Books, books, and more...um..CDs...
You know, sometimes I’m really glad that Renee works at Goodwill. Sometimes it’s because I found a kickass t-shirt. Other times it’s because I found a Hummer Jersey for 3 bucks, or an old-school White Zombie Jersey for the same. As I’ve mentioned in here before, there’s been one time it was because I found 3 pristine 3rd Edition AD&D books (including a dice bag complete with dice). Today, it was because I hit the RPG nerd motherfucking motherload. See following:
AD&D Player’s Handbook (2nd Edition)
AD&D Oriental Adventures (1st Edition)
AD&D Tome of Magic (2nd Edition)
AD&D Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide (1st Edition)
AD&D DragonLance Adventures (1st Edition)
AD&D Legends and Lore (2nd Edition)
AD&D Campaign Sourcebook/Catacomb Guide (2nd Edition)
AD&D The Drow of the Underdark (2nd Edition)
AD&D Complete Psionics Handbook (2nd Edition)
And finally, the most impressive find…
AD&D Monstrous Compendium (2nd Edition) Binder containing A-J standard, DragonLance, and Ravenloft creatures, complete with full-color art on tab pages.
How much was this veritable cornucopia of nerddom? Well, even though I briefly argued that they were NOT kid’s books (the same way I would argue that my Marv/Blade/Decapitron figures are more accurately “statues” than “action figures”), the cashier and the manager on shift decided that they were, so I got them for a staggering 69 cents a piece. Yup, under $10 for 10 out-of-print and relatively hard-to find AD&D books. Oh, and I also picked up a FIRST EDITION DUNGEONMASTER’S SCREEN. I’ve only heard of these fucking things whispered about in hushed tones and myths. But then again, everyone knows RPG dorks are full of exaggeration, hyberbole, and good old fashioned bullshit, so maybe it’s not THAT impressive. A hell of a day, let me tell you.
Other than that, I’ve just been exercising (I haven’t dropped any fat yet, but I certainly feel different), hanging out with the love of my life Renee, and reading. I finished American Psycho and started on the complete Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Let me tell you, I am LOVING HGttG. I mean, American Psycho was a nice read, and wonderful for what it was (driving home even more than the movie that it WAS ALL IN HIS HEAD, though leaving a few items ambiguous), but HGttG is just fucking amazing. I really can’t believe I’ve gone this long without reading it. The collection I picked up (oh yeah, that was a good day at Goodwill, too) has a foreward by Douglas Adams, in which he mentions that there are only two productions of any type for HGttG that accurately represent each other. To remedy this, he made sure to write the forward in such a way that it completely invalidates everything else. It’s not very often you see a writer insisting that each subsequent version is wildly different, and I have to admit it makes me very happy.
I’ve also been listening to music. Mostly new Cds, including (but not limited to) Gnarls Barkley (St. Elsewhere), Primus (Pork Soda), Mos Def (Black on Both Sides), Scissor Sisters (Scissor Sisters), and Scissor Sisters (Ta-Dah!). I’ve also been forced against my will to listen to the godforsaken Pussycat Dolls, since Renee seems to enjoy them. I figure it’s the same “listen to shitty music” part of her brain that likes emo. It may also be related to her insisting that Ron Killings is not actually the ugliest man on the planet and really doesn’t look that much like an orc. Seriously, slap Jeff Hardy’s old day-glo green face paint on him and that sumbitch is and Uruk-Hi. Anyway, music. I really dig the Gnarls Barkley album (the singles are predictably good, but Just a Thought, The Boogie Man, and Necromancer also stand out (though due to the subject matter: suicide, one’s dark half, and necrophilia; I can certainly see why they weren’t released as singles). The Primus album is amazing, as expected, and I’ve found that Mr. Krinkle is one of the best songs to fade of to sleep to (especially given the fact that it would make a great soundtrack to my more otherworldly dreams. Scissor Sisters have become something of a guilty pleasure, though I have no shame in saying that I really really enjoy the first album, and the second isn’t too bad, either. Honestly the only cd I’ve really been disappointed in has been the Mos Def album. I’m not very familiar with his work, I mostly new him from his acting roles and Eye Against Eye from the Blade 2 soundtrack. I think Eye Against Eye is fucking brilliant, and was hoping for a whole album of similarity, but I didn’t take into account the fact that the actual MUSIC on that track was Crystal Method. So while the rapping is of a similar nature (in tone and style, if not lyrics), the music is generic dubbing. It honestly felt rather…well, just like half the shitty bands that friend you on Myspace. I mean, I know the shit we’ve put up isn’t amazing, but there’s been at least an attempt to make it sound good. Hell, the reason we only have two songs is that we can’t get anything else close to perfect yet. Listening to this, though, it really gives me hope that if someone who can put out something as jaw-dropping as EAE can put out something as mediocre as BOBS, then maybe we have a chance after all. Speaking of which, it’s been unanimously decided to change the band name, so we’ll eventually be changing the band page to another, blah blah blah. I’m not getting my hopes up that we’ll decide on a name Saturday (assuming the planned practice goes through), but it’s possible.
