Rafe’s 4 Month Birthday

Here we are, at the four month mark. He’s just getting so big now! He seems to be just growing up almost too quickly! [[image:2012_0429_rafe14.jpg:I’m droooooling!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions He went out to dinner with us and was quite sociable – he was passed around the table and was content to be held by everyone. He just quietly sat there and observed us. He did not cry. We were very pleased. He’s also been to Yaya’s soccer matches and was quite content to stay in the carrier, enjoy the fresh air, and watch all the little kids running around. Again, no tears. He had his first trip to the grocery store – he just slept in his car seat the entire time! So far, so good, still a mellow little fellow! The day after his 4-month birthday (since it fell on a Sunday), we went to […]

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It was released here a full week ahead of the USA

Avengers – A Review Of Some Sort

After five years of buildup by Marvel Studios across 5 movies from Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2009), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger (both 2011), we’ve finally reached its culmination this year in The Avengers for the Marvel Studios’ movie continuity, also know as Earth-199999. (Regular Marvel Universe is Earth-616, by the way.) Here follows a SPOILER-FREE review of the movie co-written and directed by Joss Whedon. Heck, I wont even give away anything by having a synopsis. Let’s start by addressing what worried me before watching this movie: Will they sideline Cap what with Iron Man being a more popular character in general? Cap totally earned his keep as leader and tactician of the Avengers. He proved his mettle onscreen several times during the final battle, not to mention a scene showing why even civilian authorities will listen to his orders. Will […]

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45 Months

This cheeky girl is 3 months away from her fourth birthday! [[image:2012-yaya45month-04.jpg:Waaaaa!:center:0]] Amazingly, that is what you get when you ask Yaya to cry! She can’t help smiling while she does it :-). Another month of fun-filled days has passed very quickly! * Mouse over the pictures for captions In a similar vein to last month, Yaya has had a physically active month. Not only does she tear around the house at top speed (why walk when you can run, skip or hop around?), she has played soccer and gone swimming at the pool, and gone outside to do yardwork. Lots of fun physical activities. [[image:2012-yaya45month-10.jpg:Having fun catching and throwing the pink ball:center:0]] She plays all day long, and has a dozen costume changes a day (at least) where she transforms herself into a different character. Previously she could switch roles without a change of clothing, but now that she […]

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Goooooooooolllllll!!!!!

So we signed Yaya up for the Itty Bitty Soccer league (for three-year-olds) at the local Y and it’s been an interesting time. She had her very first soccer practise a few weeks ago: [[image:2012-april-yayasoccer05.jpg:Wearing her Tigers uniform courtesy of Aunty Yati:center:0]] She loved the practise so much that she cried when it was over! * Mouse over pictures for captions Here are a few more pictures from said first practise: [[image:2012-april-yayasoccer01.jpg:Standing in a line:center:0]] [[image:2012-april-yayasoccer02.jpg:Papa, this is fun!:center:0]] [[image:2012-april-yayasoccer03.jpg:Kicking (it is football, after all):center:0]] [[image:2012-april-yayasoccer04.jpg:Getting sweaty in the sun:center:0]] The following week, she did not want to put on her soccer clothes, so she ended up practising as a ballerina-footballer: [[image:2012-april-yayasoccer06.jpg:Tutu and shin guards:center:0]] [[image:2012-april-yayasoccer07.jpg:More standing in a line:center:0]] [[image:2012-april-yayasoccer08.jpg:No hands in football, Yaya!:center:0]] On the morning of her first match, she refused to go because it was too cold. We were the snack parents, so Vin and Yaya […]

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Vicious Crucible art preview 5

Vicious Crucible Art Preview

Here are five pieces of colour art that provide us a glimpse into Kallisti Press’ Vicious Crucible fantasy role-playing game by Miriam Robern. These artwork I did are part of a single large image that features major and minor characters from the games in a combined stylistic view of the realm. But what’s really going on in these images? I guess we’ll have to wait for the upcoming release of Vicious Crucible.

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He doesn't look like an Alchemist Triton to me

Small World

Created by Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton, Geek and Sundry’s new biweekly TableTop web series features 30 minutes of tabletop gaming video that shows how much fun it is to pay tabletop games from boardgames like Ticket to Ride to card games like Munchkin to roleplaying games like Fiasco! Each episode, hosted by Wil, shows how each game is played by playing it onscreen. Every episode also has different guests. Irfan and I saw the first episode together and he totally fell in love with the board game they played, Small World. Small World allows a player to control a society of one fantasy race after another, allowing your race to expand or decline each round using the game rules. The game randomly mixes in special abilities and racial abilities, and by planning a combination of these abilities you are able to maximise the number of points you acquire each […]

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Promeffeus

Wallpaprometheus

I appear to have a new wallpaper for the Artist X 1.0 desktop. Click to expand it. It’s that ship sent by Weyland Industries. S.S. Lollipop or something. Can’t wait for the movie. I’m not saying it’s ALIEN, but it’s ALIEN.

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Irfan’s Transmogrifying Present

Irfan received a gift over the mail from Ryan Rhodes. There is a great sketch of Irfan with the octopus plushie at Wan Chor’s house in the inner cover! Here’s hoping Irfan will never stop dreaming. (Although he has been dreaming of zombie attacks these days…) It’s a Calvin and Hobbes collection – which in my opinion is tied with Bloom County as the best newspaper comic ever. Irfan says, “Thanks for the book, Uncle Ryan.” Bo shuda.

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How to play!

Sabacc Cards of SWAG

Back in 2002, the first iteration of the Star Wars Artsts’ Guild made an exclusive deck of unofficial Star Wars sabacc cards. It was unofficial in that it wasn’t a Lucasfilm-sanctioned project. However, the cards and how it was played used the play description as detailed in L. Neil Smith’s The Lando Calrissian Adventures novel trilogy and West End Games’ Crisis on Cloud City role-playing game supplement. A bunch of SWAG artists contributed artwork for the face cards, including myself. Recently, Bob Rodgers the former Baron Administrator of SWAG reminded me that I have a copy of the SWAG sabacc deck. So I dug around for it and found it. Here are some photos I took of the deck. Oh man, it’s been 10 years? How time flies like an airspeeder.

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