Zatannurday: Tribute to Yvonne Craig

On Wednesday August 19 we learned that Yvonne Craig, TVs first Batgirl, had passed away at the age of 78.

You can read a word from her family here and her official obituary here.

Of course she had a varied and distinguished career. She was well loved y her family and friends.  But it is her role as Batgirl that interests me today.

I have mentioned before how Yvonne Craig's Batgirl was one of my first crushes as a child.
What was not to love really?  She was smart, she kicked ass, and she was able to do everything Batman could do.   I thought she was cool as hell and she left a pretty deep impression in my young mind.  I would be later when I made one of my first witch characters that I would realize that I was unconsciously rebuilding Batgirl in many of my PCs.   That first witch had red hair, wore a lot of purple and had began life as a librarian for my wizard character.  So yes she even started out with a secret identity.

Batgirl was great and Yvonne Craig was part of that reason. In the 60s she showed us that not only could a super heroine could do what a super hero could, but an actress could do do what an actor could do.

One thing I always knew about Yvonne Craig was she grew up in near-by (near by to me at the time) Taylorville, IL.  It is always nice when a local kid does good.

There is a lot I could say about Yvonne Craig, but honestly the best tribute came from comic writer Gail Simone.  http://www.playboy.com/articles/remembering-the-revelatory-yvonne-craig-by-batgirl-writer-gail-simone

Let's not forget she was also Marta, the Orion Slave Girl, who was working with Garth of Izar in "Whom the Gods Destroy"

RPG a Day 2015, Day 22

Day 22: Perfect Gaming Environment

I have spent years working on my game room.

I like nice comfortable chairs, plenty of light, access to my books when I need them.

And I like to have access to Frankencomputer.

Friday Night Videos: Carlos Santana

Whenever I put on music to either get my creativity flowing for writing or game or just just mind in the right spot, I usually have themes. Typically this is things like metal or Iron Maiden for D&D. Classic rock or newer hiphop for modern supernatural games.  70s hard rock for other games and so on.

But one performer/band comes through for me for nearly everything.  That is Carlos Santana.

Santana, either as a solo act, part of the Santana Brothers or with his band Santana, always has such a sound.  Yeah it is latin, but it also classic rock and 80s and new millennium ... well for a lack of better word, groove.   Listening to Santana is like driving at night, the world is familiar, but also very, very different.  Santana has had nearly 50 year career, I am going to focus on the songs that most people know...and the ones that have videoes of course.

Let's get into it!

"Evil Ways" was one of Santana's earliest hits. From his self titled album Santana, it's about what all good Santana songs are about, a woman.   Here is his career making turn at Woodstock.




Abraxas, Santana's 2nd album, might be one of the best albums ever recorded.  Certainly in my own top 25.  If I want to write about magic and just get into the right mood then I put on Abraxas. This album gave us the hits "Black Magic Woman" and one of my favorites "Oye Como Va".






The  bulk of his 70s catalog is very jazz-inspired and cool, but not what I need when I want a little darkness.   The next album of Santana's I really enjoyed was the double album Moonflower.  In truth this is where I first heard Black Magic Woman as a live song.  But the stand out song for me was a cover of an old Zombies song "She's Not There". Again, Santana is at his best when playing or singing about a woman.




Shangó is another one of those career changing albums for Santana. I listened to this album so many times in Jr. High.  In fact it was playing around the exact time I was first playing D&D.   "Hold On" is another song about a woman, but also about a particular time and place.  This song always reminds me that "Now" will never happen again.




Supernatural became Santana's next biggest album and one of the biggest of his career. It was also one of the albums I had playing on constant rotation while working on the d20 version of the my Witch book and then later Buffy and Angel.   "Smooth" was just one of those songs that pulls you right in.  Plus it features a then somewhat unknown actress Rosario Dawson.



"Put Your Lights On" written by and featuring Everlast was actually the first song I heard from the album.  I was a big fan of House of Pain in college so this was a nice a little treat.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Kings or Pawns

A new Kickstarter was brought to my attention this week that looks rather cool.

I love audio-books.  I spend a lot of time driving to work, to campus so I get to listen a ton of books.  So this new one from JJ Sherwood looks really great.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1484616180/kings-or-pawns-steps-of-power-book-i-audiobook

Honest this looks really fun.
Recording a quality audiobook takes time and money.  This would be a treat to finally hear.

RPG a Day 2015, Day 21

Day 21: Favorite RPG Setting

Hard call. It really is a toss up between my home brewed Mystoerth campaign world for *D&D or Victorian England.

Mystoerth grew out of a need for my then DM and I to merge our worlds.  He was a huge Greyhawk fan (as was I, but less so) and my world was the known world of Msytara.

Map by Rich Trickey aka chatdemon

We did not call our world Mystoerth. That name as far as I can tell came from +James Mishler and +Rich Trickey.  Rich made that nice map.

It has worked well for me over the years.

New Movie: The Witch

Oh.   This looks good.



From the press release:

In this exquisitely-made and terrifying new horror film, the age-old concepts of witchcraft, black magic and possession are innovatively brought together to tell the intimate and riveting story of one family’s frightful unraveling.

Set in New England circa 1630, The Witch follows a farmer who get cast out of his colonial plantation and is forced to move his family to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest rumored to be controlled by witches. Almost immediately, strange and unsettling things begin to happen-the animals turn violent, the crops fail, and one of the children disappears, only to return seemingly possessed by an evil spirit. As suspicion and paranoia mount, everyone begins to point the finger at teenage daughter Thomasin. They accuse her of witchcraft, which she adamantly denies…but as circumstances become more and more treacherous, each family member’s faith, loyalty, and love will be tested in shocking and unforgettable ways.

Writer/director Robert Eggers’ debut feature, which premiered to great acclaim at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival (and won the Best Director Prize in the U.S. Narrative Competition), painstakingly recreates a God-fearing New England decades before the 1692 Salem witch trials, in which religious convictions and pagan folklore famously clashed. Told through the eyes of the adolescent Thomasin – in a star-making turn by newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy – and supported by mesmerizing camera work and a powerful musical score, THE WITCH is a chilling and groundbreaking new take on the genre.

Yeah. This is going to be fun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witch_(2015_film)
http://thewitch-movie.com/

RPG a Day 2015, Day 20

Day 20: Favorite Horror RPG

Ah.  This now like choose amongst my children.  I love Horror RPGs, more so than fantasy or supers really.

There are a lot of great choices Chill, WitchCraft, Call of Cthulhu, Vampire, Mage...so many.

But if I am going to have to choose then I choose...myself!

Ghosts of Albion!

Not to be to blunt, but it is everything I have ever wanted in a horror game. I poured blood, sweat and tears into this game.  But that means nothing to Joe or Jane Player out there.  It is also a fun game, with a great setting, some great monsters and, in my opinion, one of the best magic rules I have ever used.

If I never publish another game or book I will be content because I wrote this one.