Highmoon's Ponderings

My wife had been preparing a surprise birthday party for me for a couple of weeks, and though I knew the party was coming, I was left in the dark about the theme. I had my suspicions, but I decided not to give it any thought, so I would be surprised when the time came. Indeed, Saturday night rolled around and when I got home from synagogue, I had been right in my suspicion: it was a Star Wars themed party.

I had to help put up stuff, like the Darth Vader piñata, and get the music playing. My wife made a playlist of a bunch of Star Wars music, including pieces from the soundtrack to all six movies (including the Yub Nub song!), and homages, like Metallica’s Imperial March and Rage Against the Machine’s Imperial March, and spoofs, such as Weird Al Yankovic’s Yoda and The Saga Begins, plus some cool stuff like a French techno mashup of Thriller called When I Was a Child I Was a Jedi/The Jedi Dance. We also had the original, low-budget, no-CGI trilogy playing on the laptops, and LEGO Star Wars and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed playing on the Wii. Oh yeah, my wife also made a drink she dubbed the Dagobah Punch that, well, lived up to its name.

I had a lot of fun, as is evident by the photos. The only bummer is that my buddy Josh couldn’t come because his little girl was sick (though she’s fine now), which made me realize quite accutely that I need more guy friends. It also would have been awesome if my friends from the Star Wars Primetime Adventures game at Gen Con had been there, but given they live all across the US, it would have been a bit difficult. That’s what happens when most of your friends are online.

The birthday loot was awesome as well: My wife got me the Wii Fit, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (at which my wife naturally excels and can kick anyone’s butt in a Jedi duel), a deluxe toy Darth Vader lightsaber, Star Wars Risk and a new back rack for my bike. From my generous guests I got a nice bottle of Italian wine, a Star Wars book of (really friggin hard) trivia, as well as some cash (which went towards buying materials for my sukkah, but see my next post for that story).

Kudos go to my wife for an awesome birthday party, way above and beyond anything I imagined or deserved. It was a great way to welcome my 34th birthday.

You can check out the photos in the slideshow below, over on Flickr: Danny’s Star Wars Birthday Party set or on Facebook: My Star Wars Birthday Party set.

As is normal during the High Holy Days, I barely have time for anything. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are now past, which is shoocking considering how I was feeling that I couldn’t believe they were already here again from last year. Time moves way too fast!

The services and prayers were good and meaningful, which is awesome, as last year they didn’t quite feel that way (and I am sure that had some effect on the shitty year I had). I feel good, renewed, clean; I am aching to start things again. First, however, we gotta get through the end of the festivities, the holiday of Sukkot. I’ll be getting my four species and constructing my sukkah on Sunday, G-d willing.

Which brings me to my birthday, which is on Sunday, Oct. 12. Again, here already?! My wife is planning a surprise party (the theme is a surprise, not that I’ll be having a party) for me tomorrow night, so pics will be coming soon. Officially, I turn 34 on Sunday, and I am looking forward to enjoying the day.

I already started my birthday weekend by treating myself to the D&D 4e Adventurer’s Vault book from WotC. I’ve been very much in a 4e frame of mind lately, so I’ll talking about that more once I get some time.

Off for now.

Highmoon Media Productions and MonkeyGod Enterprises present At the Edge of Dreams.

The body of a Faean lord is found skewered by an iron lance, one of his retinue surviving long enough to whisper, “Mortals” An entire human family is found ruthlessly slaughtered in their sleep, traces of Faean magic still lingering in the air. Ancient pacts between the Faean and the village of Graymeer have ensured a lasting peace over the centuries. Now, however, with ever increasing atrocities occurring to both sides, the pact is strained to the point of breaking. And if they break, there will be a war between the Mortals and Faean, a war that will escalate to throw all of the Shield Islands into chaos.

Something, or someone, has been purposefully trying to drive the Faean and Mortals into direct conflict. The heroes have one chance - they must find the true culprit behind these incidents, and then travel to the mysterious Faean Realm, At the Edge of Dreams, to convince the Faean Court to halt their attacks, before it is too late.

At the Edge of Dreams is a d20 fantasy adventure for 6th- & 7th-level characters.

Written by: Christopher Coyle
Cover by: Scott Fischer
Artwork by: Theodor Black
Fully Bookmarked

NOW AVAILABLE from RPGNow.com!