Book Report: Sprawl Survival Guide

Another Shadowrun book.

One of the coolest of the many cool things about Shadowrun is the incredibly detailed universe. You can really get into it with books like this one, which details the minutia of daily life in the 2060s. From culture, shopping and media to life on the streets, you get a really good feel for the high-tech, high-magic, pseudo-post apocalyptic world.

Not many rules, though, and those that do exist should be easily translatable to whichever edition of the game you choose to play. So rules lawyers will be bored, and roleplayers will be overjoyed.

Slot your credstick, chummer -- you need this one if you're going to be in the world rather than just skate on top of it.

Book Report: Portfolio of a Dragon: Dunklezahn's Secrets

We've got a Shadowrun game going, and it's working out well. So I've been inspired to crack open a few of the older books and bone up on my runner info.

This has always been one of my favorites. The last will and testament of the great dragon Dunklezahn, this book is chock full of story ideas and drops a few little tidbits of info about the Shadowrun/Earthdawn metaplot (A nifty storyline that has sadly gone the way of the dodo. That's one of the reasons I still play third edition.)

Damn I've played in some cool games based on this book. Remind me to tell you about Glamis Castle sometime ...

When this book came out, we were actively playing through the storyline, albeit a few months behind. So when there was a MAJOR SPOILER on the back of the cover in giant letters, John about choked. Rule for the future, game companies -- don't give away the big major secrets that players should not know on the back cover.

Is this worth tracking down a used copy if you don't already have one? If you're interested in the back history of Shadowrun/Earthdawn or are running a game in the past, sure. If not, unfortunately the Shadowrun universe has moved in a different direction that the one pointed to in this book.

Movie Report: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)

The first Harold and Kumar flick was funny as hell.

I didn't think they could catch lightning twice, so I wasn't too psyched for the sequel. Then I saw that teaser poster with Neil Patrick Harris on a unicorn (NPH!!!!) and I knew I'd have to see this.

So it's not the same as the first movie. But it's basically 90 minutes of stoner humor. If that's what you're in the mood for, groovy.

So nudity, vulgarity, lots of vulgarity, oral sex jokes and skewering of stupid people. The government types in this movie just get savaged. And cameos abound.

But if anything, my beloved NPH didn't get used enough. Yes, his sequence was hysterical and trippy, but was it trippy enough? C'mon NPH -- I know you can push it farther, baby! You're the king!

Now that the guys have gotten to Amsterdam, and this movie has actually made some bank (something that the original never did in the theaters) I'll be back in the theater for H&K III.

Movie Report: Gigi (1958)

I'll admit to being slightly creeped out at the start of this movie by Maurice Chevalier's ... enthusiasm when he's looking at the girls in the park. Thank heaven for little girls indeed!

Anyway, once we get over that, Gigi is a stylish, light, big budget, big style, old school Hollywood musical. Leslie Caron plays a tomboyish courtesan-in-training who just doesn't fit in. Louis Jourdan is the bored, spoiled playboy who suddenly decides he loves her.

The whole "girls raised to be rich men's mistresses" plot could be seen as horribly anti-feminist, but its not. These women know exactly what they're getting into, and what they're getting out of it. They can reject their lovers and move on. And when Gigi decides she doesn't want that kind of life, she doesn't have to have it. In fact, it's the man who has to change to please her.

And kudos to Chevalier and Hermoine Gingold, who steal the entire picture with a charming and touching performance of "I Remember It Well." Forget Gaston and Gigi -- I wanted to know more about these two and their obviously fascinating history.

TV Report: Babylon 5: Season 1

As I've established before, Babylon 5 is full of both awesome and win.

So after I got the chance to hear JMS speak about writing a few months ago, I started watching the first season again.

The first thing the first season does right is introduce my beloved Ivanova as a replacement for the first officer in the pilot. OK, so there's a new doctor and telepath too, but Ivanova is God. She even tells you that -- I've seen the T-shirts.

