Man, they've been knocking it out of the park this season.

Man, they've been knocking it out of the park this season.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-ZblMfZpuw

Looking for some new reading?

Looking for some new reading?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=setYQOyhslo

I'm fascinated by sub-cultures of every stripe and I particularly look forward to the marketing for this particular...

I'm fascinated by sub-cultures of every stripe and I particularly look forward to the marketing for this particular sub-culture's annual convocation.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXpH2nfiavE

Tonight has not been full of win.

I Can't Play Piano, Pt. 1

H. Jon Benjamin -- iconic voice actor and now...jazz musician!

A little something for your afternoon music listening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS5p4M08jJs

Need a new combat mechanic for your LARP?

Need a new combat mechanic for your LARP?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJgi-B461AM

The Turnt of the Century-Another Period - Video Clip | Comedy Central

June 15th! Another Period Season 2. I really like this show for reasons I can't fully explain, but I'm happy to see there will be more of it.

EDIT: Even more, more of it. They got a season 3 renewal a couple days ago.


http://www.cc.com/video-clips/pneeaa/another-period-the-turnt-of-the-century

Hey, it's 1 in the morning and I've been up all night finishing Children of Earth and Sky. It was pretty good.

Hey, it's 1 in the morning and I've been up all night finishing Children of Earth and Sky. It was pretty good.

Hooray for late night reading!

Fall of Magic – Scroll Edition

This past weekend I got to play a little bit of Fall of Magic, a story-telling game where you play as the companions of a dying mage who is travelling east to figure out why magic (and he) is failing.

The game plays out on this gorgeous map scroll and is a delightfully visual and tactile game. It generated an interesting set of characters and stories. Well worth checking out and although it's a bit pricey, it's pretty much a work of art.
http://heartofthedeernicorn.com/product/fall-of-magic-scroll-edition/

I mean, sure I'm excited, but I don't know about Kevin Smith -- only a true WPI alum would really understand the...

I mean, sure I'm excited, but I don't know about Kevin Smith -- only a true WPI alum would really understand the source material..


http://io9.gizmodo.com/kevin-smith-is-making-an-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-1776882034

Last night I saw High Rise, a movie based on the book by the same name by J. G. Ballard starring Tom Hiddleston.

Last night I saw High Rise, a movie based on the book by the same name by J. G. Ballard starring Tom Hiddleston.

Would you like to see a mostly naked Tom Hiddleston? You're ticket money is well spent in the first five minutes.

The movie itself is a metaphor for societal meltdown with a very heavy dollop of blackest humor. I rather liked it, but it's a bit hard to watch in places. Not a feel-good movie but very interesting nonetheless. I actually got a grimdark Wes Anderson vibe off the picture.

Many thanks to Meguey Baker for refurbishing a quilt my mom made.

Many thanks to Meguey Baker for refurbishing a quilt my mom made. The colors are wonderful and the photos don't do it justice. Mom thought it looked great too.

The bench is sort of randomly placed alongside the trail but there's a pretty good view.

The bench is sort of randomly placed alongside the trail but there's a pretty good view.

An interesting article around the surge in overdoses/suicides among rural white Americans.

An interesting article around the surge in overdoses/suicides among rural white Americans.


https://morecrows.wordpress.com/2016/05/10/unnecessariat/

Oh man, this is excellent:

Oh man, this is excellent:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlKy9JtTYxQ

This morning, instead of going to the gym, I got out my bike and went for a ride through the Assabet River Wildlife...

This morning, instead of going to the gym, I got out my bike and went for a ride through the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge for about an hour and a half.

Honestly, I probably get a better workout at the gym (and I get some reading done to boot), but it's not nearly as pretty.

Oh Joy Sex Toy: Volume 3

I backed the first two volumes. The books are fun and sex-positive and well worth supporting even if you just grab the PDFs.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erikamoen/oh-joy-sex-toy-volume-3

oh G+, why are you so terrible at chronologically organizing my feed?

oh G+, why are you so terrible at chronologically organizing my feed?

Also, why don't you timestamp the entries?

Title

So yesterday I went to the Lyric Stage Theatre to catch a showing of _Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play.

After the apocalypse, some survivors are sitting around a fire, trying to distract themselves from the horror around them by trying to remember the Cape Feare episode.

In the next act, they're doing the show as a traveling performance.

And in the final act, we jump forward 75 years and the show is this weird, stylized opera.

It was a lot of fun and there were some great moments all the way through as well as post-show conversations.

I'd say go see it, but this is the final night so...hurry to get a ticket?

Title

If you're looking for some free mapping software (for wargaming or outdoor RPG stuff), you might be interested in this:

http://www.10mm-wargaming.com/2016/05/mappingboard.html

I have finally arrived in Community Theatre.

I have finally arrived in Community Theatre.

"Man, we came up a bit short in our auditions. We still have some slots to fill."

"You know who'd be great for this one part? Tom. I'll see if he's free."

Awww yeah, I don't have to do auditions like a schlub any more. I just rest easy knowing I'll get the leftover parts.

In this case, the leftover part is God so I'm pretty chill with that.

Ultimate Things runs July 1-9th at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.

Title

Reminder -- Ad Hoc Book club started on Sunday. We're reading Sex and Shakespeare by Jillian Keenan. We'll discuss the book at the end of the month.

Whelp, The Craft is 20 years old today. In other news, those damn kids won't get off my lawn!

Whelp, The Craft is 20 years old today. In other news, those damn kids won't get off my lawn!

J. R. R. Tolkien vs George R. R. Martin. Epic Rap Battles of History. Season 5

When Titans Clash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAAp_luluo0

So I just got done watching Tickled, a documentary by two New Zealanders about competitive endurance tickling.

So I just got done watching Tickled, a documentary by two New Zealanders about competitive endurance tickling.

Does the idea of young, muscular guys tickling each other seem like someone's fetish? Well sure, of course it does, and frankly, as far as fetishes go it's relatively harmless and kind of adorable. Perhaps a bit embarrassing but nothing too dreadful, right?

The deal here is that a NZ journalist stumbles on one of these sites and is like "tickling...huh" and posts about it and it goes a bit viral and then the journalist starts getting threatening, harassing letters from the company that runs the tickling website telling him to back off.

So of course, he does a documentary. Turns out that when young men want to stop doing the videos, those videos start appearing all over the internet and harassing letters go out to the performer, his family, potential employers...everyone. The stick is pretty harsh, but the carrot is pretty good too -- there's serious money for these performers, but you've got the boss from hell breathing down your neck.

I'm not going to say much more about this, it's opening June 17th and I'm hoping one of the local art houses will pick it up for a few screenings. It's well worth your time to check out. But until you get to see it, you should just know that all across the country, all across the world, there are "tickling cells" where young men are filmed being tickled in exchange for cash and prizes. That's a thing happening right now and when you see how it all works, you'll be dumbfounded.
http://tickledmovie.com/

Kathy Journeay -- The new Guy Gavriel Kay book Children of Earth and Sky comes out May 10th.

Kathy Journeay -- The new Guy Gavriel Kay book Children of Earth and Sky comes out May 10th. His historical template is Venice/Holy Roman Empire vs. the Ottomans. One of my favorite periods so I'll be checking into it. I will be happy to geek out with you about it afterwards.