecting two-fisted pistol action and kick-flips across hyper-urban landscapes you may be disappointed. The cover blurb that compares it to "The Matrix" is highly misleading and makes me wonder if the reviewer even read the book or just looked at the dust jacket art. It's more of a police procedural than a postcyberpunk action romp.

Oooo, apparently there's a browser-based Jennifer Government simulation game: http://www.nationstates.net/.

Posted by: ravensmuse Jan 22 2009, 04:59 PM

We need more wocka-wocka dystopia.

Like, Big Brother is Fozzie and the Black Bug Room is full of cream pies.

PS - Picked up The Devil Wears Prada instead. Got an idea for a solo game for the girlfriend...

Posted by: Critias Jan 22 2009, 05:34 PM

Reading category update: Been down and out with a sinus infection lately, and decided that I just couldn't stand studying the whole time. I started and finished Only in Death, the latest Gaunt's Ghosts novel. It was exactly what I was expecting, comfortably okay military sci-fi. I like Major Rawne because he's a bastard, and he had some good face-time in this one, so I was content.

Next up, I'm finally getting started on some of The Dresden Files books. My wife's been telling me I'll love 'em for years, so I'm caving and about to start on the first one.

Posted by: paws2sky Jan 22 2009, 06:17 PM

Reading:
* Sadly... nothing right now. Haven't have the urge to hit the library lately. Its too cold.

Watching:
* Recently watched D-Wars (Dragon Wars), which was surprisingly fun. I picked it up for a couple bucks when I wa shunting for a B movie and I think it was well worth it. It's still a B movie, but its actually pretty good, especially for a first time director.
* Waiting for Volume 4 of Heroes to start up. No idea if it will suck or not, but I'm going to watch it anyway.

Playing:
* Team Fortress 2, but its getting stale
* Warhammer Online, which I'll be dropping this soon because I just can't get into it.
* LEGO Star Wars 1, LEGO Star Wars 2, and LEGO Indiana Jones. What can I say? My son and I are mildly obsessed with all things LEGO.
* Shadowrun 4, just joined a new group. Hopefully it will run for a while, because I'm really wanting to do some playing, rather than GMing all the time.
* Hopefully, I'll be able to start alternating my own SRM Denver with a friend's 7th Sea game soon.

-paws

Posted by: InfinityzeN Jan 23 2009, 04:28 PM

Reading: Dragons Wild [Robert Asprin], For Those Who Fell [William C Dietz http://www.amazon.com/Legion-William-C-Dietz/lm/1LUHDC65DJ24Z Book 6]

Watching: Movie buff. I own over 2000 dvds plus got netflix (so I get streaming & to my door). Not big on TV though. I watched Black Sheep last night and I have to say that it was a really enjoyable campy mock horror romp. I think I'll stick some geneticly engeenered blood thirsty sheep into my game sometime to keep my players on their toes.

Playing: Fallout 3. Fable 2. Gears of War 2. Oh, P&P I run SR4. I think one of the guys is going to start running a game soon though! YEA! I might get to play for the first time in 5 years!

Posted by: pbangarth Jan 25 2009, 02:26 AM

Reading:
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein - a treatise on the way corporate/government collusion uses disaster and catastrophe (military coup, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina) as opportunities to force extreme capitalism onto those who would otherwise resist. Obvious connections to Shadowrun. Early in the book, but a good read so far.

Watching:
Flashpoint on TV. Really good stories and acting, and it takes place in my home town, Toronto. Tactics melded with decency. What a concept.

Playing:
Nothing. Currently living in a small town in the frozen woods of Alberta. The one and only game store never heard of Shadowrun. Lots of Warhammer, though. You'd think in a redneck town full of hunters and snowmobilers there would be interest in a game rife with shooting stuff. I should make some effort to get people hooked.

Got Civilization IV finally... my video card doesn't have enough memory. Easy to fix? Not in a laptop.

Posted by: Fix-it Jan 25 2009, 02:58 AM

http://nyc2123.com/

a graphic novel thingy. haven't read yet, but seeing as it's cyberpunk i figure i'd post it here.

Posted by: Synner667 Jan 28 2009, 08:53 PM

Reading : Finished Legion of the Damned = ok, but typical of 90's gung-ho American military sci-fi. Now moving onto Mindstar Rising for the nth time [cyberpunk set in the UK, after global economic, political and environmental troubles]

Watching : Just watched Heavy Metal, the animated 90's movie = interesting ideas, animation style is very old fashioned, but the soundtrack is great !!

Posted by: Kanada Ten Jan 31 2009, 05:12 PM

Reading - Excession by Iain M Banks. (Worst Banks I've read.) Thinking about reading Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard next.

Watching - NA

Playing - ugh, WOW (Japanasuit: "The Halloweeners are causing problems down by the docks. We need to thin down their numbers, so'ka? Bring me 15 of their masks." *return with masks: rewarded 15 nuyen, reputation with Shiawase +250* "The Halloweeners are too organized. This new leader is making trouble for our business interests. Kill him and bring me his flamer." /die

Posted by: Wesley Street Feb 2 2009, 03:40 PM

That would be Inversions for me. I hated Excession on the first read. Liked it the second time.

Posted by: Synner667 Feb 9 2009, 09:05 PM

Reading : Ravenor - WH40K trilogy featuring Eisenhorn's protege Ravenor in Inquisitional romping through the Imperium of Man [lovely mix of steampunk-eque action/feel and Cthulhu-esque Big Bad Monsters].

Watching : Just bough Appleseed Ex Machina and Ghost In The Shell : Stand Alone Complex box set 1 - Looking forward to both for ideas, background and inspiration.

Posted by: Synner667 Feb 24 2009, 10:29 PM

Just finished Market Forces [by Richard Morgan, of the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy] - Life and times of a Corporate Executive. Set in an England, with clear lines of haves and have notes, promotion is via ritualised car and gum combat.

Interesting to see the "other" view, and lots of things for a group to do in a Corp-based game [and excellent material for SLA Industries or Corporation]

Posted by: Backgammon Feb 25 2009, 03:13 AM

Time for an update -

Reading: Finished both Harry Potter and The Steel Remains. Half-Blood price was best Potter so far, very enjoyable. Steel Remains was good. I found Morgan's sci-fi better than this fantasy though. I don't know if he's planning a trilogy, but the book is set up for sequels, if he wants.

Movies/TV: No update. Sarah Connor Chronicles started back. A bit slow so far. I give them benefit of the doubt. Whedon's Dollhouse is now playing. Not very good so far, but I can see potential. Have to remember Whedon's shows get better over time.

Gaming: FarCry 2 - argh. So boring. Finally finished it. It had some redeeming points, but overall, not a very good game. Did not touch Gears 2 yet. Got Fable II, and finished it. I enjoyed it immensily, and a surprise hit with the wife too. So very good game there. Unfortunatly my 360 HD died today. There go all my save games

Posted by: ravensmuse Feb 25 2009, 12:22 PM

Ouch, I feel your pain Backgammon.

Update!

Reading - Syrup, Max Barry. The book he wrote before Jennifer Government (which was excellent! This is definite SR material!), this one about a marketer with an awesome idea for Coke in a black can, a corporate assassin named 6, and the coolest Korean this side of The Dude. I haven't been able to put too much of a dent in it yet as I've been so tired from work, but it's classic Barry humor.

Watching - The Soup, Clone Wars, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Burn Notice, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, (*cough*) American Idol. I'll admit it; I'm a big pop culture junkie. I blame my girl. But The Soup makes reality tv palatable, I love how manipulated Idol is, and I'm a softie: I love Dog. I think that for all the cowboy shit that he gets accused for (some of it warranted, honestly) he's a good guy doing a hard job trying to make a difference in people's lives. He apologizes to the criminals he catches for being an adrenaline junkie and they make sure to bring a cooler full of water & soda and clean shirts and stuff to give to the people they catch. He just seems like a nice guy.

By the way, when I finally get around to writing that campaign thing in Hawaii, Dog is so going in there. As a troll.

Playing - Wario Ware: Shake It!, The Force Unleashed, No More Heroes. Old school platforming goodness with a meaty center, force chokes, and cutting people in half. I love video games.

My favorite right now is Force Unleashed. Where else can you get a power where you levitate people, leave 'em hanging in the air, and then toss shit at them? And if they don't die from the first wave? Throw your lightsaber through them. I laugh like a mad man when I play this game.

Posted by: paws2sky Feb 25 2009, 03:55 PM

Quick update:

Reading:

• Blue Jean Buddha. I'm not sure why, but I saw this on display at the library and felt compelled to pick it up. I haven't really had a chance to start reading it yet.

EDIT: I love Google Books. It gives me something to do during my downtime at work. Anyway... Wow! This actually ties into Shadowrun, if you can believe that. There's a story starting on page 22 that screams "Runners Way" physical adept. But then it gets better at the bottom of page 25, when the guy starts talking about Tendi Monks from Japan. My god. There are some freakin' adepts! http://books.google.com/books?id=RFRGVGCe0XMC&dq=blue+jean+buddha&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=d2elSavgIpDdnQeim62bBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA25,M1

Just Watched:

• Spiderwick Chronicles. Surprisingly fun. Its a fairy tale (literally) that isn't dumbed down. In fact, several of the fairies are kind of nasty.
• Coraline 3-D. Pretty good fairytale. Very kid friendly, despite what you may have heard. Technically, the 3-D effects are much better than they used to be, though it seems to work best for adding depth to still and slow moving objects; when things start moving too fast, there's a very annoying motion blur.

Playing:

• Team Fortress 2. I'm not sure why, but this just keeps drawing me back. Scout update is supposed to be out this week. I can't wait to see how the new unlock items actually play.
• Starcraft. The Original & Brood War. Another old addiction that has drawn me back. Easy enough that my 5yr old has (mostly) figured out how to play, which has made for some fun, but unproductive weekends lately.

-paws

Posted by: kanislatrans Mar 2 2009, 03:02 AM

Reading Harlequin and Harlequins back- for research purposes. Runners companion- cause I just got it. Love RC so far, played around with making an infected and a SURGE'd character this afternoon. Not ad easy build on either but I think if you put some time and background into them it could be fun.

Watching Babylon A.D.- not bad over all. Vin Diesel is...well, Vin Diesel...nothing new there. The movie had some good points but ending was a disapointment. nice visuals of NY that are SR'ish. I'd give it 2.5 stars.
Metalocalypse: season 1: all i can say is"All Hail Dethklok!!!"

Playing Mass Effect- love it. am playing probably my 15th run through. Perfect Dark: Zero.- Pretty but I am having issues with the controls. Probably me though. had a similar issue with Fable 2, B button casts spells in that one, kept scaring the peasants with lightning .

Posted by: Challenger Mar 3 2009, 09:56 AM

Reading: Thud!(Discworld); Sharpe's Triumph(Sharpe); and White Night(The Dresden Files). That, and the Dark Heresy critical hit tables.

Playing: Freelancer, which makes my recently-finished playthrough the fifth, I should think. And a bit of Rise of Nations. My computer is completely incapable of running anything that's been released after '05.

Posted by: Chrysalis Mar 3 2009, 11:06 AM

Reading: US Senate Manual; documentation on bluebird, artichoke, MKDELTA, MKULTRA; Conspiracy X: Aegis Handbook; Conspiracy X 2.0; Neo-Anarchist Guide to North America; The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil

Watching: CSI Miami - S07E16

Posted by: Wesley Street Mar 3 2009, 03:24 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sarYH0z948

Posted by: ravensmuse Mar 3 2009, 05:18 PM

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Posted by: Chrysalis Mar 3 2009, 08:39 PM

Be glad they did not choose Keanu Reeves as CSI Miami's Horatio Caine.

-Chrysalis

Posted by: ravensmuse Mar 3 2009, 09:01 PM

Yeah, instead it would be

WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Posted by: Wesley Street Mar 3 2009, 10:05 PM

Det. Caine: "Strange things are afoot...
[puts on sunglasses]
[beat]
Det. Caine: "...at the Circle-K."
[fade]
SFX: YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

Actually, that would freaking rock.

Posted by: Stahlseele Mar 5 2009, 12:01 AM

Who watched the Watchmen?
i know i did, and it freaking rocked, even with the german synchro for Rohrschach sucking Manhattens thermonuclear Dong . .
Pretty much Blood and Gory innards Style, but eh . . somehow i think it hasn't even gotten the 18/NC Mark over here yet O.o

Best scenes:
"The World will look up to me and shout 'SAVE US!' and i will whisper 'NO!'"
"I AIN'T TRAPPED IN HERE WITH YOU! YOU ARE TRAPPED IN HERE WITH ME!"

Posted by: Zhan Shi Mar 5 2009, 05:20 AM

Reading: The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were.

Watching: Monstervision, a show hosted by Joe Bob Briggs (real name: John Bloom) from 1996-2000 on TNT. I had thought the show was lost forever, but I've discovered an active community that preserves/trades/sells old episodes. Sent some rare ones out for remastering; they should look really sweet when the project is completed. Its a shame that TNT cancelled this program. Being able to watch it again has brought back some good memories.

Posted by: ravensmuse Mar 5 2009, 12:05 PM

Man, Monstervision used to be my younger selves reason to stay up late in the summer! There were all sorts of terrible movies on there. That's awesome that there's a community preserving them.

Posted by: Zhan Shi Mar 5 2009, 11:05 PM

Yeah, it blew my mind when I found out. These guys are a niche market...well, really a niche of a niche...but they are dedicated.

Should anyone out there like to contribute to the cause (by sending those old Monstervision episodes in for preservation), or would like to get hooked up with the community, PM me and I'll give you the info.

Posted by: Wesley Street Mar 6 2009, 01:49 PM

Book update: Candy Girl by Diablo Cody (the writer of Juno). The life and times of an unlikely stripper. It's quite funny and informative for those of us who have never had the guts/desire to actually step foot in a strip club. It contrasts the sleazy side of the entertainment industry with the lives of "average" women. Some of the rules that the dancers are required to follow (depending on the club) are hilarious. Parts of the story are also quite sad though Cody is such a smart-ass in her writing you can't help but feel some sense of contempt. It's a quick read and I knocked out about 1/5th of the book in a night so I'd recommend it if you're stuck for street-level Shadowrun inspiration.

