Child's Play by Dysart

The title was encouraging – a Listener crossword that is ‘Child’s Play’. Ha ha! Then there was the promise of a bit of drawing at the end – if we got there. Lovely!

We started with the thematic clues and NAGA and COMPANION leapt into view, but I didn’t know what a naga was and didn’t spot the obvious. Typical of the 8X8 team!

We plodded through the clues with our satisfaction only mitigated by our tendency to opt for the corrected letter rather than the misprint, which led to a few strange instructions.

However, the word LETTERS soon appeared and then ‘DELETE ALL BUT SEVENTY-FIVE’ – that was almost half the grid but didn’t correspond to the totted-up total of thematic clue lengths. We have almost a year of experience now and know that all will be clear in the end (sometimes!) so we struggled with the last clues.

13ac. Informer fails to complete hotel check (4) We were hunting for CHICK or CHUCK for our corrected word and played with  NESH for ‘cowardly’ or ‘chicken’ but the informer was likely to be NOSE (failing to complete – so NOS) with H for hotel. We couldn’t see the link with CHUCK until our wise friend told us that was a word for food. Of course, that letter made no difference to the final grid. I am beginning to understand why friends prefer crosswords where the corrected letters are the ones that count. Clearly, in a case like this, one can solve the puzzle without necessarily knowing what the correction should be – which doesn’t seem quite right.

I suppose the plural of an ancient Greek word is ‘child’s play’ to most of the regular Listener solvers but NAOI held us up too.

Having once played an infant Mustardseed in MSND, I had no problem with the Pyramus quotation and Bottom’s THISNE but we didn’t know where to look for it in Chambers. Is it there?

With all the clues solved and a sprinkling of white cells here and there, the grid began to look suspiciously like a familiar board game. The p.d.m! Wasp, losing W(ife) gave us ASP and all was clear. Once we knew that we were hunting for snakes and ladders, the thematic clues soon resolved themselves into a convincing knot of snakes and a slightly less convincing pile of ladders.

STY was up there near the finish of the game and was clearly the required ladder but that clue ‘Indeed in the past this would be frothy’ was almost too subtle for us – Indeed in the past (YEA) with this (STY) was frothy – so YEASTY. Hmm – clever!

The wretched ANACONDA was a threat too. If he stretched to his full length, he seemed to finish in the cell where the ASP started. That would be a vicious trick to play on any trusting little kiddy – to send him down a couple of snakes, one after the other. However, if those two brutes shared a cell, we were one letter short, so, clearly our little board-game playing friend was going to be allowed to climb back up the anaconda’s tail.

Had anyone told me, a year ago, that to complete these things, you need an encyclopaedia article on snake types, a set of coloured pencils and a modern Greek grammar, I would have assumed he was a crackpot. Ah well, the sting is in the tale.

This was great fun. Thank you, Dysart.

The answer to this week’s question will be after the break.

Firstly though, I’m yet again sad to announce that nobody entered this week’s Hex Factor contest, and so another discount code is going to go to waste. I suppose I could award it to myself for that “sterling effort” at writing poetry… Anyway, don’t forget that Azeroth United are still going strong in their charity drive, and at this time have raised a whopping $6700 for Child’s Play, so if you haven’t yet donated go right ahead!

So, with regards to the Wind-Up, the answer is of course, 9:

1. England win both golf and tennis,
2. Scotland win both golf and tennis,
3. Wales win both golf and tennis,
4. England win golf, Scotland win tennis,
5. Scotland win golf, England win tennis,
6. England win golf, Wales win tennis,
7. Wales win golf, England win tennis,
8. Wales win golf, Scotland win tennis,
9. Scotland win golf, Wales win tennis.

Did you get it?

Vel.

Remarkably, Desert Bus Pt. 3 reached a final total of $132k. Sat through them singing Desert Bus Killed the Internet Star and then they did a toast. Now they are signing the Final Countdown.

Congrats to the LRR crowd. I’ve had about 11 people go to Child’s Play from my link, so if you donated, thank you.

