What a wacky couple of days.

I wish I could have the last few days back. Just one stupid thing after another...

On a nasty note, I had to give an old friend a Facebook heave-ho this week. I'm sure he he thought he was being hilarious, but he insulted my son's looks and heritage, and I will not tolerate that in any way. He's the type of guy who would throw fists at me if I did the same thing to him (which I would never do...children must ALWAYS be off-limits to teasing or whatever.), and he has two sons himself. He's also the type of guy who would say the sky is green to be argumentative and different from the mainstream.

Anyways, moving on. Discovered a new gaming comic called, appropriately enough, Another Gaming Comic. This one is really word heavy though, but has a very interesting look at gaming, and moves slightly beyond the usual gaming stereotypes (although there is the typical power-gamer, one trick pony guy, and the hotheaded DM...it is interesting that the comic makes the DM's face red when the players get under his skin.) There is also an ad link to a T-Shirt site with such observations as "When the GM sighs, we win." (Words to live by.) There is also a picture of a girl wearing a Polk High #33 shirt (For those that don't know, that was Al Bundy. You know 4 touchdowns in one game high school football. Wasn't Christina Applegate hot? Anyways...)

The new title for the Return of the Jedi Family Guy parody is out...It going to be called "It's a Trap!" This is a great classic line from the original movie. I can just see the robotic fish being Admiral Ackbar now. I always thought it was a great inside joke that the species name for Ackbar is Mon Calamari, even though the planets official name is Dac.

My son right now is eating breakfast to Toupie et Binou. I don't understand what he sees, but the writer's have a vivid imagination. At least I have able to control Dora the Explorer because I personally find her annoying. (All that language flipping back and forth makes me think I'm taking a bus to Aylmer from downtown...oh, wait I do that everyday, my life is Dora's! NOOOOO!)

Anyways, have a great day.

I haven't gamed in a while....

It's been a couple of weeks already since my last game of Talisman, which is the last time I have played any board/card/RP games...I am getting serious withdrawals. Help!

I have having a real hard time relaxing lately, it seems that everytime turn around, another problem comes that requires my immediate attention. I need distractions! I am going to play in a golf tournament this week, the first time I have played a round since my surgery last spring, but I am going to be so rusty (but I don't care; golf rocks!)

Listening to some Dangerous Toys right now, man they have some serious sleazy lyrics (anyone remember the song Sportin' a Woody? Classic!) I have a reasonably sized collection of MP3s, but I always feel like I can use more. I have mostly avoided the trendy "Miley Cyrus" type ones, and there seems to be a heavy 80's flavour to the collection, but, really it seems that people make their musical choice about the time they are 15 and that's what they listen to the rest of their life. (Oh Oh oh, Janie's Crying! Guess who's playing now?)

I envy the people who were able to go to Comic Con this past weekend, just seeing the list of the people that were there answering questions made me salivate: The entire cast of Family Guy and the Big Bang Theory, as well as Abby from NCIS, the Evil Wil Wheaton (Will he ever stop paying for subjecting us to Wesley Crusher?), and the piece de resistance for a fanboy like myself...Harrison Ford himself! Apparently he arrived in handcuffs as there was an incident as he arrived where a fight broke out between two Comic Book Guys, and as they were being led away in cuffs, he took it upon himself to do a little joke. This makes me think.

Before I die, I will have to make three trips to Usa. One to Indianapolis around mid August and one to San Diego in late July. The third, of course will be to Buffalo. (Those who truly know me know why...I don't know myself anymore. Just not when the Patriots are there, I hate them more than the Make-u-Laffs now). I have been getting emails from my game company email lists about the products coming out at GenCon in a couple of weeks and I really wish I could go. (Can't even get a passport soon enough anyways: mine is about to expire. Why the Canadian government can't go to ten years like every other one on the planet is a mystery; if an independent Quebec would offer a 10 year passport, I might just vote Oui.)

(Guess Who's playing now? No sugar tonight in my coffee!)

