My office walls are lined with reproduction GI Joes. I use reproductions because, while I am a fan and collector, I'm also a cheapskate. Some vintage GI Joes cost as much as a small car. Luckily, while most of the world wasn't paying attention for the past decade, Hasbro has quietly cranked out a series of high-quality reproductions that are remarkably close to the original GI Joe from the classic era.
All of which left me with an empty wall in my office. Happily, the Official G.I. Joe Collector's Club has stepped up, and plans to finish GI Joe's 40th Anniversary celebration. In the interest of full disclosure, I do write extensively for the G.I. Joe Collector's Club, but the main reason for that is because they do cool projects like this. Of the eight remaining sets, the first two can be ordered now. They're not cheap, as far as toys go: a set of both will cost you $116 plus shipping ($84 plus shipping, if you're a member), but these are limited to 1,000 pieces each, and it's the only way to 
complete the 40th Anniversary series. Plus, buying vintage examples of these figures and accessories would cost you thousands of dollars. So $58 each is a bargain. These sets sold so well locally that I figured it would be a good idea to alert collectors to the existence of these new editions.
Imagine my surprise the other day when I was walking around downtown Charleston and spotted a Vespa Scooter parked in the Brawley Walkway, across from Taylor Books!Luckily I had my camera with me, so you get to see this coolness, too. You know, with the camera, I was tempted to jump on the scooter and take off in search of Gina Lollabrigida in some Fellini-esque papparazzi fantasy. Sanity prevailed, and I just took a shot of the scooter.
The latest trend that's threatening to make the leap from geek-culture (my home base) into the mainstream is something called the "Constructible Strategy Game" or "CSG." This is basically a hybrid of role-playing games (think "Dungeons and Dragons"), collectible card games (think "Pokemon" or "Yu-Gi-Oh") and good old-fashioned model kit building. The "CSG" that blazed the trail for the phenomenon is called "Pirates Of The Spanish Main". Made by Wiz Kids, the folks behind the popular MechWarrior and HeroClix games, and introduced just a year-and-a-half ago, this game is a work of pure genius.
you accumulate more cards, you can expand the game, build fleets and play with more complex rules. The kicker here is that the cards are plastic, and you punch out pieces that you assemble into tiny pirate ships. You actually play on a table top, using the assembled ships as playing pieces. It's like a 'build-it-yourself" version of "Risk" or "Stratego." Building these things can be addictive. I'm hooked, and I have yet to even try to actually play the game. I just love assembling the little ships. They look really cool when put together, and if you're cramped for space, they can be disassembled and put back into the cards.
delivers just enough to keep the die-hard fans of Tom McGee happy, but not enough to attract other viewers. Here's a list of things that they need to fix if they want to compete with the other area newscasts:
Introductions are in order: The stylistic choice of having the reporters introduce their own stories is a mess. There isn't enough room in the studio for them, so they have to stand outside, "on location, live in Charleston," which is obviously just as far as the cables will reach outside of their West Side studio. And there's no lighting out there. Half the time, the reporters miss their cues. And their microphones pick up other radio frequencies, so we hear police calls in the background. All this does is make the newscast look shoddy and waste air time. We can see the same buildings and roads in the background every day. At least build a newsroom set that you can cut to instead of doing these bad "remote" bits. If you can't just have the anchors introduce the report, at least let those poor reporters stand inside the building.
If you don't have teleprompters, buy some: If you do have them, start using them properly. I've overheard people in grocery stores commenting on how bad it looks.
As mentioned in yesterday's rant, I've been spending a lot of time in downtown Charleston lately, and it's distressing how much horrid tobacco smoke is spewed into the air by the hapless addicts who wander our streets.
The recent burst of irrational exuberance over the proposed riverfront redevelopment plan put forth by Sasaki Associates seems a bit familiar to me. It reminds me of the classic episode of The Simpsons, where a slick out-of-towner convinces the citizens of Springfield that, in order to revitalize their city, they need a Monorail. I find it hard to believe that, in a city where a "user fee" had to be imposed to meet the basic needs of the police department and do street repair, people can seriously consider pouring millions of dollars into enhancing the riverbank. This riverbank is a place that the people of Charleston have spent decades demonstrating that they are not willing to even cross the street to visit.
Boulevard, temporary barriers be erected to reduce it to two lanes, to see if that idea is feasible. This should be done during the upcoming Legislative Session. If it doesn't hurt the traffic flow, then, and only then, should reducing the size of the Boulevard be considered. For some reason, this very, very logical idea has gained no traction with the city planners. I can't understand why. Everyone involved with this project admits that it will take years, possibly decades, to bring it to fruition. Why rush into the most drastic part of the plan without patiently going to the effort to test the basic premise--that Kanawha Boulevard is unnecessary, and that the citizens of Charleston are going to flock to the riverfront and make it the coolest place on Earth and a viable revenue stream for the city.
