Welcome to Friday’s Blog! Today we have not one story, but a whole potpourri (or lagniappe, as we like to call it Cajun style) of different tidbits to titillate and amuse! Let’s get down to business!
My Mom’s Birthday
My mom wanted everyone to know that she’s doing a lot better now, and told me to let everyone know that her birthday was this coming Monday, August 30th. She wouldn’t let you tell me how old she’ll be turning, but it’s between Lindsey Lohan and Queen of England age. She says that you are welcome to send her a birthday card to:
Helene Bleiweiss
1130 Avenue J-12
Lancaster, CA 93535
Yeah, I don’t know if anyone will send her a card, but she insisted I put this in my article. Hi mom!
Aaron Forsythe And The P9 Richmond Tournament
As Ted noted yesterday, Aaron Forsythe will be attending and competing in our Power 9 Type 1 tournament in Richmond on October 23rd. This is also the same day as the Virginia State championships – last year we had a huge turn out, and this year is looking to break all records! I can guarantee this will be an amazing day of Magic, and the full details of States can be found here and the full details of the Power 9 Tournament can be found here.
Aaron is a prince of a man, who has accomplished much as a player, as a writer, as the editor of MagictheGathering.com and now as a Wizards R&D member. Between Type 2 States, Type 1 Power 9, booster drafts, and the chance to meet Aaron, you can’t miss this event!
The State Of The Blog
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read and supported the Blog over the past month. I’ve had an amazing time recounting my experiences with Magic, and I’ve appreciated every person who has followed my exploits, who has written to me at [email protected] or who has posted on the message boards with their comments. I’ve been very happy with the experience so far, and do not plan on stopping the blog anytime soon.
However (and you knew there would be a however here), I haven’t been happy with the amount of time I can commit to each individual blog. I have a list of blog topics that I keep on my desktop – I add to this list as I remember old stories I’d like to tell. My daily process goes as follows:
5pm hits. I stop working on whatever I’m working on at the time.
I turn to Pete.”Hey Pete, what time is it?”
Pete replies,”Don’t make me say it!”
I continue.”Pete, you gotta say it!”
Pete sighs.”It’s Blogger time. I hate you!”
I jump up and down waving my hands.”Blogger Time! Yeah!”
Only then can I start writing for the day.
Most of my blogs have been written in an hour between 5pm and 6pm, though I’ve had to push some back until 10pm at night, due to work commitments. I feel this has caused the quality of a lot of my blogs to be less than I’d like them to be, and I haven’t been able to write as in depth on some subjects as I’d like. In addition, I’m presently writing the Selecting 9th Edition Dilemma series, which brings my total articles to some obscene amount each week. I even did a guest shot on Ask Ken this past Thursday. Because of my workload and want to write more in depth, I’m altering the blog format.
As of next week, Blog Fanatic will be appearing Monday, Wednesday and Fridays on StarCityGames.com. I know some of you will be disappointed that it’s not going to be appearing five days a week anymore, but I can assure you that there are an equal number of people who wish it would just vanish altogether. To them I shake my fist. To you, I say that with that extra day I’ll have to work on each blog, each of the Blog Fanatics should be longer, more in depth, and generally more to my own satisfaction.
I have a few very special episodes of Blog Fanatic coming in the next few weeks, some of which have been months in the works. Today’s blog ends with a feature that I’ve had on the backburner for a couple of years now. Thanks to the magic of Yawgatog, this feature can finally come to life.
Brian Kibler Bingo!
Brian Kibler is a fine man – he’s one of the top money earners in Magic history, he’s just won the first Vs. Pro Circuit event at Gen Con and he’s the frequent voice in the Sideboard commentary booth during the top 8 of Magic pro events – that is, when he’s not busy making the top 8 himself!
If there’s one thing in life Brian loves, more than winning, more than women, more than drinking, raving, attending college or hanging with friends – if there’s one thing Brian Kibler loves in life more than anything else, it’s talking about himself. There is no man alive in Magic today who can talk more about themselves than Brian Kibler. This fact is proven each time Brian enters the booth at a Magic: The Gathering Top 8 – the whole world has been exposed to this phenomena thanks to the magic of the live streaming feed during coverage on Wizard’s web site. It’s done in an amusing fashion, and no harm is done. But why stop at observation? I present to you: Brian Kibler Bingo!
That’s a shrunk-down board. The full-sized board is available here.
How To Play:
Print out a copy of the Bingo Board, and follow along to the top 8 coverage of Worlds in San Francisco. This will take place on September 5th, 2004. You can find the coverage at www.magicthegathering.com on the appropriate date. As you follow along to the coverage, check off the Brian Kibler Bingo Boxes as Brian Kibler talks about himself! I suggest a Sharpie or a ball-point pen for this task. Once Brian gets a complete row on the card, jump up and yell”BINGO!” at the top of your lungs! As Brian completes each row of five squares, continue to yell”BINGO!” at the top of your lungs! Your neighbors will be amazed! Your pets will be amused! If you’re in the audience of Worlds in San Francisco, you’ll be roughly escorted off premises for yelling during the Top 8! It doesn’t matter – you’ve just won Brian Kibler Bingo!
FAQ
Q: But Ben, what do I win for playing? – JB from Florida
A: You win the prize.
Q: What is the prize? – OL from Ukraine
A: The satisfaction at having listened to Brian Kibler for hours on end. Is this not prize enough?
Q: Will Brian Kibler be mad at us for doing this? – BR from San Francisco
A: Hell no! I just spent hundreds of words talking about Brian Kibler. His face will be everywhere at the event. He loves this sort of thing!
Q: Ben, I hate this sort of thing. If you do this I will kill you. – BK from New Hampshire
A: Sorry sir, that’s not in the form of a question.
Q: Ben, do you realize that I will get you for this? – BK from New Hampshire
A: That’s much better. And no.
Q: What happens if Brian somehow makes ze top 8? – KB von Germany
A: You can play along while Brian is playing his match, of course. Brian is quite the chatty fellow. Hopefully Brian’s fellow commentators Osyp Lebedowicz and Randy Buehler will have their own Brian Kibler Bingo Boards and a good time will be had by all.
Q: Wow, that’s a mighty fine bingo board! Who made it? – BB from Roanoke
A: Yawgatog, photoshopper supreme, slaved for hours to make the Brian Kibler Bingo Board a reality. All praise for the beauty of this artwork should be made out to him. He accepts paypal payments as well.
Well, that’s all the time I have for today! See you all on Monday, when we talk draft.
Ben can be reached at [email protected].