Heroes: Report

Now with Spoilers!!

Here's what I learned this week from Heroes:

The manatee is also known as the sea cow.

Sing with me now:
Barbara Manatee Manatee
You're the one for me
Sent from up above
You are my only love!

Okay, I'm done with the manatees...for now.

Jessicki has a nice padded cell, with nice drugs and a nice therapist. In next week's previews, things are no longer so nice. Do you think she'll kill the therapist?

Mr. Kitty Pryde finds out that being a single parent is hard.

Cute kid takes his turn with a life of crime. It's practically a family hobby by now.

Boring psychic couple discover there's no longer any point to playing 20 questions.

Mohinder spent the episode wearing a manly salmon pink shirt, which he later accessorized with a lovely scarf. He also, apparently, had some lines about something.

Even when Big Bro Petrelli is being nice, he still comes off as a jerk.

Invisible Obi Wan doesn't want a padauin, until he changes his mind. What's behind this sudden shift from "I'll kill you" to "Search your feeling Luke?" My guess is Linderman.

I'm picturing Linderman as a mysterious hand stroking a white cat like the bad guy from Inspector Gadget, since we never see either of them.

Hiro and un-special Ando have the best lines.

Hiro's dad is SULU! And Evil!! Gulp!

Claire's mom is the human torch. My guess is that she started the fire which supposedly killed both of them 14 years ago when her powers first manifested.

The Chimes!! How could you forget to take down the stupid chimes!!

Whenever Sylar is awake, they play ticking watch noises. That's soooo Peter Pan.

The previews show Sylar attacking MEG, (Mr. Evil Glasses) and then running amok. I think MEG will survive though, he's too interesting a character to kill.

Of course, that's what they said about Eden. DUM Dum dum.

Sightings of the strange symbol of mysterious symbology: 0

Summer's Biggest Blockbuster

Naruto + Little Tortilla Boy.

Monday AMV

Another from ROD. What can I say, I'm especially fond of that anime.

Nan and "This Guy"

1. I have seen Firefly. Excellent series. I'm a fan of Mr. Whedon, and am currently enjoying his run on Astonishing X-men. He's also producing a comic of Buffy: Season 8.

2. I'm not going to LA. I watch 24, and so I know that LA is constantly being bombed, gassed, nuked, and overrun with wild cougar. If I want to visit a city that Hollywood is constantly trying to destroy, I'll go to NY.

3. Nan did tell me about This Guy (TG) but she needs to work on her marketing skills. She said you need a picture of me, even though my mouse in helmet is awfully cute. From the pictures she has of TG, I'm tempted to send the photo taken after my knee surgery, however, I like this one better.

Alert!!

I think it's time we all banded together, and combined our mighty powers to keep BSA from accessing this site.

Otherwise we'll be forced to face a horrible Schmooookypookiepoo fate. *shudder*

The Impossible Dream?

Lyrics from Don Quixote + Star Wars=happiness.

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

Per Request

Here's the birthday analysis for BSA.

Your Birthdate: January 2

You're so intuitive, it's like you have a sixth, seventh, and eighth sense. You connect with others freely and easily - and you tend to have many best friends. Warm and caring, it's hard for you to close your heart to anyone. Affection is like air for you - you need to give and receive it to survive. Your strength: Your universal compassion Your weakness: Your unpredictable mood swings Your power color: Mauve Your power symbol: Butterfly Your power month: February

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Now I know what you're thinking. This certainly doesn't sound like the chirpy vampire accountant from the stories,(Universal Compassion?) but I'm sure that's all part of her intense image PR campaign.

Or at the very least it explains all the hugging.

24 -Darn It!!

What the?!

Did anyone else know that today was national pie day?

Did I miss a memo or something? I feel so unprepared. I don't even have the groceries to whip up a quick pie.

Bummer.

WW's Bday

So Wonder Woman had a birthday, but what does it mean? Let's check the handy blogthings birthday quiz!

Your Birthdate: January 15

You take life as it is, and you find happiness in a variety of things. You tend to be close to family and friends. But it's hard to get into your inner circle. Making the little things wonderful is important to you, and you probably have an inviting home. You seek harmony with others, but occasionally you have a very stubborn streak. Your strength: Your intense optimism Your weakness: You shy away from exploring your talents Your power color: Jade Your power symbol: Flower Your power month: June

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

WW? Stubborn? FLOWERS!! Can it be true?!

