The Top 5: The Week of Feb 22

It’s another week, and you know what that means? Another Top 5, a list of my top five favorite things this week.

1. Stargazer’s World

Stargazer, also known as Michael Wolf, is one of RPG Circus’s biggest supporters. He’s got a fantastic blog where he discusses a veritable myriad of topics. He has has a lot of reviews, talks about a ton of different RPGs and is an active member of the RPG Blogger community. His posts are always sharp and concise, and if I didn’t know better, I would assume English was his first language. I was quite surprised when he called up RPG Circus and had a thick german accent. Who knew? A great guy, and should definitely be read.

2. Penny Arcade

I know everyone and their grandma knows Penny Arcade (though hopefully your grandma isn’t reading it), but they have really been on the ball lately. There’s been lots of great comics about D&D, now that Gabe has taken a rabid interest, and some of the posts he’s been putting up about his D&D sessions are top notch. Tycho’s elaborate vocabulary and wordplay always make everything he’s writing incredibly interesting, no matter what he’s talking about. A recent post stated, “Ever since Gabriel posted the destinations for our book tour, there has been a steady stream of aggression amassing in his inbox regarding perceived slights towards specific cities or even broad regions.  We don’t harbor animosity of any kind for particular geographies, we are not thus constructed; these decisions have everything to do with the limitations of your physical universe and your unrelenting temporal schema.” You don’t get writing like that anywhere else.

3. 1776

I’m reading 1776 right now, and so far, it’s been a fascinating read. It’s all about the revolutionary war, and goes into some pretty deep detail about the war, giving the backstories of many well known historical figures. I was interested to read that almost half of England had no interest in going to war with America. If you have any interest in the American Revolutionary War, this Pulitzer Prize-winning book is one you definitely need to read.

4. How I Met Your Mother

Bridget and I have been watching through the four full seasons, and have finally finished. Now we’re going to be downloading what’s come out so far of season five from iTunes. A sharp, funny comedy, How I Met Your Mother is one of the best shows on TV. I’m not a big fan of sitcoms, but this one is top-notch. Bob Sagat plays the voice of Ted, 20 years in the future as he tells his children about his life back in the beginning of the 21st century. Neal Patrick Harris plays Ted’s horny friend, and Marshall, Ted’s best friend, reminds Bridget of me, apparently in his personality. Not sure if that’s a complement or not… Hm…

5. SModcast

Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier host SModcast, which is definitely not safe for work. Whether they’re trashing Avatar (“Blue Cats F***ing in the Woods”) or Kevin Smith’s recent run-in with Southwest Airlines, they talk about everything in a very sincere and unfiltered way. They don’t hold anything back, and it feels like one big stream-of-conciousness. If you enjoy Kevin Smith’s films, or even if you’ve never seen them, you should listen to these guys get on a roll.

That’s all for this week’s Top 5. Until next time, keep rolling 20′s.