I liked the season premiere.
But you know what? (And I offer this without legal claim because it's just an idea.)
I'd like them to do an episode that presents the Cyborg Superman as an actual character and explains the name "Cyborg Superman." Essentially, they'd do bits from the last couple of years, mostly from Hank Henshaw's viewpoint, and actually put some meat on him, some complexity.
Which of course makes me think about running the occasional villain-centric episode of an RPG campaign, rather like the JLU episode "Task Force X."
Friday, October 13, 2017
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Has the suck fairy visited any of these?
I was thinking fondly of some films, and I would show them to my children...except I don't know if the suck fairy has gotten to them in the intervening decades.
Actually, I was going to make a list, but really, any film from before 2000 might have been visited by the Sexism or Racism fairies. I used to love The Stunt Man but I'm afraid to rewatch it.
- Young Frankenstein
Actually, I was going to make a list, but really, any film from before 2000 might have been visited by the Sexism or Racism fairies. I used to love The Stunt Man but I'm afraid to rewatch it.
Digression...a fantasy world
SYSTEM: None
So I've been wondering why I don't read fantasy much any more. Besides the general oddly-I-don't-read-much-anymore reason, this is what irks me about fantasy right now. (And before I list it, let me point out that (a) this is a personal list, and (b) that I know there are exceptions, but right now I don't have a mechanism for finding the exceptions.
And because I haven't been reading fantasy, I might not even be right about the current state of fantasy. You are free to disagree with my opinions. I might be wrong, and I might change my mind. I'm not saying that these things aren't allowed to exist—they certainly are, but I don't have to read them.
First, personal taste: I like grimdark as a spice, not as a steady diet. So while I enjoy books by Joe Abercrombie, they aren't what I want to read most of the time. If your story is set in a crapsack world, I don't particularly want to read it right now. (A lot of my tastes right now are informed by having cancer: I don't actually want to read something where I have to search hard for the glimmer of hope—I get that in reality, thank you.)
I am tired of D&D with the serial numbers filed off. Various D&D worlds make no sense. I don't mind cod-medieval, but there's so much stuff that comes with it that you either have to justify or explain away.
I am tired of the whole "alpha-beta-gamma" thing happening in the urban fantasy stuff I pick up. I've read some of the original works on animals where they put the idea forward and (a) the representations in fiction and popular culture are nowhere near as nuanced as reality, and (b) I have some trouble applying the popular representation to people because people are a bit more complex than the whole "you're a beta so you're a whimpering coward ha ha ha" thing I see on certain toxic social networks.
I am tired of sloppy worldbuilding. Yes, there's totally a place for something that is primarily symbolic, and I can even accept fridge logic where I won't notice the problem until after I read the book. (Hey, I've read Dan Brown...I can accept fridge logic.) But if the story raises questions to me about the world-building while I'm reading it and I don't catch some hint that this inconsistency will be addressed or even acknowledged later...well, I'm probably not going to read book two in the series, and I might not pick it up again after I put it down. (I don't even mean things like storing energy for weapons, which pretty much everybody gets wrong.)
I am tired of "but the protagonist is special" stories. Well, all protagonists are special by virtue of the fact that it's their story, but they are royalty or nobility, are a mutant, are the Chosen One, or have more midichlorians than anyone else. Yes, that property comes down to us from Ancient Greek drama, where only royalty could star in tragedies.
I am leery of steampunk stories that ignore the classist parts of Victorian society while modelling everything else on Victorian society.
In general, I am leery of Third Artist Syndrome in areas where I'm educated enough to know the difference. (I can't find a good link to explain Third Artist Syndrome; Jo Walton explained it on her LiveJournal once, but she's deleted that account, and the other hit from a Google search is to James Nicoll, who refers to it but doesn't explain it. There might be another name for it.)
(Man, I'm picky.)
So, you know, like my filter that science fiction stories not be "the American Revolution in space," these filters eliminate huge swathes of fantasy.
Ah, somebody quoted Jo Walton's post on their tumblr and now I'm totally going to steal Jo's text, because the original article is deleted:
"The first artist goes out and paints from life. The second artist copies the first artist. The third artist copies the second artist. (I’ve usually seen this analogy applies to fantasy, with Tolkien as the first artist.) The first artist put things in because there were there, or in the case of SF, because they were new cool speculation. The second artist put them in because they were trying to get close to the first. The third artist put them in because heck, that’s what you put in."
So I've been wondering why I don't read fantasy much any more. Besides the general oddly-I-don't-read-much-anymore reason, this is what irks me about fantasy right now. (And before I list it, let me point out that (a) this is a personal list, and (b) that I know there are exceptions, but right now I don't have a mechanism for finding the exceptions.
