2015-08-20 The Not-So-Stoned Age




G was somewhere else

3 Players: W, K, S
Game: Stone Age
Location: W
Choice: S

Game One:
S (217 pts), J (200 pts) & W (164 pts)

Final Tally:

• S was declared the winner

Notes:

• None

Music:
 

 Unknown

2014-08-13 That egyptian game that no one else picks

The Pharoah at game end: tired from a long day of sacrifice.

4 Players: W, J, G, S
Game:  Amun Re
Location: W
Choice: S

Game One:
G (47 pts), S (40 pts), J (31 pts) & W (26 pts)

Final Tally:
G was declared the winner

Wooly demonstrated the latest
improvements to the Woolyverse

Notes:

• Blue Skies 2016 planning has begun
• S & J missed K's setup
• Rest of notes unreadable

Music:

Grateful Dead - Dave’s Picks 2015 Bonus Disc

[Notes from Michael Doherty's Music Blog] This bonus disc contains music from two shows that month – March 21 and March 27, 1972, both at the Academy Of Music in New York.

It starts with the March 27th show, with some tunes from the first set. The disc kicks off with a high-energy rendition of “Bertha,” which opened the show. There is some funny stage banter before the band begins. It’s great hearing the guys goofing a bit. And there’s actually some more stage banter after that tune, with the guys joking about Bill buying the Brooklyn Bridge. The disc then goes to “Brown-Eyed Women,” skipping “Black-Throated Wind” and “Chinatown Shuffle.” This is a really nice version of “Brown-Eyed Woman,” and it’s followed by “China Cat Sunflower” into “I Know You Rider.” It’s a fairly short rendition of “China Cat Sunflower” (just under six minutes) but the jam really cooks, and “I Know You Rider” likewise has great energy. Also included is a seriously fun “Cumberland Blues,” from late in that set.

The rest of the bonus disc comes from the beginning of the second set from March 21, 1972. Bob jokes before the first tune, “We’re going to start this next set off with one of your favorites, and we certainly hope it’s one of ours.” And they jump into “Truckin.’” This is a wonderful rendition, particularly because it’s great, groovy jam, the band clearly having a good time. It leads into a drum solo by Bill Kreutzmann, and then into “The Other One,” which bursts in like a monster and then goes in some interesting directions, evolving and changing, adapting and conquering. This is definitely a highlight for me. And at nearly eighteen minutes, it’s also the longest track of the CD. This bonus disc then concludes with an excellent rendition of “Wharf Rat.” “I’ll get up and fly away.”


CD Track List
Bertha
Brown-Eyed Women
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Cumberland Blues
Truckin ’>
Drums >
The Other One >
Wharf Rat
 
The Grateful Dead at this point were Jerry Garcia on guitar and vocals; Bob Weir on guitar and vocals; Phil Lesh on bass and vocals; Ron McKernan on organ, harmonica, percussion and vocals; Keith Godchaux on piano; and Bill Kreutzmann on drums.

 

2015-08-06 Dorks of Waterdeep

4 Players: W, J, G, K
Game: Lords of Waterdeep + Undermountain Expansion

Location: W

Choice: J

Game One:

K (121 pts), G (113 pts), J (111 pts) & W (101 pts)

Final Tally:

• K was declared the winner

Notes:

• Chatty and Thinky were both missed

Music:

 

Wooly's iTunes random mix. Included: Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Medeski, Martin and Wood and the Allman Brothers Band Unplugged (1992)

 

 

2015.07.28 Beck = Scientology = Crap

sucks

4 Players: W, K, G, S
Game:  7 Wonders
Location: K
Choice: Consensus

Game One:
K(59pts), S(46pts), W(42pts)

Game Two:
K(55pts), W(44pts), S(41pts), G(35pts)

Game Three:
K(66pts), G(59pts), S(50pts), W(37pts)

Final Tally:
K was declared this week's victor.

