Apr
27
27
Shame of Things
It has been quite some time since I've posted on here, and to tell the absolute truth... probably even longer since I've walked thru the website. When I initially got it and set it up, we were going to Origins annually and thought that having the site would be a great idea. We would all be able to put things up here and build it up.
No... no... I'm not tearing the site down. Don't get all excited about that. The problem with it all is that it isn't what I thought it was going to be like. I thought that we would have built up a group of gamers that would visit the site and add a little input here and there, but it never really happened. Instead when I put up the chat room, I got a few fart knockers from Russia and eastern Europe that flooded the rooms with their spam. Real class acts I gotta tell ya.
The site itself, we were supposed to set up a World section with maps, people of note, places of interest and things like that... never happened either. Most of us are either too busy running their worlds, not comfortable scanning and uploading, or just not thinking about it for the project to ever leave the ground. Sure... it gets brought up from time to time, but that is about it. Hey, I'm just as guilty as the rest. I got a program in order to plot out the sector of space that the guys were playing Star Wars in. Once I had it set up, I was going to have a fly thru of their adventure as to where they've been. I got 3 quarters of the way done and then I got hit with a huge project at work that sucked my time up... took the steam right outta my sails. Now finding my plotted out sector will be fun... let alone reloading the software, since I had to unload it for some reason.
Probably the worst thing about doing this is simply that it feels like I'm talking to myself... well, right now... whining to myself... but nonetheless, without an ounce of knowledge that anyone is even reading these. All of those cigar reviews that I put up, not one comment for or against any of those cigars. I don't know if you guys are even interested in those reviews or not. Hell, the number of cigars that Ryle and I have smoked that I can drop a review down on is HUGE at the moment, but the urge to do it just isn't there... kinda like spinning your wheels.
You might ask... what the hell have you been doing? Well, I post regularly on MSN's Newsvine. I tend to get feedback there... one way or the other... so I have no problem dropping the occasional article there. What else? Facebook... yes, I know. I have always said that FB is a shithole and a HUGE security risk, and I STILL stand by that, especially since being on there and seeing how thing work. Information just flows too freely. I'm on there for 1 main reason and that is to keep in touch with a buddy... that's it. Most of the info I have on my account you can find on a simple search of my name, and anything else that I HAD to put on there is false. Yup... made it up. Not a single picture of me or anyone that I give a shit about. A hacker can't farm my account and gain anything from it like the majority of others that I have come across. Whew... wanna talk about putting your life online... there are some people that blindly put their faith in FB security, and some day they are going to be surprised at what happens.
Well, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to attempt to reboot myself when it comes to the website. Maybe I'll retool it and give it a face lift... start over new... Ya, I think that's what needs done... I should probably get started.
No... no... I'm not tearing the site down. Don't get all excited about that. The problem with it all is that it isn't what I thought it was going to be like. I thought that we would have built up a group of gamers that would visit the site and add a little input here and there, but it never really happened. Instead when I put up the chat room, I got a few fart knockers from Russia and eastern Europe that flooded the rooms with their spam. Real class acts I gotta tell ya.
The site itself, we were supposed to set up a World section with maps, people of note, places of interest and things like that... never happened either. Most of us are either too busy running their worlds, not comfortable scanning and uploading, or just not thinking about it for the project to ever leave the ground. Sure... it gets brought up from time to time, but that is about it. Hey, I'm just as guilty as the rest. I got a program in order to plot out the sector of space that the guys were playing Star Wars in. Once I had it set up, I was going to have a fly thru of their adventure as to where they've been. I got 3 quarters of the way done and then I got hit with a huge project at work that sucked my time up... took the steam right outta my sails. Now finding my plotted out sector will be fun... let alone reloading the software, since I had to unload it for some reason.
Probably the worst thing about doing this is simply that it feels like I'm talking to myself... well, right now... whining to myself... but nonetheless, without an ounce of knowledge that anyone is even reading these. All of those cigar reviews that I put up, not one comment for or against any of those cigars. I don't know if you guys are even interested in those reviews or not. Hell, the number of cigars that Ryle and I have smoked that I can drop a review down on is HUGE at the moment, but the urge to do it just isn't there... kinda like spinning your wheels.
You might ask... what the hell have you been doing? Well, I post regularly on MSN's Newsvine. I tend to get feedback there... one way or the other... so I have no problem dropping the occasional article there. What else? Facebook... yes, I know. I have always said that FB is a shithole and a HUGE security risk, and I STILL stand by that, especially since being on there and seeing how thing work. Information just flows too freely. I'm on there for 1 main reason and that is to keep in touch with a buddy... that's it. Most of the info I have on my account you can find on a simple search of my name, and anything else that I HAD to put on there is false. Yup... made it up. Not a single picture of me or anyone that I give a shit about. A hacker can't farm my account and gain anything from it like the majority of others that I have come across. Whew... wanna talk about putting your life online... there are some people that blindly put their faith in FB security, and some day they are going to be surprised at what happens.
Well, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to attempt to reboot myself when it comes to the website. Maybe I'll retool it and give it a face lift... start over new... Ya, I think that's what needs done... I should probably get started.
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
Aug
31
31
Free Ranging
It has been quite some time since we've put out a little nugget on gaming, so I've decided to rectify this little injustice. What I'm going to talk about is for advanced to elite GMs. Experienced ones will get a lot out of this, but you just don't have the skills built up to pull it off seamlessly. What I'm going to talk about is an open world.
I know what a lot of you are thinking... "what the hell are you talking about?" This is what I'm talking about. When a GM puts a campaign together, they usually have a plan and limit the players movement to an area. They don't give them certain options, so that they can keep them in the "play field"... that way the GM can run his story without a hitch or only minor ones. That is your standard campaign... all you GMs know it well.
What I'm talking about is giving the players the ability to go anywhere that they want. You dangle different things that they can do and let them bite on whichever one that they want. If they want to stay in one spot and make things easy on the GM, then that is easy enuff, but... if they are like TRUE adventurers and tend to wander around, they have to actually be able to do that thru the world. The problem with this is that the GM needs to be able to work on their toes. They have to come up with little side missions on the fly, but the whole point is to have a regional plan, and then make it a little more specific the closer to the map that you get. What I mean by this is if you sit back and look at you map and you have 4 kingdoms. Kingdoms 1 and 4 are ancient allies and kingdom 2 is neutral... problem is, kingdom 3 are crapweasels and they do things to make it look like the other kingdoms are working against each other. When you get closer, you find in kingdom 3 that there is a power struggle happening, and one of the sides is trying to make peace with kingdom 2, but their opponent plans on ruining this by attacking the daughter of kingdom 1, who is to be wed to the son of the king in kingdom 4... in kingdom 2's territory. I know... very twisty, but it needs to be for the players to unravel... quickly. The thing is that in an Open world, they can come at this from a lot of directions. They can be guards for the princess of kingdom 1, they can be an honor guard out to greet them from kingdom 4, they could be a patrol from kingdom2 that was sent because a rumor was heard, or they could be either side from kingdom 3. The best thing of all, they could be wandering along and this happens in front of them, and then they get to pick sides quickly... or let it happen.
However you look at it, using this style is really tough on you, because your resources will be stretched thin. If you play with awesome RPers like I do, when they talk to someone, they want to know their name, so you always have to have a name ready. I list of names is great, but you had better make a note of the person... because someone in that party fuckin' did! You need to personalize each small town they come across... and they'll go by them fast if they are just running around. Also... make sure you toss in the "flavors"... farmsteads... little trading posts... crossroad mini towns (3 - 5 buildings)... and non-human camps (yes, they actually live out in the open... not all of them live in caves and ruins).
Oh, a quick note on the non-humans... they don't ALL have to be the red shirt, XP bait... you are allowed to make one or 2 of them "above average", kinda like your heroes. Remember, you can do ANYTHING!! If you want to make a goblin a 8th level fighter with a short sword of speed, giggle as you describe the flashing blade and small chunks that he cuts off the party before taking off. After all, he didn't make 8th level fighting to the death!
