tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23510678017335493952024-03-22T03:18:36.621+08:00Koine GeekUnorthodox Christian eyes on Toys, Comics, Role-Playing Games, and other GeekeryJanus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-69863824325253888452015-10-22T18:33:00.001+08:002015-10-22T18:33:34.702+08:00Marty McFly & Doc Brown Visit Jimmy Kimmel LiveJanus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-59375961301180344742015-10-05T14:43:00.002+08:002015-10-05T14:46:20.064+08:00Back to Back Game DaysThere are a few things that I look forward to, and Game Days are one of them.
When Rita and I got married, we decided to set up a family tradition of holding monthly Game Days -- dedicated days where we invite friends over to hang out, play games, and have fun. We find that it is refreshing to the soul, a time of respite from daily work, chores, and responsibilities. Some of our friends Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-38714455826929983712015-10-02T14:42:00.000+08:002015-10-02T14:42:20.564+08:00Geme Review: Card of the Dead
While none can take away my love for tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs), there are some games that I came to like because they simulate certain aspects of TRPGs. Munchkin is one of them, Bang! is another. A third, easy to play game came our way via Gaming Library: Card of the Dead.
AEG's Card of the Dead is a fast, easy-to-play card game set in the zombie apocalypse. Zombies Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-17189422686403387792015-09-18T16:38:00.000+08:002015-09-18T18:04:43.036+08:00When Movie Reflects Meta: Thoughts on how "Heneral Luna" criticized today's moviegoers
When the news that the movie Heneral Luna will have its run shortened by theaters, many netizens wailed. Some, like myself, made plans to watch the film before it gets pulled out. Others, understandably, criticized the movie-going public's taste in movies. Still others campaigned and encouraged on social media to have more people watch it, sharing images like this:
And memes Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-57602786316731995452015-09-17T10:42:00.000+08:002015-09-18T17:33:51.725+08:00What Heneral Luna taught me
After watching the beautiful but painful movie Heneral Luna with my cousin, Emil Flores, I can't help but think how thematically parallel it is with "The Dark Knight."
In the latter, Harvey Dent was projected as the white knight, the hero that inspires hope, the hero that Gotham needs. On the flip side (pun intended), Gotham being composed mostly of either corrupt, self-serving Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-50443730508134001522015-04-27T13:48:00.000+08:002015-04-27T14:11:21.695+08:00Movie Review: The Avengers -- Age of Ultron
The Avengers: Age of Ultron opened last April 22 much to the delight of many a geek. Here is this geek's reactions. SPOILERS AHEAD
By itself, The Avengers: Age of Ultron (AoU) is pretty much what one would expect from a contemporary superhero movie: Lots of fun comicbook action, explorations into the characters and motivations of the heroes, a really scary antagonist (Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-44917628938842256732015-04-23T08:32:00.001+08:002015-09-18T17:12:38.260+08:00David Hasselhoff - True Survivor
As a guy who grew up in the 1980s (and a fan of The Hoff's Knight Rider), this video really had me rolling in laughter while applauding its unabashed love for that era's action genre. It is littered with 80s things like the Lamborghini Countach (the dream car of my generation), vikings with Uzis, buddy cop tropes, and martial arts cops. Anyone who grew up in the 80s would definitely Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-58530611185479589642015-04-21T10:19:00.001+08:002015-04-23T08:35:36.354+08:00Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game Expansion Wave 7 looks awesome! Fantasy Flight Games released Wave 7 of expansion packs for their Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game, and they look exciting!
Wave 7 is a mix of all three factions -- Rebel, Imperial, and Scum and Villainy. This wave is composed of Bossk's ship "The Hound's Tooth," a
Rebel bomber (finally!) called the K-Wing, a Black Sun syndicate Kihraxz
fighter, and an Imperial Punisher which looks like a TIE Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-9294887501460405142015-04-20T16:11:00.002+08:002015-04-20T17:07:48.109+08:00Game Day April 18, 2015 part 2For Part 2 of the April 18 Game Day, I'll let Bryan tell the story.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Quoted from our Tavern Adventurers email group. Pictures are Bryan San Miguel's and mine]
Game Day at the Magallona's.
