Cool online store that sells old-school gaming merchandise. http://www.dragontrove.com/listing.html
Cool study about positive psychological and therapeutic effects of DnD: http://www.rpgstudies.net/blackmon/dungeons_and_dragons/
Something which I ought not to forgot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien%27s_legendarium
Sign up for Marvel Comics 4ever??!! http://marvel.com/digitalcomics/characters/Captain%20America%20%28Steve%20Rogers%29/page/1?gallery_viewmode=list
Moral Kombat, a full-length documentary (free until mid February or sommat) about the intersection of First Amendment rights and what to do about violence in gaming. Don't know whether it's any good. http://www.babelgum.com/browser.php#play/SEARCH_SIMILAR,clipID:4022951,includeClip:true,order:MOST_RELEVANT/0,4022951
GAMING STUDIES (these are pretty interesting though few of them are in English): http://www.rpgstudies.net/
RELIGION OF COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS (AWESOME!!!!) http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html
List of 3.5 Prestige Classes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prestige_classes
Friday, January 22, 2010
I owe you something. Do you know what it is? It is a BLOG POST. Do you know what I will give you? YES.
First, this. It is a scene from a banned episode of Pokemon. Why is it banned, you say? Click on, gentle reader, click on.
SPEEDO BADGE: Allows up to 100 Pokemon of level 30 or below to hump you. Any more, and they become UNRULY!
You can subscribe to all of Marvel's comics, digitized, for 60 dollars a year. 60 dollars a year!!! ALL of their comics (not all are currently digitized). Note: split between 4 pwnerers, this would amount to fifteen dollars each. Are you out there?
Item next: Gaming. I will sum up: I am mad. As you know, I play in my own Pathfinder Group Fridays from 4-7. I play a PC (superbroken half-werewolf fighter) in a 4th edition campaign Saturday 2-5. My Cleric is thinking about DMing his own 3.5 group, in which case I would be tempted to start playing in a third group! Then, there are 7 of us who want to have a once-in-a-while Diablo II LAN group going. 4 groups would likely amount to 12 hours of gaming a week, probably all on weekends (Friday counts). Is it terrible for my life and for my schoolwork? Yes, one thousand times yes. It is completely and utterly awesome? YES!
Item next: Friends I have them now. A lot of them, in fact. I have grown closer to the entity known as the people next door. This entity is rather like Stashley except that it is composed of five people, and not two. Steven, your sexual exploits are nothing compared to this raging behemoth of gaming flesh (I kid...?) Earlier this week I gravely offended my friend Patti, who is for all intents and purposes my best friend here (or was until this weekend). It created three days of unspeakable horror for me and probably for her. But, I fixed it and now we are friends again. A piece of advice: one ought not to bring up dead relatives, especially unnecessarily, flippantly, or in a way that seems insulting. Get it?
Item next: Classes Yes, I am truly mad. I am enrolled for 18 credits; essentially, I am taking 22. Combined with my burgeoning piano and voice practice times, this does not make for a happy schedule. ... Actually, it just might. I recently mapped out every hour of every day. Obsessive-compulsive? Maybe. It greatly sensitizes you to your time, however, and although I have not stuck entirely to it, it has thus far proven a great boon to overall efficiency.
Item next: Norwescon Recently one of my friends from Central offered to pay for my housing and registration for Norwescon, a science fiction and fantasy convention near the SeaTac airport. He is giving several presentations regarding philosophy in gaming and he really wants me to come. So: I am going to Norwescon, for free or greatly reduced price!!! My parents were surprisingly okay when I told them that I would be staying home during 2 days of the first week of spring quarter to go to a gaming convention. Will it be awesome? Yes. Yes it will.
Item next: Gaming systems I am currently researching different roleplaying systems for us to try sometime. Nothing personal, but I will not explain them to you. You must study them yourself to fully grasp their mechanical and philosophical ramifications. One system with which I am pleased is Tri-Stat Dx. It is available for free after some searching. No, I am not speaking of converting our current campaign; I have invested too much money in Pathfinder to betray the Sunken Cost Fallacy now. I am talking about playing a new game sometime. In fact, I have one in mind. Will it blow your socks off? Yes. Yes it will.
Item Next: Amorous affairs None of which to speak. I have had many Platonic affairs (by which I mean, interactions, not hookups). I have made many friends during this week, and of the friends that I had — they were made better.