I know that I only really gave an over view on open world gaming, but it isn't something that you can walk someone thru... it is second nature. If you can run a whole session doing nothing but improv, you should be able to do a campaign in an open world format with a minimum level of prep. I would be remiss if I didn't warn you that there are many dangers to this. You need to keep your stories straight... and definitely your timeline. If something is supposed to happen at a given time and the party sidetracks itself, screw the dramatic rescue... punish them for putting something else in front of something that was time sensitive. They knew the risks and they failed. I know that this style is very fluid, but you do need to keep time rigid. There does need to be at least one constant.
Well, I hope this helped out and maybe gives you a little goose to try something new. If you have questions... well, you know how to get me. See ya!!
I know what a lot of you are thinking... "what the hell are you talking about?" This is what I'm talking about. When a GM puts a campaign together, they usually have a plan and limit the players movement to an area. They don't give them certain options, so that they can keep them in the "play field"... that way the GM can run his story without a hitch or only minor ones. That is your standard campaign... all you GMs know it well.
What I'm talking about is giving the players the ability to go anywhere that they want. You dangle different things that they can do and let them bite on whichever one that they want. If they want to stay in one spot and make things easy on the GM, then that is easy enuff, but... if they are like TRUE adventurers and tend to wander around, they have to actually be able to do that thru the world. The problem with this is that the GM needs to be able to work on their toes. They have to come up with little side missions on the fly, but the whole point is to have a regional plan, and then make it a little more specific the closer to the map that you get. What I mean by this is if you sit back and look at you map and you have 4 kingdoms. Kingdoms 1 and 4 are ancient allies and kingdom 2 is neutral... problem is, kingdom 3 are crapweasels and they do things to make it look like the other kingdoms are working against each other. When you get closer, you find in kingdom 3 that there is a power struggle happening, and one of the sides is trying to make peace with kingdom 2, but their opponent plans on ruining this by attacking the daughter of kingdom 1, who is to be wed to the son of the king in kingdom 4... in kingdom 2's territory. I know... very twisty, but it needs to be for the players to unravel... quickly. The thing is that in an Open world, they can come at this from a lot of directions. They can be guards for the princess of kingdom 1, they can be an honor guard out to greet them from kingdom 4, they could be a patrol from kingdom2 that was sent because a rumor was heard, or they could be either side from kingdom 3. The best thing of all, they could be wandering along and this happens in front of them, and then they get to pick sides quickly... or let it happen.
However you look at it, using this style is really tough on you, because your resources will be stretched thin. If you play with awesome RPers like I do, when they talk to someone, they want to know their name, so you always have to have a name ready. I list of names is great, but you had better make a note of the person... because someone in that party fuckin' did! You need to personalize each small town they come across... and they'll go by them fast if they are just running around. Also... make sure you toss in the "flavors"... farmsteads... little trading posts... crossroad mini towns (3 - 5 buildings)... and non-human camps (yes, they actually live out in the open... not all of them live in caves and ruins).
Oh, a quick note on the non-humans... they don't ALL have to be the red shirt, XP bait... you are allowed to make one or 2 of them "above average", kinda like your heroes. Remember, you can do ANYTHING!! If you want to make a goblin a 8th level fighter with a short sword of speed, giggle as you describe the flashing blade and small chunks that he cuts off the party before taking off. After all, he didn't make 8th level fighting to the death!
I know that I only really gave an over view on open world gaming, but it isn't something that you can walk someone thru... it is second nature. If you can run a whole session doing nothing but improv, you should be able to do a campaign in an open world format with a minimum level of prep. I would be remiss if I didn't warn you that there are many dangers to this. You need to keep your stories straight... and definitely your timeline. If something is supposed to happen at a given time and the party sidetracks itself, screw the dramatic rescue... punish them for putting something else in front of something that was time sensitive. They knew the risks and they failed. I know that this style is very fluid, but you do need to keep time rigid. There does need to be at least one constant.
Well, I hope this helped out and maybe gives you a little goose to try something new. If you have questions... well, you know how to get me. See ya!!
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
Aug
09
09
Missing in Action
Sorry, guys. I know that I've been neglectful, and I promise to try and be a little more diligent in putting up posts. You know how it is... you mean to but then something happens and you push it off and it just keeps falling down the list. Well, last nite... I put it at the top of the list and as you can see... it is frickin' still there!! Of course, I'm actually surprised that I got to this, so I'm scrambling for a topic in my head as I write this. I know, if I don't have a topic... why write? Well, if I didn't start writing, it would get pushed off until I came up with something... and we ALL know what that would mean. Ahhhh... I have a topic... cigars... well, one in particular.
I'm doing a little different format for this guy. Why? Because it is one of the big guns and should be good. It is expensive and should get high marks in everything, so I am just going to hit you with the review of it.
Cigar: The Punisher Tubos (pretty much a robusto in a tube)
This came with a warning to us... which Ryle and I took with our usual eye roll... big mistake! I got brand new V-Clips, so we clipped them with those. Unfortunately, I was the first one to wet my tip. To quote from the Lord of the Rings... "It BURNS us!!" Holy shit! It was like clipping the tip off of a jalapeno and putting it to your lips. My lips and tongue BURNED for a good 5 minutes, and the funny thing was watching Ryle's reaction to me and then him doing the same. It took us about 15 to 20 minutes to numb our lips enuff to actually light the cigars. I know what you are thinking... did it burn the back of your mouth and throat? No... it didn't. Quite the contrary. It mellowed it out and it became a very good smoke. There isn't much bad I can say about it. I can't even knock the burn... they warn you about and the cigar is called the PUNISHER for christ sake. The only knock I have on it is that the crown came off near the end for me. If you bite, you are going to have to watch for that. Luckily, it isn't superglued to the wrapper like some are done now and days, where you end up mauling the end of your cigar if you try and remove it.
Final Word: Truthfully, I think that everyone should try this just once... unless you really like and can take the initial lip searing burn. The cigar is a awesome smoke and it won't disappoint you. Gets a huge thumbs up... with a glass of milk and a piece of bread.
I'm doing a little different format for this guy. Why? Because it is one of the big guns and should be good. It is expensive and should get high marks in everything, so I am just going to hit you with the review of it.
Cigar: The Punisher Tubos (pretty much a robusto in a tube)
This came with a warning to us... which Ryle and I took with our usual eye roll... big mistake! I got brand new V-Clips, so we clipped them with those. Unfortunately, I was the first one to wet my tip. To quote from the Lord of the Rings... "It BURNS us!!" Holy shit! It was like clipping the tip off of a jalapeno and putting it to your lips. My lips and tongue BURNED for a good 5 minutes, and the funny thing was watching Ryle's reaction to me and then him doing the same. It took us about 15 to 20 minutes to numb our lips enuff to actually light the cigars. I know what you are thinking... did it burn the back of your mouth and throat? No... it didn't. Quite the contrary. It mellowed it out and it became a very good smoke. There isn't much bad I can say about it. I can't even knock the burn... they warn you about and the cigar is called the PUNISHER for christ sake. The only knock I have on it is that the crown came off near the end for me. If you bite, you are going to have to watch for that. Luckily, it isn't superglued to the wrapper like some are done now and days, where you end up mauling the end of your cigar if you try and remove it.
Final Word: Truthfully, I think that everyone should try this just once... unless you really like and can take the initial lip searing burn. The cigar is a awesome smoke and it won't disappoint you. Gets a huge thumbs up... with a glass of milk and a piece of bread.
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
Jun
22
22
Clones...