At some point in your life you will be effected by a child. It could be you having a a child yourself, having a niece or nephew, the kids in your neighborhood or hearing a funny story from a co-worker about a child in their life. I am lucky enough to have 3 great cousins and an incredible nephew. My cousin Corey has grown up with Downs Syndrome. He is a great kid but has had to spend a lot of time in the hospital with breathing and heart issues as he grew up. Some of those days were long and hard for him and my family. Corey is a huge gamer and during one his last times in the hospital he had access to video games. Each time I came to see him we would either bring some games to his room or go to the larger game room and play some games, color and just have fun.

You never want to see any member of your family in the hospital but its 100 times worse seeing a young member of your family in the hospital just laying there with nothing to do and nothing to put a smile on their face. If you have gone through a situation with someone young in your family or heard about it from a friend who has you know that you don’t want to see children in the hospital but when they are there you would like to see them happy and smiling. A positive attitude can only help to get some back on their feet.

Since its Christmas time my cousins and my nephew are on my mind all the time. Not being able to wait to see them open their gifts and see the big smiles on their faces. Some kids will be spending the holidays in the hospital though, and if you want to put a smile on their face why dont you give some money to Child’s Play Charity. Child’s Play was set up originally by the guys at Penny Arcade to give video games some good PR. Now its become an incredible charity that brings smiles to tons of kids in the hospital around the holiday season. Go take a look at http://www.childsplaycharity.org/ and see if you can find a gift to give to a hospital in your area or one that may have had an effect on your life and put a smile on a young person’s face. It covers everything kids like, not just video games, so don’t feel you have to be a gamer to help out.

Make some kids Christmas a little happier this holiday.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

By Hans Wuerflein

As we speak (well, type/read, whatever) four poor, tortured souls are taking part in one of the most arduous tasks in gaming, a multi-day Desert Bus marathon, with no breaks, little sleep (in shifts), and no end in sight.

And it’s all in the name of charity.

Desert Bus for Hope, now in its third annual installment, is a charity drive for Child’s Play, a charity founded by the guys at Penny Arcade that gives video games, toys and money to children’s hospitals around the world.

For those unfamiliar with Desert Bus, a little back story is in order.

Desert Bus is part of the unreleased (but finished) game Penn and Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors for the Sega CD.  The game was a victim of the demise of the failed add-on for the Genesis, and other than a few ads and an early review in a magazine, the world at large didn’t know much about it until just a few years ago.

One of those early review copies found its way to the internet, and by there not really being much of a point in filing copyright claims against distributing a decade old cancelled game for a dead console produced by a now defunct company, it made the usual rounds.

Most of the mini games that make up the two disc set are tricks to play on your friends, but one, Desert Bus, is more of a trick on the player, as well as a little bit of obscure political commentary.

Then Attorney General Janet Reno had come out saying that video games should teach people real life skills.  So, as a response, Desert Bus has players driving a bus at 55 MPH (that veers slightly to the right) on the eight-hour trip from Tuscon, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada in real-time.  There are no riders, and if you go off the road, the bus breaks down and is towed back to town, also in real-time.

So, in 2007 Canadian comedy troupe Loading Ready Run (whose site seems to be down at the moment, so here’s a Wikipedia entry) decided that in an effort to raise money for Child’s Play they would keep playing Desert Bus for as long as people would donate money.  They raised $22,805, including donations from Penn and Teller themselves.

The next year, Desert Bus 2: Bus Harder, was an even bigger success, raising over $70,000 over five days.

Well, they’re at it again, and things are off the a great start.  At the time of the writing, they are 30 hours in already and have raised over $28,000.  These donations have guaranteed that they will be driving for at least the next 112 hours (about 4 1/2 days).

So, please, stop by the Web site, watch the live feed for a bit, and donate a few dollars to help sick children (and punish some Canadians).

Desert Bus For Hope is a fundraiser for the charity Child’s Play, run by the good folks over at http://loadingreadyrun.com. The first year they raised almost $23 000, and last year they raised over $70 000.

Desert Bus is one of the games on the Sega CD release Penn and Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors, and is said to be the worst and more boring game ever made. The user drives from Tuscon, Arizona to Las Vegas, in real time. The bus cannot go over 45 miles an hour, and you can’t stop. The drive lasts 8 hours. Not only that, but the bus has a slight list to the right, so you have to constantly re-adjust. When you get there, you get 1 point, and have the option to go back. If they crash they have to wait for a tow truck to come, and then tow them back to the start. There is no scenery or curves on the route.