Item Next: Rosa Ostrom Has a boyfriend now. Shall we make fun?
me: oh well we could at least all hang out tomorrow or hey we could do red robin for dinner david: >_< yeah we could me: what? why is it >_< ? 7:59 PM david: no reason i just ate there a couple days ago and when i did, i told my parents "but im going to eat here in another few days..." me: really? david: yes because i knew i probably would me: lol wow david: i see the future man me: I do too except I'm not actually kidding about it ;P 8:00 PM david: neither was i :} me: AWESOME 8:01 PM david: [virtual high five!]
david: oh but yeah we should finish gow and i should give you new musics me: yeah david: well me: and yes david: old musics me: right but they will be new to me david: but new to you liek lulz thith new artitht taylor thwift!!!11 i thall give u her songs bcuz THEY ARE TOALLY MY LIEF 10:24 PM me: YEHA one of the guys who lives next to me LOVES taylor swift david: hahaha me: he is another piano major it is sad david: bahaha the dark side of piano majors 10:25 PM me: well goddamn it's not all of us I mean I fucking play Dnd but I don't listen to Taylor Swift david: haha 10:26 PM you say it like dnd is wrong me: hahaha no, it is the most right thing that has ever happened to me!!1! but in terms of like appearing like a loser to other people at least I'm doing something that may be weird but can be considered legitimate in it weirdness david: oh 10:27 PM haha kind of me: liking taylor swift is like liking harry potter and thinking you're a hardcore RPGer
david: neighborhood party then family party then this me: so raging as in...? david: going to a lot of parties 8:09 PM me: haha too bad none of them provide any opportunity for female interaction roflol david: psh what happened to theres not sex in shoreline therefore why would we bother to hang out with women we know in shoreline me: it still stand that's what I'm saying david: oh it sounded like you regretted not meeting chixorz me: oh hell no 8:10 PM david: haha good me: I already have a girlfriend in the future, remember? david: THIS IS MAN TIME GAD DAMNIT oh right same!
david: omfg! looking for pictures of steven to use for a guy that never has an opinion and doesn't like to talk very much THE KID NEVER SITS STILL either that or i really suck at taking pictures of him they're all blurry as hell
I shouldn't have left you guys like that tonight—it was real douchebaggery. One of my friends from Eastern called and I was really excited to talk, so I kind of dropped everything else. I ought to have at least said something and signed off BNet so you could know what was going on. I really cocked out this time.
This was a violation of my respect for myself and for you. I gave in to a kakohexis. This won't happen again, unless said person really is in a much more dire circumstance.
That said, let me present you with funny things.
But first, NOTE FOR DAVID regarding Owl City. It is just like The Beatles—the really important things have been shoved under a heap of She Came in THrough the Bathroom Window, Yellow Submarine, and Come Together. The songs which are really meaningful are from the Maybe I'm Dreaming album and are: On the Wing, The Technicolor Phase, Dear Vienna (!!) and I'll Meet You There. Fireflies, off their second album, is also quite good, although it is a hit single.
[breakfast today—Several minutes ago, my mom called the house from work to ask if we have seen her glasses around because she is missing them. She has just called again to say that her glasses were in her backpack all along]
Me: Aha. Hehehehe. That sort of thing is so funny. So, it WAS there all along. Charlie: What? Me: When we are looking for something, we look so hard and we cannot find it. When we finally do find it, it's in an easy and obvious place. If we want to find it, what we ought to do is allow ourselves to make it easy, and just relax and think of the object. Then we will be able to find it so easily. Charlie: Oh no, don't you start this Jedi Master stuff with me again! How about that receipt for mom's picture frame that you lost?! Me: . . . [I still haven't found it...]
Taken from a Facebook correspondence with my friend John, who I plan to wed to his girlfriend Jessica in June:
Me: My friend David and I were thikning of themes for the wedding. The best one is definitely the Legend of Zelda wedding, which opens when I start shouting "HEY, LOOK LISTEN, HEY, LISTEN!!!" at all of your friends and family. We'll keep the rings in a chest, but I won't give you the chest until you push my podium to the left. The ceremony concludes when I say IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE—TAKE THIS and present you and Jessica to each other.
John: While I think that is an excellent wedding plan, Jessica does not seem so enthusatic.
[during Starcraft] Me: Steven, are you eating something? Your voice sounds funny. Steven: Yeah, I have a sore. Me: Ahh. Too much dick lately? Steven: Too much pussy. [stunned silence] David: ...well Davis, now are you glad that you asked?"
Today I had a long conversation with Keir. I have been thinking about reposting parts of it, because it is pretty illustrative of my philosophy, and people have seemed to be more interested in that sort of thing lately.
I look forward to MEGA DND on Wednesday!!! We ought to get together for New Year's also (or even the whole or a great part of the 31st).
I will present to you many funny things, and some which are only interesting, and, although I hope not, perhaps some things which are neither funny nor interesting.
About a week ago, my parents bought a flat screen TV. We installed it several days ago. Apparently they bought the special Trailer Trash edition, because the antenna pamphlet sported this important safety warning: "Do not attempt to install if drunk, pregnant, or both. Do not throw antenna at spouse."
