So sad

I tried to change the blog name today - to Micromegas.  Some bastard has it reserved though, and he's not even blogging on it.

So sad :(

Peeve

I haven't encountered this lately, but when it does it always manages to piss me off - some pompous idiot who throws out the line "Well, it was Karl Marx who said 'religion is the opiate of the masses.'"  Reducing Marx into a Fox News soundbite only serves to highlight ignorance.

Marx wrote:

Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man—state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d'honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion.
Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering.  [This is the important bit here - J.] Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.
The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.

Karl Marx: Critique of Hegal's Philosophy of Right

Agree or not, I really don't care - just represent the man properly.

Read a book.

Flake

Alright so I didn't post anything project-wise like I said I would tonight.  Enjoy this instead:

That's right - it's not enough to just wash your hands.  You also need to use a paper towel on every doorknob between the sink and wherever you're going.

So now you're saying penis germs don't bother you?

Remember this next time you scratch your eye.

Games where some guy just totally flipped out

Boardgamegeek has a feature where folks make game lists (called geeklists), and these are often associated with a theme of some sort.  The theme for this list was actually a contest: tell your best story of a time where, during a game, some dude flipped out.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/16034/page/1

My first thought was Rolf's story where he ended up pinning another guy we knew on a trampoline.  Come to think of it, I don't think there was a game involved.  I can't imagine why a fight would break out over a game and then one of the partys involved would suggest they "take it outside to the trampoline," so you'll have to ask the man himself for the details.  Or, you can come to your own homoerotic conclusions (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Anyways, a lot of the stories in this geeklist, so try the link and have a good read.

Blog suggestions and future update info

Okay - make a couple of comments here and let me know if there's anything you want to see/read.  There was a suggestion for a calender, but then any other chump who logs on will know when to drop by unexpectedly and it won't be kool kids klub anymore.

Later on tonight I'll post some pictures of my latest gaming-project  it will be something we can all take part in.  Warmachine and AT-43 are tough for this; they're both very much two-player, head-to-head type games.  This will be something we can all enjoy.

Politics time

Okay - fair warning: There's some bush-bashing (note the small "b" haha) going on here, but it's Lee Iacocca.  He's no slouch.

http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=wherehavealltheleadersgone

More stuff

Wargames Journal #9

Free PDF download.  Pretty hefty - nearly 200 pages.  Lots of ads, but lots of articles as well.  Plenty of scenarios for different historical genres - Jacobite war anyone?  If nothing else, at least check out the painting article using figures from the Darkest Africa range: an officer with a cricket bat and his servant with a tray of drinks - nice!

http://www.wargamesjournal.com/

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Some of us have already seen the Roman Legionary plastic sprues from Warlord games (http://www.warlordgames.co.uk/?p=106), but this is the first time I've looked at the plastics from Wargames Factory.

http://wargamesfactory.com/Workbench.htm

I just wanted to mention them because, well, I think they look a lot like Roman dwarves with those huge heads.  Sure Warlord Games is using an inconsistent scale on their sculpts as well, but they've got ex- Games Workshop sculptors who know what they're doing.  These Wargames Factory models look like extras from the movie Willow.

Stuff

Mitchell and Webb update:
Episode 3 feature the adventures of the super duo - Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit!
Best line - "Your ability to summon a horde of celestial super beings at will is making my BMX skills look a bit redundant."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFuMpYTyRjw


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Purple Power at Kragen Autoparts:

I've been using this stuff to strip minis lately.  It works very well, doesn't stink like Pine-Sol but will make your hands tingly if you use without gloves.  What makes it so great is, you can leave plastics in it for days and the won't become a gooey mess - good times!