We also get to see the first signs of JMS's obsession with Arthurian mythology, and then, at the end of the season, the dreaded and nasty Mr. Morden, and the onset of what the show is *really* about. The fact that this shows makes the question "What do you want?" to be this chilling and disturbing shows how well its done.

This is a show that really blooms on DVD. There are so many intertwining threads that it sometimes made me crazy to wait for the syndication schedule. On DVD, I can watch hours one right after the other, and the master work of the storytelling is allowed to unfold as it should.

And this is one of the weaker seasons, if only because it spends so much time setting up what would happen in seasons 2-4. Its still one of the best things that's appeared on TV.

Movie Report: Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

OK, so I never saw this in the theater. Not that I'm not a Trekkie or anything, but dude! It was 2002, and they released this right before LotR! Priorities!

So I finally got around to watching it. And while I will say that it's obvious that both the screenwriter and director were not Trek fans (and whoever hired them should be slapped) and that the errors are *legion*, it still actually has the bones of a halfway decent tale.

Romulans make everything better.

So what works? Romulans. The TNG cast is always good, and it's obvious that they all have an affection for their parts. There are some fun action scenes. Some of the deeper questions make you think, although ultimately they aren't answered.

What didn't work? Loads of techno-babble. Boring dialogue. Boring sets. Production values so bad that I wouldn't have been surprised to see the Gorn captain from "Arena" wandering though a shot. Shinzon's bloody British accent. Dragging out that tired old cliche of bad androids. Seriously -- when is the crew of the Enterprise going to stop bring home stray evil robots?

Not the best, not the worst of the Trek films. I'm hoping that the upcoming movie gives a jolt to the whole franchise.

Movie Report: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Pirates kick ass.

Johnny Depp as a pirate? That kicks major ass. It's like pirates juggling chainsaws and shooting lightning while kicking ass.

This may be one of the ultimate summer movies -- a trilogy for the 2000s the way that Star Wars defined the late 1970s. I loves me some pirates.

I'm not going to bother blogging about the plot, or the fun, or the amazing action scenes, or the wonderful soundtrack, because you know all of that. This movie's been out for five years -- you've seen it. You probably own the DVD, because it sold like five jillion copies.

And if you haven't seen it, just get off my blog. Now.

Just simply amazing.

Now, bring me that horizon ...

Movie Report: The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

First cool thing about this movie was that I saw something I hadn't seen in a loooong time: A sellout.

Friday night at a big San Jose multiplex showing this on three screens -- and no tickets available! J and I had to wait until the 10 p.m. shows, and it was actually cool to see a big crowd excited about something that wasn't Hannah Montana in 3D.

But J had been jonesing for this movie for weeks, so we weren't leaving until we saw some kung-fu action. Because the first movie teamup between Jackie Chan and Jet Li is an occasion, yo!

Problem No. 1, and it's a big one -- What's up with that annoying white kid? That is *not* who I came to see, and I'm disappointed that the filmmakers thought they needed an American to anchor the story. Particularly a stupid American who can't act terribly well.

OK, OK -- I can ignore the Karate Kid bit (Sweep the Leg!) if I get a good story. And I did.

It was obvious that Jet Li had a helluva good time playing the Monkey King, as did Chan with the crotchety old guy bit. And in their other parts, we got one *amazing* fight scene between the two of them -- one that I've been waiting years to see.

Jackie even busted out some drunken boxing moves, and he hasn't used those in ages!

So is it obvious that these two legends may be nearing retirement? Yes. Did I notice some use of wires and stuntmen where they hadn't been necessary before? Yes. Did I still have a good time? Hells yea!

Fabulous fights, fabulous costumes, a big, sweeping story and a tour through Chinese myth.

And Jet Li and Jackie Chan. What more do you want?

Book Report: Kohkumthena's Grandchildren: The Shawnee

If you happen to have an interest in Native American culture, particularly that of the tribes that aren't as well-covered as the Sioux or Apache, *and* you can find a copy of this book, which had a very limited print run from a regional publisher, this is the book for you.