I am being started at by my Darth Bear that I have brought home from work as we are moving offices at the end of the week. (I have to start making that horrific trip across the border into HSTLand again. I still will not buy anything over there again.) Darth Bear was my Christmas present from my son last year. He's got good taste.

Christ my girl cat Alfie just won't be quiet lately. She actually got a piece of mail today, telling her it was time for her 12 000 meows tune-up (meaning annual shots, of course). She ad her brother. Good thing I love them.

Anyways, I ramble today, that's OK though, I don't think I have seen a blogger not ramble at times. It's Monday, so the Big Bang will be on at some point (a re-run, but who cares it's Sheldon!) So take care of yourself, and don't forget that a pie is only 3.141592653589793238..... calories, and that if you were to have one-eight that would be....

Good night.

Are you really the head of the the Quikie-Mart?

Really? For sure?

Found Degrassi Junior High episodes posted on Youtube. It is nice to see something from fond memories that can quickly bring a silly smile to your face. Remembering too that the cast is around my age now makes it easier too. Made me do some searching about the cast. For example, apparently the girl who played Stephanie Kaye is now a great jazz musician (without even playing a grandfather on the Cosby show!), and that Joey Jeremiah guy will never reprise the role again (on the latest version of the show. Too bad, that Caitlin chick was still kinda cute in her thirties.)

The Least I Could Do strip seems to finally be returning to its roots as they have returned to a more sleazy tone this week. Gotta love it. I haven't read much of Dork Tower this week but I will change that as soon as I finish this.

My son is throwing balls around the house right now. He just almost hit me in the head as the ball hit my shoulder behind me. Imagine when he gets some accuracy and velocity...hmmm maybe I can use this as an opportunity to teach him about parabolic curves (and the change in velocity, both magnitude and direction...wait, this sounds like a super-villain from Despicable Me. Wasn't that a funny movie? I know I really enjoyed it. Now if Steve Carrell would make the 45-year old divorced guy who has ever only slept with one chick ever movie, we'd be set. I mean Zack and Mirri was the continuation of the Seth Rogan-Elizabeth Banks romance from the 40-year old virgin, right?)

I read a Real Life Comics strip earlier this week that compared the Daily Show to Saturday Night Live. (He compared the Stephen Colbert - Steve Carrell era to the Belushi-Chase-Akyroyd era of SNL). I had really never thought of things in those terms before, but I can see why the comparison was made.

I am now in the seventh book of the Wheel of Time, in preparation of my purchase and reading of Book 12. I really can't tell if Robert Jordan meant Aes Sedai to be the best of what people can be or the worst, or of some combination of both. His characterizations though of women are all complex and men are all simple could have balanced better. I find it hard to tell if he was trying to make them the same as the Bene Gesserit of the Dune series. (I think these were written first, maybe I should check Wikipedia)

Anyways, son is hungry...

That hogweed is everywhere...

seriously, maybe it won't stop growing until everybody is burned. I wonder if you can burn off tattoos with the sap. Genesis did a song a long time ago called "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" and everytime I hear about it in the papers or on the news the song flashes in my head. (Sometimes it really sucks to have a brain like a radio station. Speaking of radio, Tom Petty's Last Dance with Mary Jane is currently on...) The amount scares me because my son is beginning to get to the curious age. There isn't any I can find on my property yet but they are everywhere along the main traffic artery near my place so it probably only is a matter of time.

Monday night. A rerun of the Big Bang Theory will probably be on. Which one could it be? Stay tuned to find out.

Mrs. Mattcaveman and I took the wee one up to the water park yesterday. The smiles he had, I think he enjoyed himself. Having tried some of the other rides, I am in no hurry for him to be big enough for the "big kid" rides. I may like to pretend to be an adventurer, but in real life I am more like the sage that cloisters away and does the research while the bigger, bolder people go out.

(Tears for Fears is playing now...Everybody does really want to rule the world, they're all just not obvious about it.)

80's music rocks. Here is my top 10 80's bands. Keep in mind that this is MY opinion, and that some may cross into other decades, but all of them were active at one point during the 80's.