The way Desert Bus For Hope, which started in 2007, works, is that the 4 bussers (who bus in shifts of four hours) bus for as long as people keep donating. The first hour costs $1, and then the cost increases by 7% every time (so that they don’t just drive forever). The event is broadcast live over the internet, at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/desert-bus-drivercam. If you want, you can also see the screen that they’re seeing at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/desert-bus-buscam.

They’ve been featured on TV a few times, and have gained many fans over the three years. It’s a ton of fun to watch, even if you don’t donate, and I suggest you check it out.

I’m not sure how it happened. Once upon a time I would attempt these cute little craft projects, and they would turn out looking worse than a preschooler’s art project. Then, not too long ago the impossible happened–my projects started turning out the way they were supposed to.

I’m not questioning the sudden change. Frankly, I haven’t had time to. I’ve been too busy scouring magazines and the ‘net looking for fun stuff to make for the holidays, making trips to the store for supplies, and excitedly shouting to my oldest daughter to look at how great the project is turning out. 

In the past two weeks I have:

• made turkey magnets with my toddler (I traced her hand on brown fun foam, had her color the feathers with markers, and attached a magnet to the back. )
• made a Thanksgiving pillow (totally justified–I have so few Thanksgiving decorations. Ahem.)
• knitted a fuzzy scarf for a friend’s gift
• got supplies for a couple of wreaths, magnet angels (to make with my toddler),  and a mason jar pincushion

I’ve grounded myself from all craft stores until after the first of the year. I had to. I’m starting to have nightmares of skipping Thanksgiving dinner (that I’m hosting!) to re-attach ornaments to a wreath, or skipping midnight mass on Christmas Eve to make one more pincushion for the mailman’s cousin. Those years of wishing my craft projects would turn out like the pictures are coming back to haunt me.

I am not going to ask if you are planning/have done any holiday crafts this year. Nope. Too tempting. Of course, I can’t stop you if you want to volunteer the information!

It’s no great secret for the regular readers here that I tend to lean into the horror genre more often than not. I didn’t really want to create a horror movie blog because there are tons of those (I guess there’s tons of movie blogs as well though!) and I didn’t want to focus on one section of movies. I love all kinds of movies, some a little less than others but you can’t love every one. Even if I don’t want to write about horror movies all the time, my collection of flicks is full of them. That means that I end up watching them alot. But with Christmas around the corner I always end up watching all the amazing Christmas movies that I’ve seen over and over again. With some suggestions from Bartleby over at Cinematropolis, I realized that I can put my two great loves together – horror flicks and the Christmas season!

After some searching around, not too much mind you since I can only handle reading the same titles over and over again, I found a few. There doesn’t seem to be too many out there but I’ve managed to come up with some good, bad and ugly ones.

At first I was going to limit the list to movies specifically involving a crazy Santa or someone dressed as Santa. When I realized that there wasn’t very many movies to begin with, I knew I had to throw them all in. Let’s start with the good ones first.

GREMLINS

Sure, it doesn’t exactly involve Santa himself but it does happen at Christmas and contains one of my favorite parts of a movie ever, the bar scene. It’s funny and scary all rolled into one with Gremlins drinking and hollering and having quite a good party if I may say so. And who can forget when Kate tells Billy about her father getting stuck and dying in the chimney one Christmas when he tried to make like Santa! Darkly hilarious.

CHILD’S PLAY

Alright, this is stretching it. It’s not exactly Christmas, Chucky isn’t a Christmas present but there’s some snow around! That counts for something doesn’t it? Okay, maybe it doesn’t but I’m putting it in here anyway. I was also just reading that it’s getting the remake treatment. That’s actually a remake that I wouldn’t mind seeing. Both Child’s Play and Gremlins spawned quite a few sequels, none of them reaching the level of awesome that I found in the originals though.

Right, back to the truly Christmas related horror flicks!

