This review is brought to you by my good friend and colleague Robyn!!!
Much like Sophie, I’m drawn to pretty label art, and this one had an elf on it, so it caught my eye. It was also stamped at having been bottled on my birthday, which I thought was auspicious.
The beer is a nutty brown, very light on foam of any sort. It has a sweet, almost banana-like smell to it, which makes sense, since it says right on the label that it is supposed to taste like chocolate and banana (SPOILERS!).
I was bracing myself for a strong or bold flavour, but the Elfe is gentle, a very soft beer compared to a lot of what I have been drinking lately. There is a strong hazelnut flavour, and notes of banana and chocolate, though faint (and mostly as an after-taste) without being cloying or overly sweet.
It reminded me of really good home-brewed beer, honestly. I mostly like white and wheat beers, and wasn’t sure what to expect out of a brown. This was nice, gentle, and very drinkable. I would definitely get more of the Elfe.
***
All beers featured in this review are purchased at L`Épicerie Moderne, situated at 5854 Sherbrooke West, Montreal (NDG!)
Where the adventuring party follows a magic treasure map at the behest of young Jim Clocks, a pirate.
If this is your first time checking out our little D&D Adventure Blog, you might want to check out this post that explains the setup and format of the game. As always, I’m in black and Jon’s in blue. Our last adventure was “The Fancy Party“. You can check out all “Big Fish” content on this nifty landing page.
At the end of the terrible trouble a few adventures back, my character pocketed a magical treasure map. It would be the focus for the adventure that Jon was catering to my character. This session would be the first time for my character in the “starring” role and I thought that going with something treasure map related would be sticking to the piratey roots of the concept.↓ Read the rest of this entry…
This Giant Papier Mache Boulder is Actually Really Heavy asks the question:
What ever happened to the good old days of sci-fi — when spaceships were real models, monsters were made of latex, and laser guns were just curling irons painted silver?
And the answer is a fun romp through science-fiction, camp and b-movie films.
Or is it?
Here’s the synopsis from their site:
For three ordinary guys Tom, Jeffrey and Gavin, this just became a reality. One minute they were watching an old b-grade movie, the next they’ve been thrust inside the movie itself and at the helm of a rickety old spaceship. Panic ridden they stumble into a space battle. and make a mortal enemy of the evil Lord Froth while unwittingly saving the space princess Lady Emmanor. Then suddenly Jeffrey starts to change into a sci-fi character called Kasimir. They must adapt quickly if they are to survive long enough to find a way home. For all they know they could be next. If that happens they will be lost in this world forever. They embark on a quest to find a cure for Jeffrey and a way back home. This is an action-packed comedy adventure of giant lizards, space battles, robots, aliens, warlords and amazons that has to be seen to be believed.
All of this is true. This Giant Papier Mache Boulder is Actually Really Heavy delivers on its promise of a tongue-in-cheek look back at the drive-in campy classics and, on the surface, pokes fun at the tropes and delivers a resolution that fits in with the plot. The acting is not terrible, as the cast is asked to swing from the real-world to the over the top genre-speak of bad-sci-fi.
That being said, This Giant Papier Mache Boulder is Actually Really Heavy is a deeply flawed movie. I don’t mean the production values, as many of the sets, props and costumes are bad “on purpose”. (Though I would have cheered if someone from hair and makeup would have brushed Christian Nicolson’s hair out of his face.) The writing is flawed.
Spoilers ahead, as some plot points will need a deeper examination to explain my disdain for them.
Every woman in the film appears as a sexual conquest to be won or a reward for the male heroes’ development. Every single one.
It would have been one thing is this only happened inside the Oz-like world of Space Warriors in Space, the b-movie they’re sucked into. But this also happens to the women in the “real world”. They’re leered at on the convention floor. Both Gavin and Tom make comments about the cosplayers dressed as Amazons. Getting with Emma is the main plot for Tom, even if he is distracted by the actual Amazons who capture him and threaten him with either torture or pleasure.
It was gross and turned me on the protagonists, who act in this way without any ramifications or development, and the women in the film achieve nothing more than gifting themselves to the men once the guys achieve a certain level of confidence. Tom wins Emma! Yay.
There are also a series of gay jokes peppered through the movie. From an awkward fall where one guy lands on another guys’ back (lolz i guess?) to the entire character of Bruce, played by Jarred Tito, is a dated, inappropriate prancing fop whose over-exaggerated gay stereotypes are played for laughs and the result is cringy-er than it sounds.
As well, and this is admittedly a smaller deal, but for some reason this movie sees fit to mock sci-fi and genre fans at every chance it gets. Everyone at the convention is a poorly costumed mega-nerd lacking in any social skills. Jeffrey is treated as pitiable because of his fandom, and Gavin is deeply ashamed of his. Tom points out that he doesn’t care for sci-fi several times, and it is this character trait that of course makes him the hero of the piece, as on fans are affected by the mind-altering powers of the world they’re in.
Who is this movie for? People who want to win women, think gay guys are funny, and laugh at nerds?