10 - ZZ Top - All you have to do is listen to some of those licks and your hooked.

9 - LA Guns - great hairband; probably my favourite at one time. Sleazy, cheesy and great.

8 - OMD - for one song, but a cheesy sentinmental one.

7 - Dokken - Hair band number 2, but George Lynch guitar playing still blows me away.

6- Motley Crue - HB Number 3, but a great listen for a party on a Monday Night.

5 - The Cars - great stand up rock and roll.

4 - The Go-go's - catchy tunes, and chicks to boot.

3- Poison - still can't stop listening to them

2- GNR - the classic line-up and first album hands down is only beaten by...(and people will be surprise, unless you really know me of course...)

1- Duran Duran, this band is so underrated. Their music is more subtle than people recognize as they see them as a fluff MTV band, but the lyrics are well crafted, and CD's and MP3's have revealed more interesting low sounds in the mix that cassette tapes and video analog did not show. In the last six months alone, I have gained a greater respect for the album Seven and the Ragged Tiger, and if you are a fan of just listening to music. give it a whirl. It's only 40 minutes out of your life (only 9 tracks), and you'll probably recognize a couple of the songs. This particular album has a bit of a Moody Blues feel (since the band allegedly was experimenting with drugs at the time of the recording of this album, that wouldn't be a surprise...)

I like popular rock music more than maybe I let on, but I can't think of a better thing for background (except maybe Radio Rivendell grin) than pop music (no hip-hop in my dungeon allowed! Except maybe Fergilious. If she performs it in person, and avoids singing "My Humps", and brings Fly Girls. Jennifer Lopez started as a Fly Girl.)

("Fly Girls" make me thing of that bad commercial from that guy in Toronto ho calls himself the Cashman. He's no Harold the Jewelry Buyer, though. Seriously, doesn't Omni overplay their commercials just a little. It's like Global during the Superbowl.)

My girl cat won't shut up right now. I think she wants love, so I'll get back to you soon.

Four days since I last posted...

I haven't realized that I was having so much time in between posts.

I saw some of the new rules for 8th edition Warhammer today (for power/dispel dice and for army creation). They seem to be interesting; I'll have to try it out to truly see if they are good or not. It is neat that the next box set for the game is going to be Skaven/High Elves; I have a friend who is a Skaven player and I play High Elves, of course, so I'm sure a compromise can be worked out with regards to the purchasing of a box set.

It has been a little too long with this heatwave. I can't stand not being able to enjoy my deck as much as I would like. Every so often, I do like to leave the basement. I mean, I have to go to work everyday, right?, and until I can get my collectibles business off the ground from the basement, I am stuck going to work to make money (grins. Because everybody knows that the world needs another Magic Card dealer from his little hole in the world. I swear we all end up just selling to each other back and forth.)

My son gets so mesmerized by the theme music of all the Star Trek shows, it is hilarious to watch because he literally stops everything he is doing to stare at the television until the theme songs are over. (Voyager is currently on...interesting that they would use this name for a ship after Voyager 6 became V'ger...)

I still haven't had time to annotate my top Batman choices, so right now I'll list my top 10 choices for take-out food...

10. McDonalds Quarter Pounders or McChickens

9. Burger King Chicken sandwiches

8. KFC - my stomach always burns after, but I do love the food.

7. Au Coq - you Quebeckers out there know how much better than Swiss Chalet this is.

6. St-Hubert, see previous entry, although it is available in Eastern Ontario as well.

5. Taco Bell

4. Wendy's - I wish there were some in Gatineau

3. Dinty's, in Aylmer, they deliver here, so I will give them some free advertising

2. Any take-out Lebanese food; and

1. Pizza from almost anywhere.

I can't wait for the next season of the Big Bang Theory, reruns are OK because you get to see stuff you may have missed the first time, but I really want to see new ones, especially to see Sheldon with Blossom.