I know a lot of you might be thinking that after the long absence that I might come back with some cigar reviews... and I could, I've smoked some real good cigars. Here's the problem with the cigars. Way back in the beginning, I mentioned that I wanted to review "cheap" cigars instead of doing it with the expensive ones... the ones that should be awesome. It appears that I've run thru the cheap ones... or at least the ones that I'm willing to drop cash on. (Sorry... not buying something called the Devil's Weed. It could be an awesome smoke... I'll never know) I believe it is time for me to do just the opposite now... review the expensive ones an steer you away from the ones that are all hype. I digress... that notice wasn't the purpose of this post... this is...
I don't know about the rest of you, but I work in an office. As an IT guy, I get around to pretty much everyone at some point. Well, we have these outside sales girls, and I lovingly call them the Stepford Girls. Not because they are robots or anything like that, but they all pretty much... generally... look alike. Dark hair... between 5'8" to 6' (The last girl they hired slouches... she has to be at least 6')... and not hard to look at. There are a couple of them that will stop all male activity as they pass... just to give you an idea. Funny how the guys hit the bathroom right after, huh? Now it isn't like there is 3 or 4 of them... there are 8!! I don't know if the Sales Manager realizes that he only hires a certain type of girl, or if it is subconscious.
I know... you are waiting for me to bitch about something. Let's see, all these hot young girls, walking around in high heels, are working around me. What can I bitch about? Oh, I know... they haven't installed stripper poles for them to "exercise" on yet! There ya go... that's my bitch. Oooo... gotta run. One of the REAL hot ones just dropped a bunch of paper on the ground! I gotta get a good spot before others show up!!
I don't know about the rest of you, but I work in an office. As an IT guy, I get around to pretty much everyone at some point. Well, we have these outside sales girls, and I lovingly call them the Stepford Girls. Not because they are robots or anything like that, but they all pretty much... generally... look alike. Dark hair... between 5'8" to 6' (The last girl they hired slouches... she has to be at least 6')... and not hard to look at. There are a couple of them that will stop all male activity as they pass... just to give you an idea. Funny how the guys hit the bathroom right after, huh? Now it isn't like there is 3 or 4 of them... there are 8!! I don't know if the Sales Manager realizes that he only hires a certain type of girl, or if it is subconscious.
I know... you are waiting for me to bitch about something. Let's see, all these hot young girls, walking around in high heels, are working around me. What can I bitch about? Oh, I know... they haven't installed stripper poles for them to "exercise" on yet! There ya go... that's my bitch. Oooo... gotta run. One of the REAL hot ones just dropped a bunch of paper on the ground! I gotta get a good spot before others show up!!
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
May
20
20
Too Good to be True!?
I know some of you may take this wrong but it will have a silver lining... for one of us! Tomorrow is May 21st, 2011 and anyone that knows something will know that it is the day of The Rapture. That's right... what they've been going on forever about has finally come and it is time to Nut up or Shut up. Alright, let me give you the schedule for the Rapture and associated destruction to come with it.
The "event" is slated to begin tomorrow at 6PM along the Pacific Rim and travel westward. At 6, all of the self-righteous, bible thumping, clinic bombing, funeral protesting pain in the asses are supposed to be lifted into heaven, and once that is done, an earthquake will shake the land... but only in that time zone. In an hour and about 400 miles westward (you got it... in the next timezone), this will happen all over again... and again... and again. All I can say for you christians is NOT to be moving around tomorrow, because if you get caught crossing into a timezone that has already been Raptured... well, you are going to be S.O.L.!! The way it works is that at 6pm in EACH TIMEZONE the Rapture will happen. Nope... not all at once, but timezone by timezone. Guess the big guy likes to keep his toys in their separate boxes so they don't get mixed up or anything. Wouldn't want to get any of that yellow or brown skin on that redneck! After 24 hours, the Rapture will be over... why? Because god is an old man is just a slow ass these days.
What does this mean for the rest of us? Well, according to them, after 5 months, the end of the world arrives and we all die. I don't really see that, tho. With all the bible thumping zealots gone, I would think that the end of the world would be pushed away because the people that cause most of the problems in the first place are gone. No more people PUSHING their beliefs onto others and screaming "This is a christian nation", and they killed almost every native American who wouldn't bow down before them. No... it will become... "This is a FREE nation, believe whatever you want." There won't be anyone slamming a book down and saying that "It doesn't say it in THE book"... by the way, when you guys get Raptured... take the story books with you. I think someone up there needs to kick your asses for changing the words.
Alright, let's look at this realistically. There are thousands of dumb ass christians that have sold off everything they have... you know, not wanting to leave anything for us sinners... eventho (and I find this real funny) they expect us to take care of there pets. Really, take care of your pets? What makes you think there is even the smallest chance of us doing that? Since we are so evil, what is to stop us from stopping your yappy ass dog from barking... FOREVER... or at least the next 5 months. Nope... you have all of these people that have bet EVERYTHING on the fact that the Rapture WILL happen. They will be standing outside on the 21st at 5:59 pm, looking up for the white light to whisk them away. They'll close their eyes and pray, in order to make themselves as "worthy" as possible. At 7:01 pm, when their neighbors come out... you know... the ones that they've tortured for years about the Rapture, and look up and then back at them and say... "Huh... I was hoping something would take you." The real question is, what are they all gonna say? Rapture this... Rapture that... hell, they even made a fuckin' video game about it at its height. Are they going to say... "Oh, our bad. Sorry we were such dicks for the last 10+ years." Here is what makes it sweet... there are going to be some of those thumpers that were so sure, and they are going to be running around, hoping for backsies or do-overs. Will they shut up after this, hell no!
I know... the question that is always given to an atheist... what if I'm wrong? Well... I'm wrong. I'll be sitting down here looking at my watch and then the empty streets and going... "No fuckin' way!" I'll think about it for another minute and realize that I won't have to put up with any gloating about me being wrong and just smile. Ya... I can live with that... it's only 5 months after all.
The "event" is slated to begin tomorrow at 6PM along the Pacific Rim and travel westward. At 6, all of the self-righteous, bible thumping, clinic bombing, funeral protesting pain in the asses are supposed to be lifted into heaven, and once that is done, an earthquake will shake the land... but only in that time zone. In an hour and about 400 miles westward (you got it... in the next timezone), this will happen all over again... and again... and again. All I can say for you christians is NOT to be moving around tomorrow, because if you get caught crossing into a timezone that has already been Raptured... well, you are going to be S.O.L.!! The way it works is that at 6pm in EACH TIMEZONE the Rapture will happen. Nope... not all at once, but timezone by timezone. Guess the big guy likes to keep his toys in their separate boxes so they don't get mixed up or anything. Wouldn't want to get any of that yellow or brown skin on that redneck! After 24 hours, the Rapture will be over... why? Because god is an old man is just a slow ass these days.
What does this mean for the rest of us? Well, according to them, after 5 months, the end of the world arrives and we all die. I don't really see that, tho. With all the bible thumping zealots gone, I would think that the end of the world would be pushed away because the people that cause most of the problems in the first place are gone. No more people PUSHING their beliefs onto others and screaming "This is a christian nation", and they killed almost every native American who wouldn't bow down before them. No... it will become... "This is a FREE nation, believe whatever you want." There won't be anyone slamming a book down and saying that "It doesn't say it in THE book"... by the way, when you guys get Raptured... take the story books with you. I think someone up there needs to kick your asses for changing the words.
Alright, let's look at this realistically. There are thousands of dumb ass christians that have sold off everything they have... you know, not wanting to leave anything for us sinners... eventho (and I find this real funny) they expect us to take care of there pets. Really, take care of your pets? What makes you think there is even the smallest chance of us doing that? Since we are so evil, what is to stop us from stopping your yappy ass dog from barking... FOREVER... or at least the next 5 months. Nope... you have all of these people that have bet EVERYTHING on the fact that the Rapture WILL happen. They will be standing outside on the 21st at 5:59 pm, looking up for the white light to whisk them away. They'll close their eyes and pray, in order to make themselves as "worthy" as possible. At 7:01 pm, when their neighbors come out... you know... the ones that they've tortured for years about the Rapture, and look up and then back at them and say... "Huh... I was hoping something would take you." The real question is, what are they all gonna say? Rapture this... Rapture that... hell, they even made a fuckin' video game about it at its height. Are they going to say... "Oh, our bad. Sorry we were such dicks for the last 10+ years." Here is what makes it sweet... there are going to be some of those thumpers that were so sure, and they are going to be running around, hoping for backsies or do-overs. Will they shut up after this, hell no!
