GAMING NEWS: TMP Gladiator Contest! Part #1.

Hi Guys,

I'll be leaving in a bit to visit my friend Andrew in Hercules, California, a suburb in the Bay Area a short ways from the city of San Francisco.

Andrew asked me awhile back if I would be his partner for the TMP Gladiator Game contest and I readily agreed.

Here are some details of the contest:

http://theminiaturespage.com/contest/entry/hailreventry.mv

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Andrew and I have known each other for several years and we originally met at an OGRE game he hosted at his house many years ago. We're both members of the SF-Bay-OGRE E-group and both enjoy Steve Jackson Games (SJG) products such as OGRE! I'm am certain that Tas knows him as well and Andrew has additionally has several of his gaming articles published in different OGRE books as well as a great OGRE cartoon.

Andrew also has his own OGRE web site:

http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/9645/Ogre/index.html

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Last year at KUBLACON (2004), I played in his SJG Awful Green Things From Outer Space (AGTFOS) game and won with Diana as my partner. We had a good time and vowed at that time that we should get together more often. As all too often works out, our busy schedules have prevented our getting together since last year so I'm really looking forward to visiting tonight and using our partnership in the TMP Gladiator Game contest as an excuse to get together more often (He only lives about a half hour away from Diana, my girlfriend).

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We're planning to take a group photo for the contest, play some games with his kids (Probably Settlers of Cataan, but who knows?) and share a meal. We'll also be planning/strategizing how to go about the contest and planning an arena for the playtesting. Andrew has a garage full of dowels, foam sheeting, glue, etc. and he's sure we can build a simple but effective arena for our gladiators! It should be a lot of fun and I'm greatly looking forward to the get-together!

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Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

COOL STUFF: "Lost Head" by Douglas Florian.

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Hi Everyone,

Perhaps, one of my odder tastes is for poetry... not the bad adult-variety that gets read by chic groups in coffee shops but amusing children's poetry by the likes of men Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky. I also enjoy limericks... who doesn't? LOL :D

Here's one I read the other day ago and wanted to share:

Lost Head

I'm sorry I got angry
I guess I lost my head.
It really doesn't matter--
I'll borrow yours instead.
I'll have it back by Friday.
You won't miss it at all.
Until then you can borrow
My brother's basketball.

- Douglas Florian.

I got a chuckle out of it expecially in light of recent politics.

Have a great day!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

NOVELS: "The Tripod" series by John Christopher.

NOVELS: "The Tripod" series by John Christopher.

Hi Everyone,

As many of you know, there have been a number of "War of the Worlds" movies that have come out recently (Spielberg, Pendragon, Assylum Studios) and that has prompted a lot of interest in the concept of alien invaders and alien machinery. Following this interest, I have reread the H.G. Wells classic and have been reading other novels inspired by "War of the Worlds."

One of the works I cam across is called "The Tripod" series by John Christopher and I purchased it for a pittance and am enjoying it immensely having finished the prequel and the first novel and working my way towards the second novel.

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Here's a link to an Amazon.com entry for the series:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/068900852X/qid=1123883992/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/104-6759192-1620702

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"When the Tripods Came" PREQUEL:
- This book tells the story of the invasion, which is very different from what H.G. Wells or any of the current films have portrayed. In Christoper's not-too-distant future (The novels appear to have been written in the late 1960s), strange three-legged machines descend on Earth, only to be destroyed by militaries in the UK, USA and USSR. Humanity has won or has it? Then a mysterious TV show featuring Tripod characters mesmerizes many people, followed by a second wave of Tripods -- these welcomed by the eager citizens of Earth. Laurie AKA Lawrence and his friends must try to escape....

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"The White Mountains" BOOK ONE:
- This book takes place long after the prequel... perhaps as much as a hundred years or much more. Earth has lost disease, war, hunger, misery... and freedom. Though people go about their everyday activities, the enormous alien Tripods have effectively not only stagnated human civilization through the use of mind-controlling Caps, but retroverted technology to a level similar to the Medieval Ages. Thirteen-year-old Will is creeped-out by the Caps (which has evolved into a rite of passage with children being capped at the tender old age of fourteen) and when he learns of a human stronghold unaffected by the Tripods, he and his unwelcome cousin set out to find them.

