No Respect at All — The Monkees

Variety posted a piece yesterday about a Los Angeles showing of “Head,” a movie starring The Monkees that was released fifty years ago. I was a little overwhelmed over the past couple of weeks, so I missed reading whatever email had announced the event. A pity, because I'm a fan of the Monkees and that …

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The Outpost – A Review of the CW Series

I just finished binge-watching this show on the recommendation of a friend. I thought I'd write this review while it's still fresh in my mind. I became a voracious reader very early in life. I read The Hobbit while I was still in grade school. I played Dungeons and Dragons back in the 1970s. In …

Filmstruck is Getting Shut Down

Apparently it's not a large enough source of revenue for the new AT&T conglomerate that owns them now. Don't know what I'm talking about? Filmstruck. The online service that hosts films that are landmarks in the history of cinema. Opening the vaults of TCM, Warner Bros and the Criterion Collection, Filmstruck was one of a …

Classic Traveller Space Combat QRS

In writing up a new adventure and preparing to run CT again for the first time in a while, I've had to brush up on space combat rules and make some choices. Even the last time I ran a CT campaign, it all took place on one planet (Regina), so I didn't need space combat …

References for Classic Traveller

I'm writing a Classic Traveller adventure, and since it's been quite a while since I ran the game myself I'm preparing Quick Reference Guides. I also made up a page of pregenerated character cards. I thought I'd share in case anyone else would benefit, or if there are any comments. Things may be a bit …

Social Networking

The Google Plus social network will be shutting down in ten months. My experience there is that it was less busy than Facebook, but there was still quite a bit of discussion about fannish things. And after all, that's why I'm here online, “socially networking.” So, having deleted my Facebook account a few months ago …

Burn Notice – A Review

I just finished binge-watching this show, for the first time. I enjoyed it very much, although I had the usual “bumps” where writers made decisions that I disagreed with. Wish they would cut it out. The show had plenty of clever dialogue. Especially for Bruce Campbell (Sam) and Coby Bell (Jesse). And this pretty much …

The “OSR”

I'm old. I started gaming in the 1970s. When I started gaming, the original Dungeons and Dragons game was three pamphlets in a box. They had decided that they needed an entry-level game, because those three pamphlets, and the additional pamphlets they released subsequently, were chaotic untamed stream-of-consciousness messes that required a solid grounding in …

Do We Hate Fascists? Sadly, a Traveller-related Rant

Traveller is a role-playing game that I've been playing since 1981. I've been an actual member of the official Traveller online forum for sixteen years. I even became a paying member, to show my support for a game that I love. Today, I read a thread there where a group of the resident pundits shook …

Star Trek: A Reminiscence (Flashback Post)

Star Trek. I grew up watching this. I loved the actors, the costumes, the sets, the props, the music, the stories, and the Enterprise. I went to conventions in New York City in the 70s. I watched the animated series and considered it the remainder of the "five year mission." Even though it was a …