I redid the template for the site over the weekend. It took longer than I thought and IE is still not quite right. I should be able to get it fixed this weekend.
I unabashedly stole the template from this guy. At least I can say that the site looks better now. 
I’ve never seen it put so well. I can’t agree more. This is how I like to DM. However, I must admit that I don’t do it every session, or the players would start taking it for granted. Also, I like to spread the awesome around as much as possible, though the opportunities don’t necessarily present themselves round-robin.
Case in point. Two sessions ago my son’s character died. He’s a shifter druid who, according to his self described background, carries an amulet that’s the only memento of his lineage. On it, of course, is a symbol that he knows nothing about. So, he’s dead. Of course there are rituals in 4e that allow raising the dead, but this encounter was going toward TPK unfortunately. So, I chucked the history that I had for that amulet and him…
The next round, the amulet lights up Detroit and raises his body all Highlanderesque, burning a tattoo on his chest in the process of healing him. Of course, as in dramatic cue, he is the one who kills the giant goblin Irontooth. (Yes, we’re playing the H1: Keep on the Shadowfell.) The better part is that the tattoo burned on him has become a dragonmark. (Yes, we’re playing in Eberron.) Of course, shifters can’t have dragonmarks, but who cares? It’s fun for him and the party. I’ve done other things like this, such as the blink dog the party has as an animal companion. Then there’s the ongoing collection of spleens that our fighter has ruptured.
However, some of the best moments don’t come from over the top combat. We’ve had our fair share of interesting NPC actions too. I like to do accents, and that comes in handy when playing NPCs with the characters. There’s the rude priestess who scolded the party for bringing down the goblins (which in a way was true). Lord Padraig the fool garnered a good deal of laughs as well. And the comic descriptions of the blubberous mass of the NPC fighter I use to give the party extra muscle.
In short, I like to think I’ve awesome-upped most of my players. I really need to do something for Deisha though. I don’t think I’ve put her on the awesome-up list yet. I know what I want to do for her, but there’s still a few kinks to work out. It won’t be this adventure, for sure, unless the opportunity presents itself fortuitously .
Apple has the goods.
It looks pretty good. I must admit that Spock looks incredibly faithful to Leonard Nimoy. I’m looking forward to him bringing the smack down on Kirk (see the trailer).
Kirk is the unknown here. It seems like they’ve taken a simple pretty boy and made him Kirk. (At least he seems better than Hayden Christiansen as Anakin). I’ve never been a huge fan of Kirk’s, preferring Spock from the original series and I’ve always thought Picard was a better captain, so that he isn’t a faithful chameleon of William Shatner doesn’t bother me.
I like that Abrams has stuck with the look of the original series made modern. It’s kitschy, but even I, a not hardcore fan, can enjoy the homage.
My biggest disappointment: they moved the date from this December to May of next year. I really was looking forward to the holiday release 
.
One of the most original, and possibly the original, toys was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame.
I used sticks for all sorts of things, from raw materials in building forts to swords and laser rifles in pretend wars across the imagined multiverse. My grandparents (with whom I lived for several years) had a huge backyard with several trees, so we were never at a loss for space and sticks to use. Ah. Fond memories.
