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Events to Watch Out For 09/07-09/13

Matt — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:17:45 +0000

If you thought you were going to have a relaxing week off after PAX or DargonCon or WorldCon you were sorely mistaken. there are a lot of great geeky events this week so drink an extra helping of your favorite caffeinated beverage and get on out there!

TONIGHT!

Author Signing: William Gibson 7 – 9pm at Barnes & Noble University Village 2675 NE University Village Street Seattle
Join cyberpunk pioneer William Gibson for a discussion of his newest novel, Zero History, a timely thriller featuring the return of Hubertus Bigend, set in a future that is all too similar to our present. You won’t want to miss this event!

Wednesday

Author Signing: SM Stirling 7 – 9pm at University Book Store 4326 University Way Northeast, Seattle
SM Stirling reads and signs High King of Montival: A Novel of the Change.

With The Sword of the Lady, Rudi Mackenzie’s destiny was determined. Now he returns to Montival in the Pacific Northwest, where he will face the legions of the Prophet. To achieve victory, Rudi must assemble a coalition of those who had been his enemies a few months before and forge them into an army that will rescue his homeland. Only then will Rudi be able to come to terms with how the Sword has changed him, as well as the world, and assume his place as Artos, High King of Montival…

Author Signing: William Gibson 7:30 – 9pm at Powell’s City of Books Burnside 1005 W. Burnside Portland, OR
Join cyberpunk pioneer William Gibson for a discussion of his newest novel, Zero History, a timely thriller featuring the return of Hubertus Bigend, set in a future that is all too similar to our present. You won’t want to miss this event!

Thursday

PODCAST DAY! Episode #76 of the Seattle Geekly Podcast will feature interviews from PAX 2010.

Marian Call: the Very Very Big Seattle Concert 8 – 11pm at Fremont Abbey 4272 Fremont Avenue North Seattle
Marian almost never plays with a band, but this September in Seattle it shall come to pass. Strings, drums, and every good thing, including the unsinkable Molly Lewis opening (#freemolly!). Doors open at 8pm. Tickets sold online are $15, $10 for students, seniors, military, disabled, or starving artist (honor system). Tickets will be $3 more at the door. Advance tickets are available NOW at http://mariancall.com. This is an all ages event, both Marian and Molly are totally awesome live and this event should not be missed.

Friday

Open Circle Theater presents ‘Arcana’ 7:30pm at the Open Circle Theater 2222 2nd Ave (Second Floor) Seattle
Open Circle Theater is excited to bring you our first show of the season, *Arcana*. A collection of six short plays and two monologues by John Longenbaugh and inspired by the Major Arcana of the Tarot, *Arcana* mixes comedy and pathos, fantasy and poetry that take the temperature of male/female relationships in the first decade of the new Millennium. The leader of the Holy Roman Empire (yes, it still exists) tries a more non-conventional way to find connection; the new Pope brings a surprising change to the Vatican – and a love for Macy Gray; and thin walls reveal more about your neighbors than you expected. Tickets are $16 at the door / $14 Advance at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/123293 Students/Seniors $3 off at the door

Midnight Movies: THX 1138 MIDNOGHT at the Egyptian Theater 805 East Pine St. Seattle
See George Lucas’ classic movie on the big screen!

Saturday

Cartoonist Carol Tyler Presents YOU’LL NEVER KNOW Graphic Memoir 6 – 9pm at the Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery 1201 S. Vale St.
Influential comix artist Carol Tyler will appear in at Fantagraphics Bookstore in Seattle on Saturday, September 11 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM to present her two-volume graphic memoir YOU’LL NEVER KNOW with an exhibition of original art and book signing. This will mark Tyler’s fist visit to the Northwest.

Sunday

Opening Night of The Radio8Ball Show with The Dutchess, The Duke & The Dick 8:00pm at the Theater Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave. S., Seattle
Synchronicity is sexy! And fun. It makes you luckier and smarter than people twice your size. Give us a shake! Seattle’s only synchronicity show, THE RADIO8BALL SHOW returns to Theater Off Jackson. This premier live taping of the Radio8Ball web series will feature the music of THE DUTCHESS & THE DUKE, a celebrity Skype-In from ANDY DICK and an opening comedy set from EMMETT MONTGOMERY. The proceedings will be overseen by R8B host and creator ANDRAS JONES and the star of the show is…YOU.

