1977: Voyager II blasts off for Jupiter

Posted on August 20, 2007 by Steve

Today, the Voyager II probe was launched in 1977 and the Viking 1 in 1975. I remember Captain Kangaroo being interrupted a year later to show the first images of the Martian surface from Viking 1. However, the Voyager series of probes really impressed me with all those awesome pictures of Jupiter and its moons when they were showcased in National Geographic in 1980.

NPR recently interviewed Terry Ferris, the man who selected the content of the record attached to the probes. I loved the Steve Martin joke the interviewer mentioned about the musical choices.

Professor Ferris says there are instructions included plus the means to play the record. I only hope it’s not found by an alien equivalent of the RIAA, then they’ll just want to find Earth to sue us for some “piracy” claim because we didn’t file a copyright with their greedy corporations.

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1992: Gen Con XXV opened

Posted on August 20, 2007 by Steve

The 40th Gen Con just ended yesterday and it was a landmark convention for the iconic gathering that spawned Dungeons & Dragons (see all the complaining about Fourth Edition). But 15 years ago, the 25th Gen Con began on this day and it was the most memorable one I had ever attended because it was my first time on the other side of the booth. Little did I know this convention would be GDW’s absolutely last hurrah in the roleplaying-game business. There had been other occasions it may have been according to Steve Bryant, Lester Smith and Tim & Kevin Brown yet they all ended up being close calls. Thanks to Frank Chadwick betting everything on Gary Gygax’s poorly designed and overcomplicated comeback, Mythus, GDW’s demise was sealed. It was released nationwide in July to a poor reception and the this made the near future cloudy. White Wolf handing out free copies of their boring rag at Gen Con with a scathing review of the game didn’t help.

There were at least a hundred things wrong with Mythus and I don’t want to get into it. History made its judgment long ago since most gamers today respond with “huh?” whenever Mythus is mentioned; a rather accurate summary of how much GDW really contributed to roleplaying games in general.

Anyway, I had been attending Gen Con ever since 1988, a small perk for living in Milwaukee; saved a small fortune on food and lodging. A couple years later I got in for free as a volunteer judge. A sweet deal too, just referee three events for RPGA (a D&D league) and I got a free four-day pass. In 1992, being on the other side of the booth was going to be exciting. I’m not sure what I was expecting though, definitely not signing autographs—I wasn’t “anybody” in the business, no people anticipating my appearance. My friends Neal and Deb were coming in from Iowa and I had plans to visit Nelson while I was there. I really looked forward to those visits. Sadly, numerous gamers quickly demonstrated those poor social and hygienic skills they’re ridiculed for in The Simpsons and SNL at the GDW booth; I was pretty tired of hearing why Mythus sucked by the third or fourth nerd who came by. They were generally correct, just not very tactful, skilled nor rational in their arguments. On the upside, I recall the time went by quickly as the vendor area was only open from 10 AM to 6 PM while the events raged on from 8 AM to midnight.

For all the criticism I have given Frank Chadwick (GDW’s President), he did show some glimmers of wisdom at one of the forums on Traveller, 2300 and Space 1889 (games suffering from neglect/respect for one reason or another). He pointed out one of the great difficulties Sci Fi games have versus Fantasy games—the accepted conventions from the audience. In Sci Fi games, there are numerous variables that affect the game’s popularity: How does FTL travel work?; How far into the future is it?; How often is intelligent life encountered?; and so on. Meanwhile, the majority of Fantasy games have elves, dragons, a castle on the hill, a haunted forest, etc.

Outside the convention, there were company parties, schmoozing and for me, catching up with those Marquette friends. I didn’t get the chance to look at the campus but I did enjoy a great meal with the Baedkes at Pizza Man on Milwaukee’s east side, the best side of the city. I also squeezed in some CD shopping since Central Illinois wasn’t a place known for a great selection, it’s one of the lands where Led Zeppelin never broke up.

When it ended, I was exhausted but I came home feeling awesome. I acquired great swag from other companies thanks to trading, especially the West End guys who owned the Star Wars license then. I had an enormous amount of fun behind the booth despite the social frigtards because most people were actually gracious, two of whom I ended up working with at Apple three years later (Heath and John). It was one of the greatest times I ever had at Gen Con and it prepared me for my only time at MacWorld in 2000.

