| Volume Fifty-Seven, Issue Fifteen |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|11:59 pm] |
News
- ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) theforcenet posted TFU: Ultimate Sith Edition PC Patch.
- theforcenet posted Old SW Related The Apprentice to Air in UK.
- theforcenet posted TCW: Short Interview With Meredith Salenger.
- theforcenet posted Scavengers Guide to Droids RPG Book.
Discussion/Questions
- ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) fialleril discussed Landing at Point Rain.
- puckkit is looking for a Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan fic.
Fic
- yawns_widely wrote "Back Drifting Chapter 3". (Rated PG-13; Obi-Wan, Darth Vader)
- emeraldstag wrote "Lasting Impression" [drabble]. (Rated PG-13, Luke/Mara)
Polls
- lazypadawan has This week’s poll!
Challenges/Contests
- ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) anakin_icontest posted Challenge 53 Reminder.
- obidalastills posted Challenge 75 Extension.
Graphics/Icons
- _childish_fears posted 137 Hayden, Natalie, and Star Wars icons.
Miscellaneous
- theforcenet posted FOTJ: Allies Blurb Online at Amazon.
- starwars_today posted Drawing Barriss Offee.
- starwars_today posted Video Commentary: The Shape of Things.
- theforcenet posted Random Weekend Star Wars Fun (11/14 & 15).
- theforcenet posted FCTV Presents Episode Four and a Half.
If you have anything to contribute, please leave a comment including a link, title, rating, and characters/pairing, as appropriate, on this post. If you have anything that should be reported, let us know! We encourage it, in fact. Pimp yourself, pimp others, pimp anything of any interest unto the SW fandom. All comments will be screened. |
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| This Week's Poll! |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|06:44 pm] |
In last week's poll, TPM's teaser poster won as a favorite by a huge margin.
Poll #1486026 Star Wars Build A Bear
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 12Which kind of SW Build A Bear Would You Buy, If You Wanted To Buy One? |
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| Holiday Party 2009! |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|05:13 pm] |
Can you believe it? This is 10 years in a row. Time flies, etc.
If you're in Cleveland or could arrange to be so, ( read on. ) |
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| The Trail of Cthulhu Comes to a Tentacle-y End |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|12:25 pm] |
Last night was the exciting conclusion of my Trail of Cthulhu story. Before we get to specifics, a few words on the game itself.
Gotta say, it does exactly what it wants to. Running the game just requires making sure you know what Lovecraftian/Mythos style you're going for (I went Purist) and sticking to that. To wit, making sure that difficulty numbers don't get revealed ahead of time, and generally keeping folks in the dark. That's not hard, though I did find myself thinking that if I were going to run this kind of game Pulp style, I'd be more inclined to run Spirit of the Century instead.
One of my players commented that this system (GUMSHOE) was very much in keeping with the way I run games anyway. And that's true; it's been my policy when running horror/mystery games (which is what I do most of the time) to present the facts, let the players find clues, but leave the interpretation up to them. And I'll tell you why I like that: Because one of my biggest pet peeves when I'm playing a game (you paying attention, danieltallon?) is when the GM spends too much time butting in to the players' discussions. That's especially annoying when the dialog is happening in-character, and we're getting some momentum, and the GM jumps in to correct some point.
In some settings (like homebrews, or settings with a lot of backstory like Shadowrun), it's kind of unavoidable, but in settings like WoD or even Trail of Cthulhu, the players should know enough of the world at large to be able to sustain discussion. And, fuck it, if I'm the player I'm happy to just make shit up rather than take the time to ask the GM, "Wait, would my character know this?" or "What does my character know about this?" If I'm totally off base in a game-destroying way, then, yeah, it's appropriate to stop and set things straight. Mostly, though? Let the players play.
So, anyway, GUMSHOE is nice because not only does it play nice with my GM style, but it removes a lot of dice-rolling, since you don't roll to find clues. That speeds things up during play, at the possible expense of some of my improvisation, since I need to make clues up ahead of time.
Anyway, with all that in mind, ( on to the finale! ) |
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| My own horn. Hear me toot it. |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|11:03 am] |
For those of you who might've been waiting, Agents of Artifice is now available in paperback. :-)
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Borders
Powell's
A Magic: the Gathering novel, AoA is the start of the new "Planeswalker" series of books, and was written specifically to provide a jumping-on point for new readers while still appealing to existing fans. You should require no real familiarity with the Magic setting to enjoy the book. :-) |
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| Volume Fifty-Seven, Issue Fourteen |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|07:58 pm] |
News
- theforcenet posted TCW: "Weapons Factory" Episode Guide.
- theforcenet posted TOR Introduces The Imperial Agent.
- posted Photo caption contest returns on SW.com.
- theforcenet posted 3rd Annual Red Stick Rebellion Toy Drive.
Discussion/Questions
- ladyaeryn reviewed TCW 2x06--Weapons Factory.
- theforcenet posted TFN Review: Weapons Factory.
- lazypadawan posted Clone Wars Debriefing: "Weapons Factory".
