COOL NEWS: The King & I - Renn Faire 2007 Version!

.The King & I - Renn Faire 2007 Version!

Hi All,

As previously mentioned I attended the local Renaissance Faire this past weekend (23 June 2007), which I found rather unexciting this year... maybe I'm getting old, jaded and cranky?

I summed it up as thus:

- Lots of cleavage in tight bodices...

- Overly fried foods guaranteed to give indigestion...

- Including just about "anything on a stick"...

- As well as hunks of mutton...
Come on? Everyone loves a Henry the 8th impression!

- Lots of folks speaking with fake-o British accents...

- ALL of the fired cast extras from every Highlander movie including the bad ones...

- Some dude looking for meaning in his life by pretending to be a knight and yelling out "Fie, poxy upon him..." or something like that...

- Every woman ever who wanted to wear a furry barbarian costume with a brass brassiere...

- Including a very small number of women who can actually wear tight leather pants, furry bikinis, brass brassieres AND get away with it...

- Did I say lots of cleavage in tight bodices?

- And you pretty much have the Faire summed up.

On the other hand, there's something to be said for lots of cleavage in tight bodices... LOL ;o)

Not ALL women can get away with the "Furry Barbarian Bunny" look...

I ran into all kinds of folks I know... from Kevin E., who can actually make English Country Dance NOT seem completely pansy ...to Doug the Cool Costume Vendor ...to great swathes of the ConQuest gaming conventions staff. There's a definite correlation between gaming RPG nerds and Renn Faire geeks.

For more information about the Fair Oaks Tudor Fayre, please check out this link:

http://www.pirateproductions.com/tudorfayre.htm

Or here:

http://www.renaissance-rose.org/

However, the highlight of the weekend for me (...besides all the cleavage) was seeing THE KING! This fellow had the great character and mighty stones to actually wear an Elvis sic Burger King outfit to the Faire. May he go down in the annals of infamy! I say Elvis sic Burger King because I wasn't quite sure which theme was dominant.

On the Elvis side he had:

- Sideburns...

- Rhinestones and glitz...

- Funky glasses...

- Good "Elvis the Pelvis" poses...

On the Burger King side, he had:

- Fake plastic hair piece...

- Red crown...

- A somewhat commercial-like dialogue...

- A somewhat fast food like odor... (The "fry king?")
(Or maybe he'd had a grease appetizer at the food court?)

(Mmmmm! Congealed potato-flavored grease ...on a stick!)

So to end this post with a thought-provoking question:

*** Which do you think he resembles more? Elvis or the Burger King? ***

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,

Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.

Thanks Marcus for taking the GOOD photo! And a "double thanks" to my buddies, Vynnie, Mikos and Marcus for being such great company!

P.S.S.
A special shout out to my friend and fellow geek, Rivka!

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).

COOL NEWS: California Capitol Air Show 2007!

.

A beautifully restored P-51 Mustang that made flybys with an F-15 and a F-22.

Hi Everyone,

I attended the California Capitol Air Show 2007 this past weekend on Sunday and it was HUGE! There must have been thousands of attendees and it was one heck of a way to wrap up Air Force Week 2007. I bumped into a couple of friends at the show and even someone I served with back when I wore the uniform. The famous Thunderbirds aerial acrobatics team was there and they were GREAT!

At times, the Thunderbirds must have flown about hundred feet off the deck!

They performed in a roughly thirty-minute show...
...with amazing acrobatics and precision flying.

There was tons to see and it was the first air show that several of my sister's children had seen. Unfortunately, the "portable video game" generation didn't seem to be as excited by the air show as I remember being as a child. One of the highlights of the show was getting my photo taken by a Russian airplane (a Yak-11 with the moose from Rocky & Bullwinkle painted on its side) by my sister. I'll share that photo when I get it from my sister... if I don't look too much like Quasimodo. Speaking of which, both she and I took lots of photos and I've added a link to the best of the photos I took near the bottom of this post.

Some of the biplane shows were breathtaking.

A beautifully restored PT-17 Stearman Kadet, my bro-in-law's favorite plane.

Another highlight was seeing the Air Force's latest fighter, the F-22, which was nothing short of amazing to see... its flying capability seem to defy nature and it is so capable as to make other jets seem obsolete. Amazing to see. I brought home a 60th Anniversary Of the USAF (1947-2007) T-shirt and a Thunderbirds ball cap as well as making sure that each of my nephews and my niece left with good presents as well.