Well, Renee’s getting restless, and I’m pretty sure if I don’t go exercise with her soon she’ll go to bed, so I’m going to end it here. Not to mention this thing has gotten pretty long and only the most dedicated of the 3 people who actually read this will have gotten this far. Much love, all, I’m out.
AD&D Player’s Handbook (2nd Edition)
AD&D Oriental Adventures (1st Edition)
AD&D Tome of Magic (2nd Edition)
AD&D Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide (1st Edition)
AD&D DragonLance Adventures (1st Edition)
AD&D Legends and Lore (2nd Edition)
AD&D Campaign Sourcebook/Catacomb Guide (2nd Edition)
AD&D The Drow of the Underdark (2nd Edition)
AD&D Complete Psionics Handbook (2nd Edition)
And finally, the most impressive find…
AD&D Monstrous Compendium (2nd Edition) Binder containing A-J standard, DragonLance, and Ravenloft creatures, complete with full-color art on tab pages.
How much was this veritable cornucopia of nerddom? Well, even though I briefly argued that they were NOT kid’s books (the same way I would argue that my Marv/Blade/Decapitron figures are more accurately “statues” than “action figures”), the cashier and the manager on shift decided that they were, so I got them for a staggering 69 cents a piece. Yup, under $10 for 10 out-of-print and relatively hard-to find AD&D books. Oh, and I also picked up a FIRST EDITION DUNGEONMASTER’S SCREEN. I’ve only heard of these fucking things whispered about in hushed tones and myths. But then again, everyone knows RPG dorks are full of exaggeration, hyberbole, and good old fashioned bullshit, so maybe it’s not THAT impressive. A hell of a day, let me tell you.
Other than that, I’ve just been exercising (I haven’t dropped any fat yet, but I certainly feel different), hanging out with the love of my life Renee, and reading. I finished American Psycho and started on the complete Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Let me tell you, I am LOVING HGttG. I mean, American Psycho was a nice read, and wonderful for what it was (driving home even more than the movie that it WAS ALL IN HIS HEAD, though leaving a few items ambiguous), but HGttG is just fucking amazing. I really can’t believe I’ve gone this long without reading it. The collection I picked up (oh yeah, that was a good day at Goodwill, too) has a foreward by Douglas Adams, in which he mentions that there are only two productions of any type for HGttG that accurately represent each other. To remedy this, he made sure to write the forward in such a way that it completely invalidates everything else. It’s not very often you see a writer insisting that each subsequent version is wildly different, and I have to admit it makes me very happy.
I’ve also been listening to music. Mostly new Cds, including (but not limited to) Gnarls Barkley (St. Elsewhere), Primus (Pork Soda), Mos Def (Black on Both Sides), Scissor Sisters (Scissor Sisters), and Scissor Sisters (Ta-Dah!). I’ve also been forced against my will to listen to the godforsaken Pussycat Dolls, since Renee seems to enjoy them. I figure it’s the same “listen to shitty music” part of her brain that likes emo. It may also be related to her insisting that Ron Killings is not actually the ugliest man on the planet and really doesn’t look that much like an orc. Seriously, slap Jeff Hardy’s old day-glo green face paint on him and that sumbitch is and Uruk-Hi. Anyway, music. I really dig the Gnarls Barkley album (the singles are predictably good, but Just a Thought, The Boogie Man, and Necromancer also stand out (though due to the subject matter: suicide, one’s dark half, and necrophilia; I can certainly see why they weren’t released as singles). The Primus album is amazing, as expected, and I’ve found that Mr. Krinkle is one of the best songs to fade of to sleep to (especially given the fact that it would make a great soundtrack to my more otherworldly dreams. Scissor Sisters have become something of a guilty pleasure, though I have no shame in saying that I really really enjoy the first album, and the second isn’t too bad, either. Honestly the only cd I’ve really been disappointed in has been the Mos Def album. I’m not very familiar with his work, I mostly new him from his acting roles and Eye Against Eye from the Blade 2 soundtrack. I think Eye Against Eye is fucking brilliant, and was hoping for a whole album of similarity, but I didn’t take into account the fact that the actual MUSIC on that track was Crystal Method. So while the rapping is of a similar nature (in tone and style, if not lyrics), the music is generic dubbing. It honestly felt rather…well, just like half the shitty bands that friend you on Myspace. I mean, I know the shit we’ve put up isn’t amazing, but there’s been at least an attempt to make it sound good. Hell, the reason we only have two songs is that we can’t get anything else close to perfect yet. Listening to this, though, it really gives me hope that if someone who can put out something as jaw-dropping as EAE can put out something as mediocre as BOBS, then maybe we have a chance after all. Speaking of which, it’s been unanimously decided to change the band name, so we’ll eventually be changing the band page to another, blah blah blah. I’m not getting my hopes up that we’ll decide on a name Saturday (assuming the planned practice goes through), but it’s possible.
Well, Renee’s getting restless, and I’m pretty sure if I don’t go exercise with her soon she’ll go to bed, so I’m going to end it here. Not to mention this thing has gotten pretty long and only the most dedicated of the 3 people who actually read this will have gotten this far. Much love, all, I’m out.