I'm Kind of Digging the Ladies of Girls, Guts, Glory.

Watching people play role-playing games on YouTube can often be a painful experience. The camera work is often shoddy; the audio sounds like someone is screaming in front of a fan; and the people playing are usually too busy mugging for the camera to remember that they're playing. So when I find something that looks promising I tend to get a little bit excited. You see I want to want role-playing games online without having to wait a full year for the next episode (I'm looking at you Penny Arcade) and for them to be an enjoyable experience.

There aren't a lot of games out there that meet those two criteria. In fact, I can only name one: Harmon Quest. But this teaser for Girls Guts Glory has me hopeful that we might soon have another one. 

Check it out.

The Ultimate Table, for the Ultimate Fan? I Think Not.

So over on AWE me they decided to build what they're calling "The Ultimate D&D Gaming Table." Watch the video below and then we'll talk some more

 

Back?

Okay. So I wasn't very impressed with the table. I mean the 50" TV and tablets are really nice but the there are just a lot of little things that I don't like. Here's the run-down.

Pros

• Sculpting on the legs is way cool.
• 50" TV display is a good choice.
• Tablets are a thoughtful addition.
• The size of the table is just about right for your average group. 
• Glass tabletop was a good choice.
• Nice to have pull out trays for keeping books/tablets/junk off the top of the table.

Cons

• I hate the stain
• Don't like the choice of birch for the wood
• Hate the laser cut ampersands; they look cheap.
• The design on the chairs wasn't interesting and they didn't look comfortable.
• Spray painting the really interesting sculpted legs black is a baffling choice as those things should have been fully colored to make their details pop.
• Rolling box is very small.

What about you guys? What did you think?

Be Still My Wayward Cowboy. Marty Robbins Comes!

When I was growing up we used to watch a lot of the "Singing Cowboys" that were popular back in the 1920s and 1930s. Unlike most modern movies the Singing Cowboy movies were simple affairs. The good guys fought the bad guys and along the way they always found a way to overcome those dastardly bastards of the imaginary West. Now days those movies are called "simple," "naive," affairs that gloss over the imperial expansion of America and its destruction of Native civilizations.

Some people just can't have any fun without being shit heads about what everyone else loves. Anyway, I'm off to watch an old Tex Ritter film, Hittin' the Trail, with my son so I thought that I'd leave you cats with a great little playlist in the singing cowboy spirit.

So Damned Much to Learn Before the First Step is Taken

I don't know if I've mentioned it on here before or not but I'm working on building a YouTube channel that will be mostly me playing and reviewing video games. Both aspects of the project are daunting as there's so much that I have to get ready before I begin actually putting content out on the net. 

I mean it isn't like blogging. That makes sense, right? 

I tried downloading the US Copyright primer that's been put out by the Feds but that thing is a massive beast that makes my head spin as I slowly work my way through page after page of self referencing legal jargon. I'm also going through YouTube's class things. Will it tell me everything I need to worry about? Of course not. But if it can keep me out of really hot water then I want to learn about it first. 

There's just so damned much to learn. 

So Anzo, Master Chief, and Laura Croft Walk into the Mushroom Kingdom . . .

If you haven't seen this great little video by the Corridor Digital guys then you've been missing out on one of the great videos of the year.

I love the idea that of all these modern heroes that Mario is the one you should really be afraid of, and why not? He's been at this longer then all the other guys combined and has fought people from a wide swath of video game styles and formats. He's the safe bet.

Thoughts?

Into Every Life

There are times when I find myself thinking back on my life and wondering if everything works out for the best or if I'm just wasting my time. Then I remember that I'm not done yet and things can only go up from here.

Setting the Mood for Today's Art Session.

This afternoon I'm going to be working on a little art thing I've got going on and my head's been bouncing around like a ball for the past few hours trying to decide where I want to go with the project. But that isn't the sort of internal angst is a pathetic thing when it makes it onto the page.

So here's some music to express how I'm feeling about it all this morning.

First I'm all, this shit is going to be fucking amazing and I can't wait to get involved in it and start rocking it like a cool rain on a muggy day in summer.



Then I'm all, this is going to be awful and my heart's going to be all fucked up and maybe instead of sticking with this project I should just do something new.



Then I start thinking about how sometimes the best pictures are those ones that I hate and everyone else loves and I start wondering if maybe I shouldn't worry about how it all looks to me and should instead focus on how it looks to them.



After all, who cares if it looks like the inside of a cow uterus to me if everyone else loves it right?


Then I just feel like everything is all dark and filled with nothing more than a huge dose of fuck it all.


And I start thinking that maybe I should be playing Gamma World instead.


Or maybe I should just fight through it all and keep going until everything is better and not listen to all the shit going on in my head.


Then again, maybe I'm trying too hard.

When the Game Goes Wrong, and You Just Don't Care.

There are times when I'm running Dungeons and Dragons and things just don't seem to go right. Maybe it's that the players are having an off day, maybe it's me. Either way, when those occasions happen, this is how I feel.

Toddy the Body for the win kids.

This Dude Just Ruined Proposing for Us All

The video below is one of the coolest, most inventive proposals I have ever seen. I'm posting it here because this is the sort of thing that just makes you think, why aren't my friends cool enough to help me with that sort of thing. What have I done with my life?

The Incredibly Resillient Dodger

Stepping on my soapbox.

This morning I was enjoying the new Youtube channel Polaris - which I recommend to you all - when I did something that I never do, I read the comments. I was amazed at the sexist, immature, and awful comments that were directed at the host of the Daily Byte, Dodger. Now I first got to know Dodger through her show Swords and Stitches which is fucking fan-damned-tastic. So I was pleased for her when it looked like she was getting a show with a budget, which means that she'll get paid to do things like this:

But after I foolishly read the comments I found myself wishing that the poor thing hadn't exposed herself to the mass of assholes that exist on Youtube. Fuck, she's a grown assed woman and she can do what she wants with her life; I just hate when piss heads take pot shots at people who are actually doing something with their lives.

Whether you are writing a blog, posting videos to youtube, or sharing your artwork with the world the fact that you put yourself out there creatively is doing something with your life beyond living a nine-to-five life of work and bed. That's a step in the right direction. A step toward a more creative world and when these little fucking children (because it is almost certain that commenters begging her to make a porn video are under the age of 18 and have never touched a woman) malign and attack someone who is making an active commitment to the world it just pisses me off.

I'm off my soapbox for now.