ggreig | Reading

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

andrewducker

1. What the World Got Wrong About Autistic People: (tags:autism research myths )

vivdunstan

And struggling beforehand not to say to Martin “Shall we watch the Torchwood series again?” Because it makes me think so much of Torchwood “Children of Earth” from long ago.

We are definitely having to watch this episode’s “previously on” recap, having seen the previous episode far too long ago.

Hoping to finish this Doctor Who spin-off mini series in a week from now.

andrewducker

1. Danish troops told to 'shoot first, ask questions later' if US invades Greenland: (tags:usa greenland denmark war doom )
2. What is the product placement in Lord of the Rings? (read the comments): (tags:lotr advertising viaSwampers )
3. How do UK voters feel about coalitions, and what kind would they like to see?: (tags:uk coalition politics polls )

andrewducker

"No!" Yelled Gideon. "Throw it at Daddy!"
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

andrewducker

Intrepid explorers off to school.
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

andrewducker

1. The sugar industry deliberately shifted the heart disease focus to saturated fat: (tags:sugar diet fat OhForFucksSake history )
2. We've run out of words, so every new service sounds like an alien: (tags:language funny )

ffutures

This is a bundle of The Painted Wastelands, a "prismatic pastel realm from Agamemnon Press for use with Old-School Essentials and other tabletop fantasy roleplaying game retroclones."

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Painted

I'm pretty sure that this one isn't for me, but it seems to be more imaginative in its approach than most of the "old school" material I see, and it's fairly cheap. If you want an RPG setting that isn't just dungeon bashing it may be worth a look.

vivdunstan

Originally published in 2014, and reposted today by the author John Bull. Long but well worth a read.

andrewducker

1. An interesting piece on LLMs and what the frontier looks like: (tags:AI viaCipherGoth )

ffutures

Two bundles for the Champions superhero game - one a repeat, the other new:

Champions 6E (repeat from 2021) - the 2009 6th edition of the game with a lot of campaign and support material:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/2026Champs6E

Champions Strike Force (new) - A revised and expanded collection of material based on designer Aaron Allston's long-running campaign

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/StrikeForce

Re Champions, in 2021 I said "very good value if you're a long-time Hero System or Champions fan who has been thinking about going over to the new rules, or adapting new material to the old rules, or a newcomer who wants to dive in with the latest revisions.

The down side to all this is that the Hero System has never been the simplest of games - the rules can get complicated and reward optimaxing. Some activities, most notably combat, play fairly slowly. In short, there are alternatives that may be more suitable for a newcomer or someone who prefers a faster style of play.

I'll be honest, I'm not enough of an enthusiast to want to dive in and learn it all over again, since I don't think I've actually played any of these games any time this century! If you're already using another multi-genre system you might do better to look at its superhero rules first, but if you're already using the Hero System this could be a very good buy."

Strike Force is new to me, and seems to have been a massively complex campaign which covered a couple of decades in playing time and game time, involving dozens of players and thousands of hours of play. The big problem, for me, is that I suspect that a lot of this was initially shaped by the personalities of a core group of players and the capabilities of their characters - while it may have broadened out considerably, some of the decisions that shaped the campaign would probably have been very different with other participants. Having said that, it's reasonably priced and you get a lot for your money including more than 7000 player handouts. Some of it has undoubtedly influenced other material published for Champions, so if you've ever wanted to see get an idea of the background that lead to the current incarnation of the game this may be very useful. However, unless you have a printer that runs VERY cheaply I'd recommend using tablets or other digital media for as many of the handouts as possible, this stuff gets SERIOUSLY expensive!

vivdunstan

Jotting down some thoughts about this. Mainly a note to self, but sharing here too in case it's of interest to others.

We have very little time to watch TV series things together. Often just one episode's worth a week, total, given how heavily sedated I am, including typically having to go back to sleep between dinner and supper. And that's after being asleep all day before then ... It really is phenomenally restricting.

However making plans! And as top priority I hope to rewatch the Fifth Doctor Peter Davison era of Doctor Who, now we have almost all the Fifth Doctor Blu-ray remastered season collections, and will get the last one in late March. I've seen very few of these episodes again since original broadcast back in the early 1980s. Martin has seen very few (he didn't have a TV at home when he grew up). So it will be fun to watch/rewatch. Plus watch some of the bonus extra features like documentaries etc on the new Blu-ray season boxes. I will also be referring throughout to the hardback copy of the latest Celestial Toyroom annual Martin got for me for Christmas, after I dropped an unsubtle/heavy hint. This year's annual looks back at the Fifth Doctor era, including writings about each story. The Lulu-printed hardback version of the annual is *gorgeous*.

Before then though we need to finish our watch of the BBC 1988-1990 Narnia TV series. We are almost through the first story, and will go on to the other two after (Prince Caspian! Tom Baker!). Martin has seen BBC's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" before from a video copy we had long ago. But he has never seen the others. It is all a rewatch for me. There is also a very in-depth new documentary on the new BBC remastered Blu-ray Narnia box. Will watch that too.

Once that is out of the way we will be able to return to our once a week Babylon 5, as well as starting the Fifth Doctor stories. We are now in early Season 3 of Babylon 5, and approaching some big episodes. Very much looking forward to more. I constantly reassess my favourites, though often end up with the same results. It all feels comfortably familiar. I have lost count of how many times we have rewatched this series.

We also need to watch The Rings of Power season 2, preferably before season 3 airs! Although we will probably be slow getting to the latter. Still have to watch Sandman season 2, but me managing to get through episodes of that given how heavily sedated I am may be very tricky. And we will definitely prioritise watching the Good Omens final wrap up, when that airs.

Almost forgot: we still have to finish watching The War Between the Land and the Sea, which I haven't even managed to stick to an episode a week pace, even outside the Christmas period. Frankly it's very very talky, and often I don't feel up to watching more. But we will finish it. Hopefully soon. 2 episodes to go.

There are probably more things, but that's enough for us to be going on with for now.

andrewducker

It snowed today, just a little bit. But it was totally worth taking the children out for a walk round the pond and up the hill to be in it.
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

andrewducker

If you want a picture of the future, imagine me sitting on the sofa trying to read a book with Sophia on my left asking for help with Stardew Valley and Gideon on my right asking for help with Lego Star Wars - for ever.

vivdunstan

Took part in a Tolkien Society celebration just now of JRR Tolkien's birthday today. Rather nice, with nearly 200 people Zooming in. Very chaotic at the unmuted toast though! I bailed out when it switched after that to chatty break out rooms in Zoom. I was happy to have been there for the reading + toast. Now having a lie down. Meanwhile Martin continues to work on his latest photos.

vivdunstan

Ordered me some books with Christmas money. They arrived today. Utterly delighted with two of them, but the third is extremely disappointing. The paperback copy doesn't reproduce the Venice artworks well, at decent size, or in situ in the text. I need to get the hardback instead. To be fair I should have known better, but the paperback is still a very disappointing presentation of the same art history material. Martin's going to take it into Waterstones Dundee for me for a return in the shop and refund (it was ordered online, and sent from Waterstones Glasgow Sauchiehall Street), and I've ordered a hardback replacement.

andrewducker

It's not often I wish I had a proper camera, but trying to capture the moon over Arthur's Seat is definitely one of them.
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.