And because I haven't been reading fantasy, I might not even be right about the current state of fantasy. You are free to disagree with my opinions. I might be wrong, and I might change my mind. I'm not saying that these things aren't allowed to exist—they certainly are, but I don't have to read them.
First, personal taste: I like grimdark as a spice, not as a steady diet. So while I enjoy books by Joe Abercrombie, they aren't what I want to read most of the time. If your story is set in a crapsack world, I don't particularly want to read it right now. (A lot of my tastes right now are informed by having cancer: I don't actually want to read something where I have to search hard for the glimmer of hope—I get that in reality, thank you.)
I am tired of D&D with the serial numbers filed off. Various D&D worlds make no sense. I don't mind cod-medieval, but there's so much stuff that comes with it that you either have to justify or explain away.
I am tired of the whole "alpha-beta-gamma" thing happening in the urban fantasy stuff I pick up. I've read some of the original works on animals where they put the idea forward and (a) the representations in fiction and popular culture are nowhere near as nuanced as reality, and (b) I have some trouble applying the popular representation to people because people are a bit more complex than the whole "you're a beta so you're a whimpering coward ha ha ha" thing I see on certain toxic social networks.
I am tired of sloppy worldbuilding. Yes, there's totally a place for something that is primarily symbolic, and I can even accept fridge logic where I won't notice the problem until after I read the book. (Hey, I've read Dan Brown...I can accept fridge logic.) But if the story raises questions to me about the world-building while I'm reading it and I don't catch some hint that this inconsistency will be addressed or even acknowledged later...well, I'm probably not going to read book two in the series, and I might not pick it up again after I put it down. (I don't even mean things like storing energy for weapons, which pretty much everybody gets wrong.)
I am tired of "but the protagonist is special" stories. Well, all protagonists are special by virtue of the fact that it's their story, but they are royalty or nobility, are a mutant, are the Chosen One, or have more midichlorians than anyone else. Yes, that property comes down to us from Ancient Greek drama, where only royalty could star in tragedies.
I am leery of steampunk stories that ignore the classist parts of Victorian society while modelling everything else on Victorian society.
In general, I am leery of Third Artist Syndrome in areas where I'm educated enough to know the difference. (I can't find a good link to explain Third Artist Syndrome; Jo Walton explained it on her LiveJournal once, but she's deleted that account, and the other hit from a Google search is to James Nicoll, who refers to it but doesn't explain it. There might be another name for it.)
(Man, I'm picky.)
So, you know, like my filter that science fiction stories not be "the American Revolution in space," these filters eliminate huge swathes of fantasy.
Ah, somebody quoted Jo Walton's post on their tumblr and now I'm totally going to steal Jo's text, because the original article is deleted:
"The first artist goes out and paints from life. The second artist copies the first artist. The third artist copies the second artist. (I’ve usually seen this analogy applies to fantasy, with Tolkien as the first artist.) The first artist put things in because there were there, or in the case of SF, because they were new cool speculation. The second artist put them in because they were trying to get close to the first. The third artist put them in because heck, that’s what you put in."
Friday, October 6, 2017
Wednesday's Drop In...
SYSTEM: ICONS
Didn't really happen. Only one player showed up. He had an idea for a new character and fortunately the dice gods played along. But my head still hurt and once the character was created, I was glad to quit. If I'd been feeling better, maybe I would have run him solo for a bit, but I just wasn't up to it.
Still, I did show up, so that's a step in the right direction. But if the existing two guys are the only ones who show up on Wednesdays, well, it's nice to have an ongoing campaign but it's not really a drop in kind of thing, is it?
Audio quality continues to be a problem. I said I was going to write up troubleshooting for people and I haven't. So I should do that, and then...
I'll have to think about what to do next. If the point is to expose the game to more players, this isn't doing it (yet).
Possibilities include changing the time or the venue, though that might not be fair to the players who are showing up. I can probably do a second weekly drop-in, but maybe I want to add two staggered biweekly events so there are three different nights of drop-ins. Changing venues is probably important: I could do something over on Infrno, or via Skype, Hangouts, or Discord. Any of the three might have better audio, and I can show images on Hangouts and Skype just by sharing my desktop. Dice would have to be on the honour system, but that's generally okay by me anyway; I worry about cheating because I am weak-willed, but don't actually worry much about others. (I don't cheat, but I'm sometimes tempted. And in a fine example of projection, I suspect others might be tempted too.)
