CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-23 14:50:46 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

There is a rumor about a graphic novel that illustrates the ten most terrifying stories of the Bible, but no one knows how it's called or where it can be found. Help?

2013-05-23 01:52:29 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

I wish HBO made a show based on choice parts of the Bible. That would really be something. The best candidate would be the book of Samuel (Saul and David), closely followed by Genesis (from Abraham to Joseph, uncensored) and Judges (sex, violence and no real plot -- hell yeah!) Kings also has some great stories, but is too wide in scope to make a good narrative. If you're less concerned about staying true to the original text, a show about the period between the Fall and the Deluge could be pretty awesome as well.

2013-05-22 17:06:53 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

The Bible TV series is an attempt to hijack Hebrew mythology and turn it into American history. Good laugh with erudite company, something of a bore on its own.

2013-05-20 22:39:19 (14 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Some men envy the dead. I envy these men.

2013-05-19 02:21:25 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

I think I'll start observing the Sabbath. Not in the sense of going through the ancient rites, the Old Ones seem content for now, but in the sense of avoiding any kind of work-related activity or work-related thinking on weekends. Even if the deadliest deadline is looming above me like vengeful Dagon, even if I actually want to go over reports and business plans, I will wait for Sunday for these profanities.

2013-05-19 02:08:43 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

"I feel quite justified in believing that games and sports ought not be ranked among the major phenomena of life... All these things are, in their superior forms, simply by-products of excess intellectuality – which I haven’t the honour to possess. In their inferior forms they are of course simply avenues of escape for persons with too poorly proportioned and correlated a perspective to distinguish betwixt the frivolous and the relevant."

-- H.P. Lovecraft

2013-05-18 12:35:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Ghostwoods Books has acquired the rights to distribute the Kindle edition of Dark Harvest: Tales of Promethea. This anthology of stories is set in the Dark Harvest RPG world in which Viktor Frankenstein lived to hone his skills at animating the piece-work dead. Eerie, Gothic horror by some well-known game writers as well as novelists like Kate Harrad and Greg Stolze. You can get it on Amazon in both the US and UK. Here's the Ghostwoods Books page for it. http://www.gwdbooks.com/dark-harvest-tales-of-promethea.html

2013-05-18 12:32:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Here is a well written article regarding the historical roots of GoT. It presents the argument that what makes the series stand out is that it's very realistic on the one hand and unpredictable on account of not being based on actual history on the other. This argument is sweetly ironic for the people who did read the books and for whom the show, just like a proper historic show, holds no surprises.

I also feel that a curious subject that hasn't been investigated enough is the historic roots of the cultures with which Dany interacts. They remind me of medieval North Africa or Central Asia, but I'd have loved to hear a more learned opinion on the matter.

2013-05-17 18:04:28 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

I feel that in early medieval societies the distance between people and the government was actually smaller than in present days. Certainly, there were none of the faceless bureaucracies we have to deal with. For better or for worse, someone listened on the other end.

2013-05-16 19:35:45 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

The Passion of Greyjoy

2013-05-16 13:03:11 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Geeks and sports fans are becoming more and more alike every day -- a plague on both your houses.

2013-05-16 12:59:40 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

....aaand suddenly Facebook is better than G+ again.

2013-05-15 23:08:31 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Good gaming, good weather, good company -- a consummation devoutly to be wished.

2013-05-14 18:43:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Soundtrack for my next campaign: Little Big Hill.

2013-05-14 18:36:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Mother: stop staring at the pigeons, you're embarrassing them.

2013-05-14 01:14:09 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Does anyone know any good Native American based d20 products?

2013-05-13 20:50:51 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

"Act of terror is different than a terrorist attack" -- a masterpiece of bureaucratic nonsense.

2013-05-13 16:09:11 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

D&D idea: replace alignments with totem animals. If you play in a manner that fits your totem animal, you get bonuses, if you play in a contradictory manner, it punishes you.

2013-05-13 16:02:21 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 12 +1s)

They took my board. I took their window.

2013-05-12 02:34:45 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Why is writing a style guide makes one feel like such a colossal douchebag?

2013-05-12 01:19:07 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

My walks are getting ever more exciting. Last time I ran into a huge snake and tonight I helped the police catch a thief. What's next? Aliens?

2013-05-11 21:25:36 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Grace, decorum and politeness.

2013-05-10 23:40:45 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

conspiracy

2013-05-10 12:24:07 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Something I noticed while searching stuff on YouTube: Russian Federation vs. Soviet Union.

