So, a friend of mine posted on Facebook a challenge to list the top 10 movies for a particular letter in the alphabet. Being a big movie nerd, I took that a step further and looked at the top 5 for each letter. This was very hard for some of the big letters like B, D, R. S, and T and some letters like Q only had a few. At any rate, without further ado...
Numbers:
3:10 To Yuma
The 6th Day
The 13th Warrior
300
2010
A:
The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension
Aliens
American History X
Army Of Darkness
The Avengers
B:
The Big Lebowski
Big Trouble In Little China
Blade Runner
Blue Velvet
Brazil
C:
Casablanca
Catch-22
Clerks
A Clockwork Orange
The Commitments
D:
The Dark Knight
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dogma
Donnie Darko
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
E:
Easy Rider
Edward Scissorhands
Elysium
Escape From New York
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
F:
Fargo
The Fifth Element
Fight Club
The Fisher King
Full Metal Jacket
G:
Galaxy Quest
Garden State
Ghost World
Gladiator
The Graduate
H:
A Hard Day's Night
Heathers
Hellboy
High Fidelity
Hot Fuzz
I:
Idiocracy
Inception
The Incredibles
Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Iron Man
J:
Jackie Brown
Johnny Mnemonic
Jumanji
Juno
Jurassic Park
K:
Kelly's Heroes
Kiki's Delivery Service
The King's Speech
A Knight's Tale
Kung Fu Hustle
L:
L.A. Story
Ladyhawke
Lawrence Of Arabia
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Life Of Brian
M:
MASH
The Matrix
Memento
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Mystery Men
N:
Natural Born Killers
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
The Nightmare Before Christmas
North By Northwest
Notorious
O:
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
October Sky
Office Space
Old School
Once Upon A Time In Mexico
P:
Pitch Black
The Princess Bride
Princess Mononoke
The Producers
Pulp Fiction
Q:
The Queen
The Quiet American
Quills
R:
Raising Arizona
Rear Window
Repo Man
A Room With A View
Rushmore
S:
Serenity
Seven
Shaun Of The Dead
Slaughterhouse-Five
Spirited Away
T:
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Top Gun
Trading Places
True Lies
Twelve Monkeys
So, we got a chance to play the new game based on the Cthulhu
mythos, Eldritch Horror. This game is
like the younger sister of Arkham Horror, the cooperative game based on H.P.
Lovecraft’s world. I love Arkham
Horror. I have all of the expansions and
very much enjoy that game. As a
cooperative game, Arkham Horror is much like a table top role playing game,
where your characters develop through the game and the game is programed to
kick the snot out of you. I say all of
this because Eldritch Horror has a lot to live up to. I’ll cut to the chase for those who are
ADD. This game rocks. It gives a much better story development
through the game than Arkham Horror.
Components:
As it is with most Fantasy Flight games, the components are
top notch.
The game board is big enough,
but there’s enough room for easy game play.
I really like this board and don’t believe that future expansions should
expand the board at all. Where the
components fall down is in the number of encounter cards in the base game. Fantasy Flight needs to come out with a card
expansion sooner than later. The limited
number of encounter cards at each location decreases the replay value of the game
considerably (until the card expansion hits… I hope).
Game Play:
Arkham Horror has become a very fiddly game. There are a lot of rules and with about 6
expansions, Arkham Horror is a bit long in the tooth. However, even the base game of Arkham Horror
has a rather complex rule set. Eldritch
Horror has streamlined the rules quite a bit.
The game is still complex and story driven, but Eldritch Horror flows
much better than Arkham Horror.
Rather than running around town closing and sealing gates,
Eldritch Horror revolves around solving 3 mysteries associated with the Great
Old One that the investigators must face.
Also, to gain a clue, you need to have a clue encounter that is
associated with your great old one.
These mechanics are much more thematic in Eldritch Horror than in Arkham
Horror.
