Wizards of the Coast has released a very brief glimpse of the 1st quarter 2009 publication schedule and I have to say that it has certainly peaked my interest.

January 2009 brings us the new undead resource Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead. It is still unclear what this tome may hold, but I am hopeful for new undead creatures, templates, rules and maybe even some more information pertaining to the Shadowfell. Wizards has yet to explain whether books like this will be geared more toward the player or the DM. From a marketing standpoint, they will probably try and cover both, but in my opinion, books that span that gap tend to ruin the surprises that a DM can hit their players with. Let’s hope they choose one side.

February brings a true mystery down the pipeline. The title, Dungeon Delve is all we have to speculate on, but that won’t keep me from jumping to conclusions. Hopefully this supplement will bring a little more life to those dungeon crawls that we all enjoy. My money is on an assortment of Traps, Environmental Hazards, Terrain Features, Plot Hooks and maybe a sample dungeon setting or two.

March brings us the most exciting entry of the spring line up, The Players Handbook 2! We have gleaned tid bits of information about the Players Handbook Series since even before the release of 4th edition. Generally what we can expect to see is a new Players Handbook every year, implementing new races, classes, power sources, feats, weapons, armor and more. The Players Handbook 2 according to it’s cover (so far as we can discern) will cover the Arcane, Divine and Primal power sources. This leads me to believe that a few of the most anticipated legacy classes will be fleshed out in this rules supplement. My guesses? The Arcane power source will likely be the Sorcerer as they have already explained the basic concept in the Races and Classes preview. Primal will likely encompass the Druid and Barbarian classes. This leaves the Divine power source. I think that the Druid is moving away from being a divine caster class, but based on the use of spirit animals in the cover art, I am thinking that they will probably explore the Shaman class or perhaps the necromancer, though I am betting that is a very very slim chance indeed. I am also tempted to speculate that they will be re-introducing the Goliath race that first appeared in the 3rd edition Races of Stone supplement. I base this on the hulking figure displayed on the cover of the PHB2, though it is pretty hard to tell for certain. It would also make sense if my class assertions are right as the Goliaths are ideally suited to the Barbarian, Druid and Shaman classes. Any opinions on your part? Post ‘em in the comments.

Lastly, in April 2009 we will get the second of the Power Source Supplements, Arcane Power. Hopefully, with it’s publication coming after the Players Handbook 2, it will have some additional features linked to the Arcane class or classes debuted in that publication.

All in all, it looks like this slew of rules supplements will keep us all busy as we ramp up for the summer months.

Official 2009 D&D Schedule

Ok, so I’ve been devouring the Dresden Files. What? That goofy ass tv show on the Sci-fi network? No. Though god help me, I did watch several episodes and am considering a suit for unlawful imprisonment, I was so shocked at how they butchered it that I couldn’t get out of my chair. I’m talking about the incredibly enjoyable series of novels on which that sci-fi network aberration was based upon.

With the Dresden Files, Jim Butcher has created a fantastic series of novels that combine the worlds of High Fantasy and Modern Monster Mysteries in a Pulp Detective setting with impeccable Film Noir sensibilities. Some have even said that it is what you might expect if Harry Potter grew up to be an Auror, I would add that Harry has somehow been merged with Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe. Quasi-latin phrases, wands, staves and potions are all key elements of this magical setting and, more interestingly, they are delicately balanced with chivalrous chauvinism and wise cracking hard boiled attitudes all set in modern day Chicago.

I started the series about 3 months ago and have since voraciously devoured 9 of the 10 novels in the series to date. Much to my wifes lament as it is another stack of paperbacks which now have no home and are just piling up on my nightstand. The series starts off a little slow, but the over arching plot begins to really take shape about 3 books in. It has a somewhat Buffy feel to it as well, with a mix of supernatural sidekicks that wander in and out of the books, showing up in times of need or  better yet, when least expected. Oh and speaking of Buffy, the audiobook presentations of The Dresden Files are read by none other than James Marsters himself, Spike for those of you who could care less about an actors name.