I brought home my Darth Vader Bear that my son got me last Christmas from work today as we are moving back to the Ontario side in a couple of weeks; it saddens me because I like where I am. I was hoping not to deal with the tax transfers this year, BUT because the Québec government would rather raise taxes than even attempt to piss off one person by cutting government spending (I really can't believe that Charest was once a Tory, but Uncle Steve is spending like a drunken sailor too) we are going to have to pay a health tax anyways, so I will end up owing money again anyways...too bad the alternative is even worse. (My rant of the day).

Anyways, must be off as my son needs to eat.

And it's done....

and Spain has won, this is a sad moment for all the Northern European nations (and their descendants) and a grand day for the Latins...a dull game, but the better (if only slightly more disciplined) team won. And I still think Germanic languages are better than Romance ones...(certainly easier on the verbs!) So to England, Nederland, Deutschland, Sverige, Norge and Dansk, we'll get them next time! At least we still have hockey.

In my younger days, especially as a wargamer, I used to read a lot of military history. I always found it interesting how some countries always won and some always lost. And how the battles have shaped the world as we know it today. Reading about old battles between England and Scotland, for example, really helped me use the English longbow effectively in Age of Empires II (as an example.) Also, it made our D&D/Warhammer games interesting for the use of tactics and such. (It didn't work, but I once tried to use the layout of Richard III's force from the Battle of Bosworth Field with archers on slightly high ground, and a small mounted force with large numbers of pike (spear) infantry moving as quickly as possible towards an enemy trying to force a charge, using the High Elf Army, but the tactics didn't work against a Skaven force that were able to appear from nowhere. Richard lost too, but at least he didn't lose to a bunch of ratmen!) Luckily for my opponents, there isn't a naval version of the rules because I know how to cross the T (see the following link for an almost perfect use: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tsushima . Russia was not a great naval power again until after WWII.) I really think that the Russo-Japanese War needs to be studied more. How this did not flare up again into a full-scale war until 1945 I will never understand.

I said that I would do a top 10 Batman moments list in this blog. I will be doing it, but I want to verify all sources before I post to make sure the issue numbers and comic books are right. I have chosen the moments. Really. I have. Come to my place and I can show them to you. We can then even talk about the Battle of Bosworth Field, too.

I got to play Talisman last night and a strange thing happened...I actually won a game, I think it was the first win I have had in three years. I played the Dark Cultist (a character from the Reaper expansion for the game) and she is really butt-kickingly strong. (I also think that her miniature is one of the better ones I have painted.) I even won at Super Munchkin last night. I really had a good gaming day. (I also owned the Narrow S Cape in the game, so it was predestined.)

My basement purge is almost complete. I have almost an entire empty shelf now. All D&D, Star Wars and MERP manuals/modules and Warhammer rulebooks are now within my chair grasp (meaning I can reach them without leaving or moving my chair), and all of my miniatures and supplies are easily found now. It is a great moment. Now, if I can get my office at work to look half as good and organized, I might be on to something. Even my glue caps are now on tight and put away so I don't leave th basement half-high anymore AND the litterboxes don't stink anymore, as I have properly cleaned and replaced all the litter. This has truly been a great two weeks for the Mattcave. Next for purging, my laptop for useless information (trying to fire my imagination! If you can guess what song this is, you win a beer!)

That's all for now. Merry Sunday.

Germany is gone...

karma has a way to get you.

Had a very interesting discussion at work today. We were trying to determine why Princess Peach would be interested in a plumber. I said it's because he's rich, he's always getting coins everywhere he goes, he has a bitchin' Kart, but also the raccoon costume has to be a factor (AND he can also throw blick-blicks!) Coupled with the discussion as to what happens to your poo when you use the transporter, it made for a very interesting day.

(Southpark was on, and it's Johnnie Cochrane with the Chewbacca defense...Chef Aid, Chocolate Salty Balls, good tune! It really is too bad that Issac Hayes was a Scientologist, because it cost us one of the best characters ever. I can't believe they killed him after turning him into a child molester.)

