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January 31, 2011

2

GURPS WWII RPG Hands of Steel.

GURPS WWII was commented in Tonnerre de Brest previously, and here is an expansion of the original game. A great addition to the basic core. As we could see in the review, the characters with the highest rank and one of the point consumers were commandos.

From the begging, Shawn A. Fisher, the writer of this supplement makes statements about the dangerous nature of this troops and how they usually died on duty. There is no romanticism in that. Maybe this characters are for veteran players that know when to avoid a direct confrontation and in an impossible to survive situation, come with innovative ideas.

There is a history of this troops and the way they recruit "volunteers". And two ideas: demolition (destroy something dear to the enemy) and getting in and out (the first is your duty, the last, just survival). Weapons must then be easy to carry (no tanks in here) and parachuting is an paramount expertise.

Players can choose from U.K. forces (Commandos, Special Air Service, Long Range Desert Group, SBS/COPP/SRU), USA forces (OSS Operational Groups, UDTs and Scouts and Raiders, Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts, USMC Raiders) or German forces (SS-Jagdverbände, SS-Fallschirmjäger, Marine Einsatz Abteilung).

There was another GURPS WWII full-sized supplement that I didn't have. It was Iron Cross.
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January 24, 2011

0

Lobster Johnson, The Iron Prometheus.

Lobster Johnson is a mythic character that started his apperiences in the pages of Hellboy. 

Is he real or a fiction character? This story comes to prove that he was real (at least in the Hellboy world) and that he is here to stay.

A cultist organization with a misture of Fu Man Chu-like conspiracies (the evil character reminds me a lot of Rasputin) and Nazis trying to get advantages of magic and monsters. Fighting then there is this Lobster Johnson character and his friends, in a pack that is a mirror of Doc Savage and his crew.

With Guy Davies and Mignola as developers of the original story, the work of artist Jason Armstrong was raised to a peak and this story is a satisfactory one, with a lot of action packed fights but with a great script running all the strory. A must have.
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January 21, 2011

0

Placido Domingo cumple setenta años. ¡Felicidades!


El gran músico e intérprete todo-terreno nacido en Madrid vuelve a su ciudad para celebrar con todos su septuagésimo cumpleaños.

Mientras escribo estas líneas, se celebra un concierto en homenaje a él.

Sirva esta entrada como homenaje también desde Tonnerre de Brest. Aún recuerdo haber visto con unos once años aquel especial del programa 300 Millones (número que hacía referencia a las personas hispano-hablantes, hoy somos cien millones más). 

Fue, en 1983, creo y como no había video en casa (casi nadie tenía algo así), grabamos el programa en cinta de cassette y lo escuchaba muy a menudo. Y de tantas veces que lo escuchaba me aprendí la Canción de la Espada (esa de "Fiel espada triunfadora", romanza de El Huésped del Sevillano).

Así que mis primeros pinitos con la música casi que se los debo a Plácido Domingo, ya que en todas las fiestas del colegio yo arrancaba con mi "Fiel espada triunfadora". 

Aquí os dejo con una interpretación maravillosa y con un público entregado en un concierto de 1994:

Placido Domingo sings Canto a la espada



Para terminar, dos videos que se hacen eco de la noticia del aniversario.

Plácido Domingo cumple 70 años


EFEMÉRIDES. Hoy cumple 70 años el tenor Plácido Domingo


Imagen vía SvD.
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January 17, 2011

0

Till Ulenspiegel de Dino Battaglia.

Ya escribí en una ocasión sobre la obra de Dino Battaglia cuando comenté su adaptación de Gargantúa y Pantagruel. Vuelve el autor italiano a Tonnerre de Brest con otra adaptación, firmada en lo literario por Piero Zanotto. Es una obra de 1975, aunque la edición que tengo es una reedición de 2005 de la publicación de 1978.

Till Ulenspiegel (o Eulenspiegel como suele ser corriente encontrarlo) es un bufón que fue creación de la tradición popular alemana pero que no fue llevado a la literatura hasta que en 1510 empezaron sus adaptaciones.

