Spooky Outhouse Productions

Author: Neal Stephenson

Published: 1992

Bantam Books

Plot Summary - In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo’s Cosa Nostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he’s a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that’s striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous…you’ll recognize it immediately.

Quick Thoughts: [forthcoming]

“Until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world. If I moved to a martial-arts monastery in China and studied real hard for ten years. If my family was wiped out by Colombian drug dealers and I swore myself to revenge. If I got a fatal disease, had one year to live, and devoted it to wiping out street crime. If I just dropped out and devoted my life to being bad.”

Your Hosts:

• Sam
• Scott

This episode was recorded 03/28/13

Next time: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Reading the rules of Flash Point: Fire Rescue caused me to think about how perfectionism puts out our fire.

Links:

ENTER THE TOOLCARDS: FANTASY CONTEST

The Canon Puncture Show

Hello, the Future! Song Fu Album Use discount code RUTHLESS for 20 % off.

Flash Point: Fire Rescue

The post Winners Let People Burn appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

Captain’s Journey is an ongoing story following the exploits of Captain Jaxx. This is the twelfth episode. If you are new to the story, you should start here. *** I stand before the ship in the cavernous hangar bay enveloped in silence. The only visible witness to what is occurring are the actinic lights that bathe the ship and I. “So Chikara, have you made a decision?” The silence following my question seems to last an eternity. My need for an answer is so strong that what takes seconds to pass seems like forever. “Yes, I have. I would like to travel with you Jaxx. The risks that come with this partnership are great but the adventures and exposure to new experiences easily outweigh them.” “Good! then let’s finish what we started yesterday and get off this rock and see what we are capable of!” I stride aboard Chikara. The sensations are expected and come much easier the second time around. Instead of a tool to be mastered, he is a partnered to be understood and supported. I gather up the information on his schematics and copy them to my quarters terminal for perusal offline when I have a full crew. I drop lightly into the the Captain’s chair overlooking the small bridge and watch as all the systems come alive. I process the various pre-launch operations and find a piece of interesting data. Under the manifest for the ship, I see listed a large quantity of Quarium. “Hey! I see we payload on board. I....

Congrats to Art, Monty, Jeff, Scott and Father Beast for their perfect scores!

Thanks to Art and Nick for their voice mails.

Picks:

Jeff

1. Iron Man 3
2. Pain and Gain
3. Oblivion
4. 42
5. The Croods

Lena

1. Iron Man 3
2. Pain and Gain
3. Oblivion
4. 42
5. The Big Wedding

Back Seat Art House picks:

• Jeff – The Iceman
• Lena – Scatter my Ashes at Bergdorfs

There are no other movies in wide release this weekend.

I wanted to know what this THACO thing was all about. I learned that and plenty more.

The post Thaco 101 with Hans Cummings appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

What if the Manhattan Project had been just a front? What if it hid a whole host of more unusual projects that were better left unknown? What if everything went wrong? These are the questions that are answered in the pages of The Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra. I will admit that I did some eye-rolling when I picked up this book. I have not read the previous issues and had my doubts that I would be able to jump right in and enjoy it. I am a geek and seeing Enrico Fermi and Oppenheimer as characters in a comic certainly plays hard on those heart strings but I had no clue what direction it would take me. Fuck, this was a good book! This issues deals with Enrico Fermi, Harry Daghlian, and the success of the Manhattan Projects. The book opens with a conversation between Fermi and Daghlian about food. It quickly goes off the rails to a broader discussion about efficiency versus abundance. After wheeling about these philosophical heights, it is brought back to reality with the point that Daghlian just wants some ice cream. Hell, he even calls Fermi an ass for being so long winded and off topic when he just wants some food. Funny and poignant all at the same time. This  issue looks at these two characters both in the past and the future. We get to see how Daghlian became a radioactive skull and his relationship with Fermi. Despite the super science and weirdness that goes....

The Lady Eve this week.  Next week is Living Russia (also The Man with a Camera, or Chelovek s kino-apparatom).  As always, follow along on our iCheckMovies list, and be sure to let us know how you’d rank the movies in the comments below.

The Lady Eve – February 25, 1941

Director: Preston Sturges
Producer: Paul Jones, Buddy G. DeSylvia
Writers: Preston Sturges
Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda
Distributor: Paramount Pictures

The course of the conversation:

The guys have difficulty getting into this conversation, blame the chicken.

Michael gets deep.

Just what is screwball comedy?

They might as well just call it testicular torsion.

Clever casting reveals more character details than you’d think.

Clever writing reveals more intimacy than any amount of nudity.

Barbara Stanwyck is a lioness stalking a slab of beef.

Somehow Jonathan brings in violence in video games.

Jonathan impersonates Hitler in neither Swedish nor German.

“Who’s John?” “Romeo’s sister.” “Wait, what?”

An honest rube is a somehow better than conning a con.

Should screwball comedies be on the list?

Is the screwball comedy the revival of “women’s films”?

Nathaniel’s not quite sure why he likes The Awful Truth so much more than The Lady Eve.

When Michael says a movie’s going to stay somewhere on his list? Don’t believe him.

