SYTYCD

Yes, I have been watching it all along. I've just been TiVo'ing it, so I haven't been caught up for weeks now. I just finished watching the finale, and I was a little sad my favorite number didn't make it in. It was a Mia piece, danced by Lacey and Kameron, and from one of the first episodes. I remember watching it in complete rapture, thinking "Oh, wow, those two dancers just had sex on stage!"

All in all, I'm happy with the final results of the show. ( I've put my thoughts on the results (as well as a couple more videos) behind a cut tag for those who want to avoid spoilers. )

4e, Round 2

Well, Wizard Of the Coast made the official announcement on the 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons a couple of days ago, which was mostly more promising than I'd hoped it would be. Some highlights:

* There will be Open Gaming content after all.

* Downtime greatly reduced. Vancian magic is dying, no 2 encounters then take a nap while the casters recharge.

* No dead levels.

* No more prestige classes.

* Greatly decreased DM prep time.

* WotC's online gaming, if they can pull it off (I'm doubtful) looks pretty cool.

* Melee more like "Book Of Nine Swords" feeling.

This last one I'm sad about. Although I understand it creates a cinematic feel, I just can't wrap my head around the idea of "I use a combat maneuver, then I promptly forget it for no better reason than game balance." I have the same problem with Vancian magic, really -- why do people find it necessary to design systems where my character can't use the skills they've learned?

Johnathan Drain has some pretty good summaries of what we know about 4th edition here and here. Also, you can watch the official WotC announcement presentation: part 1 & part 2.