Posted by: Wesley Street Mar 8 2009, 07:01 PM

Movie Update: Saw Watchmen on Saturday. I highly recommend it if you were on the fence about seeing it. It was extremely faithful to the graphic novel which is the highest praise I can offer to any movie based on a comic book. I threw up the devil horns when Ozymandias tossed out his "I did it thirty-five minutes ago" line. The ultra-slow motion opening montage of how the superheroes in this parallel timeline had affected popular culture, such as a Nite Owl painting at an Andy Warhol party and Ozy hanging out at Studio 54, was very cool.

Posted by: pbangarth Mar 9 2009, 01:02 AM

Just watched last night a 2006 French movie, Tell No One. A mystery that leaves you scratching your head sometimes, but it has a shadow team working for the main villain, and the hero survives because of a HIGH loyalty, gang-leader contact.

Posted by: Freejack Mar 9 2009, 12:09 PM

Reading:

- Recently finished The Night Angel trilogy (Brent Weeks) and it was actually pretty good. It stayed interesting through all three books.
- Recently finished four of the recent MYTH books. The Robert Asprin books are still great reading. The newer two not so much. There's just some spark missing.
- Recently finished The Gladiator by Harry Turtledove. While it's a Teen oriented book, it's still a great story. Crosstime Traffic novel about a timeline where the USSR won the cold war.
- Currently reading The Watchmen graphic novel.
- Currently reading Deadlands Reloaded.

Watching:

- The Sopranos from the first show. I have them ripped so while I'm mucking about with programming, it's playing on my Mac.

Playing:

- Just had to shut down a Shadowrun 4th game. Only two people were coming out and they're playing in my Sunday game.
- GMing a Shadowrun 4th game on alternate Sundays.
- Organizing a Wings of War at work game twice a week.
- Investigating a Wings of War game at a FLGS that I discovered last week.
- Starcraft Broodwar. I thought I'd finished it but now I'm seeing that I only finished the Protoss missions. So I'm at the tail end of the Terran ones and getting ready to run the Zerg side.
- Bioshock. Only when I'm stuck in Starcraft though.

Carl

Posted by: Wesley Street Mar 9 2009, 02:13 PM

I did this and had to stop because James Gandolfini was showing up in my dreams and scaring me!

Book Update: Black Shirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and the British Fascism by Stephen Dorril. It's a history on the British Union of Fascists and the crackpots who supported Mosley in his rise to power. In a similar vein, I'm also working through Among the Thugs by Bill Buford, a book on modern British street thugs. I want to make London a cool Shadowrun campaign setting again (I mean, come on, it was the second SR setting released but it was never used in any published adventures!) so I'm doing some research on its recent, seedy history.

Playing: Gears of War... the first one. I've never played it before and I typically only buy used games. Anyway, fairly enjoyable. Can be frustrating at first but once you get the hang of using cover, blind fire, and conserving ammo its great fun. The Akira-esque Hammer of Dawn satellite laser system is a hoot to use on "grubs."

Posted by: paws2sky Mar 9 2009, 06:17 PM

Agreed. I didn't care much for the book (yes, I'm a heretic, I know), but I think it works as a movie. I went with two fan boys and a girl who'd never read the book and we all agreed it was very good. Probably the least kid-friendly movie I've seen in a few years though.

-paws

Posted by: Bai Shen Mar 9 2009, 08:50 PM

Is that referring to the Deadlands RPG? And what's Wings of War?

Posted by: Wesley Street Mar 9 2009, 10:39 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_of_War.

Posted by: Freejack Mar 10 2009, 02:15 AM

Yes. I'm a fan of western themed RPGs and horror in addition to Cyberpunk. I've seen several good reviews of it over on RPG.net so when I saw it in the local Black and Read (big used book store in the area), I looked it over and picked it up. It does look interesting so now I'm trying to figure out which Savage Worlds core book I need.

I started out back in the 70's as a war gamer, playing Wooden Ships & Iron Men and Richthofen's War among others. So when I spotted Wings of War in my FLGS, I picked up one.

Wings of War is a simple World War I air combat game. Each plane has three attributes; maneuver deck (A-P), damage deck (A and/or B), and damage points. The maneuver deck is used to, well maneuver your plane. You select a card and everyone places theirs in front of the plane then move the plane to the arrow on the card. Some planes like the Fokker Dr.1 take advantage of engine torque so you can turn sharper. The A damage deck is for planes with dual machine guns and B is for single, generally older planes. When you are close enough, your opponent draws from the damage deck associated with your plane.

There are three boxed sets plus one for WWII and four additional card decks (plus two for WWII). There are also 36 pre-painted miniature planes. One set of 12 that represent planes in each of the boxed sets. Each plane comes with four posts (for altitude), a plastic base with the same markings as the card, and a maneuver deck for the plane. I currently have 9 of the miniatures. We're playing it at work. It takes about 45 minutes to play a game so it works well for a quick lunch time Team Building exercise

Well, you did ask

Carl

Posted by: Synner667 Apr 14 2009, 11:46 PM

Currently Reading - Altered Carbon [Richard Morgan]. The 1st part of the Takeshi Kovachs trilogy is a violent, noir, cyberpunk set in the 26th century. Highly recommended !!

Posted by: Wesley Street Apr 15 2009, 01:44 PM

The first sequel novel is nothing like it. Broken Angels is good (as I'm reading it right now) but the Blade Runner riffs are gone and have been replaced with Soldier/Starship Trooper homages.

Also Reading/Just Read

- Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh
- Yakuza Diary: Doing Time in the Japanese Underworld by Christopher Seymour

Playing/Just Played

- finally completed the first Gears of War
- currently playing Ninja Gaiden II on Warrior Mode. Hard as hell!
- Waiting for my measly $100 federal refund so I can purchase Twilight Imperium, Third Edition and the Expansion Pack.

Watching

- History of Britain - the Simon Schama documentary from the early '00s. Just finished his American Future series and enjoyed it.
- Will probably start watching The Tudors on DVD with the fiancee.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Apr 15 2009, 06:29 PM

I enjoyed the first novel. I just couldn't get very far into the second one.

Posted by: Wesley Street May 13 2009, 02:49 PM

Reading

- I'm still working my way through Broken Angels. I've got a lot of other books on my plate and this one has been on the back burner. Anyway, at first I thought it wasn't (post)cyberpunk-y, like Altered Carbon because it wasn't a Blade Runner knock-off, but the further I get into it the more I realize it absolutely is. I loved the Soul Market scene where the protagonist and his corporate backer bargain shop for cortical stacks of deceased soldiers. Big piles of computer chips containing the memories and the personalities of the recently-deceased... being tossed into buckets with snow shovels.
- If Kenichi Sonoda is wrong, I don't want to be right. Dark Horse's Revised Gunsmith Cats editions offer up a lot of great comics for your buck. GC is manga done right: hyper-detailed settings and objects with simplified but memorable characters. A lot of the newer manga I've seen looks like it was cranked out over a weekend. Most of the panels don't even have backgrounds! Japanese people aren't supposed to be lazy! That's Rob Liefeld and Pat Lee's job!
- I picked up PDFs of WH40K: Dark Heresey, D20 Modern, and Twilight 2013. Reading them. Interesting. D20 Modern has some gorgeous artwork. But I don't want to play it.

Playing

- I test-drove Twilight Imperium 3rd ed. for the first time last Friday. It took a long time to set up but I eventually got the hang of it. It's not a terribly easy game to grasp but it's easy to get the generalities after you've played a few rounds.
- I'm about 90% through Mercenaries 2. This game engine is glitchy as fuck, I think there's too much going on in the game for the XBox 360 processor. I don't think I would recommend it to a casual gamer but it's been relatively fun to play.
- Mirror's Edge and Ninja Gaiden 2... arrrgh, I hate you SO MUCH right now! You don't even return my calls.

Watching

- saw Star Trek. As a long-time Trekkie I have to say I loooooved it.
- watched City of Men on DVD. Sort of a sequel to the Brazilian film City of God. If you want a good representation of what life in the Seattle Barrens is like, check out anything to do with the Rio favelas. Dangerous, heart-breaking and gorgeous. Also recommend BOPE and it's exploration of the corrupt and violent world of the Brazilian national police.

Posted by: Synner667 May 13 2009, 05:04 PM

If you like that kinda thing, have a read of Peter F Hamilton's Mindstar trilogy or Neil Asher's Polity books.

Market Forces by Richard Morgan is interesting - British cyberpunk from the Corporate viewpoint.

Posted by: Synner667 May 13 2009, 05:11 PM

Reading.
Legend [David Gemmel] - axe wielding fantasy hero Druss inspires his men and stands for his beliefs like a stubborn rock, while they defend a castle against overwhelming odds. Gotta love it !!

Watching.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - heard much about it, and finally wading through. Well realised future world, viable for cyberpunk, post-cyberpunk, tech noir or just anything set in the future. Some great ideas.

Posted by: Wesley Street May 13 2009, 07:26 PM

That's on my "to read" list.

Posted by: Bert May 14 2009, 04:21 AM

Reading
Currently... Sustainability and Design. College man, it can be tough.
For fun I've been reading World War Z, Jennifer Government (fun read) and re-reading 1984.

Watching
Watched "Leon The Professional" for the first time recently. Great movie... also, check out "Eastern Promises" for some incite into the Russian Mob.

Playing
Saints Row 2 (X-Box 360) good ol' fashioned violent fun. Blitz The League II also falls into this catagory. On the PC I've been playing NWN I. Haven't played it before (I know... I know...I'm behind the times a little, what can I say).

Posted by: Demonseed Elite May 15 2009, 05:26 PM

Reading

I'm currently reading A Clash of Kings, the second book in the Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin. Now that HBO is working on a television series based on these books, I figured I should read them. And I'm really liking them.

Watching

I'm burning through the entire five-season run of The Wire right now on DVD. I'm on Season Four now. What a great show for demonstrating the depth of crime and corruption in a modern city.

Posted by: Wesley Street May 15 2009, 07:17 PM

If you can find it, check out The Corner. It's sort of an unofficial prequel to The Wire but it's also based on David Simon's non-fiction book with the same title.

And just for giggles, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDIi0dzmvpE.

Posted by: Hatspur May 18 2009, 07:36 PM

Reading: A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. It is essentially an incredibly in-depth dark read chronicling American labor uprisings, women's rights, wars, slavery, and anything else most textbooks gloss over. I am halfway through and want to die, but I have definitely learned a thing or two.

Will be reading: In September (hopefully since the new RPG just came out) I will be glued to Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin. Yes I am aware they put the book on pre-order every year and then fail to release it, but I have to believe in it.

Watching: BASEketball by Trey Parker and Matt Stone

Playing:
-FIFA 07
-F-Zero-X
-Mount & Blade

-Finished a 6 month long Star Wars d20 game last Friday
-Starting a Calradia game using the SIFRP game by Green Ronin Publishing

Posted by: paws2sky May 18 2009, 09:03 PM

Reading: Currently re-reading Bad Voltage. Its been several years since I really sat down with this book and I'm flipping out about the little references I missed in previous readings. At one point, a character mentions he bought some data from "an old jockey named Case."

Watching: Animaniacs. My 6 year old discovered this show and has been mildly obsessed with it for the past couple of weeks. I'd forgotten how... bold it was. There's definitely some adult-level humor in there. Its amazing what slips past censors...

Playing:

• Team Fortress 2, when the mood strikes (been doing a lot of Arena matches lately). Kind of jazzed about the Sniper and Spy update, though I'm terrible with both of those classes. The concept of a Payload Race seems cool.
• GMing Shadowrun
• Doing a PBEM play test of a Beyond The Supernatural adventure.
• Hoping to get to play in a face-to-face PnP RPG someday.

Posted by: SincereAgape May 18 2009, 11:18 PM

Reading 2XS - Nigel Findley. Recently went to a Barnes and Noble which had a sales annex and picked up about 15 classic Shadowrun novels. Never Trust an Elf, House of the Sun, Nosferatu, Streets of Blood, 2xs, etc and hope to knock them out. Reading books. Why spend money on entertainment when you can pick up a used book for 3.00 and get hours of entertainment from it?

Watching Despie hating Star Trek, I saw the movie this weekend and have to admit the movie sold me on the franchise. JJ Abrams did a masterful job with the cast, script, plot, and action. Highly recommending this movie.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT May 19 2009, 08:33 PM

Hey, on what platform do you play?
I mainly play on the pc version, so any of y'all on forums play, my username is vallaugh. More of a fan of the control points and the payload maps. Mainly on the Doorman is God, Trashed Gamers, and No Heroes servers.

Posted by: paws2sky May 19 2009, 09:09 PM

I'm a PC guy. I jump around a lot, don't have a particular favorite clan or server. Anything with <100 latency. Tend to avoid custom maps.

-paws

current screen name: Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
(Its a running joke with a couple of my buddies. We all have Ghostbuster themed names right now... )

Posted by: Kanada Ten May 28 2009, 02:28 PM

Reading - The Crazed by Ha Jin, for lovers of The Plague. Inversions by Iain M Banks, which was brilliant. I've started The Posionwood Bible by Kingsolver, and I'll probably read the copy of Inez by Carlos Fuentes we have laying around.

Playing - Boom Blox, um yeah, it's an amazing family game.

Posted by: paws2sky May 28 2009, 06:44 PM

Watching: The original Battlestar Galactica. Other than bits and pieces of episodes here and there, I've never watched this show (I've never seen the new one either, but that's beside the point). I rcently discovered it on NBC.com and I have to say, I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

-paws

Posted by: Synner667 May 28 2009, 08:06 PM

Reading - Just finished Walter Jon William's 1996 cyberpunk classic, Hardwired.

Along with Neuromancer, Bladerunner, Terminator, RoboCop and Bubblegum Crisis, it really defined cyberpunk for me...
...And it's even better if you have a copy of the CP2020 supplement, Hardwired.

I read it about once a year, and am always blown away the story, the characters, the setting, the atmosphere.

So many of the things we've come to expect from cyberpunk are there.

Totally recommended.

