Weekly Recap - November 27, 2010

General/Intro:
It is amazing to me every now and then to realize that I have a magic box where I can type in almost any question and get an answer, instantly. Most of these answers are even correct! The rest, of course, come from Wikipedia.

This week's D&D game went great. No character deaths, and they talked their way past a goblin fight, took down a sleazy treasure hunter and got his treasure map *and* avoided being turned to stone by an angry medusa. They also broke another captive's fingers, which I think is going to give them a bit of a reputation in Sharn.

My wife took both kids to the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving. She may be more of a daredevil than I give her credit for.

I am *far* too excited about .38 Special coming to Rock Band 3 next week.

Everyone should see this: Grandma's Superhero Therapy

Loving Call of Duty: Black Ops so far. The period is one I don't think we've seen a lot of games set in, and the gameplay is in the same mode as the Modern Warfare games I've enjoyed previously.

TV:
Caught up on Boardwalk Empire, and after the cliffhanger of that last episode... I'm wishing I could go on to the next episode immediately. Terriers is still my favorite new show, but Boardwalk Empire is close.

Speaking of Terriers... last time Sepinwall did this, we got two more seasons of Chuck. I hope it works this well for Terriers. Btw, if you have cable and you're not watching Terriers, start. Now.

The more I thought about "Professor Professorson" the funnier it got. #community

Is it me, or is 30 Rock becoming one of NBC's best comedies again? Last week's episode cracked me up repeatedly.

Did they change showrunners on Brave and the Bold? I've been disappointed in every episode of season two thus far.

Last week's episode of The Walking Dead was easily my favorite since the first one. The scene from the final minutes was one of the big shocks on my first read-through of the series, and it was executed very well.

Catching up on Castle, and it looks like David Grae has written most of my favorite episodes. There are plenty I've liked, but all of Grae's have been above-average or better.

Caught up on nine episodes of Dexter Season 6. Still like the show, but you do have to view it with a *huge* suspension of disbelief to get through it. That said, as long as the contrivances in the writing don't bother you, it's a fun ride.

Movies:
So, the Green Lantern trailer. Not as *terrible* as folks were making it sound, but it's decidedly mediocre. Does not have the "must see" vibe that the Iron Man movies did. Actually, not even as strong as the Thor teaser from San Diego.

Whedon brings a little perspective. Yes, the Buffy without Whedon movie is a terrible idea, and yes, everyone involved should probably be a geek pariah for a while, but... it's not life-ending, or even really life-affecting, for most of us. Just another shitty movie we're not going to see in the theater.

I mean, it's not like Zack Snyder wants to cast a complete stiff as Clark Kent and CGI Superman in his increasingly-shitty-sounding Superman movie, right? Wait, what's that?

Thanksgiving Travel Tips (a.k.a. Making Fun of the TSA):
Make sure and flirt with your appointed TSA pat-down specialist. Never break eye contact, and moan suggestively throughout.

Nobody loves pranks more than the TSA. When going through the new body scanner, use metallic tape to create a sign. I suggest "The guy behind me is ticking" or "My other car is a car-bomb."

Remember, it is not inappropriate to ask your TSA pat-down specialist for a "happy ending." It is, however, customary to tip.

It is considered polite to fake an orgasm while your TSA pat-down is going on... no need to make the guy feel bad he couldn't get you there for real. The louder, and more obscenity-filled, the better.

That TSA agent is bound to get bored while fondling your junk. Make sure and tell him or her all about your favorite D&D character while they're doing the pat-down.

It is not technically illegal to bring two large frozen turkeys, one as your carry on, and the other as your "personal item."

Blank keys and fobs reading "Hotel Room #" are cheap. Hand one of them to your TSA agent and say "Meet me later tonight. Bring the gloves."

By The Way, Fuck The TSA:
For fuck's sake, Obama... can you be on the right side on *one* of the easy ones? Just one?

I honestly don't think I'd have the patience or the collected head to do this... but I'm glad somebody does.

SNL addresses the new TSA guidelines

Politics:
Westboro Baptist Protesters get their tires slashed. This makes me laugh with devilish glee. From the article: "Police say that they were unable to find anyone in town willing to repair the vehicle." Karma's a bitch, you hate-mongering bastards.

This is the modern GOP in a nutshell. Argue for "the market" when it comes to everyone else, and "special treatment" when it comes to themselves.

This Daily Show piece was... spectacular. I used to respect McCain, but I've long since realized that he'll say and do *anything* to keep his political power, and any principles he might have had are long gone.

I'm thankful that a jury realized what a scumbag Tom DeLay is. And to make it better, he was convicted in Travis County. Where I live. Hells yeah.