Rules and Complexity:
The game is still sufficiently complex for those who are
used to playing Arkham Horror, however, the rules are much more
streamlined. The rule book is short at
12 pages. They also include a reference
book that accompanies the rules. I am of
two minds about this approach. I am glad
that they are including a reference book, but the book doesn’t cover every
question that you might have, so you end up flipping between both books. All in all, if you play Arkham Horror, this
game will be easy to pick up. If you are
new to gaming, and want to challenge yourself with a cooperative game with role
playing overtones, than I believe that the rules are clear enough for anyone
who wants to get into this type of game.
I would definitely recommend this over Arkham Horror for that segment of
the population.
Closing Thoughts:
Eldritch Horror is the hot younger sister of Arkham
Horror. I really enjoy this game and
find it superior in game play to Arkham.
However, the relatively small population of encounter cards makes me
hope that the card expansion to this game comes sooner than later.
I've been a proud employee of the Federal Government for 25 years. I work to protect the health of animal populations and think that I have an important job. I must live by a higher set of ethical guidelines and am held to a standard that is greater than a lay person. That is why I am so upset why our congress is shirking their constitutional responsibility and using procedural parlor tricks to try and repeal a law that was passed by congress and found valid by the Supreme Court.
Congress has a responsibility to fund a budget for the government. It's a relatively easy prospect and when you look at the business side of the government, the 17% of the total budget that funds programs and people (other than the military) you see a fairly simple picture.
1. You understand that the way to balance the Federal budget isn't to continually cut the 17% and ignore the 83%.
2. The budget process is a constitutional necessity.
I resent the fact that my job is being held hostage by a small group of congressmen that are using procedural processes to try and re-litigate an existing law.
They are shirking their responsibility. Congress has a duty to pass a budget by October 1 to fund operations. It shouldn't be a political cudgel.
This whole shutdown is bizarre. The Affordable Care Act is a law, certified by the Supreme Court. It is not related to the budget. If a member of congress has a problem with that law, they should change it via the normal process and not hold my job hostage like a group of spoiled children who can't get their way.
I got into a discussion about ‘Male Privilege’ in comics and
nerd/geek culture in general. I mostly agreed with this article, but would contend that the world is changing
and geeks and gamer girls are gaining their own voice and earning respect… in
some circles … by guys who aren’t dicks.
The main tenant of that article is that geeks/gamers will : “insist
that they treat women exactly the same as they treat guys – all the while
ignoring the fact that their behavior is what’s making the women uncomfortable
and feeling unwelcome in the first place.”
I believe that this isn’t a black and white issue. I would counter that everyone is responsible
for their behavior and the tenants for sexism and prejudice don’t arise because
of geek culture, those attributes arise elsewhere and are magnified by the
insular nature of a predominately introverted fandom.
I’m an adult and have made no illusion that my past has
prejudiced my outlook on life, but I also do my best to treat everyone as an
equal and listen to other opinions before I talk. When I read an article like the one mentioned
above, I see another kind of prejudice, that of the overly sympathetic male:
What? How can you say
that? That article seemed very
sympathetic to woman’s issues. Yeah, I
thought so too, until I read the last sentence.
“And when you check back on Friday, I’ll provide you with
some concrete applications on how being cognizant of male privilege will
improve your relations with women.”
Am I wrong, or is this entire article a blueprint on a
subterfuge? If you’re worried about
improving your relations with women (i.e., how do I better get laid), then you’re
doing it wrong. What you should be
worried about is how your interpersonal skills allow you to function in an ever
changing world. That last sentence turned
that whole article on its ear for me.
This was nothing more than a blueprint for how the jerk gamer/geek can
satisfy his lady friend and continue to be a self-righteous douchebag.
