Hey folks, I decided to take a break from blogging during Christmas week. In case you missed last week's cartoon, check it out here.

And here is the last cartoon of 2007. Where does the time go?

One of the games I got for Christmas was Orcs and Elves for the Nintendo DS. It was made by Id, the same folks that gave us Doom, that multiplayer game that took the PC world by storm years ago.

The Good: If you yearned for old school dungeon crawlers, where you could only move on a grid and getting the next weapon upgrade was everything, then you're in luck. Plenty of secrets and monsters to be found, and choosing the right weapon could make all the difference.

The Bad: It's way too short - there's only a handful of levels and I was able to finish the game in a couple of days. In spite of being a dungeon crawler, it's very linear. There are no consequences for your actions - just do the thing and move on, no thinking required. Puzzle Quest has more variety than this game. And when I was done, I had little desire to play again.

The Ugly: I know this game was originally made for mobile phones, but honestly, this has got to be the worst graphics in any DS game. It's as though they took the original staff from Doom and kept them in a deep freeze for 10 years and made sure they were only allowed to use the same outdated tools to render the art. Seriously, I'm going to think twice before getting another DS game from this team.

In summary, I cannot reccomend this game.

More game reviews to come. Happy New Year!

Labels: Orcs and Elves

This week's cartoon was based on a suggestion from my son. Aren't kids great?

We got a lot of snow over the weekend. At one point the snow plows couldn't keep up. There was about 5 inches of snow to add to the base from the previous week. And I hear we got it easy.

You know, this weather would be great if we didn't have to get out in it.

More later.

Labels: snow

GC has found a new way to play in the snow.

It is with great sadness that I announce the end of an era. Decipher has announced that with the release of the latest expansion, they are discontinuing their Star Trek Collectable Card game. No longer can I sneak Cardassian infiltrators into Garak's Tailor shop. No longer may I capture Wesley Crusher and ask him "How many lights do you see?" After 13 years, it's over and done with.

Okay, so maybe I'll still be able to coerce my kids to playing a game. And Mike Lynch, if he's ever in the area. You know, this means that everyone who plays will be stuck with the cards they have. No more surprises. Hmmmm.

Hey gang, battlecruisers are poised to strike. Let's play a game for old time's sake!

Labels: decipher, how many lights, snow, Star Trek CCG

I wanted to share this timely idea for any of you who might be struggling with a Christmas pagent. Once upon a time, my daughter decided to be an angel for halloween. We found a great idea for an angel costume online and made it for her. Cardboard wings (artistically crafted by yours truly) spray-painted gold, a white "pancho" and gold rope to tie it all together. A star garland became the halo. So when it came time for the church Chistmas pagent, we remembered the halloween costume and showed it to the folks. Mass-producing the wings became a simple task, and everyone was impressed by the simplicity and charm of the angels. That was quite a few years ago, but I'm pretty sure they're still using them. So here's the link to the angel costume. If this helps anybody, I'd love to hear about it. Merry Christmas!

Years ago there was a show on Comedy Central and then Sci Fi channel called Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K). Each week, the host would show some of the worst movies and, with his robot pals, proceed to completely dismantle the film with a non-stop stream of witty feedback.

The show was canceled, but the spirit of the show lives on. In fact, the show's creators have decided the time is right to bring it back. There's a group called "The Film Crew" that is picking up where MST3K left off with new movies and fresh heckling. Also, there is a new effort called "Cinematic Titanic" that, while still shrouded in secrecy, could be just what the doctor ordered.

However, maybe you're sitting at home and, without the benefit of a television studio, writers or support staff, nay, anything beyond your computer and keyboard and you want to make your very own version of MST3K RIGHT NOW? Well, you can.

There's a site called Inventing Situations where (free of charge) clips from classic films are shown once every 30 seconds and visitors are encouraged to come up with their own funny captions to match what's going on in the screen. Here's a few examples:






So go over there and check it out. However, be warned. Like Lay's potato chips, it's hard to stop at just one!

Labels: Capping, Captions, Cinematic Titanic, Film Crew, Inventing Situations, MST3K

This week's cartoon probably goes best with musical accompaniment. As the subject line suggests, I reccomend Led Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song." Though I am sure you folks can come up with better ideas.

Last Saturday started out with snow, followed by sleet, then freezing rain. By the time it was done, everything was a solid, frozen mass. I'm still working on getting the driveway cleared.

More later.

Labels: ice, snow