- theforcenet posted The Clone Wars: DVD Review.
- arisuke_84 asked if Barriss Offee is a Knight or a Padawan.
Fic
- ladyaeryn wrote "Opus". (Rated PG, Vader, Ahsoka)
Challenges/Contests
- swicontest has Challenge 101 Voting.
- leiastillness has Challenge 37 Banners.
Pictures
- buff_iroh posted 8 Anakin & Ahsoka screencaps.
Capslock Content
- westinfield posted Barriss Leads The Shape Revolution.
- chuchulainn posted New Episode Discussion, Etc..
If you have anything to contribute, please leave a comment including a link, title, rating, and characters/pairing, as appropriate, on this post. If you have anything that should be reported, let us know! We encourage it, in fact. Pimp yourself, pimp others, pimp anything of any interest unto the SW fandom. All comments will be screened. |
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| A needed update |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|12:45 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  artistic | ] |
It's been a bad week. Just really stressful and difficult. But it is the weekend now and I feel a lot better. Generally, things have been awesome! I've been feeling incredibly inspired and motivated about my art! A couple weeks ago I decided that I needed to kick things up a notch and really start working hard. So I've been spending 2 hours every day doing head paintings. It's just an extracurricular thing to help me improve and I was doing great about it until this past week. I missed a few days which is a huge bummer but I am back on track now. It is helpful! I am learning a lot and trying to put in the time and effort to improve. I am putting my head paintings up on my art blog thing so that I can track my progress and hopefully get input.
I feel inspired. I finally feel like something has kicked on inside me that says "Yes! This is what I am doing and I am going to work hard and get amazingly good at it!" There was a time when I was just sitting there expecting that a teacher might say "You shouldn't bother with this. you suck" and I would have packed up my paint and given up. But I have crossed over into this place where if a teacher said that I wouldn't care. I would do it anyway. I need to do it. I want to do it. I feel something incredible that is driving me. I want to keep that. I want to work hard. I want to put in the hours that will lead me to become great. I know there are a lot of them, a whole lifetime of them, but I want to do it. It's a good feeling. Of course, I feel it less some days than others but it is always there. I feel more purposeful and more sure.
Now I'm going to go to bed. I wanted to write a lot more and have it be interesting and awesome but I am pretty tired and there will be plenty of things to do tomorrow so I should get some sleep! |
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| Volume Fifty-Seven, Issue Thirteen |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|09:13 pm] |
News
- starwars_vip posted Recent updates, articles and products (RPGs & Minis).
- theforcenet posted Weekly ForceCast: 11/13/09.
- theforcenet posted ForceCast Nominated For 2009 Podcast Awards.
- starwars_today posted On the Move: The Clone Wars Return to 9pm.
- starwars_today posted Move Over Ewoks: Star Wars Build-A-Bears Are Here.
- theforcenet posted Jedi Journals Focus: Draw Star Wars-The Clone Wars.
Fic
- caffeinatedkate wrote "Welcome Home". (Rated PG-13, Obi-Wan/Anakin)
- lazypadawan wrote "Secret Night". (Rated R, Anakin/Padmé)
Challenges/Contests
- starwars_vip has "Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars" draw Cad Bane challenge.
- starwars_today has Caption This Photo!.
- obidalastills has Challenge #75 reminder.
Graphics/Icons
- potix posted 10 Leia icons.
- klinche posted 6 RotS icons.
Miscellaneous
- officialswblog posted Jaime King Picks Up Clone Wars DVD Box Set.
- starwars_today posted Meredith Salenger as Barriss Offee.
- posted 'Weapons Factory' promo vid.
- starwars_today posted The Old Republic Update: Spying on the Imperial Agent!.
If you have anything to contribute, please leave a comment (including a link, title, rating, and characters/pairing, as appropriate) on this post. If you have anything that should be reported, let us know! We encourage it, in fact. Pimp yourself, pimp others, pimp anything of any interest unto the SW fandom. All comments will be screened. |
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| New Viggie: Secret Night |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|07:23 pm] |
Secret Night
Starring: Anakin/Padmé
Rated: R for nookie
Plot: After the events of "Senate Spy" in Clone Wars, Anakin and Padmé have uninterrupted nookie
( Look away kiddies ) |
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| Why Churches Piss Me Right Off |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|04:48 pm] |
Read this. In brief, the Catholic Church is threatening to withdraw support from social services in DC unless a same-sex marriage law goes away.
Now, you can argue secular vs. religious all you like, and I might even agree - the government shouldn't force the Church to do something that goes against its dogma. But if that's their decision, if they really are going to make their charity contingent upon the recipient's behavior (since being gay isn't a sin, just fucking like you're gay, right?), then that's not very Christian.
Depending on which version of Christianity you're watching, of course. Hey, here's a wacky thought. What say we just help people out regardless of how they like to fuck? That sounds pretty much in keeping with the myths of Christ that most folks like to believe in, yeah?
