Intrusive thoughts are fun.

Mail theft last night

Tales from Dragon Precinct

Humans and elves, dwarves and gnomes, wizards and warriors all live and do business in the thriving, overcrowded port city of Cliff’s End, to say nothing of the tourists and travelers who arrive by land and sea, passing through the metropolis on matters of business or pleasure-or on quests. The hard-working, under-appreciated officers of the Cliff’s End Castle Guard work day and night to maintain law and order as best they can. This volume brings together ten pieces of short fiction-some previously published, some brand-new for this book-featuring the Castle Guard: new cases for Lieutenants Torin ban Wyvald and Danthres Tresyllione to solve, as they deal with animated furniture, a hrancit demon, a closet spewing filth, a senile dragon, and more. Plus one of Lieutenant Iaian’s old cases comes back to haunt him, Lieutenants Dru and Hawk investigate a massacre committed by a vampire, the survivors of the heroic quest from Dragon Precinct return (and get into trouble), and the untold story of Danthres and Torin’s first case together is finally told! Ten adventures of the Cliff’s End Castle Guard!

Ten short stories from various sources, all revolving around the Castle Guard, a couple of them were previously featured in the previous books as “bonus stories”, so while that was unfortunate, I was perfectly happy with the new stories.

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“Upload Season 3” Review

Upload: Created by Greg Daniels. With Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson. A man is able to choose his own afterlife after his untimely death by having his consciousness uploaded into a virtual world. As he gets used to his new life and befriends his angel (real world handler), questions about his death arise.

Continues it’s pattern of being a sophisticated show that’s not taking it’s core concept serious enough for my tastes, but has just enough wit and humor to keep me coming back for more.

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“The Artifice Girl” Review

The Artifice Girl: Directed by Franklin Ritch. With Tatum Matthews, Lance Henriksen, Sinda Nichols, David Girard. A team of special agents discovers a revolutionary new computer program to bait and trap online predators. After teaming up with the program’s troubled developer, they soon find that the AI is rapidly advancing beyond its original purpose.

There’s only three sets in this entire movie and only 5 or 6 actors with the entire thing being a talking head exercise in discussing exactly what the computer program is and just how much it’s capable of in three different time periods. It may sound like a snooze fest, but I’m happy with what they actually covered, ranging from emotional accusations of possible time in prison to possibly releasing an AI onto an unsuspecting world and what could happen. It’s by no means a visually captivating movie, but it certainly kept my attention with the rapid style conversations.

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Mary Elizabeth Winstead

“The present with a future” USA, WW2.

VAN

STUDEBAKER

Donald Trump blocked from Maine presidential ballot in 2024

The decision increases pressure on the Supreme Court to rule on his eligibility to run for the presidency.

coffeeMagic

“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” Season 4 Review

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Created by Carlton Cuse, Graham Roland. With John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly, Abbie Cornish. Up-and-coming CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, is thrust into dangerous field assignments.

A delightfully small stakes but still entertaining season with great action, great acting, and a definite eating. It’s a shame they still haven’t figured out how to make their fake weapon shots look like more realistic, but that’s the current movie climate we find ourselves in.

A solid series that’s easily bingable.

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Gryphon Precinct

Cliff’s End is rocked by the death of Lord Albin. His son takes over and institutes changes in how the Castle Guard is run: enforced retirements of older guards

Pretty damn huge spoiler there for the previous book, but it is what it is, and what it is is a huge change in the dynamics of the world that the Castle Guard and their investigative forces. It’s a great wrench to throw into the story and leads to a perfectly enjoyable story that feels as fresh as the first book in the series.

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AVANTI

Mermaid Precinct

As Cliff’s End struggles to deal with a massive influx of refugees following a devastating fire in the neighboring city-state of Barlin, the docklands are rocked by a stunning tragedy: the legendary Pirate Queen has been murdered! Long the scourge of the Garamin Sea, the Pirate Queen’s death has ripple effects beyond Cliff’s End. Even as Lieutenants Danthres Tresyllione and Torin ban Wyvald investigate her murder, they find themselves embroiled in conspiracies, politics, and the arcane law of the sea–and of the land!

