Category: Food

Catching up: Raiders, Halloween, and the Rhode Island Comic Con

On Sunday, 28 October 2012, Janice and I went to the Brattle Theater in Harvard Square, Cambridge, to screen a remastered print of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I broke out my fedora and leather bomber jacket (but not my whip) for the occasion.

The cliffhanger movie has held up well after 30 years, and it was great to see Harrison Ford again as the charming scoundrel, John Rhys-Davies and Denholm Elliott as Indy’s pals, and most of all, Karen Allen as the spunky Marion Ravenwood, who’s every bit the equal of the adventuresome archaeologist and his Nazi nemeses.

Janice and I also browsed among our usual bookshops and had a good meal at Grendel’s Den. Unfortunately, former co-worker and fellow blogger Ken G. wasn’t able to join us because his return flight from Peru had been delayed.

For Halloween, I dressed in full chain armor for my weekly historical weapons class. It was fun to practice our moves with metal weapons for once.

At GuardUp!
Dueling in Norman-style chain armor

On Saturday, Nov. 3, I drove down to Providence, R.I., for the first Rhode Island Comic Con. The genre entertainment convention was a success, with strong attendance, numerous dealers and artists, and several celebrities, including (but not limited to) the following:

  • Star Trek: John De Lancie, Robert Picardo, Gary Graham
  • Star Wars: Peter Mayhew, Tom Kane
  • Buffy: the Vampire Slayer: Nicholas Brendon
  • Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Gil Gerard, Felix Silla

And last, but not least, from the original Battlestar Galactica:

  • Richard Hatch (Cmdr. Apollo and Tom Zarek)
  • Dirk Benedict (Lt. Starbuck)
  • Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Lt. Boomer)
  • Jack Stauffer (Capt. Bojay)
  • Sarah Rush (Cpl. Rigel)
  • Noah Hathaway (Boxey)

As a child of the 1970s, I was excited to meet more actors from one of my favorite military space operas of all time. While I was disappointed that Laurette Spang (Cassiopeia) and Anne Lockhart (Lt. Sheba) couldn’t make it, it was still cool to see so many classic BSG actors together.

The actors still resemble their characters, almost 35 years later. Hatch was as gracious and philosophical as I remember from our previous meeting, and Jefferson still has his military bearing and is down to earth. Rush was perky as ever, and during the BSG panel discussion, ailing Stauffer talked about giving back to the acting community.

Benedict was as roguish as ever, soft-spoken one on one but sarcastic and funny during the panel. Hathaway, who was also Bastian in The Neverending Story, has grown into a tattooed, wiry guy with an attitude closer to that of Starbuck than adoptive father Apollo.

Everyone spoke highly of the professionalism and courtesy of the late Lorne Greene, a.k.a. Adm. Adama. They acknowledged classic Galactica‘s debt of inspiration to Star Wars, as well as the problems with producing a grand space adventure in the face of TV network opposition to its budget and tone. The cast even mentioned the derivative Galactica 1980 and Ron Moore’s grim BSG reboots, as well as plans to return the Galactica franchise to movie theaters.

Among other people, I enjoyed chatting about Buck Rogers with Gil Gerard (I had met Erin Gray at a previous event) and about Alien Nation with Gary Graham. I was pleased to find both actors approachable and good-humored about their respective television careers.

It was also nice to chat with artists Bob Eggleton and Craig Rousseau, whose works I’ve followed and whom I’ve met at past conventions. I also talked with Star Wars reference book author Ryder Windham, who agreed with me in being optimistic about Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm and plans for more films in the saga.

In addition, there were many creative and confident cosplayers at RICC, and I was impressed when a zombie flash mob broke into dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” I didn’t have time to participate in any of the games that were being played in one ballroom.

I’d definitely consider attending the Rhode Island Comic Con if it is held again next year. Sure, the organizers could have done a better job of handling the crowds for certain panels, but I hope that the event was profitable enough that it can join the Boston Comic Con and this coming weekend’s annual Super MegaFest.

Autumn 2012 update

Janice and I didn’t take any long vacations this past summer because of our move this past spring and her employer’s acquisition. We did manage to see our families in Upstate New York in July, and we went to the Marshfield Fair in August and Waltham’s fall festival in September. More recently, we enjoyed a weekend at the South Shire Inn, a nice bed and breakfast in Bennington, Vermont.

Autumn leaves
Fall foliage

Among other things, we visited the Bennington Center for the Arts, the Bennington Museum — which included art by Grandma Moses — and poet Robert Frost’s house. The art galleries, antique shops, and early fall foliage were all good, as were the pubs we tried.

On Saturday, 29 September 2012, Janice and I went into Boston for a Boston Classical Orchestra concert at Faneuil Hall. On the way, we stopped at the book shops in Harvard Square, Cambridge, and got dinner at Quincy Market.

The musical performance itself was very good, with a relatively small but tight group of mostly string instruments and a few winds but no percussion. Conductor and composer Steven Ledbetter was dynamic and friendly. The program consisted of folk dances as interpreted by Bela Bartok and Johannes Brahms, plus some concertos by Antonio Vivaldi and a sinfonia concertante possibly by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

On Sunday, 7 October 2012, Janice and I drove out to the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Mass., for “A Knight to Remember,” a dinner hosted by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. We hadn’t been to that museum in a few years, and now that I’ve been taking a historical weapons class, it was nice to see the arms and armor exhibits again.

This past weekend, Janice and I went to a quilt show in historic Lexington, Mass. While the town is a bit upscale for my tastes, it does have good restaurants and a different character from postindustrial Waltham.

