Shut Up and Take My Money!

I donated to the Kickstarter that has the world in a tizzy.

I like Double Fine games. I like old-school games. But most of all, I like seeing a company that's willing to take a chance on something that's not your standard multiplayer shooter in muddy tones of green and brown for the "core gamer."

There's more to gamers than guys who like guns and teabagging. There should be more than that in games, too.

Birthday Wish List, 2012

Haven't done a birthday list in a few years -- funny to see that the sweater pictured I linked in 2008 is the sweater that's on my needles right now.

Anyway, it's the big birthday day, and I get to wish for whatever I want.

1. More time near the ocean. I love it, feel recharged every time I get near it, but we don't go nearly as often as I would like. I understand that J doesn't get the same thrill from it as I do (I am very much a water baby) but dangit, I want some beach time!

I took the pic at the top last month at Santa Cruz, btw. First time we'd been there in *ages.*

2. More writing. Now, those of you who know me are thinking "Wut? Don't you write all day every day?" Yes, but that's my job. My own writing projects get neglected when I'm too exhausted or too stressed to think about anything but heating up a frozen pizza and watching Castle. That needs to change.

3. I need to cowgirl up and work on the apartment. We've been here for four-and-a-half years, and it still looks like we're moving in. There's a lot we could do to make it better.

4. Health and happiness for all my family and friends. May you only have good things.

5. High CCU. If you don't know what that means, that's OK.

6. If anyone wants to get me two of these chairs in black, I wouldn't complain. :)

7. Excellent yarn. I'm knitting a Central Park Hoodie in Dream in Color Classy now, and it's amazing how much the yarn contributes to my enjoyment of a project. I am an official yarn snob.

8. I want to cook more. The food tastes better, it's better for us and I *know* what went into it. I've been working on my cookie technique, made a cake from scratch, and even roasted a chicken with great success. This, as the Dread Lord Martha might say, is a good thing.

9. JAPAN! J and I have been talking about a trip to Japan for more than a decade. Is this the year that we go?

10. This year I will finally visit Alcatraz. Say what you want, hipsters -- I enjoy touristing around California. The Rock has been at the top of my list for a while, and the closest I've gotten was a boat ride around the island.

11. Cupcakes. I think I want a cupcake.

12. Hey Blogger! Be nice if your CMS didn't add a bunch of extra div tags every time I try to drop in a picture!

Don't make me do my own coding. No one wins in that scenario. :)

Anyway, best wishes to everyone over the next year. May you get everything on your list.

So as I was saying ...

Haven't been here for awhile -- nice to see the old place is still around.

Don't know what made me think about blogging again. the Facebook beast takes up most of what passes for social networking these days, and my Twitter is work only.

But I am trying out some new things -- why not try out some old things?

I stopped blogging because there was a lot of things going on that I couldn't talk about, and it felt disingenuous.

The odd thing about having a semi-"public" identity (and saints above, please don't let the Trekkies find this -- parts of my life should and will be mine and mine alone) is that I expect everything I post on the Internet to be used against me in a forum fight someday. It makes me consider what I say very carefully. Trust me -- that's not always fun.

So what happened? Some good things happened, then some bad things, then we launched a game (and if you haven't played Star Trek Online, go do so RITE NAO), then some more bad things, mixed with a few good things, then I had ice cream ... you get the picture. Overall, I'd say there's been more good than bad, which is always nice.

As to what I'll talk about here? I don't know. Knitting and movies, probably, writing, games -- things that interest me.

You might not find them fascinating, but then again, I'm not writing this to please you, Mr. and/or Ms. So Doesn't Find My Life Interesting.

This is for me.

My New Favorite Quote

"I’ve worked under tyrants and I can say that I’d prefer to work under a talented, knowledgeable tyrant with a successful plan than a directionless gladhander with a ouija board any day of the week."

-- Comic writer Chuck Dixon,
talking about his recent break with DC.
Source

Book Report: Haunted

OK, I'm still reading the Women of the Otherworld series when I'm in the mood. And I'm still waiting for a book that's half as good as Bitten was.