Posted by: Critias May 28 2009, 10:02 PM

Amen. Hardwired has been one of my favorite books for a long, long, time. It was one of the first novels I ever read, and every time I pick it back up it reminds me of just how much it shaped what I expect a book -- cyberpunk or otherwise -- to deliver.

Posted by: Spooky Jack May 29 2009, 03:15 AM

Reading: Most of these I've finished or continue to read, but they're worth noting =)

Fiction:
Alien Shores, Feast of Souls, The Coldfire Trilogy (all by CS Friedman)... the first is sci-fi (reminds me a lot of shadow run, but with aliens) and the latter are fantasy (though the Coldfire books manage to merge both seamlessly).

Anything by Terry Pratchet, from Good Omens to his Discworld series.

Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. The imagination and scope of his novels is astounding, especially if you consider how long ago he wrote them.

Non-Fiction:
Three Cups of Tea (phenomenal book that while presenting one man's extreme journey from Mountain Climber to a builder of schools in Pakistan also manages to shed light on the Taliban and current events in Afghanistan). Truly inspirational.

Webcomics: The Order of the Stick, Girl Genius, Erfworld and User Friendly

Watching: Nothing right now unfortunately. I'm stuck on a ship with no cable access for half a year lol. That said...

Trigun Anime(starts a little slow with a horrid recap episode half way through that gets much better around episode 12 or so when the plot starts to really reveal itself)

Dexter... what can I say? A serial killer that kills serial killers, and works for the cops? Two seasons watched and still hooked.

Equilibrium: The gun kata... with great plot and action... nuff said.

Playing: my first SR game (hopefully) and World of Warcraft (yes... I'm one of them).

Posted by: Backgammon May 29 2009, 10:33 PM

On my Amazon to-buy list now, thanks guys.

Posted by: Blade May 29 2009, 11:08 PM

Reading:
books:
Finally completed all Chandler's novel. Great inspiration for Shadowrun (Noir mixes so well with cyberpunk) and wise-cracks and descriptions that are just too good to pass. Currently reading Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Well written, amazing how it can keep me interested despite the lack of actual content.

comics:
Dungeon: a fun but sometimes deep parody of sword and sorcery worlds. Looks like it has been translated in English.
Corto Maltese: A great series with some of the best characters ever (Corto Maltese and Rasputin) that could be great inspiration for Shadowrun games, even if it's set in the early 20th century.
Canardo : A series following the Noir adventures of a depressive alchoholic anthropomorphic duck. Gritty and funny at the same time.

Watching: Nothing much right now. Recently seen Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill and trying to get hold of Russ Meyer's other movies.

Playing:
RPGs:
GMing a Shadowrun campaign in Hamburg that's getting grittier and gritter as time goes on.
GMing an insane pink-mohawk Shadowrun campaign where the PC are trying to save the true spirit of true punk and prevent it from being used and abused by the corps.
Playing a short Dark Heresy campaign. Fun.
Playing other games from time to times (a "gangsta-style" Shadowrun campaign, a cyberpunk-in-space hard sci-fi homegame and some Dying Earth RPG).

Video Games:
Finished Dreamfall. Not game-y enough to truely deserve the name of "game" but such an amazing and deep story... And an ending that really shook me (and not just because it's a huge cliffhanger).
Started playing Capitalism 2 and trying to get Aztechnology to the top of the corporate world.
Lots of various free indie games.

Posted by: Wesley Street Jun 10 2009, 02:42 PM

Video Games: Just completed Call of Duty 4. A bit short but one of the best FPSes I've ever played. I hope Modern Warfare is brought back further down the line because I find WW2 to be tremendously boring outside of flight sims and strategy games. I've put about an hour into Dead Space on Hard mode and I've got the hang of it now.

Comics: I read a crap-ton of comic books but I wanted to bring http://www.radicalcomics.com/#/s=comics&c=5 to everyone's attention. One part Blade Runner, one part Equilibrium, one part monster movie.

Books: Street Kingdom: Five Years Inside the Franklin Avenue Posse. Yet another book about life as a gang-banger in the early 90s. Lots of choice and interesting bits about the lifestyle. I picked up a book on Pablo Escobar at a $1 hardback book sale.

Watching: The Tudors, which desperately makes me want to pitch a "rise of the aristocrats" Shadowrun storyline. Or at least write a new London sourcebook.

Posted by: Synner667 Jun 10 2009, 03:07 PM

Reading - Just finished Burning Chrome.
Wow !! A long time since I've read it, and I'd forgotten so much about how good it was [though I do try and get people to read it as the 1st part of the Sprawl set].

Since it's William G's early stuff [some of it's from 1977 !!], it's really raw and unpolished, compare to Neuromancer.

Really reminds me why I got into cyberpunk as a genre, and shows the gulf between what people wrote and envisioned, and what games ended up with - Very sad, really.

Posted by: Synner667 Jun 10 2009, 03:13 PM

Try Terry's early SciFi stuff [Strata, Dark Side of the Sun], and see the ideas that grew into the Discworld.


Heard good things about it, and even have a copy, butI just haven't got around to watching it yet.

Posted by: paws2sky Jun 10 2009, 03:23 PM

Watching: Just watched Blade Runner Final Cut a couple nights ago. I've owned it for a while, but never made time to sit down with it. Overall, it was Blade Runner. I really miss the voice over narration. The video is so much cleaner than any version I've seen though; it really looks sharp.

-paws

Posted by: Backgammon Jun 10 2009, 11:25 PM

Reading: The Electric Church as per another DSFer's recommendation. A bit cliché but some serious old school cyberpunk. Enjoyable so far for its undiluted cyberpunkness.

Movies/TV: Watching True Blood on HBO. A mix of Buffy and Anne Rice novels. Lots of titties and sex. Love Sookie, she has such a sweet innocence that contrasts well with the Louisiana background. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm REEEAALLY enjoying it. Like, I look forward to getting home to watch it sort of thing. Season 2 starts soon, though the 3 episode a night thing HBO was running was part of the pleasure.

Gaming: Playing Gears 2. Suprisingly short game, I'm almost done. It was ok, didn't think it quite deserves its hype though. As I've posted seperatly, Dead Space which I finished a few weeks ago, was totally awesome.

Posted by: Wesley Street Jun 14 2009, 04:38 AM

Watching: Just finished Sky Crawlers, an alternate universe air-war anime by Mamoru Oshii of Ghost in the Shell fame. Beautifully shot and some of the best air battle scenes I've seen in any film, live action or animated. Filled with typical Oshii trademarks: long periods of quiet, sprinkled with fish-eye lens shots and emotionless, haunted stares of the film's protagonists, Kenji Kawaii music score, rain, the repetition of day-to-day life and a basset hound.

Let the Right One In, a Scandinavian vampire film about a bullied 12-year old boy named Oskar who falls in love with his new neighbor, a cute, haunted looking girl who teaches him to stand up for himself. The girl, Ellie, also struggles to not drain his blood. There were parts about this film that I really liked, especially the genuine awkwardness portrayed by a tweenager trying to find his place in the world that seems against him and that it chucks the shitty Twilight effete male vampire/Mary Sue teen wangst on its ass. Ellie began to smell bad when she was hungry for blood and couldn't eat real food. There were some very genuinely tender moments that you can only pull off with characters who barely understand the concept of adult sexuality. It's a little slow though, for, what is supposed to be a horror film. It's more Ingmar Bergman by way of John Hughes than Wes Craven.

Reading: I picked up Exposure by Kurt Wenzel at a $1 book sale and tell me this blurb doesn't sound like an excellent idea for a SR plot: "Los Angeles, a few years from now. Technology has digitally resurrected the long-dead stars of Hollywood's golden era. Electronic billboards cover every available surface in the city, beaming out a constant flood of commercials featuring the likes of John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, and - the great exception, the last "real" movie star - Colt Reston.

Not everyone is thrilled. A group of anti-tech rebels have begun to deface and destroy the billboards that flash above the palm tree-lined boulevards. Their inspiration is the Black Book, a mysterious manifesto warning against the evils of "media saturation" that has caused a sensation around town. No one knows who the author is but there are plenty of people who want to find out."

Posted by: Critias Jun 14 2009, 03:25 PM

Everyone needs to watch Fanboys. Not necessarily for any tie-in to gaming (though there is a grappling hook!), but just because most of us are soundly in their target audience bracket, and it's a great film to make you feel good about Star Wars.

Posted by: paws2sky Jun 15 2009, 12:27 PM

My wife, who loves Fanboys, has tried to get me to watch it repeatedly. I find it horribly uninteresting though. There's nothign specific I can put my finger on... it just doesn't hold my attention. *shrug*

-paws

Posted by: ravensmuse Jun 16 2009, 04:21 PM

Waiting for my turn at the library to pick it up. Just want that email...

Reading - Star Wars: Saga Edition. Also, transgender superhero fiction.

Watching - Kathy Griffin: My Life On the D-List, Burn Notice, the Soup, the Goode Family, Wipeout!

I heart Kathy Griffin. She seems like she was that kid in school that was unafraid of telling the cool kids that they were dumb while at the same time trying "desperately" to get in with them to get into the cool parties. Maybe people will find that weird, but its funny at the same time. I also don't think she's as D-List as she thinks she is, but plays it up big time for laughs.

The Goode Family: You should be watching this if you like Mike Judge because it is Mike Judge. It's the polar opposite of King of the Hill; the Goodes are a "green" family that tries to live their lives the "green" way. They make their own soap, get their food from their garden, and not impose their "western" ways on people. Yet, you can see that they're not entirely devoted to it - the wife definitely falls into the category of, "I originally got into this to piss off my ex-military dad" and parts of that life come out sometimes (like when her son started playing football and she turned into a crazy football mom / hooligan) and the Dad is that sweet, naive, doesn't mean anything kind of guy that always ends up getting himself into trouble for trying to do the right thing.

tl;dr: if you cynically think the Green movement can be a little dumb and overzealous sometimes, watch this show. It's sweet sometimes.

And yeah, I watch a lot of celebrity related things. I blame my significant other.

Playing - Haven't bought anything new in awhile, though I did get in a few good hours with Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core last weekend. Holy schnikies, its like switching from Street Fighter 2 to Street Fighter 2: Turbo. New movesets, new overkills, dust loops fooled around with...still did better than I thought I'd do.

Working On - Finishing the novel I've tried to finish four times before.

Posted by: Synner667 Jul 10 2009, 06:56 AM

Just finished reading Spook Country [by William Gibson].
Quite disappointed, to be honest. If it was another writer, I'd probably not behave bothered to buy it and read it.

It's a story set in the world-of-now, revolving around iPods, a family of career spies and [most interesting] artists creating augmented reality setpieces that can only be viewed by the re;levant hardware - that almost no-one has access to.

Anyone who's read the Sprawl Set will recognise the main elements - drugs, technology used in new ways, detailed people, etc.


Like many people I want a new Sprawl Set, for more stuff about Molly Millions, the Finn and the world they live in >sigh<

Posted by: Garwllwyd Jul 13 2009, 05:49 AM

Currently partitioning my time between The Mabinogion and Le Morte d'Arthur. I'm a classic kinda guy at heart.

Currently watching the final season of The Shield.

Posted by: Freejack Jul 16 2009, 01:31 AM

Reading: Matheson's Omega Man (1970's). I found it when I was putting my books away. When it was published in 1954, it was called "I Am Legend"

Last Movie Watched: Forget the name but it was about the Russian Mob in London. They're The Vory and since we're playing in Denver, it really was interesting. Especially "I got my stars!" "A Russian's history in Prison is written in Tattoo's" and the star on the knee "because you don't kneel to anyone".

Should make for an interesting Denver Missions session

Gaming: Preparing for Sunday's game. Missions SRM02-16 - Primal Forces. I'm using a Mac so I have several phrases by the Panda and will use the 'say' program to have it chatting throughout the game I'm also re-reading the original modules starting last week with DNA/DOA.

Physical: Creating my woodshop in the garage on the weekend. Built a sturdy set of shelves for garage storage and now I'm working on a nice work bench. Using Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) for the first time (most of the big pieces), making drawers for the first time, really using a dado set of blades, and using stronger wood (oak) for the first time. Most of my projects have been plywood and pine so I'm moving up into the next tier.

Carl

Posted by: kanislatrans Jul 28 2009, 04:13 AM

Reading:Shadows of Europe, and the Fastenal catalog ...more info in the latter,but the plot is pretty thin..

Watching: Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. and Shoot 'em up.

Playing: Fallout 3 and Prototype.

Posted by: Backgammon Jul 28 2009, 09:38 PM

That would be Eastern Promises by David Cronenberg.

Posted by: Adarael Jul 28 2009, 10:50 PM

I have... a really strange question.

I'm currently running an Exalted game, and was thinking about classical influnces on exalted. You know, the Odyssey, the Illiad, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, et cetera.

Does anyone know of a decent english translation of The Water Margin (Shuihu Zhuan, 水滸傳, aka "Suikoden" in Japanese - which inspired the game of the same name)? I'm interested in reading it, but apparently most of the translations are crap, especially the Pearl S. Buck translation

Posted by: AJCarrington Aug 2 2009, 01:37 PM

Just watched this last night - really, really, really good. Can't help but think this would be great inspiration for Crimson Skies.

Have also finished watching Black Lagoon seasons 1 and 2 - pretty good overall. Suitably over the top with an equally bizarre collection of characters: gun-smuggling nuns, maid assassin, twin teenage serial killers, "Chinglsih", chainsaw-wielding cleaner mixed in with neo-nazis, yakuza, terrorists and pretty much anyone else with an excuse to carry a gun. Not sure if "good fun" is an apt description, but it was pretty entertaining.

AJC

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Aug 2 2009, 09:52 PM

From what I've heard an OVA has been greenlighted for the next installment. If you like the series, you may like reading the manga, the ordering is a bit different than from the series, but it's basically all there. Plus the latest book has the start of more craziness as the Garcia family returns to city, more maid assassin action, more mercenary action, more Hotel Moscow, let's see the body count rise.

Posted by: AJCarrington Aug 3 2009, 12:25 AM

Thanks for the heads up - should be interesting to see where they take an OVA. Never thought about looking into the manga - will have to do that.