I highly reccomend picking this series up if you have a long subway ride in the mornings, some free time in the afternoons, or even ifyou just enjoy a little hard boiled wizarding action before bed time. Everyone needs a wise ass in their literature, and Dresden is sure to be mine for at least one more book.

Jim Butchers Web Site
Amazon.com: Jim Butcher

Here you are, almost the entire album in live video form. I’ll add in the missing songs as they pop up in decent quality on youtube. Enjoy!

Fort Hood

Girl in the Blue Dress

Put it Down

More Bacon than the Pan can Handle (with Prelude)

27 Jennifers

I Wrote a Song about Your CAr

Wednesday (Contra la Puerta)

Navigating by the Stars at Night

It was 11 o’clock at night when I started digging through my old sketchbooks/journals. For 2 and a half hours I relived bits and pieces of my college and post college years. What struck me during the process was that it will be many years before I am comfortable enough to let my daughter leaf through this legacy that I’ve bundled on the bookshelf. Is it the nudity? Not so much, they are tasteful figure studies. It’s the journal sections of me lusting after this girl or that, the romances, the heart breaks, the memories of snoging, and there is no way that I’m going to redact those bits. So what am I to do if I want to share my history and my art with my daughter?

I asked myself these questions as I read, all the while transported back to memories I had all but forgotten. The plan I came up with is relatively simple. I’m going to expand my scanning project (mentioned in Scanning the Grain) to include some of my favorite pieces in my sketchbooks, and I am going to start a new sketchbook or perhaps series of them, dedicated to drawings for my daughter.

I have already done a couple portrait sketches of her while she sleeps and a couple of her stuffed animals. I figure I can also write in the lyrics to the songs I make up for her as well as poems, journal entries about how she’s changing, and all the funny names we have for her. I may even dedicate a few pages to trying to write an illustrated childrens book or two for her. Only time will tell. And though my aspirations may seem a bit high, I think this is a worthwhile project to pursue.

I’ve been a Jonathan Coulton fan for quite a while now (but for some reason have not shared that bit with you before… odd). If you haven’t heard of Jonathan, he is a geek rock icon who you may have heard on NPR or in various other media venues because of thing-a-week project in which he wrote, recorded and shared a song a week via the internet for an entire year. You can hear all of the songs at Jonathan’s website.

Anyway, Jonathan is out on tour, and a friend of a friend captured some great footage of the show a couple of days ago. We’ll start with a little First of May, which I should add is N.S.F.W. , then a cover of the 90’s classic “Baby Got Back”. From there we’ll finish with two of his most popular songs, “RE: Your Brains” and ”Code Monkey”. Enjoy!

First of May (NSFW)

RE: Your Brains

Baby Got Back (Kinda NSFW)

Code Monkey
 

Has your husband or wife ever said… “You know we really ought to have a plan in place in case of an emergency. Hmmm… what do you think we’d need?”

Well, pretty much all of the answers you could want can be found at the site 72 Hours. They have broken down all the major emergencies and disasters you can think of and designed a site that will help you prepare for any of them. From what to put in a “go bag” to what to stock up on and where to store it all.

It’s a very simple design with a lot of great information, and it’s easy to read. Whether you are preparing for the apocolypse or just being smart, you should check out this site.

Visit 72 Hours

As I went to bed last night, I was anticipating waking up to a bit of ice on the driveway since the weatherman had mentioned a warm front moving into the region overnight. When I woke up this morning it came as a nice surprise to find a light coating of wet snow. What was still falling from the skies was somewhaere between slush and rain, but it wasn’t melting the ground cover so it must have been pretty chilly out there.

As the day has progressed I’ve heard a couple of stories of cars off the roads and warnings that all the rain and semi melted snow will be re-freezing after sundown tonight. With that in mind, K and I are off to load up on salt and sand for the driveway this evening. I know that winter doesn’t really start for a good month or so yet, but for me the season is here now.