And since I think she'll get mad at me unless I reciprocate, here's mine:

Your Birthdate: Classified Ninja Secret

You are more than a big ball of energy - you are a big ball of hyper. You are always on the go, but you don't have a type a personality. Instead of channeling your energy into work, you instead go for fun and adventure. Witty and verbal, you can have an interesting conversation with anyone. Your strength: Your larger than life imagination Your weakness: You tend to be pretty scattered Your power color: Lime Your power symbol: Lightening bolt Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Lime?? LIME??!! Hmmm, my power color is so tasty!

Random Star Wars

I laughed. And then I felt bad that I laughed.

Friday Fun

They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!

Story: Part the 19th

In which difficult moral questions are addressed. Also, featuring a new acronym!

The last grain of sand gently plopped down in the hour glass.
“Time!” called WW.
“Hah!” The faun proudly displayed his sheet of parchment with the words snaking down in an elegant cursive hand.
BSA glanced at the list and with a competitive smirk remarked, “Oh! It’s so cute and little!!” With a flourish she whipped out a large pile of parchment, which landed in the center of the glade with a very solid THUD.
“What is that!?” the faun stammered.
“Where I come from it’s called a ‘ream’” BSA continued smugly, “Of course, after I got bored finding all possible word combinations I also calculated your AMT.”
“But…but, I’m a mystical fantasy creature! I don’t pay income tax!” The faun stared at the parchment in horror. “You know what? Never mind. We’re not even going to compare lists. I just want you to go away.”
“Yeah! I win! I win! I win!” DFL triumphed before breaking into a hacking cough.
“All right little goat dude, tell us how to get home!” WW menaced.
With a sigh and a withering glare the faun began. “You will need to find a quartet of powerful and ancient wizards known only as 'The Croquet Players.' Their ways are ancient and mysterious. They can be found in the Menacing and Enchanted Forest.” he sketched a quick map in the snow. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m taking my Boggle game and going home.” With a huff the faun grabbed his game and ran out of the glade.
“Finally, the word game is over” TA sighed as she stepped out of the shadows.
“There you are!” WW pointed dramatically.
“This sucks” coughed DFL. “Look at this map, the forest is forever away and probably lacking in amenities. Blue and Frozen is not a good look for me!”
A thick fur coat sailed across and landed on DFL. “Sweet! Mink!”
Everyone turned and stared at TA.
“What?” TA put on her innocent eyes.
“You stole that faun’s Magical Bag o’ Stuff!! That means there Is No Receipt!” BSA gasped in horror.
WW stared at TA in shock. “You can’t steal. We’re the good guys.”
“The technical term is ‘protaganist’ and stealing is part of the ninja lifestyle. Why I remember back at ninja school. . .”
“Well you’re part of our group now and we have a firm No Stealing policy. Isn’t that right DFL?”
DFL was trying on her new coat. “Oh yes, horrible. Horrible. There’s no denying the moral implications that stealing has on our status as heros.”
A can of Diet Coke landed at her feet. “But obviously TA was just requisitioning much needed supplies for our quest. Including such desperate commodities as a pair of Sartore leather knee boots, a Marc Jacobs satchel, and Brad Pitt.”
The boots and the bag plopped over by the Coke. DFL tapped her foot impatiently, coughing intermittently.
“It’s a Bag o’ Stuff.” TA pointed out, “inanimate objects only.”
“This is wrong!” WW made a grab for the ninja, but TA evaded it easily. “Back me up BSA!”
“Give me one of those bags and a Coke and we’re good.” BSA shrugged.
“Fine.” Growled WW as her face went red, “Then I want some whole milk!”
TA distributed her bribes, er supplies. “Great, now let’s head to the forest.”