Regards,

AJC

Posted by: fistandantilus4.0 Aug 3 2009, 10:11 PM

Jsut read Way of the Shadows by Brent Weeks. The back of the book sounds like a cliche ("kid raised from the street by ruthless assassin. Can't have any close friends"), but believe me, this book is bad ass, and gritty. Has it's own world, which has an amazing amount of bleakness to it, with a fair bit of redemption, unique magic (almost ED - ish in a way), and very slick characters and development. Don't read it though if you don't want to read about kids getting hurt, as there is some of that in there.

It's how I imagine Kratas would be.

Posted by: Eugene Aug 4 2009, 02:42 PM

I'm reading The Lost Chalice by Vernon Silver, which is a look into the world of antiquities smuggling. Very interesting and readable!

Also finished Effinger's When Gravity Fails, which was almost as good as everyone says.

Posted by: Synner667 Aug 11 2009, 09:09 PM

I finally found all three books in the set, after about 20 years...
...And I think the 1st is the best.

I think there was a supplement for CP:2020 for the Gravity Fails world, in the same way there was one for HardWired.

Posted by: Synner667 Aug 11 2009, 09:14 PM

Just finished reading Moxieland [by Lauren Beukers]...
...Not a bad book, with some good ideas, that I'm sure to include somewhere - crowd control methods, payment systems.

Involves a nearfuture South Africa, DNA altering implants, consumer culture, Corporate characters, gangs, activists, streetjournalists [finally]...
...Many of the things I associate with Cyberpunk as a genre.

Posted by: Maelstrome Aug 11 2009, 11:24 PM

im towards the end of the sr novel technobable. ive enjoyed it. next was on my list was the forever drug but it got destroyed. so ill be starting up the terminus experiment next.

Posted by: Eugene Aug 12 2009, 02:18 PM

Are the others still good, even if they aren't as good as the 1st?

Posted by: Backgammon Aug 13 2009, 12:24 AM

I really liked all 3. I wouldn't say the 1st is the best, even. They're all equaly good in my mind.

Posted by: Synner667 Aug 15 2009, 02:03 PM

All 3 books are good [and highly recommended reading]...
...But after waiting such a long time to get and read them, I don't think they lived upto my expectations [which is my fault, not theirs].

Posted by: Synner667 Aug 15 2009, 02:14 PM

Just finished reading Broken Angels [by Richard Morgan] - again.

One of a selection of books, I just keep re-reading and always enjoyable [especially when read as part of the trilogy].

So many good ideas, it's scary [enough to inspire a whole RPG - Eclipse Phase discussions constantly refer to Morgan's books].


From a RPG perspective, it shows how Player Characters from different backgrounds can be pulled together as a team [ninja infiltrator, marine/soldier, corporate, fixer, archaeologist, techie], how their specialities complement each other [combat specialists are no good at providing financial backing, ninjas are no good at being archaeologists, etc] and how an archaeological dig can be a viable scenario/adventure.

Posted by: AJCarrington Aug 15 2009, 10:42 PM

Just finished "The Way of Shadows", by Brent Weeks, and I really enjoyed it. The "magic" in the world was quite interesting - a lot of parallels to SR IMHO - and a pretty dark, gritty story line.

AJC

Posted by: Eugene Aug 26 2009, 03:41 PM

Currently reading S.J. Rozan's "Reflecting the Sky," which is a triad-involved kidnapping story set in Hong Kong. Lots of nice details about living there for anyone in a HK based game...

Posted by: Backgammon Sep 1 2009, 01:19 AM

Reading: Picked up The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye by Chandler after a suggestion from Blade. ZOMG. Chandler's books are so fucking good, especially when read on a beach in Mexico. Thanks for that one Blade, totally loved it. Now have to buy all of them! Also reading Eclipse Phase. Love it even more than I thought I would.

Watching: Still watching True Blood. Really need to go see District 9.

Gaming: Playing some Battlefield 1943 on Xbox (the DLC game) and friend just lent me Red Faction 2. Pretty fun.

Posted by: Blade Sep 1 2009, 08:37 AM

You're welcome, I've read all the novels and some of the short stories enjoyed them all. I've recently read Chandler's first short stories, with a main character different from Marlowe (and not just a Marlowe under another name) and they're pretty good too. They are different from the Marlowe stories with less wisecracks and less "poetry" but a bit more action and more "street-level". The fun thing is that all you have to do to get a Shadowrun story was to replace "Negro" with Troll, "Mexican" with Ork and the rich/powerful guys (and maybe the pretty girls too) with elves.

Time for an update for me too:
Reading: Recently finished Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard. Really interesting auto-biographical book about a British boy growing up in Shanghai when World War 2 breaks out. The story is great, well written and full of details that could be very useful in some Shadowrun games. Currently reading the first book of the Secrets of Power trilogy. Fun to see how Shadowrun was seen by its creators at the beginning (actually most of it hasn't changed that much).

Watching: Recently seen Godzilla vs. Megalon which is one of the best Godzilla movie I've ever seen and Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth which is one of the most disappointing. Oh, and the last Futurama movie... nothing much to see there, I laugh a lot more with a regular 20 minutes episode than I laughed during the entire movie.

Playing: Just Cause: I'm surprised with how much fun I have playing this game compared to what I've read about it. I'm not that much bothered by the bugs and it's a lot of (mindless) fun. Mass Effect was a good surprise too. Too bad the side-quest are completely dull because the story parts are really good and the conversation system a great way to give fine control on your character's personality. Men of War is a great strategy/tactics game, with actual strategy and tactics, even in the single player game. This also means it's quite hard, but in a good way. It's part Dawn of War 2/Company of Heroes (but far more tactical), part Close Combat (but far easier to understand), part real-time Jagged Alliance. I really recommend it to all strategy/tactics fans. I've also been offered The Path recently. You can't really say it's a game, more like a work of art. Still interesting, though.

Posted by: Kanada Ten Sep 2 2009, 04:27 PM

Reading: House of Leaves, which is great fodder for Eclipse Phasian horror if you can read the book as more a b-movie horror with a jigsaw puzzle aspect rather than some pretentious tour de force as it's mistakenly labeled.

Posted by: Adarael Sep 2 2009, 05:08 PM

I think the biggest mistake anyone can make is reading House of Leaves as a book, and not looking at it as a game that happens to be in book form. I'm actually dead serious. All of the intertextual stuff in the book, the hidden allusions, and the connections to other media are what make it totally fun to play. As a novel - a story in and of itself - it's good, but it's not some kind of second coming of the written word.

As a piece of media and experimental writing, though, it's total genius, because you'd have to be some kind of neurotic madman to have made it. Which, to my understanding, Danielewski is.

Posted by: Hocus Pocus Sep 4 2009, 06:32 PM

just finished the death gate cycle. Got the first 3 about 15 years ago, saw the last 4 2 weeks ago, bought them and read them. I recomend the series

Posted by: Eugene Sep 6 2009, 01:39 PM

If you like Chandler, you'd probably like Richard Stark (a Donald Westlake pseudonym), too.

Posted by: Synner667 Sep 17 2009, 07:11 AM

Just got my hands on "Cyborg" [by Martin Caidin] after a visit to an open air book market in London.

This is the story that inspired the the 6 Million Dollar Man !!

Will be interesting to see how the original fares - after watching the tv show for so many years, and seeing how cybernetics are done in games such as Shadowrun/Cyberpunk/TORG/etc.

Posted by: Stahlseele Sep 17 2009, 02:43 PM

I am, right now, reading the WH40K novels dealing with the Fall of the Emperor.
Horus Rising and False Gods. Probably one or two more to follow i guess.
*I was there the day the Emperor died*
*I was there the day Horus fell*
OK, seems to be a bit more than 3 or 4 books O.o
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Horus_Heresy_Series

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Sep 18 2009, 10:50 PM

Just saw the movie District 9, very enjoyable. Can get somewhat a feel of how it'd be for a coporation sending in some elements into something similar to the barrens... though they have less buildings than what the barrens have in shadowrun. Anyway, this film is very much inspired by South Africa back during the apartheid, when they moved a district from Johannesburg to outside the city.

Also saw the movie, 9, it was okay but it really made me feel how much more I enjoyed Wall-E.

addendum: Saw a lot of movies with the 9 representation... but I'm gonna skip the upcoming film, Nine, it just won't be my cup of tea.

Posted by: Synner667 Sep 18 2009, 11:03 PM

If you like District 9, see the original version that the chap did years before - viewable as short movies on YouTube.

Quite amazing !!

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Sep 19 2009, 10:03 PM

Already seen that, that's one of the reasons why I decided to check out the movie. Makes me think, man, he really should make Halo the movie, it might be enjoyable.
Speaking of which, has anyone seen the latest commercial for the Halo3:ODST?

Posted by: CanadianWolverine Sep 19 2009, 11:44 PM

District 9 ... so good, seen it twice in theatres so far. That's a DVD to own for our collection for sure.

That Halo3:ODST commercial is weird. I think they are supposed to be the man/boy's memories of dropping but who knows what the heck that is supposed to do with gameplay. I think the most convincing commercials I have ever seen for games in some way show gameplay and then the reaction of the gamer being one of enjoyment, especially with other gamers.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Sep 22 2009, 01:28 AM

yeah, i wasn't judging it by the gameplay and such, just the commercial itself.

Latest read:
Black Lagoon Manga #7 (or was it 8? I think it's 7), it's a continuation, the entire book is a build up. Tensions in Roanapur is building, the Bloodhound of Valencia is back and looking to start a war, US blackops hiding out in the city, the uneasy alliance of the organized crime groups are about to explode, will the city remain standing in the aftermath? Will the Black Lagoon group survive? From what I hear, the next book will have action, but it doesn't end yet as there are more chapters I guess for book 9.

Posted by: AJCarrington Sep 22 2009, 01:51 PM

Finished War Machine by Andy Remic and enjoyed it. Nice thing about a space opera is that one can easily remove "planets" and exchange them for "countries/continents"... Found myself losing some interested towards the end...finishing off some of the plot threads was a little tedious and obvious...but a fun read nonetheless.

Next on the list is the first Gears of War novel: Aspho Fields

AJC

Posted by: Synner667 Oct 3 2009, 12:49 PM

Currently reading Breakaway [by Joel shepherd].
1st book of a trilogy - Crossover and Killswitch, are the others.

Most of the way through it, and thoroughly enjoying it.
Getting much of the same buzz when I read Altered Carbon [by Richard Morgan].

Much like a book version of Ghost In The Shell [the manga film], it involves characters with augmentations, a high tech society, terrorists, a special crime division, replicant-like androids, high tech hacking.

Posted by: SincereAgape Oct 4 2009, 07:02 PM

Just finished watching.."The Kingdom", "Street Kings", and "Point Break" over the past two weeks.

Currently reading:
"Choose your Enemies Carefully" by Robert Charnette for the second time (Shadowrun novel). But I am thinking about switching to

"Stranger Souls" by Jak Koke, part one of the Dragon Heart Trilogy (Shadowrun novel)

Posted by: pbangarth Oct 4 2009, 08:48 PM

Thanks for this suggestion. I am an archaeologist, and I play one on Dumpshock (among too many games!), so this definitely is on my list.

Posted by: Lass Oct 5 2009, 02:08 PM

I recently read Justina Robsons - Keep It Real. Its sorta Shadowrunesque in that you have a cyborg lead character and elves, Demons and Fairies in a high tech society. I liked its depiction of elves and their culture though be warned it is a vieled romance novel whichis of course fun for me but may not be as much so for our testosterone diven chummers.

Posted by: AJCarrington Oct 5 2009, 07:42 PM

Thanks for this - I've got the first two books in that series but haven't got around to reading them yet.

AJC

Posted by: Lass Oct 5 2009, 09:30 PM

I'd also add that the film Surrogates was pretty damn good - Even if Bruce Willis is looking more and more like Billy Joel each day! Such a great year in film for us dorks!

Posted by: Backgammon Oct 6 2009, 01:50 AM

Err that movie looks terrible and full of plot holes. I remain unconvinced.

I on the other hand saw Zombieland with my zombie-loving wife (she loves me too, even though I'm not a zombie, in case you're wondering). VERY entertaining, LOADS of fun. It has gore and stuff but that shouldn't detract you, cause it's really a comedy with a nice romance story (so something for the estrogen driven chummers too). There is a marvelous cameo by an excellent old school comedian (won't spoil who) that's hilarious.

Posted by: Lass Oct 6 2009, 01:17 PM

Yeah I've bamboozled some fella into taking me to see that this weekend. Gotta say, Woddy looks damn hot in the cowboy hat!

Posted by: SincereAgape Oct 13 2009, 03:47 PM

Over the years Woody took some of the darkest, most hedonistic roles in acting.

Still remember him from Cheers, playing "Woody." That was when he was the best.

Posted by: Maelstrome Oct 15 2009, 03:04 AM

im about to read the sr novel terminus experiment. anybody have any recomendations of shadowrun novels i should read?

Posted by: Lass Oct 15 2009, 01:58 PM

Are SR novels worth reading? I say that recalling reading DnD novels and finding them remarkably formulaic and boring. That being said I am about to start the short story anthology Extraordinary Engines - a collection of Steampunk stories.

Posted by: Blade Oct 15 2009, 02:55 PM

Disclaimer: I haven't read them all, and especially haven't read the most recent ones so maybe there are some good ones I've missed.

In my opinion, most of them aren't really worth it.
Some are just bad (poor stories, horrible writing, brown nipples...) and some are readable, but not worth reading when there's so many far better books out there.
The problem is that a lot were written by players rather than writers or by people who are actual writers but not very good ones, and not very knowledgeable about Shadowrun. Some lack story, some lack style and other lack Shadowruness... Some lack several of these or even all three.

Then there's 2XS by Nigel Findley, which is just a quite good Roman Noir set in the Shadowrun universe. House of the Sun by the same author with the same main character is not bad either, but lack that Roman Noir feel the first one has (except at the very end, which is very very Noir).

For fun, you can also read Black Madonna: it's Da Vinci Code except that it was written a few years before and has the Vatican launch a nuclear strike at the end.

