I can't believe how great vacation was. But it began with a great piece of news. Remember when I said "Vote for me"? People actually listened....and I won!
What does this mean? Well, I earn the title ENnies Judge for 2011. I get to read and review the latest and greatest in the gaming industry. And most of all, along with my fellow judges, we will decide on the nominees for next years awards. So excited!!!!
It also means a lot more gaming talk. But do not fret my non-gaming friends, I have syphoned the gaming chatter to a separate blog.
I am happy to introduce The Lore Mistress Chronicles : my one stop shop for a look into my ENnies year, chatter about gaming and reviews of the products that I play test, read or purchase.
So if you are interested.... follow me over there, and if you are interested in everything else...stay over here. Or both!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Ryan Reynolds makes a kid's day at San Diego ComicCon
This is a great video and the appropriate follow-up to my last blog post!
In Blackest Night...
I am a Batman fan... err... well more of a Robin fan than Bats himself. We have been reading the current storyline like two twelve year olds spending their allowance on comics.
And while we are enjoying that, we are also enjoying another DC hero that has been wonderfully written by Geoff Johns.... Green Lantern.
Someday I will go into detail on what I think of the new Batman arc and Red Robin and Damien Wayne as the new Robin.... but let's just focus on the awesome of the Green Lantern, shall we?
The latest story arcs for all of the DC universe are Blackest Night and Brightest Day. This is an ode to the Green Lantern battle cry. The world is facing yet another crisis. Batman is dead. Final Crisis has left the world broken... and now Black Green Lantern rings have been forged and sent to the dead to bring them back to life. (And the Batman inclusion issues were some of my favorite issues ever. Grayson and Drake facing their dead parents was a great idea, but the way it happened blew my mind.) This is Blackest Night. They even brought back dead titles for one last go round (1 issue). I am reading the compilation now.
Brightest Day is still ongoing, so I will not go into this in full detail. White rings land on specific heroes fingers, why? And who can pick up the white lantern that recharges their power? I am totally digging it.
Another reason to get excited is next December, the world will be treated to Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan in the Green Lantern movie.
I can not wait to see Hal Jordan on screen reciting the oath I know by heart:
In brightest day, in blackest night
No evil shall escape my sight!
Let those who worship evil's might
Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Recipe Corner: Capri Salad
Capri Salad is a gorgeous plate of yumminess that will appeal to those who don't like a normal salad. (Shhhhh.... it is totally a salad.) It's origin is on the Island of Capri off the coast of Naples, Italy. Most of Capri restaurants have gardens in the backyard or in another place on the island, so all the ingredients are super fresh!
This recipe is simple, easy and refreshing on a summers day like this.
(Photo Courtesy of myrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
2 Tomatoes (medium/large)
2 Balls of fresh Mozzarella
Whole Basil Leaves
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella and arrange on a plate with the whole Basil leaves. Add a dash of salt and pepper and drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar. Grab a fork and enjoy!
See? How easy is that?
Missing GenCon... but still discovering awesomeness!
So over the weekend we attended BisbeeCon and as has been the trend this year... I have discovered a new to me game that I HAD to post about here.
The game was called Umlaut: Game of Metal. If you like heavy metal music and kicking ass... this very well could be the game for you. It was for me.
You form a band, and give them ranks in stage mechanics, power, showman (or woman) ship. Then set off to earn fans, cash and hope. But lose a "roll" (the turning of the cards) and you earn ego, and that is both bad and good, as it is the basis to earn cash.
Along the way you challenge other bands to a gig, break bands up, earn cash, practice and do promotional stunts (like streak through a mall).
The mechanics are simple. There are no dice or a GM, which works out better than I thought they would. Success or failure are determined by the flip of the cards. You can be pulling up to an unlimited amount of cards, depending on what you are trying to do. The horns to indicate that you are ready to battle is a great touch!
In the end there is a Battle of the Bands (of course, how could there not be) to see who comes out on top. Then based off of fan base and ego, you determine whether or not the band makes it long term or whether they die out!
It is not hard to put together a great soundtrack for a game like this. Our GM was kind enough to allow me to keep the music, which I was headbanging while making sauce on Sunday night.
In our game, I came out on top with my band HellKatt. It was a great time, and I totally loved it.
And will be purchasing it to run at future game days...
The game was called Umlaut: Game of Metal. If you like heavy metal music and kicking ass... this very well could be the game for you. It was for me.
You form a band, and give them ranks in stage mechanics, power, showman (or woman) ship. Then set off to earn fans, cash and hope. But lose a "roll" (the turning of the cards) and you earn ego, and that is both bad and good, as it is the basis to earn cash.