On the plus side, last Wednesday is the first time that only one player showed up, and I have apologies from the other. So that's cool. I don't want to let these folks down, either.
Well. Think think think.
Didn't really happen. Only one player showed up. He had an idea for a new character and fortunately the dice gods played along. But my head still hurt and once the character was created, I was glad to quit. If I'd been feeling better, maybe I would have run him solo for a bit, but I just wasn't up to it.
Still, I did show up, so that's a step in the right direction. But if the existing two guys are the only ones who show up on Wednesdays, well, it's nice to have an ongoing campaign but it's not really a drop in kind of thing, is it?
Audio quality continues to be a problem. I said I was going to write up troubleshooting for people and I haven't. So I should do that, and then...
I'll have to think about what to do next. If the point is to expose the game to more players, this isn't doing it (yet).
Possibilities include changing the time or the venue, though that might not be fair to the players who are showing up. I can probably do a second weekly drop-in, but maybe I want to add two staggered biweekly events so there are three different nights of drop-ins. Changing venues is probably important: I could do something over on Infrno, or via Skype, Hangouts, or Discord. Any of the three might have better audio, and I can show images on Hangouts and Skype just by sharing my desktop. Dice would have to be on the honour system, but that's generally okay by me anyway; I worry about cheating because I am weak-willed, but don't actually worry much about others. (I don't cheat, but I'm sometimes tempted. And in a fine example of projection, I suspect others might be tempted too.)
On the plus side, last Wednesday is the first time that only one player showed up, and I have apologies from the other. So that's cool. I don't want to let these folks down, either.
Well. Think think think.
Write-Ups of ICONS Games
SYSTEM: ICONS
Don't recall if I've included this here before. These were all first edition games of ICONS. Most of these are written by and courtesy of James Nicoll. I'm gradually copying the posts of mine over here, so you'll see the addresses change, though the DreamWidth.org posts are still there.
I notice I last updated the page this is taken from on June 16, 2011, so this is old information.
Don't recall if I've included this here before. These were all first edition games of ICONS. Most of these are written by and courtesy of James Nicoll. I'm gradually copying the posts of mine over here, so you'll see the addresses change, though the DreamWidth.org posts are still there.
Hope Preparatory School
- Orientation: http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/3321261.html (My notes: here)
- The Substitute, Part I: http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/3407634.html (my notes: http://jhmcmullen.blogspot.ca/2011/11/the-substitute-gms-notes-part-i.html)
- The Substitute, Part II: http://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/3351816.html (and my notes: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/45990.html)
- Museum Mayem: http://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/3363686.html (and my notes: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/47791.html)
- Halloween Ball, Part I: http://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/3374904.html (and my notes: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/49658.html)
- Halloween Ball, Part II: My notes: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/53614.html
- The Copying Problem: Session: http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/3597900.html and GM notes: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/68306.html
- In the Quarantine Zone: http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/3621559.html and GM notes: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/71650.html
- First Crush: http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/3666848.html and GM notes: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/76490.html
- The RetConQuest: http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/3692651.html and GM notes: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/77854.html
Halifax
- Skeletron: james-nicoll.livejournal.com/2836897.html (takes place in May)
- Mastermind: james-nicoll.livejournal.com/2887179.html (June)
- Murder of Crowes: james-nicoll.livejournal.com/2924672.html and my notes (doc-lemming.livejournal.com/119462.html) (mid-July)
- Sins of the Past, part I: james-nicoll.livejournal.com/3131939.html (October just after Thanksgiving)
- Sins of the Past, part II: james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/3104654.html (and my notes)
- Jailbreak!: http://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/3122151.html (and my notes)
- That Hoodoo That You Do, Part I: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/40973.html (November)
- That Hoodoo That You Do, Part II: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/41388.html (Later that night in November)
Vancouver
- Primal Power (Played July 25, 2012)
Characters:
- Halifax Heroes: doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/39106.html
- James' Hope Prep character: http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/3320383.html
- (Prince) Lorn: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/43010.html
- Hope Prep PCs: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/43689.html
- Hope Prep NPCs: http://doc-lemming.dreamwidth.org/49168.html
I notice I last updated the page this is taken from on June 16, 2011, so this is old information.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
ICONS Drop-In...maybe?
SYSTEM: ICONS
I plan on being there and starting, but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to carry through. I'd like to try, though.
So if you were planning on showing up so you could test equipment...this might be an okay evening?
I plan on being there and starting, but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to carry through. I'd like to try, though.
So if you were planning on showing up so you could test equipment...this might be an okay evening?