Yet more fantastic world building with an investigation into the death of a much beloved Pirate Queen, who despite the name, was one of the heroes of the Elven Wars and was responsible for saving many lives. The mystery is solved in a way that I wasn’t quite satisfied with, but there’s some obvious foreshadowing in the resolution that speaks to the future of the world that the Castle Guard exist in that DOES satisfy me greatly.

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“It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie” Review

It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie: Directed by Kirk R. Thatcher. With Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobson. ‘Twas the night before Christmas and the Muppet Theatre is in danger of being torn down, but with hilarious send-ups of just about every holiday movie ever made, the Muppets discover that what matters most is their love for each other.

I watched this before the Christmas holiday but totally forgot to mention it here on the site because of how crazy my schedule got. There’s some good humor here, some bad humor, and some stuff we’re just not going to ever talk about. There’s some pretty standard guest appearances that range from hilarious to mystifying, but I think this one can go into normal Christmas rotation.

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“Shatner in Space” Review

Shatner in Space: With William Shatner, Sarah Knights, Jeff Bezos, Chris Boshuizen. An inside look at the before, during, and after of William Shatner’s trip to space.

It’s a good look at a brief moment in an elderly man’s life, but it’s a fun look behind the curtains of Jeffbo’s utterly insane “space” program.

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Refit and returned to service in 2377, two years after the Dominion War, and remained in service until 2410.

BUS

Jennifer Love Hewitt

New Banksy art gets stolen less than an hour after it’s put up

Detroit, Michigan

Charlene Tilton, 1970s

Violet flower [1:2] [1080×2160] [AI]

Fractured Space by artist Mike Hill

Risk of penile fractures rises at Christmas, doctors find

Researchers suspect euphoria and intimacy of season may be behind spike in cases

Discussion Break by Halgand Joris

Sovereign-X Dreadnought by Pundus

COUGAR

BATMAN #145

Via

FORD

Rudy Giuliani Declares Himself Bankrupt

Rudy Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after being ordered to immediately begin paying two Georgia election workers $148 million in damages.

Doctor Who (2023) Poster

Yikes that’s not family friendly

DEEP SPACE WAIFU

CAMARO

“No Hard Feelings” Review

No Hard Feelings: Directed by Gene Stupnitsky. With Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick. On the brink of losing her home, Maddie finds an intriguing job listing: helicopter parents looking for someone to bring their introverted 19-year-old son out of his shell before college. She has one summer to make him a man or die trying.

Movies about people having sex with other people under false pretense have largely fallen out of favor with the general public, largely due to the implication that it’s actually a rape and if you lie to someone to have sex with them, there’s a level of evilness in you that’s unforgivable. I think in their sense of nostalgia for a movie formula that worked pretty well back in the 1980’s everyone lost sight of the conclusions of the current zeitgeist. The basic premise of the film is just that, she’s a 32 year old woman that’s being paid by the parents of a 19 year old that’s recently graduated from high school but has failed to have sex with an actual human being. There’s a couple scenes (including the entire first ‘mixer’ scene) that brush up against the honest truth that this type of thing is just fine and that the main character played by Jennifer Lawrence is wrong in nearly every aspect of her social stances. To be clear, I knew plenty of dudes that had limited sexual experience before they made it to college and they did just fine with the ladies (or other fellas) if that was what they wanted to do. A few of them straight up were uninterested in pursuing romantic interests, which is just fine. No one needed to be ‘fixed’ by having sex with a uber driver that’s nearly twice their age.

There’s some really funny or poignant scenes in the film, it’s a shame they’re encapsulated in such a problematic film.

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CRINGE

Argument over Christmas gifts turns deadly as 14-year-old kills sister: Authorities

Authorities say a Florida woman holding her 11-month-old son in a baby carrier was fatally shot by her 14-year-old brother while trying to defuse an argument over Christmas gifts he was having with their 15-year-old brother

NASH

ALAN SCOTT: THE GREEN LANTERN #6

Via

SHOULD BE IN HELL

DRAGSTER

Fitting In | Official U.S. Trailer

NO

TRUCK

MERCURY

Goofy’s Betrayal

Pam Grier and Peter Brown, 1970s

Elizabeth Olsen

PHEW