Posted by: AJCarrington Oct 15 2009, 04:39 PM

I'm about a third of the way through the series and have enjoyed most that I've read. I've always had a soft spot for the initial trilogy, Secrets of Power, but that may be as much due to nostalgia as anything else.

AJC

Posted by: Maelstrome Oct 16 2009, 02:24 AM

ive read a handful of them. i own around 20. i enjoy them. then again there isnt much i dont enjoy.

@lass, you are really getting into steampunk arent you?lol

Posted by: Stahlseele Oct 16 2009, 01:39 PM

I've read them all. As long as you steer clear of the newest ones, especially the german stuff, you should find them quite enjoyable.

Posted by: SincereAgape Oct 17 2009, 02:32 PM

Other SR Novels I recommend.

1. Into the Shadows - Edited by Jordan Weisman.
2. Preying for Keeps - Mel Odom
3. Headhunters (Follow up to Preying for Keeps) - Mel Odom
4. Run Hard Die Fast - Mel Odm
5. Shadow Play - Nigel Findley
6. Wolf and Raven - Stackpole
7. Burning Bright - Tom Dowd (A story about Chicago getting nuked because of the large insect hive there.)


-"2XS" and "House of the Sun" are two books I highly recommend like the previous responders to your question.

Posted by: Lass Oct 20 2009, 05:25 PM

Im still just getting me feet wet with Steampunk. Getting through Extraordinary Engines has been fun and looking over some of the RPG Steampunk based books has also been inspiring. I recently read Tim Power Anubis Gates which is meant to be sorta Steampunkish but really wasnt - unless your one of those that like magic in Victorian Times sorta types.

On a side note - Ive discovered Knight of the Dinner Table and its such a fun laugh!

Posted by: Blade Oct 21 2009, 07:54 AM

For Steampunk, I recommend K.W Jeter's Infernal Devices which is one of the few steampunk books I've read that really deserve the "punk" part.

Posted by: Synner667 Oct 29 2009, 10:08 PM

Recently read :-
Whitechapel Gods [SM Stirling] - much recommended by several people, it's a steampunk novel set in a Whitechapel cordoned off from the rest of London.
I did enjoy it, for the main part, but stopped enjoying it near the end.
Some great ideas, interesting steampunk things, and mainly good characters.

Triumff [Dan Abnett] - A cross between Black Adder, Discworld and Flashman, set in an alternate 2010 where the world hasn't really moved on from the renaissance.
Overall, I did enjoy it, but at times the humour felt a little forced and it felt like a rehash of some of the Sam Vimes stories.

Started watching Golden Compass and see lots of steampunk things to borrow and use elsewhere.

Posted by: Synner667 Oct 29 2009, 10:13 PM

Wolf and Raven are wonderful...
...I read the original stories when they were published in Challenge magazine [I think it was], and spent years hoping they'd make it into book form.

Other than that, I highly recommend the Secrets of Power trilogy, Black Madonna and Streets of Blood [the latter because they're about Brits].

Posted by: Backgammon Oct 30 2009, 02:15 AM

Forgot to say I read The Electric Church a while back.

VERY mediocre. Not bad, not good, just... average. I have no need to get the sequels.

Posted by: Sticks Oct 30 2009, 02:34 AM

Just finished Little Brother by Cory Doctrow, a great read and better than i expected, just starting River of Gods by Ian Mc Donald

Posted by: Bitten the Bug Nov 1 2009, 09:45 PM

Reading: DragonHeart trilogy and on the side Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher.
Films: Inglorious Basterds. Me like!
TV-series: NCIS and Top Gear is what catches my fancy at the moment. Otherwise it is Firefly, Farscape that I like the most.
Playing: Not enough. SR once a month if I am fortunate AND can get my players rounded up. Otherwise, not much.
Music: Erhhh, does musicals count?? And children's nurseryrhymes??

Posted by: Lass Nov 3 2009, 03:53 PM

Only essential movie is This Is It!!!! Yes i'm talking MJ heeeeeeheeeeee!

Posted by: SincereAgape Nov 4 2009, 12:12 AM

Tried picking up Machiavelli's "The Prince" over the weekend. Put it down in favor of some fiction.

"Time Machine" And "The Invisible Man" by HG Wells.

Posted by: Lass Nov 4 2009, 03:21 PM

Ive been Netflixing a great TV series from the 60s that is getting me writting up all sorts of Steampunk inspired stories - Watch The Wild Wild West! Not the crap one with Will Smith and giant mechanical spiders but the Robert Conrad series that combines SciFi with Western stories.

Posted by: pbangarth Nov 4 2009, 03:30 PM

One of my favourite TV series of all time. Possibly because of my age at the time I watched it.

Posted by: Backgammon Nov 5 2009, 12:13 AM

The movie was actually based on a series?

Posted by: pbangarth Nov 5 2009, 02:57 AM

Yes. Check http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058855/. Main characters: James T. West (a year before James T. Kirk) as the face and sammy; Artemus Gordon as the rigger/gadget mechanic.

Posted by: Critias Nov 5 2009, 04:05 AM

Well, based on it inasmuch as any of Hollywood's fairly recent (last ~10 years or so) "based on" stuff has been. But, yes, "Wild Wild West" was an actually pretty awesome blending of the spy-story and Western genres, from the mid-1960's. Good ol' Colt pistols, swanky hat cocked a bit to one side, lots of swagger in the step. Good stuff.

Posted by: Lass Nov 5 2009, 03:25 PM

Its so much more than just that! It has massive super trains run by enslaved mexicans, robots, a midget wizard, and powerful explosive devices and this is just season one. I cant wait till the colour episodes. God I luv Netflix!!!

Im taking notes down to create plot points for when I can convince my gaming group to try out the OGL Steampunk that Maelstrome recommended to me.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Nov 5 2009, 08:03 PM

wow... kinda wish my old group saw that before playing deadlands.

Posted by: Maelstrome Nov 6 2009, 03:18 AM

chances are you will have a game going before me. im having trouble getting a group together.

Posted by: Lass Nov 6 2009, 02:51 PM

I saw an add on thetangledweb for an online maptools OGL Steampunk using maptools and ventrillo but I dont think anything ever came of it. If was compitent with GM over that program I'd certainly give it a try. I think that book is great though the magic seems a bit shaky to me - prolly use Urban Arcana for magic.

Posted by: Stahlseele Nov 6 2009, 09:06 PM

I just bouth INQUISITOR, the WH40K 3 Books and 2 Short-Stories in one thingie . . i figure i'll most likely have read through it by monday evening.
Hell, Steven Kings IT has 1300 Pages and i read through that one in 3 Days too. . .

Posted by: Bitten the Bug Nov 7 2009, 06:46 PM

3 days? For a Stephen King book? You're joking!

Read the Harry Dresden series. Again.
Last seen flick was Sparta. Again. Yummmy!!
Music? Some teenageangstpunkrockband that my teengothwannabe played. Or it was Pussycatdolls. Again.

Posted by: Stahlseele Nov 7 2009, 06:54 PM

Nope, i am not joking. 3 Days of concentrated reading.
I only stopped reading for sleeping for about 6 hours i think.

Posted by: Bitten the Bug Nov 7 2009, 07:10 PM

Okay.
3 days 1300 pages is okay reading speed. I think. Is it?? *looks at fellow dumpshockers* I have no idea. Truly.
*takes foot out my mouth*
I read a wee bit faster than that. Courtesy of a wellspent youth.
According to husband I absorb them...

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Nov 8 2009, 01:44 AM

Just finished Innocence Proves Nothing, the sequal to Scourge the Heretic, warhammer 40K novels featuring the Inquisition. The novels are really helpful for me since I run a Dark Heresy game, my poor poor players.

Posted by: Synner667 Nov 23 2009, 10:31 PM

Oooh, I've been waiting to see if they were going to do a sequel.

Will look for that next time I go book shopping.

Posted by: Synner667 Nov 23 2009, 10:37 PM

Just finished reading Dog Days [by John Levitt].

About a magical practitioner who gave it up to play jazz guitar, but gets dragged back into the life of magic users.

He also has a magical dog.

Good for a non-combat character concept...
...Or someone who enhances their Rocker with a bit of magic.

There's a sequel on the way, which I'll pick up - based on the strength of this debut.


Amazing how many urban fantasy books there are out there now.

Posted by: Trigger Nov 24 2009, 03:06 AM

I am currently reading the newest Wheel of Time novel: A Gathering Storm. It is really good, but the change in voice and writing style from Robert Jordan to Brandon Sanderson takes a little bit to get used to.

Posted by: Wesley Street Nov 24 2009, 03:51 PM

Currently working my way through K.W. Jeter's "Farewell Horizontal" for the third time. Weird early-1990s cyberpunk where all of humanity lives inside a gigantic building known as the Cylinder. The protagonist makes his living as a graphic designer and documentary maker on the outside wall (the Vertical)... with mutant angels and roving bands of combat gangs who function like sports franchises.

Posted by: Blade Nov 24 2009, 10:59 PM

I think the way the network is described is very interesting to get an idea of how the Matrix was seen in the early 90s. There's also a nice cyber-zombie and some other good concepts.
But in my opinion, it's not the best book Jeter has written. Dr Adder is just brilliant: brutal, insane and a lot of fun to read. Noir is a bit less crude and didn't shook me as much as Dr Adder did, but it still has a lot of excellent ideas.

Posted by: Wesley Street Dec 7 2009, 07:49 PM

Dr. Adder was the literary equivalent of a rock band's first album; extremely raw, nasty and full of great ideas. I think he was PK Dick's protege at the time. Noir wasn't bad but it felt like Jeter was trying to recapture some semblance of literary respectability after writing a bunch of Blade Runner and Deep Space Nine books and comics. Once you cross that line into mass-market writing it's hard to come back.

Posted by: Stahlseele Dec 9 2009, 01:08 AM

Ok, i will write this once and never again look at that book . .
The Inquisitor Omnibus? Bad. REALLY bad. Over the top bad.
Not WH40K like bad. That is all. I am talking about this one.
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Inquisition_War_Trilogy_(Novel_Series)

Posted by: Critias Dec 9 2009, 01:45 AM

Yeah. The Inquisitor books by Dan Abnett aren't too shabby -- some of the best 40k fiction written -- but that series you linked to is just horrid.

Posted by: Stahlseele Dec 9 2009, 01:59 PM

Eisenhorn was badass.
And very much 40K.
THAT there book? wasn't.

Posted by: Wesley Street Dec 9 2009, 02:33 PM

Started Foreign, the first book in CJ Cherryh's Foreigner-series.

Also watched Terminator Salvation last night. It was a lot better than I thought a PG-13 Terminator movie would be. Proper post-apocalyptic war movie. Though I thought it odd the Resistance was flying around in Bell Huey UH-1As rather than Blackhawks. I thought the US Army retired the Huey awhile ago. Sweet A-10 Warthog on Hunter-Killer action.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Dec 9 2009, 07:29 PM

Probably easier for the Hollywood folks to get their hands on some second hand hueys to use in the film and it may be since the Resistance needed a helo that's easier to maintain and fly, not sure about the blackhawks, but the hueys are a lot simpler which would be appreciated in a post apocalyptic world.



Currently reading another Dan Abnett novel, this is a recent one called Titanicus. Involving the invasion of a forge world by a Chaos Titan Legion and response by Titan Legio Invicta. Lots of Titan fights along with the futile efforts of the PDF troops and the hordes of Skitari legions. Interesting stuff, lots more insight to the Mechanicus folks.

Posted by: Stahlseele Dec 9 2009, 10:06 PM

Best Moment was still when AHNOHLD stepped out of the steam/fog to deliver an ass kicking, even if his face was molten off about 5 seconds into the fight . .
The Audience in the Cinema i watched the premiere in just about gave standing ovations . .
Only other time i have seen more moved nerds was when Optimus Prime said:"One shall stand, one shall fall!" in the first Bayformers Movie

Posted by: Wesley Street Dec 10 2009, 04:48 PM

That was a very awesome moment. They CGI'd Arnold's face onto Roland Kickinger's body (who was one of Arnold's body-building proteges) but it looked seemless. I also liked how McG managed to nail the James Cameron tropes, like shots of feet, and all the other little hints to the earlier Terminator movies.

Posted by: Synner667 Dec 17 2009, 01:09 PM

Just finished reading "The Osiris Ritual" [by George Mann].

A gentleman detective of the Crown, and his feisty female assistant, are involved with a mummy's curse renegade Crown agents in a steampunk London.

Not a bad read, with some interesting ideas for mixing steampunk technology, occultism, and archetypes such as gentlemen, journalists, policemen, scientists, steampunk cyborgs, usable assistants, spies, street urchins.

All good fun !!

Posted by: Freejack Dec 21 2009, 07:48 PM

Just finished reading Black Rain, a novel by a Japanese writer which was translated into English. It's a regular person's experiences when Hiroshima was bombed. It was a very interesting and at some points, disturbing novel. Some of it was pretty graphic. No finger pointing though, no American Aggressors or anything.

Now I'm reading the Illuminati trilogy.

Just watched As Good As It Gets and Aliens before that.

My wife is taking me to see Avatar on Christmas.

Carl

Posted by: Eugene Dec 21 2009, 09:38 PM

Just finished Elmore Leonard's "Get Shorty." It was pretty good, a lot of twists and turns, but a little TOO into the Hollywood thing for my own tastes. Never saw the movie, so I can't compare there.

Posted by: Starglyte Dec 21 2009, 09:58 PM

Reading Miami Babylon right now and just finished Fool's Paradise. Both are books about the rise and fall of Miami Beach.

Posted by: Maelstrome Dec 22 2009, 05:58 AM

finished terminus experiment, now im reading dead air.

Posted by: Stahlseele Dec 22 2009, 12:45 PM

I don't know why people seem to hate Terminus Experiment and Dead Air . . i thought they were both good.

Me, myself and ?, We are reading Fallen Angels by Michael Flynn, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Posted by: Lass Dec 22 2009, 02:51 PM

Just saw Avatar in 3D - friggin' awsome!!!!

