Moe Lane

Umbrella-Fighting (7pt)

This style is not really suited for realistic campaigns, but it should work fine in urban magical or steampunk ones.  It need hardly be said that anyone planning to use this style should invest in a specially-reinforced umbrella (or a weapon that simply looks like an umbrella).  Still, as a fighting weapon the classic unfolding umbrella has its charms.  Adepts typically use a long, heavy umbrella (Staff) with a pointy ferrule (Rapier) and a curved handle (Axe/Mace); sudden switches and reversals of grip and stance are practiced until they become second nature. Note that the umbrella must be reversed in order to use it as a mace.

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Pouch of Wind  (Regular)

This spell pushes air into an inverted container with enough force to cause it to take flight. The exact angle of the thrust can be altered at will by the spellcaster, allowing for directed flight.  Lifted objects have a Move of 3; add 1 Move for every point of mana spent above the base cost.  This spell explicitly can be used on a parachute, parasail, or umbrella.

This spell is part of the Air College, not Movement.

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You ever have one of those days where you just had three ideas at once?  Today mine was on umbrellas.  Happy GURPS Day!

Umbrella-chute   (DX/Easy)

Defaults: DX-4, Parachuting -2

This is the ability to maneuver and land while using an umbrella as an improvised parachute.  This skill does absolutely nothing to reduce velocity; use an appropriate spell or power for that.  What it can do is allow the user to aim for a precise landing zone on the ground, and to avoid injuries from a bad controlled landing.

…you don’t speak Startup.  Just keep scrolling:

You are in a startup. All around is a burning runway. There are exits to the North and East. You have a bootstrap. There is a VC here.

> |

— Stef Lewandowski (@stef) September 22, 2016

And being funny even when people don’t completely understand the language that you’re speaking is no small feat. I am legit impressed.

Ehh, it rained. This is a good song for walking somewhere when it’s warm and thinking about raining.

Lazy Days, Enya

Well, I could put up that other video I worked on today.  That should interest people, right?  By the way: I’m getting why churches aren’t a bad venue for bands like this.  It was a ‘free’ concert… which meant that I dropped about fifty bucks, between the CDs at the merch table and the collection plate. Good acoustics, decent seating, low cost for a weeknight rental. Keep it in mind, folks.

…OK. From Hollywood Reporter:

Justin Lin is revving up Hot Wheels.

The Star Trek Beyond filmmaker has closed a deal to develop, direct and produce, via his Perfect Storm Entertainment, a feature based on popular car toyline from Mattel.

Lin and Perfect Storm will also have an option to co-finance the project.

It’s not coming out any time soon, but:  if we simply must have a Hot Wheels movie – and it seems that we must – Justin Lin is not the worst pick in the world to direct/produce it. It… it could function. It will not win a single Oscar except in the technical categories, but it could function.

Blame this.

Operation MIDNIGHT PUMPKIN

What they’re doing in the airports is a facade. A sham. A ruse, to keep our attention occupied. The TSA’s real focus is much, much more esoteric.  After all, who would think to look there for a secret coven of herbalists and natural alchemists?

Don’t think that such things exist in the modern world?  OK.  But consider the following herbal ingredients:

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I think it’s hysterical. You may not, but I’m just back from having a couple of beers in a bar while talking with my wife about baseball, so there’s that. Heck, she’ll probably find it just as funny, too.

Mediaeval scribes invented this bizarre Latin sentence as a joke to show just how difficult Gothic text could be to read. pic.twitter.com/v9tj9PZZt7

— Haggard Hawks Words (@HaggardHawks) September 28, 2016

This was the Stary Olsa concert in Laurel.  Lots of fun. Tried to get some closeups of the garb.

…I took a couple of videos of the Stary Olsa concert yesterday (they were cool with that): now I’m teaching myself how to upload videos again.  It’s been a while.  A bit too long for my video software, apparently: it’s had two updates and the company that made it got sold to another one in the intervening time.  I should pay more attention to this sort of thing.  I’ll update the post once it’s done processing.

Stonehenge, Spinal Tap

…Oh, who am I kidding? This is funnier.