2013-05-10 01:49:50 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

I should have hired that viper I met yesterday instead of dodging it. I would bring it to all business meetings and say, "you have two choices -- you can work with me, or you can explain to my snake why you won't."

2013-05-09 12:31:19 (15 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I'm starting to think that there is no such thing as general intelligence or wisdom, only separate skills. Perhaps mental ability scores should be abolished in favor of a wider skill array?

2013-05-08 20:33:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Had a daydream. My partner and I are traveling across Westeros and trying to get local nobles and clergymen to allow us to open afterschool D&D games in their villages and castles. Tywin was harsh, but fair.

2013-05-08 20:07:36 (24 comments, 1 reshares, 20 +1s)

Headline: "Black Man Rescues Missing White Teens"

Why not "Man Rescues Missing Girls?"

2013-05-08 17:38:42 (16 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

I was walking down an abandoned garden, when a viper the size of a fucking submarine rose about half a meter from me and hissed like a fucking jet. I swear to God, my heart literally missed a beat.

2013-05-07 17:12:48 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Kid: I invented a new game.
Me: yeah?
Kid: it's called offices and furniture.
Me: and what do you do in this game?
Kid: i haven't thought about it yet...

2013-05-06 19:39:39 (17 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

What would you do with an FB contact who had positions you find offensive, but also made posts you find interesting?

2013-05-06 18:17:45 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Librarian: Are you two brothers?
Me: No...
Librarian: You look really alike.
Friend: We're from the same tribe.

2013-05-05 16:28:51 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Tired of waiting for me to apply for a job, the cubicle zombies offered me a job. I told them to go fuck themselves: Uri only works for Uri.

2013-05-04 03:25:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

If one update per month is not enough for you, if you feel you're not losing nearly enough work due to social networks, if you want to save your family and loved ones -- make sure to follow RATS! on FB.

2013-05-03 23:43:34 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Got a ton of nice audiobooks for a long road trip which got cancelled. Tempted to just take the car and drive nowhere in particular while listening to them.

2013-05-03 23:34:09 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 12 +1s)

"Anything you dream is fiction and anything you accomplish is science. The whole history of mankind is nothing but science fiction."

-- Ray Bradbury

2013-05-03 14:21:31 (24 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

People say Buffy is a strong female character. She is physically strong, all right, but in the end of the day, she always does what she's told and follows archaic rules like a good functionary. I think a much stronger female character would be Bo, who makes a point of living her life the way she chooses and to use her strength when she feels it's justified, not when tradition dictates it.

2013-05-03 00:52:31 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

This video is pure RATS! and a proof that the setting could support serious drama and not just goofy mayhem.

2013-05-02 20:42:20 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

A few months ago, I made a post about how RATS! is nothing like Mouse Guard. Since I still see the comparison fairly often, I thought it'd be a nice idea to re-post it.

2013-05-02 19:06:44 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

In case you wonder where we go next after RATS....

2013-05-02 17:49:51 (18 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Hey, could you, like, not make me your token Jew please? I'm really here to talk about gaming and writing. I'm totally cool with people asking me questions about Russian, Hebrew or the respective cultures tied to the two tongues, but feel free to keep me out of your political fights. Until someone starts paying me to do this, I have no plans of being Israel's first internet ambassador.

2013-05-02 16:15:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Paladin Turjiman was a great man who wished to rid the world of sin. His last thought was, “I wish I experienced a little bit of sin...”

2013-05-02 16:08:15 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

A princess who can save herself isn't just cooler, she is also more cost efficient.

2013-05-01 13:24:34 (16 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

In D&D, the efficiency of your attack is determined by rolling a die while your defense is a constant number. Did anyone ever try rolling both values? For example, having each combatant make a defense roll in the beginning of each round, so that PCs could exploit openings/ avoid foes when they're the strongest? I never tried it, but it sounds fun.

2013-05-01 13:19:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

A quote in honor of the day:

"The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement... There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. There will be no laughter, except the laugh of triumph over a defeated enemy. There will be no art, no literature, no science... There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping ona h... more »

2013-05-01 12:32:27 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Canada, Israel and the US are the world's most educate countries? I call shenanigans.

2013-05-01 00:11:37 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

"A lunatic is simply a minority of one."

-- George Orwell

2013-04-30 17:53:16 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

If animals should have equal rights to people, does it mean that predators should be put in prison?

2013-04-30 13:57:01 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

The Canadian kid strikes again.

Kid: I am a peaceful dragonborn. Can I breathe peace at the orcs?

2013-04-30 01:00:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Looks like a curious premise...