There were just three of us, Ian, Paul, and I.
Finally got to roleplay again. I ran a game under a new system but we
played it old schoolJanus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-23715429393200719102015-04-20T15:39:00.000+08:002015-04-20T16:35:10.240+08:00Game Day April 18, 2015 part 1This Game Day is different because it was meant to be a dedicated RPG session. Only my friends Bryan and Paul came. I was disappointed with how the day unfolded, but looking back, there are some things that I am grateful for.
Bryan decided to go old school RPG: no minis, no playmats, just dice, pencils, paper and out imagination. Thus, no pics because, seriously, how interesting are pictures of Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-52468312917854615792015-04-17T09:29:00.001+08:002015-04-17T09:29:10.234+08:00Star Wars Episode 7 (VII): The Force Awakens Official Teaser Trailer #2 ...
My officemate came in this morning with a wide grin on her face. She excitedly asked me, "Have you seen it?" referring to the latest The Force Awakens trailer.
Saw it. Went giddy as a fanboy. The trailer was exciting, with plenty more action scenes. But that ending just blew me away. December can't come soon enough.
Here you go, and join this fanboy in his giddiness.
Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-31834369140175529012015-04-11T15:49:00.000+08:002015-04-11T15:49:00.656+08:00Happy International Tabletop DayToday is International Tabletop Day, and I won't be gaming.
This sounds strange because, since last year, my wife and I have been hosting Game Days at our place about once a month. And on this international gaming occasion that's been running for three years now, I won't be gaming? Almost unthinkable.
One of my Game Day highlights: playing the X-Wing Miniatures game.
A new favorite ofJanus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-57574812655163842382012-12-07T21:51:00.001+08:002012-12-07T21:51:48.406+08:00Light in the Dark Knight: First Impressions on "God on the Streets of Gotham" by Paul Asay
I've always been interested in seeing God in the geekery that I indulge in. Thus I have books like Finding God in the Lord of the Rings and Finding God in a Galaxy Far Far Away. So when Tyndale House Publishers sent me an email telling of God on the Streets of Gotham: What the Big Screen Batman can Teach us About God and Ourselves as one of their free ebook offerings, I immediately grabbedJanus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-22503421404592536652012-11-08T15:47:00.000+08:002012-11-08T15:47:44.296+08:00Disney-buying-Hasbro rumor debunkedReading through the Transformers fan site tfw2005.com, I saw the rumored negotiation of Disney to buy Hasbro is false. Following the link trail to seibertron.com reveals that Hasbro's stock went up 6.8 percent because of the rumored buy attempt by Disney. (Providence Journal) But despite this, there is no truth to the rumor that Disney is planning to buy Hasbro.
As with the Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-3686872739987518802012-11-06T16:44:00.001+08:002012-11-06T16:56:23.026+08:00Big rumor: Harrison Ford might be Solo again!
Photo from www.empireonline.com article
At first, I was on the fence about Disney buying Lucasfilm. Is it good? Is it bad? I don't know.
And then my girlfriend posted this on her Facebook page:
Harrison Ford "Open" to Star Wars Return
I'd like to say that I'm on a "wait-and-see" stance, but I just got really excited. And according to the Empire article,
Entertainment Weekly’s new hire,Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-36321329449665880302012-11-06T15:02:00.000+08:002012-11-06T15:02:24.371+08:00Rumor: Is Disney buying Hasbro? I'm not one for rumor-mongering, but I had to take notice of this one, as it will affect several of my favorite franchises (GI Joe, Transformers, Dungeons and Dragons) in one swift blow.
In the wake of the news that Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion, there is now speculation that Disney is negotiating to buy toy giant Hasbro. Personally, I'm taking this as strictly rumor. On the one hand, Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-35640590724189444702012-11-06T11:06:00.000+08:002012-11-06T11:06:26.799+08:00Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome preview
This geek is giddy!