I only went back two more times. It was a huge mistake to attend in 1993 since the wounds of being fired from GDW were still sensitive and just other ego issues. Then I attended again in 1998 with Steve Bryant as his assistant in the artists’ area, but that’s a story for another day. Somara has been bugging me for years to go and ever since it moved to Indianapolis (or India-No-Place as I call it), I just have no interest due to the costs of airfare, lodging and a car rental; it may be a geek convention yet the locals jack up everything as they would for any other convention a la Vegas. I love to play D&D, I just don’t want to be surrounded by it that much.

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1895: John Wesley Hardin shot in El Paso

Posted on August 19, 2007 by Steve

…as if the shootings over there would’ve ever stopped.

Anyway, after reading this account and living in Texas for 12 years, I’d say very little has changed about El Paso or Huntsville. I think I’ll always prefer the UK musician John Wesley Harding and his melodious voice over a cowboy with a bad temper. Most people probably associate the historical killer through the Bob Dylan song.

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1977: The Police make their debut, as we knew them

Posted on August 18, 2007 by Steve

Never thought the History channel would be hip to this musical landmark. Certainly less morbid than the death of Genghis Khan, some judge in an ugly scandal and the creation of Toyota, the car manufacturer clobbering Detroit’s Big Three.

Their rise to Rock-Pop stardom was rather sudden and brief. Playing some nightclub in the UK and then sold-out stadiums several years later before they completely imploded from personality conflicts (*cough!* cocaine!). It’s not a unique story yet I’m glad they hung it up after their fifth album Synchronicity, the worst one, proved they were creatively exhausted. A common complaint I hear from longtime U2 and REM fans.

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Happy 50th Birthday Denis Leary

Posted on August 18, 2007 by Steve

Two words Denis! Merry F-ing Birthday!

Thumbs up to one of the few Massholes I can stand. It’s funny when he does his angry Bostonian routine because it isn’t directed at me and he doesn’t have the thick, obnoxious accent; probably “cured” with acting classes. Unlike other schtick comics, Denis managed to evolve beyond the vitriolic character on MTV that launched his career and does cartoon voices, charity work with the Cam Neely Foundation and an ongoing series on FX. It’s also weird to learn he’s Conan O’Brien’s cousin. Some forms of humor don’t cross over genetically as they did with my Uncle Skip.

I think my favorite appearance has always been the ladybug Francis in A Bug’s Life which I still can’t pin down the gender on. Meanwhile, I will probably play his hit song “Asshole,” the unofficial anthem we Marquette Warriors sing about the Notre Dame Irish.

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Fourth Edition is coming in 2008

Posted on August 17, 2007 by Steve

It’s official, there will be a Fourth Edition of D&D and WOTC has posted last night’s preview. The YouTube links are pretty cool and informative, especially with the upcoming digital content successors to Dragon and Dungeon. I’m going to reserve judgment until later and see how it is when the first book appears in May 2008. My only immediate concern is it might be dumbed down as much as the recent edition of Star Wars. On the upside, if I don’t like it, I’m completely set for life with 3.5 material!

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Happy Birthday to the Compact Disc

Posted on August 17, 2007 by Steve

The source for a huge argument in my family celebrates its 25th anniversary today. Although the CD’s development began back in the Seventies with Phillips, it was not until this day did the first commercial CDs became available for the public to buy.

All these years, I always thought the CD’s size was arbitrary or based upon some Metric standard but the article states Sony insisted on bumping it up from 11.5 cm to 12 cm so it could accommodate Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at 74 minutes, a marvel then since CDs are closer to 80 minutes now.

Despite the “growth” of digital downloads, I still prefer this form of hard copy.

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1977: Elvis officially dies

Posted on August 16, 2007 by Steve

I vaguely recall the announcement of his death at Grandma’s house (my parents were on vacation in Canada). It occupied most of the evening news but I don’t remember if the afternoon cartoons were interrupted over it. My brother and I only recognized him as the guy in those commercials for two-record sets on television and Channel 3 always did a week of his movies every year at 3 PM. Little did we know he was bigger than Star Wars.

As I got older, I remember all the jokes, the sightings, the rumors, etc. My favorite conspiracy is the Outfit having him killed and there’s someone else’s corpse in his grave so he’s really in hiding. Personally, I’m of the opinion that he is dead. Elvis was pretty broke in the Seventies so he had to tour extensively to pay the bills and debts Colonel Parker saddled him with. Performing, traveling, making appearances and still living beyond his means took its toll. The drugs that made it possible were what did him in and when someone is surrounded by flunkies who won’t tell the truth, it’s amazing he lived to be 42.

