Please welcome the first of ten Blue Martians I've been painting for the Gnomish Space Marine campaign that's eternally in progress. After I'm finished painting them I'll give an real review of the actual product. I'm about halfway done with the squad, and with the added space on my new workbench I have set up... a painting queue for the next five projects! With my "gaming/painting fiscal year" ending with September, I'd like to pad my numbers from my most productive year ever.
Friday was a low-key day with some frantic cleaning before my mother AND my mother-in-law came over for a cookout. It makes me happy to report that a new grill arrived Friday morning and their was much rejoicing (and grilling of meat).
The first relaxing day in a long time ended on a sad note as I discovered that author C.J. Henderson had lost his battle with cancer earlier that day.
Unlike many of the people online giving him fitting and heartfelt tributes, I knew him for the longest time as the perennial guest of honor at Mepacon and the loquacious salesman when you passed by his table. I realized after many a con that he wasn't a used car salesman in a past life, he just loved to talk to people, pitching some product, and even trading some ideas. In the last few years, I was amazed just how many people came up to him at his table to thank him for reading their stories and giving them advice, some sound technical help with a plot device, and for many who were "juuuuuuuuusssssssst a little lacking in the skill department," I heard, "Write everyday, every chance you can" many a time.
It's a great day in America when I actually get time to sit down and read a book, much less finish it, but I can say with a bit of pride that I have read his Brooklyn Knight and Central Park Knight and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I need to dig Radio City Knight out of a box in the garage and read that and I hope somewhere with some help, whatever CJ wrote of Coney Island Knight might one day make an appearance in some form.
Saturday was a releaxing morning with the kids and a drive down to Easton to be in a playtest of the new Delta Green rules run by Dr Bob. I can't say much of the actual game or the rules, but I can say (a) my character, Dept of Agriculture Special Agent Marvel Drybread, was not suited for a majority of the session, (b) I dropped the ball doing some truly heinous acts to contain the evil (c) our leader was shot in the ass by friendly fire. We were warned of a potential TPK in the inital messages sent, and we did not disappoint. Even better news was a confirmation or restarting our Masks game and adding two new players to the mix.
On Sunday, my wife's cousin took the kids and my wife and I had "date afternoon" including trips to such fine estabishments as Red Lobster and the Dollar Tree. The high point of the afternoon was a trip to the movies to see 22 Jump Street. It took me awhile to find the term, but one review complained about the "self-aware meta-commentary" that ran through the film. I, on the other hand, loved it, even it was a poor attempt at MST3K at times. It's been awhile since comedies were that self-aware and self-deprecating, and Jump Street is not anywhere near the levels of Airplane! or most Mel Brooks flicks, but it befuddles me that a good number of reviewers didn't get it. Nobody buying a ticket to the movie was expecting Hotel Rwanda. We wanted gunfire, explosions, juvenile humor, and a certain percentage of the theatre wanted Channing Tatum shirtless and dancing. Oh yeah, only the complete braindead or the arrogantly intelligent would expect something different.
And I would watch every joked sequel mentioned in the end credits (spoilers)
- 23 Jump Street: Medical School
- 24 Jump Street: Foreign Exchange
- 25 Jump Street: Semester at Sea
- 26 Jump Street: Arts School
- 27 Jump Street: Culinary School
- 28 Jump Street: Veterinary School
- 29 Jump Street: Sunday School
- 30 Jump Street: Flight Academy
- 31 Jump Street: Ninja Academy
- 32 Jump Street: Fireman Academy
- 33 Jump Street: Generations
- 34 Jump Street: Return of the Ghost
- 35 Jump Street: Traffic School
- 36 Jump Street: Military School
- 37 Jump Street: Scuba Class
- 38 Jump Street: Dance Academy
- 39 Jump Street: The Electronic Game
- 40 Jump Street: The Retirement Home
- 41 Jump Street: Magic School
- 42 Jump Street: Beauty School
- 43 Jump Street: Mariachi School
- 2121 Jump Street
... I would also like to take a class at Benjamin Hill School of Film
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