After the conclusion of the long-running series Battlestar Galactica, many fans clamored for more. Sadly, Caprica didn't quite satisfy. Then news of a new spinoff series, Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, began circulating but never really appeared.
Until now.
According to GeekRest,
Battlestar Galactica fans have only four days to wait until Universal Cable Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-41916021080716733762012-11-05T11:39:00.000+08:002012-11-05T12:00:17.610+08:00Ancient Greek-Egyptian D20?!
Photo from The Metropolitan Museum of Art website
As a tabletop role-playing gamer for the better part of two decades, my jaw dropped at a post at the Being A Geek FB page of a D20 dating back to the Ptolemaic period!
Seriously? A D20 with Greek numerals/letters? Dating back to 304-30 BC? Wow!Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-20515329989283597312012-11-01T22:36:00.000+08:002012-11-01T22:52:19.823+08:00Movie Review: SkyfallWARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS!
Photo from http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/movies/sf.php3?s=movies&id=03347
The James Bond franchise is arguably the longest-running franchise in history, spanning all of 50 years. And the film that marks 50th year, Skyfall is one of the best I've ever seen and is, in my opinion, a fitting 50th year offering.
Skyfall opens with Bond back at work, after Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-14946564703890459402012-10-31T21:09:00.002+08:002012-10-31T21:09:48.219+08:00Disney Buys Lucasfilm!I came across this news item in Facebook:
Disney Buys Lucasfilm for $4 billion
On the one hand, it might not be so bad, considering that Disney earlier bought Marvel. Marvel didn't turn out so bad (or rather, no worse than it was already sliding into). Also, it might infuse the franchise with the funding needed for the rumored projects in the works.
Looking at it from the more corporate Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-45099476346900881382012-09-27T16:27:00.001+08:002012-09-27T16:27:21.707+08:00NIntendo Zapper that literally zaps!
Every kid (at least from my generation) had at one time fantasized that their game console gun, like the above Nintendo Zapper for the Nintendo Entertainment System (American version of the Nintendo Family Computer which was more popular in the Philippines), was a real laser gun. Blame it all on those space movies and TV shows, but we all wished our game gun was a real laser gun. Well, Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-54266390718320679952012-09-25T17:04:00.000+08:002012-09-25T17:04:44.402+08:00Mack Bolan books: Escapism or Something More?
One of my pastimes during my high school years was reading the Mack Bolan adventure book series and its spin-off titles Able Team and Phoenix Force. I have to admit that it's still a guilty pleasure to this day. So when I spotted the above book at a Book Sale outlet recently (and for Php15!), I couldn't help but buy it.
Why do I like reading these books? It's gritty, graphically violent Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-49312569488868705232012-09-20T19:16:00.000+08:002012-09-25T15:28:33.502+08:00My Book Fair Loot
Ever since I've worked with OMF Literature, where I am now, the Manila International Book Fair has been part work and part pleasure. But this year's book fair has felt thin somehow. Maybe it's the lack of selections,
maybe it's my lack of time to browse. In any case, I came home with four books from the Fair.
I've been following Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series for Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-49655215307872616902012-09-09T00:19:00.000+08:002012-09-09T00:19:24.763+08:00Video Review: Brothers BarbarianWatch it here first:
The Gamers: Dorness Rising not only revived my love for gaming, but opened to me the enjoyment of independent films in this particular genre. Learning that Dead Gentlemen Productions followed up Dorkness Rising with the web series JourneyQuest, I subscribed to their YouTube channel and went on to enjoy it.
But I wanted more.
So when I chanced upon Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2351067801733549395.post-33220994254625770732012-09-08T15:05:00.000+08:002012-09-08T15:05:30.298+08:00The Gamers: Hands of Fate - - September 2013
I haven't been writing on this blog for some time now because time and duty didn't allow. But today is a day of epic proportions.
I have always said that The Gamers: Dorkness Rising is one of my all-time favorite movies (a hit so big that they came out with The Gamers: Dorkness Rising special edition DVD). The sequel of the very low-budget cult hit The Gamers produced Janus Valeriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338627239857212485noreply@blogger.com0