Monday

Author Signing: Rhys Bowen 12pm at Seattle Mystery Bookshop 117 Cherry St. Seattle
In ROYAL BLOOD, the fourth in her celebrated Royal Spyness series set in 1930s London, Rhys Bowen returns with Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, thirty-fourth in line to the English crown, and the mystery world’s favorite penniless heiress. When Georgie is asked to represent the royal family at a school chum’s wedding in Romania, she expects a fun holiday — a respite from her tedious life in London working as a housemaid. But the castle looks suspiciously like that of Count Dracula. Sensible Georgie doesn’t believe in the undead, but when the bride is discovered with blood running down her chin, and an important guest dies after a banquet, she must question her beliefs and confront the possibility that there really may be vampires in the castle. A cross between Maisie Dobbs and Bridget Jones, Bowen’s lively heroine will leave readers eagerly awaiting her next adventure. For more info: http://www.rhysbowen.com/

Author Signing: Inara Scott 5pm at Third Place Books Ravenna 6504 20th Ave NE, Seattle
Inara Scott reads and signs Delacroix Academy, Book One: The Candidates.

Dancia Lewis is far from popular. And that’s not just because of her average grades or her less-than-glamorous wardrobe. In fact, Dancia’s mediocrity is a welcome cover for her secret: whenever she sees a person threatening someone she cares about, things just…happen. Cars skid. Structures collapse. Usually someone gets hurt. So Dancia does everything possible to avoid getting close to anyone, belieiving this way she can supress her powers and keep them hidden. But when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up in her living room to offer her a full scholarship, Dancia’s days of living under the radar may be over. Only, Delcroix is a school for diplomats’ kids and child geniuses–not B students with uncontrollable telekinetic tendencies. So why are they treating Dancia like she’s special? Even the hottest guy on campus seems to be going out of his way to make Dancia feel welcome. And then there’s her mysterious new friend Jack, who can’t stay out of trouble. He suspects something dangerous is going on at the Academy and wants Dancia to help him figure out what. But Dancia isn’t convinced. She hopes that maybe the recruiters know more about her “gift” than they’re letting on. Maybe they can help her understand how to use it…But not even Dancia could have imagined what awaits her behind the gates of Delcroix Academy.

Monday News Roundup 09/06

Matt — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:43:31 +0000

The Monday News is going to be a little thin this week because I am still recovering from PAX and because our next three shows will be all about the news that came out from that selfsame event this weekend. I did want to take some time, though, to point out a couple of non-PAX stories that caught my eye.

First, big congratulations are in order to all of the Hugo Award winners in general, but in particular to local favorites Kaja and Phil Foglio and Cheyenne Wright who picked up their second Best Graphic Story Hugo for Girl Genius, Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm and to Seanan McGuire who won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. You can hear our interview with Seanan and her alter ego Mira Grant in Episode #68. The full list of the Hugo winners is available at the Worldcon 68 site. In one last bit of Worldcon news, it was also announced this weekend that Worldcon 2012 will be in Chicago with Guests of Honor Mike Resnick, Rowena Morrill, Story Musgrave, Peggy Rae Sapienza, Jane Frank, and John Scalzi.

Congratulations are also in order to Z, host of Radio Free Hipster, who picked up a Parsec Award in the Best Speculative Fiction Music Podcast category. The Parsecs were given out at Dragoncon this weekend and the full list of winners is available on the official Parsec site.

Stay tuned for Episode #76 of our podcast this week, the first of three post-PAX shows, which will include news on Torchlight 2, Lego Universe, Tera and much more!

Events to Watch Out For 08/31 – 09/06

Matt — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:21:46 +0000

This is a little early but I wanted to make sure people had plenty of time to plan ahead for this one. Marian Call is returning to Seattle on September 9 for The Very Very Big Seattle Concert at the Fremont Abbey (4272 Fremont Avenue North in Seattle). Marian almost never plays with a band, but this September in Seattle it shall come to pass. Strings, drums, and every good thing, including the unsinkable Molly Lewis opening (#freemolly!). Doors open at 8pm. Tickets sold online are $15, $10 for students, seniors, military, disabled, or starving artist (honor system). Tickets will be $3 more at the door. Advance tickets are available NOW at http://mariancall.com. This is an all ages event, both Marian and Molly are totally awesome live and this event should not be missed. Just to whet your appetite, here is a video of Marian along with Vixy & Tony, SJ Tucker, Betsy Tinney, and Sunnie Larsen at Can’t Stop the Serenity earlier this year.

