Tornado on mars

pretty awesome

Last month, we were excited to share an image of a twister on Mars that lofted a twisting column of dust more than 800 meters (about a half a mile) high. We now know that’s nothin’ — just peanuts, chump change, hardly worth noticing. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has now spotted a gigantic Martian dust devil roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) high, churning through the Amazonis Planitia region of northern Mars

From here. There are videos and stuff online as well.

The Birds

Hitchcock had it backwards with his movie The Birds. The birds weren't going mad for some strange reason, but rather it was an attempted coup to return the world its rightful owners! THE BIRDS!...or in this case the dinosaurs. Seems that they've uncovered a very large feathered dino in China...well bone collectors found em anyway. They've long postulated...the archeologists, not the bone collectors...that dinosaurs are related to birds. Here's another piece in the puzzel it would seem.

Check out the full monty.

Technology breakthrough: Detect Magic

Often confused as to the nature of items found, adventurers approach clerics and wizards alike in search of knowledge of many items looted and stripped from the dead and dying, objects stolen from the tombs of the dead and other rapacious and ill thought of methods of acquisition, the worshippers Makicoradario have declared there services open to one and all.

 

For a small fee, theses clerics allow people to pileup objects before them and they will forthwith cast spells upon them and detect magics amongst the pile. Come one come all. There are dozens of clerics just waiting to serve you. Some are even willing to travel with adventurers and continually cast there magics in an effort to detect these magical items.

 

They guarantee 100% detection of magic within a ten foot wide by fifty foot long cone in front of them, though not its nature. For an extra fee they even reveal whether the magic is strong or weak.

 

 

A Super Violent Universe

Worse than any fireball spell! The universe IRS super destructive and no act of congress seems likely to stem the tide of violent implosions, explosions and incenerative moments. Oh our little old universe, such a rapscallions.

 

There is a three hour long documentary available here aptly entitled, The Violent Universe.

 

 

 

 

Skulls - Awesome

There  is a skull thing over at the California Academy of Sciences. Go visit, its waaaay cooler than anything else you are doing right now.

Jack and the Bean Stalk - or Giant Killer

A movie called Jack the Giant Killer is coming out this year. It looks pretty good. One can watch the preview here. The interesting thing about the movie, to me and at the moment, is that it takes a classic fairly tale and turns it into a more adventurous exploit and explodes it onto screen for a modern and more adult audience.

 

Throughout my long game running career, I have done much the same, though not in quite so literal a manner. For example, for the Death on the Treklant series oif adventures. I took a simple and calssic plot hook, rescue the beautiful princess, and churned a massive plot around that simple quest.

 

I hold to my belief that many fairly tales and such contain the germs of some very fundemental human explorations of self and one's place in society (as well as offering lessons on how to behave in society). To take these fairly tales and myths and re-expolore them in a game context can, I ardently believe, add depth of meaning to one's game.

 

Give it a whirl. Pick a classic and turn it into a new and more magical adventure. One not about the loot, but about the theme.

 

My two cents and worthless advice.

 

Davis

Evolution of the Sword

So I was looking at swords again and found this cool drawing by Z. Edward Lohse. See his page here.

 

Its sorta cool as an overall timeline and comparative look at the sword. I'd like to see something

Like this done in greater detail. Maybe Peter has some time?

 

Totally cool Total Recall returns to the theater

The first Total Recall featured the ex governor of California. It was OK but I doubt I could sit through it again.

 

Keep this image in your mind.

The newer Total Recall seems a little more polished.

 

Earliest depictions of Dragons

Interesting snippet from a book. The author contends the earliest depictions of dragons are these

 

Its Tiamat and a griffon respectively. I have no reason to doubt the claim as the these being the earliest depictions. Interestingly, both are from

 

Both deoictions are form ancient Babylon. The discussion can be found, at least in part, here. I find, you decide.

Saber tooth lemming

Haha awesome

 

Linky

 

HD 1hp

Damage. 6d6

Cool Castle

Cochem Reichsburg or something or other. It's early and I am having a difficult time actually focusing. anyway, I was looking for some inspirational images and found this castle image.

The castle was destroyed or damaged in the 17th century I think, and then reconstructed in the 19th century.

These windows would not have been an element of the original castle.

It's a cool looking place. It also served to remind me that the castle was used to house locals in times of conflict. Or, at least some locals, or at least that was the idea. I keep forgetting this aspect of a castle when laying them out. Well, there it is, reminded.