I know... the question that is always given to an atheist... what if I'm wrong? Well... I'm wrong. I'll be sitting down here looking at my watch and then the empty streets and going... "No fuckin' way!" I'll think about it for another minute and realize that I won't have to put up with any gloating about me being wrong and just smile. Ya... I can live with that... it's only 5 months after all.
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
May
02
02
What are the odds?
With the Pens bowing out of the playoffs last week, I figured that there wouldn't be a whole lot of sports for me to talk about, since the NFL is locked out, and... wellll... we all know what I think of our minor league team... the Pittsburgh Pirates. Then the Draft came for the NFL... even with the lock out and a little tidbit that I hadn't heard or realized. There were 3 to 1 odds on how Tomlin would pick the Draft. No... not if he would move up to get Mike Pouncey, or the order of his picks (I'm sure you could have bet on both, tho.)... no, the odds were to see if Tomlin would be racist. Ya... actual odds on if Tomlin would recruit all black players. I never heard of that before. Then I started thinking about it. I started going over the last 2 drafts in my head. Now, I usually on watch the first 3 rounds... I can only take so much of "Eddie Munster" and his "best available" lists that never seem to empty in the correct order. I remember freaking out a couple times because Tomlin passed by higher skilled white guys, for a guy with less ability or recognition and more skin tint. Having doubts about Tomlin's 21 for 21 all black draft? Let's take a look at the past draft, huh?
This year was rich in O linemen! A lot of boys came out and it was shown by the number drafted in the first and second rounds. The Steeler's rankings coming into the Draft was the #1 D in the League, and their O was ranked around 23rd. That kinda gives you a glaring look at need, doesn't it, right? First round pick was a DE. WHAT?! Really? A DE is a luxury at the moment. Sure, we could use one for depth, but we didn't run out of them like we did guys for the O line! Next round... OT... finally, a lineman!! These picks should have been swapped in order to get a higher ranked lineman, but I'll get to that. 3rd round... a CB... ya, for some reason they were belly aching about needing one, eventho we have 5000 DBs, get it out of your system. 4th round... a CB! What?! Did you guys realize that you just got one last round? To make things worse... this guy is from the Citadel! Really, run out of big boys, did ya? What does that put us at? 3 defense and 1 offense... well, we have the 5th... OLB in the 5th. WHAT THE FUCK!!! A linebacker?! We don't need a linebacker. We have PLENTY of fuckin' linebackers!! We have more top rated linebackers than we can use, for cryin' out loud!! I know it is like some demented ritual to pick one, but get over it. 6th round... OG from Iowa!! Woohoo... FINALLY... a guard! What we needed in the FIRST round!! Alright... what's the last one? 7th round... RB... really? Just threw it away, huh? Don't think we might need a kicker/ punter (who isn't continually killing himself).
Ok, I might get a little racial here, so if you're all sensitive about it, you better turn and burn, because this might not be pretty. First off, if you took the 3 to 1 odds that Tomlin would pick only blacks... you WON your bet. For the last 3 years (as far as I know), Tomlin has only drafted black players. The last white draft pick that I can actually remember was our current punter (don't make me spell his name!). I know... what about the Iowa guard? Yup, he had to WAIT til the 6th round for him to become the best available!! It is also why our new OT was picked in the 2nd and not the first. If we would have picked a Ot/OG in the 1st, we would have had our choice of white boys as best available. In the same breath... our O line is in bad shape and needs bodies, he drafts 2 out of 7 linemen for the offense, WASTING 2 picks on a LB and a RB. Also about the wasted picks... why not spend them on something that we need, like a TE or a kicker? Oh, that would be because that the prototypical player at each position is WHITE... and Tomlin has to keep his streak going.
What? Think I'm offsides? Let's do some simple math, huh? How many black QB's are in the league? I don't know the number, do your own count, but let's be generous and say half of the teams in the NFL have a black QB, whether starting or back up. That is just the pool I'm using, if you want to go team to team and do an actual count and use hard numbers... knock yourself out. Anyways, if there are only 16 black QBs in the league at the moment... Pittsburgh has THREE of them!!! Look it up on the roster... I'll list them... Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, and Dennis Dixon. Last year, at the start of the season, Dixon got knocked out for the season and Leftwich got injured and released to make room for Ben when he came back. Well, once Dixon was put on IR, they wanted a backup for Ben other than Batch, who is a little old to be playing (Sorry, Charlie). Who do they sign? Not one of the many capable, young and healthy QBs out there... no, they resign Leftwich... WHO IS STILL INJURED when they resign him!! What does that tell you? I would rather have a hurt black QB, than a healthy white one. This free agency season is going to be special. There could be 2 QBs floating on it or the trading block from Carolina. Both are top rated QBs that are getting tossed aside because of an ignorant coaching staff, but if they want to be the new Cleveland South... I'm sure that 1 of these guys would love us to pick them up as a back up. Will we? I'll give you 3 to 1 odds that we don't!!!
Hey... not hatin'... just sayin'!
This year was rich in O linemen! A lot of boys came out and it was shown by the number drafted in the first and second rounds. The Steeler's rankings coming into the Draft was the #1 D in the League, and their O was ranked around 23rd. That kinda gives you a glaring look at need, doesn't it, right? First round pick was a DE. WHAT?! Really? A DE is a luxury at the moment. Sure, we could use one for depth, but we didn't run out of them like we did guys for the O line! Next round... OT... finally, a lineman!! These picks should have been swapped in order to get a higher ranked lineman, but I'll get to that. 3rd round... a CB... ya, for some reason they were belly aching about needing one, eventho we have 5000 DBs, get it out of your system. 4th round... a CB! What?! Did you guys realize that you just got one last round? To make things worse... this guy is from the Citadel! Really, run out of big boys, did ya? What does that put us at? 3 defense and 1 offense... well, we have the 5th... OLB in the 5th. WHAT THE FUCK!!! A linebacker?! We don't need a linebacker. We have PLENTY of fuckin' linebackers!! We have more top rated linebackers than we can use, for cryin' out loud!! I know it is like some demented ritual to pick one, but get over it. 6th round... OG from Iowa!! Woohoo... FINALLY... a guard! What we needed in the FIRST round!! Alright... what's the last one? 7th round... RB... really? Just threw it away, huh? Don't think we might need a kicker/ punter (who isn't continually killing himself).
Ok, I might get a little racial here, so if you're all sensitive about it, you better turn and burn, because this might not be pretty. First off, if you took the 3 to 1 odds that Tomlin would pick only blacks... you WON your bet. For the last 3 years (as far as I know), Tomlin has only drafted black players. The last white draft pick that I can actually remember was our current punter (don't make me spell his name!). I know... what about the Iowa guard? Yup, he had to WAIT til the 6th round for him to become the best available!! It is also why our new OT was picked in the 2nd and not the first. If we would have picked a Ot/OG in the 1st, we would have had our choice of white boys as best available. In the same breath... our O line is in bad shape and needs bodies, he drafts 2 out of 7 linemen for the offense, WASTING 2 picks on a LB and a RB. Also about the wasted picks... why not spend them on something that we need, like a TE or a kicker? Oh, that would be because that the prototypical player at each position is WHITE... and Tomlin has to keep his streak going.
