Squid Eats: Boards & Brews

Boards & Brews hails itself as "New Hampshire's premier board game cafe."  As explained in this post, my friends and I are on the lookout for gathering spots equidistant from northwest Vermont, where most of us live, and the new home of one of our comrades in Massachusetts.  Most of the prime candidates are in New Hampshire.  Manchester is 3ish hours from my house, about an hour further than Hanover which we explored last time. 

Boards & Brews (BB) provides a few advantages over The Fourth Place (FP) in Hanover.  The most important difference for me is that BB serves its own food.  FP is more of a comic book store that also sells games and provides some space to play them.  BB, has quite a decent menu - in fact, far more extensive than what is on offer at our local place in Vermont.  One can eat a proper meal - decent beer and coffee offerings, too.  I had the Caesar Salad with Chicken twice, then Chicken Tenders as a final snack before heading home.  BB has a lot more games than FP, too, as well as more space for playing them.  The table fee only covers a three-hour stretch though one can renew as long as space allows and you can make an advance reservation which is handy.  Prices are reasonable.

So, I would definitely go back.  It is a long drive for a day trip.  Ideally, for either Manchester or Hanover, I'd love to make it more of a weekend getaway along with my wife, the game gathering only being part of the festivities.  Manchester's bigger than I would have thought with a population around 115,000.  For a weekend trip, Hanover offers a bit more charm but I would bet Manchester has more to do.  Both are worth exploring further.

Right, the games...

Dominion - A medieval deck-building game.  One of our current favorites and well-established in gaming circles.  I rate it 8/10.

Cards Against Star Wars - I'm not a huge fan of Cards Against Humanity but I am a sucker for anything Star Wars.  Predictably, it is irreverent, offensive and disgusting.  Yes, it's also occasionally funny but the Star Wars material itself is rather half-assed.  One wonders how well the game creators actually know the franchise.  4/10

6 nimmt! - We fell in love with this one online during COVID lockdown.  This was our first time playing in person.  You play cards numbered 1-104 in 4 columns in numerical order.  If you play the 6th card in the row, you pick up the pile.  Picking up cards is bad.  There's more to it but those are the basics.  Surprisingly addictive.  The simplest games often are.  8/10

It was a good day for me.  I won every game!  Well, technically I tied for first in the two games of 6 nimmt!  

Squid Perks: Nest Coffee & Bakery

Nest Coffee & Bakery is but a short walk from the Amtrak station in Essex Junction, Vermont - a perfect spot while waiting for your train.  Vermont got quite a lot of snow this past Saturday so, despite our being close to the beginning of the route, our child's train back to college was significantly delayed on Sunday.  Coffee and pastries were very much in order.

I got a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant and also tried my wife's strawberry and cream croissant.  All were lovely.  Service is friendly and expedient.  Unfortunately, the space is a bit cramped.  My guess is that most of the service is to go, though there are a few tables to encourage people to stick around, including one relatively cozy area with a couch.  The three of us grabbed one end of a long table, the other end eventually taken by a pair of young women debating the relative merits of Star Wars and Star Trek - right up our alley!

We'll be back.  I don't usually give much thought to the area around the train station as it's right by a preferably avoided intersection.  But if we're already down there, Nest is definitely worth a stop.  As it was later in the morning, they'd already run out of some of their pastry offerings.  Ham and cheese croissant is always one of my favorites and I'd love to try theirs another time.

Star Trek: If Wishes Were Horses

Episode: "If Wishes Were Horses"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 1, Episode 16

Original Air Date: May 16, 1993

via Memory Alpha

Everyone's dreams, both good and bad, come true.  An alien species invades the station by taking the form of beings of our heroes' imaginations: Rumpelstiltskin for Molly O'Brien (or is it for Miles?); Buck Bokai, a fictitious 21st century baseball legend for Jake Sisko; a nauseatingly affectionate version of Dax for Julian; etc.  Harmless fun?  Not so much.  Imagined disasters like a spatial rift are also becoming all too real.

Fantasies becoming reality: this is well-traveled ground for Trek in such episodes as TOS's "Shore Leave" (arguably the precursor to Holodeck episodes) and TNG's "Imaginary Friend."  "If Wishes Were Horses" is not the strongest installment but I always appreciate when the tables are turned on our adventurers, in this case the observers becoming the observed.  A relevant behind the scenes note: according to Terry Farrell (Dax), this was the episode in which the ensemble cast hit their stride in working together.

