James Wallis, Pilgrim for Charity

I frequently read Matt Forbeck's blog, maybe too frequently. One of the reasons I keep going back to his blog, in addition to any insights I might get into the "gaming" world, is that he has interesting friends who do interesting things. Case in point, Matt's most recent post is about James Wallis who has decided to go on a journey that would make Medieval Bloggers like Professor Nokes jump for joy. Wallis plans to walk all 120 miles of the Pilgrims' Way through Hampshire, Surrey, and Kent.

Mr. Wallis will be making the journey without the assistance of modern technology, including maps, because he desires to make the pilgrimage in a manner closer to that of a medieval pilgrim. You know the type, you read about them in Canterbury Tales by Chaucer. The work is one of the great works in English Literature and a great glimpse into the medieval mind. Wallis is using the trip as an opportunity to raise money for charity, something that would make the author of the Caterbury Tales proud and would make for a worthy addition to the tales themselves.

One of my favorite "discussions" in the Tales was the discussion of piety, indulgences, and what behavior best exemplified a proper "vocation."

First Amendment Rights Restored at the University of Nevada, Reno

Back in April of 2006 I read a very sad story in the Newspaper of my Undergraduate Alma Mater. The University Senate, the students the young idealistic rebels, voted on whether or not to make the entire campus a public forum or to continue limiting free speech to four "free speech" zones. Sadly, only one student voted in favor of making the entire campus a public forum. I was worried about the state of my former school, limiting free speech is a terrible idea especially on a college campus.

Luckily, when the school year ended the University administration, that's right the normally oppressive bureaucrats, reversed the policy expanding the free speech zone to cover the entire campus. The only exception to the rule is the interior of campus buildings, which still have restrictions. Really leaving speech restricted in the only place, on a campus, where such a policy can even be imagined. I can, after all, understand how protests during classes might disrupt students' ability to learn. But even granting that caveat, I hope the new policy allows a great deal of latitude even within buildings. While shouting down professors during lectures might be reasonably restricted, other forms of free expression (like arm bands, T-Shirts, etc.) seem legitimate even in a more restricted forum.

Chronic Iced Tea

British consumers will soon be able to purchase an ice tea that is sure to be lauded by snack and fast food companies. Health food shops in England will soon be offering a tea made from Cannabis. While the makers of the tea assure us that the amount of THC is insufficient to create "dependancy." No comment has been made whether the tea causes the munchies.

Dragonlance Animated Movie in the Works

According to Gaming Report.com there is an upcoming Dragonlance animated feature in the works. Add to that Lucy Lawless will be doing the voice work for one of the major players, Goldmoon, in the production and it all sounds good. That is until I read the part where Lucy Lawless says that Goldmoon is Native American. Huh? The story takes place on the planet Krynn, on the continent of Ansalon. So where is America here?

Does she mean that the plains people Goldmoon and Riverwind come from are based on certain Native Americans? That would be true, but given the voice direction she describes, I worry. I worry. I worry. I worry.

52!!

I am most impressed with the latest DC "Let's remake the universe" storyline - 52

I haven't read comics regularly since they killed the "Young Justice" series, but I am way addicted to this one.

It's like a comic book version of "24" but with superheroes and all those trappings, wherein there is a new issue every week, the events happen in real time as best they can for a comic book (i.e. the latest issue references that last Sunday was Father's Day), and they are doing a bang up job of really analyzing what would happen to the rest of the world if all these crazy events happened and dealing with the characters lives in a realistic manner.And (also much like 24) they have a really cool website done up like a "Daily Planet" website that has lots of cool goodies and clues to keep you guessing at what's going to happen next.

I'm digging it. Go check out the comics, as Christian Johnson has observed they could certainly use the support. And if you haven't read one in awhile I highly recommend you pick up the Infinite Crisis storyline while you are at it. It will keep you from wondering what the crap is going on, as well as entertain you with it's well plotted storyline and character development.

The Lake House and Me

My thoughts about the movie The Lake House are very similar to those of Roger Ebert who enjoyed the film and gives it a nice review. My wife and I had been looking forward to seeing this film ever since we say il Mare, the Korean film The Lake House is based on, early last year. We very much enjoyed the film's premise of "writing through time" and any attempt to tell an epistolic tale in the visual medium is a remarkable exercise. We all know letters aren't truly conversational, and in making the letter writing conversational both the Korean and the US film cheat, but it is neat to think of a romance that develops separated by time. The reference in the American version to Jane Austen's Persuasion is apropos.

The only real complaint my wife and I had regarding the American adaptation was the choice of dog they used in the film. The dog in the Korean version was just perfect and had the right balance of cute and vulnerable. Besides that, it reminded Jody and me of our own lost personification of love Oreo.

Which reminds me, the best line in Ebert's review is, "Dogs live outside of time, don't you think?" I would add that in the film's The Lake House and il Mare love exists out of time, and that dogs as personifications of love do as well.

You Never Know What to Expect in Los Angeles

On Saturday my wife and I went to a graduation party for Cathy Seipp's daughter Maia. Actually the party had a two fold purpose. The first was to celebrate Maia's graduation from high school and admission to UC San Diego. The second was to celebrate Cathy beating the odds in her battle against lung cancer and being able to witness her daughter's graduation. Cathy is one of the bright lights in Los Angeles. She is a Southland conservative who has friends across the political spectrum and sometimes her friends bring interesting guests.

At this particular occasion, you can imagine my befuddlement to be at a party on a sunny afternoon in Los Angeles when who should arrive? Ann Coulter?! Whuh?



I was certain, given her pale skin and dread aura, that she was a vampire and incapable of being out during the day. But as it turns out when I shook her hand, after being introduced, I did not gain the expected two negative levels. She was very accessible and had a long discussion with Southland liberal blogger Joseph from Martini Republic. It isn't often one gets to meet a professional provocateur, so I leapt at the chance to see if she was always "on" or if she saved being "in character" for high profile events. As it turns out she had a disarming self-effacing humor. She joked about how her ideal telvision role would be a murder victim on the Fox show 24. She laughed at both how much "liberals" would enjoy seeing her corpse and how much the press would eat it up.

LYT described her reception by observing, "It's funny how there are people here who have probably used all kinds of invective to describe her, yet immediately wanted to talk to her."


photos compliments and © Emmanuelle Richard

My wife tried to talk me into having my picture taken with her, as did LYT, but I only agreed to have one taken with my back to her pretending to be so cool that I could keep my back turned to one of the most divisive personalities in the modern day. If only Michael Moore had been there too, then my head would have exploded.

In case you were wondering, while I didn't gain two negative levels (as expected) I do believe I had to make a Will save, a Fortitude Save, and took somewhere in the realm of 1d8+5 damage. All of which explains the sunglasses Coulter was wearing.