AdamPFarnsworth | Cheerful Ghost

Supreme Court Strikes Down Federal Law Prohibiting Sports Gambling

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/sites/csnma/files/styles/article_hero_image/public/2018/05/14/sportsbetting.png

There's been a federal ban on sports gambling (that excluded Nevada), but it was just struck down! This opens the way to any state deciding to make sports betting legal (and therefore taxable), with some states ready to quickly making it legal. As one who follows sports, and plays daily fantasy sports (which for whatever reason isn't considered betting in most states), I'm really looking forward to being able to place legal bets on games. I've tried some questionably legal off shore betting websites, and whilst they're ran well, it's always felt shady.

It's estimated that Americans illegally wager $150 billion a year on sports.

Here's more information:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/14/politics/sports-betting-ncaa-supreme-court/index.html

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 05/14/2018 at 07:38pm

(I know this isn't a typical Cheerful Ghost post, but it's gaming-related, in a way lol)

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/14/2018 at 07:50pm

Is Cheerful Ghost opening up a sports betting area?

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 05/14/2018 at 08:00pm

RAKE IN TEH MONEY

Travis Admin wrote on 05/14/2018 at 08:28pm

Haha, I feel like we’d be the wrong target audience for sports betting.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/14/2018 at 08:45pm

$5 on rollerball!

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/15/2018 at 03:03am

> Is Cheerful Ghost opening up a sports betting area?

No but oddly enough I've been approached to link to sites that provide the odds for certain scenarios like the chances the average gamer could pre-order a NES Classic. That said, I didn't do that and I don't think Cheerful Ghost will open up a sport betting aspect to the site. Interesting idea though.

That said, I heard about this today and apparently this was a unanimous Supreme Court ruling which, to me, makes total sense. I don't gamble really ever but the fact that it was outlawed in ever state EXCEPT Nevada seemed honestly like someone in Nevada paid someone off to exclude the other states. Not sure Oregon will allow sports betting, I hope they do, but this seems like a pretty good idea if you are for more states rights.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/15/2018 at 03:40am

Yeah I have mixed opinions about sports betting but it seems crazy for it to be illegal at the federal level with exceptions for NV.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 05/15/2018 at 04:01am

Time to open up betting on eSports!

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/15/2018 at 04:27am

> Time to open up betting on eSports!

Huh. That's not a bad idea.

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A Very Quick Choose-Your-Own-Adventure

AdamPFarnsworth gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

AdamPFarnsworth gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

And when they knew the Earth was doomed, they built a ship.

Less like an ark, more like a seed: dormant but with potential.

In Seedship, you are the AI of an interstellar ship carrying 1000 frozen humans and your databases are full of Earth's scientific and cultural knowledge. As a text-only adventure, you fly throughout the universe, scanning planets, looking for a suitable homeworld to "seed" humanity. As you travel, you will likely take damage, but you will also "learn" what to look for in planets and be able to upgrade your scanners. I won't get into much more detail, as it's fun to experience it for yourself.

This is a very quick, randomly generated game that I recommend checking out. After a while, some of the "random" encounters and outcomes start to be repetitive, but this was very enjoyable for me to play though. I play it on my phone, and it keeps a record of every play through result. I've played it 41 times, and have had ending civilizations ranging from Warring Neolitic States to Engaged Post-Singularity Democracies.

I recommend checking it out!

Star Thrones!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVYQ1lGWAAE0_E9.jpg

Oh man, now this is exciting Star Wars news!

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (creators of Game of Thrones) are going to be writing and producing a new series of Star Wars films! I haven't seen a lot of information about it yet, but I already can't wait to see this! Game of Thrones has some amazing world building and character development that I hope translates well into the Star Wars universe. I've already forgotten about that movie coming out about a smuggler... what's his name Hope Solo?

http://www.starwars.com/news/game-of-thrones-creators-david-benioff-and-d-b-weiss-to-write-and-produce-a-new-series-of-star-wars-films

Travis Admin wrote on 02/06/2018 at 10:22pm

I was on my way to post this!

Aaaaand I’m starting to worry about oversaturation. They have announced two film series before the one we’re working on is done.

I’m still mostly excited, partly worried. The world building and character development mostly comes from George RR Martin. I’m not sure how they are at it, and considering Benioff wrote X-Men Origins: Wolverine I’m slightly concerned.

I mean I’ll be there opening week for sure anyway.

I wonder what their release schedule will be like. And how many D&D will have.