Acting Notes

via Young Justice Wiki

Keone Young (Buck Bokai) was born September 6, 1947 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  He has had a long, extensive career in television both as a live actor and, especially, as a voice actor.  His biggest on-screen gigs were on Kay O'Brien, Deadwood and The Young and the Restless.  On the mic, he has had principal roles on Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and American Dragon: Jake Long as well as numerous recurring roles on high profile series such as Teen Titans, Batman Beyond and Star Wars Rebels.  "If Wishes Were Horses" is his first of two Trek appearances.  He plays Hiroshi's father in Enterprise.  

Marvel Unlimited: Signing Off

I have come to the end of my Marvel Unlimited subscription.  By conservative estimate, I would say I have read over 600 comic books over the past two years, average cost to me at 25 cents per.  That's a bargain by any standard.  I could hardly have asked for a better vehicle for my immersion in the Marvel Universe - got to spend some quality time with Star Wars comic books, too.  A big thank you to the Comic Book Herald for their reading guides as well.

To wrap up, a few awards...

Most Dependable Marvel Series: The Amazing Spider-Man

Most Dependable Star Wars Series: X-Wing Rogue Squadron

Best Story Arc: Daredevil: Born Again

Best Single Issue: The Amazing Spider-Man #121

Best Character: Wolverine

Best Team: X-Men

Best Writer: Frank Miller

Best Artist: Alex Ross

As I am dropping this feature, The Armchair Squid will have a new posting schedule, beginning next week:

Tuesdays: Family Adventures

Fridays: Star Trek

My Recent Reads

Age of Apocalypse One Shot

Cover Date: May 2005

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artist: Alvin Lee

via Marvel Database

Blink #1

March 2001

Lobdell/Trevor McCarthy

via Comixology

On the Coffee Table: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Title: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

via Wikipedia

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes collects short stories originally published in The Strand Magazine, 1892-93.  Some but not all editions include "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box."  Mine did not.

Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss) via Baker Street Wiki

There's some decent character development for Holmes in this run.  We learn he is a master of both boxing and fencing.  We learn he has a brother, Mycroft, every bit as brilliant as he is, though not as keen for the fieldwork required of an expert detective.  So he's an accountant instead.  My favorites of the collection are "The Adventure of the Silver Blaze," in which a race horse figures prominently, and "The Adventure of the Yellow Face," in which we see a rare attempt at Victorian Era social commentary.

Moriarty (Jared Harris) via Baker Street Wiki

Most important for the overall franchise is the book's last tale, "The Final Problem."  Holmes's greatest nemesis, Professor Moriarty, is introduced - an arch-criminal whose legacy includes Kingpin, Jabba the Hutt and Keyser Soze.  I like Moriarty and I appreciate his importance but at least in this initial appearance, I don't think he gets enough development.  In fact, to this point, I prefer the Star Trek character.  Worth noting: neither Holmes nor Data could best Moriarty.  But Captain Picard could...

State of the Blog 2021

Blogging Year 13, here we go!

It's going to be a big year for my family.  Our daughter begins her senior year of high school tomorrow.  Momentous occasions will abound.  Big decisions shall be made.  A year from now, we'll know the answers to many questions.  Big questions.  Suddenly, everything feels like a huge deal.

Obviously, I think a lot these days about things I want to be sure we do before she heads off to college.  I also project forward to the empty nest experience for my wife and me.  A few years ago, I told my wife that I don't want to be the sort of couple who waits for the kids to leave to get to know each other again.  I don't think we are that couple but I want to enjoy being that couple now.  So, as I think about how to spend my hobby time over the coming year, I think of new - and old - interests we should explore together. 

For instance, maybe it's time to give wine another try.  Mind you, it's still her default alcoholic beverage choice whereas I am a beer man.  Wine, particularly red, makes me sleepy.  That's not always a terrible thing but it's not what I want every night.  I also haven't been overly impressed by the classes we've taken.  Perhaps they at least taught us enough to do more informed exploring on our own.  Surely, there are compromises to be worked out here.  I don't know if I'll blog about wine again but you never know.