The truth is that there are plenty of inroads that women
have made in geek/gamer culture. During the middle ages, zealots desecrated art by chopping off exposed genitalia or covering it up with a fig leaf. At the
turn of the century, I was playing Everquest and one of my guildmates was a
woman who played a male avatar in order to avoid the sexist bullshit. Fast forward to today, where I play Guild
Wars with my wife and 2-3 other strong women who comprise our core group. Now, that’s not to say that women have it
easy. Sexism still exists everywhere…
The article on male privilege seems to relate the
objectification of females in comics and games as proof that women are treated
as second class, but it also either ignores or brushes aside cases of male
objectification in the same art form:
Yes, fantasy and science fiction literature has a long
history of placing women in unrealistic manners of dress, but I would contend
that all art places women and men alike in unrealistic manners of dress. If you are looking for a realistic woman
warrior in a fantasy series, look to Game of Thrones:
This scene says a lot about the whole topic. However, this topic isn’t black and
white. In fantasy and science fiction you
can have both Brienne of Tarth and Catwoman. The medium is there to explore social issues. Star Trek wasn't a great science fiction story because of the short skirts and special effects. It was a study of the human condition set through a science fiction lens that helps one see that condition through a unique perspective.
The core issue here revolves around women in geek and gamer
culture. While it’s true that women are
an oddity, an unicorn if you will.
However, women also have a role in this society just as they do in every
other aspect of the world around us.
Team Unicorn, a group of beautiful actresses who also love video games,
comics, and Star Wars exists as a message to other women out there. You don’t have to wear sack cloth and hide
behind an asexual persona in order to thrive in a world of fandom:
Yes, fantasy and science fiction can objectify men, women,
and just about anything in an effort to create an art form that many hold near
and dear to their hearts. As citizens of
this planet, we need to move to a place where we cherish everyone’s opinion. We need to find that scrap of something to
adore and not be afraid of showing people that child-like glee. Don’t worry how to be politically correct in
order to ‘improve your relations with women’.
That won’t work. Strive to be
open minded, or as Will Wheaton would say; ‘Be awesome’.
It's that time of year when I want to drive with the windows open and listen to music just a little louder than I should. In the past I would make a mixed tape. In later years I would burn a CD. Today, I just link to a series of YouTube videos (see below), although the ads get annoying, or I create a playlist for my iPod.
The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.
I tried to include music from this decade, although I had to insert some songs that just are ingrained in my summer listening mythos (i.e., J. Giles and The Rolling Stones and Roxy Music).
In response to the whole hullaballoo about the NSA data
mining operation, I wanted to throw my 2-cents in the debate. I know that some of my more liberal minded
friends might disagree, but I believe that Edward Snowden should be arrested
and prosecuted for divulging classified information. It’s very simple really, he leaked
information that was classified and that is punishable under our existing laws.
Now, let’s delve into what was leaked. The government is using ‘big data’ obtained
from internet providers and phone companies (the line is very blurry there) to
conduct meta-analysis and look for trends and indicators. Think an attempt at Psychohistory from the
Foundation novels of Asimov, or the big computer in the TV show Person of
Interest. Is mining of that type of data
wrong for a government to do?
My answer may surprise some.
I would say no. First of all, the
data in question is data that has been released to the ‘verse from the individual. In other words: “From here to the eyes and the ears of the
'Verse, that's my motto, or it might be if I start having a motto.”
In other other words.. should we have any expectation of
privacy once we release something to the internet? I would say no. Once we post on a message board, send an
eMail, or update our Facebook status, we should have no expectation that
information isn’t available to the ‘verse as a whole.
“There is no news. There is only the truth of the signal.
What I see. And, there's the puppet theater the Parliament jesters foist on the
somnambulant public.”
We have a flawed system of government, but one that is based
on some checks and balances. We need to
abide by the laws around secrecy and confidentiality and then work on our
leaders to enact better means for us to protect and restrict access to the data
that they have access to. However, don’t
ever think that you have privacy in this world when you access the internet and
place a camera on your life with Facebook and other social media. Don’t canonize a traitor for breaking the law
and exposing something that’s been evident since well before 2001.