What? Think I'm offsides? Let's do some simple math, huh? How many black QB's are in the league? I don't know the number, do your own count, but let's be generous and say half of the teams in the NFL have a black QB, whether starting or back up. That is just the pool I'm using, if you want to go team to team and do an actual count and use hard numbers... knock yourself out. Anyways, if there are only 16 black QBs in the league at the moment... Pittsburgh has THREE of them!!! Look it up on the roster... I'll list them... Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, and Dennis Dixon. Last year, at the start of the season, Dixon got knocked out for the season and Leftwich got injured and released to make room for Ben when he came back. Well, once Dixon was put on IR, they wanted a backup for Ben other than Batch, who is a little old to be playing (Sorry, Charlie). Who do they sign? Not one of the many capable, young and healthy QBs out there... no, they resign Leftwich... WHO IS STILL INJURED when they resign him!! What does that tell you? I would rather have a hurt black QB, than a healthy white one. This free agency season is going to be special. There could be 2 QBs floating on it or the trading block from Carolina. Both are top rated QBs that are getting tossed aside because of an ignorant coaching staff, but if they want to be the new Cleveland South... I'm sure that 1 of these guys would love us to pick them up as a back up. Will we? I'll give you 3 to 1 odds that we don't!!!
Hey... not hatin'... just sayin'!
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
Apr
12
12
Above and Beyond
It's been a while since I've written about gaming, and it is probably because nothing has really struck me. The other day this topic came to me, tho. Flash maneuvers. Some may understand this and some may not, and this is why I'm going to get into it.
What is a flash move? Exactly what it sounds like... it is a specialized move that your character works on that is flashy and meant to catch people off guard and give you that "Oooooo" factor. Let me give you a couple examples. How about an archer that can fire 2 arrows at a time, or bounce an arrow off a wall to get that guy behind cover or around a corner. How about a thief that can tumble past an opponent and attack them for a backstab (only works the one time in combat, people definitely make a note of that move). How about a swashbuckler that can fight on moving furniture/ items, or be able to do a leaping/ rolling thrust to surprise an enemy or close the distance.
Are flash moves taken into account in any game systems? I have been using this house rule for so long that I'm not sure where I grabbed it from, but I believe that I saved it from the old Marvel Superhero RPG. Once I explain how it works, if someone could verify my hunch, I'd appreciate it.
The way the flash moves work is simple... the player comes up with as many flash moves as they like, just write them down on scratch paper and let the GM go over them. All the ones that are okayed, write them on your character sheet. In order to make one of these moves an automatic part of your skill set, you must complete it at least 10 times, or however many your GM deems necessary. The first 2 times, the largest penalties will be incurred on each skill/ roll needed to complete it (A tumbling backstab for a thief would have to make a tumble check at -6 and then roll the "to hit" for the backstab at -4... yes, no bonuses are given. Don't get pissed! You are trying a move that is near impossible to do in combat and it will give you at least double damage to the poor guy!!). The next 3 are at medium difficulty, basically the penalties for the first 2 cut in half. The last 5 are you just polishing your ability, and doing it at a small penalty. Once you hit 10, you can add that flash move to your abilities, and you can even improve upon it.
Interested in improving on your Flash moves? Well, lets say that you finished up your flash move of firing 2 arrows at a time. Well, you can ask your GM if you could try firing 3 arrows at a time off your bow. Don't go getting all excited. Do you know how hard it is to hit 1 target... 3 times... at -8 "to hit"? Right... good luck. If your GM is smart, he is sitting in your lap to make sure that you read those dice correctly!! If you're my player rolling for it and you drop 3 dice and pick 2 up right away "to read them"... you missed! You might have an easier time of firing your 2 arrows at 2 different targets within 10' of each other. Rule of thumb is that the bigger the advantage of the flash move, the rougher the penalties to learn it. I've come up with a ton of really cool flash moves, but they are nasty in their effects and the penalties make it way to risky to try most of them out.
Flash moves are a beautiful way to personalize your character by giving them a "signature" move or just to take them out of the cookie cutter character that some people tend to fall into. Once you put a flash move on a character, they are no longer "just a fighter"... they are a fighter that can do this...
Hope you enjoy one of my favorite house rules. If you have any questions, don't be shy about asking. :D
What is a flash move? Exactly what it sounds like... it is a specialized move that your character works on that is flashy and meant to catch people off guard and give you that "Oooooo" factor. Let me give you a couple examples. How about an archer that can fire 2 arrows at a time, or bounce an arrow off a wall to get that guy behind cover or around a corner. How about a thief that can tumble past an opponent and attack them for a backstab (only works the one time in combat, people definitely make a note of that move). How about a swashbuckler that can fight on moving furniture/ items, or be able to do a leaping/ rolling thrust to surprise an enemy or close the distance.
Are flash moves taken into account in any game systems? I have been using this house rule for so long that I'm not sure where I grabbed it from, but I believe that I saved it from the old Marvel Superhero RPG. Once I explain how it works, if someone could verify my hunch, I'd appreciate it.
The way the flash moves work is simple... the player comes up with as many flash moves as they like, just write them down on scratch paper and let the GM go over them. All the ones that are okayed, write them on your character sheet. In order to make one of these moves an automatic part of your skill set, you must complete it at least 10 times, or however many your GM deems necessary. The first 2 times, the largest penalties will be incurred on each skill/ roll needed to complete it (A tumbling backstab for a thief would have to make a tumble check at -6 and then roll the "to hit" for the backstab at -4... yes, no bonuses are given. Don't get pissed! You are trying a move that is near impossible to do in combat and it will give you at least double damage to the poor guy!!). The next 3 are at medium difficulty, basically the penalties for the first 2 cut in half. The last 5 are you just polishing your ability, and doing it at a small penalty. Once you hit 10, you can add that flash move to your abilities, and you can even improve upon it.
Interested in improving on your Flash moves? Well, lets say that you finished up your flash move of firing 2 arrows at a time. Well, you can ask your GM if you could try firing 3 arrows at a time off your bow. Don't go getting all excited. Do you know how hard it is to hit 1 target... 3 times... at -8 "to hit"? Right... good luck. If your GM is smart, he is sitting in your lap to make sure that you read those dice correctly!! If you're my player rolling for it and you drop 3 dice and pick 2 up right away "to read them"... you missed! You might have an easier time of firing your 2 arrows at 2 different targets within 10' of each other. Rule of thumb is that the bigger the advantage of the flash move, the rougher the penalties to learn it. I've come up with a ton of really cool flash moves, but they are nasty in their effects and the penalties make it way to risky to try most of them out.
Flash moves are a beautiful way to personalize your character by giving them a "signature" move or just to take them out of the cookie cutter character that some people tend to fall into. Once you put a flash move on a character, they are no longer "just a fighter"... they are a fighter that can do this...
Hope you enjoy one of my favorite house rules. If you have any questions, don't be shy about asking. :D
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
Mar
02
02
Really? And they pound on Mel Gibson!
Ok, looks like I put out my last post just a touch early, otherwise, Charlie Sheen would have been all over that post. Wow... I don't even know where to start. I know... why not just bounce around and hit some of the highlites, huh?
Lessee, we'll start with Charlie taking himself out of rehab after 1 day, and going home to START HIS OWN REHAB CENTER. In his rehab center, the AA 12 Steps are outlawed because he considers them stupid, and it is obvious that hookers are a major part of the treatment. Now, this sounds more like rehab for a bachelor party, than actual rehab, but Charlie isn't like you and me. We'll get to that in a sec. To Chuck's credit, it looks like he's gone cold turkey on everything, but replaced it with caffeine and cigarettes. Watching his little rants was better than watching his show! How often do you get to watch some rich fuck destroy his life right in front of you?
Now for some of the crap that he's said. Going after Chuck Lorre... or whatever his real name is... who cares besides Charlie. Yes, we are all surprised that there are Jews in Hollywood, Carlos. My Surprise-O-Meter is still pegged. It's not like Chuck saved you from mediocrity or anything. I mean, as long as you were kicking out movies like Scary Movie 3, The Arrival, and Hot Shots Part Deux, you are golden!! I find it funny how hard you went after Chuck Lorre, knocking his writing, his show, and everything else, when you have designed your life after one of HIS CHARACTERS!! I hate to tell you this... you AREN'T actually Charlie Harper. We all see that you are doing your best to fill that role both on and off screen, tho. You might knock Chuck, but like it or not... he's MADE you!