Like it or not, once the weather stops cooperating and the holiday commercials start showing children playing in snow and unwrapping presents, you can’t help but embrace Winter’s arrival. Another sign that fall was over was when Starbucks told me that there would be no more Carmel Apple Ciders this year. (grumble… grumble… grumble…). It’s now time for Eggnog Latte’s and Peppermint Mochas, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain. In fact maybe I’ll get one on my way home from Lowes tonight.

Now to finish up my Holiday CD before K and Anna get here to pick me up…

Ravenous is a small (understatement) family owned and operated crepe restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. They specialize in a wide variety of both sweet and savory crepes and are lauded for their incredible Belgian fries (pictured below). The fries in particular hold a special place on my favorite foods list. They are twice fried in peanut oil, lightly salted and served with your choice of side sauces. My personal favorite is the creamy Teriyaki Mayo sauce, but you can get it with anything from Bleu Cheese, to Aioli, or even Horse Radish Mayo and many more. They all go fantastically with the selection of lemonades, teas, coffee drinks, bottled hard ciders and wines.

[More Info and Pictures after the Jump]

 Though the restaurant is small to say the least, it is well decorated and comfortable, with a variety of seating options, be it a standard 4 top, counter seating so you can watch the staff make your crepes, a family style table, or even diner style window counter seats so you can watch the locals and tourists alike in Saratoga. 

You can check out their menu [here]. But I have to say that my all time favorite is the Left Bank (pictured below), a savory crepe filled with ham, melted gruyere cheese and fresh tomato. The sumptuous flavor just diffuses over your tongue and permeates your mouth with every bite. I’m not a huge fan of the bitters in the salad that accompanies this crepe, but it certainly needs a leafy green side so as to not overwhelm you.

I love Ravenous for just about any meal. From time to time, especially if you are going out for breakfast during track season (last week of July through the first week in September), you may have to wait in line for a seat, but it’s well worth it.

As with all of my Culinary Yearning entries, if you’ve been to Ravenous, please leave a comment here and tell me what you thought, and what your favorite dish is there.

[Ravenous]
[Saratoga Springs Chamber of Commerce]
[Saratoga Travel Guide]

As you may have seen over the weekend, Amazon.com has launched it’s new E-Book reader+, Kindle, and a free online service for the device. For most like myself, the initial reaction was a resounding “Whoopdie doo! Yet another device slated for the slag heap or perhaps we could just use it as kindling (pun intended) .” Well, our initial reaction may have been wrong.

It seems that we may finally have a useful device on our hands. The Kindle has the opportunity to succeed where other E-Book Readers have failed. Not only does it have the content you are looking for (100 out of the 112 books on the NY Times Bestseller List), but it also has subscriptions available to several major magazines and some of the biggest newspapers here in the US. Full content book (including illustrations) are downloadable in under a minute from a browser built into the unit.
 

Best yet, the internet connection is what they call a whispernet. It piggybacks on the Sprint wireless network and at no charge. No more waiting to download books when you get home, or searching around town for a WiFi hotspot, anywhere you get cell phone reception, you can use your Kindle connection. Another spiffy aspect of this is that if you have a magazine or newspaper subscription, it automatically downloads overnight, no extra work for you. Oh and you never ever have to connect this to your computer (though you can). All of your books are stored on your Kindle and backed up on Amazon so you can re-download in case you lose or damage your unit.

All in all they have made the unit incredibly user friendly and simple, yet packed an immense amount of functionality into it. The one downside as far as I’m concerned is the 1980’s look of the Kindle. It’s a bit blocky in design and an ugly pre-iMac off white. Anyway check it out. This may very well be the step to change publishing that we have all been waiting for, if not at least a big step forward in kindling interest in e-books. I have to say I’m considering early adopter status at this point.

Kindle Demo Video

[Kindle Product Page (with author testimonial videos)]