The big event this week is, of course, PAX 2010. We are going to be there the whole stinkin’ weekend so if you happen to see us there feel free to say “hi”! If you don’t want to leave it to random chance we are having a Seattle Geekly Meetup at 9am just outside the coffee shop on the first floor of the convention center. It’s the same place it was last year and the same place we had our Emerald City Comic Con meetup. If none of that makes sense, check out this handy map.

Grab some coffee, hang out with us and fellow Seattle geeks and we’ll be giving away a ton of great swag!

Thursday

PODCAST DAY!
Episode #75 of the Seattle Geekly podcast will feature interviews with author Harry Connolly who tells us about his latest book Game of Cages (which just hit bookstores today) and film guru Sean “The Butcher” Smithson who tells us about the Film School Confidential U.S. film series that he is bringing to the Grand Cinema in Tacoma.

The BoneBat “Comedy of Horrors” Film Fest, 6pm – midnight at The Big Picture Theater in Redmond
A Cinematic Comedy and Horror Extravaganza! Two Features! Short Films! Prizes Galore! And LIVE MUSIC from Seattle’s own Barefoot Barnacle! Join us for a full evening of Giggles and Gore, hosted by Steve and Gord of The BoneBat Show! The Big Picture boasts a full bar for your drinking pleasure, so all attendees must be 21 and over. Tickets on sale now at: http://www.bonehand.com/bonebatff.html

Friday

FILM SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL with Sean The Butcher Smithson and Justin Giallo showing of Lucio Fulci’s THE BEYOND in 35mm 9pm – midnight at The Grand Cinema 606 S Fawcett Ave in Tacoma
FILM SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL USA hosted by horror film authority Sean “The Butcher” Smithson, and co-hosted by Justin Giallo, will be bringing the nightmares and bloodshed to the Grand Cinema for two nights with a special 35mm screening of Lucio Fulci’s classic THE BEYOND! Seattle/Tacoma area horror fans, this is what you’ve been waiting for. A true horror film, projected from celluloid to screen, with an audience. This is a DO NOT MISS event. Prizes and madness will be flowing like crimson waves. Win t-shirts, dvd’s, and other random items of gory goodness.

Saturday

Author Signing: Harry Connoly 1 – 3pm at 3206 West McGraw Street, Seattle
Local urban fantasy author Harry Connolly signs his latest novel Game of Cages, book two of the Twenty Palaces series.

Midnight Movies: Spirited Away at the Egyptian Theater 805 East Pine St. in Seattle
See Miyazaki’s classic animated film on the big screen!

Sunday

Girls PAX Meetup 10:00 – 11:30am at the Fonte cafe and Wine Bar, 1321 First Avenue in Seattle
A chance for the ladies of PAX to meet up for breakfast and getting to know each other. – Full up with a lengthy waiting list.

As always you can check out our Event Calendar to keep up with all the latest geek events.

Monday News Roundup 08/30

Matt — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:02:36 +0000

Saturday was the first International Read Comics in Public day and we happily participated. There is a Read Comics in Public Flickr pool that has collected pictures from people across the country enjoying comics in a wide variety of locations.

The comics we were reading were Chew vol. 2 by John Layman and Rob Guillory and Atomic Robo vol. 1 by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener. Alert listeners will have heard us talk about Chew in the past, you can hear our interview with writer John Layman in Episode #63 and keep reading under the fold for some big news regarding Chew and the Harvey Awards results.

Atomic Robo, written by Brian Clevinger with art by Scott Wegener, is an ongoing series that tells the story of a robot built in the 1920s by Nikola Tesla. Atomic Robo had adventures through the 20th century and into the 21st along with his “action scientists”. The stories are part League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, part Hellboy and part Indiana Jones. The books were written with the goal of putting “the fun, the adventure, and the optimism of the pulp era back into today’s comics” and the creators accomplished that goal handily. The cover of the collection I read, which shows Atomic Robo getting ready to hit a brain-in-a-jar with a World War II era nuclear bomb, gives a fair indication of the style of the book. The writing is clever and genuinely funny and the art has a very clean almost cartoon-y look that I really enjoyed. There are three volumes out now and volume four is coming next week. I highly recommend grabbing at least the first collection and I will certainly be picking up the others soon. It also looks like there is an Atomic Robo animated short in the works, the first trailer for which just hit the web. Enjoy!

The rest of your Monday news is under the fold.