While I'm here, I have a little side note for Chuck Lorre. Kill Charlie Harper. Have him die in a DUI accident, were you can introduce a new (more stable) cousin or something. While the show about Charlie's death would be a little subdued due to the subject matter (until the midget hooker pokes her head out of the casket. heh heh), you keep the #1 on the air and get rid of a PSYCHO!!
We'll move on to some of the dumb ass shit that Charlie has said in the past week. Everything from him having tiger's blood, Adonis DNA, him being a warlock, and superior to the regular person in every way. What can you say but... WOW!! The simple fact that there wasn't someone with a butterfly net waiting for him when he was done is absolutely shocking! Speaking of shocking, I think a little therapy of the shocking fashion might actually help him. I mentioned Mel Gibson up top because he got pissy a couple times and called a female cop "sugar tits", and was promptly sent to Hollywood Siberia...Pasadena. Hollywood hasn't weighed in on hapless Charlie yet, but it should show what it is made of... besides shit!
Lessee, we'll start with Charlie taking himself out of rehab after 1 day, and going home to START HIS OWN REHAB CENTER. In his rehab center, the AA 12 Steps are outlawed because he considers them stupid, and it is obvious that hookers are a major part of the treatment. Now, this sounds more like rehab for a bachelor party, than actual rehab, but Charlie isn't like you and me. We'll get to that in a sec. To Chuck's credit, it looks like he's gone cold turkey on everything, but replaced it with caffeine and cigarettes. Watching his little rants was better than watching his show! How often do you get to watch some rich fuck destroy his life right in front of you?
Now for some of the crap that he's said. Going after Chuck Lorre... or whatever his real name is... who cares besides Charlie. Yes, we are all surprised that there are Jews in Hollywood, Carlos. My Surprise-O-Meter is still pegged. It's not like Chuck saved you from mediocrity or anything. I mean, as long as you were kicking out movies like Scary Movie 3, The Arrival, and Hot Shots Part Deux, you are golden!! I find it funny how hard you went after Chuck Lorre, knocking his writing, his show, and everything else, when you have designed your life after one of HIS CHARACTERS!! I hate to tell you this... you AREN'T actually Charlie Harper. We all see that you are doing your best to fill that role both on and off screen, tho. You might knock Chuck, but like it or not... he's MADE you!
While I'm here, I have a little side note for Chuck Lorre. Kill Charlie Harper. Have him die in a DUI accident, were you can introduce a new (more stable) cousin or something. While the show about Charlie's death would be a little subdued due to the subject matter (until the midget hooker pokes her head out of the casket. heh heh), you keep the #1 on the air and get rid of a PSYCHO!!
We'll move on to some of the dumb ass shit that Charlie has said in the past week. Everything from him having tiger's blood, Adonis DNA, him being a warlock, and superior to the regular person in every way. What can you say but... WOW!! The simple fact that there wasn't someone with a butterfly net waiting for him when he was done is absolutely shocking! Speaking of shocking, I think a little therapy of the shocking fashion might actually help him. I mentioned Mel Gibson up top because he got pissy a couple times and called a female cop "sugar tits", and was promptly sent to Hollywood Siberia...Pasadena. Hollywood hasn't weighed in on hapless Charlie yet, but it should show what it is made of... besides shit!
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
Feb
17
17
Just Can't Shut Up
I'm amazed at how some people just keep going, even after making themselves look like total tools. I know... I fall into this category at some points, but those are usually the little nit-picky points... not the spirit behind it, and unlike the knuckleheads I'm about to rattle off, I can at least see what I do and understand when I become a douche. Plus, I'm not a zealot, so my opinion can change. Nice thing about free thought. Anyway, lets get to this months winners, huh?
First up is not something I read about, but was told about by a couple people, so if my information is incorrect... oh well. This has to do about some professor up at NYU and what he had to say about Lara Logan on Twitter. Ok, let me catch up any who are a little behind. Lara Logan is the hot blonde reporter for CBS and 60 Minutes, and she was in Cairo covering the uprising going on there. Well a couple days ago when Mubarak "decided" to finally step down, she was in that huge square covering the crowd and their reaction. At some point, a swell of men came along and separated her from her security and crew, and she was beaten and sexually assaulted on the street. She was rescued by a group of Egyptian women (my favorite) and soldiers, along with her crew finally getting to her. She was whisked back to the US and put into the hospital. What happened to anyone in the crowd... I couldn't tell you. If I was her security right there, I would tell you that they would be scraping a few bodies off the ground tho. It might be Egyptian custom to assault/ grope women in the street, but it is American custom to beat the shit out of rapists in the street, so Lara would have been replaced by a few bodies. That is what happened and it also brings us to the retarded professor up at NYU. I guess this long tenured prof had it in his head to go onto Twitter and say that Lara Logan had it coming to her. *double take* "What?!" They have a shot of her right before the attack, she was dressed pretty conservatively. She is a mother of 2... they tend not to dress like whores too often. It appears that he had this argument on Twitter, and once people started reading it and getting pissed off at him... he started to apologize. His excuse was he didn't realize Twitter wasn't a private chat. "WHAT!!?" This man is teach our grads!! Sorry... WAS... he resigned shortly afterwards. I wonder if he realizes that he had it coming to him.
Next, we have everyone flapping lip after the Penguins - Islanders brawlgame. Ok, I'm a Pens fan, so I am a little biased, and I will admit that going into this. First thing we have is Mario coming out and making his statement saying the game was an embarrassment... which it was. It was like watching a street game instead of a professional game. Once his statement came out, then all of the pinheads came flooding out of the woodwork. The biggest thing thrown at Mario was the fact that the Pens have the most fighting minutes and have Cooke on the team. Let me take those one at a time. First off, the fighting... when you have 3 of the best players in the league and the other team is constantly trying to take them out, you are going to have fights... mostly to defend Crosby, Malkin and Fleury. Now that Malkin is out due to all the leg shots he's taken, and Crosby to the blatant cheap shot that no one will call from the Washington goon, you would think that the fighting would go down. That Islander game is the perfect example as to why the Pens have the most fighting minutes. The Pens were the victims of an attack that game, pure and simple. Out of those 6 major fights, only 1 of them could be said to be instigated by a Pen. What about Matt Cooke? Well, that game happened WITHOUT Cooke being in the lineup. What does that tell you? Well, that tells us that the Islanders have 3 players that would love to be Matt Cooke. Let's look at what the Isles did. They concussed a Pen, and while they were leading him out, he was trash talking him?! Really? I doubt he understood a word... stupid goon. Then you have the blatant attack to injure on Talbot. There is nothing you can say about someone trying to punch someone else in the back of the head when they aren't expecting it. Yes, Cooke does things that I'm not particularly proud of. He is a dirty player at times and he rides that real dirty edge of "clean" hits, BUT if the Pens were to trade him off because he was a "dirty" player... EVERY NHL team would be lining up to make him an offer!! Face it... once he got on your team, he's a changed man and now he rules!! Perspective is everything. In a nutshell, all of you fans that think your teams don't have a dirty player lurking on your bench... shut the fuck up, and have a Coke and a smile. Oh, all you Isle fans, if I was the Pens coach the next time we met, I would bring up and temp hire every goon that I could find, sit all of my starters and goalies (yup, empty net the whole game... can't forfeit the game, but we can make it look stupid), and see how many professional wrestling moves we can do to the 2 or 3 stars that you actually have on your team. I figure that by the end of the first period, there shouldn't be enuff guys to put on the ice. Don't look at me like that... hey, it is the code! I realize that you guys had to go after Talbot for his clean hit, and Johnson for his 1 shot bitch slap (which he didn't start either), but seeing how you guys responded to those 2, how could you be surprised if I did what I outlined above when your whole team jumped us. Oh, the Cook-E Monster Rulz!! Dirty or not!
