TABLETOP TALES. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/31/12.

bumble [buhm-buhl]
noun
1. An awkward blunder.
verb
2. To bungler or blunder awkwardly; muddle.
3. To stumble or stagger.
4. To speak in a low, stuttering, halting manner; to mumble.
5. To do something clumsily; to botch.

EX. My first Dungeons and Dragons character was an Advanced D & D Dwarf Cleric of Moradin that I named Bumble Bootsbane. I introduced the rest of his story back in Musical Monday. 11/14/11 and have never really gotten around to giving you guys more of his story. As part of celebrating my birthday, which is 12/31, I am going to also share with you some more details about a character that is an extension of myself; also, the thing about Bumble is that he isn't really a bumbler. In fact, compared to his companions, including an elf king and a couple of paladins, Bumble manages to get himself out of trouble more often than not by using his head and his heart.

I think the first moment where Bumble Boostbane shined was the first time that he and his closest companion Vilnius met an elf (whom he would discover was the uncle of the then Prince Zaurian) in the woods.

Now, if you wanna know anything about dwarves, you should know that they like caves and mountains. They don't particularly like trees or forests. In forests, there are too many eyes always watching. And Bumble certainly felt as if he was being watched by hundreds of little eyes, as he and Vilnius walked through the misty mountains (in real life it was a dim and cloudy January or February day), and they kept spotting these slim figures running between the trees. Eventually, they came upon an entire village of hundreds of these figures, elves, and they asked the travelers to climb into a nearby tree. Vilnius didn't want to go. Bumble told him he would go and told him to wait. Bumble climbed into the tree, against his better judgement, and hoped Moradin would carry him through.

And it was okay. He was talking to an old looking elf who asked him what he was doing. Bumble explained that they were on an a mission from the King Donovan to help fight the forces of the Black City. The elf seemed to warm to the respectful tone and courage of the humble dwarf. After they talked, he gave Bumble the gift of a magic ring, and sent the two young fellows on with his blessing... a blessing that actually paid off when the elves returned and quickly became the most loyal friends of the two and they became embroiled in the politics of the realm.

Luckily, Bumble is a master of diplomacy....despite his Charisma of 11.

MUSICAL MONDAY! END OF THE YEAR QUARTET!

MUSICAL MONDAY PRESENTS

GAME GRUMPS REMIX- BANANA SHOES

Well, its my birthday so, rather than short you guys on Musical Monday, I've decided to give you a quadruple dose to send us into the next year. First up, I've put up another Game Grumps remix from xXJerryTerryXx. This is one of my favorite and it really puts a smile on my face.

THE HOBBIT: THE MUSICAL (SIR IAN MCKELLAN)

As much as I hate to admit it.... I don't think that the Hobbit needed to be split into three films and filled to the brim with filler. On one hand, I love spending time in Middle Earth, but on the other hand, the films seem to suffer a little bit and the adaptations have gotten a little sloppier as Jackson takes a book shorter than any of the Lord of the Rings books and tries to stretch it beyond the limits of its rather scant travelogue. I suppose I can forgive him though because, while flawed, his talents allow it to escape the full taint of such a sell-out scenario and still make something enjoyable. End rant.

WONDERS OF LIFE TRAILER (Eric Idle)

A little cheerier is a new twist on the Galaxy Song from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life performed by the ever energetic and enthused Eric Idle.

BABY MARIO & PAPA YOSHI (brentalfloss)

And finally, brentalfloss's newest and easily most cute video yet about the perilous relationship between a green dinosaur that eats everything and a lost baby.

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/30/12.

blink [bleenk]
verb
1. To close and immediately reopen, usually the eyes, usually involuntarily.
2. To look with one eye or both eyes partially closed.
3. To shine intermittently, as in signalling or failing.
4. To clear the eyes of dust, tears, etc.
5. To be surprised or taken aback by something.
6. To pretend not to see or to avert one's eyes for an instant.
noun
7. The act or instance of blinking.
8. A glimpse; a glance.
9. Science fiction. To disappear and reappear, as in to become incorporeal, invisible and/or teleport from one location to another.

EX. Did anyone else catch the connection between the Boos from the Super Mario Bros. series and the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who? You can't look at either, even blink, or they can attack you in that moment. Also, the picture that person who made this meme pic used for the top half of the pic kind of used a picture from the episode Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, which has nothing to do with Weeping Angels (Note Cleopatra, Rory's Dad, and that random British adventurer guy). Shrug.

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/29/12.

dollface [dol-feys]
noun
1. A person having  smooth, unblemished complexion and small, regular features.

EX. How long did it take for you to figure out that the gif above is a prop getting its dollface smooshed and not Sigourney Weaver being discovered as some sort of alien monster?