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Daredevil, at no particular point
SYSTEM: ICONS
I said over on the Facebook group that I had a writeup of Daredevil, and then I couldn't find it...because it was on a PDF form I had created to do ICONS combat. I only got it to hero vs. minions, but it was decent enough that I could kill time with my phone entering in two characters and doing little mock combats. I had to calculate the stamina losses for the hero myself, but heck....
Anyway, I didn't have it anywhere else but on this PDF I had stored on a free service, so I couldn't find it. Today I ran across it while looking for something else.
So here. This is sort of a generic Daredevil. It's not the TV version, it's not a particular comic version. It hits most of the known stuff and probably misses some by lots.
The master on Athletics lets him stunt off the athletics, doing "impossible" things, and he can certainly use the Athletics for acrobatic moves that make him harder to hit with ranged weapons. He has an awareness of 8, which seems plenty superhuman to me.
I said over on the Facebook group that I had a writeup of Daredevil, and then I couldn't find it...because it was on a PDF form I had created to do ICONS combat. I only got it to hero vs. minions, but it was decent enough that I could kill time with my phone entering in two characters and doing little mock combats. I had to calculate the stamina losses for the hero myself, but heck....
Anyway, I didn't have it anywhere else but on this PDF I had stored on a free service, so I couldn't find it. Today I ran across it while looking for something else.
So here. This is sort of a generic Daredevil. It's not the TV version, it's not a particular comic version. It hits most of the known stuff and probably misses some by lots.
| Prow | Coord | Str | Int | Awr | Wil | Stamina | Determ. |
| 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| Specialties | Athletics Master, Law, Martial Arts Expert, Stealth | ||||||
| Powers | 1 | Super-senses (Radar sense) | |||||
| 4 | Billy Club (Strike 4) Extra: Swinging Limit: One or the other, not both | ||||||
| Qualities | Blind; Secret ID: Lawyer Matt Murdock; Justice in all its forms | ||||||
The master on Athletics lets him stunt off the athletics, doing "impossible" things, and he can certainly use the Athletics for acrobatic moves that make him harder to hit with ranged weapons. He has an awareness of 8, which seems plenty superhuman to me.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
*Sigh* One more Drop-In delay.
SYSTEM: ICONS
Once again, I won't be running tonight. Not because I feel awful (I've improved to just bad), but because feeling awful left me with all sorts of work to catch up on, so that's what I'll be doing.
Gah.
John
Once again, I won't be running tonight. Not because I feel awful (I've improved to just bad), but because feeling awful left me with all sorts of work to catch up on, so that's what I'll be doing.
Gah.
John
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Hmmmm.
Apparently I am so anaemic that it was necessary to start me on three times the normal iron supplement Right Now.
Well, I wonder what good effects will come of fixing this problem?
Well, I wonder what good effects will come of fixing this problem?
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Gender neutral first names
Yanked from a baby name site, some gender-neutral names for when I need them.
Baby boy and girl names
- Addison
- Adrian
- Aiden
- Ainsley
- Alex
- Amari
- Andy
- Ari
- Ash
- Aspen
- Aubrey
- August
- Avery
- Bailey
- Bay
- Blaine
- Blake
- Bobbie
- Brett
- Brook
- Brooklyn
- Caelan
- Cameron
- Campbell
- Carroll
- Carson
- Casey
- Charlie
- Chris
- Clay
- Corey
- Dana
- Dakota
- Dale
- Dallas
- Daryl
- Delta
- Devin
- Dorian
- Drew
- Dylan
- Easton
- Eddie
- Eli
- Elliott
- Emerson
- Emery
- Finley
- Frances
- Frankie
- Gabriel
- Glenn
- Gray
- Harley
- Harper
- Hayden
- Hudson
- Hunter
- James
- Jamie
- Jayden
- Jean
- Jesse
- Jordan
- Jules
- Julian
- Kaden
- Kai
- Karter
- Kelly
- Kelsey
- Kendall
- Kennedy
- Kyle
- Lake
- Landry
- Lincoln
- Logan
- London
- Lou
- Mackenzie
- Mason
- Max
- Maxwell
- Monroe
- Morgan
- Parker
- Pat
- Peyton
- Phoenix
- Quinn
- Ray
- Reagan
- Reed
- Reese
- Remy
- Riley
- River
- Roan
- Rory
- Rowan
- Rudy
- Ryan
- Sage
- Sam
- Sawyer
- Shawn
- Sean
- Skylar
- Spencer
- Stevie
- Sydney
- Tanner
- Tatum
- Taylor
- Toby
- Tyler
- Val
- West
- Winter
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