The author relates the oral traditions of the Shawnee through the framework of sacred relics coming to life and telling their stories to a young boy. It's an easy, non-scholarly read, although it has a scholarly background. While the author (Dark Rain Thom) didn't do the best job of documenting her sources, it's obvious that she did do her research.

I didn't find what I was looking for in this book (I've got a project rattling around in the back of my brain that would benefit greatly from some actual Shawnee ghost legends) it did give me a basis for characterizing these people and their beliefs.

Movie Report: Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Brokeback Mountain was the movie I really wanted to see, but couldn't get anyone to go to the theater with me.

Even my lesbian buddies turned me down. Sigh.

Fast forward three years, and after Heath Ledger died the premium channels played this for like a week nonstop. My sweetie, remembering that I really wanted to see it and never got to, was kind enough to DV-R it for me.

He, of course, played WoW when I was watching it. Oh well -- it's the thought that counts.

So about a zillion gay cowboy jokes have been told about this movie. Forget that. It's not important that these are two men in love ... it's important that they are two *people* in love.

Because Ledger is heartbreakingly, achingly perfect in this part -- the way he speaks while barely moving his mouth, the slow blossoming as he finds true love, the despair when the magic summer ends, the excited run to meet Jack again. Every thing is just absolutely perfect. It was the performance of a decade.

If things would have been different, he would have been the actor that defined a generation. Maybe he still will be.

Every performance in this movie is good. But Heath was perfect.

You've got to see this. Every frame of this movie lingers with you. The silences are exquisite. You get to dive into these character's hearts. You can't skip this because of a few gay cowboy jokes.

Melancholy and magnificent. This movie will haunt you.

Book Report: Twilight

I kept hearing how good these books were, how I was missing out, yadda, yadda, so when I had a gift certificate and I saw the first one in softcover I picked it up (along with a lovely book of scarf patterns).

And while it was fun while it lasted (enough so that I might even pick up the second one), I've gotta say a few things.

It was so emo. So, so, so, emo. So emo that emo is like sunshine in comparison. So emo that it makes black look like white. So emo that it makes seasons six and seven of Buffy look like Hello Kitty Adventures.

It's so emo that my friend J-Man and I could play a "find the emo" game. Open up the book to any random page and find the emo. It's ridiculously easy.

That's a whole lotta emo, yo. You gotta be prepared for that!

Secondly, glitter vampires? WTF?

Thirdly, Bella's kind of a bitch. Yeah, she's supposed to be wonderful and perfect and all (in a kind of Mary Sue way), but she manipulates people (poor Jacob) to get what she wants, lies constantly, pouts because she's popular, whines a lot, has an almost supernatural ability to get into and cause trouble, and goes totally stupid over a boy to the point that everything in her life revolves around whether or not Edward's being nice to her today.

Why does she love Edward sooooo much? Because he's a beautiful, perfect, glitter vampire. If he was fugly, she wouldn't have given him the time of day. Vapid wench.

And since we're talking about Edward, he's pretty and all, but kinda boring. He alternates between telling Bella she's perfect and amazing and wonderful and smells good, and telling her to shut up and be a good little pet human. He is not terribly interesting in either mode. And why, after decades of being alone, does he suddenly decide that this stupid so-and-so is his one and only? I don't get it.

Finally, why, oh why, did the bad guy suddenly decide he had to have himself a piece of Bella? Was it some supernatural thing, or did the author realize she'd written 400 pages of emo sighing and longing glances, and needed some action to keep the reader from falling asleep?

So it was another of those books that I had a good enough time reading, but looking back, I can't figure out why. Odd.

Movie Report: Justice League: The New Frontier

Wow. Just wow.

A what-if story set in a loving tribute to the Silver Age and the 1950s, this movie was just spectacular, from the great voice acting (Neil Patrick Harris -- NPH, yo! -- as the Flash, David Boreanaz as Hal Stewart) to the slavish attention to detail in the costumes and backgrounds and the space age "it came from beyond" monster.