The four friends headed for the MAEF, not realizing that it is the fate of all wandering adventurerers to have a random monster encounter between sets. Er chapters. Quests. Whatever. They had just passed the snow line and were making their way through the muddy countryside when they were set upon by:

A: The Peanut Gallery
B: Hippies
C: Yama-Uba, the mountain crone
D: Ekibiogami: The Japanese god of epidemic diseases such as plague and pestilence

Monday AMV-late

What can I say? I love a nice long weekend. Here's an AMV based on anime that WW knows. Yeah! Apparently, Madonna's Die Another Day is quite popular for these things.

Friday Fun

"Nice web, Mr. Crack Spider"

This is a lovely educational film about the effects of drugs on web building spiders. The crack spider is my personal favorite.

Death of a Pop Tart

warm raspberry jam
broken pieces, shattered hopes
on the dirty floor

Random Star Wars

I really need to learn how to make movies like this. Because this is awesome.

Background

I thought it might be nice to have some background on the Shadowrun Drabbles. From Wikipedia:

Shadowrun is a cyberpunk-urban fantasy cross-genre role-playing game, set in the years 2050, 2053, 2060 or 2070 (depending on the game edition) following a great cataclysm that has brought use of magic back to the world, just as it begins to embrace the marvels (and dangers) of technologies such as cyberspace, omnipresent computer networks, genetic engineering, and the merger of man and machine called cyberware. Despite its departure in some respects from the "mainstream" cyberpunk genre, Shadowrun is perhaps the best-known and most popular RPG for this genre.

***
For our group specifically:

Many years ago, starving college students in a cold and wintery land gathered together to spend their evenings weaving tales, eating pizza, and cursing the dice. The ones I can remember are listed here:

Cast of Characters:

Hildy
Real Name: Brunhilda Avantegarde
Race: Human
Occupation: Lone Star Special Ops, Officer
Clothes: Business Casual, Leather Duster
Weapon: Ares Predator
Motto: What I lack in skill I make up for in enthusiasm!

Grunt
Real Name: Unknown
Race: Ork
Occupation: Lone Star Special Ops, Sergeant
Clothes: Three piece suit, fedora, and a pair of small gold-plated reading glasses.
Weapon: Assault Canon
Favorite Book: Pride and Prejudice


Cinder
Real name: Unkown
Race: Elf
Occupation: Fire mage
Clothes: Combat boots and pants, tank top, leather duster
Weapon: Her own fiery rage
Pet: A cat named Mr. Fluffers

Son-Ja
Real Name: Unknown
Race: Dwarf
Occupation: Samurai
Clothes: Armored kimono, jeans, sandals
Weapon: The enchanted sword of her ancestors
Special Skill: Physical Adept

Raven:
Real Name: Unknown
Race: Human
Occupation: Thief and professional snob
Clothes: Fabulous
Weapon: Poison
Greatest Fear: Flaming Jell-o
Interesting fact: Is currently wanted for questioning by Papal Guard Intelligence

Drabble: Illegal Parking

You know, keeping this sucker to 100 words is especially difficult since one of Hildy's character traits is to ramble on incessantly. Maybe I'll do one that's just Hildy talking.

Cinder stumbled groggly through her apartment, looking for coffee to help dispel the early morning gloom. Clad only in boxers and a tank top, with her curly red hair reaching desperately for the ceiling, the young witch still had the grace and ephemeral beauty of her Elvin race. She filled the coffee pot with water, focused, glared, and set it boiling on the stove. A sudden pounding on the door made her jump as an excited voice rang out, “Cinder! It’s Hildy! I need your help on amazing case! Hurry, I’m double parked and the meter maids here are vicious!”

Story: The Continuing

In which a faun posts his list.

Eyebrows furrowed in concentration the faun stared furiously at the boggle grid. The only sound in the glade was the furious scratching of feather pen on parchment as BSA scribbled like a madwoman. DFL, who normally was a boggle fiend, had succombed to the cold temperatures and lack of Diet Coke and was down with a nasty cold. TA was writing slowly and muttering something about Battleship and making "Kablooie" noises. WW was building a snowman, since word games were not a part of the Amazon way.

At last the final grains of sand in the ornate hourglass dropped and the contest was over. With a flourish, the faun produced his list:

Lawn
lawns
wan
pawn
pawns
mop
sin
sins
fit
sat
sate
lop
mite
mites
son
sons

Will BSA triumph? Will they ever get out of the snow? Will WW find a carrot for her snowman's nose? Will DFL manage to look fashionable while sick?