JACK FROST

The name sounds familiar and I wasn’t sure how this fit in here until I realized that it wasn’t Michael Keaton going around slaughtering the neighbours. Can’t say I’ve seen this one. I actually haven’t seen many of the films that will be on this list but the buzz on this one is not good. I wasn’t exactly expecting the next great classic but it must be ’so bad it’s good’ at least.

Serial killer Jack Frost is on his way to be executed when his transportation collides with a trailer carrying genetic material, causing Jack Frost to combine with the snow thereby creating a serial killing snowman bent on revenge. Doesn’t that just scream holiday good times to ya! I know I’ll be looking for it.

This one had a sequel as well which I’m sure is just as classic as this one. Jack Frost did have the first appearance of Shannon Elizabeth though. All the great ones start in horror! Can you say Jennifer Aniston!

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT

This one is probably more popular due to the call of banning it outright back in 1984 since the killer is dressed as Santa. Early 80’s, not a good time to be a horror movie I guess. It’s gained quite a following since it was released becoming somewhat of a cult classic and is a little hard to find for purchase.

When Billy (seriously, what’s with all the Billy’s on the list?) sees his parents murdered by a man dressed as Santa, it sets him on the path of ’slaying’ the naughty people of the world. Someone should be doing a background check on these store Santa’s. Also another one I haven’t seen fully although one of my friends used to watch this over and over again. I’m sure I’ve seen the complete film at least once but when you see it piece by piece it’s hard to make sense of it. Maybe I’ll get it in my stocking this year!

This one has had 4 sequels and judging by what I’ve read, each one more horrible than the last.

BLACK CHRISTMAS

Hurray for Canada on this one! Shame for anyone making a remake of this one, shame. I used to go to the local video store, you remember those things right? Usually small places run by nice people and not giant mega stores that they are now….anyway. The guy that worked there would constantly be watching this movie, the image of a girl with a plastic bag over her head is burned in my brain now from seeing it so many times. And wouldn’t you know that it features another Billy! Seriously considering a name change right about now.

This was released in 1974 and many argue that it’s the true start of the ’slasher’ genre. It also has killer making phone calls from inside the house, a quite over-used idea now. While it’s not Santa himself doing the killings, it does take place at a sorority house during Christmas. Now that I think about it, this movie is full of clichés that had yet to be exploited. Sorority house, phone calls from in the house, the slasher. I guess us Canadians now how to start a trend. I’m not sure that everyone is thankful for that though.

SANTA’S SLAY

Big thanks to Bartleby for mentioning this one because it sounds awesome in its badness! I’ll be watching it tonight actually!

In this one we find out that Santa is actually a demon who lost a bet with an angel and had to be good, bringing joy and toys to the kids of the world. When the bet is finally off, Santa can return to what he does best, killin’ people!

I don’t know much about this one and didn’t want to read too much since I’ll actually watch it tonight but doesn’t that just sound amazing anyway! It features Bill Goldberg as Santa, yeah, Goldberg the wrestler and he looks like he makes one mean Santa. I really can’t wait to see this one so you’ll all have to come back tomorrow to see what I thought about it.

DEADLY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

I saved this for last not because it’s the best but because it only came out this year. By the sounds of it I’m in for something really bad but when has that ever stopped me. Plus, that’s my job. I watch the bad flicks and tell you guys all about them.

Here we have another example of demented child (thankfully not named Billy) grows into a truly insane adult and begins killing people in the holiday season. I’ve read that it’s basically Halloween but at Christmas time. Sounds like the only really scary part about this one is the acting. Apparently over the top with some really bad dialogue, this one will probably have me laughing inappropriately when I should be shivering in fright.

It may not be a classic, or even good for that matter, but it’s another helping of holiday death!

Well, that’s the list! I left a few out, not too many mind you, and if anyone has heard of some others, let me know. I think my Christmas collection needs some more blood in it. I’ve already got my favorites lined up for Christmas but I think I’ll enjoy throwing some good old-fashioned horror into the mix. Now I’ve gotta get the kids to bed so visions of sugarplums can dance in their heads. And when their quietly tucked away I’m going to take a trip on Santa’s Slay. If you’re really good you’ll find a nicely wrapped blog post tomorrow, but if you guys are naughty then Santa and I are making stops at everyone’s house!