Books

The nominees for the World Fantasy Awards for works published in 2009 have been announced. Nominees include:
Locus Online has the full list of nominees. The awards will be presented at the World Fantasy Convention this October.

Comics

The papers of anti-comics crusader Fredric Wertham have been opened to the public by the Library of Congress. Fredric Wertham was a psychiatrist and wrote Seduction of the Innocent in 1954 laying out his case against not only the graphic crime comics of the time, but also mainstream super hero comics as well. The book kicked off a wave of anti-comics hysteria which culminated in the formation of the Comics Code Authority. The irony of Dr. Wertham’s book is that comics mentioned in Seduction of the Innocent are now highly prized by collectors and routinely bring higher prices than other comics not mentioned in the book. The full text of Seduction of the Innocent is available online.

The Harvey Award winners were announced at Baltimore Comic Con this weekend. The winners are:
The full list of winners is available through Comic Mix

TV

Digital Spy is among the many sites reporting that the sixth series of Doctor Who will be broadcast in two parts. Lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat made the announcement at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Sunday. The latest series will start in Spring 2011 and return in the Autumn and will include, among other things, an episode written by Neil Gaiman.

Genre TV did not fare particularly well in the Emmys this year. The good news is that the competition from mainstream comedy and drama shows was actually pretty good and most of the shows that did win awards are actually decent, if not particularly geeky. Emmy winners of interest to the geek set included Jim Parsons, Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, who won for Lead Actor in a Comedy and that was pretty much it on the creative side. The technical Emmys were somewhat kinder to genre shows, recognizing Lost for Single-camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, FlashForward for Stunt Coordination and the collaborative animation collage project Star Wars: Uncut which won for Creative Achievement in Interactive Media—Fiction. The full list of winners is available on the official Emmys site.

Video Games

Rockstar Games has announced a release date and additional content for the latest DLC for Red Dead Redemption. Straight from Rockstar:

The Liars and Cheats Pack will contain a great range of new highly-requested features to expand the Free Roam world including Multiplayer Poker and Liar’s Dice, as well as a brand new Competitive Multiplayer gameplay mode. The Liars and Cheats Pack will also include the content previously announced as the Free Roam Pack. The Free Roam Pack was originally planned as a free download, but due to the platform networks’ restrictions on numbers of free packs we can give away, we have instead added it to The Liars & Cheats Pack as one Free Roam release boasting the following features and more:

Multiplayer Poker and Liars’ Dice Games
One of the most fan-requested features comes to multiplayer.

Multiplayer Horse Races
Ride out against your friends and foes online – with mounted combat guns blazing.

The Explosive Rifle
An devastatingly destructive new weapon with its own new single-player and multiplayer challenges.

7 New Gang Hideouts
Posse up and take on the new Hideouts together to level up quickly.

4 New Hunting Grounds
New Hunting Grounds are now visible on the map for all to see, with some of the most action-packed wildlife hunting yet.

Stronghold Competitive Multiplayer Mode
Teams take turns in attack and defense in multi-tiered Competitive games.

Posse Scoring and Leaderboards
Compare stats with other posses and compete to see who are the kings of the Free Roam frontier.

Plus, 15 additional multiplayer characters from the Red Dead Redemption storyline are being made available as multiplayer characters, and more all-new Achievements and Trophies.

Liars & Cheats will be available September 21 for $9.99 on Playstation Network or 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live.

Events to Watch Out For 08/24-30

Matt — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:14:46 +0000

I know this is out of order but I wanted to give special attention to an event this Saturday that I think geek everywhere should participate in. August 28 is International Read Comics in Public Day

The concept is fairly simple: we’re asking that everyone take an hour or two out of their day on August 28th (also the birthday of Jack “King” Kirby, incidentally) to read a comic book in a public setting—a park bench, a beach, a bus, the front steps of your local library (we do ask, however, that you be mindful of local loitering laws). Let strangers see you reading a piece of sequential art. Take to the streets. Be proud. If someone asks what you’re reading, say, “a comic book” (the phrase “graphic novel is also acceptable, but let’s face it, it sort of defeats the whole purpose). Heck, lend them a book, if you’ve got an extra—what better way to make a new friend and convert a new reader? While you’re at it, why not get a friend to snap a picture of you reading? Send it along and we’ll post it up for you in our photo gallery and on our site. It’s all pretty straight forward, of course, but if you’ve got any questions—or suggestions—feel free to drop us a line at readcomicsinpublic@gmail.com. Thanks and happy reading.