Meanwhile, in local (to me) news, there's an Ohio legislator who has a pair of balls that I admire (perhaps later). He's trying to get that bullshit "Defense of Marriage" law that Ohioans who are assholes voted into our fucking state constitution some years back repealed. If you're in Ohio, consider writing him a letter of support.
And in non-political news, mom's taking us to Smokey Bones for dinner tonight, which is awesome, so I'll be off now. Hoping to do a character or two this weekend, perhaps a sex-filter post, but definitely a game write-up, since we're playing Trail of Cthulhu tomorrow. |
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| Volume Fifty-Seven, Issue Twelve |
[Nov. 12th, 2009|09:11 pm] |
News
- posted The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition gets rated.
- posted The fandom minute: The internet loves costume contests, slave Leia, and the concept of a Jabba sitcom.
- theforcenet posted Miller Touches On The End Of KotOR.
- posted Roundup: What do we know about the Star Wars live action TV show?.
Discussion/Questions
- lazypadawan discussed is Clone Wars too violent for the younglings?.
Art
- officialswblog posted Carrie Fisher Wishful Drinking Art Prints.
Fic
- cariel wrote "Cat and Mouse, Chapter 1: Fear". (Rated M, Anakin/Dormé)
- ansketil_rose wrote a variety of SW fic. (Drabbles; Ratings vary from G to R; various characters)
- ansketil_rose wrote "Persuasion". (Rated PGR, Palpatine/Padmé)
Challenges/Contests
- anakin_icontest has Challenge #53 reminder.
- leiastillness has Challenge #37 results.
Graphics/Icons
- carrieross posted 32 Han & Luke icons.
Pictures
- theforcenet posted Star Wars: In Concert Pics From CT.
Miscellaneous
- posted Restoring Star Wars for the Special Editions.
- bonniegrrl posted PVC Lightsaber Craft.
- officialswblog posted Darth Vader Gives Blood.
- officialswblog posted R2-D2 Mailbox in Iraq.
- theforcenet posted Boba Fett Plays The Accordian?.
- starwars_today posted Insider Excerpt: Clone Wars Producer Cary Silver.
- starwars_today posted LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2.
If you have anything to contribute, please leave a comment (including a link, title, rating, and characters/pairing, as appropriate) on this post. If you have anything that should be reported, let us know! We encourage it, in fact. Pimp yourself, pimp others, pimp anything of any interest unto the SW fandom. All comments will be screened. |
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| Is Clone Wars Too Violent For The Younglings? |
[Nov. 12th, 2009|06:20 pm] |
Yesterday I saw linked on Club Jade a couple of articles on whether Clone Wars has gone too far with violence in a show that is marketed to kids. What raised the hubbub was last week's episode "Landing At Point Rain." Fans loved it but were the flaming Geonosians and clonetroopers blown out of the sky a bit too much for the small fry?
It is interesting that after four broadcasts (five episode) at 8 p.m., CW is going back to its 9 p.m. slot. Sure it gets repeated at different times but I have to wonder if there were complaints sent to Cartoon Network or if the guys at the network decided that CW is a little rough for 8 p.m.. The show is mega-popular with boys 6-12 and there's a ton of merch aimed at kids age 3 on up. But there have been concerns before about violence and even mild swearing in that episode from last season, "Rookies." Even in the first few episodes of this season, clonetroopers are slaughtered, a Jedi is tortured to death, and there's a knockdown fight between Cad Bane and Ahsoka. Ahsoka seems to break or dislocate Cad's arm at one point, while the Cadster kicks Ahsoka in the gut. Babies are put in peril.
I'm not a parent, so maybe my perspective is worthless. But I don't think CW is any more violent than any of the Star Wars films and if parents let their kids watch the movies, I don't see why they would have a problem with the show. It might be too much for a two-year-old, but I think two is a little young for SW anyway. And if it bothers you that much, DVR the show, watch it first, and "censor" the parts that might frighten your kids. CW isn't a patch on fare you find on network television either. "Heroes" toned down its gore somewhat now that it's on at 8, but it was on at 9, it was one of the goriest shows on t.v.. The CSI franchise has pushed the gore envelope for years. As Richard Roeper said in his review of ROTS, chances are your kids play video games that are a lot more violent.
Some are less concerned with content than with context…is CW glorifying war and violence as a way to solve your problems? One of the articles was troubled by Anakin and Ahsoka's score-keeping and felt there should have been a definitive message that This Is Bad. But what's great about CW is that they've miraculously kept the frying pan style of delivering a message to a minimum. With the heavy-handed exceptions of "Jedi Crash" and "Trespass," CW is more subtle, designed to make you ask questions instead of answering them for you. Clearly the war is changing the role of the Jedi and they are being made to contradict their own philosophy in order to fit into that role. Maybe that's a little sophisticated for a very small child, but that's why parents are supposed to watch with their kids and discuss these things.
Don't get me wrong, I think excessive, gratuitous violence and sex on t.v. are problematic and kids are exposed to far too much of it. But I can guarantee you there won't be anyone sitting on death row in the future because he watched CW when he was nine. |
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6 (50.0%)
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accomplished