Astrid Ina

Today was another snow day for the boys. Well, actually for our oldest and I just kept our youngest at home because I don’t like driving on the road to get him to childcare. I’m still not feeling 100% but today helped me to get a little more rest than normal.

I had planned on taking this day anyway as I’ve been fighting this cold thing for several days. Thanks to the cancellation, we got to sleep in a little bit and this afternoon in the midst of working and the little one taking a nap, I got to snooze too.

This medicine I’ve started taking this medicine recommended by the pharmacist. Boy that knocks your socks off. I noticed it said nighttime but she said I might be able to take it during the day. Yeah….I don’t think so. This afternoon I just took half a dose and was still zonked. Last night it did a number on me…my mind was racing…weird. But at least my nose dried up and my coughing subsided so I could sleep.

Tomorrow back to work…hopefully I’ll feel somewhat better…I can’t be on this medicine and go anywhere so I hope that it’s at least a little better.

Olá a todos, é com enorme orgulho que vos convidamos a conhecer mais em pormenor a 8ª edição do IMAGO - Festival Internacional de Cinema Jovem, que decorre no Fundão de 29 de Setembro a 7 de Outubro.

Mais informação - para além daquela revelada em baixo - sobre alguns dos programas (filmes da Prospectiva, David Lynch, Jonas Mekas, entre outros programas), júris e fotos estarão em breve disponíveis no nosso site www.imagofilmfest.com, nas respectivas secções:

SELECÇÃO OFICIAL CAIXA GERAL DE DEPÓSITOS
DELTA OPEN SPACE
HEINEKEN SOUND & VISION EXPERIENCE

e ainda na ÁREA PRESS para download e desde já na secção Competições.

Muito em breve estará disponível o pdf com os horários de todos os espaços, bem como preços para todos os eventos.

Lembramos também que temos agendadas para dias 20 e 21 de Setembro, em Alpedrinha, duas noites de festa integradas na programação do Festival Chocalhos - Caminhos da Transumância, organizadas no espaço Alp’Música. Apresentaremos neste espaço os filmes premiados no IMAGO 2006, o programa dedicado a Floria Sigismondi no IMAGO 2007 e o resto das noites será de festa com Kill Discos DJ Set (SP) e IMAGO Selectors (PT).

SECÇÕES COMPETITIVAS
COMPETIÇÃO OFICIAL INTERNACIONAL + COMPETIÇÃO DOCS IN SHORTS Nas 2 principais competições do IMAGO 2007 há um total de 45 curtas a concurso. Os filmes foram escolhidos entre as quase 1700 inscrições recebidas, provenientes de 66 países.
Ambas as competições são exclusivamente dedicadas a trabalhos de jovens realizadores até aos 35 anos, ou primeiras obras. Na Oficial Internacional o Grande Prémio Cidade do Fundão, o Prémio do Júri e o Prémio Jovem Realizador Europeu são disputados por 33 películas nas categorias de Animação, Ficção e Experimental. Na Docs in Shorts há 12 documentários em competição.

COMPETIÇÃO UNDER 25 Na mais jovem competição do IMAGO há espaço para todos os formatos vídeo, muita imaginação, baixos orçamentos e realizadores até aos 25 anos. Para a edição de 2007 estão seleccionadas 15 curtas que disputam o Prémio Internacional Canon e o Prémio Nacional Caixa Geral de Depósitos.

TRÊS JÚRIS INTERNACIONAIS constituídos por figuras ligadas ao mundo do audiovisual são responsáveis pela atribuição dos mais de 12 mil euros em prémios. Há ainda o JÚRI ONDA CURTA/RTP2, o JÚRI JOVEM PREMIERE e, o mais especial de todos, o PÚBLICO, que através das suas votações atribui o Prémio do Público ao seu filme preferido no conjunto das 3 competições.

SELECÇÃO OFICIAL CAIXA GERAL DE DEPÓSITOS
FOTOGRAFIA E CINEMA - DA PELÍCULA AO DIGITAL Há quem já não tenha dúvidas: o século XXI será do cinema digital, assim como o XX foi do cinema em película. E será só uma questão de tempo ou estamos já, de facto, a viver esse tempo? É sobre isto que o IMAGO quer reflectir em 2007, mostrando o trabalho dos realizadores David Lynch e Jonas Mekas e dos directores de fotografia Rui Poças e Xavi Giménez e ainda os primeiros passos de um conjunto de jovens realizadores russos e britânicos, num programa transversal e que se reparte por todas as secções do IMAGO. Tudo isto complementado com master classes e uma Maratona de Realização que decorre de uma parceria iniciada em 2006 com a Canon Portugal e agora também com a Avid Internacional.