Posted by: DWC Dec 24 2009, 03:29 PM

Just finished rereading One Bullet Away by Nathaniel Fick, Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins, and Warrior Soul by Chuck Pfarer. Right now I'm reading First In by Gary Schroen. My wife got me a Kindle, the Amazon ebookreader, and I'm loving it so far. Next on the list is BIAS by Bernard Goldberg. Secret government commandos, ties between politics and macroeconomics, and corruption in the media driven by political extremists. Is there any wonder that I love this game?

Moviewise, I just saw District B13 thanks to the wonder of Netflix. The last thing I saw in theaters was the atrocious Ninja Assassin.

I still only watch television for football, but I'm in the middle of season 3 of The Wire, and eagerly looking forward to the HBO miniseries "The Pacific".

Videogame wise, I got bored of the multiplayer of Modern Warfare 2 after about a week of listening to people I was playing against get yelled at by their mothers, breathe heavily through their mouths, and dealing with trying to play what should be a keyboard and mouse game with a pair of thumbsticks. It doesn't help that the kill streaks are both unfun and self-perpetuating. Having gotten sick of it, I'm back on the World of Warcraft grind and annoyed that we have to wait 2 more weeks for new content in Icecrown. Saurfang was amusing, but really the only thing that made the fight hard in 25 man was having to cram that many people onto the platform.

Posted by: Backgammon Dec 25 2009, 02:41 PM

Finished reading last night "Automatic World" by Struan Sinclair. I has nothing to do with Shadowrun. It's more "litterature" than a book. It's art this thing. The plot is not important. It's the flow of words that is astounding. Still, not everyone's cup of tea for certain. Just got 2 massive compilation books of Raymond Chandler books. I'm so excited! I LOOOOVE these!

Playing the shit out of Modern Warfare 2. My wife too. Turns out she's really, really good at it, even though she understand nothing outside of the gameplay screen. She can't even read the minimap. Yet she kills everything in sight. Go figure. Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun too.

Also playing Dragon Age. I feel it's a little disappointing because it's from Bioware. The bar was set higher. Not a bad game by any measure, and I'm enjoying it, but I see flaws, and I shouldn't be.

Posted by: Stahlseele Dec 25 2009, 09:48 PM

i was disappointed by dragon age, because i thought it would be in FPS mode like Fallout³ <.<

Posted by: Sengir Dec 26 2009, 01:00 AM

Currently flipping though the 4A BBB. Been some time since I bought a hardcopy game book, and in German to boot, but all the anniversary extras finally convinced me to put it on my shelf.

It's even got a TOC and an index. Both in the same book. In the first printing
Pathetic as it sounds, for German SR books that is a minor sensation...sure, the master index from the English version is missing, but that would have been too much to ask for

Posted by: Freejack Dec 26 2009, 03:07 AM

Currently watching Young Frankenstein if that helps. Excellent movie.

"I was gonna make cappuccino"

Carl

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Dec 26 2009, 05:15 AM

Heh, I bought that book a while back along with Generation Kill by the embedded reporter with them. What's interesting is to read both of them.

Posted by: DWC Dec 28 2009, 05:29 AM

The one I'm waiting for is Rudy Reyes's book. Having the outsider's view in Generation Kill, the commander's view, and the perspective of one of the NCOs should make for a really interesting combination. I always like getting so many perspectives on a situation. The only reason I picked up Warrior Soul was because I wanted a second perspective on Beirut to compare with Eric Haney's book.

Posted by: Wesley Street Dec 28 2009, 02:54 PM

The family was ultra-nice to me this year. I received Batman: Arkham Asylum, GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City, and Modern Warfare 2 for Christmas. I'm moving in a month so I'll probably hold off on playing MW2 until I can get XBox Live set up in my new apartment. I started playing "The Lost and the Damned" in GTA; the characters aren't as engaging as Nico and company (though his cameo in the intro montage was amusing) but it uses the same platform as "IV" so it's still fun.

Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side wasn't nearly as funny as Blue Harvest though Peter as Han's reaction to Leia/Lois before being frozen in carbonite had me crying in hysterics. There were a couple of other LOL moments. This Star Wars adaptation felt more like an attempt to recreate Empire shot-by-shot with cell-shaded CGI than to spoof it. It was too pretty.

I keep trying to watch a post-cyberpunk movie with Bai Ling called The Gene Generation but it's so horrible that there are other ways I'd rather waste my time.

Posted by: Bitten the Bug Dec 28 2009, 06:50 PM

Well, the latest I've read was Nigella Lawsons cookbooks and some of Jamie Olivers. Go ahead and laugh, but I like to cook and it gets a wee bit droll with the same 50 recipees and variations there off mulling about in the ol' skull. And watched Dicken's Ebeneezer Scrooge. Muppet style! Only way to do it. *giggles*

What I want to read is Go rin no sho (pardon my atrocious spelling) again and Shogun, but an american puff (Richard Chamberlain) actor is keeping me from it. Then there is Erik van Lustbader's Ninja repertoire...
What I do want to see is Avatar and Sherlock Holmes probably mangled by the colonials. It's a joke guys.

There is only one in my lifetime Sherlock Holmes: Jeremy Brett. Otherwise my hat is tipped in favor of Basil Rathbone.
Or rather, they share a first place.

Posted by: Backgammon Dec 28 2009, 08:17 PM

Hey I got 2 cookbooks for chrismas Bitten, so don't feel bad!

I saw Avatar last night. Visuals: above anything you've ever seen. Acting: good enough, maybe a little overacting by the lead alien chick. Story: exactly the same as Dances with Wolves, which, you know, is not that great.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Dec 29 2009, 08:08 PM

Oooo, didn't know that one was coming out, I'll definitely get that to read.

Posted by: DWC Dec 29 2009, 08:27 PM

Came out back in October. http://www.amazon.com/Hero-Living-Strides-Awaken-Infinite/dp/0451228103/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262118332&sr=8-1

Posted by: Critias Dec 30 2009, 08:24 PM

I've got Batman from GameFly right now (and am loving it, as a hardcore Bats fan all I can say is "they got it right"), and ditto on Lost and the Damned for GTA. The character isn't as likeable as Nico was, but it's still a good time, and I love the tweaks to bike handling/endurance (unrealistic as they are, it's nice not to go flying off your two-wheeled engine and die as easily).

Posted by: JongWK Dec 31 2009, 05:16 PM

Watched Avatar in 3D. Twice. I'll definitely see it again.

There is some speculation about Zoe Saldana getting an Oscar nod for Avatar. It'd be a first for http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/11/ff_avatar_5steps/.

Posted by: Wesley Street Dec 31 2009, 06:48 PM

Or even more like Poul Anderson's http://moviestinger.com/is-james-camerons-avatar-a-rip-off/.

Cameron was legally forced to give Harlan Ellison a writer's credit after he cribbed bits out of one of Ellison's short stories for Terminator.



Those bike races are frustrating the hell out of me. I guess I need something faster than the Hexer if I want to compete against the little street racers.

I like the San Andreas-style bits where you can toughen up the motorcycle club by engaging in gang battles.

Posted by: Critias Jan 1 2010, 06:06 AM

I just give 'em a few extra wacks with a ball bat. It's perfectly in character AND it makes me smile AND it helps me win the races. Everyone wins! By which I mean I win!


Never played San Andreas, but to be honest I'm finding them irritating. I like the gang battles themselves, but I'd like 'em a lot better if I could leave all my worthless friends at home and go murder ten guys by myself. There are so many cars exploding during the fights against anyone but the Angels of Death, I invariably end up losing everyone who goes into a fight with me except for the two named guys.

I roll up on some Russians or whatever, we start shooting and folks pile out of cars or get off bikes...and all my douchebag friends go running up and, point blank, blast the enemy sedan with shotguns and whatnot. Then they stand there and get their stupid asses lit on fire, and/or die in the explosion that soon follows, while trying to take cover behind said flaming car and continuing the gunfight.

On the bright side, there tends to be plenty of guns, money, and bikes lying around after the gang wars are over. All for the good of the club, of course.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Jan 12 2010, 02:41 PM

Speaking of Rudy Reyes, I think he's the host of a new show.
Armageddon man, a scenario survival show, he teaches what to do in a post apocalyptic environment, best places to scrounge, etc.
http://www.history.com/shows.do?episodeId=524654&action=detail

Posted by: Wesley Street Jan 12 2010, 03:29 PM

Currently reading PK Dick's The Man in the High Castle. My fiancee also purchased a subscription to Asimov's Science Fiction for me for Christmas so I've been leafing through sci-fi short stories.

Re-re-watched Ghost Dog.

Posted by: ravensmuse Jan 12 2010, 05:24 PM

Realized I haven't done this in awhile...

Reading: Recently got halfway through Rising Sun, on my gf's suggestion. Very good, but hilarious for the "Japan is taking over the world!" mentality that SR had back in the day. Retroactively funny now that we're twenty years down the line and Japan's businesses are in the toilet yet their culture has completely infiltrated us. Want to see the movie now though.

Besides that, I've been picking up some old school Spelljammer stuff lately and my gf found another couple of Changeling:tD books we were missing for the collection. Also been re-reading http://www.redstring.strawberrycomics.com/ (romantic original English manga) and found http://www.tweep.com/comic/ (Questionable Content minus the hipster drama + Calvin and Hobbes sentimentality + Charlie Brown bittersweetness + awesome literary interludes). I like webcomics; they're a good way to waste a lunch hour and a lot of them are very well presented and written.

Watching: Like, nothing. Missed out on a lot of Clone Wars because I can't seem to nail down the current airing time for new episodes. Waiting for new episodes of My Life on the D-List, Project Runway, Toddlers and Tiaras (Can't. Look. Away. At. Car. Wreck.), Burn Notice...and I think that's about it, off the top of my head. Mostly we've been sticking to Cake Boss.

Seriously, if you're not watching My Life On the D-List, do so. Kathy Griffin is hilarious. Anyone else watch her and Anderson Cooper on New Year's Eve? "Anderson Cooper, who'd be on your death panel?"

I also want to see Avatar really badly, and http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/01/amateur-superheros-story-unfolds-in-new-kick-ass-trailer/, which looks hilarious. But that will probably end up being a rental when my gf isn't around

Playing: New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Why? http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/10/1/. Seriously, it's like if they crammed all of the best parts of Mario 1, 3, World, and Yoshi's Island and Mario World Paizo into a gooey blend and served it up raw. I have seen enemies in this game I haven't seen since 1994.

Oh, and Pokemon Ruby. What? I'm working on my backlog. Ignore the fact I want Diamond. Go away now.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Jan 12 2010, 06:31 PM

Read: Titanicus by Dan Abnett, it's a WH40k novel about the Legion Invictus, a Mechanicus Titan Legion, defending a Forge World from a Chaos Titan Legion. Reminds me a little bit of mechwarrior, but these mechs are a bit larger.

Watched: Avatar on IMAX 3D, I liked it a lot visually. on tv... Cake Boss, Iron Chef America, Worst Cooks.

Playing: TF2 and Civ4, also started a little bit on Dragon Age

Posted by: Freejack Jan 13 2010, 01:23 PM

Reading: Swords of Lankhmar (5th in the series).

Watching: Soap. Got the 4th season over Christmas so I'm watching it start to finish.

Running: Shadowrun 4th Google Wave and local game. Trying to get another game going at my FLGS.

Carl

Posted by: Wesley Street Jan 13 2010, 05:22 PM

Okay, so I'm reading Gantz and Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit. In the past I've enjoyed Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell, Gunsmith Cats, Planetes and a few other action and sci-fi manga series. Any recommendations for stuff that has come out in the past two or three years?

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Jan 13 2010, 06:27 PM

Moonlight Mile, it's somewhat similar to Planetes where two characters want to get into space.

Posted by: ravensmuse Jan 13 2010, 08:08 PM

Bleach

(Yes, it's shonen, but it's reasonably mature shonen that moves quickly enough. And it's getting pretty close to zero hour now).

I've totally been out of the manga circles lately though. Have you watched Tengen Toppen Gurren Laggan yet? NGE meets FLCL meets crazy awesome, hugely following the Rule of Cool.

Posted by: Backgammon Jan 14 2010, 02:34 AM

Just came back from seeing Sherlock Holmes.

Oh. My. God. FUCKING good movie. Far better than avatar I would say. I do have a penchant for Robert Downey Jr., and he's VERY good in this movie. Guy Ritchie was an unusually excellent choice for this movie. London is so cool to see. Rachel McAdams is a weak spot, but you gloss over it. I highly recommend it.

Posted by: Wesley Street Jan 14 2010, 01:55 PM

I've heard about Bleach from a couple of friends but I've never seen the anime. How many volumes are the manga?

I loved FLCL and have liked a few other anime titles that have been released in the last ten years. But my anime collection was described as "Anime for People Who Hate Anime"... which is pretty much true. I feel like (almost) everything that's pumped out to the mainstream falls into http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqlzBHR3oLU territory.

Posted by: Bitten the Bug Jan 14 2010, 05:03 PM

Lesseee...
Avatar.. Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. I think I want to be a Na'vi. Then I can have a dragon as a friend/pet and ride 6 legged horses (yeah, I like horses). Oh my god. I am going to see it again. And again. And again, until my husband grows tired of it. Then I want to watch it again. The details, my gods above and below, the details!
Then I saw My life as a Geisha in japanese (can one watch it in any other language?) Which reminded me (again) of why I want to learn japanese.

Urhmm, books... A lick of Frost and Swallowing dark by Laurell K. Hamilton and on to Princeps fury by Jim Butcher.
A lick of Frost and Swallowing dark is about 300 pages pr book. I read them in 3 hrs flat and that is both books. Is that fast for a non native speaker?

Posted by: ravensmuse Jan 14 2010, 05:54 PM

Bleach is up to ...23(?) volumes by this point in the States, close to 200 episodes in Japan, and they're at Chapter 371 if I remember correctly in the Japanese manga. I warned you, it's a Shonen manga. However, it's well written, smart, with crazy character designs and a good moving plot that you will guess at. I've been following it since the very start and it's ended up the only thing I'm really reading seriously now. I think it should be ending soon though (the main character and the main Big Bad [the person whose manipulated everything since chapter 1] just crossed swords).