I was into this movie when I was watching it, but once everything was over and the credits were rolling, I was left feeling like I’d eaten too much Burger King. Sure, it was okay going down, but now it’s just sitting there like lead.
Bought it because I really do want to do Christmas beers this month, and I have no distractions this week. And this will be my first LTM beer!
Nice earthy red color, fairly clear, some cloudiness. Nice amount of foam poured out, ivory white, which dissipated into a thin film after a few minutes.
I got distracted looking at lipstick colours and this thing has been sitting under my nose, let me tell you it smells delicious. It smells like mince pie and and spices, as well as something pleasantly sweet and earthy. The label says: gingerbread, candied fruits, balsam fir, vanilla, oak.
I had to google balsam fir… apparently it`s a coniferous tree 🙂
Okay let`s give this bad boy a try.
Wow this just fucking punched me in the face. Ooooooh wow this is like, fermented fruit, and christmas cake and everything simmered into a syrupy concoction of intense.
5 minutes later and a few sips more… ok so it`s less intense now. I think maybe I just shouldn`t have had taco sticks right before trying it. Rookie mistake, ok, ok.
Yeah so it still tastes like what I said, but waayyyy scaled down. It is pretty damned sweet though. Definitely something I`d have instead of dessert. This is like the Port Wine of beers hahaha
Ok I like it, but I don`t think I could have a whole 750ml bottle to myself. Maybe split with a friend, with some bitter chocolate to balance it out. And a warm fireplace. Yeesss…
This thing is effin` strong. 10.5%, so no chugging contest with this one. Sip slowly.
On the more expensive side, but it is a larger bottler, and hella strong, and super special seasonal. So reasonable with all these things considered.
Interesting blend.
***
All beers featured in this review are purchased at L`Épicerie Moderne, situated at 5854 Sherbrooke West, Montreal (NDG!)
Bought it because, well, I do love my Scotch Ales, and I love this brewery, so how could I not. I was gonna do only Christmas beers for December, but… I am a slave to my heart.
This is a beautiful near-opaque rusty brown. Tiny bit of beige foam poured out on top of it and dissipated almost entirely after a few minutes.
This smells different for a Scotch Ale. I normally expect them to immediately release this bouquet of thick sweet honey, but this is more subtle. And a tiny bit fruity.
Ah okay, the label says plum and candied fruits hahah there you go. Also mentions malt and toffee. Let`s have a taste then.
Holy shit that is nice. This has a nice thick bitterness I associate with a stout almost, swirled together with the Scotch sweetness. The bitterness lingers in the aftertaste, so you`re not overwhelmed with only sweet notes. Interesting mix. Now I wish I had some nice aged cheddar to nibble on while I drink this hahaha! Definitely a sipping beer though.
It`s got quite a kick, as most Wee Heavy ales do, sitting at 8.7%.
I Love it! Much like a Scotsman, it is sweet but deep down all dark and bitter 😀
***
All beers featured in this review are purchased at L`Épicerie Moderne, situated at 5854 Sherbrooke West, Montreal (NDG!)
Here it is! The first “official” Adventure Blog from Jon’s new D&D campaign! Unfortunately we missed the first few sessions since we didn’t think about doing this until a few weeks ago. Get to know the setting and characters in our Prologue. You can also check out our mini-adventure it Tragidore here. You can check out all “Big Fish” content on this nifty landing page.
In this week’s adventure: Our resident Lizardfolk Monk, Jaxo, decided that his adventure would be “that time we stumbled into a room we shouldn’t have at a fancy party.” That was my suggestion for an adventure! We should have a little bonus if our pitch gets selected. That would be a fun incentive.
That’s a great idea. Maybe they start with inspiration? That’s pretty appropriate. We’ll start that in phase 2. Remind me.
I’ve kind of decided to try and pitch adventures where combat isn’t evident. I’m sure Jon will probably work combat in most of the time since it’s D&D and people love them some combat. I think it’s fun for the starting point to not inherently resolve with a fight. Last game I suggested “that time we played baseball in the rain.” I realized as I made that suggestion that it was a scene in a Twilight movie. The shame.
What we ended up with was being trapped in a pocket dimension by Ice King Glacius Rex. The pocket dimension had us being bodyguards for a Dwarven princess at a fancy party and time seemed to reset every 30 minutes. Like Groundhog Day. But every 30 minutes instead of 24 hours.
Was this your first fancy party idea? Anything on the cutting room floor worth mentioning?
I stole every bit of this. A couple of games had party type scenarios like Dragon Age or FF6, there’s some fundamentals there. I think the 2nd edition Strahd module (Root Of Evil) had a time reset party scene. They’re usually slow affairs with lots of descriptions of NPCs and long discussions. That’s good RP, but I felt like things hadn’t been madcap enough in the game. When it came to me it kind of fell together… who doesn’twant to play a Groundhog Day D&D session?
So the adventurers are basically serving a bratty self-important Dwarf princess and our main goal at the outset was to make sure that the party she is throwing goes off without a hitch.
Our Lizardman Jaxo is the star of the show and after consulting with another awkward Lizardbro attending the party decides that the Dwarf princess could be of assistance with curing his people of the genophage that is killing off the Lizardfolk.