Notes:

• G arrived late and was able to join in for the second game
• Blue Skies tent arrangements were discussed
• G "remembered" tonight was the last night before going away
• K had a perfect 18 pts from military in game 3

Music Features:

 

Neil Young: Greatest Hits (2004)

 

Very much enjoyed by the audience as a showcase of Neil's best / most popular songs. It was either this album or a custom mix by K. Perhaps K will illuminate us in the comments as to whether or not it was this particular album we listened to. Personally, I cant remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beck: Guero (2005)

 

[Notes from AllMusic.com] In many ways, Guero is deliberately designed as a classicist Beck album, a return to the sound and aesthetic of his 1996 masterwork, Odelay. After all, he's reteamed with the producing team of the Dust Brothers, who are widely credited for the dense, sample-collage sound of Odelay, and the light, bright Guero stands in stark contrast to the lush melancholy of 2002's Sea Change while simultaneously bearing a knowing kinship to the sound that brought him his greatest critical and commercial success in the mid-'90s. This has all the trappings of being a cold, calculating maneuver, but the album never plays as crass. Instead, it sounds as if Beck, now a husband and father in his mid-thirties, is revisiting his older aesthetic and sensibility from a new perspective. The sound has remained essentially the same -- it's still a kaleidoscopic jumble of pop, hip-hop, and indie rock, with some Brazilian and electro touches thrown in -- but Beck is a hell of a lot calmer, never indulging in the lyrical or musical flights of fancy or the absurdism that made Mellow Gold and Odelay such giddy listens. He now operates with the skill and precision of a craftsman, never dumping too many ideas into one song, paring his words down to their essentials, mixing the record for a wider audience than just his friends. Consequently, Guero never is as surprising or enthralling as Odelay, but Beck is also not trying to be as wild and funny as he was a decade ago. He's shifted away from exaggerated wackiness -- which is good, since it wouldn't wear as well on a 34 year old as it would on a man a decade younger -- and concentrated on the record-making, winding up with a thoroughly enjoyable LP that sounds warm and familiar upon the first play and gets stronger with each spin. No, it's not a knockout, the way his first few records were, but it's a successful mature variation on Odelay, one that proves that Beck's sensibility will continue to reap rewards for him as he enters his second decade of recording.

 

[Notes from G] Beck sucks. Stupid scientologist. Cant get past it.

2015.07.23 WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!?

2 Players: W, K
Game:  The Woolyverse: Wizards' Castle [previously known as Tower of the Wizard's Guild]
Location: W
Choice: Consensus



Game One:
W(23pts), K(9pts)


Final Tally:
W was declared this week's victor.



Notes:

• Notes by K with updates by W
• most folks taking advantage of their cottages this week, but the game must go on!
• new amendment to the Wizard's Castle village was test-played (instead of 3 Village spots for the 2-3 player game, 6 Village cards are laid out and randomly selected "Or" and "After. Also" are placed between cards 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 so there are still only 3 places to play in the village but expanded action options), and worked very well - big impact on the game play
• mumblings by W about wanting to get this game into production before Christmas were overheard

Music Features:

•   Random shuffle from W's digital collection including Moby and Thunderball

2015.07.16 Tom's Other Son

6 Players: S, I, K, W, J, G
Game: 7 Wonders: Tower of Babel expansion
Location: W
Choice: I

Game One:
S(59 pts), G(49 pts), K(49 pts), J(44 pts), I(43 pts), W(42 pts)

Game Two:
G(65 pts), J(65 pts), S(64 pts), I(58 pts), W(55 pts), K(55 pts)



Final Tally:

S(123 pts), G(114 pts), J(109 pts), K(104 pts), I(101 pts), W(97 pts)
S was declared this week's victor.

 

Game Notes:

• 2nd game: no expansion, vanilla 7 Wonders due to time restrictions
• J was a deal breaker in game one
• Now! well, not now now but now
• Simon built 3 townhalls in game one
• Library built in chain from Scriptorum by 2 players on the same turn

 

Musical Notes:

 

Electric President: Electric President (2006)

• Indie electronic
• enjoyed by all
• surprising 80's sound to some tracks

 



2015.07.09 Babelicious!

Still workin' on that tower

4 Players: W, J, S, G
Game:  7 Wonders: Tower of Babel expansion
Location: J
Choice: G



The rules affecting all players change each time
part of the tower is built

Game One:

G(66pts), S(57pts), J(55pts) & W(53pts) 
 

Game Two:

J(52pts), W(51pts), G(51pts) & S(43pts)

 

Final Tally:

G(117pts), J(107pts), W(104pts) & S(100pts) 
G was declared this week's victor.

 

Notes:

• no game last week
• 1st time playing with this expansion which is one of two expansions included in the set & Wonders: Babel
• This expansion was enjoyed by all
• This expansion integrated easily into the base game and didn't significantly increase playing time



Music Features

J's got it goin' on

 Music for this evening courtesy of J's random i-pod mix number 3 of up-tempo songs suitable to listening to while running. No track list available.