Aubrey and Angela Webber – The Doubleclicks – perform at Imperial Outpost Games/ManaWerx on Wednesday night

I’m not a fan of reading, and Jane Austen is one of my least favorite authors ever. What I am a fan of is ladies, and I was such a big fan of one of them that I asked her to marry me, and she agreed, and we did (I love Mrs. Blogadin!). So why is it that I was calling out, “Oh, oh, oh Mr. Darcy!” in harmony last night?

Because The Doubleclicks encouraged me to, and I, along with my wife and the entire audience, was eager to oblige.

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Chuck Artigue

Long time valley radio icon Chuck Artigue passed away on Friday, July 4th. He served as General Manager for KDKB, KUPD, KSLX, and KDUS until retiring in October of 2013. Prior to that he was also affiliated with KTAR and KPNX, and was inducted into the Arizona Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2007 along with Beth McDonald and Bob Lee.

Given that Chuck has been in charge of or associated with some of my favorite radio stations here in the valley since before I was even born, and seeing as how we’ll soon be producing a live show here, it seemed only fitting that we take a moment to acknowledge and mourn the passing of a local legend synonymous with the industry.

Vaya con Dios, Chuck.

Sarah Harrison of the Birmingham Salvo interviewed after winning the World Gaming Championship. Image by VideogameVisionary.com https://www.flickr.com/photos/vgvisionary/ Used under CC License 2.0

A couple days ago the inter-world caught wind of an e-Sports tournament in Finland sanctioned by the South Korean-based IeSF limiting registration to either males or females for specific games (apparently only Starcraft 2 was deemed fit for both sexes). Phil Savage at PCGamer.com brought the knowledge to us, which was then followed by an appropriately high amount of mind-’sploding, weeping, and gnashing of teeth within the gamer community.

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Happy Independence Day! Photo by Eric Beato https://www.flickr.com/photos/ericbeato/ Used with permission under CC License 2.0

Let’s face it – America’s got problems. Economic problems, workforce problems, education problems, immigration problems, healthcare problems…the list goes on. For all its problems and challenges, though, America is still a damn fine place to be. We all have the freedom to pursue our interests, worship, and speak out as we see fit. The sacrifices made hundreds of years ago and renewed every century since have afforded us the opportunities to go watch a Captain America flick or play a simulation of the Revolutionary War, or, if you so choose, to gather and scream at the powers that be about the things you believe need changed. As you go about your business this holiday, I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on the freedoms we have and how they were gained and retained over the years.

As a gamer, a nerd, a Marine, and an American, I wish each and every one of you a happy Independence Day!

To mark the both the origin of the nation and one of the founding fathers of modern gaming, one of my favorite artists and illustrators, Jon Kovalic, created a pictoral tribute to both and shared them via tweet. Go check it out…it’s brilliant!

It's a 4th of July 5th Edition DORK TOWER FRIDAY! New strip back at the mothership now! http://t.co/nZ5jArDznO Happy birthday, America!

— John Kovalic (@muskrat_john) July 4, 2014

Free Comic Book Day started back in 2002 and has slowly developed into a widely recognized event in the nerd world – on the first Saturday in May anyone can go to their local participating comic shop and pick up a free book or two. Free RPG Day, the comic version’s younger brother, is lesser-known but capitalizing on the “free day” concept in attempt to broaden the reach and appeal of role-playing games.

The event was held on Saturday, September 21st (it is not immediately clear whether or not the event is always the third Saturday in June), and Imperial Outpost Games served as the Valley’s only host for the Free RPG Day festivities. Imperial Outpost has long been a premier venue for role-playing, card, and wargaming needs, and to help mark the occasion IOG scheduled a number of RPG events with some of the region’s best dungeon masters. The doors opened at 10am to a number of waiting customers, and the flow of people steadily continued throughout the morning. Click through for images of the event.

UPDATE: Aldo Ghiozzi, owner of Impressions Game Distribution Services, reached out to me to confirm that Free RPG Day is indeed always the third Saturday of June.

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Image by Atom Smasher. http://atom.smasher.org/wof Used with permission under CC License 3.0. Text overlay added by Blogadin Enterprises, LLC

I’m a fairly discriminating gamer, which is to say Chutes and Ladders is not in my collection, and Uno only makes the cut out of nostalgia. When a game is nominated for an Origins Award AND recommended for a Spiel des Jahres Award it normally earns a space in my gaming closet without question, and particularly so if it wins one of the awards.

Unless that game is Love Letter. Then I roll my eyes, summarily dismiss it, and walk away.

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Image by Andrew Malone. https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewmalone/ Used under Creative Commons License. Text overlay added by Blogadin Enterprises, LLC.

E3 is like a coma-inducing overdose of sugar. You can give me hypothyroidism. You can tell me that Paul Goldschmidt committed an error that allowed a game- winning run. You can sink my battleship, my destroyer, my submarine…hell, you can sink my Millennium Falcon and super star destroyer…just don’t make me cover the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo!

ANYTHING but that!

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Phoenix Comicon 2014 is in the books, and I’m *way* overdue on getting these photos out to y’all. Go ahead and click through to see some of the more memorable cosplayers, booths, and panelists of the long weekend.

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Nathan Fillion at Phoenix Comicon

Nathan Fillion seems to be a love-him-or-hate-him kind of guy. Fortunately for him, it seems like most people love him. I can see why some might not – he seems to be constantly joking and horsing around, even going so far as to photobomb some of Bruce Campbell’s paid photo guests at Phoenix Comicon – but what those folks might not realize is that even while he’s doing that, he’s endearing himself to his fans, building his persona, and thus working. Isn’t that what stars are supposed to do?

The thing is, Fillion’s as genuine as they come so far as I can tell. I’ve seen stars choose to not show appreciation to their fans – Paltrow, I’m looking at you – but Fillion seemed to get it from the start, and that’s only part of why he’s essentially hit legendary status with the nerd crowd. Lead in a sci-fi role? Check. Voice actor of a major comic book character? Check. Makes parodies of his voice acting work with Tim Daly? Check. Lead role in a crime procedural with a unique premise on network TV? Check. Fortunately for us, his schedule was free to spend a some time with his throng of Phoenix fans, albeit a little blinder and doomed to be late forevermore (or until he picks up a new watch).

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Stephen Amell at Phoenix Comicon

Stephen Amell, the lead role in CW’s hit TV show Arrow, sat down with his fans at Phoenix Comicon to have a little Q&A with them. When he first walked out, Mrs. Blogadin didn’t recognize him. She claims it’s because he’s shorter than he looks on TV. While that’s true, I maintain it’s because he had his shirt on, and so frequently on the show – or on the cover of the same-named comic book – he doesn’t.

Frankly, if I had a chest and abs like him, I’d go without a shirt, too. Because damn.

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