Jonathan continues to lose touch with why Finding Nemo is so high on his list.

The hosts contribute their own movies to the list: Moon, 12 Angry Men, and The Blues Brothers.

Jonathan feels weird about Roger Ebert’s passing.

Living Russia is not a depressing movie at all.  Ignore everything Jonathan says.

In the Seat:

• Sam

recorded 04/29/13

I will confess, I had never heard of Skullkickers until the guys on Funnybooks started talking about it a few episodes ago. They made it sound like a fun book that was full of tongue-in-cheek action. I have not a read a full-on fun book in quite some time. So, I gave The Might Skullkickers number one a try. The humor that I heard about starts off immediately with the gorgeous cover and the title itself. The dwarf is front-and-center, wreaking havoc with the title of the comic itself. It is a beautiful homage to the Walter Simonson Mighty Thor cover. The subtitle for this story arc is eighty eyes on an evil island of which this issue is part three.  Yes, you read that correctly, part three. For this story arc, they have done a number one for each issue with a different name. The first part was Uncanny Skullkickers followed by Savage Skullkickers. Zub and Huang are having a good time poking fun at the overblown titles that are found out in the comic wilds and are inviting us to join them in a good laugh at them. The jabs are never mean spirited though as the art on the overs are excellent renditions of these self-same comics. One of my favorite things from this issue is on the very first page where they point out this is part three and issue number one. They freely admit that they are horrible people which made me giggle. the story....

MEET MARISSA KELLY

Marissa Kelly (MK) grew up with roleplaying as a favorite hobby; her father often made up house rules for classic roleplaying games, spinning epic tales of bravery and heart. From a young age, Marissa was inspired to draw the characters and scenes from these stories, her imagination spilling out onto the page. As she grew older, she kept roleplaying, enjoying systems of all types, and always drawing what she saw in her mind’s eye.  As an adult, she now finds herself drawn to tweaking and changing systems in order to bring those kinds of experiences to a new generation of roleplayers. With her partner, Mark Diaz Truman, she founded Magpie Games in early 2011 and has been instrumental in developing and illustrating Magpie Games’ first two releases, The Play’s The Thing and Our Last Best Hope.  In addition to her work with Magpie Games (www.magpiegames.com), Marissa is an outspoken advocate for minority and female gamers. She hopes to see the gaming industry become larger and more diverse over the next few years, and her art and efforts reflect a desire to create an inclusive gaming community.

Top 5 Pieces of Emergency Gaming Equipment I Carry with Me at All Times

1.) A mini dice bag that will fit your purse/bag. One set of 12 d6s and one Chessex 7-die set will cover you for most risky RPG situations.

2.) Extra index cards and Sharpies in a pencil bag. Because it’s not an indie game without index cards.

3.) My iPhone is always stocked with playlists for any gaming occasion. - Cthulhu- Cyberpunk - D&D - Middle Earth - Traveller - World of Darkness

4.) A thumb drive attached to your key chain. With the rules to so many of my favorite games downloaded on my keychain, I am always prepared for an impromptu gaming session.

5.) A small notebook full of names. I carry around a notebook and jot down names as I think (or hear) of them. This helps ease the choice paralysis that can occur when choosing a meaningful name for your adventurer or the NPCs they may encounter.

The post Community Voices: Marissa Kelly’s Top Five Pieces of Emergency Gaming Equipment She Carries with Her at All Times appeared first on Geeky & Genki.

#1 Pain and Gain from Paramount opened at #1 with a gross of $20.2 million in 3,277 theaters.  Budget was $26 million.

#2 Oblivion from Universal fell from #1 to #2 with a gross of $17.8 million (-52%) in 3,792 theaters (+9).  Total gross to date is $65.1 million.  Budget was $120 million.

#3 42 from Warner Bros. fell from #2 to #3 with a gross of $10.7 million (-39.9%) in 3,405 theaters (+155).  Total gross to date is $69 million.  Budget was $40 million.

#4 The Big Wedding from Lionsgate opened at #4 with a gross of $7.6 million in 2,633 theaters.  Budget was $35 million.

#5 The Croods from 20^th Century Fox fell from #3 to #5 with a gross of $6.7 million (-27.2%) in 3,283 theaters (-152).  Total gross to date is $163.2 million.  Budget was $135 million.

#6 G.I. Joe: Retaliation from Paramount fell from #5 to #6 with a gross of $3.7 million (-35.8%) in 2,707 theaters (-468).  Total gross to date is $116.5 million.  Budget was $130 million.

#7 Scary Movie 5 from Weinstein Company fell from #4 to #7 with a gross of $3.4 million (-44.2%) in 2,733 theaters (-669).  Total gross to date is $27.5 million.  Budget was $20 million.

#8 Olympus Has Fallen from FilmDistrict fell from #7 to #8 with a gross of $2.9 million (-36%) in 2,334 theaters (-304).  Total gross to date is $93.2 million.  Budget was $70 million.

#9 The Place Beyond the Pines from Focus Features fell from #6 to #9 with a gross of $2.7 million (-45.1%) in 1,584 theaters (+42).  Total gross to date is $16.2 million.  Budget was $15 million.