The F-22 in flight was truly beautiful.

Even on the ground, the F-22 looked beautiful.

It's several generations more advanced than every other aircraft in existence!

You can find the best of the photos I took here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Personal_2007/Mather-Air-Show_6-10-2007/

My nephew, Vincent, has a very active imagination! And the kid loves camo!

There were a few downsides to the air show:
1. We had a bit of a wait (...about 10 to 15 minutes) to get on the buses at the end of the air show.
2. I got one hellacious "boiled lobster" sunburn... even the tip of my nose! My roommate joked that I finally gave meaning to that classic crayon colour: "burnt sienna"
3. Concessions were overpriced as they always are at these events. However, when compared to many other such events, they weren't so bad.

The tail of a California Air National Guard F-16.

However, the improvements this year were many:
1. Far more aircraft and events to watch.
2. Lots of food and souvenir choices. I made sure that my nephews, niece and I all left with a hat and a T-shirt if wanted.
3. Extremely efficient public transport. We took the RT Light Rail and buses the whole way and avoided the hassle of crowded parking lots.

I also posed in an Army scout chopper.

I had a great time at the air show and I'd highly recommend attending next year if you get the chance!

You can learn more about the California Capitol Air Show here:
http://www.californiacapitalairshow.com/

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

PERSONAL NEWS: Many Missed Holidays!

.Hi Everyone,

Wow, it's been several weeks since I last posted. I hadn't realized that I've been that busy. Lots has gone on since my last post. The above photo is of me getting caught on my birthday, this past Halloween, at my office cubicle. I was half asleep and didn't get a chance to crack much of a smile... let alone wake up when this photo got snapped.

Firstly, we had a Halloween party at work and I wanted to share a few photos from that party:

The winning entry from our pumpkin carving contest.

Look Mom, I work with Johnny Cash!

Our IT wizard... for real!

Some of the participants in the costume contest.

------

Secondly, Veteran's Day has come and gone and I wanted to wish a Happy Veteran's Day to all the veterans out there... including my father. Happy Veterans Day, Dad!

If it wasn't for veterans, we wouldn't have so many of the things that so many folks take for granted... intangible and invaluable things like freedom of speech, government stability, enough food and so many other things that too many folks elsewhere in the world aren't able to take for granted. May it not always be so.

I'm dedicating my much belated Veteran's Day post this year to Captain Jeffrey Toczylowski, 30 years old. Rest in peace, brother. He was recently killed in battle in Iraq.

He not only fought for what he beleived in, but made arrangements to throw a $100k party for his friends when his time came. A hat tip to Mr. AP. Read more about it here:

http://tinyurl.com/yggsbx

And here:

http://tinyurl.com/y9d89x

And his family and friends set up a tribute web site here:

http://www.jefftoz.com/

A quote from him:

“Don’t ever think that you are defending me by slamming the Global War on Terrorism or the U.S. goals in that war,” Jeffrey Toczylowski wrote. “As far as I am concerned, we can send guys like me to go after them or we can wait for them to come back to us again. I died doing something I believed in and have no regrets except that I couldn’t do more.”

God bless the folks willing to take action when diplomacy breaks down in the face of obstinacy.

------

I spent the weekend before last down in Southern California visiting my girlfriend, Svetlana. We went out to the movies, saw Sony Picture's Open Season, which was a fun little animated flick. We also spent alot of time on the beaches...

She has a great apartment literally on the beaches of Hermosa Beach, Southern California. We also visited several other spots including Venice Beach, Muscle Beach and the Santa Monica Pier. It was a good time and it will go at least a little ways towards explaining my absence from blogging for that weekend... LOL :)

------

And this past weekend, I spent doing chores... ironing, cleaning and that bane of all men...SHOPPING! After nearly two tough years, I had to bite the bullet and buy shoes again. It was dumb luck that Mervyns had a "Buy one, get one free" sale so I bought a pair of black leather business shoes for work and a pair of running shoes for the gym. I was pretty pleased and thanks to the sale, I got two pairs of good shoes for well under a C-spot. Grocery shopping also occupied me... don't domestic chores stink?

------

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images 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).

PERSONAL NEWS: Cro Magnon Softball Hitters (22 September 2006)!