For a complete list of events check out our Event Calendar and keep reading for some of this week’s highlights!

TONIGHT!

Author Signing: Terry Brooks 7pm – 9pm at University Book Store 4326 University Way NE, Seattle
Shannara, the fantasy realm created by Terry Brooks, has been evolving for 30 years, and in that time, it has gotten deeper and more vivid. Bearers of the Black Staff marks the first book in a new series of Shannara novels—a welcome return for many fantasy readers. A valley protected by magic suddenly finds itself defenseless, and it is up to two young trackers to warn the others and prepare protection for their home. But internal strife bedevils the plans, even as a Troll army gathers for invasion.

Wednesday

D&D Encounters 6pm at Dragon’s Lair 14725 Northeast 20th Street, Bellevue and many other locations in the Seattle area.
This week – Session 11: More Than One Way Out
After a long, blindfolded march over unfamiliar terrain, the heroes are imprisoned in a holding pen strewn with the bones of their prison’s former occupants. Did you miss past sessions? Read all the round-ups here!

Thursday

PODCAST DAY! – Episode #74 of the Seattle Geekly podcast will feature interviews with the organizers of two local film festivals, The Bonebat Comedy of Horrors Film Fest and the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival.
Twisted Flicks 8pm – 10pm at the Historic University Theater 5510 University Way Northeast Seattle
This week the Twisted Flicks crew work over Zombies of Mora Tau (1957). Twisted Flicks (from the creators of Jet City Improv) is a movie experience like none other! A combination of live improv and great old “B” movies, this comedy experience is a unique and original production you can only see here! A classic, cheesy “B” movie is shown on our full-sized, in-house movie screen without its original sound. The Flick team of professional improvisers sits in the front row and creates all new dialog, sound effects and music live – all based on suggestions from that night’s audience. Each night, the picture may be the same, but the movie is completely different. The show is fun, fast-paced, funny and suitable for all ages.

Friday

Author Signing: Alex Cohen and Jennifer Barbee 7pm at Elliott Bay Book Co. 1521 10th Ave, Seattle
L.A. Derby Dolls skaters Alex Cohen and Jennifer Barbee’s Down and Derby: The Insider’s Guide to Roller Derby (Seal Press) is both a history and a how-to for this generation’s skaters and fans.

Saturday

Author Signing: Terry Brooks 7pm – 9pm at the Westwood Barnes & Noble 2600 SW Barton St Suite E-1, Seattle
Terry Brooks sings his book Bearers of the Black Staff. Five hundred years have passed since the devastating demon-led war that tore apart the United States, leaving nothing but scorched and poisoned ruins and nearly exterminating humankind. Those who escaped the carnage and blight were led to sanctuary by the boy savior known as Hawk—the gypsy morph. In an idyllic valley, its borders warded by powerful magic against the horrors beyond, humans, elves, and mutants alike found a place they believed would be their home forever.
Circus at the End of the World IV with Abney Park 8pm at the Red Room Ultra Bar 398 Richards Street Vancouver BC Canada
Abney Park plays two sets at another one of their infamous Circus at the End of the Worlds! You never know what you will find at one of these shows! Bring the family and all your friends!

Sunday
Get some rest. Play some games. Watch some TV. Catch up on your reading.

Monday

An Evening with John Porcellino and Special Guest Noah Van Sciver 7pm at Richard Hugo House 1634 11th Avenue, Seattle
Graphic novelist John Porcellino, author of the “King-Cat Comics” series, visits Hugo House for a slideshow presentation and talk based on his work. He’ll be joined by Noah Van Sciver, creator of the comic book series “Blammo.”

Monday News Roundup 08/23

Matt — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:05:37 +0000

PAX is less than two weeks away and the full schedule and exhibitor list (warning: PDF) have finally been released. People who have attended PAX in past years will notice a lot of changes. Possibly the most dramatic change is the use of two venues not located at the convention center for some of the big events. The “Pegasus Theater” will be located at the Sheraton Hotel across the street from the convention center and will hold several events including the Rock Band 3 panel and the Community Manager Challenge. The “Main Theater” will be located at Benaroya Hall, some four blocks away from the convention center, and is where the keynote address by Warren Spector and all of the evening concerts will be held. The PAX organizers recomend you follow @pax_lines on Twitter while at the convention to keep track of lines and seating availability at the off-site theaters.

We will, of course, be having a Seattle Geekly meetup at PAX for any of our friends, fans and listeners that may be attending. Stay tuned for details on time and location!