JONAS MEKAS - RETROSPECTIVA É com muita expectativa e orgulho que apresentamos ao nosso público uma parte da obra raramente vista em sala do mitico realizador lituano radicado nos Estados Unidos JONAS MEKAS: duas longas e 20 curtas escolhidas pelo próprio entre o projecto “First 40 Short Films” e divididas pelos temas “Portraits”, “Places”, “Sounds”. PROSPECTIVA - RUI POÇAS E XAVI GIMENEZ Aquele que é o nosso programa mais querido pela sua função de descoberta de novos talentos que são apostas firmes do Festival como referências para um futuro próximo, centra-se este ano em dois DIRECTORES DE FOTOGRAFIA, que sucedem a realizadores como Nicolas Provost (BE), Rosto (HL), Lynne Ramsay (UK), Lukas Moodyson (SE), Javier Fesser (SP) e Filpe Alçada (PT): o português RUI POÇAS e o espanhol XAVI GIMENEZ. Ambos são alvo de programas que os próprios escolheram e que incluem longas e curtas metragens em que trabalharam e integram também o Júri da Competição Oficial, para além de darem uma Master Class conjunta.

EARLY YEARS… DAVID LYNCH Programa dedicado à obra produzida até aos 35 anos por cineastas hoje já consagrados e que sirvam de referência e estimulo às mais jovens gerações a quem é dirigido o IMAGO. O programa que propomos em 2007 recai sobre a filmografia inicial de DAVID LYNCH, com as primeiras curtas do realizador norte-americano em destaque, a primeira longa, “Eraserhead”, a série em episódios “Dumbland” e o mais recente “Inland Empire” (sendo estes dois últimos parte fundamental da ligação ao tema geral do IMAGO 2007).
PROGRAMA ESCOLAS Sete curtas de animação para as crianças de todas as Escolas do Primeiro Ciclo do Concelho do Fundão. Os alunos e professores dos estabelecimentos de ensino são, pois, convidados a assistir gratuitamente às sessões do Programa Escolas entre Segunda, 1 de Outubro e Quinta, 4 de Outubro.
DELTA OPEN SPACE FLORIA SIGISMONDI A própria realizadora e fotógrafa - italiana radicada no continente americano desde a infância - organizou em especial para o IMAGO uma colecção estonteante dos melhores videoclips que dirigiu para nomes como The Cure, White Stripes, Marilyn Manson, David Bowie, Muse, Tricky, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Amon Tobim, Bjork, Leonard Cohen, Interpol ou Sigur Ros, entre muitos outros. STOP MAKING SENSE Secção dedicada a documentários musicais e que depois do grande sucesso de público no Heineken Paredes de Coura surge com um programa reforçado. Podem ser vistos filmes sobre os Pixies, Beastie Boys, Glastonbury, Polyphonic Spree, Wu-Tang Clan, Leonard Cohen, R. Stevie Moore, o Hardcore americano, Heróis do Mar e o Sónar. DIGITAL GENERATION Ao longo de um ano o UK Film Council apoiou 10 jovens e promissores realizadores britânicos na realização de curtas metragens com menos de 10 minutos e com recurso à tecnologia digital. O resultado é mostrado nesta sessão, que integra a programação ligada ao tema do Festival “Fotografia e Cinema - Da Película ao Digital”. OPEN CINEMA 2006 O Festival Internacional “Open Cinema”, que se realiza em S. Petersburgo, na Rússia, fez uma selecção especial do melhor dos novos talentos que em 2006 passaram pelo evento. Animação, ficção, experimental, documentário e música fazem parte desta compilação que ajuda a