Along the way you challenge other bands to a gig, break bands up, earn cash, practice and do promotional stunts (like streak through a mall).
The mechanics are simple. There are no dice or a GM, which works out better than I thought they would. Success or failure are determined by the flip of the cards. You can be pulling up to an unlimited amount of cards, depending on what you are trying to do. The horns to indicate that you are ready to battle is a great touch!
In the end there is a Battle of the Bands (of course, how could there not be) to see who comes out on top. Then based off of fan base and ego, you determine whether or not the band makes it long term or whether they die out!
It is not hard to put together a great soundtrack for a game like this. Our GM was kind enough to allow me to keep the music, which I was headbanging while making sauce on Sunday night.
In our game, I came out on top with my band HellKatt. It was a great time, and I totally loved it.
And will be purchasing it to run at future game days...
Monday, July 26, 2010
My Love of Cookbooks!
So my friend over at Dry Spell got me thinking about cookbooks this morning. She was talking about getting a cookbook from her husband as a gift. It got my mind wandering to my favorite cookbooks in my collection.
We had maybe 2 cookbooks when Mr. and I moved in together. Then we expanded when he bought me the Star Wars cookbooks and Paula Deen's Celebrations.
Then we got married. And then the cookbooks just started coming. From the Joy of Cooking to Betty Crocker.... from Cupcakes to Indian to Irish to Italian...we have it all!
You would think having a ton of cookbooks would stop me from wanting more. Not so. If we went somewhere, like Italy for example, we would bring home a cookbook or two from the region. When we went to DC, I picked up the White House Cookbook and Presidential Cookies. I love seeing recipes for what people in other cultures or in other parts of the country eat. It intrigues me, but also introduces me to ways of cooking that may get more veggies into my loving husband.
I am working on a regional/international cookbook collection now. If any readers have suggestions, please leave them in the comments! I would really appreciate it
We had maybe 2 cookbooks when Mr. and I moved in together. Then we expanded when he bought me the Star Wars cookbooks and Paula Deen's Celebrations.
Then we got married. And then the cookbooks just started coming. From the Joy of Cooking to Betty Crocker.... from Cupcakes to Indian to Irish to Italian...we have it all!
You would think having a ton of cookbooks would stop me from wanting more. Not so. If we went somewhere, like Italy for example, we would bring home a cookbook or two from the region. When we went to DC, I picked up the White House Cookbook and Presidential Cookies. I love seeing recipes for what people in other cultures or in other parts of the country eat. It intrigues me, but also introduces me to ways of cooking that may get more veggies into my loving husband.
I am working on a regional/international cookbook collection now. If any readers have suggestions, please leave them in the comments! I would really appreciate it
Friday, July 16, 2010
Vote for ME!
So I know that this adds a whole slew of stuff to my plate for the next year, but it is something I had never thought I had the guts to do... Run for a spot on a judging panel. I didn't realize what just running would do for my self esteem. It all started with encouragement from a good friend. (Here's lookin' at you Wabbit)
The ENnies is essentially the Game (RPG) industry's Oscars, with a little bit o' People's Choice thrown in for good measure. The products are submitted to a team of Judges who read, review, discuss and then make a list of the best submitted in categories, and that becomes the Nominees. Then the polls open to the fans and they vote for a favorite products of the year.
I am running based on my love and passion for the hobby, I want to give back to the awards ceremony that gave my husband and I so many hours of unique and fun gaming. (Lookin' at you HEX and Dread!)
So how can you vote for me? Simple really. You can vote for me by going here: http://www.ennie-awards.com/voting/judgesballot.asp and vote for Tracey Michienzi!
I also stand behind voting for Kennon Bauman, Jeramy Ware and C.W. Richardson too... and since you can vote up to 10 judges, I would appreciate it if you voted for them as well.
You can vote once. It looks at your IP address. Thanks for your support in advance!
The ENnies is essentially the Game (RPG) industry's Oscars, with a little bit o' People's Choice thrown in for good measure. The products are submitted to a team of Judges who read, review, discuss and then make a list of the best submitted in categories, and that becomes the Nominees. Then the polls open to the fans and they vote for a favorite products of the year.
I am running based on my love and passion for the hobby, I want to give back to the awards ceremony that gave my husband and I so many hours of unique and fun gaming. (Lookin' at you HEX and Dread!)
So how can you vote for me? Simple really. You can vote for me by going here: http://www.ennie-awards.com/voting/judgesballot.asp and vote for Tracey Michienzi!
I also stand behind voting for Kennon Bauman, Jeramy Ware and C.W. Richardson too... and since you can vote up to 10 judges, I would appreciate it if you voted for them as well.
You can vote once. It looks at your IP address. Thanks for your support in advance!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)