me: did u get a phat drop yesterday? 11:05 PM Steven: I guess got a lot of new dreads or... w/e the slang is for clothes me: ummmm.... Steven: threads me: threads? Steven: maybe that's it me: dread is hair lulz obligatory David paint that shows you in dreads 11:06 PM Steven: haha 11:07 PM me: my mom bought me pants they are pretty sweet actually they are like from the 90s Value Village Steven: haha 11:08 PM me: damn that village has so many values maybe it was an infested village like RE4 and my mom went in a shot up a bunch of crazy Spanish people and then knifed a box and found some sweet 90s pants 11:09 PM Steven: awesome I think I'm going to get a 360 11:10 PM me: you get hella moneez for teh buy of 360 ??>< Steven: I got a lot of gamestop moneez and I can get a refurbished one for like $100 me: cool be careful though 11:11 PM those gamestop guys will fuck you up and take your money all they wanna do is*bam bam bam bam* and {reload sound} [knife sound] and TAKE UR MONEYYYY! 11:12 PM Steven: haha I've never had a problem there before me: yeah but I have read a lot about their dubious business practices and contempt for employees and customers but they also have a monopoly 11:13 PM bastards got Boardwalk REAL early on Steven: lucky dicks 11:14 PM me: lol licky ducks
david: so are'st you up for some GoW tomorrow? me: not sure I still have to find out what I am doing nowadays david: like around the house? or spending time figuring out ways to fuck with our dnd characters by changing the way we earn exp? me: hmm both :)
You MUST see this link. This is a Japanese advertisement for A Link to the Past in '92. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv5OIvwqkvM&feature=player_embedded
This is also great. The woodland creatures part never made sense to anyone (though I have read a lot of stuff that says that Final Fantasy was originally intended as a biting satire on the genre, so the animals-dropping-money-and-items thing may be one of several huge jokes that have been perpetuated since the first Final Fantasy. I find that extremely interesting).
(psychology shoutout) *at dinnertime, as I come to the table and am handed a bowl of soup* Me: Wait, wait everyone. What does this bowl of soup taste like right now? Mom: What? Do you have a cold? It tastes like vegetable soup! Charlie: *shit-faced grin* Me: No, no, I mean what does it taste like RIGHT NOW! See, it's not in my mouth, so it doesn't TASTE like anything. It only has the potential to taste like something. Mom: What? That's ridiculous. It tastes like vegetable soup! *conversation continues along this line for a while. Finally I give up* Charlie: Jesus, glad we're done with that. I thought you were trying out a bunch of philosophy garbage on us, like [mocking tone] "oh no, it doesn't taste like anything right now because you are the one who gives it taste."
This break has been...varied. I spent the first half applying for scholarships and jobs, madly I might add. Christmas and the return of Orion have made me less productive, to an extreme degree. For example, I spent the whole day today building a new experience point system entirely from scratch. It was actually super fun. DnD on Wednesday is going to be awesome.
I don't have the inclination to post anything else, though I would urge you: purge evil from your minds! Listen to Owl City!!! I dont' know if that guy knows what he is saying, but I do, and it is something of grave and amazing importance!!!! (only the first album is really any good for this purpose)
This was censored at the time because Lucy was there and David did not want to offend her. However, I do not care about offending Lucy. David: [in response to my statement that I want to know everything] But Davis, what if you found out that God was actually REAL and you were wrong this whole time?!?!!
While driving Meredith and her best friend to the horse barn: Friend: So our lip sync video has, like, 10,000 views, even though, like, it was up for only like, 2 days. Me: (driving) WHAT OVER NINE THOUSAND?! Friend: (condescendingly and politely) No, over ten thousand. [joke phail]
Rosa: [resolutely] There's never enough meat for me.
There is at least one more good one from Maddy's party last night...but I can't remember it.
me: well I just saw Davi'd status and I was like OMG Steven: but not zomg? haha me: yeah that's reserved for more groundbreaking things
me: I played a game yesterday Steven: wow awesome me: and now I want to play so much Steven: real map? me: yeah 12:59 PM it was offline Steven: oic me: TvZ and I suck so much cock Steven: haha that's ok we will probably have to play BGH me: it was terrible Steven: but it's a good map me: thank God I don't have an apm counter
Steven: so what's the problem? me: but remember I can't use launchers since I'm running on OSX problem with windows is that I don't have the original SC cd to do an install Steven: oh ok so you want to be able to use a launcher me: that is realy the only problem Steven: but you don't have it on windows 1:06 PM me: the rest was just bitching Steven: o ic
1:08 PM also I will install cs today so we can play later in the week or whatevs Steven: sweet hopefully you can get Orion to play I have had no luck 1:09 PM me: hmmm yeah we have to change our tactics he used to like science now he mainly likes pornography and creepily talking about girls that he meets and other penis-related activities SO damn I was thinking we could tell him that Ashley plays but she is your gf we need another girl Steven: damnit davis me: someone who he can't resist Steven: haha me: okay wait wait he always talked really creepily about those exchange studetns Linnea had Kari, that was her name okay we need to facebook Kari and convince her either to play CS or to say that she is playing CS Steven: haha it's perfect me: like a status update: "playing cs with davis, david, and steven right now lol" then Orion will have nowhere to run Steven: haha me: the bigger of his two heads --and this is really a fine distinction because his regular head is quite big most of the time-- will lead him to Counterstrike Steven: or we could try to hack Orion's steam account and delete kotor and then he will have nothing to play but css Me: yes but that strategy doesn't involve as much insulting conversation that I can post on my blog later Steven: haha true okay the hacking that's plan B he's conservative so he doesn't like Plan B so he will HAVE to fall for Plan A Steven: your logic is indisputable 1:16 PM me: and so is the fact that he will soon be playing CS within our icy grasp ttyl, maybe like 3 ish Steven: alright
