Find of the Week (3/24/13 - 3/30/13)

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer

Value: $10 (hardcover) on Amazon

Actual Cost: $7

John King Books is the largest bookstore in Michigan. I stopped by this week to see if they had any good old RPG books. They didn't, but on whim, I decided to check the film and TV section. I picked up The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer by Jennifer Lynch, as well as the neat The Northern Exposure Book by Louis Chunovic. Anyone who knows me knows that I loooove me some Twin Peaks. I've been looking out for this book for a while.

So far, I've read half of it. It's a short read at around 200 pages. The book is basically the diary of an abused girl, but written with the mythos of the Twin Peaks universe. I must say, I was surprised by the quality of the writing. Don't expect beautiful prose coming from a 12-year old's narrative or anything. The strong point here is the quality of the story. Anyone who has seen David Lynch's Twin Peaks knows Laura Palmer's story. For any of you who haven't, I won't spoil the great plot twists.

The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer makes a great companion piece for fans of the show. The quality is good enough to stand alone as a novel in the similar vain of Go Ask Alice. However, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend you read this without having seen the show first. Why? Because it would be a disservice to yourself to spoil the amazing story of the TV series!

Find of the Week (3/17/13 - 3/23/13)

Dragonlance: Fifth Age

Value: $60 (used) on Amazon

Actual Cost: $15 (new, but with fading and shelf wear on corners)

I saw this at the local comic shop a while back. It piqued my curiosity, but I forgot to research it when I got home. I finally got around to checking it out a few weeks later. This game gets much critical acclaim, so I figured I couldn't pass it up. The good deal (this thing goes for $240 dollars new!) was icing on the cake.

Dragonlance: Fifth Age is made by TSR and set in the Dragonlance D&D setting. This is not a D&D module or expansion. This is a role playing game that uses the SAGA rules system. SAGA uses card based mechanics, as opposed to dice. I read through the basic rules. It definitely sounds fun!

I'm gearing up to play Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition, so I probably won't play this anytime soon. I will definitely try it later on down the road. When I do, you'll definitely hear about it.

My secondary find of the week goes to a book I bought at the same comic shop.

Greyhawk Adventures

Value: $10 on Amazon

Actual Cost: $5

Greyhawk Adventures is an adventure module/campaign supplement for AD&D 1st and 2nd editions. I kinda regretted buying this for a minute. Then I read the awesome details given for the "House of Cards." The House of Cards is a casino location you can run in Greyhawk or any other D&D setting. It gives some ways to simulate gambling with dice (nothing too fancy, but it gives me an idea on how to quickly determine a poker game without actually pulling out cards). I definitely plan on using this in my upcoming Spelljammer campaign!

Find of the Week (3/3/13 - 3/9/13)

Fay's Fairy Tales: Little Red Riding Hood

Value: $0.01 on Amazon

Actual Cost: $1

This week was not a great week for finds. The most interesting thing I purchased was this children's book from a local library. I payed a dollar since it was hardcover. Amazon has multiple copies for a penny, but I ultimately avoided having to pay the $3.99 shipping costs.

I'm a huge fan of William Wegman, the author and photographer. You probably have seen his acting weimaraner dogs on shows like Sesame Street. He's also done quite a few short films and a few books. Little Red Riding Hood is part of the Fay's Fairy Tales series. I really hope to get the others from this series, as well.

The actors, of course, are Fay and her lovable children. The writing is clever, as per usual with Wegman. I imagined his dry voice narrating the entire thing. Some of the photos are absolutely amazing, even if they're a bit samey overall. Seeing dogs dressed up as people never gets old. Here's a shot of the big bad wolf.

The only distinguishing marks are his snarl and bushy tail.

I love Wegman, and I love fairy tales. Naturally, I also loved this book. Your mileage may vary.

Tuesday on Tape #13 - Jury Duty

#13 - Jury Duty (12/18/12)

Tuesdays on Tape Rating Scale™

Previews: 0/1
Soundtrack: .5/.5
B&T: .5/1.5
Graphics: 1/1
Sound Effects: .5/.5
Likable Characters: .5/1
Memorable Moments/Quotables/Emotion: 1.5/1.5
Total: 4.5/7

Rent or Buy?: Buy

Personal Thoughts: Jury Duty is a solid movie. The tape rating suffered a lot due to lack of previews and B&T. Otherwise, it was good stuff. Pauly Shore carries this movie, but he wasn't as likable as he usually is. Pauly just wasn't in full "Weasel" form in this one. He's definitely not as out there as he was in Encino Man or Bio-Dome. Don't let that deter you from watching if you're a fan of Shore or early 90s comedy in general.

Jury Duty was the final tape of the 2012 season. We took the next week off for Christmas but did watch a tapette during our Christmas party. What is a tapette again?


Tapettes
tapette - A VHS tape that fulfills one of two conditions: a) it is a short film that is under 50 minutes in length, or b) it is a compilation tape with episodes of a TV show or short films that total under 50 minutes each. [In case (b), each episode will be considered a separate tapette.]

Ok, I apologize for not updating regularly about the tapettes we watch. I maintain the Tuesday on Tape online presence through our Facebook page and this blog. Sometimes I fall behind. I find it easier if I don't have to worry about taking pictures of the short tapettes every Tuesday night. So rather than updating all the time, I'll probably just give you a list of a bunch of tapettes recently watched.

Here's a list of the tapettes watched in 2012:

- Monster Rancher: Let the Games Begin (Episode 1) - Avoid
- Hardly Boys in Hardly Gold - Buy
- Fay’s 12 Days of Christmas - Buy
- Jackie Chan Adventures: Friend or Foe (1/8/13) - Rent


The first meeting of 2013 was the annual awards ceremony. Tapes are awarded for excellence in the individual ratings categories, as well as for Tape of the Year. So what won what? Check out my next post to find out! 

Find of the Week (2/24/13 - 3/2/13)

Monstrous Compendium Appendices

(Spelljammer I & II, Ravenloft I & II, Dark Sun, Al-Qadim, Outer Planes)

Value: $266 total on Amazon

Actual Cost: $37.50 total

AD&Dmania continues! This week I bought some Monstrous Compendium appendices from the local comic book shop. Monstrous Compendium stuff, unlike most AD&D 2e books (except box sets with low print runs like Planescape), has actually increased in value over the years. The reason being that they came in folios full of loose sheets to be added to a binder. I guess it became harder to find them complete. These things came in the packaging but with a bit of shelfwear to the covers. Otherwise, the sheets are fine.

I already added these to my Monstrous Compendium binders. I suppose I might not ever actually get around to using some of them (like Dark Sun), but I figured it would be a wise investment in case I ever wanted to in the future.

I quite frankly can't wait to get started on my 2e game. It's been my main interest as of late. I've amassed a good deal of books: the core rulebooks, optional splatbooks, and a few settings boxsets. I am all set to go with materials (including a battlemap and cardboard minis), and have familiarized myself with all the rules in the PHB and Spelljammer. Now all I have left to do is finish reading the DMG!