.
Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share a few photos from the company picnic we had at my new job on the 22nd of September (last month). We all got together and had a fine meal (BBQ galore) and then played a friendly softball game (the office split up into two teams, more or less).

First we sat down to a big meal (the above photo).

And then the game started... the above photo is of my friend Scott whacking the ball...

And then there's me getting a solid hit in my best Cro Magnon batting poise...

It was a good time... and I don't even like baseball much.

Have a great day!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

PERSONAL NEWS: Mazel Tov, Elle & Vince!

.

Hi Everyone,

Well, as many of you know, my sister got married this past Sunday and it was wonderful... I'm very happy for her, my new brother in law and their five children. I had a great time and while they kept the event small (I don't think there were more than about 30 to 40 guests), it was nice and cozy. I saw many of my cousins whom I hadn't seen in ages.

It was a hot day (easily over the 100 degrees Fahrenheit range...) and I opted to take my suit jacket off... someone snapped a photo of me:

One of my jobs was to pick up and later drop off one of the guests, an old family friend, Dale. It was the first time I'd seen him for ages and probably the first time we really sat down and chatted as adults. I never realized that Dale was a WWII veteran... he flew B-26s and A-26s in the ETO (European Theatre of Operations). It's amazing how little we sometimes know about our neighbors. We had a long chat about WWII, the Martin B-26 Marauder and other topics of interest on the way to the wedding and back.

Dale's a tough old man and has had the same girlfriend for over fifty years... wow! That's something anyone can respect.

The ceremony and reception were held at the Oak Leigh Wedding Center, which is really a nice out of the way site. You can learn more about it here:

http://www.oakleighwedding.com/

And the photographers were wonderful. I highly recommend them. I've known the Bannish family for years, consumate professionals and extremely kind people. Their web site is here:

http://williamphoto.com/

And I took a ton of photos with my little digital camera, which I'm sharing on my Photobucket site so that everyone from the wedding can have access to them (...and my friends and blog readers!). The photos I took are here:

http://briefurl.com/Sis_Wedding_7-8-2006

One last shot of my new nephew-in-law, Austin... aren't kids crazy?

Have a great day!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

MINI GAMING: Memorial Day Blitzkrieg Commander MWS Meeting (27 May 2006)!

.

Hi Everyone,

MWSS (Miniatures Wargaming Society of Sacramento) is a local gaming club and has been around for some time now... although it's mutated more than a little over the years. At one time, it was known as SAGA (Sacramento Area Wargamers' Association) according to one older and very active member. I went a few times back when it was SAGA and observed that the club (at that time) suffered from the curse of so many wargaming club's: The Curse of the Brothers Gemini or factional infighting among the members.

Well, things have changed and the group, while it suffers the occasional lapse, has turned over some new leaves. I like to think that much of the group has grown older, matured and can recognize their differences and move on appropriately.

You can learn more about the MWSS gaming club here:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/M_W_S/

Well, enough of that, the purpose of any gaming or wargaming club is to play games and here's what we played over Memorial Day weekend...

MWS Members & Guests in attendence:
- Bob S.
- Brian
- Dick
- Don
- Greg
- Joe Bianchi
- Keith
- Maksim
- Mark
- Mike O.
- Randy
- Rob

Not bad attendence at all for a weekend with many competing events such as Kublacon!

And several of our members attended Kublacon... I hope that they had a great time!

As as a final side note, usually the honorable Mike Warde photographs and records the meeting so please consider this humble post a very unsatisfactory stand-in for his excellent work! He couldn't be in attendence at the meeting due to the fact that... he was saving the world again in his superhero alter-ego mode. None of us know who he really is in superhero mufti, but we can guess...

Games played:

======
1. Blitzkrieg Commander

http://www.blitzkrieg-commander.com/

http://www.nirya.be/snv/ttm/archives/000041.html

Game Referees & Hosts:
- Bob Sidowski
- Mike O'Brien

German Troops:
- Dick: Oberkommander (Central / Eastern Flank)

- Keith: Fascist Lackey of the Eastern Flank
- Maks: Fascist Lackey of the Western Flank
Russian Troops:
- Don: Grand Commissar / Premier / Grand Poobah (Western Flank)
- Mark: Commie Lapdog of the Eastern Flank
- Rob: Commie Lapdog of the Central Region
This was the "big game" of the meeting... Mike O'Brien and Bob Sidowski had planned and prepared for this game for ages... even going so far as to issue maps and briefings by E-mail to the commanders before game day. They also garnered volunteers and players before the meeting which led to them having two fully staffed sides before the game even started... very often, folks just show up and pick and choose which games they're going to play. That practice sometimes leaves gamemasters who show up later without players... a good idea by Bob and Mike as well as something to think about.

