HeroQuest = big money

We all have fond childhood memories of some special game or toy -- that one item you'd play with time and again because you loved it so much.

That item for me was HeroQuest. The board game, essentially a simplified Dungeons & Dragons, took players on various quests through detailed dugeons. It was an enjoyable and inspired piece of work, and remains one of my favorite games to go back to today.

One of the best things about HeroQuest was that unlike most board games, it saw a handful of supplemental materials released, including four expansion sets. It should be noted that two of these sets were incredibly hard to find, and are now worth a pretty penny on eBay.

I recently decided I've had all the fun I'm going to have with these rarer sets, so I decided to auction them off to the highest bidder. I had hoped in the two auctions to reclaim the inflated sum I'd spent to acquire them about seven years ago. As it turns out, I won that and more.

One of the sets pulled in more than $180. The other topped out at $150. Not only did I get my investment returned, I won a tidy profit.

Of course, I've retained the original board game and the two common expansion sets for future play. I'm not yet ready to bid farewell to all my HeroQuest items. But if I can get $330 for two sets that would otherwise linger in storage, I'll take it.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with my winnings. I'm leaning toward one thing in particular, but what do you think?

Pity poor Pluto

It's no secret that I pity poor Pluto. I refuse to recognize its much ballyhooed "demotion" earlier this year by the International Astronomical Union. Sadly, though, it seems that I'm in the minority.

During a recent trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, I noticed that staff there had jumped aboard the demotion bandwagon. As seen in this picture, the once illuminated symbol for Pluto outside the museum's Exploring the Planets display has gone dark. Covered by some black overlay, the symbol is no longer visible, making it clear that the Smithsonian endorses the ludicrous notion that there are only eight planets in our solar system.

As this article by Robert Roy Britt at Space.com notes, the IAU vote demoting Pluto to "dwarf planet" status involved just 424 astronomers. That number represents less than 5 percent of the world's astronomers. Just sit and think about the implications of that for a minute. Raise your hand if you, too, are terrified by that notion.

I can't believe the Smithsonian has endorsed this logic. The move reflects poorly on what I fathomed was a thoughtful and discerning institution. Shame on you, Air and Space Museum.

Shame on you.

Wherefore art thou, Pride?

In the lead up to this year's Capital Pride, I told family and friends that I'd blog about the annual parade and street festival. For a variety of reasons, however, I did not do that. I apologize.

I don't want to dwell now on something that's weeks old, but suffice to say that both events were very enjoyable to attend. I was part of the Washington Blade's parade contingent, and I worked the company's booth at the street festival. It was great to see so many Blade fans and readers.

I have no pictures of my own to share, but this link will take you to the Blade's extensive online photo show documenting Pride events. Be aware that some of the pictures are a bit risque, but most are harmless reflections of fun people having a fun time.

Enjoy, and I hope to see you at next year's Capital Pride!

I'm a winner!

I don't often blog about work-related matters, but I wanted to let you know that I recently won an award!

Bestowed by the Society of Professional Journalists, the award recognizes my work on this article, a story about a Baltimore man embroiled in a bitter battle with the parents of his late partner over where the deceased should be interred. I broke the story on Sept. 29, 2006, and other media subsequently picked up the story.

I won third place in the general news category, placing behind articles from the Legal Times and The Hill, two other weekly newspapers based in D.C. I wanted to link to those two articles, so you could see the competition, but those articles were not accessible.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know things are going well for me at work. Thanks to everyone for their continued interest and support. And -- here's my shameless plug -- remember to check out all my latest work online at www.washblade.com.

We are, in fact, still alive

Sorry for the lack of postings of late. We've both been swamped, working weekends, and generally tired. But I've got a few things to share with you...

Using Dice in a Stop-Motion Animation Music Video = Way Cool
Here's a treat to make up for our lack of posts. This is a super cool video (Quicktime) using dice in stop-motion animation for truly amazing results. I got wind of this video from Very Short List, an e-mail list of web goodies, books, and movies that's definitely worth subscribing to. Thanks to Rick Klau for pointing me toward it.

Mika Concert = Awesome
I got to go see Mika (link contains sound) in concert at the 9:30 Club this week with my new friend Sarah. It was so awesome. When we got there, the line was really long, but our angst was quickly tempered by two young women dressed in hot pink, frilly dresses and blonde wigs (a la Alice in Wonderland) skipping around and handing out lollipops to people in line. When we went inside, I found the venue to be surprisingly intimate - despite our being toward the back of the long time, we got a primo spot on the upper level and could see everything on stage.

The opening act, Sara Bareilles (again, link contains sound), was surprisingly awesome. Like a combination of Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, and, oddly, Mika, her soaring, beautiful voice and perky piano playing won me over. She's got a few songs on iTunes, and "Love Song" is particularly catchy. (Actually, by signing up for her mailing list you can get a free copy of "Love Song" to download!) Her debut album drops July 3.

But back to Mika. Ah, Mika. Mika came out, er, entered the stage wearing a cheap white t-shirt and green pants with white suspenders hanging down. He proceeded to bounce around stage and sing his heart out to the tunes I've grown obsessed with, including "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)," "Grace Kelly," "Love Today" (which has been my psyche-myself-up-for-a-crazy-day-at-work song of late), and everything else on his debut album. During his performance of "Any Other World" I got a little teary (the refrain goes "Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in," and made me think of the dramatic changes my life has taken over the past few years) and joined the crowd in whipping out my cell phone and swaying back and forth like the kids used to do with cigarette lighters. It was one of the most compelling and exciting concerts I've ever been to. He even covered "Sweet Dreams" (really well!) and a Jackson 5 song (not "ABC" but sounded a lot like it).

The finale, however, was supremely weird. After a couple minutes of the crowd chanting "MI-KA! MI-KA!" the band returned to the stage...to the tune of "Teddybear Picnic" and wearing barnyard animal costumes (including a Piglet costume from Winnie the Pooh). The animals proceeded to have a little staged "fight" in which the drummer, dressed like a bunny, emerged victorious. Huh. Then the band took off the masks and began playing "Lollipop," as giant, pastel inflatable balls dropped from the ceiling for the crowd to bounce around.

Still, it was a great concert and I had a ball. Cheers to Mika, Sara Bareilles, and the 9:30 Club for a great evening!

Josh = Muy Prolific
And here are a bunch of articles Josh has written over the past few weeks.

Gay-inclusive sex ed plan wins approval
Mont. Co. teachers may tell students that homosexuality is not an illness
June 13

Former Gay Outreach Adviser Sues DNC
June 8

General who called gay sex ‘immoral’ to retire
Planned successor backs ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
June 8

Marylanders show support for gay marriage
More than 1,500 yard signs on display across state
June 8

Republican support of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ slammed
Gay groups, soldiers say national security at stake
June 6

Candidates back federal rights for gay unions
HRC survey finds Democrats broadly support gay issues
June 4

Psychologists to revisit gay topics
Task force will weigh ex-gay conversion therapy
June 1

Edwards’ comment draws mixed reactions
Campaign rebuts book with strong gay stances
June 1

Local congressional reps mixed on gay issues
Some are strong supporters while others oppose
June 1