Just about a month ago, the Maryland Renaissance Festival would have opened for yet another season. You may have caught my previous post Missing MDRF where I talked to Kim Alexander (Author at Page after Page) and Louie of The London Broil Juggling Show. In Maryland, we’re slowly creeping towards fall, and it just doesn’t seem the same without the Renaissance Festival. With the pandemic still a pervasive problem, the magical living story of Revel Grove will have to wait for another year. Most of my time in recent years has been spent watching my own wee bairns down at the pirate play-yard deep into the forest, but I would love to be there nonetheless. If you are missing it as much as I am, you might still have a small taste of it. For what is known to many as Talk Like a Pirate Day!, I’ve interviewed a few more folks you might want to hear from. So, grab yourself a good drink (possibly in a wooden drinking vessel) and read through these interviews with: Joe of Goodly Woods and the (fa

The Chronicles of Narnia have been on the list to read to my son for a long time. He's finally around the age I was when I began the seven-book saga, and we’ve now started read-alongs with the series. Last week, we finished The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe , which is the first book in the series (although not the first book chronologically.) Finishing it got the whole family excited to watch the adaptation. But which adaptation? There have been various audio versions as well as a number of theaterical productions. Let's focus on "family movie night" though. As a kid, I was a big fan of the 1988 BBC live action miniseries of the book, and the subsequent ones that they completed. I also remembered good things about the Disney version that came out in 2005. While looking up the best way to stream these two, I made a discovery. Somehow, I’d grown up unaware of both the 1967 ITV production and the 1979 animated TV movie. Would these be gems and new classics in my eyes

The momentous, long-awaited release of Bill & Ted Face the Music has finally taken place, and your most-humble friends at Never Say Dice have undertaken this journey (of indeterminate bogusness) to discuss it with you, our truly excellent readers . By necessity, this conversation will have some spoilers, so if you haven't seen it yet, go forward in time to when you have, then come back to today and pick up right here. Bugsy : Well, Andy, it actually exists. After rumors and legends and delays and everything else, a third Bill & Ted movie is out there in the world, and we should take a minute to appreciate that. This wasn't a cynical studio cash grab to exploit nostalgia from a long-dormant property, but a labor of love from both the series' creators and the fans, and, regardless of anything else, I'm happy that it's here and we're able to talk about it. Andy : It is also a truly triumphant film. I may have a few small issues with it, but we'll get i

The Maryland Renaissance Festival has been an annual tradition in my life for about 30 years now. I started visiting when my family would take me as a kid not too long after the Festival move to Crownsville. If you haven’t been, the English village of Revel Grove is a magical place with many permanent shops and stages spread over a vast 27-acre forest. It's a living story. They’ve weathered mud, hurricanes, and even opened the weekend following 9/11. This season though, the pandemic has forced them to close until August 2021. If you, like me, visit the Renaissance Festival frequently, or even if you only go on occasion, I’m sure you miss the sights, sounds, smells, and people as much as I do. This year, since we cannot visit Revel Grove, maybe Never Say Dice can bring a piece of the story to you at home. I’ve spent the past few weeks interviewing various shops, performers and workers from the Festival. I’ll be sharing their thoughts with you, and give you the opportunity to support

We'll cut to the chase - as (dare I say) nerdy kids in the late 80s and early 90s, how could we not have seen the Bill & Ted movies? So, as the release of Bill & Ted Face the Music approaches, we've re-watched the original films and dove a bit into the alternate media adventures of our two favorite time-travelling San Dimans .   Bugsy : What were your thoughts on the on Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure this time around the Time Circuits? I was amazed at how nearly every line has been burned into my head, even though I haven't seen it nearly as many times as most movies I can recite from memory - it's just that quotable. Andy : Between Marty McFly, Doctor Who, the Terminator, Captain Kirk, and our heroes of today Bill &Ted (as well as many many others), time travel was a big thing in that era. Indeed, we all know the boys and the girls were doing it. Aside from Back to the Future ,  Bill & Ted was probably my favorite time-travel franchise. Surpr

Greetings, Citizens! For scheduling reasons Due to Commie sabotage, the benevolent and exceptionally well-prepared individuals in charge of Never Say Dice have chosen to follow up the recent Paranoia post with another, this time about what you need to do before the game. Readers unfamiliar with Paranoia should take this opportunity to educate themselves before their ignorance is discovered and punished, and any readers uninterested in Paranoia should join the line for the nearest Termination Booth forming here . Please fill out the Citizen Satisfaction Survey before stepping into the booth. Have a pleasant daycycle! When we last spoke, I had covered the setting and talked a little about my first (successful) Paranoia session, but closed without sharing the lessons I had learned from my years of running the game. Players: Welcome to Alpha Complex, Six Death Minimum I must admit to having a certain advantage in my pool of available players that other Gamemasters might not: I live in