Moving Day!

Well, it has been pretty quiet around here lately. Clearly it is time to move! If you're still following this blog you can find the new an improved Opiate of the Masses at http://www.the-opiate.com or point you feed aggregater at http://feeds.feedburner.com/the-opiate/cbGM

Hope to see you in the new joint!

What awaits...

...at the intersection of cute and killer?

Check out today's episode of "The Rack" to find out.

WWJB? - First in a Series

I am having one of those days where my mind in jumping from item to item and I can not seem to form a coherent thought. This means I have had a couple of stupid-crazy ideas so far today, one of them being compiling a list of things I would buy if I won the lottery. Of course I can't concentrate on this list long enough to make it past the first few items but it occurs to me that this list might be fun to keep therefore I am going to do this list as a series of totally random posts on the Opiate entitled WWJB? or "What Would James Buy?"

Now I would like to present #1 on the WWJB list: A Godzilla Suit.

Why? Because nothing says excess like taking care of mundane chores dressed as Godzilla. Plus I would be about 1/3rd of the way towards hosting my Godzilla-theme party where the attendees have the opportunity to dress as Godzilla and destroy parts of Tokyo.

Random Panels - Justice League of America #29

Usually I post panels here that strike me as funny however I just wanted to post this panel which demonstrates what makes comics fun: you can do ANYTHING and the audience buys it. There was not a moment when I saw this panel where I thought, "WTF?!?" This sense of the impossible being possible is something I think the most recent incarnation of the Superman movie franchise lost. This is not to say I did not like the film, to the contrary I REALLY like Singer's Superman, however I think the movie could have used a bit more of this and a bit less of the Dark Knight-esque angst.

From "Star Struck" in the 29th issue of the latest incarnation of Justice League of America.
Len Wein, writer
Chris Cross (makes me want to jump jump), pencils
Rob Stull with Chris Cross (who still makes me want to jump jump), inks

Shadowrun@20

This past week I learned that Shadowrun, my most favoritest RPG EVAR, turns 20 this year. I have no idea why this was such a surprise as I have been playing the game since I was in high school. Of course it may have been a surprise since I still think of myself as 18 and the thought that I started high school over 20 years ago now is really, really depressing.

Anyhoo, as part of the celebration* the Shadowrun developers, now at Catalyst Game Labs, are throwing open the gates and having an open call for anniversary adventures. Here is part of the call from the website:

Shadowrun has enjoyed enormous fan support over the years and many of our current freelancers have come up from the fanbase. So, we’ve decided to try something different this year and give our fans the chance of contributing a little something to the official Shadowrun universe. To celebrate 20 years of Shadowrun, Catalyst Game Labs is inviting fans to submit a proposal for a fully developed, standalone adventure which will be published as an e-book. Furthermore, we’re specifically looking for proposals that play off the stories, plots, and adventures released in Shadowrun’s early years.

I don't know where my adventure notes are, but I do have rather fond memories of an adventure that Jack and I co-GMed back in the day. I might just try and dust off those memories and see if I can get the requisite materials put together before the March 15th deadline**. Personally I think they ought to do this every year but that is just me.

For those of you who might doubt my 'runner cred, I offer this picture of my library of Shadowrun RPG books:


I am only missing some of the newer 4th edition books. Not pictured is my complete collection of the Ka-Ge and Shadowland magazines, my Denver and DMZ boxed sets, and the smattering of Shadowrun novels which I own.


* One of these times I would like to see someone totally blow off the 20th anniversary and have an EPIC blowout for the 21st anniversary.

** If Jack or any of my old players want to help with this, give me a call or shoot me an email.

Random Thought - 2-27-08

In order for this to be funny you need to know that today was Go Texan Day around the office since the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which will be the bane of my commuting existence for the next month, is about to get underway. Thus some people around the office were dressed a little more cowboy than usual.

Earlier today as I was talking with a coworker I heard the distinct sound of slapping coming from one of the lawyers offices and the first thought that went through my mind was, "Man, I did not know that the release of Brokeback Mountain changed the meaning of 'cowboy up' to THAT."

Some days my head hurts me in ways only therapy might be able to heal.

Random Panels - Jack of Fables #30

I thought this panel was appropriate in light of President Obama's speech last night.

From the ALWAYS excellent and highly recommended Fables, in this case issue #30, "The Book of Restoration"
Matthew Sturges & Bill Willingham, writers
Russ Braun, pencils
Jose Marzan, inks