Count down to Doom

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Team USA Defeats World Cup Referees!

In what is possibly the most amazing soccer game I have ever witnessed, (rather few, admittedly) the US Women's team meted out justice in an epic win over the referee assisted Brazilian team. I was not able to watch too, too much of the game, as there were customers to deal with. But I was able, as luck would have it, see some of the highlights. Did not see the own goal by Brazil's Daiane. Did see the questionable penalty call that resulted in Brazil getting free shots on goal until they scored. Marta, Brazil's star and considered the best woman soccer player in the world, play acted convincingly enough to get US player Bueler red-carded. This put the US a (wo)man down, as well as set up a penalty kick. A dramatic save was negated by a pretty petty encroachment call. OK, by the letter of the rules, it was encroachment. But it was a tikky-takky call, and really had no bearing on the play. The re-kick was a goal, and the game was tied.

In the ET, (extended time) Brazil jumped out quick in a questionable offsides non-call. Marta scores a goal, when Maurine, the player who assisted looked to be offsides. However, some of the blame lays on the US defender, who slacked off paying attention to Marta, and you just don't do that. Down 2-1, the US tried to even it out. Success in the latest scored goal in World Cup play, in the 122nd minute. Thank you Erika, the Brazilian who rolled on the ground "in pain", for your attempt to kill time. It was at least the second one, and by far the most dramatic, especialy after she got up and "limped" back to her bench. I have few opinions on what should and shouldn't be in soccer, but anyone who does that crap should get a yellow card, at least. You never see the team behind do that BS. However, as I said, that crappy theatrics helped the US. I will give the referee a bit of credit. The first US PK was blocked, but a re-kick was allowed, which went in.

This win is all the more great, as it is a triumph in the face of yet more anti-US sentiment in an international competition.

The ESPN coverage is here...for now.

Signs of the Apocalypse (or just things that make you go "hmmm...)

Proof that this city's government has nothing better to do:

No garden for you!

Is there any way that the playground can claim diplomatic immunity?

Screw the American Kids!

Irony n: Any time a Democrat invokes religion.

Maybe God will call them home...

Something Cool From Hasbro! Finally!

Many years ago, Milton Bradley released the best of its Gamemaster series. Considering one of them was Axis and Allies, that may be considered a bold statement. Alas, I will stand by my statement that Shogun (later released with minor rulebook changes as Samurai Swords) was the best of the five games in the Gamemaster series. Sure, Broadsides and Boarding Parties and Conquest of the Empire were in the series, but so was the awesomely themed Fortress America. While Axis and Allies has seen many editions and versions, the only other game to get a re-release was Conquest of the Empire. Well, now Hasbro, under its Avalon Hill brand, is releasing Ikusa, a nearly perfect reproduction (component-wise) of this terrific game. Click the link to go to the Boardgame Geek page full of details.

Heard That Before

I remember that it was said the new electronic means of storing data would eliminate all paper print outs. That was over 30 years ago, and we produce more paper copies than ever before. I don't see the death of media anytime soon.

Less Than Meets The Eye

Another summer blockbuster, another mediocre movie. This time, it was Transformers 3, known as Dark of the Moon. I think it should be named Slow of the Motion.

Turns out that the whole moon race is so that the Americans can beat the Russians to a crashed ship from Cybertron and learn a secret or two. The astronauts return with five pillars of unknown use. This part of the film was pretty interesting, as skilled casting and decent CGI render a fair looking Kennedy and Nixon. Robert McNamera was well done, as well. The items linger until there are energon readings from Chernobyl. Somehow the Soviets got a piece of the ship, as well, like magic. This leads to a Decepticon attack, and anger on the part of Optimus Prime, complaining the humans are holding out.

