GO TEAM WENCH!

I was at the first Privateer Feast, 9 years ago. I'd just discovered the International Wench's Guild barely a fortnight before -- this was before Team Wench spun off into a separate identity, much less became an official charity. There were barely 100 of us in a small venue, and the raffle was so stuffed with decorative soap baskets that people were groaning when the next one came up for auction. But the cause - to gather money for breast cancer research was a good one, and the tiny, plucky band came up with $3,500 that night. (And faireraven, I think I have one or two of those soaps lying around.)

Fast-forward nine years: through the birth pangs of TW, official IRS recognition, a reputation growing so fast that in a couple of years all the tickets sold out in less than 10 minutes. Last night, a new Team member and a new Event coordinator led the biggest event ever: the largest set of raffle prizes, 1/3 more attendees, amazing food by our secret-weapon caterers. Our fame has spread -I was checking drivers licenses for drinking eligibility - we had a guest from as far as Rhode Island!

The reward?

$15,276 raised to combat breast cancer!

And the number is probably going to go up before the check is cut - after the announcement, people still kept handing our treasurer money! (At one point, M was wandering around with a huge wad of bills shoved into her cleavage. As someone pointed out, all she needed was a beer in each hand to be the ultimate fantasy woman of every guy in the room.)

Three reviews up!

Reviewing the Evidence: Avenging Angels by Mary Stanton:
AVENGING ANGELS delivers things that I've been hoping for since the series started, especially in its depiction of the Celestial Court.

Doctor Who: Dead Air
Dead Air is unusual in several respects. It's Tennant's second "post-Doctoral" audio. Instead of Tennant acting out the story as it unfolds, the Doctor is directly telling the listener what happened after the fact. It's extremely dark - it would almost suit Torchwood as opposed to Doctor Who. It's also half the length of the usual audio adventure. None of these are drawbacks, though.

Lost
The characters aren't just telling each other what they've done, they also spend a lot of time describing what they're seeing. All this excess verbiage drags down and complicates a fairly basic adventure, and yet with all of those words, major portions of the storyline either happen "offscreen" or isn't ever explained at all.

Bidmead feels that this adds an air of mystery. I feel that it turns Hollows of Time into much sound and fury signifying nothing.

USF is also having its Story of the Year poll.