Last, and certainly not least, is my old buddy Whoopi "it's not rape rape" Goldberg. I just read about this myself, so bear with me. It appears that the Whoopster's reading comprehension has begun to slide downhill. She read some article in the NYT about the Oscars and how there were only 7 given out to blacks before 2003 as compared to the flood of them now. As I said, I didn't read the Times article (just don't feel the desire to) but I'm guessing that they mention Denzel Washington and Halle Berry winning in 2003 as the cut off, and that is what set Whoopi off because they didn't list her Oscar that she won for Ghost. Now, she mentioned Danny Glover and someone else, but that was just to make it appear that it wasn't all about her... which we knew exactly why she was bitching. How dare they leave her out when you write an article with the words black and Oscar in it! Well, Whoopi had this little brain fart about the article on The View (is that still on the air?). It appears that the EDITOR at the Times called her up and dumbed down the article and explained it to her so that she could understand it easier. Now she apologized for jumping to conclusions. I'm kinda surprised she hasn't weighed in on the Lara Logan attack and said... "It isn't rape rape."
First up is not something I read about, but was told about by a couple people, so if my information is incorrect... oh well. This has to do about some professor up at NYU and what he had to say about Lara Logan on Twitter. Ok, let me catch up any who are a little behind. Lara Logan is the hot blonde reporter for CBS and 60 Minutes, and she was in Cairo covering the uprising going on there. Well a couple days ago when Mubarak "decided" to finally step down, she was in that huge square covering the crowd and their reaction. At some point, a swell of men came along and separated her from her security and crew, and she was beaten and sexually assaulted on the street. She was rescued by a group of Egyptian women (my favorite) and soldiers, along with her crew finally getting to her. She was whisked back to the US and put into the hospital. What happened to anyone in the crowd... I couldn't tell you. If I was her security right there, I would tell you that they would be scraping a few bodies off the ground tho. It might be Egyptian custom to assault/ grope women in the street, but it is American custom to beat the shit out of rapists in the street, so Lara would have been replaced by a few bodies. That is what happened and it also brings us to the retarded professor up at NYU. I guess this long tenured prof had it in his head to go onto Twitter and say that Lara Logan had it coming to her. *double take* "What?!" They have a shot of her right before the attack, she was dressed pretty conservatively. She is a mother of 2... they tend not to dress like whores too often. It appears that he had this argument on Twitter, and once people started reading it and getting pissed off at him... he started to apologize. His excuse was he didn't realize Twitter wasn't a private chat. "WHAT!!?" This man is teach our grads!! Sorry... WAS... he resigned shortly afterwards. I wonder if he realizes that he had it coming to him.
Next, we have everyone flapping lip after the Penguins - Islanders brawlgame. Ok, I'm a Pens fan, so I am a little biased, and I will admit that going into this. First thing we have is Mario coming out and making his statement saying the game was an embarrassment... which it was. It was like watching a street game instead of a professional game. Once his statement came out, then all of the pinheads came flooding out of the woodwork. The biggest thing thrown at Mario was the fact that the Pens have the most fighting minutes and have Cooke on the team. Let me take those one at a time. First off, the fighting... when you have 3 of the best players in the league and the other team is constantly trying to take them out, you are going to have fights... mostly to defend Crosby, Malkin and Fleury. Now that Malkin is out due to all the leg shots he's taken, and Crosby to the blatant cheap shot that no one will call from the Washington goon, you would think that the fighting would go down. That Islander game is the perfect example as to why the Pens have the most fighting minutes. The Pens were the victims of an attack that game, pure and simple. Out of those 6 major fights, only 1 of them could be said to be instigated by a Pen. What about Matt Cooke? Well, that game happened WITHOUT Cooke being in the lineup. What does that tell you? Well, that tells us that the Islanders have 3 players that would love to be Matt Cooke. Let's look at what the Isles did. They concussed a Pen, and while they were leading him out, he was trash talking him?! Really? I doubt he understood a word... stupid goon. Then you have the blatant attack to injure on Talbot. There is nothing you can say about someone trying to punch someone else in the back of the head when they aren't expecting it. Yes, Cooke does things that I'm not particularly proud of. He is a dirty player at times and he rides that real dirty edge of "clean" hits, BUT if the Pens were to trade him off because he was a "dirty" player... EVERY NHL team would be lining up to make him an offer!! Face it... once he got on your team, he's a changed man and now he rules!! Perspective is everything. In a nutshell, all of you fans that think your teams don't have a dirty player lurking on your bench... shut the fuck up, and have a Coke and a smile. Oh, all you Isle fans, if I was the Pens coach the next time we met, I would bring up and temp hire every goon that I could find, sit all of my starters and goalies (yup, empty net the whole game... can't forfeit the game, but we can make it look stupid), and see how many professional wrestling moves we can do to the 2 or 3 stars that you actually have on your team. I figure that by the end of the first period, there shouldn't be enuff guys to put on the ice. Don't look at me like that... hey, it is the code! I realize that you guys had to go after Talbot for his clean hit, and Johnson for his 1 shot bitch slap (which he didn't start either), but seeing how you guys responded to those 2, how could you be surprised if I did what I outlined above when your whole team jumped us. Oh, the Cook-E Monster Rulz!! Dirty or not!
Last, and certainly not least, is my old buddy Whoopi "it's not rape rape" Goldberg. I just read about this myself, so bear with me. It appears that the Whoopster's reading comprehension has begun to slide downhill. She read some article in the NYT about the Oscars and how there were only 7 given out to blacks before 2003 as compared to the flood of them now. As I said, I didn't read the Times article (just don't feel the desire to) but I'm guessing that they mention Denzel Washington and Halle Berry winning in 2003 as the cut off, and that is what set Whoopi off because they didn't list her Oscar that she won for Ghost. Now, she mentioned Danny Glover and someone else, but that was just to make it appear that it wasn't all about her... which we knew exactly why she was bitching. How dare they leave her out when you write an article with the words black and Oscar in it! Well, Whoopi had this little brain fart about the article on The View (is that still on the air?). It appears that the EDITOR at the Times called her up and dumbed down the article and explained it to her so that she could understand it easier. Now she apologized for jumping to conclusions. I'm kinda surprised she hasn't weighed in on the Lara Logan attack and said... "It isn't rape rape."
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
Feb
11
11
Catching up
It has been forever since I've done a cigar review and to tell the truth... I smoked a lot of cigars. Problem is that time is always a factor and now when I smoke, it is either in the car on my way home... not a good place for judging, or with Ryle while we are doing something else and we don't get the chance to break down the cigars. I have done a few of them, tho, and I'll pop them up below... it's the least that I can do.
First up:
Padilla Hybrid- Maduro wrapper - Churchill
Price: $1.50/ cigar from CI
Weight: Medium
Construction: Well packed
Draw: Good
Crown: Good
Burn: Even
Finish: Lip Burn
Summary: I waited 6 months for my bundle of these bad boys. They were on sale at 75% off or something like that, and who am I to snub my nose at that! I jumped on it and it got back ordered on me... I was crushed. I had the patience to stick it out tho. To tell the truth, it was well worth the wait. Now... in the same breath... there is no way that I would pay $6 a stick for these. They are good, just not THAT good. It is a nice solid cigar... good draw... solid taste... and the build will not disappoint as long as you take care of the cigars. All in all... a very nice cigar.
Final Word: Not many cigars I would wait 6 months for and then give a thumbs up rating on. The Padilla name gave me a high expectation to begin with, but after trying so many "top line" cigars as of late, I now know not to let the maker affect what I should expect. Given that, this little (heh heh... calling a churchill little) cigar does not disappoint. If you get the chance to wrap your lips around one of these, I suggest you take it!