For now, I'm going to stick with the same blogging schedule...

Mondays: comic books

Wednesdays: family adventures

Fridays: Star Trek

As stated in yesterday's post, I am going to switch from Star Wars back to Marvel in comic books.  However, my Marvel Unlimited subscription runs out in January and I am not currently planning to renew.  So, I will probably move to a twice weekly, Tuesday/Friday schedule when that happens.

Family adventures posts will likely continue to focus on food, especially cocktails.  I will continue with Bitters of the Month as long as locally-available supply and shelf space allow.

As for Trek, I'm planning to continue as I have, beginning with TNG Season 5 right soon.  Deep Space Nine premiered during the middle of NextGen's sixth season so we should be able to explore that one together before long, too.  It will be my second time through DS9 as we binged it as a family this past year.  Without a doubt, it's my favorite of the NextGen era series.

As always, if you enjoy reading The Squid half as much as I enjoy writing it, we're all doing fine.  Keep in touch.

Star Wars Comics: Mara Jade #6, Crimson Empire II #4-6

It's time for me to move on from Star Wars comics and back to the Marvel line.  Mind you, I always enjoy my explorations of the galaxy far, far away but, frankly, talking about Marvel is more engaging for my readers.  And that is the whole point of this blogging thing, right?  Anyway, a few parting thoughts...

1999 is a natural jumping off point anyway.  The Phantom Menace was released in May of that year, significantly expanding the narrative possibilities for the comic books for the first time in 16 years.  To that point, I am considerably impressed with how much the comic creators had been able to expand upon three (admittedly extraordinary) films and a smattering of novels.  

Big picture, I think the biggest contribution the Dark Horse comics of the '90s made to the overall franchise was the development of its ancient history.  Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy introduced the holocrons, essentially the Jedi and Sith bibles, in their Dark Empire series.  Then Veitch (and others) went on to explore the material that might be contained within the holocrons in the Tales of the Jedi series, a mythology within the mythology.  While these were not my favorite series from the era, they were certainly the ones with the strongest legacy, perhaps most significantly in the Knights of the Old Republic video game line.  

Dark Horse is also to be commended for the many strong female characters developed during this era - less so for the obligatory tight-fitting costumes of same.

  

Here are my actual favorite series from the pre-Phantom Dark Horse era, along with the most interesting, morally-ambiguous character featured in each:

X-Wing Rogue Squadron - Baron Fel

Crimson Empire I and II - Kir Kanos

Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand - naturally, Mara Jade

My Recent Reads

Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #6

Originally published February 3, 1999

Writers: Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole

Artist: Carlos Ezquerra

In-story Timeline: 4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #4

February 10, 1999

Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley/Paul Gulacy

11 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #5

March 10, 1999

Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #6

April 14, 1999

Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy

via Wookieepedia

Star Wars Comics: Crimson Empire II #1-3, Jedi Academy #2-4, Mara Jade #5

This week, I wrapped up the Jedi Academy: Leviathan series.  While I was hoping for a Hogwarts for Jedi, it's closer to an X-Men equivalent.  The Jedi in training, at least the ones in the story, are all adults.  Luke sends them on a mission as part of their training then worries about them while they're away - clear Charles Xavier stuff.

It's a decent series - light and rather obvious on the dialogue, heavy on the action sequences.  As such, it's certainly a quick read.  It was enough to reignite my interest in Jedi lore.

My Recent Reads

Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #1

Originally published November 11, 1998

Writer: Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley

Artist: Paul Gulacy

In-story timeline: 11 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #2

December 9, 1998

Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy

Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #3

January 13, 1999

Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy

via Wookieepedia

Jedi Academy: Leviathan #2

November 18, 1998

Kevin J. Anderson/Dario Carrasco, Jr.