Gurren Lagann is like if you took Eva, drop-kicked the angst, and made it follow the http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool. It's about giant robots beating up giant robots and being completely hot-blooded and making your way through the world because of it. It's silly in the FLCL vein, not nerd guys stumbling into the girl's shower for panties silly.

There's also Genshiken if you're looking for something very down to earth. It follows an otaku club in Japan for the four years the two main characters are in college; one is a shy comic book nerd and the other a hot fashionista type that joins to get closer to the hot guy that used to be a complete nerd (and her next door neighbor). Loads of geek references in this and you will learn things - it's how I learned a lot about GunPla, for instance - and if you're watching the anime, the animators got to use real references to things and even got to use footage from actual Guilty Gear XX matches in it. Great series, rarely "anime" funny (there's one scene I can think of, but the character is imagining himself in a dating simulator), and one of the few anime me and my gf agree on.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Jan 14 2010, 06:31 PM

To quote Col. Quaritch:
"Hey Sully, how's it feel to betray your own race?"



An additional aside:
Are you feeling a bit blue after watching Avatar?
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html

An enjoyable movie, the visuals were awesome.

Posted by: Critias Jan 14 2010, 08:52 PM

Meh. Pocahontas with blue cat-elves. I'll wait and see the special effects in a movie that has a story I feel like watching.

Posted by: Wesley Street Jan 15 2010, 01:58 PM

This I read the first volume of in manga-form. I will need to find more as it was quite good. I especially enjoyed the club president's rant about how if you aren't masturbating to drawn images, there's something wrong with you... and provides compelling anthropological evidence.

http://io9.com/5390226/did-james-cameron-rip-off-poul-andersons-novella

This is why I stick with NPR and the BBC. I love how journalistic standards in America have slid so far that reporting on message board postings makes national news. I'm now waiting for a Fox News op-ed piece on how furries are evil godless communists.

Also, if you're feeling sad because a place in a sci-fi movie is so beautiful, try getting out of the house and going to a large national park.

Posted by: Bitten the Bug Jan 17 2010, 09:58 AM

Just read Princeps fury by Jim Butcher.. Me like! A bit railroadish here and there, but that could be due to my impatient nature and penchant for devouring books rather speedily. I am looking forward to read it again after my husband is finished with it. In a week or two.
I am currently reading Exile's honor by Mercedes Lackey. I am rather fond of Alberich Weaponsmaster.

Last movie seen? 300.

Posted by: Eugene Jan 17 2010, 09:29 PM

Reading Barry Hughart's "The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox." Hilarious.

Posted by: Wesley Street Jan 29 2010, 01:19 PM

The fiancee and I watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall last night. My lady and I now have a deal. We can watch romantic comedies so long as there is nudity (male or female) and it's actually, y'know, good.

Love Actually would be an example of "not good." And I should know, I sat through it three times with three different girlfriends.

Posted by: Backgammon Jan 29 2010, 08:27 PM

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of the funniest movies I'd seen in a long time. I loved it too. The british guy is awesome.

Posted by: Wesley Street Feb 1 2010, 05:26 PM

Russell Brand's stand-up comedy is kind of annoying but he was the perfect prick-Brit rocker. I loved Aldous' music video where he held up a sign, Bob Dylan style, that said "sodomize intolerance."

Judd Apatow gets branded by uppity critics for creating nerd wish-fulfillment flicks... but I think our time has come to take the rom-com genre.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Feb 6 2010, 07:37 PM

Just watched the film, Moon.
I enjoyed it, highly recommended. Shows a good scifi film that doesn't need wizbang graphics, animation, or action.

Posted by: Backgammon Feb 8 2010, 03:16 AM

I rented Pandorum the other day. Not bad, really. They used their limited bugdet very well. It's not *great*, but it's entertaining enough. It has Denis Quaid in it, which is cool only because it prompted my brother-in-law to point out that Denis Quaid is a poor man's Harrison Ford, which I find to be hilariously true.

Posted by: Freejack Feb 14 2010, 05:20 AM

Just watched Eagle Eye. Pretty good movie and inspiring for hackers and diggers

Recently watched The Hurt Box I think it's called. It's ok.

Also watched The Orphan. That was pretty good too.

Carl

Posted by: Bitten the Bug Feb 16 2010, 03:39 PM

Movie: Sherlock Holmes Got absolutely nothing to do with the Detective at all.

Books: Masquerade, very old book about Alias of Westgate.

Rpg: Non existent.

Posted by: Wesley Street Feb 18 2010, 05:08 PM

Hurt Locker. That was an excellent film. Eagle Eye... made me want to poke out my eyes. Hollywood + ZOMGComputers = shit.

Watched Cold Souls last night. Mildly depressing dark comedy but interesting.

Just started re-reading Dune. It's awesome. Again.

Posted by: Stahlseele Feb 23 2010, 03:04 PM

dude, you had better not be dissing Tron there . .

Posted by: Wesley Street Feb 23 2010, 10:04 PM

Tron is sci-fi and an allegory created at the beginning of the personal computing age. Tron gets a pass even if the "science" doesn't hold up because they did the best they could with the available knowledge.

The creators of Eagle Eye, a techno-thriller that attempts a "this could really happen!" justification, really should have known better.

Reading: Vertigo's new take on Unknown Soldier. Uganda in 2002 during the height of the war in the north. A Ugandan-American doctor goes nuts, cuts up his face with a rock and begins a personal battle with the war mongers and child soldiers running the place while the CIA hunts for him. Good, gritty stuff. Blood Diamond meets Bourne Identity.

Posted by: pbangarth Feb 23 2010, 11:07 PM

I just read Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. Very interesting take on how a man who has lived a thousand years sees the world.

Posted by: Synner667 Feb 26 2010, 11:40 PM

Just watching Firefly, the series.

Oh sooo good...
...So many ideas - characters, plots, gear, locations.

Mmmm...

Posted by: Bitten the Bug Feb 28 2010, 09:53 AM

Firefly absolutely rules!! River is scary but fun... Oh so very very fun...
One thing though.. How come Mal can wear such pants and not even show a slight bulge? Had me and my girlfriends mesmerized.. And wondering.

Heheheh, the man they called Jayne.... *cue music*

Posted by: Synner667 Feb 28 2010, 09:58 AM

Indeed !!

And they call him captain tightpants...
...Wooo, wooo, wooo

Well, in the film he had some of his nerve clusters moved...
...Maybe his appendage got moved too ??

The show is such a good model of how non-combat people can be done well.

Posted by: Freejack Mar 1 2010, 12:37 AM

Reading Sherlock Holmes as published in The Strand with original art. Pretty interesting.

Carl

Posted by: Wesley Street Mar 1 2010, 01:34 PM

Finished Yakuza Diary: Doing Time in the Japanese Underworld. Waiting for a copy of Tokyo Vice to come in to my local library.

Posted by: Artemis Mar 2 2010, 07:43 AM

Jeff Somers - the eternal prison

Posted by: Wesley Street Mar 15 2010, 07:38 PM

Currently reading Tokyo Vice... It's not only an interesting read about the yakuza but about the Japanese newspaper business and reporting practices. It's nice to know that yellow journalism isn't limited to Anglophone tabloids or Fox News.

This weekend I watched the last of the David Tennant Dr. Who episodes (man tears), The Objective (Blair Witch Project meets... any Gulf War 2 movie), and Gentlemen Broncos. GB got some flack from critics and nerds but I thought it was as funny as Napoleon Dynamite, just in a different way, and a lot more touching.

Posted by: Backgammon Mar 15 2010, 09:25 PM

Recently saw Shutter Island as well as Green Zone.

Shutter Island is the better of the two. Leo's acting is very good.

Green Zone is pretty average, though in a Shadowrun perspective it has good demonstrations of a corp man (Damon) playing for different Johnsons within the same corp (US Gov) versus other black ops teams. You could get inspired for some NPCs from it. Otherwise, everything else about the movie is average. It's a rental.

Posted by: Synner667 Mar 15 2010, 09:47 PM

Just finished Vicious Circle [by Mike Carey]...
...One of a set of books about Felix Castor, London based exorcist.

A slightly alternative universe, where exorcists are known and [vaguely] accepted, werewolves, demons, zombies and ghosts are known to exist.

Similar to John Constantine [another UK based chap] or the Dresden books [by Jim Butcher].

Quite gritty, with some good ideas for characters and how different characters can be brought together - policemen, exorcists, zombies, ghosts, demons, gangsters, priests, etc.

Posted by: Synner667 Mar 29 2010, 10:03 PM

Just picked up a copy of Judgement Night [by Nick Pollotta] whilst on holiday in Oxford...
...One of a set of books about Bureau 13, the FBI's covert branch that deals with supernatural evil.

I remember reading about the RPG, and never knew there were books too !!

I'll be reading that after I finish Juggler of Worlds [by Larry Niven and Edward Lerner]...
...A Known Space novel set 200 years before Ringworld.

Posted by: Zhan Shi Apr 12 2010, 05:41 PM

Reading: How Rome Fell. Also a lot of AD&D 1st books too numerous to mention.


Watching: Just got a couple of Monstervision re-edits back. Friends, you simply have not lived until you've watched Hercules in New York interspersed with Joe Bob Brigg's commentary.

Posted by: Mesh Apr 13 2010, 02:17 AM

For those of you who liked Tad Williams' Dragonbone Chair trilogy... Otherworld sucked.

Posted by: DVSman Apr 23 2010, 01:44 AM

I'm reading The Burning Skies by David Williams. It's book 2 in a trilogy and the neo-cyberpunk is very easy to transfer to a SR game. Book 3 is about to come out also, though if anyone is interested, I would recommend they try to read book 1 first (Mirrored Heavens) since the character development really starts there.

Posted by: Kanada Ten May 8 2010, 08:30 PM

White Tiger by Aravind Adiga - The amazing bildungsroman of a rural boy, who struggles to rise from poverty and servitude in modern India, weighed down by ignorance, corruption, and class. Quick paced, the story depicts dystopia better than anything I've read in decades, while still laced with humor and personal heartache. The settings and characters are all easy translation for Shadowrun. I highly recommend borrowing it from the library.

Posted by: Rand May 8 2010, 09:06 PM

I jusr (re)finished the latest book in the Wheel of Time series, The Gathering Storm. That is my all-time favorite series and I re-read them constantly. Just prior to that it read, Changes, a novel of the Dreseden Files, by Jim Bitcher. I tend to really like his Dresden books, and this one was good, but I feel he sort of phoned it in because he is concentrating so much on his fantasy series (which I haven't read, and am not likely to as it doesn't seem to have the same fun, irreverent feel of his Dresden novels).

Posted by: Backgammon May 9 2010, 01:19 AM

I just saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D. Absolutely fun movie. If you love cats, you'll love this movie. The 3D was really, really well used, too.

Posted by: kanislatrans May 12 2010, 12:24 PM

presently reading "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman presently watching,"how to train your dragon" and "Napoleon Dynamite" over and over and over...someday i will get the remote back from my 6 year old daughter..

Posted by: TW May 13 2010, 02:56 PM

"I'm Ozzy" - Ozzy Osbourne's Biography.

And I thought 'White Line Fever' (Lemmy Kilmister's autobiography) was good, but this, so far, is a lot of fun to read.

Posted by: fistandantilus4.0 May 14 2010, 03:36 AM

Unlikely. Sorry. Until she's sixteen and gets a car anyway.

Posted by: Bitten the Bug May 15 2010, 06:26 PM

Or a boyfriend.

Last movie in the theater?? Iron Man II. Very. Ho-hum, boring. before that Clash of the Titans. Very.. Ho-hum boring. I like my greek mythology and there wasn't much going on about it. Meh.

Last book I read? Clinical Microbiology something or other, pertaining Enterobactericeae and their damn resistance to beta-lactams and cephalosporins. Mostly Klebsiella sp, E.coli, proteus sp. Also known as ESBL and AmpC resistant. Very interesting. If you are a lab rat like me. I wanted to see where the gene is located and how it.. Well, transfers across the bacterias and stuff. Gets hardwired into the genes of the bacteria and stuff.. Geek? Hell yeah.

Posted by: pbangarth May 16 2010, 11:58 PM

Just finished Inca Moon by Patrick Carmichael, Trafford Publishing, a historical novel set in the pre-Columbian Andes written by an Andean archaeologist. Lots of wonderful detail about the culture and times, underlying a rip-snorting tale of murder, revenge, sex, and empire-saving spy-stuff. Maybe a little over the top in the foreshadowing and writer tricks, but a page turner anyway.

Posted by: Rand May 21 2010, 08:56 PM

Just finished Armor by Steakley, a sci-fi war novel - it was ok. Have picked up Dust of Dreams, a Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, by Steven Erikson. Just 50 pages in....

Posted by: Kanada Ten May 21 2010, 09:07 PM

The Windup Girl (Paolo Bacigalupi) was pretty good. Post-oil genepunk set in Thailand. A disparate collection of characters is caught in a political power play between the Ministry of Trade and the Environmental Ministry...

Posted by: Backgammon May 23 2010, 03:10 AM

Saw Robin Hood. Not terrible, but a bit disapointing. Fairly historically accurate though, that was nice. I don't get the "wrong accent" thing. Sounded fine to my ears anyway.

Posted by: Geminon May 23 2010, 04:20 AM

It was OK. I did notice the accent though. Probably because I'm a Londoner myself.

Posted by: Paul May 23 2010, 01:04 PM

Saw Kick Ass last night. What a great movie. Very adult, but very funny. Great plot, solid acting.

Posted by: Rand May 23 2010, 08:02 PM

Though, I would imagine that in the intervening few hundred years the accent has changed somewhat....

I didn't see it, and wonl't unitl it is at a second run theater. Kick-Ass was great, just waiting for Jimmy Pilgrim vs. The World now... looks very fun.

Would suggest as reading material: The Old Man's War trilogy by John Scalzi, The Dahak series by David Weber, and the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Of course, I will always suggest (DEMAND, DAMM-IT!!) that everyone read the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and now Brandon Sanderson).

Posted by: Sengir May 24 2010, 01:41 PM

Eh, I just saw teh trailer with those Higgins Boats (complete with the underwater shots), that was enough...all that was missing was Primo Victoria in the background.

