StanleyWheeler

Ninety minutes of misery that's how I had determined to classify the concert as the first half wound down to the intermission. My wife tried to persuade my daughter to leave at that point, but daughter wanted to see more David Archuleta . He only did one number during the first half and she knew that he would be doing at least one more song. So we didn't slip away like thieves in the night. That was probably for the best as the second half showed some improvement--in fact, it would have been a nice concert if it had consisted of only the second half. Actually, there was a piano solo that I believe came before the intermission which I thought was great--the piano solo, I mean, not the intermission. I received some free tickets to a concert (a food donation was required). The concert featured Marie Osmond, David Achuleta, and Alex Boye -- that's all I knew about it. I left the decision about going to wife and daughter. Daughter decided she wanted to go--so we did. Befo...

Bond and Thor - because girl power Every time word of a movie remake with a gender swapped lead appears, the articles praising it sprout like noxious weeds. The latest word concerns the upcoming entries in the Bond and Thor franchises. This article explains that gender swap remakes have fared poorly in the past . Some claim the continuing cavalcade of lame gender swap remakes is a sign of progress. Others say it's an indication that women aren't capable of carrying their own original movies and can only climb aboard franchises already made successful with male stars. See this article . Of course they're both wrong. It's only a sign of progress if "progress" is defined as failure to learn and insistence upon a false narrative. It's like claiming that communism just hasn't been implemented correctly yet, and it's going to succeed beyond our wildest dreams if we just get the right people in charge (meaning those who want to be in charge ...

A few weeks ago I engaged in a new game. What follows is an after actin report of the adventure. Rescue from the Hangman's Noose - a home brew scenario of Flashing Steel Athos, Aramis, Porthos and D'Artagnan (at 501 points) must rescue the prisoner before he is hanged. He is guarded by Lt. Rousseau on horseback and 5 more of the Cardinal's Guard on foot (at 500 points). Each musketeer rolls 1d6 to determine at which of the 6 possible entrances he will arrive. The house/scenario rules employed include that if a model has one failure on its activation roll, any opposing model may roll for a reaction move, and, if successful, complete it before the original model begins its action(s); if a model rolls two failures on activation, an opposing model may roll for a reaction move and complete it before the original model begins its action; after the original model's action, the initiative passes to the opposing squad. If a musketeer rolls a catastrophic fail (th...

Let me first note that in the Spirit of 1776, I've completed 76K words on Power to Hurt , and I'm offering FREE pdf copies of the first book in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series  Threading the Rude Eye . Contact me through the comments and give me your email address to receive your free copy. This offer is good for a limited time. I hope to give away a hundred free copies before Power to Hurt is ready for purchase. Independence Day marched in again to the sound of trumpets, drums, fireworks, fanfare, and whining. It's the latter that I'll address somewhere below. As for me and my house, we attended the veteran's march in our community. The A-10s roared over at the conclusion (or about fifteen minutes after the conclusion) for the fleeting pleasure of the happy, patriotic throng. Following the Wart hog fly-by, I had to go home to attend to a problem of no small significant. Fortunately, much like the song says, I got by with a little help from my friends-...