Random Stuff

My wife's first Car Wars game!  Killer Karts roam the arena!

Heya folks!

There will be no The One Ring review today, I'm running behind this week.  I promise it will be out in the next few days!

My wife and I are in the process of fixing up our basement and clearing out lots of stuff we've accumulated over the years.  I've thinned out some of the games that I own and will probably never play again, so in the next couple of weeks I'll be posting some stuff for sale so keep an eye on this space.

I celebrated my 40th birthday this week with my wife and daughter, we spent two days in a cabin at Westmoreland State Park in Virginia.  It was beautiful, unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we were stuck indoors for much of the time.  I coerced my wife into playing some Car Wars, we did a Killer Kart vs. Killer Kart battle.  We both enjoyed it greatly, I forgot what a fun game that is.  Next time we will be designing our own cars for a Division 10 fight!  I still love that old Deluxe Edition set that I have.  I really need to do a Car Wars review, especially with the new version coming out next year!

Anyway, take care everyone, watch here for more in the next few weeks!

I'm back! (sort of.....)

 

Heya folks!

Its been a little while since I've been around these parts, but as the title explains, I'm back!  Well as much as I can be with a six week old baby.  On 06/27/2016 Amelia Jieun Carter was born, she was a healthy 8lbs 11oz and is growing like crazy!  My wife an I feel very blessed, everyone is healthy and doing well.

Needless to say that this new little one leaves me with very little free time, so this blog dropped down the totem pole of things to keep up on.  I have no intention of abandoning this blog though, I still enjoy hopping on here and talking all things gaming.  I will be posting a review soon, I have recently been enamored with The One Ring RPG and I will be doing a review of it and several of the expansion books.  I am also still working on a few new artist interviews, keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best!

I hope you all are well.  Stay tuned, more to come in the next few days!

Happy Memorial Weekend

Lily stopping by to say hi!

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe memorial weekend.  A very hearty thanks to those that have served or are still actively serving our country.

It's been a busy weekend for me, in the last twenty four hours I have gone for a seven mike bike ride - and walked the last mile as I took a bit of a tumble and snapped my derailleur hanger - dropped off my bike at the bike shop for repairs, attended a three year old's birthday party, cleaned the house, went grocery shopping, cleaned my garage and basement, spent some time painting on my cosmic horror piece and did some human gesture drawings.  Thanks goodness I have one additional day this weekend!  We have a party/cook out tomorrow and I can't wait for burgers!  RED MEAT, nom, nom nom.

Anyway I hope you all enjoy whats left of the weekend, take care!

P.S. I'm thinking about watching Deadpool tomorrow, is it worth the time?

Minutes before the crash

Happy Holiday from the Drunk Umber Hulk!

Happy holidays everyone!  I hope you all have a safe and fun holiday season.  May your presents be filled with gaming goodness and your bellies filled with tasty treats!

Busy, busy, busy!

Heya folks!

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been super busy.  I am back at school for the fall semester, taking classes in the evenings after work (math class.....bleh).  On top of full time work and part time school are all of my house projects and honey-do lists.  At some point I will get back to posting and will finish up the Men of Iron game I started, just not in the next month or so.

I have managed to squeeze in a little miniatures painting here and there, I'll try and take some photos and get them posted.  I hope you are all well and enjoying the fall weather!

12,000 Hits!

The Drunk Umber Hulk hit 12,000 hits today, thanks to all of you out there that have been tuning in.  I've really enjoyed running this blog,  I hope you all are enjoying reading my little section of the interwebs!  This is for you:

Entertainment Roundup

My wife and I went and saw the new Star Trek movie, Into Darkness, last weekend and both really enjoyed it.  J.J. Abrams is doing a great job with the reboot, it still feels like Star Trek but has a breath of fresh air blown into the series.  I am looking forward to the next movie!

The new Hobbit trailer dropped today and it looks awesome!  Wood elves, Dwarves in barrels, Lake Town and finally a glimpse of Smaug.  Check it out here:  

It was brought to my attention that there are new Mad Max movies in production, I had no idea!  They are called Mad Max: Fury Road and Mad Max: Furiosa.  Both star Tom Hardy as the main character Max and Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa.  I am really excited for these, no trailer as of yet but apparently filming is completed with the exception of some pickups.  The first is slated to be released in 2013 around Christmas.  I think Tom Hardy is a good choice for Max, he has the tough guy look but hes not over the top.  Mel Gibson is apparently making an appearance as "The Drifter" and the original director of the first three movies, George Miller is back in charge for the next two.  That gives me some hope that they may turn out well!  Keep your fingers crossed!

Tom Hardy

And last but not least here is the Old Spock vs New Spock Audi commercial.  Leonard Nimoy cussing and singing the Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.  Funny stuff, enjoy!

Battle of the Nations & Warrior Dash

So I stumbled across this the other day and found it to be all kinds of awesome.  Apparently there is a worldwide league that competes in full blown melee events, its called the Battle of Nations.  These guys are not pulling punches either, there are strict rules regarding the types armor worn and use of weapons.  Check out the video above to get an idea of what the games are like. 

The cost to get started in one of these leagues is pretty steep, I read on their website that you can expect to pay between five to ten thousand dollars to get all of the equipment needed.  That's a bit out of most peoples range but I guess if you want to kick the crap out of other medieval loving folks you need the equipment to do so.

Check out their website for more videos and downloadable rules:  USA Knights

In other news I completed the Southern Maryland Warrior Dash last weekend and had a blast.  It was a little over three miles of very hilly terrain and there were about ten obstacles scattered throughout the course.  I did very little preparation prior to the race and paid for it on race day.  I completed all but one of the obstacles and was exhausted at the end but still had a really good time.  Here are a couple of pics from the event:

My running partner Binley on the left.

End of race photo op.

Survived is the correct term, next time better preparation.

David Macaulay's Castle

I have long had a fascination with castles and it all began with David Macaulay's book Castle which my parents purchased for me at a yard sale many years ago.  David has done a whole series of pen and ink illustrated books that explain how Castles, Pyramids, Roman Cities, Mosques and other historical building were made.  They are fantastic books and if you have not had a chance to check them out you should!

PBS created an hour long special based on the Castle book and I recently purchased a DVD version from Amazon.  I remember I first watched this in Junior High, my friend and I did a presentation on castles in class and had watched this on a clunky old VHS player to learn more about the subject.

The video transfer to DVD is pretty bad, the image is fuzzy and is showing its age. Castle is sixty minutes long and is narrated by the author, he gives a tour of a 13th century Welsh castle describing all of the architectural features and defenses.  This is inter-cut with an animated story of Aberwyvern Castle which shows the construction process, what life was like in the middle ages and the the castle in action defending against Welsh raiders. Its all very wonderfully done and reignited my love of all things medieval.

PBS also turned several of the other Macaulay books into television special, I have not seen the others but intend to seek them out.  If your interested you can pick up Castle the book and video from Amazon, links below!

Castle at Amazon
Castle DVD on Amazon

This has nothing to do with gaming but I had to post it.  Hardcore man, hardcore.