Remember way back when when I talked about Industrial Magic and I mention just how freaking annoying Paige is? Yep, still annoying.

Luckily, we don't get to see much of her this book. Instead, we get ghostie Eve, who's got to cut into her schedule of stalking her teenage daughter and rejecting the love of her life (for no good reason) to pay back the debt she owes to the Fates.

They set her on the trail of the Nix, a part-demon serial killer who's been body hopping and raising hell for a couple hundred years now.

While I enjoyed Eve and Kristoff bopping about the afterlife looking for a murderer, and the sequences in the pirate village, a very unusual hell for the worst of the worst and the Scottish castle were inspired, the story started to drag every time the author created another reason for us to visit Jamie Vegas, or Paige, or ... yeah, we get it. Big world. For the most part though, unless I'm getting to see the werewolves or more Kristoff, enough with the cameo parade.

But this isn't just a job for Eve, it's a trial -- one that could change her afterlife forever if she succeeds. Is a half-demon ghost witch ready to become a full-fledged angel? And since the angels she's meeting are all boring, snippy or incompetent, why would she want to?

Overall, this wasn't a bad turn-your-brain-off book, but it wasn't a great one, either. It's certainly not one that I'd recommend for a friend, and I've recommended Bitten several times.

Oh well, in the next book in the series Elena and Clay are back. Here's hoping it's a good return.

Book Report: Sprawl Survival Guide

Another Shadowrun book.

One of the coolest of the many cool things about Shadowrun is the incredibly detailed universe. You can really get into it with books like this one, which details the minutia of daily life in the 2060s. From culture, shopping and media to life on the streets, you get a really good feel for the high-tech, high-magic, pseudo-post apocalyptic world.

Not many rules, though, and those that do exist should be easily translatable to whichever edition of the game you choose to play. So rules lawyers will be bored, and roleplayers will be overjoyed.

Slot your credstick, chummer -- you need this one if you're going to be in the world rather than just skate on top of it.

Book Report: Portfolio of a Dragon: Dunklezahn's Secrets

We've got a Shadowrun game going, and it's working out well. So I've been inspired to crack open a few of the older books and bone up on my runner info.

This has always been one of my favorites. The last will and testament of the great dragon Dunklezahn, this book is chock full of story ideas and drops a few little tidbits of info about the Shadowrun/Earthdawn metaplot (A nifty storyline that has sadly gone the way of the dodo. That's one of the reasons I still play third edition.)

Damn I've played in some cool games based on this book. Remind me to tell you about Glamis Castle sometime ...

When this book came out, we were actively playing through the storyline, albeit a few months behind. So when there was a MAJOR SPOILER on the back of the cover in giant letters, John about choked. Rule for the future, game companies -- don't give away the big major secrets that players should not know on the back cover.

Is this worth tracking down a used copy if you don't already have one? If you're interested in the back history of Shadowrun/Earthdawn or are running a game in the past, sure. If not, unfortunately the Shadowrun universe has moved in a different direction that the one pointed to in this book.

Movie Report: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)

The first Harold and Kumar flick was funny as hell.

I didn't think they could catch lightning twice, so I wasn't too psyched for the sequel. Then I saw that teaser poster with Neil Patrick Harris on a unicorn (NPH!!!!) and I knew I'd have to see this.

So it's not the same as the first movie. But it's basically 90 minutes of stoner humor. If that's what you're in the mood for, groovy.

So nudity, vulgarity, lots of vulgarity, oral sex jokes and skewering of stupid people. The government types in this movie just get savaged. And cameos abound.

But if anything, my beloved NPH didn't get used enough. Yes, his sequence was hysterical and trippy, but was it trippy enough? C'mon NPH -- I know you can push it farther, baby! You're the king!

Now that the guys have gotten to Amsterdam, and this movie has actually made some bank (something that the original never did in the theaters) I'll be back in the theater for H&K III.