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/28/12.

gotta [gah-tuh]
conraction of verb
1. Got to, have got to.

EX. What sort of Planet of the Pokemon horror show have I discovered? The only thing that's missing is a shot of Pallet Town in ruins with a big Ash Ketchum statue sticking out of the beach. I gotta get out of here!

MIXED BAG. TABLETOP TALES: CONAN MUNCHKIN REVIEW!

TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS

MUNCHKIN CONAN REVIEW!

Designer: Steve Jackson
Publisher: Steve Jackson Games (2012)
Type: Card Game
Themes: Fantasy, Humor, & Bartering
# of Players: 3-6
Ages: 10 & Up
Time to Play: 45-90 Min.
Approx. Price: $20

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/27/12.

doom [doom]
noun
1. Fate or destiny, especially with an adverse or negative result that involves the termination of a person, place, thing, or idea; unavoidable ill fortune.
2. Ruin; death.
3. An unfavorable judgement, decision, or sentence.
4. Archaic/obsolete. A statute, enactment, or legal statement/precedent.
5. The end of the world; Doomsday.
verb
6. To be destined with an unfortunate fate.
7. To condemn.
8. To set the adverse fate/destruction of a person, place, thing, or idea.

EX. I'm sorry that I didn't get to entertain you guys during the week that contained Dec. 21st. It would've been amusing to share with you guys my thoughts on preposterous predictions by long-lost cultures dooming us all, but I was busy trying to drill to the center of the Earth to shoot a magnetic pulse into the core to move the Earth enough inches to move the Earth out of Celestial alignments, prevent the cataclysmic collision between Earth and a giant asteroid that would've caused a new ice age that not even Will Smith could outrun while riding on the back of a Chinese dragon.

I also helped Booster Gold defeat Doomsday. Once again, I apologize for my absence.

WTF WED! A HELLBENDERS CHRISTMAS!

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

HELLBENDERS: A HELLBENDERS CHRISTMAS

This is probably my favorite Christmas related internet thing of 2012--is it for everyone? No. Hellbenders is definitely the sort of cartoon enjoyed by someone like me who has a very specific mix of enjoyment from a) things that surprise me and b) things that are a little disturbing. As a piece of internet animation, its pretty nice too.

Just be warned this is certainly weird and if you wanna check out more Hellbenders, which even more weird, here are links to the other videos in the relatively new series from Zach Hadel and Chris O'Neil.

HELLBENDERS: ICECREAM

HELLBENDERS: APPLOOZA

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/25/12.

thorazine [thawr-uh-zeen]
noun
1. A brand of chlorpromazine.

chlorpromazine [klawr-prawm-uh-zeen]
noun
1. A grayish-white, crystalline powder, derived from phenothiazine, used chiefly to inhibit nausea and vomiting and as a major tranquilizer in the management of schizophrenia and related psychoses.

EX. It sure is good that Insanity Wolf is back on his medication.... Christmas was horrifying this year because of this terrifying beast. He is very sensible without his bloodlust and cravings for carnage, or so his brother Courage Wolf says.

WEELY ROUND-UP! 12/10-12/15/12.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP PRESENTS

IKEA MONKEY WEEK!

5. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/13/12. Steed.

Is it just me or are the Assassin's Creed games pretty much the same game, in different settings, with the same repetitive gameplay and crappy pay-off? What...?

4. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/11/12. Cheeseburger.

I graduated on the 16th and celebrated with a cheeseburger at Hard Rock Cafe. My favorite food is burgers. The combination of the flavors of tomato, pickle, lettuce, medium rare beef, cheese, ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise is something altogether ordinary and magical when done right (bbq and onion rings are also good toppings). The last thing I had before getting my wisdom teeth removed was a Big Mac and before seeing the Hobbit? Chili's Shiner Bock burger. I have a problem.

3. MUSICAL MON! SUPER MARIO 64 WITH LYRICS & SONIC THE REAL HEDGEHOG

 I tried to play Sonic the Hedgehog the other day (never really got a chance growing up). I honestly don't get the appeal...sorry.

2. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/14/12. Terrapin.

I'll take this opportunity to talk up some cool movies I saw while recovering from having my fangs, er wisdom teeth, removed: Superman Vs. The Elite is a must-see for fans of the Man of Steal, Bernie was an interesting black comedy starring Jack Black,and I have to say I kinda sorta enjoyed Your Highness as a guilty pleasure.

1.  WTF WED! 90s NOSTALGIA & THE DEATH OF CHILDHOOD?

This video's sentiments lined up with a lot of feelings I've been having lately.But there is plenty to enjoy right now; another generation of video games, great movies, and burgers. Oh burgers.

MIXED BAG. SUPER MARIO 64 REVIEW!

