Monte Cook's Blog, page 141
July 27, 2010
This I'd Like To See
This I'd Like To See
Moderator: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to a one on one, public debate. On my left, the first debater, Carl Naysayer of the Astro-Nots Society for Denial of the Manned Moon Landing. On my right, our second debater, Marvin Whackanut, of the Interplanetary Federation for Revealing the Truth About the Mars Bases. Gentlemen, have at it.
Carl Naysayer: Thank you. My position is simple. You can look at the photographic evidence sent back from the so-called "Moon Landing" and se...
Moderator: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to a one on one, public debate. On my left, the first debater, Carl Naysayer of the Astro-Nots Society for Denial of the Manned Moon Landing. On my right, our second debater, Marvin Whackanut, of the Interplanetary Federation for Revealing the Truth About the Mars Bases. Gentlemen, have at it.
Carl Naysayer: Thank you. My position is simple. You can look at the photographic evidence sent back from the so-called "Moon Landing" and se...
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter
There's a secret out there for roleplayers--particularly GMs. It shouldn't be a secret, but I'm always amazed when I find people who still haven't heard about http://www.roleplayingtips.com. Updated weekly, you can visit the site or have the content delivered straight to your email inbox. Each week, Roleplaying Tips includes great advice, ideas, and recommendations for how to improve your game.
For free.
The genius behind Roleplaying Tips, Johnn Four, writes a lot of...
There's a secret out there for roleplayers--particularly GMs. It shouldn't be a secret, but I'm always amazed when I find people who still haven't heard about http://www.roleplayingtips.com. Updated weekly, you can visit the site or have the content delivered straight to your email inbox. Each week, Roleplaying Tips includes great advice, ideas, and recommendations for how to improve your game.
For free.
The genius behind Roleplaying Tips, Johnn Four, writes a lot of...
July 26, 2010
Flood's Aftermath
Flood's Aftermath
After last week's short but not so sweet deluge, a lot of people around here had water in their basement. I know what that's like, and I feel for them. Water's destructive power is well-known, and the aftermath of a flood can bring bad smells and mold, so many of my neighbors wisely pulled all the damaged carpeting, furniture, boxes, etc. that were in their basements and put them on the curb. Now, it's weird enough to see the odd junk that people keep in their basements. But ...
After last week's short but not so sweet deluge, a lot of people around here had water in their basement. I know what that's like, and I feel for them. Water's destructive power is well-known, and the aftermath of a flood can bring bad smells and mold, so many of my neighbors wisely pulled all the damaged carpeting, furniture, boxes, etc. that were in their basements and put them on the curb. Now, it's weird enough to see the odd junk that people keep in their basements. But ...
July 25, 2010
Flood #2
Flood #2
So two years ago, we had a once in a hundred years rainstorm. Our finished basement flooded, the carpet was ruined, we lost a few books (some I still haven't managed to replace), and the walls and whatnot took a little damage.
Last Thursday, we had another once in a hundred years storm. I guess that means we're safe for 200 years now, right? In fact, the storm this time was worse than the previous one. Seven inches of rain in an hour.
However, after the last deluge, we had a drain tile...
So two years ago, we had a once in a hundred years rainstorm. Our finished basement flooded, the carpet was ruined, we lost a few books (some I still haven't managed to replace), and the walls and whatnot took a little damage.
Last Thursday, we had another once in a hundred years storm. I guess that means we're safe for 200 years now, right? In fact, the storm this time was worse than the previous one. Seven inches of rain in an hour.
However, after the last deluge, we had a drain tile...
July 21, 2010
Launchpad 2010
Launchpad 2010
I spent the last week in Laramie, WY, attending the Launchpad Workshop.
It was a great time. Topics included everything from moons of Saturn to red dwarf stars to faster than light travel. The head of the program, Mike Brotherton, is a professor in the department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Wyoming. He's a great guy and a great teacher who worked hard to put this together and keep it running well. He was assisted by Jim Verley, PhD, and guest lecturer Kevin ...
I spent the last week in Laramie, WY, attending the Launchpad Workshop.
It was a great time. Topics included everything from moons of Saturn to red dwarf stars to faster than light travel. The head of the program, Mike Brotherton, is a professor in the department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Wyoming. He's a great guy and a great teacher who worked hard to put this together and keep it running well. He was assisted by Jim Verley, PhD, and guest lecturer Kevin ...