12 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Jedi Academy: Leviathan #3

December 16, 1998

Anderson/Carrasco

via Wookieepedia

Jedi Academy: Leviathan #4

January 27, 1999

Anderson/Carrasco

via Wookieepedia

Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand #5

December 16, 1998

Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole/Carlos Ezquerra

4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Star Wars Comics: Crimson Empire #5-6, X-Wing Rogue Squadron #30-35, Mara Jade #1-4, Jedi Academy #1

With this stretch, I've wrapped up two strong series and begun, at least so far, two strong new ones.  I'm a little sad for the end of the X-Wing series, definitely my favorite so far.  By the end, they were trying to do too much: too many characters, too many threads, three - or was it four? - simultaneous romantic tales.  It was at its best when it settled on a narrow focus for a while.  In fact, in my experience, that's pretty much always the case in comic books.

I don't need to be too wistful about Crimson Empire because I'll be starting the second series soon.

Mara Jade might very well be the single best character introduced between the original and prequel movie trilogies.  Timothy Zahn deserves the credit, having invented her for his Thrawn book trilogy.  The truth is, quite a lot of badass female Star Wars characters were introduced in the '90s - heroes, villains and, best of all, in between.  Unfortunately, Padme was a step backwards in that regard but perhaps these others were important precursors for Rey further down the line.

The greatest contribution by the Dark Horse comic books to the broader franchise was the fleshing out of an ancient history for the Jedi/Sith struggle.  While I tired of that thread after a bit, Jedi Academy has renewed my curiosity.  It's actually the latest in the timeline of any series I've explored so far but it's well grounded in the earlier legends.

My Recent Reads

Crimson Empire #5

Originally published April 15, 1998

Writers: Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley

Artist: Paul Gulacy

In-Story Timeline: 11 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire #6

May 20, 1998

Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #30: Masquerade, Part 3

May 6, 1998

Michael A. Stackpole/Drew Johnson

4 ABY

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #31: Masquerade, Part 4

July 1, 1998

Stackpole/Johnson

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #32: Mandatory Retirement, Part 1

August 5, 1998

Stackpole/Steve Crespo

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #33: Mandatory Retirement, Part 2

September 16, 1998

Stackpole/Crespo and John Nadeau

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #34: Mandatory Retirement, Part 3

October 28, 1998

Stackpole/Crespo and Nadeau

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #35: Mandatory Retirement, Part 4

November 25, 1998

Stackpole/Crespo and Nadeau

via Wookieepedia

Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #1

August 5, 1998

Timothy Zahn and Stackpole/Carlos Ezquerra

4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #2

September 2, 1998

Zahn and Stackpole/Ezquerra

via Wookieepedia

Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #3

October 7, 1998

Zahn and Stackpole/Ezquerra

via Wookieepedia

Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #4

November 4, 1998

Zahn/Ezquerra

via Wookieepedia

Jedi Academy - Leviathan #1

October 28, 1998

Kevin J. Anderson/Dario Carrasco, Jr.

12 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Star Wars Comics: X-Wing Rogue Squadron #28-29, Crimson Empire #4

Original Star Warriors - Leia, Han and Chewie - have joined the X-Wing series and Rogue Squadron has turned up in Crimson Empire, albeit seven years later in the timeline.  I like it when the various stories intersect.

X-Wing, while definitely my favorite of the Dark Horse Star Wars series so far, does have one flaw: too many characters.  More to the point, too many of the Rogue Squadron members are human and look too much alike so it's hard to tell them apart.  It's also becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of all the various narrative threads, especially with characters from previous arcs being brought back.  I think I've got everything straight at the moment but it's tempting to make a chart.

My Recent Reads

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #28

Originally published March 4, 1998

Writer: David A. Stackpole

Artist: Drew Johnson

In-Story Timeline: 4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #29

April 1, 1998

Stackpole/Johnson

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire #4

March 18, 1998

Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley/Paul Gulacy

11 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Star Wars Comics: Crimson Empire #2-3, X-Wing Rogue Squadron #27, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution #1

Crimson Empire is a strong series so far.  It appeals to me for much the same reason Rogue Squadron does: it offers the perspective of a military grunt, though this one plays for the other side.  Development of the protagonist Carnor Jax is gradual which I also appreciate.

Shadows of the Empire - Evolution is about a droid.  No thanks.

