David Given Schwarm

Married, Father, United

Author: David Schwarm

  • Let us split the party

    Summary

    Keys From The Golden Vault, live from Alakazam Comics in Irvine, CA, embarks on the final heist, Fire and darkness. The party attends the council, ports onto the volcano, and starts the serious scheming!

    Characters

    III (Elf Fighter played by Henry) is the Joker’s step brother who watches a lot of YouTube with excellent vision and is into horticulture.
    Carolus (Paladin played by Adam) is based on devotion.
    Days (Rouge played by Travis) is based on Calendar Man.
    Honey Bunches of O’s (Paladin played by Taylor) is four years old and working with Penguin yakuza version.
    Lazorius (Wizard Necromancer multiclass Bard played by Cody) is the Ra’s Al Ghul adjacent league of shadows connected.
    Lining the Pocket the Lion (Wizard played by Dylan) is a chromatic orb casting, fire breathing familiar member of the Golden Vault.
    Ra’s al Ghul. (Wizard Necromancer played by Cody) is just a broken build controlling 12 skeleton warrior in the League of Shadows
    Snow (Fighter played by Lewis) is mentored by Two-Face. Plated member of the Golden Vault.
    Swallow the River (Cleric played by Brian) is a follower of Zoltec the Crocodile god of death from Chult. Filled member of the Golden Vault.
    Top Card (Rogue played by Glenn) is Cat Women without the slapstick. Filled member of the Golden Vault.

  • Majora’s Mask

    Summary

    Keys From The Golden Vault, live from Alakazam Comics in Irvine, CA, continues this week with the conclusion of the ninth heist, Heart of Ashes. The party flees from the castle as the void descends.

    Characters

    Days (Rouge played by Travis) is based on Calendar Man.
    Honey Bunches of O’s (Paladin played by Taylor) is four years old and working with Penguin yakuza version.
    Lazorius (Wizard Necromancer multiclass Bard played by Cody) is the Ra’s Al Ghul adjacent league of shadows connected.
    Snow (Fighter played by Lewis) is mentored by Two-Face. Plated member of the Golden Vault.
    Top Card (Rogue played by Glenn) is Cat Women without the slapstick. Filled member of the Golden Vault.
    III (Elf Fighter played by Henry) is the Joker’s step brother who watches a lot of YouTube with excellent vision and is into horticulture.

  • Metric dump

  • Lunch Poems by Frank O’Hara, Matthew Weiner (Narrator)

    Lunch PoemsLunch Poems by Frank O’Hara
    My rating: 5 of 5 stars

    Amazing. Free on Audible. Get this now and remember when poetic ascendency mattered. So good!

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  • Leaving Las Vegas by John O’Brien

    Leaving Las VegasLeaving Las Vegas by John O’Brien
    My rating: 5 of 5 stars

    This is a good book. This book is about addiction–sex, gambling, alcohol, and severe dependency issues. It is a challenging read–fast-paced and subtle. Clever. It has a lot of mental health triggers–rape, insanity, etc.

    But it is fantastic. A VERY VERY good book. Quick, witty, and written. Memorable.

    If you saw the film and read the book, you will thank me.

    However, the end was the one thing I wanted to comment on. It is dark, yet it left me feeling hope, which is relatively new for me (Proust can capture it sometimes, but not as strongly as O’Brien does at the end of this one.

    It’s a massive book. It is strongly recommended.

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  • Philip Roth: The Biography by Blake Bailey

    Philip Roth: The BiographyPhilip Roth: The Biography by Blake Bailey
    My rating: 4 of 5 stars

    This is a fantastic book. The focus is on the man more than the words–but that is not always such a bad thing. The struggle is all there. There are petty fights and forgiveness, but it is all blended with such respect, historical accuracy, and all-around good writing that this book may be the best author biography I have ever read. Seriously, if you have any interest in Roth at all, read this. It is good.

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  • Jack, Kate, Cody, & I played Doctor Who Commander

  • Kuai

  • Gygax Memorial

    Keys From The Golden Vault, live from Alakazam Comics in Irvine, CA, continues this week with the ninth heist, Heart of Ashes. The party enters the city, discovers the king, and runs with the heart, only to meet a dust witch at the door!

    Characters

    Lining the Pocket the Lion (Wizard played by Dylan) is a chromatic orb casting, fire breathing familiar member of the Golden Vault.
    Swallow the River (Cleric played by Brian) is a follower of Zoltec the Crocodile god of death from Chult. Filled member of the Golden Vault.
    Snow on the Mountain (Fighter played by Lewis) is mentored by Two-Face. Plated member of the Golden Vault.
    Top Card (Rogue played by Glenn) is Cat Women without the slapstick. Filled member of the Golden Vault.

  • Sold by Patricia McCormick

    SoldSold by Patricia McCormick
    My rating: 3 of 5 stars

    Human trafficking is a horrible problem. Human trafficking for sex is even worse. This book is a disturbing overview of the problem in Asia from a girl’s perspective. It is hard to review–it is a polemic designed to increase awareness and exposure. The voice is very similar to Anne Frank. The content is designed to shock the suburbs. I am unsure how successful it is or if a book like this helps reduce human trafficking. It is short. It is easy to read–none of the details are that horrific, but it also misses the mark. I did not finish reading this thinking this must end NOW, but instead, that isn’t very pleasant, and I hope it stops soon. A challenging book, Tough review.

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