perceber os caminhos do novo cinema russo. CARTA BRANCA - DIBA (FESTIVAL DIGITAL DE BARCELONA) Todos os anos damos carta branca a uma produtora ou um festival para apresentar um programa no IMAGO. Este ano a tarefa cabe ao DiBa, de Barcelona, que assim reforça também a ligação directa do Open Space à temática geral do Festival. QOOB.TV “Broadcasting Ideas”, é o lema da QOOB.TV, subsidiária da MTV Itália, que acredita na Internet não apenas como um meio para a transmissão de conteúdos, mas também como uma plataforma para a promoção de novos talentos no mundo do audiovisual. Esta é uma selecção de curtas e videoclips realizadas pelos utilizadores da QOOB.TV e feita em exclusivo para o IMAGO.
THIS IS….TOMLAB A curta metragem “Xaxapoya”, de Christina Von Greves (GER), que ilustra o EP com o mesmo nome dos alemães Von Spar, é acompanhada neste programa pela curta metragem “Who I Am and What I Want” (UK), co-realizada por um dos mais emblemáticos nomes da editora Tomlab, David Shrigley, e ainda por vários videoclips de bandas ligadas à editora germânica, casa europeia de Final Fantasy, Deerhoof, Dat Politics, Islands, Grizzly Bear, Patrick Wolf, Xiu Xiu, Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, Khan, ou David Shrigley, só para mencionar alguns.
ANDAR COM AS PRÓPRIAS PERNAS Mini-série documental, em formato televisivo, exibida em quatro episódios, cada um composto por duas curtas-metragens (uma produzida em Portugal e outra no estrangeiro). Documenta em imagem e som o esforço de jovens portugueses e estrangeiros nas respectivas tentativas de crescimento, assumindo as responsabilidades individuais. Uma produção Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Escola das Artes - Som e Imagem - Universidad Internacional de Andalucía/La Rábida. Realização de Marco Aurélio Fernández.
PROJECTO SAL GROSSO O Festival Brasileiro de Cinema Universitário desafia todos os anos estudantes de todo o País e diferentes universidades a formarem equipas mistas e realizarem curtas metragens que são apresentadas no encerramento do Festival no ano seguinte. Este é o resultado conseguido em 2007. MUVIES.PT O melhor dos videoclips nacionais de 2007, com a electrónica, o rock, e a pop mais independente a marcarem forte presença através de alguns dos mais interessantes projectos portugueses da actualidade: Old Jerusalem, Born a Lion, Coldfinger, X-Wife, Margarida Pinto, Jorge Cruz, The Poppers, Wraygunn, Micro Audio Waves, Linda Martini, The Weatherman, Hipnotica, David Fonseca, U-Clic e Norton.
E AINDA
MARATONA AVID/CANON Desafiamos jovens aspirantes a realizadores a dirigirem curtas de 3 minutos ao longo de um período intenso de 72 horas. O tema é “Memória Fotográfica” e o Fundão é o plateau.
MASTER CLASSES Em estreita ligação com a MARATONA proporcionamos ao nosso público o contacto directo com QUATRO dos mais importantes convidados do festival que acederam falar sobre o seu trabalho e sobre a temática geral do Festival: RUI POÇAS E XAVI GIMENEZ (FOTOGRAFIA), JONAS MEKAS (REALIZAÇÃO) e TOM HAMBLETON (SOUND DESIGN).
FUTEBOL 3º Jogo Internacional de Futebol de 7 - IMAGO vs Convidados & Jornalistas - Sexta 5/10, 11.30, Complexo Desportivo do Fundão
GUESTS CLUB DELTA Todos os dias das 14.30 às 21.00 no Átrio da Moagem.