Episode IX
Something: A Star Wars Story
Rian Johnson’s Trilogy part 1
D&D’s Series part 1
Something: A Star Wars Story
Rian Johnson’s Trilogy part 2
D&D’s Series part 2
Something: A Star Wars Story
Rian Johnson’s Trilogy part 3
D&D’s Series part 3

That gets us up to 2028 with one every year. Or 2025 if they drop the anthology movies.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 02/06/2018 at 10:26pm

Emila Clarke is already in Solo. Star Wars Universe is going full GoT. Next up, Jon Snow!

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 02/06/2018 at 10:29pm

Good point about GRRM, but they took his story and created something amazing with it. They've made some changes along the way, and almost everyone seems to be happy with their choices. But, still, a really good point. Hopefully they can create something new and deep.

I was wondering about the release schedule as well. I wonder if they'd release it at the same time as Rian Johnson's trilogy or not. I have a feeling they don't trust us fans to be able to keep the stories straight and to keep us from being confused, they'll probably finish Rian's trilogy, and then release the G&D trilogy.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/06/2018 at 10:43pm

That’s a good point about the order. I’m going to need to buy some more shelves to hold all the Star Wars movies before it’s over with

Travis Admin wrote on 02/06/2018 at 11:12pm

Rather than add a new post to the already Star Wars heavy front page...

https://www.polygon.com/2018/2/6/16981232/star-wars-series-disney-streaming

The new D&D series of movies will be based around a specific moment in Star Wars mythology. That’s an intriguing premise. I wonder which moment. The forming of the rule of two? I can’t think of any major piece of mythology that we haven’t seen that would outclass that.

Also in that link, news that there are MULTIPLE Star Wars TV series’ in development for their streaming service. We knew about one, but this ups the ante.

I don’t want to subscribe to another streaming service but the deal keeps getting more compelling.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/07/2018 at 04:51am

> Aaaaand I’m starting to worry about oversaturation. They have announced two film series before the one we’re working on is done.

Seems like they are trying to load up the future path for Star Wars and it LOOKS like it's not going to keep being the Skywalker Saga. I like that they are looking to broaden things and i'm really hopeful for that.

I'm not worried about oversaturation because Marvel figured it out and I bet sooner or later Lucasfilm will make it work. Or they won't but I imagine some of the movies will be good and if they are too many I can just skip seeing them in the theater. I do that now with movies and that's fine.

They must have other films in the works too because after Solo, Ep 9 they don't have anything on the table enough to launch unless that new Johnson joint is ready to start filming this year and I don't think it will. My guess it we will get some kind of Obiwan movie they can get out to fill that year and then after that we might be on the new Star Wars story path with Rian Johnson and the Game of Thrones guys. The Thrones guys can only start after the last season of Thrones is done right which is like when again?

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 02/07/2018 at 05:05am

Next season of GoT comes out in 2019

Travis Admin wrote on 02/07/2018 at 02:15pm

I imagine we will hear news about the next anthology movie after Solo has been out for a few weeks. They initially said they were going to do three and see how that went right?

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Building A Time Machine For Us Non-Computer People

The Modern Rogue is a great channel on YouTube where two guys, Brian and Jason, learn about cool stuff. From beer and whiskey to fighting with knives and swords to modern tech hacks, these guys cover a wide range of topics. In this video, they build a game emulator from a Raspberry Pi, and keep it understandable for us noobs to computer building.

This One Goes Out To Jon

The movie IT, but instead of Pennywise, it's Jon's favorite character!

Harmon Quest! D&D Played By Dan Harmon and Guest Comedians

https://i1.wp.com/www.bubbleblabber.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/harmonquest.jpg

As a big fan of Rick and Morty, and a casual fan of Community, I find myself gravitating towards anything Dan Harmon is involved in. Harmon Quest popped up in a YouTube ad and I had to check it out. So far I've only watched 1 episode, but I love the style of it.

Dan plays as Fondue Zubag, a half-orc ranger, and he has a regular cast that plays with him, in front of a live audience, with a guest comedian. The episodes are then animated and cut between the animation of the game and the players around a table.

Paul F. Tompkins was the guest in episode 1 (who played as Teflonto, Earthscar's village champion and captain of the town's militia. Also a friend, mentor, and role model to Fondue). Looking at the episode list, here are some of the guest players: Aubrey Plaza, Thomas Middleditch, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt and Nathan Fillion.