Posted by: Platinum May 25 2010, 03:19 AM

Reading two books,

Metro 2033 and Altered Carbon. Tonnes of atmosphere, not sure if I am liking where things are going.

Posted by: Backgammon May 25 2010, 12:39 PM

I played Metro 2033 on xbox. It was alright. The story had problems - in the game at least. It was really, really not clear what your motivation was and just why the fuck you should care about those dark being thingies. But the atmosphere was nice and gameplay was pretty good. I wouldn't spend more than 15-20$ on it though.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT May 25 2010, 02:47 PM

Saw Kick Ass, enjoyed the movie.

Recently re-read the Burma Chronicles, it's a book by Guy Delisle, a cartoonist who chronicles his stay in Burma in a comic medium. He's also done one on Pyongyang and Shenzen. I really recommend this one and the Pyongyang book. It gives a little insight of how those countries are messed up but in an easy read.

Posted by: kanislatrans May 27 2010, 04:04 AM

Just Read" Coyote Warrior: One man, three tribes, and the trial that forged a nation" by Paul VanDevelder. A nice read on the roots of Native American Rights( and the government that stomped all over them)

Watching "Bear in the big blue house" and "Stuart Little 3: Call of the wild"

Posted by: ravensmuse May 29 2010, 12:36 AM

Someone's got a three year old

Posted by: warrior_allanon May 29 2010, 01:39 AM

dresden files is an always read, currently reading Carnifex which is Kratman's second book in the series, (the first being "A desert called peace") and pulling missions from Ringo's "Kildar" series for the game that i hope to get running,

anime, ashes to ashes and jepordy are my visual drugs right now

Posted by: kanislatrans May 29 2010, 06:44 PM

nah, was thinking of running a mouse shifter and was looking for inspiration.

Posted by: dabz Jun 8 2010, 05:51 PM

Watching: Movies - Transsiberian (about the train, tourists, and drug smuggling); TV - Leverage, Supernatural, Burn Notice (soon!)

i love this movie there something called dejavu within me while i watch this movie.

Posted by: BookWyrm Jun 13 2010, 03:35 AM

Still going through a few of the SR books, waiting for Corp Guide to hit. Also waiting for Fort Freak, the next Wild Cards novel (AND if Wild Cards: The Hard Call #6 comic will EVER come out. Biut I'm still ordering the HC collection in Sept.).

I may go see The Sorcerer's Apprentice, depenind on which theater near me has the better matineee showing/price.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Jun 13 2010, 08:47 PM

reading: Turncoat, harry dresden novel, been borrowing it from my friend as it comes out on paperback. he also lent me the unincorporated man, that looks interesting.

Posted by: Rand Jun 14 2010, 05:29 PM

Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky, an interesting book where the humans of that world had to deal with huge bugs (from dog/cat sized to rodeo bull sized) and to survive they "learned" from these critters. So there are ant-kinden, beetle-kinden, dragonfly-kinden, etc.. Each with kit's own quirks and capabilities which are called Art. They even sort of take on their "parent" insects physical characteristics, like beetle-kin tend to be thick and squat with good endurance and a knack for technology, while spider-kin are lithe and graceful and extremely alluring (primarily the females). A wasp-kind empire arrises and begins to expand into the area dominated by various city-states of different bug-folk, with only a few individuals realizing that if the city-states don't band together they will all be conquered by the wasp empire. It is pretty-neat, not the best book I have read, but got some very interesting things in it.

Posted by: Demonseed Elite Jun 14 2010, 06:08 PM

Just finished reading Richard K. Morgan's Woken Furies, the third and last book in his Takeshi Kovacs series. Next up for my reading list is Peter Watts' Blindsight. My reading list lately is full of inspirations for Eclipse Phase, which has had me mildly obsessed with making characters for that game.

Just watched Moon, which was an awesome movie. I'm currently working my way through episodes of Firefly (again), streaming via Netflix to my PS3. I'm in a real "space" mood lately, I guess.

Posted by: Synner667 Jun 14 2010, 07:41 PM

Very excellent stuff !!
Black Man and Market Forces are also good.

Have a crack at Neal Asher's stuff, too.

Posted by: Sally Jun 14 2010, 09:55 PM

I love Moon! Sam Rockwell is such an amazing actor (though you couldn't tell from Iron Man 2).

I'm technically reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman, (for the 1 twitter 1 book thing), but I've lost interest. I'm also reading the short story Call of Cthulu.

Just finished Changeless by Gail Carriger, which is a part of the Parasol Protectorate series. I highly recommend it if you like Steam Punk and don't mind a touch (well more of a dollop) of romance.

Posted by: Backgammon Jun 15 2010, 01:42 AM

I also really recommend Black Man. It's a bit "sooner" than the Kovacs series, but there are some really good ideas in there for Eclipse Phase.

Posted by: DamienKnight Jun 28 2010, 05:41 PM

Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin! Excellent read. Its a 7 book series and he currently has the first 4 published. 5th is coming soon.

I read the first of the Dresden files books and I would recommend it.

Posted by: Demonseed Elite Jun 28 2010, 06:39 PM

http://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/index.html.

Posted by: Doc Chase Jun 28 2010, 06:44 PM

I've heard '5th is coming soon' for about four years now.

Dresden Files is a good series; Butcher writes well.

Posted by: AJCarrington Jun 28 2010, 07:52 PM

Just finished Gardens of the Moon (Malazan #1) by Steve Erikson and really enjoyed it - a little busy at times, but a fun (if long) read.  Other books I've read over the past couple of months include Storm Front (Dresden #1) and Breakaway &amp; Crossover (Cassandra Kresnov #1/2) by Joel Sheppard (really enjoyed these and Killswitch is likely next up).




AJC 

Posted by: Synner667 Jun 28 2010, 07:55 PM

I liked the Cassandra Kresnov books, and got some inspiration.

I'm not a fan of military/gun obsession, so it didn't rank s high as it could with me.

Posted by: Backgammon Jun 29 2010, 01:49 AM

I saw Book of Eli.

If you like playing Fallout, you'll like this movie. It's basically Fallout: The Movie, but less good. Little substance, nothing new in the post-apocalyptic genre, but visually ok and the combat is ok. Mediocre good. Like I said, if you liked Fallout, it's worth renting. My wife left to go take a bath 10 minutes in, so that sums it up for anyone else.

Posted by: Abigale Jun 29 2010, 02:04 AM

I'm in the middle of Soulless - and then I'll pick up Changeless. Just finished Naamah's Curse and also about to pick up MONSTER by A. Lee Martinez. I'm finding I've got a fondness for the books Orbit Press has been putting out lately.

Posted by: AJCarrington Jun 29 2010, 02:58 PM

I found the second novel to be a lot less about "the guns" than the first. I quite like that even after 2 books, the major "bad guys" are still really unknowns - keeps the mystery alive and well.

AJC

Posted by: Synner667 Jul 7 2010, 07:34 PM

Just finished Cold Warriors and Ghost Dance, both by Rebecca Levene, and both published by Abaddon Books.

The 2nd is a sequel to the 1st, and are part of a series.

They involve supernatural government agencies in the modern world, fighting supernatural threats.
They read like James Bond novels, but with "extras" and are full of ideas.

Probably quite similar to Brian Lumley's E-Branch novels [which I've not read].

Of interest to Shadowrun players is the 2nd book, Ghost Dance, which involves someone being involved with their Totem, spirits, cults.
Of course, the title leapt out at me, so I'd probably have bought it even without it being a sequel to something I enjoyed.

Other points of interest in the series are that it's England focussed, has secret government departments, has spirits, artefacts, demons, zombies, and is quite gritty and streetlevel.

I enjoyed them both, and am looking forward to more books in the series, and borrowing ideas and the gritty feel of the setting.

Posted by: Demonic357 Jul 10 2010, 09:39 PM

I've always been a big fan of Richard Marcinko's Rogue Warrior novels, and I'm about to start reading them again. The guy founded Seal Team Six (the Navy's answer to Delta Force) in real life, so his novels have quite a grounding in reality. They get a bit self-aggrandizing at times, but I'm willing to overlook it for the sake of realism. They basically all follow a group of rogue SEALs who are trying to clear their name, A-Team style. In my youth I used them for inspiration in old 2E games when I was short on time.

Posted by: Wesley Street Jul 22 2010, 01:42 PM

I'm re-reading Midshipman's Hope which I haven't touched since, oh, 1995 or so. It's pretty gripping even if I disagree with, oh, pretty much everything the society Feintuch portrays runs on.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Jul 22 2010, 01:49 PM

just read a bunch of warhammer 40k novels, including the first omnibus of ciaphas cain, redemption corp, and mechanicum. Man, I feel like playing in a warhammer 40k game.

Oh, just saw the film Despicable Me in 3D recently, it was okay. The minions made it memorable, otherwise...

Posted by: Wesley Street Jul 30 2010, 05:05 PM

I'm currently working through the cyberpunk novel Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley. I read it years ago and picked it up for nostalgia value.

Posted by: Synner667 Aug 12 2010, 11:41 PM

I was moving some stuff around recently, and unearthed a copy of Mirrorshades - The Cyberpunk Anthology.

Inside is a receipt from an 1995, being used as a bookmark !!

I'm looking forward to rereading some stories from back when cyberpunk was a racy new concept.

Back then, Mirrorshades was the definitive collection of cyberpunk tales...
...So it'll be interesting to see how it holds up nearly 20 years later.

Posted by: Backgammon Aug 13 2010, 01:32 AM

Just saw The Other Guys. It's funny. It should be cliché but Farrel and Whalberg are really funny together, they make it work.

Posted by: Demonseed Elite Aug 13 2010, 12:46 PM

Just started reading http://www.amazon.com/Dervish-House-Ian-McDonald/dp/1616142049/ref=sr_1_1/184-9782710-5440625?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281703554&sr=8-1. Ian McDonald's River of Gods and Brasyl are among my favorite books, so I'm really looking forward to this one.

Posted by: Hocus Pocus Aug 15 2010, 06:51 AM

east of eden, steinbeck

Posted by: Wesley Street Aug 17 2010, 01:50 PM

Last weekend, the wife and I saw both Scott Pilgrim v. The World, which was an excellent adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel series, and Inception. With its "what is reality?" questions and gravity defying stunts, Inception is the spiritual heir to the Matrix without being bogged down in goth/S&M culture.

Has anyone else noticed that all of the Caucasian male protagonists in Christopher Nolan movies have slicked hair? I wonder if that's intentional.

Posted by: Hocus Pocus Aug 21 2010, 09:11 PM

read when you are young. I finished east of eden a coupla days ago and already it fades to the back of my mind like before.


guns germs and steel, the fates of human evolution. is next if i can find my copy, but if i forget this one too then its time for the rocking chair staring out my window.

Posted by: PBTHHHHT Aug 25 2010, 06:27 PM

saw The Expendables. Lots of action, explosions, bullets. not bad. Good for shadowrunning.

reading Warhammer 40k novels, this time about arbites upholding the peace.

Posted by: Synner667 Nov 2 2010, 09:56 PM

Watched the last few parts of Being Human, series 2 - a series about a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost sharing a house.

There's vampire politics, deals with the police, obsessed churchmen, scientists, blood, angst, a little humour.

If you have any interest in urban fantasy, it's definitely worth a look...
...And it's a very British look on such things.


Enjoy !!

Posted by: Doc Chase Nov 2 2010, 10:20 PM

Started reading The Imager's Portfolio, a trilogy by L.E. Modesitt. I'm already a fan of his work, and he goes into the setting with enough detail to satisfy, but not enough to overwhelm. It reads much like the Recluce Saga.

Posted by: Backgammon Nov 8 2010, 11:41 PM

Watching Boardwalk Empire.

VERY good. Fits nicely in with all the Chandler novels I've been reading.

Posted by: ravensmuse Nov 9 2010, 06:03 PM

I can't believe we're still posting in this thread.

Very, very little read recently, aside from a string of Ultimate Spiderman and Runaways comic books I picked up at my local comic store's closing (). I've had the new Good Thief's Guide to Vegas sitting on my entertainment center for like a month - I'm surprised the library hasn't started howling for my blood yet. I think I'm just being lazy on it.

No, wait, I've started re-reading Bleach, because man, that last bit was a doozy (no, I'm not spoiling it for you).

I started watching Kampfer: Abridged on Youtube, and it's gotta be one of the funniest things I've watched in awhile. Kampfer is the story of a magical girls - and one guy that turns into a magical girl when his little bracelet thing goes off. But the best part is, the magical girls are armed with either guns, knives, or magic - and they're all supposed to kill each other. It's...weird.

But the Abridged version not only plays up the main character as a huge clueless dumbass, but gives the other main character the voice of the Heavy from Team Fortress 2 - and my god, is it hilarious. "Aw, what is da matta da little babiez! Is you getzin scared?" This said by this five foot something twelve year old girl with a giant desert eagle. Yeah. It's that kind of show.

Oh. And Symbionic Titan. Because if you like giant robots, and you're not watching this? You have no soul.

Posted by: Synner667 Nov 10 2010, 08:10 PM

I'm just finishing The Nano Flower, by Peter F Hamilton, the last part of his Greg Mandel near future/cyberpunk trilogy.

Still an excellent read, bursting with ideas...
...You've got Corp politics, Corp equipped combat teams, investigation, aliens, nanoware, powered armour, hacking, psychic powers, mercenary behaviour, hollowed out asteroids, courtesans, conscientious Corps, Corp conflict.

All there in one book...
...Fabulous !!

Posted by: Doc Chase Nov 10 2010, 08:20 PM

I felt for Suzi. The Mandel trilogy is fantastic, though the noirist in me prefers A Quantum Murder to Mindstar Rising and The Nano Flower.

Neutronium Alchemist was...I wasn't as impressed with it. Hamilton wrote desperation pretty well, but the end of the book was just a little too Deus Ex for my tastes. Mandel, though? That was a hundred percent delicious.

Posted by: Synner667 Nov 10 2010, 08:26 PM

All excellent books !!

I managed to find someone's homemade rpg based on the books - not great, but has some interesting stuff.