Your Monday News is under the fold.

Anime

Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim will start showing the anime of Tite Kubo’s Bleach this August. The broadcasts will start with with episode 168, the beginning of the 9th season of the show, which originally aired in Japan in 2008. Bleach will be showing Saturday nights/Sunday mornings at 1 am starting August 29.

Hayao Miyazaki told Japan’s Cut Magazine that he would like to make a sequel to his film Porco Rosso. The project, titled Porco Rosso: The Last Sortie, would be the first direct sequel produced by Studio Ghibli. Also in the interview is word that the studio’s future depends almost entirely on the performance of their latest film The Borrower Arrietty. If Arietty doesn’t do well, Miyazaki said that there was already a “dissolution program for Ghibli”. Nausicaa.net has a translation of the highlights of the article.

Comics

The Angel comic is moving from IDW to Dark Horse. The move comes partly as a result of Angel becoming involved in the storyline of the Buffy comic also published by Dark Horse. IDW has confirmed that it’s final Angel story arc will be published in November and that the closing six-issue arc will serve as a bridge to Dark Horse Comics, which will pick up the series in late 2011.

The 2010 Ignatz Awards for outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning have been announced. The nominees include:
The awards will be given out at this year’s Small Press Expo in Bethesda this September. the full list of nominees is up at the SPX website.

MMO

The closed beta for Final Fantasy XIV has been progressing but a tweet from the official English language FFXIV account this morning gave hope to those of us who didn’t get in. The tweet states that the current phase of beta testing will end this Wednesday and an open beta will begin this September. There was no specific date given, but since the game is scheduled for release on September 30 the open beta would have to start early that month.

TV

Futurama has a Comic Con themed episode in store this week. The episode, titled “Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences”, will feature guest appearances by Matt Groening, Futurama executive producer David X. Cohen, Sergio Aragonés and Katee Sackhoff. It will be shown August 26.

Video Games

The big news coming out of Runic Games recently has been the announcement of Torchlight II. However, in a quick interview with Joystiq Runic CEO Max Schaefer mentioned that “hopefully” the original Torchlight would be coming to consoles via PSN and XBLA by the holidays this year. He also said that they planned to “try” to get Torchlight II to consoles sometime after the PC and Mac release in 2011.

Valve has announced the latest downloadable content for Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. The new campaign will be called The Sacrifice and, according to PC Gamer, “bridges the gap” between L4D and L4D2. In addition, the download will allow the original L4D campaign No Mercy to be played in L4D2. The Sacrifice will be a three-map campaign and will be this October. It will be free for PC players and cost an unspecified number of Microsoft Points on the XBox.

Events to Watch Out For 08/18-25

Matt — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:48:47 +0000

This is going to be a good week if you like playing Dungeons and Dragons and meeting authors. If you don’t like those things there is still plenty for you to do. This is just a sample of what’s happening in the greater Seattle area, for more events check our Event Calendar!

Wednesday

D&D Encounters 6 – 10pm at Dragon’s Lair (14725 NE 20th St Suite A, Bellevue) and other game stores around the area
Venture across the unforgiving deserts of Athas with a heroic band of survivors. Every Wednesday you and your companions will face a new challenge, playing through an ongoing D&D campaign—one epic encounter at a time.

Preview the upcoming Dark Sun Campaign Setting and earn exclusive rewards as you meet the challenges of roleplaying one of the six brave characters that await you and your friends each week. If you are planning on attending the encounter at Dragon’s Lair, they are looking for people to DM. You can email the store directly at dwayne@dlair.net, or stop by for more information.

Thursday

RIFFTRAX LIVE: REEFER MADNESS 8 – 10pm at many theaters around the Seattle area
The stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 take on the legendary cult classic Reefer Madness for an evening of hilarious riffing! Let RiffTrax own Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett bring you to a higher state of consciousness with their signature brand of rapid fire comedy. This event will be broadcast live to movie theaters nationwide on Thursday, August 19 at 8:00pm. There are 9 participating theaters in the greater Seattle area, go to http://www.fathomevents.com/comedy/event/rifftraxreeferlive.aspx to find one near you.

Friday

THE ELECTRIC FREAK SHOW 9pm – 1am at Columbia City Theater (4916 Rainier Ave S, Seattle)
Live performance by Lisa Dank and the White Widows, Billy the Fridge with Timm Konn. Also Ronald McFondle, Dyslexic and Twerk Ethics. FREAK SHOW SPECTACULAR!