July 9, 2010
Newer Sci Fi Games
Newer Sci Fi Games
Recently I accidentally bought the same game twice. Well, not really, but for a moment it felt like I did. I bought Starblazer Adventures and Diaspora, which are both science fiction games using the FATE rules.
In truth, however, the games are very different.
Starblazer Adventures is wild and wahoo. Based on a British science fiction comic series that I'm completely unfamiliar with, it's a wild space opera setting with all kinds of weird aliens, technology that might as well...
Recently I accidentally bought the same game twice. Well, not really, but for a moment it felt like I did. I bought Starblazer Adventures and Diaspora, which are both science fiction games using the FATE rules.
In truth, however, the games are very different.
Starblazer Adventures is wild and wahoo. Based on a British science fiction comic series that I'm completely unfamiliar with, it's a wild space opera setting with all kinds of weird aliens, technology that might as well...
July 7, 2010
Seriously?
Seriously?
I just read that a company is marketing a new MRI-based technology to Hollywood that would replace focus groups with actual brain scans of people watching movies, indicating which parts of the movie they like best. The idea being that if people's brains register happiness when they see a red car in a movie, they'll put more red cars in future movies and then everyone will love the films.
Seriously? I'm no fan of the focus group concept, but this kind of context-less, short-sighted te...
I just read that a company is marketing a new MRI-based technology to Hollywood that would replace focus groups with actual brain scans of people watching movies, indicating which parts of the movie they like best. The idea being that if people's brains register happiness when they see a red car in a movie, they'll put more red cars in future movies and then everyone will love the films.
Seriously? I'm no fan of the focus group concept, but this kind of context-less, short-sighted te...
July 5, 2010
Traveller with Two Ls
Traveller with Two Ls
I can no longer remember if I got Traveller or Star Frontiers first. Either way, while I liked Star Frontiers, Traveller made a far more lasting impression on me. Still, what I wanted when I purchased both was very simple. I didn't want a science fiction game. I wanted Star Wars. But West End's d6 Star Wars game was still a number of years off, and--ironically--it was a game I never really got into, even though I tried.
Like everyone else, what struck me most about Travell...
I can no longer remember if I got Traveller or Star Frontiers first. Either way, while I liked Star Frontiers, Traveller made a far more lasting impression on me. Still, what I wanted when I purchased both was very simple. I didn't want a science fiction game. I wanted Star Wars. But West End's d6 Star Wars game was still a number of years off, and--ironically--it was a game I never really got into, even though I tried.
Like everyone else, what struck me most about Travell...
July 1, 2010
Lords of Creation
Lords of Creation
While on the topic of roleplaying games my friends and I tried because of ads in Dragon magazine, I'd be remiss to forget Lords of Creation. This was Avalon Hill's foray into rpgs, and it came along just at the right time for me. I'd played fantasy games, sci fi games, and so on, and Lords of Creation promised to bring all those genres together in a dimension-hopping extravaganza. Like with Villains and Vigilantes, there was suddenly a game that did something I already wanted...
While on the topic of roleplaying games my friends and I tried because of ads in Dragon magazine, I'd be remiss to forget Lords of Creation. This was Avalon Hill's foray into rpgs, and it came along just at the right time for me. I'd played fantasy games, sci fi games, and so on, and Lords of Creation promised to bring all those genres together in a dimension-hopping extravaganza. Like with Villains and Vigilantes, there was suddenly a game that did something I already wanted...
June 27, 2010
Mr. Right
Mr. Right
Yesterday Sue and I went to the first of many excursions to Summerfest. We saw a new-ish post rock band called Canyons of Static that I liked very much, but I think both of us found the show by Wang Chung to be the most surprisingly and entertaining. Like a man with repressed memories, I found that I had forgotten a serious affection for the band long ago, reawakening as I realized that I knew every single one of their songs (at least, other than the handful of new songs they played)...
Yesterday Sue and I went to the first of many excursions to Summerfest. We saw a new-ish post rock band called Canyons of Static that I liked very much, but I think both of us found the show by Wang Chung to be the most surprisingly and entertaining. Like a man with repressed memories, I found that I had forgotten a serious affection for the band long ago, reawakening as I realized that I knew every single one of their songs (at least, other than the handful of new songs they played)...
Monte Cook's Blog
- Monte Cook's profile
- 124 followers
Monte Cook isn't a Goodreads Author
(yet),
but they
do have a blog,
so here are some recent posts imported from
their feed.