MIXED BAG. PRESENTS

SUPER MARIO 64 REVIEW!

Developer: Nintendo

System: Nintendo (1996)

Genre: Platformer

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/25/12.

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol [ehy-kris-muhs-kar-uhl]
fiction
1. A classic novella by English writer Charles Dickens that depicts the sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge ideological, ethical, and spiritual transformation resulting from a supernatural meeting with the ghost of a business partners and the three ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Few stories have been retold and adapted in as many ways as this classic Christmas staple.

EX. One of the best episodes of the newer Doctor Who series starring the Eleventh Doctor, portrayed by Matt Smith (I like him), is the Christmas special that is simply titled "A Christmas Carol". In the episode, rather than simple making a retread of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with Dr. Who characters or having the Doctor interrupt the story (as if it was real), instead we find our hero trying to save Amy Pond and Rory Williams from crashing in the sky above a strange city that resembles Victorian London on an alien world. The Doctor soon finds himself getting involved in the transforming the powerful miser Kazran Sardick (Michael Gambon) through the power of Christmas and love. The performance of Gambon and Smith is very strong in the episode, the special implementation of the themes of Dickens in a sci-fi setting are subtle and effective, and the special gives you just that right Christmasy feeling that I feel several of the other Doctor Who Christmas specials lack.

Fun fact, Christmas is a very important holiday in Doctor Who canon (the most popular of the recent Doctors, David Tennant's 10th Doctor, was regenerated on the day).

Anywho, you can watch the special on Netflix or by clicking the link below:

DOCTOR WHO: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

MUSICAL MONDAY! INSANITY WOLF CHRISTMAS SONG!

MUSICAL MONDAY PRESENTS

WARNING: NSFW LANGUAGE. ANIMEME'S INSANITY WOLF CHRISTMAS SONG

I have to say I've kinda come to enjoy Animeme's videos that take the internet's most popular memes and animate them for our enjoyment. This video linked above is, perhaps, just a little rough but I think you'll enjoy it. Insanity Wolf is one of the scarier memes out there, but the voice they gave him in the videos are pretty sweet.

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/24/12. A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS REUNION?

holiday blues [hall-uh-dehy-blooz]
noun
1. Feelings of sadness, loneliness, depression and anxiety in and around the holidays, caused by loss of family and loved ones through divorce or distance from the childhood home or place where the holidays were most enjoyed in years past. This also connected with the seasonal anxiety believe to be associated with stress caused by meeting expectations to feel holiday cheer, to meet the gift demands of others, and to compete for decoration supremacy. These feelings are intensified by the often dreary weather in the Northern hemisphere during this season.

EX. I don't often find myself feeling the holiday blues, in fact this is my favorite time of year (more time to spend with friends and family, excellent films, Christmas, and my birthday to name a few reasons), and yet, I think I can understand the sentiment. As you get older, it can become difficult to see the magic of this season-- it becomes more artificial, more commercial and, if you become distant from friends and family, it seems like a long lost dream. My advice? Try to connect with loved ones, make new friends, and volunteer to help others.

Like Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens' A Christmas Carol, this is a good time of year to revisit the past, evaluate the present, and consider the future. At least, that's what I tend to do...

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS REUNION

Also, I'd like to recommend the TV show that they satire in the video linked above, Louis C.K.'s Louie on FX. It is one of the best shows on television straight from the mind of one of the best and brightest comedians out there.

ANNOUNCEMENT. APOLOGIES.

I had my bottom wisdom teeth taken out on the 18th, so I decided to take a week off and deal with graduation (which was on the 16th), preparing new content for Pathfinder & Call of Cthulhu, and getting prepared for Christmas. I forgot to post an announcement about how long I would be absent, so I will now take the liberty to apologize for my unannounced absence and declare my return on the 24th.

Things to expect this week? Overdue reviews of Django Unchained, Super Mario 64, & The Hobbit to make an appearance sometime this week. Also, plan to enjoy a tabletop tale about my first attempt at gming Call of Cthulhu. And, as it is the holidays, some other special articles and possible something sentimental.

Last Year's Bounty

Happy Holidays.

- implejr

WHY BELIEVING IS IMPORTANT

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/15/12.

turnabout [turn-uh-bout]
noun

1. The act of turning in a different or opposite direction.

2. A change of opinion, loyalty, etc.

3. A reciprocal action; act of doing to someone exactly as that person has done to oneself or another.

4. A person who changes things; a radical.

 

EX. All's fair in love and go-carting, and turnabout is fair-play. 

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/14/12.

terrapin [ter-uh-pin]
noun
1. Also called water tortoise, any of various web-footed chelonian reptiles that live on land and in fresh water and feed on small aquatic animals.

