I Am A: Nerd
I Am A: Chaotic Neutral Human Wizard/Rogue (3rd/2nd Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength-16
Dexterity-15
Constitution-15
Intelligence-17
Wisdom-14
Charisma-14 Read the rest of this entry
The Rules of Football Fandom
I take being a Redskins fan very seriously. Some would probably say too seriously, like myself. I know I take it way too seriously. A Redskins loss bothers me for two days minimum, and that’s if I didn’t watch it. A watched loss bothers me all week. It ruins my Sunday night to the point where I can’t sleep. I think it’s best for everyone that I continue my current practice of watching very few Redskins games. It’s better for everyone involved.
But I digress. The point of this post is to illustrate certain universal truths, nay, commandments, about football fandom. These rules are very clear and simple, and yet are violated to a ridiculous degree. We need to stop this from happening. We must shame the transgressors, and if they insist on continuing, then we will be forced to bury them up to their necks in sand and throw rocks at their faces until they die. It’s a commandment, whattaya gunna do? Read the rest of this entry
The Art of the Short Story
I’ve been reading a compilation of Fritz Leiber short stories for the last few weeks, savoring them at a rate of one over a day or two. I thoroughly enjoy his work and style. Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are two absolutely iconic and genre-shaping characters – as much the root of DnD and the current fantasy tropes as Lord of the Rings – and I don’t think Leiber gets enough credit for that. Read the rest of this entry
The Shooting
Note: This is long, it is rambling, at times incoherent, and should probably not be read by anyone.
After learning the details behind the Giffords shooting this past weekend – kinda strange that we call it the Giffords shooting, when she survived, when all those others did not; why not the John Roll shooting [and it goes to show that just a few days after the shooting, it took me ten minutes to actually find an article that references his name and not Giffords] – I was as disgusted as anyone, and probably a bit more than the average American. I was disgusted that this is the world we live in, that any douchebag with a mental problem can get his hands on a gun and kill people with no real danger to himself, and that it took no time for people on either side of the political “spectrum” (hard to call anything that consists of two points a spectrum, honestly) to start pointing fingers at each other. The ongoing debate over it all disgusts me. Humans disgust me. Read the rest of this entry
Exercise DVD Review: Bob Harper’s Kettlebell Cardio Shred
When I heard Bob Harper was making a kettlebell workout video, my heart sank a little. After the disastrous results of Jillian’s attempt to cash in on last year’s trendy fitness fashion, I was worried that Bob, who produced the best workout videos I’d ever seen with his Inside Out Method DVDs, would make the same mistakes and tarnish his reputation like his training partner. So, it was with great trepidation, but still hope, that I fired up the DVD and got to work. Read the rest of this entry
Why Hello, Soreness, It’s Been Awhile
Hey, old buddy! How are you doing? Man, I can’t remember the last time you were around. It’s been quite some time since I’ve felt that real true aching soreness that you bring! I mean, when I was working out regularly, I barely noticed you at all – it was like you were around, you know, but kinda in the background.
Well, a few weeks off, and BAM! You’re back, loud and proud, ain’tcha? Hoo boy. I forgot the joys and pleasure your presence brings around, like the complete inability to take my shirt off by raising my arms, the agony of stairs, the grimace of pain every time I stretch to reach for something. Wow, it’s really great to see you again, really. Read the rest of this entry
Meet Rex Grossman, Starting QB for the Redskins
A lot of people have asked for my reaction to Donovan McNabb getting benched and Rex “Sex Cannon” Grossman getting the start against Dallas this week. OK, a few people did. Or one. Fine, in actuality no one did. But I am going to talk about it anyway.
My flip one-liner response that came to me right after I heard the news was this: Wow, I would care if it was still football season. Read the rest of this entry
The 2010 First Annual Aravan Awards
Every December, every publication on Earth (and I also believe on Betelgeuse IV, but there might be a magazine there that doesn’t believe in linear time and so form an exception) feels an overwhelming urge to put out a Top Ten List for 2010 of some variety, or hand out awards based on flimsy criteria and dubious decision making. Some wait until later, like The Academy (fitting in America that our most prominent Academy has nothing whatsoever to do with learning), to hand out their own stupid awards, but that’s only so they can milk the process.
Why not? After all, coming up with a top ten list has to be the easiest writing job in the world. Jot down ten things, come up with superficial reasons for their inclusion, and then explain how blatantly wrong you are as just “a way to get people talking about it.” It’s the ultimate mail-it-in, who-gives-a-shit approach to writing.
So I am TOTALLY in! Read the rest of this entry
Video Game Review: Fable 3
(Note: This was originally going to be a short review; I even titled it that way. I took the “Short” out after I reached 800 words.)
The best thing about writing reviews for sequels is that I can just assume you know everything there is to know about the preceding one. That’s probably the exact opposite approach that I should take, but I think it’s good enough.
Fable 3: It’s a lot like Fable 2, but with better guns. Read the rest of this entry
Winter in Derenemyn 