Well, the scenario was a very typical Eastern Front one (at least for us at MWS):

A German logistics base in the rear is tasked to defend against a massive Russian front trying to exploit a hole in the German lines. The heavily outnumbered Germans must try to hold out as long as they can against the near undefeatable Russian masses...

That was, more or less, the scenario we played when Mark hosted awhile back and we played it again with Bob and Mike! Essentially, the German players are condcuting a holding operation, while the Russians were tasked with breaking through and crushing the Germans no matter the casualties... Ho hum.

The map was set up with a village and several woods with the Russians entering the board from the North...

The Russians under Don's leadership decided to probe at first with mostly lend-lease vehicles: Stuart light tanks and US halftracks supported by a penal battallion. The penal battalion spawned a number of bad jokes later...

These ran into prepared defences under Dick and Keith's commands which gave the probes one heck of a beating.

Once the Russians knew where the Germans were, they let the hammer down...

A massive Russian tank army approached with overwhelming numbers and firepower.

And when I say overwhelming, I mean it! The Germans only had a platoon of StuGs and a measly few AT guns to try and stop the Slavic juggernaught!

It looked pretty grim for the Russians for a few turns, but a reenforcing German tank detachment entered the field from the South end after about five turns or so and somewhat gave the Germans a hope for holding against the hordes.

However, the German Pz-IVs and StuG-IIIs still were mightily outclassed by the Russians assault guns, SU-122s, and tanks, T-34s.

The SU-122s stationed near the beginning of the village really gave the Germans what-for... Kudos to the clever Russians for such excellent placement of their assault guns.

One of the big surprises of the game was that artillery didn't have much of an effect on the game... I don't know if that's through command error or otherwise...

The Germans only had a single mortar platoon and it was placed out of useful range and when advanced, was crushed by the Russians.


The Russians, while having an incredible number of guns, spent most of the game targetting areas suspected of harboring Germans... only none were there.

------

One of the more interesting thing about Blitzkrieg Commander is that it's a betting game... in order to move troops, one has to roll under a command number, which decreases as you try to get more and more out of your troops. Not only that, but a natural twelve (on two D6 dice) is always a catastrophic failure (roll an a table for extra bad things to happen) and a natural two (on two D6 dice) is a always a massive success (generally a free extra action is given).

Naturally, this led to havoc for all of the players, very much a fog of war effect! Several of us including Mark, Don and I consistently missed our command numbers and watched the units under our command sit uselessly... unable to act through confusion or some other lame excuse.

At one point, poor Don, rolled the dreaded two and his Commissar was shot by his own troops causing a key Russian command stand to retreat throwing havoc throughout the Russian lines.

And, I, Maksim, rolled no less than SIX of the dreaded twos on my side... aaaccckkk! I'm lucky that Dick and the rest of the Germans didn't shoot me!

Here are some of the more memorable quips from the game:

Don: "I got a nob job from Bob!"

Dick: "Don, you really appear to have the penile battalion in hand..."

Maks: "Rob, you cant beat Dick..."

Mark: "Why do I always have to be a one-pip commander at the wrong times..."

Bob: "Kaegogi (Korean for edible dog meat) isn't quite what you're looking for..."

------

And the award for MVP (Most Vitriolic Player) goes to...

Don, who really gave Maksim a run for his money in the kvetching department...

And the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award goes to...

Keith, who made an incredible string of great rolls with an AT gun on the Eastern flank... Rob was a close runner-up for some of his more deft maneauvers...

------

We ended up calling the game a minor to moderate victory for the Germans... although I suspect since we all got our gaming fill, the end result doesn't really matter!

======
2. DBM

Link here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/8495

Ancients in Attendence:
- Brian

- Greg
- Joe Bianchi
- Randy

Brian brought his DBM kit, but the DBM game never fully materialized. However, they wtill had a great time watching our game and socializing among themselves. Brian, being the great veteran he is, wore a very appropriate T-shirt for the Memorial day weekend... it read "All Gave Some And Some Gave All."