HEINEKEN SOUND & VISION EXPERIENCE LIVE ACTS // GONZALES (CAN/FR) Já mergulhou de cabeça na electrónica, olhou com ironia o mundo dos rappers de gigantesco colar de ouro ao pescoço e dedos repletos de anéis e juntou-se a Jamie Lidell para fazer renascer a soul quente na fria Berlin. Depois cansou-se e resolveu fazer um disco, só, ao piano. É pois um Gonzales despido de artifícios, mas carregado de humor e de uma beleza musical sublime, aquele que o público do IMAGO pode ver, num concerto único e imperdível - 6 de Outubro (Auditório Moagem, capacidade limitada) KALABRESE (CH) O músico suíço está empenhado em mostrar ao Mundo que a música electrónica não chegou a 2007 encurralada num beco sem saída. Acabado de editar “Rumpelzirkus”, Kalabrese faz música para dançar mas não se esquece de lhe conferir criatividade e de a adornar com uma linguagem cuidada e jazzística - 6 de Outubro (Sala Concertos Moagem) THIS IS…TOMLAB (SHOWCASE) Sediada na Alemanha, a editora fundada por Tom Steinle traz ao IMAGO dois dos seus artistas mais carismáticos: CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE (USA), projecto solitário de Owen Ashworth capaz como poucos de transmitir emoção desmedida e uma pouco comum clarividência pop só através dos seus teclados e programações electrónicas e KHAN OF FINLAND (GER), que com a sua sonoridade grandiloquente e uma presença em palco contagiante e demolidora, promete mostrar o porquê de ter sido considerado uma das grandes surpresas do Festival Sónar deste ano. Para completar o cartaz, a Tomlab escolheu uma das suas mais recentes e promissoras contratações, MUNCH MUNCH (UK), que pela primeira vez actuam fora de Inglaterra em vésperas da edição do primeiro álbum. Estreias absolutas em palcos nacionais - 5 de Outubro (Sala Concertos Moagem) (Casiotone… actua a 6 de Outubro no Clinic, em Alcobaça, numa iniciativa promovida em parceria com o IMAGO) NORTON (PT) Com disco novo debaixo do braço e vários concertos em Espanha agendados, a banda de Castelo Branco regressa ao IMAGO para mostrar os novos caminhos abertos por “Kershe” - 4 de Outubro (Sala Concertos Moagem) THE ALLSTAR PROJECT (PT) A banda de Leiria apresenta em pré-lançamento o primeiro álbum, “Your Reward…A Bullet”, que chega às lojas a 7 de Outubro através da Rastilho Records - 29 de Setembro (Auditório Moagem - capacidade limitada) DJ SETS // CHRIS GEDDES from Belle and Sebastian & ANDY VOTEL (UK) Pelo terceiro ano consecutivo Andy Votel traz ao IMAGO uma noite B-Music em que se faz acompanhar de um dos seus muitos amigos ligados à indústria musical. Desta vez o convidado é Chris Geddes, teclista dos escoceses Belle & Sebastian, e também ele um coleccionador compulsivo de discos - 29 de Setembro (Moagem Lounge) (A noite B-Music tem um primeiro momento no Incógnito, em Lisboa, na noite de 27 de Setembro, numa festa promovida pelo IMAGO EM PARCERIA COM A CASA LISBOETA) COCO from Nitsa Barcelona/Primavera Sound (SP) É dono de um dos mais emblemáticos clubes de Barcelona e organiza um dos melhores festivais de música da Europa. Oportunidade única para ver in loco de que matéria são feitas as grandes noites do Nitsa e dançar até de manhã - 6 de Outubro (Moagem Lounge) E ainda: VAGHAN & SEÑOR PELOTA (PT) 4 Out - TOMLAB DJs (GER) 5 Out – KILL DISCOS (SP) 5 Out – JUKEBOX NIGHTMARE UNDER 35 (PT) 4 Out – THE BOY WITH THE HIPNOTIC GLASSES (SP) 5 Out – NORTON DJ SET 4 Out – LOS ALATAQUERS (SP) 6 Out – 30 Set, 01 Out, 02 Out, 03 Out FRIENDS & GUESTS DJs & VJs FILMES CONCERTO // THE ALLSTAR PROJECT (PT) Em homenagem ao pai da Pop Art, no ano em que se assinalam 20 anos após a sua morte, a banda leiriense traz à CERIMÓNIA DE ABERTURA a sua versão sonora pós-rock para o filme “EMPIRE”, de Andy Warhol - 29 Setembro (Auditório Moagem - capacidade limitada) CALHAU “FILME CANIBAL” + ZERO (PT) Uma surpresa em palco, com som e imagem em interacção constante e uma capacidade rara de deixar o público atónito - 4 de Outubro (Auditório Moagem - capacidade limitada) O ANUNCIADO CONCERTO DE ABERTURA COM O CORO MISTO DA BEIRA INTERIOR FOI CANCELADO DEVIDO A MOTIVOS DE AGENDA INCONTORNÁVEIS DO CORO NO ESTRANGEIRO.
Para qualquer esclarecimento não hesitem em nos contactar. Em breve anunciaremos a data, hora e localização da conferência de imprensa final para a imprensa local e a data, hora e local de uma apresentação que iremos levar a cabo em Lisboa em conjunto com a REVISTA A23. até brevehttp://www.imagofilmfest.com/