Under the mistletoe – Will

Good weekend all.

Well one of the most fun and interesting things about writing a blog is the fact that you get to tell others what you think and actually get feedback and one of the people who has helped in the setting up of this blog is Eddie “Brigwyn” Carrington. Now you may know Brigwyn from the world famous WoW.com and also his own blog with Andy “Daewin” Dino called The Hunting Lodge.

Brigwn is probably remembered as the guy who roles a new Hunter and deletes his old character every time he reaches 80. Yes he is just that nuts but that’s why we like him. This is your chance to ask Brigwyn whatever questions come to mind. We shall be selecting the best 25 and putting them to him in an interview to be posted on the 1st of December. All questions must be clean (well somewhat) and must be in by 25th November 2009.

Please send all questions to The Warriors Rage Email

Happy interigating.

While we wittle away the hours playing our favorite MMO, or ranting about nerfed DPS in various game forums.  There are kids and adults in our own country that spend those hours hoping to find food, or who are too sick to get out of bed and need daily treatments in hospitals across America.

Epic Slant has started a great charity drive.  It’s just the drive, you pick the charity.  We, I, encourage you to give a little something to those less fortunate due to economic or medical situations.

I have a small image in the top right of my blog for “Child’s Play”.  Clicking the image takes you to their website.  Child’s play offers toys, games, and other activities to children in hospitals.

Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child’s Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over 5 million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception.

There are many good charities out there.  I’m not pressuring you to choose a particular one, but to just choose to donate to one.

Other MMO bloggers have done the same, and support this very worthy cause.

• Spinks of Spinksville has selected Shelter to sponsor. It is a UK based charity that helps the homeless.
• Slurms from Multiplaying is supporting Child’s Play this year. Child’s play gives toys and money to children in hospitals around the world.
• Stabs of Stabbed Up has decided to support Amnesty International this year. AI supports human rights around the world!
• Syp has thrown Bio Break’s support behind Susan G. Komen for the Cure (breast cancer).
• Youngblood from Incoming Pull has decided to support Child’s Play!
• Ardua is supporting Child’s Play on his blog Echoes of Nonsense. Check out his post!

These are all good causes, and there’s no better time than now to get involved.  MMO gamers are really rallying behind this, and this Christmas season can see an enormous amount of help for people in desparate times.

MMO Bloggers! If you’d like to participate.  Check out Epic Slant’s post to help link everyone together.

Thank you to all who have donated and helped save someone’s life.

*If I missed any of you bloggers out there, please send me an email or post in the comments and I will adjust this post

Well done to all at Azeroth United and Twisted Nether on reaching their goal of $5000 for the great charity Child’s Play. And even better that there still a whole month that you can donate so lets break the thing wide open and please even if it as little as $1 1 euro please give to this great cause.

The rules and information for the Hex Factor contests can be found in the original post here.

The second Hex Factor contest has come to an end! And what an end – my sincere congratulations go to Mindalena for her stunning effort, shown above.

I was really taken aback by her entry and its quality. It encompasses all the major themes I asked for – Child’s Play, WoW and a reference to AU, and does it in a really great way. Overall, the logo is simple, yet it tells you everything you need to know at a glance. However, it’s the detail where this entry stands out.

Firstly, we obviously have the Azeroth map in the background, symbolizing Warcraft – the whole of Warcraft, at that, perhaps suggesting a united effort. Overlaid on top are the two hands which come together to form a heart – a reference to Child’s Play. While they look great by themselves, it should also be noted that they are different colours, and I took this to possibly be symbolic of the Horde (Orcs are green) and the Alliance (Night Elves are purple) coming together, again going with the united theme.

So again, a huge congratulations to Mindalena – your code is en route! I’d like to remind everyone that the next (third) contest will go live on Sunday, and will end next Thursday – hopefully you’re looking forward to it as much as I am!

Vel.

This is one of the best and most exciting things to happen within the gaming community as a whole in a long time and this site fully supports the efforts made by Azeroth United and Twisted Nether.