EX.  The bottom terrapin is supposed to be the cute one... both looked like they'd eat your face given half a chance. They're probably man-eating Kappas that attempt to lure wenches to the water-side and drag them down in the maws of the deep to be drowned and consumed. I saw we enact a manhunt on this demonic menace!

WTF JAPAN- SOURS TURTLES!?

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/13/12.

steed [steed]
noun
1. A horse, especially a high-spirited one.

EX. "ASSASSIN'S STEED COMING OUT 2013 on XBOX 360, PS3, & WII-U!"

Does anybody else feel they're getting lazy with this series?

WTF WED! 90s NOSTALGIA & THE DEATH OF CHILDHOOD?

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

UKINOJOE'S 90s NICK'S LAMENT

This week's WTF WEDNESDAY is Ukinojoe's satirical lament from the perspective of a previously one-off character that appeared as a representative of a viewer's comment, 90s Nick. As I'm a 90s kid, I get both the nostalgia and the frustration towards this nostalgia that is all over the internet; our generation is getting older and, like every generation, we think our childhood was the best and, through our jaded eyes, what the kids are into these days doesn't compare. I feel sympathy for this character because he is unable to move on from his childhood; in the frustrated world of adulthood nothing is as cool as it was in cartoons. Or something like that.... I also get the irony of most of the things I post on this blog feeding off of 90s nostalgia. Anways, here is a transcript of 90s Nick's Lament:

"Remember the 90s?
The 90 were so much better.
Everything was better in 90s.
Here is the 90s. If you don't remember:
You did not have a childhood.
You were not a child.
You retroactively did not exist.

Remember Bobby's World?
It was a good show!
You're too young to remember.
It was a good show!

We had Nintendo 64. You don't.
Things were better than. Now all is lost.
Including hope.
Which is dead.

We had:
Nintendo games,
Bowling alleys,
Pizza parties,
McDonald's,
Skating rinks,
Ice cream,
Nickelodeon,
Cartoon Network,
Elmer's glue,
Safety scissors,
Tootsie rolls,
Combos,
Swimming pools,
O.J. Simpson,
Green Day--
We had Green Day.
What do kids these days have? Nothing.

The 90s are over. All that's left is despair.
The day the 90s died, all joy died.

This generation, they don't know
They don't know.
Kids these days,
kids these days.
This generation they don't know.
They missed out. "

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/12/12.

Koopa [koo-puh]
noun
1. Video game. A species of turtle-like creatures that, while some are unaligned to the tyrant, follow Bowser AKA King Koopa in invasions into the Mushroom Kingdom. When bopped on the head, the green and red variety retreat into their shells.

EX. It looks like this Koopa is gonna require a bigger Mario to banish it from the living room.

WORD OF THE DAY! 12/11/12.

cheeseburger [cheez-bur-ger]
noun
1. A hamburger cooked with a piece of cheese on top of it.

EX. Uh oh. Looks like Bat Cat got out of his carrier, turned into a tabby, and ate all the cheeseburgers. It may not be the cheeseburgers he deserved, but they were the cheeseburgers he needed.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP! 12/2-12/9/12.

WEEKLY ROUND-UP PRESENTS

RANCOR WEEK!

7. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/5/12. Laser.

Yesterday, I discovered something fantastic/disquieting: old Pokemon games w/ their boxes are quickly becoming collector's items! EX. Platinum (2009) is over $80 and a new copy of Crystal is $650.

6. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/6/12. Penguin.

I'm working on trying to get all the 100-coin stars in Super Mario 64 right now and I'm trying not to lose it on the water levels. Nothing is quite like collecting over 90 coins and then having to quite the level because you swam in the wrong hole.



5. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/9/12. Rancor.

I always new there was more to the story of the Rancor in Return of the Jedi.

4. WORD OF THE DAY! 12/8/12. Fan theory.

This probably should've been Aladdin week, all considered, but I aims to confuse my audience sometimes and not give them the obvious experience. I do have plenty of room to express my opinion on the popular Aladdin fan theory here: It is most likely just a silly fan theory, but sometimes its fun to dream or, even better, someone will take this idea and run with it. A post-Apocalyptic fantasy movie centered around Arabic culture would be pretty interesting.

3. MUSICAL MON! CHAPLIN & LEVAR BURTON DOUBLE FEATURE!

Funny that I've posted so many Musical Monday articles on melodysheep considering that its the Year of the Ram.

2. MIXED BAG. ALADDIN SNES REVIEW!

I've played a lot of video games this year and, honestly? I plan to do much more in my free time next year and will beat a game/ week or something absurd like that.

1. MIXED BAG! JUSTIN'S B-DAY MTG CARDS!

I always try to go one step farther in my birthday cards and, with most of my friends getting into magic or back into it, I may have found a format that'll work for a few more birthdays and this Christmas.