The McCarthy Era is overshadowing the heroes, driving some underground and others to question their path in life. It's a deep, intelligent portrayal of some of the most beloved of comic characters, and it's fabulous.

I'm kinda gushing, but this film is an absolute animation classic -- I wonder if they showed it on a few big screens before releasing the DVD so it would be eligible for the Best Animation Oscar.

I've since picked up the graphic novels on which this movie is based. They're sitting on my coffee table, and I can't wait to read 'em. If the movie was this good, the original story should really be something.

Movie Report: Superman: Doomsday

The makers of the stellar Justice League animated series seem bound and determined in this movie to say "this ain't the Justice League."

No League. New voices. New style. New look. New violence. And Superman's gone for half the movie!

For the most part, it's OK. The new look for Supes was distracting -- what was up with those crazy cheekbones? Did they want him to look so ... old?

I'm ambivalent on the new voice cast, although I will admit that James Marsters rocks as Lex Luthor -- it's different from Clancy Brown's version, but still col. Anne Heche just doesn't do Lois as well as Dana Delany did, and as for Supes ... could I really complain about Adam Baldwin? He was in Firefly!

And while the movie will never match up to the depth of the landmark comic storyline, it does one thing very, very well: The fights between Superman and Doomsday may just be the very best Superman fights ever put on film.

These are brutal, nasty, city-smashing throwdowns. Metropolis just gets wrecked, and it's amazing to see what happens when Supes cuts loose against a foe of equal power level.

And that's not all the violence, not by a long shot. It's not a slasher flick, but enough happens to make you think "damn, that's a lot of bodies."

Brutal stuff that's not for the kiddies, but it's one of the best Superman films ever, and ten times the flick that that emo-fest Superman Returns was.

Book Report: Legend of the Syndicate

Sigh. Great idea ... not so great execution.

I am fascinated by online guilds and communities and how they form and develop, for both the obvious reason and the not so obvious ones. Since this is one of the first (if not the first) books about the founding and development of an online guild, it caught my interest.

The author is a member of the guild, and it's obvious that he's got a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm for the organization. However, his viewpoint is so biased that it's hard to take the book seriously.

Because I'm sure that not everything has worked out well, that the Syndicate doesn't always win, and that everything they do is not accompanied by cherry blossoms and fairy sparkles. But if you read this, that's the impression you might get.

And in actuality, I'm sure that the trials and tribulations of an organization such as this were more interesting than:

• Situation arises.
• Wonderful and beneficent leader Dragons thinks it over and comes up with a plan of action.
• Everything works out just as it should, and the magnificence of the guild grows.
• Cookies!

Also, if you're gonna write a book, get an editor. Or at least check the damn manuscript for typos before you send it to the printers.

So I basically paid for a recruiting tool for a guild that I'm never gonna join. Or have any interest in joining, because it sounds like the Syndicate is way too regimented and hardcore for me -- they're playing games, right? It's not a job?

But I do hope the book paves the way for more investigations of online culture. It's a good field that needs more thoughtful, unbiased study.

Movie Report: Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Whoa. Trippy.

I'd been wanting to see this since I heard the premise -- Will Farrell is playing a tax auditor who's also the lead character in writer Emma Thompson's book.

Problem is, the characters in her books always die. Awfully.

Harold Crick (that's the tax guy) wakes up one day, starts his strictly regimented routine, and hears a woman's voice narrating the story. Is he crazy? Is he real?

So it's a pretty existential story from the get-go. Surprisingly, though, it's doesn't fall into in the "look at me, I'm soooo existential and deep" trap that many other movies like this do. (I Love Huckabees, I'm looking at you.)

The movie stays as sweet as one of baker Maggie Gyllenhaal's cookies, even though a lot of the questions it considers are pretty grim -- as is Harold's sad little life. And most importantly, Will Farrell didn't make me want to reach into the screen and kill him, as he has done in almost every other performance of his I've seen. He played it straight, for once, and I was grateful.

Charming comedy, and it'll actually make you think. That's a good thing.