http://imagoyoungfilmfest.blogspot.com/

Brian O’Neill has a good point.
Another somewhat dubious move in that now-infamous Saturday game: leaving Gorzelanny in there to finish the fifth. This is more debatable than calling on the guy with the biggest rash of recent troubles to face Tony Clark. But at the time, I was annoyed. You have to win these games, and it looked to me like Gorzelanny was being left in there so he could get the win. He got the final out, and he came back out there and did the sixth. But he was laboring, the team had a big lead, and a sure win appeared to be within reach. I thought at the time that Tracy was taking a risk by leaving him in there; I wondered if Gorzelanny was not getting the chance to continue only so he could get the win.
It would be a dumb thing to risk a team win so that one particular player has a greater chance of getting a personal win. There is the notion that players “have to grow” and that a manager might turn a kid into a proven veteran by showing how he can overcome adversity in a situation like that. This I consider worthless psychobabble. The best thing a manager can do is teach the player an unconditional respect for the team winning the game. There can be no compromise of this. There may be more to life than winning games, but if that is true, the big-league manager should be the last person in the world to believe it. So if a kid starter walks the bases loaded and has fallen apart after his team just batted around and he got a cute trophy for his fireplace and ran the bases etc., why not take the ball from his hand. Why not say look man, nothing personal, but you look distracted to me. So get out of here.
I could be all wrong, but I ramble on this way to compare that move to neglect of the firemen O’Neill describes. Tracy’s narrow-minded view of the need for clear roles strikes me as something that might be too deferential to the save stat. It betrays a concern for something other than winning. On a losing team, no player deserves any kind of job security. I don’t know. I could go on but I’ll stop.

I was back at hospital today. I’m at day nine post-op and my throat is still painful. I have problems swallowing. I’ll resist the obvious Carry-on gag - (gag! There’s another one). I was prescribed with painkillers that were developed with poorly rhinos in mind so I’m afraid I keep drifting off and feel……

After collecting my prescription from the pharmacy, I sat on a bench outside the hospital entrance waiting for a friend who had kindly offered to collect me and take me home. After a few moments, a large man in a tweed suit waddled up and sat next to me before lighting up a cigarette!

“You inconsiderate tweedy bastard! How dare you invade my personal space in this way? You wobble over here, park your big fat flabby arse, light up a death stick and your revolting smoke has carried straight into my face. Well, I’m recovering from a throat op but don’t let that worry you, you incautious, self-centred, thoughtless wanker

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The list of invitees was distinguished. It included the top four picks in the draft, top RB Adrian Peterson, QB Brady Quinn and even Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith. All told, there were 28 rookies — 30 were expected to attend, but LSU’s Craig Davis and LaRon Landry missed the event to attend the funeral of a friend — in L.A. for the weekend, and colleague Mike Wilkening and I had, at times, unfettered access to each of the guys.

There were plenty of highlights. The players for the most part were extremely laid back, happy that the trials of the draft process were behind them and glad that they have gotten their feet wet with minicamps and OTAs with their respective teams.

Friday’s event was in Santa Monica in the ballroom of the Loews Hotel, and there was a head-to-head Madden tournament featuring four first-round battles:

JaMarcus Russell vs. Michael Bush
Paul Williams vs. Kenny Irons
Ted Ginn vs. Antonio Pittman
Dwyane Jarrett vs. Marshawn Lynch

I hung out by Russell vs. Bush for most of the first round, as I was working on a Russell feature for the magazine. He was loose as a goose. He took time to answer his cell phone two or three times during the game, and though he and Bush rarely spoke, he spoke highly of his new teammate. Everyone I talked to couldn’t believe how big Russell was, and as someone who is 6-foot-5, it is rare that I look up to someone eye to eye. Russell is a monster in person.

Irons is a trip. He’s a talker, no doubt about it, and he was crowing all weekend. Williams, who won the tournament, beating Bush on a last-second field goal in the Madden finals, is also a talker. One of the knocks on him coming out of the draft evaluation process was that he lacked confidence; that surely wasn’t evident when it came to gaming.

Most of the media that attended the event Friday were from radio and TV outlets, including G4 — the gamer cable network. It was a first-class affair and fun for the most part, though a lot of the players who were not involved in the games bugged out early.

Saturday was gray and overcast during the morning as the first group of players — Anthony Gonzalez, Greg Olsen and Smith among them — stretched and got ready to shoot their parts. They rotated the players between several stations: shooting still shots around the Coliseum, doing action shots, signing tons of autographs, and when time permitted, taking time to do a few interviews.

Time permitted. The access to the players was fantastic, and most of them were willing to talk about all things football.

