Over the holidays we finally got to see Ninja Assassin. It was as much fun as we had hoped. It was good to see Sho Kusugi again. He was part of the beginning of the Ninja mania back in the day – starring in Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III: The Domination, as well as The Master TV series.
The fight scenes would have seemed a bit too limb-choppy if I hadn’t recently come across this site which shows what a sharp sword can actually do.
There was a bit much of CG stars being thrown. In order to remain hidden, these ninja crews must have great cleaner squads to recover all evidence.
All-in-all, if you've been missing ninjas on the screen, this one more than fills that void.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Manitoba Homecoming 2010
Tourism Manitoba is pushing their Manitoba Homecoming for 2010. With it being Manitoba’s 140th birthday they are hoping to invite a bunch of people to come back to Manitoba again for a visit.
They have a province-wide social planned for May 15. For those of you who have been to a Manitoba social, you know what they mean.
Check it out, you can send an e-vite to your friends.
They have a province-wide social planned for May 15. For those of you who have been to a Manitoba social, you know what they mean.
Check it out, you can send an e-vite to your friends.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Neil and Ninjas – denied!
Neil Gaiman was in town. It seems they had a Graveyard Party with a contest and it came down to two places. He ended up doing book signings at both McNalley Robinsons here in Winnipeg as well as a bookstore in Decatur, GA.
We were planning on finally going to see Ninja Assassin on Tuesday (NINJAS!) and maybe swing by and see Neil but the kids are having a touch of the stomach flu (not Hini) so we had to skip it.
Too bad – it would have been nice to get a picture with Neil with us wearing our Caroline eyes.
We were planning on finally going to see Ninja Assassin on Tuesday (NINJAS!) and maybe swing by and see Neil but the kids are having a touch of the stomach flu (not Hini) so we had to skip it.
Too bad – it would have been nice to get a picture with Neil with us wearing our Caroline eyes.
Monday, December 14, 2009
GC-Minis delivers
I got my shipment from GC-Minis late last week. They were super-fast for shipping time.
I now have the new Warhammer boxed set and the new 40K boxed set. I'm pretty impressed with the quality of the figures included within. I'm a bit disappointed that there isn't an intro set of scenarios to follow like there was with the Battle for Macragge set. I guess I'll have to dig out my old Ork figures and see what I can put together for an army.
For the Warhammer set, I had a bunch of dwarves from before but I only really ever got around to painting the Slayers. The night goblins will help bulk out the old ones I have from the other boxed set. I also got some more spider riders online to give me 20 figures.
I'm going to be so far behind in my figure painting list.
I now have the new Warhammer boxed set and the new 40K boxed set. I'm pretty impressed with the quality of the figures included within. I'm a bit disappointed that there isn't an intro set of scenarios to follow like there was with the Battle for Macragge set. I guess I'll have to dig out my old Ork figures and see what I can put together for an army.
For the Warhammer set, I had a bunch of dwarves from before but I only really ever got around to painting the Slayers. The night goblins will help bulk out the old ones I have from the other boxed set. I also got some more spider riders online to give me 20 figures.
I'm going to be so far behind in my figure painting list.
Friday, December 11, 2009
G'nerts!
Here are the rules for another card game that we used to play in our youth. I'm also teaching the kids. It's good for 2, 3, or 4 as needed.
G’nerts
Remove the jokers from two decks with different backs. Each player takes a deck and shuffles it. They switch decks and each quickly deals out a Pile of 13 cards face down and a row of 4 face up cards to form your Stock. Flip the top card of your Pile face up. If you are playing with a partner, they usually handle the Pile. The remaining cards form your Stack. Between both Stocks is a Scoring Area.
Cards are played into the Scoring Area in sequence by suit starting with the aces and ending with the kings. For example, a 2 of hearts may only be played onto an ace of hearts. There is enough room for all eight aces to be in the Scoring Area at once. Both players are able to play on top of the cards played by either player. If both players try to play the same card at the same time, the card played first remains and the other player has to put their card back.
Cards in your Stock may be played in descending order alternating color between red and black (a red 5 may be placed on a black 6). Entire columns in your Stock can be moved as long as they can follow this rule – columns cannot be split. The top card on any column may be played to the Scoring Area as allowed. When a column is empty, either by being moved on to another column or by having the last card played into the Scoring Area, the space is filled with the top card of the Pile.
The remaining cards in your Stack are flipped over in threes by sliding three cards off the top of the Stack and flipping them over without changing the order of those three cards. The top card of these three may be played to the Stock or Scoring Area as allowed. Others cards from this flip are also able to be played as they are revealed. If you are able to play all three cards, you may then play the top of the previous flips as it is revealed. When you flip the last of the Stack, when you are unable to play further from the flips, pick up the flipped cards and start flipping again. As long as one player is able to play, keep flipping through the Stack as new cards played into the Scoring Area affect which cards are able to be played.
When both players are at a standstill, without being able to play any cards from their Pile, Stock, or Stack, they may both agree to take the top card of their Stack and put it on the bottom of their Stack. Then they start flipping by threes again. When they have done this three times, the next time they come to a standstill, the round ends.
The top card of your Pile may be played to the Stock or may be played directly into the Scoring Area as allowed. The new card at the top of the Pile is then flipped face up. When the last card in the Pile is played, either to the Stock or Scoring area, the player calls out “G’NERTS” and all play freezes and the round ends.
When the round ends, all cards in the Scoring area are mixed together and sorted according to the backs. Both players score the number of their cards played into the Scoring Area less double the number of cards left in their Pile. A player can have cards left in their Pile and still score more than their opponent for the round. The totals (plus or minus) are added to their total for the game. The game is usually played to 100 although you can play to higher amounts – 500, 1000, or so on.