Azeroth United is a community of Internet Media Sites and Sources built and maintained by World of Warcraft Fans and Players around the world. United, their voices are being joined to support common interests and reach goals that would be unattainable alone. Their inaugural event, the First Annual – Hearts, Hands, and Voices Drive for Child’s Play Charity, will kick off November 1st.

What is Child’s Play?

What is Azeroth United’s Goal?

AU is dedicated to bring attention to Child’s Play, and the companies who are supporting this event, throughout the World of Warcraft Internet Media community, and to and create a joint contribution of at least $5,000 to this worthwhile cause. In doing so, contributors will be entered to win various prizes based upon two tiers of contributions.

As a “Thank You” each contributor making a $10 or $20 donation to Child’s Play will be entered into drawings for exclusive gift baskets, filled with items being provided by our generous sponsors. If you have a branded products or service to promote, please contact AU about how you can support the event!

How can I help?

Azeroth United needs your to help spread the word to get as much exposure and buzz around this event as possible. There are various links and logos available for players and fans to pick-up and post on their websites. The founders of AU are also prominent podcasters within the World of Warcraft Internet Media Community who are ready and willing to give interviews and submit incidental promotions to support the Hearts, Hands, and Voices Drive for Child’s Play Charity.

Together, AU is looking to make HHV the biggest charity drive that Azeroth has ever seen. And, with your help they will have the support to give the gift of gaming to children in hospitals around the world this holiday season!

Works For Me Wednesday…Toddler Magnets

It’s so simple. So easy. Yet I would have never thought of it on my own…

I hated the alphabet magnets that my toddler loves. They were all over the fridge. That is, when they were not slipping between the doors, making the refrigerator hard to close. Or flying under the refrigerator. Or scattered all over the kitchen floor. Or causing my daughter to disappear into the kitchen when my back is turned.

Then a brilliant preschool teacher showed me a great trick: Use a metal cookie sheet for your toddler to put the magnets on and off to her heart’s content.  As we speak, she’s now happily playing with them next to my desk instead of making one of her stealth missions into the kitchen. Works for me!

I hope you’ll check out the other tips and tricks on We Are THAT Family!

Child’s Play is a 1988 American horror film, written by Don Mancini and directed by Tom Holland. It was released on November 9, 1988. The film met with moderate success upon its release, and has since developed a cult following among fans of the horror genre. The film is the first in the Child’s Play film series, which was originally a whodunit film in contrast to the latter sequels. This was the only film in the series released by MGM/UA, as the rights to the series were sold to Universal beginning with the sequel.

Taglines

You’ll wish it was only make-believe.

Andy Barclay has a new playmate who’s in no mood to play.

This doll is killer.

Cast
  Catherine Hicks … Karen Barclay
  Chris Sarandon … Mike Norris
  Alex Vincent … Andy Barclay
  Brad Dourif … Charles Lee Ray/Chucky
  Dinah Manoff … Maggie Peterson
  Tommy Swerdlow … Jack Santos
  Jack Colvin … Dr. Ardmore
  Neil Giuntoli … Eddie Caputo

Buy this Title on DVD

Make Up Department
  Michael Hancock … makeup artist
  Marina Pedraza … hair stylist

Special Effects Department
  Howard Berger … shop supervisor: chucky construction crew
  Richard O. Helmer … special effects supervisor
  Rick Lalonde … lab technician: chucky construction crew
  Ron Pipes … hair: chucky construction crew
  Zandra Platzek … hair: chucky construction crew
  James D. Schwalm … special effects
  Carl Sorensen … lab technician: chucky construction crew
  Christopher Swift … lab technician: chucky construction crew
  Kevin Yagher … designer and executor: “Chucky” doll
  Mark C. Yagher … shop assistant: chucky construction crew
  James Kagel … lead sculptor

Child's Play Chucky Doll

Visual Effects Department
  Peter Donen … visual effects supervisor
  Joseph Yanuzzi … visual effects editor

Amazon Specials!

[Download] [01.9 MB] [00:05:14] [Subscribe]
Hosted by: Grant Brunner

Topics

• Altruism
• Planned Parenthood
• Child’s Play Charity
• Boys & Girls Clubs
• American Cancer Society
• Laughs for Bald Bryan

Music provided by Jonathan Coulton.