Brian Leonard is excited to be in St. Louis, where the coaching staff has played him exclusively at running back, not fullback, so far. He thinks he can be a perfect complement to Steven Jackson and chip in on special teams. Leonard thinks he’ll rent a place his first year with the Rams and buy a condo back home in New Jersey, where he maintains a close relationship with his brother. “After four years, my contract is up,” Leonard said. “Who knows? My football career might be over. I want to establish my roots and prepare for life after football.”

My guess is that he’s going to be quite successful — during and after his playing days.John Beck is a very engaging young man who seems quite confident. He was excited to talk about new coach Cam Cameron and didn't appear to be in a rush to need a starting spot. “I just want to learn things as quickly as I can,” Beck said. “I think the opportunity will present itself if I can learn the offense and show what I can do.” He and his family — his wife and five-week-old child — are currently on the market for a house and hope to find a place soon.Bush isn’t sure if the DVD he sent around to teams helped or not. “I mean, I slid to Round Four,” he said. “But everything happens for a reason, and I am glad to be a Raider.” What else is he supposed to say? He seemed disappointed he wasn’t drafted in Round Two or Three, but he put on a relatively good face. He said this weekend was the first time he has been able to “kick back” in some time.

Like the team’s first-rounder, Aaron Ross, WR Steve Smith was surprised to be a Giant. “I had no idea they were interested in me,” Smith said. “But it’s a good situation. I see what Plaxico (Burress) has done; I see what Amani (Toomer) has done. I know they want to establish that No. 3 (WR) spot. So I know I can get a chance if I go to work and show the team what I can do.” Smith already has made an impression on coach Tom Coughlin, who said Smith caught the ball softly — there was no “poof” when it hit his hands — in the last minicamp. But Smith said impressing a coach in a May workout and proving himself in training camp are “two totally different things.”

There were a ton of other interesting nuggets to share, and I will get them to you sometime on Monday — I had to write this in the airport and on the airplane because of some internet restrictions and limitations in L.A. Long story. Tell you later …

I recently tried to get a friend of mine into the online mode of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. His answer was eye-opening…

“I have no interest in a game that’s going to be like High School gym class all over again,” he said.

For him, playing competitively with strangers was bringing to videogames all the things he originally turned to videogames to escape from. People ganging up on you. People bullying you for no reason than to make themselves feel powerful, etc. This is what he imagined playing online is like.

I tried to explain to him that it’s different if you play with friends, but he just wasn’t interested. Although I am not much of an online gamer myself, I have been dabbling in MGS3S’s multiplayer mode. I find it generally fun, but something happened tonight that helped me understand my friend’s attitude.

I was in a game, and one player seemed to be playing for no reason other than to abuse people. As Snake he refused to capture the microfilm, but rather just liked to see how many people he could kill by headshot. One time, when someone else was Snake, I sat down in a nook and drew my sniper rifle. He, playing a fellow soldier now, ran up and kicked me out of the way and took my place. As I was about to walk away, he shot me in the head. This really made me angry so I vowed to knock him out next time, just to express my frustration. I eventually found him, grabbed him, and threw him to the ground, a move that does no actual damage when done by a teammate–it merely is a humiliating animation. Literally two seconds later I was booted. He, it turns out, was the host.

I know much has been written about player behavior in online worlds, so I’m not here to suggest my above description is particularly enlightening. But it did remind me of why people such as my friend have no interest in online competitive play. The feelings I experienced in the aforementioned situation were uncannily like, well, High School gym class. I remember those sneering fuckers, kids who were so filled with hate that they exploited the magic circle of sports as an opportunity to humiliate others. I remember one time playing some kinda water basketball. I missed a basket because I wasn’t very good. One of the other kids on my team, who took winning VERY seriously, gave me a very nasty look. It was really frightening. It’s like he thought I was sub-human. If he could have made me disappear out of that pool, I’m sure he would have.

I felt a little bit of that unease tonight. After I got booted I put down the controller and tried to imagine what was motivating the host’s behavior. It was like he had started a game for no other reason than to satisfy his fetish for shooting people in the head. And by god, if you didn’t submit to the rules of his little world you would be taught to fear him… else you’d be silenced, instantly and permanently.

What kind of a mind needs that sort of stimulation? I really don’t know. But I understand why some players would want to have nothing to do with it. I also understand how, depending on your life experience, the potential pleasures of online play don’t seem worth reliving the worst era of your life.

