More Dungeons please, but don't skimp on the Dragons either...

I love cool stuff that I can do with my kid.

Recently I was listening to the Penny Arcade crew play some Dungeons & Dragons with the PVP dude via this podcast. I had left the iPod running when I turned off the truck. When I re-started the truck with Emmalee in it, she was treated to what sounded to her like 4 grown men playing "Make Believe". I turned off the iPod before any of the players became excited/upset enough to swear, but Em was very intrigued. I did my best to explain my own limited understanding of D&D, but this only served to convince her that we needed to try it out.

Here we run into a couple of issues.

First, during my formative years some friends of mine attempted to play this mysterious thing known as D&D, but we never got past the first step (Character Creation). Unfortunately for us we didn't know anyone willing/able to be our "Game Master". For those unfamiliar with D&D we were "all dressed up with nowhere to go". We had our merry band of adventurers all set up and ready to explore and/or fight, but with nary a Dungeon nor a Dragon in site. So despite my childhood desire, I never actually learned to play the game.

Second, the resources for D&D are pretty extensive. While my good friend G had stacks of books/maps/adventures when we were young (and despite the fact that he is one of the most organized guys I know), those supplies have apparently disappeared somewhere along his journey from boy to man.

Lastly, D&D is not a game for 2 people. The "optimal" group size is 5 adventurers and one "Game Master".

Despite all this, Em and I ARE going to play Dungeons and Dragons! I've committed to figuring out a way to make it work. I've bought all the books necessary. I've picked up some dice, and miniatures. I'm reading through the "Dungeon Master's Guide" so that I can referee the rules for whomever ends up in Emmalee's group of adventurers. The top of the list for people I would want in that group would be "Da' Guys".

This is my call to action. G has stepped forward to join the group, but I think/hope more of Da' Guys might be willing to answer the call. 2 hours, once a month, hang out with me and my awesome daughter, suspend disbelief, and play what is basically a board game. Think about it.

If you are interested let me know. If you are really interested check out the quickstart guide. If you are not interested, that's cool, we'll let you know how it turns out.

You can't tell me that this doesn't look like fun:

Despereaux

It is (as always seems to be the case) "not as good as the book". The unfortunate part is that with the great voice talent, fantastic art, and flawless animation, the weakened story manages to bring the whole thing down a bit. It's a little dark and sometimes complex for it's target audience. In the end both Emmalee and I really enjoyed this one, with the exception of the way the story diverged from the book. And those differences have actually just convinced each of us that we really ought to read the book again for a good Despereaux palette cleansing.


6 out of 10 things that remained (luckily) unchanged from the book... (i.e. a solid rental to watch with the kids, but read them the book first, or instead... either way)

p.s. isn't it odd how much worse "6 out of 10" seems when compared to "3 out of 5"???

Trailers for Em

Igor

Em, Deb, Zack and I caught this one Saturday afternoon. It was alright. Not great, but certainly not a waste of time/money. The kids really enjoyed it, and it had a few moments that genuinely made me laugh. The one thing that I really got a kick out of was the character "Scamper". He's one of Igor's first experiments, and is basically a talking rabbit who is immortal. Unfortunately Scamper isn't too thrilled about the idea of living forever. While it's a little dark for a kids movie, I can find the funny in a rabbit repeatedly trying to kill himself. Imagine if Wile E. Coyote had turned all of his roadrunner destruction devices on himself.

3 out of 5 trailers for movies that looked LESS entertaining than this one.

Newsies

Em and I watched Newsies together recently. It's a fun, Disney, musical based on a strike of the newspaper sales boys in 1899 New York. I love that it has some basis in history, and Em and I both loved seeing Christian Bale (THE Batman) singing as a teenager (as much as I loved The Dark Knight, Bale's over the top gravel voice makes listening to him lilt along some showtunes all the more humorous). It was good, and entertaining, but ultimately the lack of any one song that REALLY grabbed either of us probably means that this was a good rental, but not something we'll need to purchase.

3 out of 5 dance moves that looked like the belong in Batman fight scenes.

The Force Unleashed

My copy of The Force Unleashed showed up Tuesday! Unfortunately physics homework had to come first. In the end I only popped in long enough to check out the opening cinematic. The apparent consensus among people who enjoy "Star Wars" is that while the quality of the gameplay itself is up for argument the story should not be missed. Tycho said it best with "And if you can find someone else to play the game while you watch, you might be approaching the optimal scenario." .

That said, my plan is to play out the entire story when Em is around. I anticipate that she'll play whenever the levels aren't too challenging, and I'll help her out as much as she wants. As much as I'd love to just power though huge chunks of the game whenever I have time, I think the benefit of experiencing yet another Star Wars story together with Em will more than make up for that. I took Em to see The Phantom Menace in theaters when she was 3 years old, like my father (before me) who took me to see A New Hope when I was 3. I'm not sure how well (or if) Em really remembers that theater trip at 3 years old. For myself I have to admit I only clearly remember the irony of eating "STAR BURSTS" candy while watching "STAR WARS", and the theater had dark red carpet...

Fly Me to the Moon

Fly Me to the Moon claims the tagline of "First ever animated movie created for 3D". That part might be true, but it really is too bad that it wasn't created... oh I don't know, to ENTERTAIN!?

I think my least favorite part was when the 3 fly children looked at the camera and talked about how child obesity is a serious problem.

Anyone who complains about the recent Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie should go watch this for comparison.

Because Em said it was "alright", and it certainly wasn't created with me in mind, so I'll give it 2 out of 5 actors who should have passed on this project.