Greg had recently taken a trip back East and brought back a number of early American map reprints... I think that he had visited Jamestown if my memory holds... beautiful and very interesting maps. Greg has been thinking about running some AWI (American War of Independence) or ACW (American Civil War) games. Greg shared an anecdote that they unearthed a near perfectly preserved leather shoe while he was there... very cool!

======

And perhaps some of the better news came a day or two after the game...

One of our members, Joe Bianchi, is in a garage band and are getting ready to cut a demo! Mazel Tov, Joe!

Due to my band cutting a demo, I will not make the June meeting and will be moving my game to the July meeting. We have two other games scheduled so if you wish to run one at the June meeting, please let me know.
- Joe B.

The above message was Joe's announcement to us...

And the below message was my congrats to him.

Subject: [M_W_S] Mazel Tov to the Joe Express Band!
Hi Joe,
That's great news about the demo... I'm very happy for you. MazelTov!
We'll miss you at the meeting though... you're always a great guy to game with.
Wishing you the best...
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
P.S.
What is the name of your band?

And Don, being the character he is, piped in...

RE: [M_W_S] Mazel Tov to the Joe Express Band!
Joe,
You have to let us know when you are going to be playing.
Maks,
The first round of vodka is going to be on me.
- Don Delis.

Oh, what a merry band we are!

======

Have a great weekend!

Shabbat Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
As usual, I post the photos I take publicly so that anyone can use them to their heart's delight... all I ask is to be credited for having taken the photos.

Link here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/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).

GAMING NEWS: A Highly Anticipated Murder at A-1 Comics (3 May 2006)!

Hi Everyone,

Well, gaming day at A-1 Comics has come and gone and the game that themed the night was:

"Who Killed Dr. Lucky?" from "Cheapass Games"

You either loved it, hated it, or just wanted to see the game die!

And "Who Killed Dr. Lucky?," which is actually called "Save Dr. Lucky!" is a parody of the classic "Clue" game. We all took our roles and the murder mystery party ensued.

The following people showed up:
- Crystal
- Dick
- Dave Story
- Donna
- Kimbo
- Kurt
- Maksim (me!)
- Mike O'Brien
- Todd
- Tony

And we played the following games:

======
1. Through the Desert

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/503

Players:
- Dick: L.
- Dave: L.
- Kimbo: L.
- Kurt: WINNER!
- Maks: L.

Kurt ended up having a lot of talent with camels. He just seemed to have an instinctive feeling with them. It was like the rest of us weren't even competitors or even in the room with him... just Kurt and his beloved camels. I believe that the lovely spitting paramour of Ibn Ali Kurt was named "Sheila." Mazel Tov with your win, Kurt!

======
2. Treehouse

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/21955

Players:
- Dave: L.
- Kimbo: WINNER!
- Kurt: L.

In this strange little game using the Zendo "crystal" pyramids, Kimbo massaged the dice just right and beat off Dave and Kurt... ...to victory. Mazel Tov, Kimbo!

To the right is a photo of Dave looking a little less enthused than the print design on his shirt. He talked about the highlight of his work day being when his dog broke wind loudly. Oh, the joys of being a computer geek working out of your own home!

======
3. Category 5

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/432

Players:
- Dave: L.
- Kimbo: L.
- Kurt: L.
- Todd: WINNER!

Todd claims that he has a method for winning this game and whatever it was, it worked this time. Mazel Tov, Todd!

======
4. Yinsh!

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/7854

Players:
- Dick: 2 - L.
- Todd: 3 - WINNER!

In the classic strategy game of Yinsh, Dick's largest accomplishment was making a "brass knuckle" out of the Yinsh rings. Todd, in yet another win of the day, beat out Dick. Mazel Tov, AGAIN Todd!

The exciting photo to the right depicts a Yinsh game in progress. Can't you feel the intense emotion and action pursuant to this game?

======
5. Category 5

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/432

Players:
- Dick: L.
- Dave: L.
- Kimbo: L.
- Kurt: L.
- Maks: L.
- Todd: WINNER!

Todd's "method" appeared to work again! Mazel Tov AGAIN, Todd!

Kurt had to leave around this time... he babbled something about having to catch a soap opera on some obscure cable channel. He's weird that way.

======
6. Bang!

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/3955

Players:
- Crystal: Sheriff: WINNER!
- Dick: Outlaw: Shot Down Like A Dog!
- Dave: Outlaw: SDLAD!
- Kimbo: Outlaw: SDLAD!
- Maks: Deputy: WINNER!
- Todd: Renegade: SDLAD!