I’ve featured chocobos based on Kevin Heckel’s design several times (post 1, post 2) here on TBB. But I also really like m20xr’s new design for a baby chocobo:

(Oh, and if you’ve been wondering why posts from me have been so few and far between lately, I’ve been playing Final Fantasy XII — 90 hours in now — and my hard drive crashed recently. The hard drive’s back, but I’m only about halfway through the game, based on the completion level in the monster and hunts list. I thought FFX and FFX-2 truly sucked, but FFXII may be the best FF game I’ve played since FFVII or FFIX. Who gives a flying rodent’s hindquarters about PS3 when the best PS2 game in years is available?!)
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Not a day goes by that I don’t consider a remake of one of my favorite movies. Whether it’s something as bad as Psycho or as benign and entertaining as Ocean’s 11, it seems like the subject of remakes, now more than ever before, comes up in daily conversation.

Call it an occupational hazard.
Disturbia, though, treads on thin ice with me. My favorite movie is Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. There are better films, but not too many, and there are probably even better Hitchcock films, but Rear Window has been my favorite film since my freshman year of college. From a technical standpoint, it’s so brilliant you don’t even notice. Hitch built an apartment complex on a soundstage and used one point of view - L.B. Jefferies looking through the window of his apartment - to devour the lives of his neighbors with his very hungry eyes. It’s a critique of movies as well as human nature. Hitch loved voyeurism: It’s in Rope, this film, Dial M for Murder, Vertigo and Psycho, and Rear Window is the best example.The good news for Disturbia is that it’s a worthy remake, a solid genre movie and a pretty terrific suspense thriller. Replace James Stewart with Shia LaBeouf and replace a broken hip with house arrest, and you’ve got the makings for Disturbia, which takes the spying at least one step further with our advanced technology.LaBeouf swears he sees something strange while spying on his neighbor (David Morse), and slowly builds a case for murder against him. And despite knowing what the story would be and bracing for the worst because it’s a remake of my favorite movie of all time, Disturbia has enough originality to keep you guessing. Maybe not about the totality of clues or what they equal, but about how we get there. LaBoeuf gives a performance loaded with lust for the girl next door (Sarah Roemer), compulsion and humor, while David Morse is at his absolute creepiest as a guy with something to hide.

10. The Cover

When you look at this cover, what kind of game do you imagine underneath it? Some sort of horror comedy romp, perhaps? Instead you get one of the most whacked-out D&D variants I have ever seen. In fact, I would go so far to say that this cover is so inappropriate as to somehow be a transcendentally perfect match for the insane contents.