Sam (played by Shia LeBeouf) is jobless, despite saving our asses, twice, and getting a medal to prove it. Shacking up with Carley (Victoria Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) isn't enough, he needs a job, as his parents remind him. Fortunately for him, the Decepticons begin their power play. Action ensues, sort of. One thing that bugged me was the constant slow-motion of the action scenes. The Autobots transform in slo-mo, swing at Decepticons in slo-mo, Rangers dodge falling OV-22s in slo-mo, it just keeps going to the point of boredom. There are a handful of plot "twists" that are not that shocking when they are revealed, because you see them from three miles away. There are not too many plot holes, such as when Sam runs from Laserbeak, who now looks like a ragged buzzard, rather than a sleek hawk or falcon. Laserbeak shoots up the office, yet gives up once Sam makes it to the streets. The fights make little sense, as one second Autobots meekly await execution, the very next, they rip the guts out of the Decepticons. Makes no sense to not fight when you can morph weapons on your arm.

On my scale, Transformers: Dark of the Moon gets a solid "Meh", which would equate 2 out of four stars. Didn't suck as much as Green Lantern.

Oh Noes! The Romanian Abdication!

Twilight Struggle is, at this time, my number one favorite game (that I can get anyone to play...Twilight Imperium is still my top), as well as that of the people on Boardgamegeek.com. I play on-line about once or twice a week through the great VASSAL module, or face-to-face, and despite my slayer-oath to play the US until I win, I enjoy every game.

TS is what is known as a "Card Driven Game". Players are dealt a hand of cards, each of which has a value (1-4 in TS, more in some games) and an event relevant to the theme of the game. In the case of TS, it is the Cold War. Each card is associated to either one of the superpowers, or to neither. Playing a card with your opponents event triggers the event, giving rise to difficult decisions as the game progresses. There are the ones you would expect, like the Cuban Missile Crisis, U2 Incident, and so forth. There is one, though, that is quite obscure, to me, at least. The Romanian Abdication card. I had no idea that this was considered that important to the Cold War. Anyone familiar with the game would ask, "Why would the US even put influence in Romania!?" Soviets get a free country! Seems that the Romanian Abdication actually was a big deal.

After reading this article, the most fascinating thing about it is this guy is still alive. He is one of the last living heads of state from World War Two. (There are only two others) Forced at gunpoint to quit his throne in 1947, he is ready to pick up where he left off. Trouble is, as of 2008, only 16% want him back.

By the way, Kitchen Debates is actually my favorite card, just for the picture. The look on Khrushchev's face at Nixon (then Vice-President) is classic. "Who the Hell does this jack-ass think he is!?" "I'm Nixon, damn you!"

Who does this?

I know that commercials rely on some dumb and/ or absurd assumptions. Things like horses playing football or a dog renting a safety deposit box for a bone. But this commercial is just dumb-ass.




Who the Hell puts a big-ass disgusting spider on their phone? Mine has my wife, and my dog. Plus something about that woman makes me want to slap her. Overreaction big-time.

IV Never Seen This Before

Some people are just too desperate to get up to no good.

Meanwhile, the new Captain America looks damn good. I say new, because I remember marquee posters advertising a Captain America movie back in the 1990's. It was a while before I realized that the movie wasn't released. Only later did I discover it was so poor that it went straight to video. I watched it and the only thing I remember was it was pretty bad. Thinking maybe I will see Transformers 3 tomorrow, unless I can get in some boardgaming. I wasn't that impressed with the first one. Some of the scenes were just absurd, such as Optimus Prime trying to hide in a backyard. Weak. Never saw the second one. Thank goodness Deathly Hallows part 2 is almost upon us.

Watch While You Still Can!

I do not watch a great deal of television. For the most part, I find television shows to be rather pathetic. I don't count having the History Channel on in the background as TV. So, when there is a show on that looks good, it can literally double the time I spend in front of the TV. So it was with a bit of excitement that I looked forward to the TNT network show Falling Skies. Alien invasion has been played out for the most part, with the initially fine, but then staggeringly miserable V. This was the year of alien invasion, with Battle: Los Angeles and Skyline in theaters. If you watched Falling Skies looking for spaceships blasting the weakling humans, you will be disappointed. The story of the invasion is told by children narrating crayon drawings of the aliens devastating humanity, so the action picks up with the resistance fighting back.