Anime Report: Appleseed: Ex Machina (2008)

J and I were lucky enough to see this on the big screen in San Francisco, which is really the way to go if you can.

If not, at least try to see it in Blu-Ray, because the visuals are nothing short of stunning. And unless you happen to be a big Appleseed fan, the visuals (and the participation of John Woo, who's influence is heavily felt in the action scenes) is really the reason you're watching.

The plot is more complex than the previous movies, and at the same time simpler. Deunan and Briareos are still partners, and still in love. But when Briareos is injured during a mission (a kick-ass action sequence set in an abandoned church) Deunan is assigned a new partner -- Tereus, a warrior bioroid who just happens to be a clone of Briareos.

Cue the drama. Briareos wonders if Deunan would prefer a flesh and blood lover, rather than someone who's mostly machine. Deunan wants her man back, and resents the presence of Tereus. And Tereus is conflicted about his feelings for Deunan -- are they real, or a result of the cloning?

In the middle of all this romance stuff is a plot about brainwashed cyborgs threatening planetary peace, a global monitoring system and a goo that takes over people's minds. But really, it's not terribly important -- it's just a reason to have all of the fights and things going boom.

And pigeons. John Woo was involved -- there must be pigeons. I lol'ed.

The CG animation is a work of art -- I'd love to see games that look this good, even though the animation had a very next-gen game feel to it.

There's everything from mid-air shootouts to sinuous silver tentacles. Even the settings are striking, with their Greco-futuristic marble, columns and sci-fi gadgets. And there's a breathtaking level of detail -- reflections, light, raindrops on Briareos' metal face and tiny facial changes. I so want my character in Champions Online to have Deunan's hair.

Worth checking out if you're an animation fan or have a new Blu-Ray player you want to put through its paces. Or if you're an Appleseed fan. But don't feel you have to have seen the previous movies -- just go with the flow, and you should be able to figure out what's going on, if you want to.

TV Report: Babylon 5: The Gathering (1993)

As we all know, Babylon 5 is made of awesome and win.

So having just finished watching In the Beginning, I followed it up with the pilot movie.

Not everything in this movie is perfect. The makeup, particularly for Delenn, is kinda horrible. The Changeling Net plot is kinda weird. The special effects are kinda limited, and it's clear that they didn't really have the budget to make them better.

But the bones of a brilliant series are there. The acting, especially by Peter Jurasic and Andreas Katsulas, is top notch. You've got the Psi Corps. Vorlons. Mysteries and double-dealing.

And Kosh comes right out and *tells* you one of the major secrets of the series, and I didn't catch it until years later! That shows just how well planned and executed this series was.

So it's a solid pilot, but not awesome. Good enough to get picked up for production, though, and that's all that matters.

A must watch and re-watch for B5 fans.

Movie Report: 21 (2008)

Another true story turned Hollywood.

This is the tale of a group of MIT students who made some major bank counting cards in Vegas -- something that is supposed to be completely legal, albeit damned difficult.

But of course, this is the Hollywood version, so all of the students have to be really pretty (except for Kate Bosworth, who the studios keep trying to tell me is pretty but is in fact freakishly skinny and has an odd, not-pretty face). And Kevin Spacey get to be their too-cool-for school professor/gang leader.

Since it was Spacey that got me to drop 10 bucks on this flick, it was good to see him. His part was pretty formulaic, but he pulled it off well.

And because it's a Hollywood flick, we've got to add strippers, crazy quirks, costumed blackjack players and drammah, this time in the form of Laurence Fishburne as a old-school casino security chief.

The movie had great style, and showed off the casinos and Vegas locations very well, with a lot of interesting camera work and slick dissolves. The best parts of the film were the sequences at the blackjack tables, and I wish they would have cut back a little on the "Ben needs cash for medical school" plot (apparently he's never heard of financial aid) to focus more on what was fun.

Overall, though, it was an enjoyable waste of time after dinner on a Saturday night. The best part, though, was how my sweetie summed the movie up:

"Do anything to win in Vegas and Laurence Fishburne will kick your ass."