If you're a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, or just comedy, I 100% recommend checking this out! (It does require setting up a free account to watch)

https://vrv.co/series/GRNQZ129R/HarmonQuest

Contra Meets Steamboat Willie

Here are Rich and Jack's take on Cuphead! Spoiler alert, it's beautiful but the game play doesn't blow you away.

The Great Tournament

AdamPFarnsworth gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

AdamPFarnsworth gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

I recently stumbled upon The Great Tournament when looking for a new time waster (mobile game). It turned out to be a really fun experience! I'd call it a Choose Your Own Adventure book with RPG stats. The writing is tropey (you're a young villager who serendipitously ends up on adventures) and sometimes a bit lazy (a lot of names and places seem to be outright stolen from other books/games), but it was a lot of fun. You start like an RPG, rolling 5 stat points into 6 or so categories, and as you play your actions influence how your stats grow. It looks like a shallow game, but feels like there's a deep game underneath. I enjoyed it enough to pay the $5 for the add free version.

All in all, you can finish this game in a few hours (depending on how fast you read I suppose). I've played through it twice so far, but haven't beat it. I'm going to wait on a third time though, since similar to reading a book, I know basically what's coming next (the choose your own adventure options do eventually bring you to the same plot points, it's just a matter of how you get there and how ready you are).

I definitely recommend picking the game up and checking it out. Here's a link to the Google Play Store version, but I believe it's available pretty much everywhere.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.hostedgames.greattournament&hl=en

"The Great Tournament" is a 180,000 word interactive fantasy novel by Philip Kempton, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

• Choose your attributes and train your skills in order to win in tournaments.
• Become a hero of the realm or use your power to take control over the kingdom.
• Unique combat and character generation ensures no one game is the same.
• Fight for glory, love, or power in the Great Tournament.
• Multiple endings with different story lines.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Throw your hat, land it on someone/something else, become that person/thing.

This is an insane new mechanic. I'd love to find out more about this story line. Has Mario been a zombie of the hat through all the past games?!?

The music sounds incredible. I'm hoping the actual game has a soundtrack like this!

Anyone else completely confused by this trailer?

The Last Jedi Teaser Trailer

I only know one truth... it's time for the Jedi... to end

This looks great! I'm leaning back and forth how much info I want on the movie, but in the end, I probably won't be able to resist watching all the trailers :)

Travis Admin wrote on 04/14/2017 at 09:36pm

This is a great trailer. It teases plot points without giving anything away.

And plus it's new Star Wars!!!

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 04/14/2017 at 09:52pm

I agree! I'm excited about Star Wars again! I imagine someday I'll get burnt out (I'm not anticipating being hyped for the Han Solo movie), but right now GIVE ME MORE STAR WARS

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/15/2017 at 03:54am

Yep, this trailer was really cool and I am excited for The Last Jedi even more now. If Disney keeps going at this pace and with the movies as good as they have been I think I'll be watching them excitedly for quite some time.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/15/2017 at 04:41am

Adam, that may be true about the Han Solo movie, I'll hold judgment until a trailer at least.

But for now I AM ONE WITH THE HYPE AND THE HYPE IS WITH ME

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/15/2017 at 05:09pm

I finally have a couple things to say about this trailer so hold on to your butts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W6as8oVcuM

Sorry that wasn't a Star Wars reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZpIrlcZmXQ

Episode One - More About The Force Awakens

Firstly I want to link to our Force Awakens trailer discussion. Fun to read that two years later knowing what we know now. It's nice to have these discussions easy to find. I know i'll get a kick out of reading them YEARS later. You know, like now only much older...

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2479/star-wars-vii-the-force-awakens-trailer-2-launches

Firstly I want to step back a bit and say I think the Force Awakens is getting a but too much negativity amongst some fans. The fact that it was made as quickly and was as good and made as many people happy and again, was good is a miracle. I think the Movies With Mikey review sums it up well even though Mikey does tend to get a bit gushy the end of his reviews. Regardless, Force Awakens was a movie I still stand by as "liquid joy" and one of the more magical theater going experiences i've had lately. Until I saw Arrival then that topped it, but Force Awakens was superb and as a fan very satisfying.

I could get into the biggest criticisms of it, but I won't because we've talked about that before. All that to say, my guess is Last Jedi will be incredible and in many ways better than the Force Awakens because the Force Awakens built up so much The Last Jedi can now pay off and kick the world building and incredible parts of Star Wars up 10 notches. I think because of this there will be some new fan share on the Force Awakens because the Internet loves picking apart things and jumping on bandwagons. Or not. But we'll see.

