Star Wars: Cast Announced

Looks like the cast, at least the major roles, have been announced for the next Star Wars Movie. In addition to the original cast members that are returning (Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie, R2 and 3P0) they've cast: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis and Domhnall Gleeson. I like that they aren't just casting a bunch of pretty faces to appeal to a younger, teen audience. These actors look like real people and that's what, I feel, has always been a staple for Star Wars (at least the original trilogy). Star Trek was always the overly polished, sterile environment where everything was way too clean while Star Wars seemed more dirty and lived in.

The nicest surprise was the addition of Max Von Sydow. I'm hoping they don't continue the "tradition" of the prequels by making the older, veteran actor as a Sith lord (i.e. Christopher Lee and Ian McDiarmid). Ok, in all honesty, I'm hoping they move away from the whole Jedi vs. Sith thing. The prequels kinda did that to death and not very well, so we could use something new. Unfortunately, with the return of Mark Hamill, I have a feeling it will be Jedi-centric...again. 

If so, can Andy Serkis play Gollum as a wasted Sith or an ape jedi of some sort?

On a side note, I still think Max Von Sydow would have been a great Dumbledore.

Audio Book Review: Ready Player One

I know the book has been out for a few months now (release date: June 2012), but I just got around to discovering it. And as I spend quite a bit of time on the road commuting back and forth to work, I usually discover them first in Audio Book form rather than book form, so that's how I found this one.

First, let me start by saying that this book will not appeal to everyone. It is a science fiction novel in the Cyberpunk genre and to really REALLY enjoy it, you should be at least familiar with growing up in the 80's. I, luckily, am a fan of cyberpunk AND grew up all over the 80's so I had a distinct advantage going into this one. That's not to say that someone not from that era won't enjoy Ready Player One, but there are a virtual ton of reference to 80's pop and geek culture strewn throughout the novel that might be lost on those unfamiliar with it.

RPG's I've played

Thought I would talk about some of the RPG's I've had the chance to play over the years. I've had a chance to experience quite a few, certainly not all, not even most, but a good array of what was out there in the 80's and early 90's. My group and I would experiment with a wide variety of game genres but we would always drift back to our old stand by...

The classic of all classics. The one game to rule them all. The Ayatollah of Rock n' Rolla

Dungeons & Dragons