TV Report: Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998)

I have a crazy, deep, ever-abiding love of Babylon 5 that even surpasses my crazy, deep, ever-abiding love of Firefly.

And every so often I must indulge it. Babylon 5 DVDs ... how I love you so.

In the Beginning wasn't the first movie, but rather a prequel filmed several years into the series. It tells the story of the Earth-Minbari War, a major event that hung over the heads of the characters and influenced much of the storyline, but that was never fully explained until this was released.

And while it feels a little odd as it trots out the show's stars for cameo after cameo (even when they really don't belong, like Ivanova) it is good to see what came before, and what *really* happened the first time a Earth ship contracted the Minbari.

The script and the acting, are superb, of course. This is Babylon 5 after all.

Heroism, triumph, tragedy, humor and big booms -- this is essential for any B5 fan, and shouldn't you *all* be B5 fans?

Book Report: Four and Twenty Blackbirds

This book is a bit odd.

It's advertised as one in Mercedes Lackey's "Bardic Voices" series, but where are the bards? Not here! So if you're looking for Wren and company, you're going to be disappointed.

What we do have is a mystery about a series of seemingly unrelated murders that share some common characteristics. All the victims are women. All claim to be musicians of some type. All are killed with a very unusual knife. And all are done in the rain, possibly because water washes away traces of magic.

Sounds like a serial killer, right? Well the authorities don't think so -- because in each case a murderer does the deed and then promptly commits suicide.

One constable, Tal Rufen, won't let it go, and the book follows his dogged search for an all-too-obvious killer. I figured out who it was by chapter four, and Lackey comes right out and *says* who it is in chapter eight. So much for the mystery.

So we get a slog towards an inevitable ending where good triumphs over evil -- you know it's gonna happen, you just don't know how.

I finished the book, and I wasn't bored or annoyed while reading it -- I like Lackey's style. But thinking back, I'm not sure *why* I enjoyed reading this.

Like I said ... odd.

Book Report: Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby?

A book about Buffy and Fandom? I'm there!

Because let's face it. Fans, fandom, communities -- they're pretty important to me these days. I'm still looking for that great book that explains genre fans to people who just don't get it -- I've spent hours trying to explain it to PR people.

This isn't that book. Maybe I'll have to write it someday.

What this is, however, is a series of essays about one woman's journey down the dark paths of fandom, and how her association with it gave her a life and a job. (Hmmm, that kinda sound familiar ...)

And while parts of it ring true -- I really like the discussion of "Munchhausen's by Internet" -- about the fourth or fifth time the author rhapsodizes about how totally *amazing* it is that people who have only known each other online are *meeting*! In! Real! Life! I just want to tell her to go get a life.

Because in our Web 2.0, social networking, MMO playing culture, is that *really* such an odd concept anymore? It's not for me.

And I really didn't like how she cut down academics who study topics such as Buffy. OK, fine -- the author isn't interested. All she is interested in is fandom, because it is sooo amazing that these people meet In! Real! Life!

But that doesn't mean that its not a valid field of study. Get over yourself, fangirl.

Still, the inside peek into the world of writer stalking and cat sitting was fun, and there was one great concept that she stumbled onto almost by accident that really hit home with me.

The people who get wrapped up in a show or a game or whatever to the point that they want a personal connection with the authors, actors or devs just want to be noticed. They want someone they see as "special" to say "you're special too."

It's a simple concept of community, and it's so easy to do. The sad thing is, some of the "special" people have bought their own hype, and forgotten how to be nice.

So I do it for them.

Book Report: Success in the Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense

So you every have someone who you work with and have to deal with on a daily basis who excels at being a jerk?

Of course you do. There are people like that everywhere.

I do too, so Sweetie suggested I read this. It's not perfect, and a lot of the examples are ... dated, but it's a good look at the "game" of language that you might not even realize is being played around you. And there are some good techniques designed to stop jerkitude in its tracks, professionally and without being a jerk in return.

Worth checking out if you don't want to be a verbal victim.