Set in the area of Boston, the show follows a resistance group holed up in a high school. They raid the aliens, known as "Skitters", who walk on four spidery legs. The Skitters have bipedal mechs with one arm a wicked claw, the other a wicked missile launcher. After killing the majority of the adults, the aliens enslaved children through means of a harness attached to the back and neck. This turns them into little more than zombies under control of the Skitters. A huge construction is visible over the skyline of Boston, and it is later learned that all the major cities have a similar building in them, as well.

As far as TV sci-fi goes, it is pretty run of the mill. The aliens are ugly, looking like a cross between a spider and a human, the mechs are incongruously sleek. The humans are riven with infighting and personal battles. There is a decided dark tone, however, as the enslavement of children 10-16 years old or so is somewhat disturbing. There is a scene where several are massacred in retaliation for a rescue attempt.

Overall, it remains to be seen just how far the series will go. (I have only seen 2 episodes.) The reviews have been mixed, however, and I am not sure just how tolerant TNT is of struggling shows. If it was on FOX, it would have been killed by now.

P.S. How The States Got Their Shapes is the best show on the History Channel, followed by (don't laugh...) Larry the Cable Guy's show Only in America. The Big Bang Theory has had a cancel worthy season this year.

The Best $1.99 I ever spent

Still enjoying my honeymoon with my "new" iPhone, I was browsing the App Store through iTunes when I noticed an entry under the "R"s that said simply "Rulebooks". Intrigued, I clicked it and discovered an app that made the rulebooks for approximately 75 games. Not stupid ones like Monopoly or Risk, but awesome ones, like Tide of Iron, Traders of Genoa, and so forth. While I am conceivably too cheap to part with a buck for some app with 1000 drink recipes, a mere buck ninety-nine was a bargain for this, especially since I was e-mailing myself pdf's of some of the rulebooks I have, like Paths of Glory, and 1960: The Making of the President.

Another bargain at $2.99, the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. The Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, and The Shadow over Innsmouth, at my fingertips. In-frikkin-genious!

iPhone FTW

About 16 months or so ago, I went into my local AT&T store with a mission: I was going to enter the 21st century and finally have a cutting edge mobile phone. I wanted a smart phone. I had always been one generation behind on the phones. When texting phones came out, mine was a plain-Jane calls only. When the camera phones came out, I had one without. By the time I got a camera phone, video phones were out. You get the point.

Trouble was, I am a hater. Apple is a four letter word to me. My iPod has scars that belied its infrequent use, (though now I like it, having filled it with nearly 40 days of Old Time Radio shows and gaming podcasts) as it had no battery life. Sure, it was a first generation iPod, but hey. So into AT&T I went and gave the sales rep a mission. I want a phone that does what an iPhone does, but isn't an iPhone. My main beef with the iPhone was the biggest feature...the touch screen. When I tried to play the various games, or surf, my fat fingering of the keyboard and the screen was frustrating. The auto-correct was an obnoxious know-it-all, but never suggested the word you were trying to type. So I was directed to the Blackberry Bold 9000. It featured a physical keyboard, and a tiny little track ball. It also featured suck.

There was rather little it could do. Apps were few, games fewer, and the browser would lock up often. I was pulling it's battery at least once a week. In short, mere minutes after I got it, I hated it. The track ball would act up, on and on. So when AT&T had iPhone 3 GS for 50 bucks, I was chomping at the bit. Sure, it may be only 75% of the new 4G, but it is like night and day. I hated the Blackberry, but love the iPhone. My two favorite things about it? I have the entire series of Firefly on it, and I can put PDFs on it, namely the Twilight Struggle and Paths of Glory rulebooks, games I play online, and have packed away. Separating rulebooks from the games is verbooten, so this way I have access to them while they are safely away. A few GURPS books, and I can roleplay anywhere. If I can just get the classic D&D or Pathfinder onto it...Even the hour and a half it took me to transfer over the M.U.L.E. theme ringtone I have didn't bother me...too much.

If anyone can use a slightly beat-up, perfectly functional (for a Blackberry) phone, let me know. Free to a good home.