Man 'O' War Ruination - Maduro wrapper - Torpedo
Price: $5.25/ cigar from CI
Weight: Medium
Construction: Solid
Draw: Hard
Crown: n/a
Burn: Even
Finish: Lip Burn
Summary: I think I've done the Man O War Ruination line before, so I'm not going to expound upon it. This was one of those fake Torpedoes and to make things worse... it was a short one. They obviously made up for it by packing it nice and tight, because this took a good hour to smoke.
Final Word: There aren't many lines that I get excited to see show up in my monthly club packs, but when a Man O War is in there... I get a little smile because I know I have at least 1 good one. These are great cigars in many different ways and it seems that I am always recommending these. It doesn't look like I'm stopping on this one either.
Ok, the next 2 are kind of older ones and I don't remember all of the details on these... especially the price. I'll leave blank what I'm not sure on.
Rocky Patel Signature Series - Natural wrapper - Corona
Price: $ / cigar from CI
Weight: Medium
Construction: Good
Draw: Good
Crown: Good
Burn: Uneven
Finish: Nub
Summary: CI seems to have a real hard on for Rocky and his cigars, and to tell you the truth... I can't see why. Out of all of the RP cigars that I've had, I would say that half of them were even worth mentioning. Which brings us to his "signature series". I'm going to put this very simply and very plainly. If this is the cigar that he wants to represent him, he is in the wrong business. Whoa, I know... who am I to say that? Just some douchebag who smokes cigars and writes about them. Right... a douchebag who's been smoking cigars for 18 years and actually does know a little bit from what I've picked up along the way. I didn't fall into the business thru my bloodline like a lot of the "cigar masters" did. Can I roll a cigar? No, but I would LOVE to give it a shot... oh, and it is Mr. Douchebag. As I was saying, this cigar would be like doing a painting in crayon instead oils or water colors. Yes, I know that I'm being harsh, but for a cigar that is supposed to be the top of the line, it is far from perfect... hell, from from alright.
Final Word: The cigar is not a bad smoke. If you are expecting to be puffing on something to the equivalent of an Arturo Fuente Signature, you are on the wrong planet. If the Fuente is the major leagues, the RP Signature is playing in High School. There just isn't anything to compare. *sigh* If you get a chance to smoke one of the RP's, go ahead... like I said, it isn't a bad cigar. It just isn't what they want you to think it is... and definitely not at more than $2 a stick. Anything more than that, and you are wasting your money.
5 Vegas 1890 limited release - Maduro wrapper - Robusto
Price: $ / cigar from CI
Weight: Medium - Full
Construction: Well packed
Draw: Good
Crown: Solid
Burn: Uneven
Finish: Lip Burn
Summary: The 5 Vegas are another hit and miss cigar line. They have some real kick ass cigars, and then they toss out some dogs to keep you honest. This one was actually one of the better ones that I had. The crown was like it was made out of rock. No matter how hard I bit it, the thing didn't even loosen up. Wonderful construction! It has a real dark maduro wrapper, which contrasts wonderfully against the angel white ash when you smoke it. I know I've been gushing up to this point, and I have, but there is always the flip side to the coin. The only thing I really had a beef with was the wrapper. Nothing that can really be controlled. Really dark Maduro wrappers are just oilier... period. That usually means by the end of the smoke, you are getting your ass kicked by the build up.
Final Word: I love this cigar, even with the ass kicking at the end. If you get the chance, try one out... even if it is just a 5 pack. You shouldn't be disappointed!!
Terminal Velocity Games Home Page | The Soap BoxFirst up:
Padilla Hybrid- Maduro wrapper - Churchill
Price: $1.50/ cigar from CI
Weight: Medium
Construction: Well packed
Draw: Good
Crown: Good
Burn: Even
Finish: Lip Burn
Summary: I waited 6 months for my bundle of these bad boys. They were on sale at 75% off or something like that, and who am I to snub my nose at that! I jumped on it and it got back ordered on me... I was crushed. I had the patience to stick it out tho. To tell the truth, it was well worth the wait. Now... in the same breath... there is no way that I would pay $6 a stick for these. They are good, just not THAT good. It is a nice solid cigar... good draw... solid taste... and the build will not disappoint as long as you take care of the cigars. All in all... a very nice cigar.
Final Word: Not many cigars I would wait 6 months for and then give a thumbs up rating on. The Padilla name gave me a high expectation to begin with, but after trying so many "top line" cigars as of late, I now know not to let the maker affect what I should expect. Given that, this little (heh heh... calling a churchill little) cigar does not disappoint. If you get the chance to wrap your lips around one of these, I suggest you take it!
Man 'O' War Ruination - Maduro wrapper - Torpedo
Price: $5.25/ cigar from CI
Weight: Medium
Construction: Solid
Draw: Hard
Crown: n/a
Burn: Even
Finish: Lip Burn
Summary: I think I've done the Man O War Ruination line before, so I'm not going to expound upon it. This was one of those fake Torpedoes and to make things worse... it was a short one. They obviously made up for it by packing it nice and tight, because this took a good hour to smoke.
Final Word: There aren't many lines that I get excited to see show up in my monthly club packs, but when a Man O War is in there... I get a little smile because I know I have at least 1 good one. These are great cigars in many different ways and it seems that I am always recommending these. It doesn't look like I'm stopping on this one either.
Ok, the next 2 are kind of older ones and I don't remember all of the details on these... especially the price. I'll leave blank what I'm not sure on.
Rocky Patel Signature Series - Natural wrapper - Corona
Price: $ / cigar from CI
Weight: Medium
Construction: Good
Draw: Good
Crown: Good
Burn: Uneven
Finish: Nub
Summary: CI seems to have a real hard on for Rocky and his cigars, and to tell you the truth... I can't see why. Out of all of the RP cigars that I've had, I would say that half of them were even worth mentioning. Which brings us to his "signature series". I'm going to put this very simply and very plainly. If this is the cigar that he wants to represent him, he is in the wrong business. Whoa, I know... who am I to say that? Just some douchebag who smokes cigars and writes about them. Right... a douchebag who's been smoking cigars for 18 years and actually does know a little bit from what I've picked up along the way. I didn't fall into the business thru my bloodline like a lot of the "cigar masters" did. Can I roll a cigar? No, but I would LOVE to give it a shot... oh, and it is Mr. Douchebag. As I was saying, this cigar would be like doing a painting in crayon instead oils or water colors. Yes, I know that I'm being harsh, but for a cigar that is supposed to be the top of the line, it is far from perfect... hell, from from alright.
Final Word: The cigar is not a bad smoke. If you are expecting to be puffing on something to the equivalent of an Arturo Fuente Signature, you are on the wrong planet. If the Fuente is the major leagues, the RP Signature is playing in High School. There just isn't anything to compare. *sigh* If you get a chance to smoke one of the RP's, go ahead... like I said, it isn't a bad cigar. It just isn't what they want you to think it is... and definitely not at more than $2 a stick. Anything more than that, and you are wasting your money.
5 Vegas 1890 limited release - Maduro wrapper - Robusto
Price: $ / cigar from CI
Weight: Medium - Full
Construction: Well packed
Draw: Good
Crown: Solid
Burn: Uneven
Finish: Lip Burn
Summary: The 5 Vegas are another hit and miss cigar line. They have some real kick ass cigars, and then they toss out some dogs to keep you honest. This one was actually one of the better ones that I had. The crown was like it was made out of rock. No matter how hard I bit it, the thing didn't even loosen up. Wonderful construction! It has a real dark maduro wrapper, which contrasts wonderfully against the angel white ash when you smoke it. I know I've been gushing up to this point, and I have, but there is always the flip side to the coin. The only thing I really had a beef with was the wrapper. Nothing that can really be controlled. Really dark Maduro wrappers are just oilier... period. That usually means by the end of the smoke, you are getting your ass kicked by the build up.
Final Word: I love this cigar, even with the ass kicking at the end. If you get the chance, try one out... even if it is just a 5 pack. You shouldn't be disappointed!!
Posted by: kinkogod | Add comment
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