It was a tough root'in toot'in gun match and hot lead flew like there was no tomorrow... and then there were three! (Cue Wild Western "high plains" theme.)

Maksim and Crystal lined up on one end of the town and "Wildman" Kimbo on the other, spitt'in an' tear'in an' holler'in like there'd be no tomorrow.

Hot lead flew again. Maks was hit... he staggered... bleeding. Kimbo laughed behind his barrel. Crystal was hit and hit bad... the holes in her smart "Law-woman TM" vest were leaking red...

And then the sun hit "High Noon" and it all turned around...

Kimbo was hit once and then twice (Cue in image of Kimbo silently screaming) and then he was slain like the scurrilous dog he was.

The good guys won this time and rode off into the sunset happily ever after.

P.S.
Please ignore any time / logic problems with the sudden jump from high noon to the setting sun!

======
7. Who Killed Dr. Lucky?

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/1157

Players:

Dick as: Colonel Mustard, Retired military man and Great White Hunter.

Ever notice how the "I-talian" guys always go straight for the babe?

Crystal as: Yvette, the French Maid, also known as "Crystal Love" in the slums.

And don't let that perky smile fool you, she's a manipulative and bloodthirsty lass.

Maks as: Professor Krasnoxolostoksky.

This is a truly terrible picture of me. I must remember to always have pictures of me taken with my head level or looking up so my neck doesn't make me look fat. I was properly cast as the hopeless academic, who's always forgetting things. And I forgot to win.

Todd as: Mr. White, Cleaning Staff. A pretty vanilla fellow.

Todd wasn't photographed this time around due to his vast importance in the greater picture of things. Bummer.

Tony as: Fryar Antonio De Cinema De Noir.

The Fryar tried to "whack" ol' Dr. Lucky several times, but he would have been better off using the bottle as a weapon than a source of libation.

Dave as: Monsieur David L'Idiotique, Cultist Leader and Circuit Lecturer.

Monsier Dave, as we called him, thought that the "ontology" of the evening was "in disarray" and became a "silent protester" to the inhumanity of the evening. Oddly enough, this made him one of the more interesting, and yet less exciting, guests.

Kimbo as: The Malevolent Taxman.

I think his name was either "Butch" or "Peewee," but I wasn't brave enough to ask and the fiendish look on his face frightened all others away. His loud braggardly ranting (something about card-based games) let everyone know that he didn't feel that he had to play by the rules. It almost seemed as if he wanted everyone to lose. I have a feeling that if the game would have gone on any longer, he might have done something drastic...

Mike O'Brien as: Dr. Lucky, the man we all love to hate although some of us just hate him... not I, I say!

Donna as: Ms. Ho, the Oriental cook that worked a little "too hard" for Dr. Lucky!

------

It was a rousing night at Wayne Manor as the motley crew of the "Official Dr. Lucky Fan Club" assembled. Everyone was sipping cocktails or nibbling on hors d'ovaries, but you could feel something sinister simmering under the polite small talk. Either someone forgot to wear deodorant or there was hate in the air! (Cue suspenseful piano music.)

The party assembled in the foyer and the Doctor's bequest was read. Dr. Lucky O'Brien had had enough... his candle of life was nearly burnt down... and his dramatic request was that one of us end the misery of his life that very night! He offered his full fortune (in unmarked ones...) to any who could accomplish the grisly task.

Some of us conjectured that after eating Ms. Ho's cooking for so many years (Ho-hos), any of us would have wanted the same.

And the deed was afoot!

Dick quickly scurried off to the side room and caught the not-so-good doctor alone, but he was foiled in his attempt when the sight of his thumb distracted him.

Fryar Tony was next. Like every good man of the clergy, he whipped out his Black & Decker chainsaw and prepared to go to town when... he mistook a stairwell pillar for the not-so-good doctor. Another flubbed murder attempt.

And there were many more failed murdered attempts. "Peewee" Kimbo and Monsieur Dave were fraught with frustration! What kind of party was this? When would the evening end? Was Sartre right? And no card-based games! Aaaaagggghhhhh!

Finally, bloodthirsty "Crystal Love" found herself "alone" in the garden with the foolish doctor and ended his unlikeable ways.

Le Fin!

Rest In Peace, Doctor Lucky O'Brien!

======

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images 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).