THE SIMPSONS NEWS
Okay so, it turns out that I got laid off the Simpsons show but I’m still not out of a job just yet. Wednesday, the day after I got laid off, I went back to work because I got put on the Simpsons’ Universal Studios Ride. As it happens, the Simpsons’ writers have discovered that the ride is something that they can actually write for because it’s not a movie or a t.v. show. This means that all the writers have set their eyes on the ride and have begun re-writing the heck out it, seemingly, just because it gives them something to do. Everyone that was working on the ride until now was having a hard time of it but it was getting done and it was going to meet it’s deadline. Not anymore. Now, because of all the re-writes, it’s in huge trouble. How much trouble? I wasn’t even laid off yet, nor was I done with my work, when they called me and asked me to pick up ride stuff so I could start working on it as soon as I was done with the show. On the one hand this is good because it gives me a little more work to do. On the other hand, it’s only for about two more weeks and it’s been as chaotic and stressful as working on the Simpsons movie. If a fact, I feel like I’m on the movie all over again. Speaking of the movie, The Simpsons Movie DVD is out now. (See how I did that?)

Meanwhile the scenes I worked on for Lance’s crew were just insane. I hadn’t worked on so many complicated scenes in a row EVER. They were driving me crazy. They were just so hard. I’m really tired. I need a break. I’m almost looking forward to being laid off…almost.

MY WEEK
So, there is nothing worse then Internet trouble. Our Internet connection wasn’t working for a couple of days this week. We got it fixed but our router isn’t working right now and switching computers is a big pain. Mostly because every time we switch computers, the modem stops working. We have to unplug the modem for a minute and make sure the computer is turned off for it to work with the new computer we plug it up to. At least it’s better than not having Internet at all.

FAMILY
I would like to say a big Happy Birthday to my niece Carolinita. She celebrated her birthday this weekend with a fun little party. My baby girl had a really good time at the party. We ended up having to leave a little early (even though I didn’t really want to) because we needed to see a sick friend (it took us two and a half hours to get to our sick friend’s place that day. That really stunk). I got Carolinita Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers. I own regular Carcassonne and it’s a big hit. It’s a simple game where you score points by laying down little tiles that, by end of the game, makes up a big map of Carcassonne that you created yourself and is different every time you play. I got her Hunters and Gatherers instead of regular Carcassonne because I’ve been hearing, a lot lately, that Hunters and Gatherers is a better game. I also heard it’s an even easier game to understand. I hope she likes it. She’s really into Cranium games right now and may not be too into anything else. Especially since the last present I got her was Hey! That’s My Fish!, which I think intimidated her because of it’s abstract, tactical nature. Luckily, even though Carcassonne can be played very competitively, you can’t really tell when you first start playing it and therefore it’s easier and much more fun to get into.

PODCAST
So I was listening to the Rosary Army Podcast #199 and Greg was talking about comics and video games and I just couldn’t help myself, I went on their forums and started a Comics and Games folder. I’ve been writing in that thing all week. For a while, there were only a handful of posts in it that weren’t mine. I was just having a conversation with myself most of the time hogging up the folder. I guess I just like to read my own writing. I must have the biggest ego ever. Pretty pathetic. At least I’ve discovered that there are other people, who listen to Rosary Army out there that play some of the board games that I write about. Also, the people that have written about the comics they read, have made me want to pick those specific comics up (which is bad because I can’t afford to). In any case, little by little other people are making comments in the folder. Hope it keeps up. Don’t want the folder to become my next blog.

Meanwhile Rosary Army podcast #200 is just NUTS! It’s a musical. They did a really great job with it. Go check it out.

Congratulations on 200 episodes guy!

BOARD GAMES
Just thought I’d throw this out there in case you wanted a twenty minute modern board game 101 class. I got this from Board games with Scott. Enjoy:

ANSWERING COMMENTS

Mike wrote:

Sorry to hear you are without income soon Luis. That’s not something that could easily happen here, as you probably know we live in a ‘welfare state’ and are pretty well protected against things like these. Trust me, it has its downsides as well. Of course if you are self employed like I am, then you just have to make sure you have money in the bank to cover for lesser times. Being without (enough) money has its upsides though: when it returns, you appreciate it a lot more 🙂 Board games are easily to get here. We have this Dutch factory called Jumbo that no doubt is part of the reason for the popularity of board games. Cultural heritage must be another one. It’s just fun to do something that involves the whole family, whether you’re 7 or 77.

I agree that being without money helps you appreciate it a lot more once you have some again. Another thing it helps you do is prioritize what’s important and what’s not. Also, it helps you enjoy the good things you already have instead of looking around for the next big thing. Personally, all I really need is enough money for the mortgage, the bills, and food. My wife and I have been talking and planning about this and we’ve actually discovered that we might be able to get by with enough money for this stuff without losing too much from our savings for a few months. Hopefully the strike won’t last that long.

Your board game cultural heritage is has been getting “exported” to the U.S. since Settlers of Catan came over here. European board games have a different flavor to the traditional U.S. Games. 90% of the board games I own are translated European games. The European games have become so popular that there are many new American games that have begun adopting their game mechanics. There is even a new Monopoly game that has done this called Monopoly – Tropical Tycoon DVD Game. Tom Vasel from The Dice Tower podcast (one of the best board game podcasts out there and I highly recommend it) thinks that it’s the best Monopoly game out there.

My sister Elsie wrote:

Hi my brother! I heard about the Christmas decorating little get together. Bummed I wasn’t there 🙁 So happy that the Munchkin is feeling better. Goodness me! It took her forever to get her little teeth, I guess they waited to come out until her head and body could kinda catch up with the enormity of her teeth 😉 I so looooove the pics! especially the booger one. Boogers have never looked so good, tee hee. Oh, and those hidden ornaments…*sigh* poor little guys, they are now officially affected for life. I hope that the writer’s strike clears up sooner than later. I hope that everyone gets what they deserve. What an terrible time to be left jobless! I’m just starting my new job and I haven’t worked for 3 weeks, and won’t really get paid until next year, so I kinda know….it totally sucks! I know that it will be hard to keep up your blog, with all the different transitions and the like but hey, I’m sure we all would love to hear what’s up with you 😉 I love you!!!! your sister li.

We really missed you at the party Li, but of course Juan and Deborah didn’t make it either so you shouldn’t feel too sad.

As far as everyone getting what they deserve from the writer’s strike…to quote Shakespeare in my favorite play, Hamlet:

“God’s bodykins, man, much better. Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping?”

I’m very happy about you new job. I wish you all the best with it and I hope you enjoy it very much.

Even after I get laid off I will still continue to blog. I’m just going to have to come up with a special time to do it. Hopefully I can get my scanner to work, but if I can’t I’ll think of something.

I love you and I miss you.

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