I’ve still been busy with work and keeping up with various games, which have had some schedule interruptions because of difficulty getting quorum. In addition, I’ve been meaning to post reviews of the new genre television season, current comic books, and more, but they’ll have to wait. We don’t yet have any big Halloween plans.

November is looking even busier, with two genre entertainment conventions, a reunion of college friends in New York City, and Thanksgiving with my in-laws. My thoughts are with ailing relatives and friends, and I hope that the coming holidays aren’t too stressful.

Labor Day 2012 — restaurant weekend

On Saturday, 1 September 2012, I met Thomas K.Y. & Kai-Yin H. and college chum Stuart C.G. and his family. Stu and his wife Zoe and their sons Sammy and Benji were in Boston for a wedding. On the way, I stopped by the Compleat Strategist and Pandemonium Books & Games. We went to Hei La Moon in Chinatown for a dim sum lunch.

After that, we took the “T” to the Museum of Science to let the boys “burn off some of their excess energy” (their own words). We headed back downtown for dinner at Oishii, the best sushi and sashimi restaurant in the area. The food, presentation, and service were all very good, if also very pricey. Janice didn’t join us because she doesn’t like seafood.

Sushi and sashimi
Sushi and sashimi at Oishii Boston

After dinner, we hiked back up to No. 9 Park on the Boston Common for dessert. Zoe took her kids back to their hotel, and Thomas and I shared several tasty cheese courses. Unfortunately, service was slow, and even with Thomas giving me a lift back to my car in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I didn’t get home until midnight.

After Janice’s usual shift at the animal shelter on Sunday morning, we went to historic Lexington, Mass., for American food at Lexx. Although most towns in New England have an ice cream parlor, I was pleased to find a few shops in Lexington that serve frozen yogurt because of my late-onset lactose intolerance. We even picked up a container at Rancatore’s to bring home.

On Labor Day 2012, Janice and I returned to Central Square, Cambridge, to meet Thomas & Kai-Yin, Stuart & Zoe, and rambunctious Sammy and Benji for an “Asian-style tapas” brunch at Moksa. Since Stuart and his family had gone to Harvard Square on Sunday, Janice and I headed to the bookshops there while Thomas, Stu, and company went to tony Back Bay.

In addition, I ran my “Vortex” telecom space opera game on Sunday night, and I participated in Brian W.’s fun Fiasco scenario last night. I’ve still got some big projects coming due at work, so more role-playing updates and genre entertainment reviews will have to wait for now. Here comes autumn!

A week of food

I’m trying to catch up on reading and blogging while I’m between big projects at work, so forgive the somewhat scattered nature of this post.

On Tuesday, 21 August 2012, I met my brother in Boston. It was good to see Peter only a month after spending time with him and the rest of Janice’s and our families in Lake George, N.Y. He was in town for a conference.

We went to the Italian neighborhood of Boston’s North End. Peter and I considered Union Oyster House and Neptune Oyster, but we ended up at Pomodoro, which was small but good. We also grabbed gelato before parting at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market.

On Wednesday, Aug. 22, I went to my weekly historical weapons class, where we’re still practicing moves for the German longsword. I also went out to lunch last week with co-workers to Habanero’s and Skellig on Waltham’s Moody Street.

On Thursday, Aug. 23, I met former CW co-workers in the “Escapists” book club. We had dinner at P.F. Chang’s in the upscale Natick Mall and discussed Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle. I liked the satirical science fiction novel, which was clearly written in the shadow of man’s folly in World War II and the Cold War.

On Saturday, Aug. 25, Janice and I took advantage of the nice weather and went to the annual Marshfield Fair. We enjoyed the agricultural displays and, of course, the fair food. We also caught up on errands.

Closer to home, we’ve gone to pub City Streets and local chains Border Café, Papa Gino’s, and Upper Crust Pizza. While I’ve relaxed my boycott of Upper Crust after its labor problems, another favorite, Chipotle, has gotten into trouble. I also have less reason to go out to Natick when I’m closer to the Burlington Mall.

Coming soon: ParaNorman and genre TV reviews, political positions, and more!

Free RPG Day 2012 report

Happy summer solstice! While I’ve missed some movies and local events lately because of travel and crowded schedules, I did get to Free RPG Day. On Saturday, 16 June 2012, Janice and I drove into Boston to visit the Compleat Strategist.

Retro RPG wallpaper
Retro role-playing rules!

The staff at the small game shop was friendly as usual, and I declined an invitation to participate in a Pathfinder tabletop role-playing session. I did pick up the following free items:

I also bought some Lord of the Rings HeroClix and Giants Revisited for Pathfinder (my Advanced Race Guide hardcopy is coming in the mail). I looked at the thick core rulebooks for Dungeon Crawl Classics and Adventurer, Conqueror, King because of fellow Game Master Brian W.‘s recommendations. I didn’t purchase either of these retro–clones yet, because I want to see what my current face-to-face groups are willing to try after various miniseries and our D&D Next playtest.

I didn’t see any of the planned books for FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer (for “Vortex“) or Legends of Anglerre (for the “Vanished Lands“) but at least the FATE version of Bulldogs has gotten some good science fiction support online. I’m more inclined to stick with rules-light systems than invest in yet another potentially expensive, complicated game with a limited fan base.

Unfortunately, the staff at Pandemonium Books & Games in Cambridge, Mass., was surprisingly ignorant of Free RPG Day and seemed to be more interested in hosting collectible card tournaments than serving role-players. It seemed like a missed opportunity to get people into the store. It’s a shame that the larger shop has focused less on traditional RPGs lately.

Janice and I later enjoyed lunch at Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage and visited our usual book shops in Harvard Square. We missed Josh C. & Sara F., who were at the Compleat Strategist sometime after us. I look forward to looking more closely at my Free RPG Day swag. So many games, so little time!