I truly love being a geek. There are so many things you can enjoy from comics, to movies, to gaming, to modeling (of the plastic kind, can you actually see your average geek trying the OTHER kind of modeling?), to computers, and physics etc...No wonder the Big Bang Theory is doing so well on TV. (I still wonder why Bernadette was just written off the show? I guess she must have reached the guest star limit for union appearances on a TV show. Besides, Howard having a regular girlfriend was just taking away from his character's need to hit on all women.)

I think life needs a theme song, just like Peter Griffin.

My son is struggling to walk right now (at least it sounds like it). The house is air-conditioned, so heat can't be a factor (he's smiling at me right now.) It is almost bath-time, which is not my favourite time of the day, he splashes too much.

I think I may take a different direction with the blog for a little while. I think that David Letterman has a cool thing going with his Top Ten lists. I think perhaps I will start to list favourite things and why they are favourites. Maybe I can inspire any readers out there to check out some new stuff. I am going to start with favourite D&D Adventures (some I was a player, some I was a DM).

10 - Rahasia - I really enjoyed turning one player into a platinum statue. I particularly loved how the rest of the party melted him down to jewelry afterward instead of resurrecting him.

9 - Tomb of Horrors - I think we tried this 4 times and we never got past 5 encounters.

8 - Dwellers of the Forbidden City - I was able to use pieces from this on several occasions.

7- Ravenloft - Original as player, 3.5 version as DM - A classic tale, and one of the most interesting layouts for a dungeon ever conceived.

6 - Palace of the Silver Princess - I can't count how many times we did this one!

5 - Against the Giants - I am currently taking a party through this one (shhh, they might find out.)

4 - Castle Amber - Again, a great setting, with an interesting adventure in it.

3 - The Castle of the Kenku - I wrote this one, but I liked DMing it because of the shit room I created (with newspapers!)

2 - Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth - Iggwilv will always be one of the nastiest encounters ever.

and Number 1....

1. - The Horror on the hill - (as a Player), this was the first adventure I was on where I was beginning to feel like I knew what I was doing in this darn game. I still remember how happy I was when I killed the last bugbear in the prison.

Next time I will list top 10 Batman moments...take care

Blast from the Past...

is a really funny movie. It was just on TV and I enjoyed it. I also watched Zach and Miri last night. What a absolutely crude, hilarious movie. I should watch it again just to see the jokes I missed the first time. I have borrowed Wedding Crashers, as I haven't seen this one, too.

Also, I notice that Space is showing Superhero movies right now. On at this moment is the Batman & Robin movie from the early 90's. (The one with Mr. Freeze, Bane and Poison Ivy.) Ivy is an awesome character in the comics, even with the number of reboots they keep having for her, but Uma Thurman was NOT the actress to play her. They should have gone with someone who would have come across as less plain. I guess that was really the director's fault. (This was the Batman with George Clooney, another bad choice., although better than Val Kilmer.) Mystery Men is on shortly, this is one I admit I have never seen, maybe I'll sit down an watch it when I am done here.

I didn't think that the Watchmen movie was that great, although it had some good moments. I have enjoyed all the Marvel movies I have seen after Elektra, however.

Space is a good channel, but they need to show more than Star Trek and Stargate reruns. They have been showing Merlin, which I enjoy, (that Morgana chick is hot) and we need more Battlestar Galactica. I wish they would bring back MST3K, 8 millions fans on the Internet can not be wrong.

Canada Day was quiet, just how I'm beginning to like it. I am really getting old.

Managed to find a download of the old James Bond 007 RPG. This one is a game I wish I never had "lost" on me. The character creation system brings a little bit of GURPS, and the Quality ratings system was an interesting way to determine things. I only ever owned the You Only LIve Twice module for the game, but we must of played it a few times...I am now trying to find a download for Star Frontiers. Slowly, I will have everything, again, old and new. ("They must be mine!" wads of cash flowing...if you know where this comes from, you truly are a Dork!)

Chris O'Donnell looks so young in Batman & Robin...but he is cooler with LL Cool J.

Movie about to start...take care.