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"The City of Gold And Lead" BOOK TWO:
- I've only just started reading this novel and can't comment on it yet.

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"The Pool of Fire" BOOK THREE:
- I haven't read this book yet.

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OVERALL COMMENTS:
- John Christopher is known for writing sci-fi for adults so a children's novel is a very different sort of genre for those used to his other books. He specializes in sci-fi and post-apocalyptic novels and "The Tripod" series reflects these specialties. While maintaining a nice pace, Christopher has deeper messages embedded in the text... messages about people and humanity.
- I've found the novels to remind me much of the old TSR game Gamma World (A post-apocalyptic sci-fi game) and have really enjoyed the books so far. Being in a medieval world with the relics of the "ancients" nearby provides for points of familiarity for a young reader while the protagonists have no idea what modern technologies are such as railroads, canned food, subways or any of the other conveniences of modern life.
- The novels have basic vocabularies meant for young adults, but this doesn't detract from the books. If anything, children's novels often benefit from a lack of a more sophisticated vocabulary because it forces to author to concentrate on the story. Christopher's novels have benefited from this phenomenon and the story is very streamlined and flows well.

I highly recommend these charming novels.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

NOVELS: Men's Action Novels to Sci-fi...

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Hi Guys,

The last week or so I have been a reading fiend.

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The War With Earth
By: Leo Frankowski & Dave Grossman.
Genre: Sci-fi Thriller
Link here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec....s=books

- I was unimpressed with this novel that claimed to be an heir to David Drake and the old Bolo series. I thought it was neither. It was sort of a fancy cartoon-ish "Bolo" novel devoid of seriousness althogh with some neat sci-fi thinking thrown in. I wouldn't recommend this novel.

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Black Hawk Down
By: Mark Bowden.
Genre: Action / History
Link here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec....s=books

- I really enjoyed this novel about the conflict between US forces trying to bring relief to a wartorn country and Somali warlords. Having now read the book, I'd have to say that the film compares well to it. the producer didn't take too much artistic license.

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Future Crime
By: Ben Bova.
Genre: Sci-fi Anthology
Link here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec....s=books

- Ben Bova put together this collection of mostly his stories about direction that "future crime" might take. I enjoyed the anthology and particularly enjoyed a story about US Astronauts and USSR Cosmonauts. There was also a story that predicted that large urban cities might take the sideline to smaller more rural suburbs. I enjoyed this anthology and would recommend it.

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Juggernaut
By: Desmond Bagley.
Genre: Action Thriller
Link here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec....1620702

- Desmond Bagley wrote a number of spy/espionage/men's action novels and despite some initial misgivings, I enjoyed this novel greatly. The main character is an American (Being described by a British writer, which turns up some unintended comedy...) who works for a power company contracted to building a power plant in the fictional African country of Nyala. His job is to contract some heavy haulers to move a three-hundred ton generator piece through a third-world African nation that JUST happens to fall into civil war. The novel ends up working despite what initially looked like an overdose of hokiness. I enjoyed this little novel and would recommend it to others.

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Dead Lines
By: Greg Bear.
Genre: Sci-fi / Horror Thriller
Link here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec....1620702

- Greg Bear is known for writing high grade sci-fi and this is his first departure from the genre. "Dead Lines" is a horror / thriller and is very well-written. I'm still not finished with the novel, but I have immensly enjoyed it so far and I'm a little over half finished with it. The basic premise of the novel is that the dead can communicate with the living through a new kind of cell phone called TRANS and the ramifications of that interaction... which, are pretty SPOOKY! I'm looking forward to finishing the novel and have yet to be disappointed by Greg Bear. I highly recommend this novel based upon what I have read so far.

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Have a great day!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

MINI WARGAMING: 6mm WWII by Bob Mackenzie!

Hi Guys,

Check out my friend Bob's latest WWII BatRep:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bob_mackenzie/Sidi%20Bou%20Zid%20Pics.htm

Bob does a lot of 6mm WWII and Moderns and his work is beautiful.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.