TLDR; Force Awakens is a great movie that builds up an incredible world the Last Jedi can play in so well it will be a really great film.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/15/2017 at 05:09pm

Episode II - Attack Of the Trailer Speculation

I think you can take Luke wanting the Jedi to end in a couple ways. Both are interesting and i'm not entire sure which it will be.

1. Luke actually wants to rid the galaxy of anyone with force ability. Let's face it, the Jedi are ultra powerful and it seems from the films having them around causes a huge amount of problems. Luke might believe that having such ultra powerful people might be too much for the galaxy and he wants to stop anyone from getting that power and using it for bad. This is a parallel between what Vader did, which was for entirely different reasons but the same kind of action. It would be an interesting juxtaposition and since, my guess, Luke is the most powerful person in the galaxy and seemingly for good but not it could create an interesting story. Further speculation on this line is that Luke might train Rey to help him take out the First Order and the Knights of Ren something she might like but Luke might take it too far for her or be too extreme?

2. Luke is speaking more metaphorically and he wants there to be less "evil extreme" Jedi and "good to the point of being dumb" Jedi. He thinks being Grey is actually better and will try and sway Kylo to the middle. I've only heard about the Grey path recently and it's an interesting concept outlined on Wookipedia below.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gray_Jedi

3. Something else entirely.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/15/2017 at 05:14pm

"fan share" => "fan shade"

AdamPFarnsworth Post Author wrote on 04/15/2017 at 06:40pm

I'm thinking it'll be something along the second scenario, with Luke going Gray (or maybe going clear? Does he become a Scientologiat?), but I'm hoping for something more out of left field. I'm still hoping Luke turns out to be Smoke lol. The first scene in the trailer, Rey falls and looks upset. Sure, this is probably part of a training montage, but maybe it's Luke throwing Rey out of his house/cace/dwelling. Or maybe Luke isn't Snoke, but Rey ends up turning evil.

Looking at the poster for the movie (http://www.gameinformer.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Components-SiteFiles/imagefeed-featured-lucasfilm-StarWars-celebration2017-thelastjedi/lastjediposter1.jpg), Rey's lightsaber turns from blue to red, and it's separating Luke and Kylo. She could turn to the dark side and keep Luke and Kylo apart (Kylo's helmet is broken in the trailer, maybe he's trying to turn to the light side in this one?)

I love speculating :)

Timogorgon Member wrote on 04/15/2017 at 09:18pm

Luke: Kylo, your problem is you have too many Thetans. We can take care of that for you, all you need to do is just pay 4 easy installments of $59.95...

I'm throwing my bet behind a more Gray Jedi / balanced approach to the force. I love how the Star Wars trailers (at least for the main series) have been so good about making the movies look great without giving away the plot too much. So many trailers show you too much and then you already know what's going to happen by the time you see the movie.

And man, I've watched this trailer like 12 times and I still get goosebumps when the red Star Wars logo shows up. And that end piece of music! John Williams is the man.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/16/2017 at 03:11am

> (Kylo's helmet is broken in the trailer, maybe he's trying to turn to the light side in this one?)

I actually thought that was Darth Vaders burned helmet but it could be Kylo's which does make more sense.

I think this trailer is one of the best trailers i've seen. Also, I like Luke as a Yoga Teacher. "Breeeeaaathe!"

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 04/17/2017 at 03:53am

Where is C3PO and Chewbaca? Are they back?

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/17/2017 at 04:00am

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Last_Jedi

Looks like they are in the movie credits.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/17/2017 at 08:25pm

There's no way they don't put threepio in it. Anthony Daniels has been in nearly every single Star Wars property and he's still kicking.

If Anthony Daniels is alive in 20 years when Star Wars Episode 18 comes out and takes place 500 years in the future from Episode 8, Threepio will probably still be there.

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AdamPFarnsworth5

150 Posts

Supreme Court Strikes Down Federal Law Prohibiting Sports Gambling

A Very Quick Choose-Your-Own-Adventure

Star Thrones!

Building A Time Machine For Us Non-Computer People

This One Goes Out To Jon

Harmon Quest! D&D Played By Dan Harmon and Guest Comedians

Contra Meets Steamboat Willie

The Great Tournament

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The Last Jedi Teaser Trailer