Ya en el siglo XIX el personaje era conocido por sus correrías, pero el escritor flamenco Charles de Coster decidió darle una nueva vuelta de tuerca y situar sus aventuras en los Países Bajos durante la dominación española en el siglo XVI, con un Felipe II aún príncipe y gobernado el país por el Duque de Alba.

La tiranía y el depotismo de los ocupantes hace que las bufonadas de Till tengan un carácter crítico, de protesta contra la situación reinante. Si la justicia es injusta, el libertinaje del protagonista está justificado.

Y Till bromea con todos. Se mofa del Duque de Alba para luego salvar a su amigo Lame de un cautiverio injusto, ridiculiza a un capitán al haber sido injusto con unos posaderos (ver la imagen del lateral para disfrutar de un ejemplo de este excelente libro).

Till es un guerrillero del humor, un bufón capaz de hacer trucos magníficos en presencia del futuro Felipe II mientras se une de la manera más ácrata a las revueltas populares. Se codea con la nobleza del lugar, ya sea pro-española o flamenca y a todos les regala su justicia poética y tragicómica. Una delicia de libro.

Más sobre el libro y Dino Battaglia:
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January 15, 2011

0

Noddy.



Watching TV with my kids, we found this lovely character's stories. Noddy was amazingly entertaining and educational.


After some cartoons, 12 minutes long, I notice that it was an Enid Blyton's creation. That made me guest I was missing something. So I decided to investigate.



First, in a magazine I bought for my kids I'd noticed that it was a wooden toy, not an elf as I thought. Then, looking for the books I was then aware that it was a character out of a 1949 book.




Noddy is 62 years old! Take a look at the cover of the first adventure. That's Noddy and Big Ears the way it was conceived by illustrator Van der Beek. It tells the story of a modern day Pinocchio who was afraid of a puppet lion and finds himself in Toyland, where he tries to be accepted. Always with the help of Big Ears.


After some books, a taxi is given to him as a gift and he finds his occupation. Some characters come and some go. Some are change for another ones, more "politically correct", but the story remains the same.

But the 3D animated version was not the original. From 1955 to 1982, Noddy was a permanent part of British Television with lovely stopmotion puppets representing all the characters and adventures. In the 90s he appeared scarcely but since 2000 and in 2002 with the new "Make Way For Noddy" he has not abandoned us. That's good news!


The TV series we can now see has many great moments, technically speaking, but with many rigid movements and sometimes one gets the feeling that the puppets are flying all the time over the background. But it doesn't matter. They are so remarkable and the story is so cool that it goes smoothly and you want more when a cartoon finish.


The music of  Make Way For Noddy is a simple delight. From the titles tune to all the character's melodies or leitmotifs, composed by Julie and Steve Bernstein. It was a hit when it was released as a CD, back in 2003.


It was produced by the UK company Charion and the American company SD Entertainment. The show was edited differently for American and British audiences. Here in Spain we can see the American version, with American accent and in sections that links two cartoons. In YouTube I found only the British version but in Clan TV page you can hear chapters in this "Americanized" edition.


Well, enough is enough. Let's see some Noddy cartoons!

A sample of the first Noddy animated version:

Noddy and the Milkman

[via Jamaniace]


And another one (I coudn't help it):



Noddy and the Special Key

[via Jamaniace]

First Theme Tune:


Noddy

the british theme tune to noddy from 1975
[via emh16]

And now the 2001/2002 version. First the opening credits:


Make Way for Noddy Theme Tune


And now some episodes. Notice the different voices from chapter to chapter. And the version I can hear here in Spain is quite different.


NODDY AND THE BAGPIPES



Noddy - Animal magic

[via bzuko22]


Noddy - Master Tubby's name game

[via bzuko22]


MAKE WAY FOR NODDY {THE FLOWER THIEF}


That was a lot! But, if you want more:
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January 13, 2011

0

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