#10 Jurassic Park 3D from Universal fell from #9 to #10 with a gross of $2.4 million (-41.4%) in 1,848 theaters (-482).  Total gross to date is $42.1 million.  Budget was $10 million.

#11 Mud from Roadside Attractions opened at #11 with a gross of $2.2 million in 363 theaters.  Budget was unknown.

#12 Evil Dead (2013) from TriStar fell from #8 to #12 with a gross of $2 million (-51.7%) in 2,186 theaters (-637).  Total gross to date is $51.9 million.  Budget was $17 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $82.3 million.

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

This time on X-Factor wapcaplets and mrfroggies are joined by Kelvan Tiberius, a world championship-bound X-Wing player with some great insights on tournament play and some recent forum rulings that, if made canon, may dramatically change the way X-Wing is played.

Contact:

• Twitter: @xfactorpodcast
• Facebook: f/xfactorpodcast
• WWW: xfactorpodcast.com

Have you listened to this week’s Funnybooks with Aron and Paulie (link here) or last week’s Superman with Aron and Paulie (link here) yet?  Well, you should – you could win free goodies!  In addition to our usual Ideology of Madness SurPrize (call at 972-763-5903 and leave us your thoughts), we are giving away TWO Superman-related prizes! You can see them at right, there are two prizes.  How do you win them? Superman New 52 Funko Pop (1 winner): Leave a comment on the first episode of Superman with Aron and Paulie (link here) telling us what you’d like us to talk about/review/give commentary to on an upcoming episode or leave us a review for Superman with Aron and Paulie on iTunes (keyword: Ideology of Madness). Contest ends 5/11/2013. Adventures of Superman #1 Digitally from Comixology (5 winners): Leave a comment on the first episode of Superman with Aron and Paulie (link here) telling us what you’d like us to talk about/review/give commentary to on an upcoming episode or leave a comment on this week’s episode of Funnybooks with Aron and Paulie (link here). Contest ends 5/4/2013. Both contests have the following rules: Items will only be shipped within the United States. You must be 18 years or older to win. Contest ends Friday, March 15th at 11:59 pm Central time. Winners will be announced on the Funnybooks with Aron and Paulie episode releasing on Monday, March 18th.

Our final session of Mythender has us hunting down the now-mythified Catastrophe!

Relevant Links

• Mythender
• screaming goats
• D&D cartoon
• three point landing
• the little death
• minecraft
• Corvids
• Big Trouble in Little China
• Marvel RPG
• Terraria

Crunchy Bits!

• The Walking Eye Podcast Mythender Actual Play Session 4: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Intro “Hand of Doom” by Manowar.
• Outro “Ring of Fire” cover by Social Distortion

The Heartis of the Tardis

LA Noire

Flesh glaives- not a typo.

Henry 8.0 is Brian Blessed at his comedic best!

Batman and DC talk

Thom is spoiled by Evil Hat on Kickstarter, and grouchy at Numenera

Mic requests that will not happen

Greyhawk versus Forgotten Realms

Jackie Chan!

Weedy Wonka and we’re out.

Hosts:
Ian
(the) Brian
Thom

Happy Anniversary!

More notes to follow.

Hosts : Rob, Mike, and Ro Wick
BS! Memberships: Spooky Outhouse Productions
Music : Intro music “Hog Trail” used with permission of Ghoultown
Music : Outro music “The Wolf” used without permission of Tyler Jakes

Fear The Con 6! Free Comic Book Day Superman with Aron and Paulie Injustice Follow-Up (mention Infinite Crisis game) Wal-Mart’s Man of Steel Promotion Superman #19 Jupiter’s Legacy #1 Journey Into Mystery #651 Guardians of the Galaxy #2 East of West #2 New Avengers #5 Scarlet Spider #16 Plus there is still time to enter our Superman contest! Give us a call at 972-763-5903 and leave us your thoughts. If we use your voicemail, you’ll win an Ideology of Madness SurPrize! Knights of Reignsborough Season 2 is coming…!

Scott provides an introduction to the Cyberpunk genre.

Subjects discussed:

• Nietzsche Grandfather of Cyberpunk
• Expressionism
• Noir protagonists
• Cyberpunk themes
• How this all fits with Snow Crash
• why steampunk is not a genre

Recorded: 04/27/13

Alex starts the show with a plea to potential terrorists.

The guys have decided to quit living in sin.

Monaco will be purchased on 360, when it’s finally released.

The word “Edge” is now no longer trademarked.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified was only hinted at when we recorded the show.

Alex picked up Playstation Plus, Malicious, Disgaea 3, Sins of a Solar Empire, and Midway Arcade Classics.

Sam has finished Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and Resident Evil 6, and has given up on a 1999 run through Bioshock Infinite.

Jonathan’s playing Don’t Starve, Darksidersed Revengeance, and gets to talk about Ridiculous Fishing but not Fish Out of Water.

The Metagame is tabled for a while, as Sam is clearly the Prognosticator Extraordinaire, and also the guys aren’t giving the game the attention it needs to actually be interesting.