Stay tuned...

Apparently

Certain people out there don't think "naggery" is a real word. It almost pains me to point out that naggery is when someone combines chocolate and vanilla soft serve and puts it in a cone.

Just kidding. Obviously naggery is when someone combines the dark forces of nagging and flattery to wreak their horrible will.

Just wanted to clear that up.

Shadowrun Drabble: Kiss

For Dan. Curse your naggery!

A drabble is a short, 100 word story. A site I like offers a topic a day for a drabble. Today's was "Kiss."

The constant rains seeped through coats to produce a wearying, bone-deep chill. Forensics searched doggedly through the muck as rain-diluted blood seeped across the alley. Lone Star Officer Brunhilda Avantegarde surveyed the crime scene, wearing her best 'grim determination' face to hide her inner triumph. Responding officer! To a Homicide!! And Grunt was "investigating” in Bermuda! She would show them all. She gloved up and strode purposefully into the alley, ignoring the dirty looks of the techs, and frowned meaningfully at the Kiss Killer’s latest victim. She deftly plucked the scarlet wrapped candy from his forehead. “Cherry Cordial. That monster!”

Story: VLAWMIN is so a word!!

Before I start, there has been some complaining that I ignore votes and go with whatever my little heart desires. To stomp out this unfortunate and baseless accusation (seriously, if I wanted to do that, I'd just write the story) I now offer the tally from our last segment.

Boggle: Three
Battleship with sound effects: One
Trivial Pursuit: One


And now.. on to our continuation.


The faun reached deep into his sack and pulled out a small plastic container. The bottom was bright blue and held a 5X5 grid. Sitting in the grid were dice with various letters stamped on the sides. A clear shell over the top protected the dice.
“We play Boggle” the faun announced seriously.
“YES!!” BSA screamed as she raised her fists triumphantly in the air.
“Sweet!” DFL said as she settled herself comfortable in the snow.
“Crap.” Swore TA.
“Boggle?” WW asked confused.
“Boggle” the faun explained “is played with a tray of 16 letter dice, which is shaken to get 16 random letters”
“But there are 25 dice, because the grid is 5X5.” BSA asserted, showing off her mathematical skills.
“Obviously someone used a different random generator” the faun signed flicking a dirty look at TA. “Anyway, you have three minutes” the faun reached into the sack and pulled out an ornate hour glass, “to find as many words as you can in the grid, according to the following rules:
• The letters must be adjoining in a 'chain'. (Letter cubes in the chain may be adjacent horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.)
• Words must contain at least three letters.
• No letter cube may be used more than once within a single word
• No foreign words
• No names
• Any challenged words have to be found in the dictionary

The faun then pulled out a large, leather bound Oxford’s English Dictionary. “One point will be awarded for each word that you find, that no one else does. 2 points will be awarded for words with 6 letters. Whoever has the most points wins.”
The faun pulled out pens and pencils and distributed them.
“That bag is amazing.” TA sighed, looking at it speculatively. The faun inched it closer to his side.
WW’s face creased in a frown as she regarded her writing implements, “Hey, I thought this was supposed to be all like a fantasy environment but you gave me a bic!”
“Fine” the exasperated faun muttered. He swiped their papers and pens for parchment and ink feather pens. “Happy now?”
“Yes.” WW said smugly as she dipped her pen into the ink well.
“No.” stated BSA, TA, and DFL in horror.
“Good. Let’s start.” The faun picked up the grid and shook it vigorously. “Okay ladies, time starts… NOW!”

All right girls, have fun, no fights, no cheating, and no dumping ink wells over Wonder Woman’s head.

V O L I N
L P M J C
A W F I T
A N S E A
O S I S S

WW's Ranch

To the untrained eye, I spent the New Year's weekend watching the first season of 24. In actuality I was time traveling to the future, where I managed to get this footage from Wonder Woman's New Zealand ranch. Of course, it's disguised as a modern day commercial in order to avoid a paradox that would tear the fabric of space and time destroying all life as we know it because I'm considerate like that.



I also can't help but notice that all of your ranch hands are of the young and male persuasion you naughty girl.