So he’s like “Ok, I will convince her.” Convincing her for some money becomes his main priority for the rest of the adventure. My happy-go-lucky pirate character promptly tries to pocket some silverware since it’s made of fancy silver.↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Bought it because the Season is upon us, and I love brown ales, and the label was all artsy and pretty.
This is a nice rusty brown colour, slightly cloudy. It had a creamy beige foam when I poured it, but it`s pretty much gone now.
This smells so goddamn yummy. It smells like candied oranges and I cheated ad looked at the label, because I couldn’t put my finger on the other thing I was smelling, but it’s licorice. I hate licorice, but this just smells amazing.
Oh what the hell is this. New experience! OMG. This is an explosion of so many things I can’t wrap my head around it. Whaaaat. I can taste the licorice, but it’s not bothering me. It mostly lingers in the aftertaste. The label says it has some cardamon, smoked peppers and a touch of caramel, but seriously I cannot for the life of me tell them apart.
All I know is that this tastes awesome. And yes, definitely Christmassy. Super tasty, and not tooth-rotting sweet, but sweet enough that I wouldn`t drink this with dessert.
Not super pricey for the size and alcohol content. A good deal!
***
All beers featured in this review are purchased at L`Épicerie Moderne, situated at 5854 Sherbrooke West, Montreal (NDG!)
Bought it because I tried this brewery like 8 years ago or so, when they were still fairly small, and I really disliked it. Evidently they have grown and I think it`s time I get over it and give them another try.
A side-quest where a small contingent of our beloved heroes tackle probably the most critically panned module from D&D past: The Terrible Trouble in Tragidore.
Years ago, Jono ran the Drunken Step-Dad of all D&D Modules “The Tomb of Horrors” for us (and you can read the epic 4 part retelling of that particular adventure here) and it was great. The old school, seemingly off the cuff vibe of it was a delight.
While I do have a pen and paper pedigree (today’s theme is alliteration), my time with D&D in any form has been limited to the past few years. That means that there are all these great little pieces of in-game and out of game lore that I know nothing about.
I don’t know the pantheon of The Forgotten Realms, I don’t know about the Lords of Waterdeep or the comings and goings of Baldur’s Gate. Hell, throughout most of my life I didn’t even know what a Beholder was.
Also though, I know nothing about the out of game history. I don’t know what THAC0 really means (it’s like Armor Class or something). I don’t know about the classic modules or why they’re so beloved (or in this case, disliked). I know that the “Expedition to the Barrier Peaks” is batshit sci-fi insanity-meets fantasy but I’ve never gotten a chance to play it.
To Hit Armor Class 0. Your THAC0 started at 20. Naked AC was 10, and best AC is -10. So a level 5 fighter with a THAC0 of 16 needs a 10 to hit AC 6. Easy as fuckin pie. It was changed in 3rd edition, though how it stuck around in 2nd baffles me to this day. In 2nd edition saving throws went down as they got better as well. One of the design decisions they made for the 3rd edition release was “if a number goes up on your character sheet it should be a good thing”. Why would anyone care about all this? You should probably edit this out.
Nope, going to leave it in. I don’t know, maybe because stats going up is a lot easier to get your head around? Wait a second, in old editions did some stats go up while others went down as you leveled? That’s super weird.
Yep.
Anyways, when we don’t have at least 4 players available for a session, Jono has decided to run some classic modules for us. And this brings me great joy. It’s like getting to see some of the history of the game.
This is going to be one of those blogs where I ramble on and on to myself and try to stay motivated. Will it work? Find out by reading all of it.
Sarah and I have had a kind of recurring conversation about looking back at our time together and nostalgia in general. I think looking back is only natural as the year winds down. I even keep a little list of cool stuff that’s happened over the year to take a look at as the new year approaches. I don’t like being “stuck in the past” but I like kind of going over the things that made me happy in the past. I think there’s kind of a proactive way of doing it, one where you avoid getting bogged down in just reliving former glories.
If you take stock of the good times, the things that you found were rewarding, you might be able to focus your efforts into pursuing similar things in the future. At least, that’s the theory.
It seems that as I work my way into my mid-30s I am more and more likely to get trapped in that mindset of “things were better when…” You know, when everything seemed simpler? When there were always a friends hanging out to meet up with? When there weren’t so many bills to pay? When we all got together to watch a movie because there was only one copy of it on tape in the whole city?
Life used to be like a loose bag of Legos. You could put it together any way that you wanted to. It always seemed like it would be easy to just quickly pull it apart and make something new if you didn’t like what was happening. But now it’s this complicated Lego tower and changing any of those blocks way down at the bottom seems nearly impossible.
So maybe it’s not the end of the world to take a look at your Lego tower and relive the parts that you’re happy with? There’s still a lot of tower to build. Maybe it’ll be easier if you focus on building up the good parts. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Where the adventuring party follows a magic treasure map at the behest of young Jim Clocks, a pirate.
A side-quest where a small contingent of our beloved heroes tackle probably the most critically panned module from D&D past: The Terrible Trouble in Tragidore.