9. Mystery Author

Look back up at that cover for a sec. Notice that it says “by Dragon’s Byte”. If somewhere in the text there’s a clue to the identity of this mysterious entity, I have yet to find it. My buddy Pat proposes that the game could be a group effort by an old BBS. Some Googling turned up a Dragon’s Byte BBS in Salinas, California run by some dude named Ric Vittum and another such operation out of San Francisco adminned by a ‘WildCat’. There was Sheboygan ‘Dragon’s Byte’ BBS as well. Any readers remember any of these BBSes? UPDATE: James Mishler reports that none of these BBSes were the Field Guide’s authors.
8. Woeful IncompletenessStarting as early as Dave Hargrave’s excellent Arduin Grimoire the hobby has a tradition of trying to pass off D&D house rules as a complete RPG. But for a game that encompasses two 110 page volumes, the Field Guide has some pretty glaring holes. Nowadays you can maybe get away with publishing an RPG with no equipment list, but back in ‘82 that was a pretty big deal. And I’m baffled by the lack of any spells. The chargen section is chock full of strange spellcasting classes, but there’s no spells for them to cast! I cast nothing in particular at the darkness!This product was originally advertised as the Marvelous Mystic Missive of Mighty Meek and Magical Monsters, though it was never published under that name. I suspect that what started purely as a monster book (volume 2 is little more than 600 monster entries) was expanded at the last minute into a full-fledged RPG. Except someone along the way forgot that a complete game needed to be, well, complete.7. Play a Bear! Many of the nearly 200 insane PC races in Volume 1 of the Field Guide are drawn from various bodies of myth. One of those sources is the folklore of the Blackfoot tribe of Native Americans. Apparently their mythology ascribes humanlike intelligence to bears. So you can play an absolutely ordinary bear with a standard adventuring class like wizard or acupuncturist (see below). Here’s a hint: don’t choose a class that relies heavily on weapon or tool use.6. Random LevelsFor random NPC generation you roll d100,000. NPCs are first level only on a roll of 00001 to 00011. Rolling a 99,992 or higher gets you a 17th level NPC. Most NPCs are 4th level, because any roll of 27,282 to 63,642 gets you that result. I love this chart. I want to use it in other class and level games. Hell, I’m tempted to let my players roll on this chart for replacement PCs in my current 3.5 game.5. Kitchen Sink ClassesEvery good gonzo D&D variant has a wild assortment of nonsensical classes and Field Guide to Encounter is no different. Let’s just run down the list quickly: Acupuncturist, Amulet Maker, Astrologer, Bard, Cleric, Crimson Seeker (a psi warrior type), Demonist, Druid, Elemental Wizard, Fighter, Frost Wizard, Geo-Sage, Healer, Historian, Houri, Kabbalist, Magus, Martial Artist, Merchant, Necromancer, Ninja, Ronin, Sailor, Shadow Walker (psi thieves), Shifter, Smithie (elemental wizard/warrior hybrid), Thief, Tracker, [Animal] Trainer, Translator, Venefic (assassin), Warrior (a fighter who specializes in brute force even more than a regular fighter), White Wanderer (psionic/wizard hybrid). Whew!4. “Ints”Some games use a specific term to refer to all intelligent species. I like “peoples” or “folk” in fantasy games. Traveller uses “sophonts”, which sound cool. Field Guide to Encounters uses “Ints”, which is short for “intellgent species”. That term trips me up every time I encounter it.3. Manitou Combat”Manitou Combat is a form of mental combat where the souls of two people actually engage each other on a slightly higher plane. During the combat, the two combatants’ bodies remain rigid and neither will move until the battle is over.”In my mind’s eye this plays out the way Professor X sometimes throws down with fellow psychics. Astral bodies, invisible to others, conjure up ectoplasmic weapons and armor and knock each other around. The absolute coolest thing about Manitou Combat, apart from the name, is that anybody can be taught to use this exotic fighting method. Two Historians arguing over 3rd century doily design could take their argument to the astral plane.2. Mandatory ApotheosisTwo classics in the field of gonzo gaming, SenZar and World of Synnibarr, make achieving godhood one of the major goals of play. At least one PC achieved demigod status in Hargave’s original Arduin campaign. All of these games (and the less gonzo but still awesome Mentzer version of D&D) make becoming a god an epic adventure, possibly the most difficult adventure of your PC’s career.Field Guide to Encounters, on the other hand, posits godhood as a natural consequence of standard D&D type play. When you achieve 20th level your are summoned by the gods and offered a position in their ranks. PCs not wanting to become gods must talk their way out of the honor. Why would you want to do that? Because the influx of deific energies kills 95% of new recruits. The survivors may then pick out their own sphere of influence and join the ranks of the gods. The text notes that the gods settled on this form of conscription as a way of replenishing their ranks. It seems that high level adventurers would eventually make their kind extinct otherwise.The only other game I know that does forces godhood upon successful PCs is Lords of Creation. LoC doesn’t use the term ‘god’, but the whole PC advancement system is basically a low burn to deific power. Field Guide is much more abrupt and jarring. One day you’re a 19th level Translator and a few xp later you’re either dead or a newly minted god.1. Killer BreakfastField Guide to Encounters has one of the greatest/craziest monster sections in RPG history, ranking right up there with World of Synnibarr and Element Masters. The lion’s share of volume 2 is dedicated to the monsters, at eight critters to a page for 76 pages! Each one gets its own little illo, too. Many of these creatures are standard fantasy fare, most of which are attributed to various mythologies or fantasy novels.But a not insignificant fraction of the included monsters are just plain crazy-go-nuts. There’s the “Car-Rot”, a golem carrot that will stab you with it’s pointy end and inflict a rotting disease. And 2 meter tall living cigarettes that do d8 damage by blowing puffs of smoke at you. And giant coffee cups that burn their victims by pouring out their contents. Then there are the Tinkles, a class of monster that generally looks like a Tribble with little eyes. They come in a bewildering number of equally crazy variants. The Shoo Monster is a harmless relative of the Intellect Devourer. It has no attacks and leaves whenever someone says “shoo!” to it. And then there’s the Toast. Imagine a piece of toast 2 meters tall, with arms, feet, and a little face. Burnt Toast is given its own listing. It’s AC is better than regular toast.

Martinglass on the Judge’s Guild message boards rightly asks “Do people WANT to see Conan fight breakfast foods armed with tridents?” Now, I wouldn’t want to read a Robert E. Howard story where something this stupid goes down. But in a roleplaying adventure? Hell yeah!