I have also been to Graceland three times, something I always try to make time for whenever I’m passing through Memphis. It’s quite a spread but rather dated, in a time-capsule way, not kitschy or tacky. If you’ve watched those other shows on cable about other celebrities’ mansions, Elvis was subtle, modest and I know there were bigger places in his day. His ex-wife Priscilla did an amazing job on the place and contrary to her critics, opening the house to the public was something she did reluctantly. I would agree with her decision; it was either make Graceland a tourist attraction to cover the remaining debts or liquidate the more lucrative parts of his estate: merchandising, publishing rights, etc. My friend Christina was in the area recently, it’s $30 now. I’m not sure if the price included the whole package of his cars, planes and more personal effects (tasteful stuff such as how much fan mail he received on a daily basis) or it only covered the house.

Whether or not you like the guy, Elvis is a large part of the American psyche and story for better or worse and his premature death today secured his iconic position.

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The new Flash Gordon is an eyesore

Posted on August 16, 2007 by Steve

The best version of Flash Gordon will always be the 1980 production starring Max von Sydow as Emperor Ming the Merciless with Queen’s thunderous score. I think this horrible, cheap-ass, Wal-Mart version on the Sci Fi Channel will eliminate any further doubt of my claim.

Such a shame too. With a little modification to the story (planets can’t move as Mongo does in the Thirties), the characters’ professions (Flash as an NFL quarterback in the Eighties) and tweaking the arc to fit within the time allowed, this could be a great re-imagining (Hollywood’s latest idiot word, reboot is the correct term). Course, having a budget would’ve helped too. It just screams Planet Vancouver on how lame it looks. If the Sci Fi Channel was going to spend less than the current B5 DVD, then it should’ve just been posted on YouTube.

What’s it about? Oh Flash’s dad got pulled over to Mongo through a dimensional gateway years ago. Now Emperor Ming is sending probes back over, probably to conquer the Earth and one of them had a clue tipping Flash about his father’s fate. Thus Flash and Dale travel to Mongo the same way and get a nice dose of Ming’s hospitality. I was already bored in the first 10 minutes and had to fast forward through much of it.

On the positive side, this made my disappointing B5 DVD feel like a bargain because I downloaded the pilot for free through iTunes.

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Rad’s San Diego Pictures are now available

Posted on August 15, 2007 by Steve

My friends Rad and Steve attended the huge San Diego Comic Con this Summer. This one made it into the SCLM more often than most but I think it was considered news because it was sold out every day and over 100,000 people attended. Plus the whole Groening contingency (Simpsons, Futurama and Bongo Comics) was there along with superhero movies and sci-fi shows having a banner year.

So Rad gave me permission to put up this link on my page. He took numerous cool pictures of celebrities such as James Hong and people in costumes (good and bad).

Check ’em out.

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Mike Ricci retires, Lindros & Roenick haven’t decided yet

Posted on August 14, 2007 by Steve

Mike Ricci announced his retirement today after 16 seasons. The neck surgery he recently had wasn’t enough to play last year with the Coyotes which was a shame: I was hoping to see him when Jeremy and I drove to San Antonio for the pre-season bash. Ricci was also a tough, gritty player and he could’ve made a difference for the Coyotes if he were well because I remember how tough he was during his stint with the Sharks.

Most Philly fans will always remember him as being one of the players traded to Quebec in exchange for Eric Lindros, another guy whose career in Dallas is in doubt.

Still no final word on Jeremy Roenick.

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Austin’s first 100F/38C day of the year

Posted on August 14, 2007 by Steve

Yeah, boo hoo for Austin, TX as the rest of the US and Canada cracked that temperature weeks ago. It’s still a big deal for us because it’s abnormal to be this “cool.” All the rain we received from May through July broke a record which had held since the Thirties and it was a major factor in keeping the weather mild. In exchange, everyone with mold and mildew allergies was miserable. I also enjoyed the lower electric and water bills.

Normally, it stops raining around May and we have a thunderstorm or three until September. Then Central Texas goes straight to cracking 100F practically every day from June until October followed by drought and water conservation. At least that’s how I’ve remembered it since I moved here in 1994.

August has put the area back on course and I’m sure my yard will be a nice yellow brown before Labor Day.

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B5: The Lost Tales babbles on and on about nothing

Posted on August 13, 2007 by Steve

There hasn’t been anything new on TV for Babylon 5 since the rather mediocre The Legend of the Rangers pilot from 2002. Now comes this direct-to-video release of B5: The Lost Tales. It rings of great promise because it has President Sheridan, Captain Lochley and the Technomage Galen coming together, 10 years after the formation of the Interstellar Alliance (2271 AD) to face new challenges.