Saturday

Author Signing: Kat Richardson 12 – 3pm at the Redmond Library (15990 NE 85th, Redmond)
Kat Richardson. The author of Vanished, the latest volume in the Greywalker series, will do a reading, followed by a discussion. Part of the Foolscap Summer Reading Series.
D&D Dark Sun Game Day 2pm at Gary’s Games & Hobbies (8539 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle) and many other game stores in the area
Bring your friends and join in the fun as we celebrate the return of the beloved fan-favorite world Dark Sun, a campaign setting of harsh survival and savage enemies in a blasted land. Just for participating you’ll take home the pregenerated character sheet of the character you played. If you DM the game, you’ll take home the adventure itself, a poster map of the encounter areas, and the tokens used in the adventure. Go to http://ww2.wizards.com/StoreAndEventLocator/ to find a Game Day event near you!
An Evening of Authors 7 – 10pm at Wayward Coffeehouse (8570 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle)
Come to an evening of authors and good coffee at Wayward Coffeehouse hosted by Jennifer Brozek. We will be reading from recent and forthcoming releases, answering questions and generally having a good time. Come one, come all and enjoy an evening with your local authors. Find out what’s next. Authors include: Cat Rambo, Rosemary Jones, Keffy R. M. Kehrli, Alma Alexander, Nate Crowder, Jeremy Zimmerman, R. Schuyler Devin, Leah Cutter, Sunder Cameron Addams and Angela Korra’ti. http://www.waywardcoffee.com/

Monday News Roundup 08/16

Matt — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:36:33 +0000

What with the ridiculous heat and competition from Dragonflight, attendance at our Game Day at Wayward was somewhat lighter than it was last month but we still got in some good games. We played a couple round of Poo, which we have mentioned and played before, and we tried a couple of games that were new to our rotation as well.

Shannon tried out Revolution from Steve Jackson Games at Gamestorm earlier this year but it was completely new to the rest of us at the table. Revolution is a bidding game in which the players are trying to gain enough influence to take over a city. You gain influence by winning the support of various town officials and the areas they control in the town. The officials are “persuaded” to support you each turn through force, blackmail or bribery. It was very quick to learn, a grand total of maybe 10 minutes, but as the game progressed it turned out to have a pretty good depth of strategy. All of the players bid secretly and bids are all revealed simultaneously, certain officials are immune to one or more methods of persuasion and you have to balance the short term goals of acquiring more force, blackmail and bribery tokens with the long term goal of building influence in the various areas of the town. Over all it was a lot of fun.

Next up was a few rounds of Zombie Dice also from Steve Jackson Games. Zombie Dice is a super fast paced dice game in which each of the players is a zombie trying to be the first to eat thirteen brains. The thirteen dice that come with the game can either show a brain, footprints (meaning your human victim escaped) or a shotgun blast (meaning your human victim was armed and dangerous) and there are three types of dice; green (mostly brains with few shotguns), yellow (evenly split between brains and shotguns) and red (mostly shotguns with few brains). You have to balance trying to get as many brains as you can before you roll a total of three shotgun blasts which ends your turn and prevents you from adding any brains you may have rolled to your score. This is a great game for filling short time periods or for large groups, since any number of people can play. Unsurprisingly, Zombie Dice has been turned in to an iPhone app which I can just about guarantee Shannon is going to be getting as soon as she reads this.

There isn’t going to be a Seattle Geekly game day at Wayward next month because we are going to be at the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival (which is where all of you should be that weekend as well) but keep an eye on the Event Calendar for future dates.

Your Monday News is under the fold

Anime

Anime News Network is now streaming all 43 episodes of the second series of Fist of the North Star dubbed in English. Fist of the North Star 2 originally ran in Japan from 1987 – 88 and has been difficult to find in the U.S. If you don’t care to watch the streaming episodes, Discotek Media announced late last year that they have licensed the entire Fist of the North Star TV series and that they plan to release the 109 episode first season and the 43 episode second season in a total of four box sets the first of which was released in July.

Internet

Not sure how this managed to fly under our radar but a new web show, Otaku: The Series, premiered last month. It follows the adventures of Coco, Chike and Ron and the members of their college anime club. The first episode shows some promise.

MMO

Aeria Games is bringing Dynasty Warriors Online to the U.S. The game, based on the tactical action video game franchise by Omega Force and Koei, promises “unique tactical combat”, “Multifaceted leveling” and the opportunity to “Battle live opponents in the world of Dynasty Warriors”. Beta applications are already being accepted and there is a game trailer!