My Recent Reads

Crimson Empire #2

Originally published January 28, 1998

Writers: Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley

Artist: Paul Gulacy

In-Story Timeline: 11 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire #3

February 18, 1998

Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #27: Family Ties, Part 2

February 4, 1998

Michael A. Stackpole/Jim Hall and Drew Johnson

4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Shadows of the Empire - Evolution #1

February 11, 1998

Steve Perry/Ron Randall

4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Star Wars Comics: Dark Force Rising #5-6, X-Wing Rogue Squadron #23-26, Shadow Stalker, Crimson Empire #1

Mara Jade, Baron Fel, Jix, Kir Kanos: the best characters are morally ambiguous characters.

My Recent Reads

Dark Force Rising #5

Originally published September 24, 1997

Based on the novel of the same name by Timothy Zahn

Writer: Mike Baron

Artist: Terry Dodson

In-Story Timeline: 9 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Dark Force Rising #6

October 29, 1997

Based on the novel of the same name by Timothy Zahn

Baron/Dodson

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #23: In the Empire's Service, Part 3

October 1, 1997

Michael A. Stackpole/John Nadeau

4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #24: In the Empire's Service, Part 4

November 5, 1997

Stackpole/Nadeau

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #25: The Making of Baron Fel

December 3, 1997

Stackpole/Steve Crespo

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #26: Family Ties, Part 1

January 7, 1998

Stackpole/Jim Hall

via Wookieepedia

Shadow Stalker

November 19, 1997

Ryder Windham/Nick Choles

0 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire #1

December 7, 1997

Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley/Paul Gulacy

11 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Star Wars Comics: Dark Force Rising #3-4, X-Wing Rogue Squadron #20-22

My Recent Reads

Dark Force Rising #3

Originally Published July 30, 1997

Based on the novel of the same name by Timothy Zahn

Writer: Mike Baron

Artist: Terry Dodson

In-Story Timeline: 9 ABY

via Wookieepedia

• Luke meets C'Baoth who starts training him in the ways of the Force... the Dark Side of the Force.
• Han and Lando are on New Cov trying to dig up evidence on a spy among Senator Borsk Fey'lya's advisers.  Their efforts are interrupted when Thrawn's forces arrive on the planet.  A couple of new friends help them to escape.
• Thrawn threatens the Noghri who are hiding Leia, Chewie and Threepio.  So far, they haven't caved but Leia's getting nervous.
• Kirk, Spock and McCoy make a cameo in one of the panels.  I never would have seen it without the heads up from Wookieepedia but it's there.  If you're curious, page 18, fourth panel from the top, lower left.

Dark Force Rising #4

August 27, 1997

Based on the novel of the same name by Timothy Zahn

Baron/Dodson

via Wookieepedia

• Mara Jade is back!  But whose side is she on?  
• Thrawn's?  She cuts a deal with him to get information but then he betrays her.  
• Talon Karrde's?  She does seem inclined to protect him.
• Luke's?  Well, that seems unlikely at this stage but when the our favorite Jedi finally catches on that C'Baoth isn't such a great guy, Mara helps him escape.
• Han and Lando meet with Garm Bel Iblis, a former Senator and a General with the Rebellion.  Unfortunately, he refuses to help them.

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #20: Requiem for a Rogue, Part 4

June 2, 1997

Michael A. Stackpole and Jan Strnad/Gary Erskine

4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

• The good guys win.
• But not without high cost.  Dllr and Herian sacrifice themselves for the good of the cause.

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #21: In the Empire's Service, Part 1

August 6, 1997

Stackpole/John Nadeau

via Wookieepedia

• It turns out the Empire has their own cracker jack pilot, one Baron Fel.  The character is an obvious homage to the Red Baron.
• He is being sent to destroy Rogue Squadron.  And apparently he has a personal beef with Wedge, too, though we don't yet know what it is.

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #22: In the Empire's Service, Part 2

September 3, 1997

Stackpole/Nadeau

via Wookieepedia

• We learn more about Baron Fel.  In truth, he seems a decent guy.  He's faithful to his wife.  He's motivated by the idea of protecting the citizens of the empire.  I always appreciate characters like this - a sympathetic face on the enemy.  Lux Bonteri is a good example from Clone Wars.
• He's certainly a more honorable man than his general on Brentaal IV, Soto.  The latter is mostly interested in protecting himself.
• Rogue Squadron and the Imperials, led by Fel, square off over Brentaal.  Several are shot down, but survive.  Janson and Ibtisam are taken prisoner.