After watching it, the new challenges have turned out to be complete and utter boredom along with better franchises that are readily available on cable.

The first act involves Lochley dealing with something supernatural coming aboard the station. If the threat could be defeated through long, dull conversations, I’d say she succeeded. The remaining two-thirds has Sheridan being stuck in a moral dilemma involving the Centauri Prince Dius, who is third in line for the throne. According to the Technomage Galen, when Dius becomes emperor, there might be a war between the Earth Alliance and the Centauri Republic. Sheridan must either kill the young prince which may prevent the conflict and save billions of lives or he can do nothing. There is no guarantee his actions may cause the desired result. He can’t count on any further guidance because the technomages are not allowed to intervene and Galen has probably told him more than what’s allowed. Only time will tell if Sheridan makes the right decision when you see it.

Lost Tales does have some impressive CG sequences: what NYC looks like in the 23rd century, the battle between the Earth Alliance and the Centauri Republic. Even the station and the ships seen on the Nineties series are rendered better (on par with Enterprise). The level of detail is tighter, the lighting, the shadows on the hulls and so on. There just isn’t enough of it to rationalize buying this DVD and spending the 72 minutes to watch the equivalent of a play. If this were a throwaway episode in a larger series, it would be forgivable. Instead it’s a low-budget, crappy attempt to perpetuate a franchise through the direct-to-video route. Short of a miracle or fuzzy accounting, I doubt Warner Brothers will finance another one of these.

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RIP Uncle Skip

Posted on August 13, 2007 by Steve

I was expecting a synopsis of my brother’s recent vacation to North Carolina when I saw his e-mail but it contained Uncle Skip’s sudden death last Saturday. I don’t know any details sadly yet I hope Brian will clue me in, especially on how to send my condolences to Aunt Colleen.

When I was growing up in Illinois, Uncle Skip, Aunt Colleen and their family lived upstate in Ottawa, IL. We used to see them at least every year until we moved away to Houston or they moved to Tampa, I can’t remember which happened first. Brian and I always enjoyed hanging out with our cousins Dana and Denise because they had every board game we’d seen on Saturday morning TV in the Seventies. David was already a teenager so he never really bothered with us. Hanging out with Uncle Skip was another experience due his prankish nature and wit.

As little kids we didn’t quite get his behavior until we were teenagers in 1985 when everyone came together during the death of Grandma Maggi. A great example was the town of Minooka (where Grandma Maggi lived) using its Civil Defense siren to signal the start of the 10 PM curfew. When it went off, Brian and I jumped out of our seats and turned to the window. Skip chuckled and asked, “Looking for the cloud?” It didn’t feel too funny at the time since we had just finished living in North Dakota, a place with 300 silos and one of the first places the Soviet Union would vaporize. Aunt Colleen got back at him later in the Summer when she told us about a fart prank he pulled on her in a department store. Now I know where I get that instinct from. Not everything funny Skip did was malicious. He knew great jokes and he owned a talking bird which spouted a flurry of profanity when it was in the mood. I think the bird’s bad habit was primarily caused by it overhearing the movies on HBO.

Besides his humor, Uncle Skip was an outspoken guy, skeptical of authority and occasionally said what others were afraid to say aloud. Unfortunately, this trait came out at Grandma’s funeral regarding the Baptist minister’s eulogy. A non-relative asked how was it and before Aunt Letty could answer, Skip said, “He was recruiting.” You could see the animated daggers coming out of Letty’s eyes at Skip. I’m sure his flippant remark widened the Catholic v. Baptist divide in the Maggi family a bit. I was 17 then and thought, it was better he said it than me, I shared his sentiment.

Sadly, the funeral was the last I saw of Uncle Skip in person. I only caught bits and pieces of his whereabouts and doings afterwards, namely him being in Florida. I know there were cards for graduations, etc. from time to time. And just like Uncle Chief, I wish I had more adult interaction with him now. He last saw me when I was a smartass, know-it-all teenager in the Eighties. I still enjoyed his company because he didn’t treat me like I was completely stupid, which I appreciated. He probably kept me off balance with his recently acquired ethnic, anti-Reagan and Disney jokes.

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Tonight is the peak evening for the Perseid Meteor Shower

Posted on August 12, 2007 by Steve

It’s early August which means the annual Perseid Meteor shower is visible again and according to Dr. Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy fame, tonight is the best evening to watch it. These are his tips to get an optimal view. He confirmed what I thought this was, left over debris from something but I didn’t know it was the comet Swift-Tuttle. Must be a heck of a comet to leave that much junk for the earth to pass through this type of result.

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