Video Games

Gamescom 2010 kicks off this week in Cologne, Germany and they have announced the nominees for the gamescom award. The nominees include:
- Best of Gamescom
  - Gran Turismo 5
  - Portal 2
  - Crysis 2
  - Star Wars: The Old Republic
  - Civilization 5
- Console Game
  - Mafia II
  - Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
  - Fallout: New Vegas
  - FIFA 11
  - Kirby’s Epic Yarn
    Gran Turismo 5
- PC Game
  - Civilization 5
  - Portal 2
  - Crysis 2
- Online Game
  - Guild Wars 2
  - Poisonville
  - Black Prophecy
  - Star Wars: The Old Republic
  - World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
The full list of nominees is up at the official GamesCom site.

The first official game trailer for Bioshock Infinite has hit the web and really there is only one thing I can say about it. HOLY CRAP! AIRSHIPS!

Events to Watch Out For – 08/10-17

Matt — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:50:38 +0000

The big event this weekend is, of course, Dragonflight 31. Words cannot express how bummed we are that we are not going to be able to attend this year. For tabletop gamers in the Northwest it really doesn’t get much better than Dragonflight.

Other events to watch out for:

August 13 – 15 Anime Evolution in Vancouver. British Columbia’s premier event for anime, manga, gaming, and every kind of related fandom.

Wednesday

ZOMBIE APPRECIATION DAY – 3pm at COMIC EVOLUTION (206 South Meridian, Puyallup)

Friday

Joss Whedon’s Serenity – MIDNIGHT at the Egyptian Theater (805 East Pine St., Seattle)

Saturday

the FINAL PERFORMANCE of Puppet TV – MIDNIGHT at the Historic University Theater (5510 University Way NE, Seattle)

Sunday

Seattle Geekly Game Day from 1 – 5pm at Wayward Coffeehouse (8570 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle)

For more events see our Event Calendar

Monday News Roundup 08/09

Matt — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:47:16 +0000

We braved the grey, misty weather and the insane Seafair traffic and headed over to Lavizzo Park for the final performance of Hello Earth‘s stage adaptation of the original series Star Trek episode ‘The Naked Time’ on Sunday. My review of the event is simply to express a fervent hope that they will be doing more of these in the future. They played to a standing room only crowd and captured the fun, campy spirit of the original series flawlessly. At the end of the show they did a brief “teaser” scene from ‘The Devil in the Dark’ (the episode with the horta) which was genius. The good news for those who didn’t make it out this weekend is that there is a short video that gives some idea of what you missed.

Your Monday news is under the fold.

Anime

Anime News Network is reporting that a new .hack anime has been greenlit titled .hack//Quantum. .hack//Quantum will tell the story of Tobias, Mary, and Sakuya going on a high-difficulty-level quest in The World R:X, the .hack setting featured in the .hack//Link video game for the PSP. The anime will be shown at a special event presented by Bandai Visual in Japan this November.

Art

The Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists awarded their 25th annual Chesley Awards at ReConStruction, this year’s North American Science Fiction Convention, in Raleigh, North Carolina. The winners include:

Books

Also given out at ReConStruction were this year’s Sidewise Awards for Alternate History. The Sidewise Awards were founded in 1995 “to recognize the best alternate history of the year.” This year’s judges included Stephen Baxter, Evelyn Leeper, Jim Rittenhouse, Stu Shiffman, Kurt Sidaway, and Steven H Silver. The award for Best Short Form went to “The Fixation” by Alastair Reynolds (originally published in The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume 3, Solaris) and Best Long Form went to 1942 by Robert Conroy (Ballantine)

Manga

The September issue of Square Enix’s Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine is announcing on Thursday that Hiromu Arakawa will draw a new special Fullmetal Alchemist side story manga in the next issue on September 11. The issue will also reprint the final Fullmetal Alchemist manga installment which was originally published in June and quickly sold out across Japan. Viz Media will publish the 24th volume of the manga in North America in January.

Movies

The movie adaptation of Mark Millar’s comic Nemesis will be directed by Tony Scott of Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop 2 fame. Millar made the announcement himself on the Millar World forums. In the same post Millar said that “Fox want to get this moving as soon as possible” but since there is still no script and no one picked to write one chances are it’s going to be awhile before Nemesis shows up in theaters.