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January 2009 Blog Posts (47)

Book Review: The Games of War--A Treasury of Rules for Battles with Toy Soldiers, Ships & Planes

There are three words that can describe John Bobek's book The Games of War: Good, simple, fun.

John's made a major contribution to the wargarming hobby by writing a book gamers of all ages can use and enjoy.

While the book weighs-in at 271 pages, it contains 39 rule-sets for playing games from Ancients to Modern, with a couple of off-shoots for running sci-fi and fantasy games.

This book is an excellent tool for… Continue

Added by Ted Henkle on January 30, 2009 at 8:19pm — 3 Comments

The Blitzkrieg is over...

Finally it's done. :)

Champagne !

Added by Olivier Revenu on January 29, 2009 at 4:30pm — 10 Comments

Hellenes Game Report (by Mats Eden)

The following is a playtest report of the game, "Hellenes" by Mats Eden:

In the 46th year of our king Archidamos’ reign, the oppressive nature of our emeny showed it’s ugly face. This led to the people of Athens raising up against their masters during New Year festivities. Things soon got out of hand, and a civil war was raging in Athens. The corrupt rulers of Athens abandoned their people and instead turned to Hera, praying for revenge.…

Continue

Added by Joel Toppen on January 29, 2009 at 1:21pm — No Comments

Life

Stumbled across this video this morning and couldn't resist placing it in my… Continue

Added by Joel Toppen on January 29, 2009 at 11:57am — 1 Comment

British newspapers

Classic scene from Yes, Prime Minister. It still remains my quick reference on the leanings of the British newspapers. (The Conservatives were in power when the TV series was made.)

Jim Hacker: "Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers.

The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country,

The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country,

The Times is read by people who actually do run the… Continue

Added by Elijah Lau on January 29, 2009 at 1:19am — 1 Comment

I WORK SO THEY CAN SPEND MY $$$ LIKE THIS?

In selling the plan, President Obama has said this bill will make "dramatic investments to revive our flagging economy." Well, you be the judge. Some $30 billion, or less than 5% of the spending in the bill, is for fixing bridges or other highway projects. There's another $40 billion for broadband and electric grid development, airports and clean water projects that are arguably worthwhile priorities.

...

Add the roughly $20 billion for business tax cuts, and by our estimate… Continue

Added by Smitty on January 28, 2009 at 9:37pm — 25 Comments

Zombies!

Texas Commuters warned that Zombies are out and about.

Zombies

Added by Bill Wood on January 28, 2009 at 1:30pm — 9 Comments

Pole Dancer

As a former 5th grade teacher, I have seen things like this get turned in.

(From a SOF buddy)

Always check your child's homework before it gets to school!

________________________________

When asked to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up, second-grader "Sarah" turned in the lovely drawing shown below. Needless to say, the teacher was a bit surprised -- Mrs. Smith had always… Continue

Added by Smitty on January 26, 2009 at 9:00pm — 6 Comments

Spanish Lock 'n Load Site

We want to thank Señor Garcia for putting up this site. The web address is http://srgarcia.iespana.es/ , or you can click here. Honestly, it has surprised me how popular American games are in Europe, and Lock 'n Load Load by no means leads the way. I know Conflict of Heroes, ASL, and Combat Commander garner huge sales overseas. Still, it's flattering to see this site. Thanks… Continue

Added by Mark H. Walker on January 25, 2009 at 7:30am — 1 Comment

Katie's War and Action Flick Pics

We got into a discussion today over her favorite movies - she prefers war and action movies, as well as romantic screwball type comedies.

In no order:

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Heartbreak Ridge
A Bridge Too Far
Armageddon
Cromwell
300
Gettysburg
Independence Day
Last Samauri
Patriot
Master and Commander
Memphis Belle
U-571
Operation Petticoat
Gorgo

(She also has a thing for Godzilla...).

Added by Smitty on January 24, 2009 at 7:00pm — 13 Comments

Movie Review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars

The Star Wars saga continues in animated form: Jabba the Hut's son has been kidnapped and it is up to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to rescue him. Otherwise, Jabba will side with the Seperatists and close the trade routes to the embattled Galactic Republic. While fighting off hordes of battledroids, a Togrutan girl named Ashoka Tano is assigned to Anakin as his padawan.

Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels and Samuel L. Jackson lend their… Continue

Added by Ted Henkle on January 24, 2009 at 7:44am — 2 Comments

Movie Review: the ONION Movie

I've laughed at many articles posted on the ONION: America's Finest News Source. In fact I posted one such article on my Stern Rake Studio Blog. (See the Humor Section, 03 Dec 08). But I haven't laughed at every article posted on their website. It's hard to be funny all the time and even harder to translate humor from one medium to another.

This is the case for the ONION Movie. The comedic vignettes in this film range from stupid,… Continue

Added by Ted Henkle on January 24, 2009 at 6:57am — No Comments

SCHOOL SEEKS TO FORFEIT 100-0 WIN

DALLAS -- A Texas high school girls basketball team on the winning end of a 100-0 game has a case of blowout remorse.

Now officials from The Covenant School say they are trying to do the right thing by seeking a forfeit and apologizing for the margin of victory.

Samantha Peloza grabs a rebound in practice a week after their 100-0 win.

"It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened," Kyle Queal, the head of the school, said in a statement, adding… Continue

Added by Smitty on January 23, 2009 at 6:27pm — 5 Comments

Consimworld 2009

John has everything rolling, registration site is up, so it's my turn. What do you need from us for this year's expo to be a success for you?

Help us help you to have the best gaming experience ever. Any requests that Tori and I can't directly assist with, we'll pass on to John and Stef.

Looking forward to seeing all of you in May!

whaddya gonna play??

Added by Brian Blad on January 23, 2009 at 11:18am — 6 Comments

Lock 'n Load: Forgotten Heroes -2nd Edition

This is/was the first Lock 'n Load title, and still has some of my favorite scenarios. I've always thought that Vietnam was a conflict that wouyld be best portrayed by squad-level battles. Forgotten Heroes scratched that itch for me. It's on P-500 now at our site.

The art below isn't final. Marc did these maps (Ron Shirtz did the originals), Niko the NVA/VC squads, and David all leaders and the American units.…

Continue

Added by Mark H. Walker on January 23, 2009 at 9:00am — 3 Comments

Oldest ex-major leaguer Werber dies at 100

Bill Werber, who was the oldest living ex-major leaguer and a teammate of Babe Ruth, died Thursday. He was 100.

Werber, a career .271 hitter who led the American League in stolen bases three times, played with Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove in stints with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. He hit .370 as the third baseman on the 1940 World Series champion Cincinnati Reds.

Until recently, Werber would vividly tell stories of his days playing in… Continue

Added by Smitty on January 23, 2009 at 5:55am — No Comments

"The Master and his VASSAL" an interview with Rodney Kinney

Today the Boardgame News (http://www.boardgamenews.com) publishes

an interview with Dr. Rodney Kinney, the designer and administrator

of the VASSAL game engine (http://www.vassalengine.org)

VASSAL began as a basement project, but Dr. Kinney's

java-based, cross-platform, open-source engine has

become a gaming phenomenon boasting modules for 350

different games and with 300 new players signing up

every week. "If you poke around for games on… Continue

Added by zatopek on January 23, 2009 at 5:35am — No Comments

Misidentification on YouTube Video

It's come to my attention that I made an error identifying the

British fighters in my YouTube video. In both scenes where they appear, I labeled them

as "Sea Harriers." They should in fact be "Sea Hurricanes" not time-

traveling VTOL jets pictured here!

This is what happens when you do your own editing.

I've already read several teasing "Final Countdown" comments on other game forums and sites.

Can… Continue

Added by Ted Henkle on January 23, 2009 at 2:26am — 5 Comments

Obama Becomes First President To Skip the "Salute To Heroes" Ball

No time for Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipients or paralyzed vets? According to TSO who was at the “Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball”, this newly sworn-in President for the first time in 56 years blew off the ball (that’s 14 Inaugurations).

Some background on the ball;

The American Legion sponsors the ball, which recognizes recipients of Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award. It started in 1953 for President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s first… Continue

Added by Smitty on January 21, 2009 at 9:19pm — 17 Comments

Dow Miraculously Remains Above 3,000; Stays Comfortably In Sub-8000 Range

We just experienced the worst Inauguration Day sell-off in history, and the media says...nothing? Guess they were all waiting to spot the first unicorn....

Added by Smitty on January 20, 2009 at 9:19pm — 6 Comments