G’nerts
Remove the jokers from two decks with different backs. Each player takes a deck and shuffles it. They switch decks and each quickly deals out a Pile of 13 cards face down and a row of 4 face up cards to form your Stock. Flip the top card of your Pile face up. If you are playing with a partner, they usually handle the Pile. The remaining cards form your Stack. Between both Stocks is a Scoring Area.
Cards are played into the Scoring Area in sequence by suit starting with the aces and ending with the kings. For example, a 2 of hearts may only be played onto an ace of hearts. There is enough room for all eight aces to be in the Scoring Area at once. Both players are able to play on top of the cards played by either player. If both players try to play the same card at the same time, the card played first remains and the other player has to put their card back.
Cards in your Stock may be played in descending order alternating color between red and black (a red 5 may be placed on a black 6). Entire columns in your Stock can be moved as long as they can follow this rule – columns cannot be split. The top card on any column may be played to the Scoring Area as allowed. When a column is empty, either by being moved on to another column or by having the last card played into the Scoring Area, the space is filled with the top card of the Pile.
The remaining cards in your Stack are flipped over in threes by sliding three cards off the top of the Stack and flipping them over without changing the order of those three cards. The top card of these three may be played to the Stock or Scoring Area as allowed. Others cards from this flip are also able to be played as they are revealed. If you are able to play all three cards, you may then play the top of the previous flips as it is revealed. When you flip the last of the Stack, when you are unable to play further from the flips, pick up the flipped cards and start flipping again. As long as one player is able to play, keep flipping through the Stack as new cards played into the Scoring Area affect which cards are able to be played.
When both players are at a standstill, without being able to play any cards from their Pile, Stock, or Stack, they may both agree to take the top card of their Stack and put it on the bottom of their Stack. Then they start flipping by threes again. When they have done this three times, the next time they come to a standstill, the round ends.
The top card of your Pile may be played to the Stock or may be played directly into the Scoring Area as allowed. The new card at the top of the Pile is then flipped face up. When the last card in the Pile is played, either to the Stock or Scoring area, the player calls out “G’NERTS” and all play freezes and the round ends.
When the round ends, all cards in the Scoring area are mixed together and sorted according to the backs. Both players score the number of their cards played into the Scoring Area less double the number of cards left in their Pile. A player can have cards left in their Pile and still score more than their opponent for the round. The totals (plus or minus) are added to their total for the game. The game is usually played to 100 although you can play to higher amounts – 500, 1000, or so on.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Big box of Horrorclix Love
I had bought a case of Horrorclix Freakshow and it came this week. I was very happy with the mix – I managed to get an entire set from the 4 bricks contained within the case. This also included two of the pricy Templars as well as two of the Wacko Jackos. I got a full set of the Plot Twists and am only two cards from a second complete set. The only downside is that the three experienced Killer Clowns I got all came with rookie cards instead. This brings my Horrorclix total down to 4 figures and only 2 LEs needed to finish the entire set. I am quite pleased.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
GCMinis - Zaboo’d
With the word of a new Warhammer edition coming out next year, I wanted to make sure I got the 7th edition boxed set – Battle for Skull Pass. I also thought it was time to get the 5th edition 40K boxed set as well – Assault on Black Reach. Our good friends at Great Canadian Miniatures were so quick with the Space Hulk order (plus the 30% off) that I ordered from them again. I placed the order on Nov 12 but I didn’t get a payment request like I did the last time so I sent them an email on Nov 13. With still no response, I sent them another email on Nov 16 to their contact email. I even tried their contact number from the web but kept getting the message that their mailbox was full.
After more waiting, I sent another email on November 24 – to no response. Finally, on Nov 30, with help from the web, I tried to track them down. Their site mentions that they have a retail location – in the back of a bookstore. I was going to call them there to see if they had a different contact number when I noticed their mailing address for payments. A quick google search later, followed by a check of Canada411 and I gave them a call. Needless to say, the owner was surprised at my call and said that he would get the manager Kevin to give me a call back within the next 24 hours.
Within 2 hours, I got a call from Kevin who apologized saying that this was their busy time of year. He said he would send the payment request right away. I was glad to hear that they were still in business. I am looking forward to getting some more from them in the new year – notably some Blood Bowl teams and the Battle of Five Armies.
I understand that one can get behind, but it shouldn’t take almost 3 weeks from the time an order is placed to pay for it – it certainly didn’t the last time. Plus having a voicemail box that doesn’t seem to be emptied makes us shoppers a bit concerned. I’m glad to hear everything is still fine.
(If you don’t understand the Zaboo’d referece – watch The Guild.)
After more waiting, I sent another email on November 24 – to no response. Finally, on Nov 30, with help from the web, I tried to track them down. Their site mentions that they have a retail location – in the back of a bookstore. I was going to call them there to see if they had a different contact number when I noticed their mailing address for payments. A quick google search later, followed by a check of Canada411 and I gave them a call. Needless to say, the owner was surprised at my call and said that he would get the manager Kevin to give me a call back within the next 24 hours.
Within 2 hours, I got a call from Kevin who apologized saying that this was their busy time of year. He said he would send the payment request right away. I was glad to hear that they were still in business. I am looking forward to getting some more from them in the new year – notably some Blood Bowl teams and the Battle of Five Armies.
I understand that one can get behind, but it shouldn’t take almost 3 weeks from the time an order is placed to pay for it – it certainly didn’t the last time. Plus having a voicemail box that doesn’t seem to be emptied makes us shoppers a bit concerned. I’m glad to hear everything is still fine.
(If you don’t understand the Zaboo’d referece – watch The Guild.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
