Websites of old

Way back in the day, I used to have a website. In fact, I still have one, but I have not even messed with it in years. But my old one got a lot of use. Particularly when it came to my gaming and hobbies.

But, back in 2004 or so, tragedy struck. My (then, now ex) girlfriend’s niece was in a horrific car accident. She was in a coma for months, and came out severely handicapped. Last I heard, she was still in a wheelchair, and probably would be for many years, if not life. She was 19.

The family was understandably distraught. Especially my GF. So, not having any other way to help, I built a page on my site for the niece. I showed my GF how to update it, and it became her blog (before we discovered blog sites like Xanga). After a while, one page wasn’t enough. So, I built it up to an entire site, including a picture gallery, setting up a CafePress store to raise money, and even a message board. Eventually, I just turned over the entire domain to my GF’s sister, and she ran it from there. Some time later there were legal issues (that I have no clue about) that caused her to take down the entire thing.

But, in the meantime, I lost a lot of good content based on my RPGs and stuff. I don’t regret my decision to turn over the whole thing. It helped fill a need for a family in turmoil. I just wish I had had the foresight to move all of those files and pages to my new site. Or at least save them somewhere. They are probably on the old hard drive that I still have from my dead computer. But I have no way of getting to them now.

So, how does that relate to the stuff I usually talk about? Well, now that I have published my third story on Kindle, I came to the conclusion that I would like to move beyond the genre of Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery, at least for a bit. And some of the stuff I had on that site would make great seeds for stories in other genres. Especially the Firefly-esque Dragonstar game I ran (Dragonstar is, quite literally, “D&D in space”).

I can probably reconstruct most of it from memory. But it would have been nice to have some of the notes and narratives, and even the illustrations I did, for reference. I know there had to be some cool stuff in there that I am not remembering. Ah, well. I will make do. It’s not like there’s a shortage of ideas in my head already. I just need to pick one and go with it.

I’m thinking military sci-fi right now…

It's Tuesday!

Monday is history this week already.  Nice way to start.  Had a pretty good weekend.  Gaming on Friday, The People's Brat Fest on Saturday, cookout with Friends on Sunday, and a nice, lazy Monday (except for that whole installing the A/C thing).

Yesterday also marked the publication of my third Kindle.  I had submitted this story to a couple of different places without success.  I figured since I had made it a goal to publish a Kindle a month for a year, and I hadn't managed to get anything finished this month, I would just throw it up there.  So, a couple of hours of working up the cover image and formatting the file, and presto!  Kindle #3.

This is a fun one.  It's an action/horror/sword & sorcery bit, about a young girl assassin, and her most terrible foe.  I rather enjoyed this one.  And my wife really likes it.  Special thanks to her for helping me fill in those holes in the characterization.  It's a better story for it, I think.

The story is available here.

Just as an aside, most of these stories will only be available through Amazon for the time being.  I'm testing the waters of their KDP program, which makes the story exclusive to Kindles for 60 days.  We'll see how that pans out in the future.

Not so deep thoughts

In an interesting math/geek paradoxical thing, I must admit that it's kind of cool that I will become the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything on 12-12-12. I'm quite sure the end is nigh. And I'm equally sure we'll be running late for it.


I'm probably going to get
this one for my 1E Fighter.



We have some more D&D tonight. This is awesome, because I will have played D&D more than once in a week yet again. Tonight is our regular game, using 3.5 rules, and set in medeival Europe with fantasy races. On Sunday, we played 1st Edidion AD&D, and slaughtered many Frost Giants. I'm having tons of fun. My only regret is that I don't have a better figure for my 1E character. Right now, I'm borrowing a rather "anime" looking figure as a placeholder. But, I may break down and just buy the one I want from Reaper. We had some cool paints, but I have no idea where they are. So, I will probably go to Michael's and get an inexpensive set of acrylic paints. I've used those in the past, and they work just fine.

Something odd, yet extremely cool happened recently. A friend made a casual comment about listening to John Carter books on audio, and being inspired to revisit an idea for a story he had. This caught the attention of Scott Oden who, in true crack dealer fashion, caused it to explode into another anthology idea. Within a couple of days we had a roster of writers from all over the spectrum, and a solid idea for our "shared world." I have been going gangbusters on the idea, spending a few days just building my world. The setting is an ERB/REH-inspired version of our solar system in the ancient past, where each planet is home to various peoples and cultures. My planet is Venus, which I call Themos, and it's a matriarchal blend of Greco-Roman cultures. I started my story for Volume I already, which apparently puts me ahead of everyone else. The plan is tentatively to put up a website, generate some interest, and publish in various formats in a few months. Probably about six, considering that most of the authors are busy with other, more lucrative projects. Exciting stuff!

I also just finished my current class yesterday, but turing in my Final. It was an essay exam, and I managed a little over three pages. I think it was good, but, if my past experience is any indicator, the Professor will find some holes, and I will end up with a B at best. Which is fine, actually. That will ensure a strong B in the class, and I am perfectly happy there. My next class starts on June 4th, and it will be on the Roman Empire and Republic. Five textbooks...eesh.

My brain has been all over the place lately, as usual. I keep getting inklings of inspiration in multiple genres, and it's been a struggle to stay focused. Add to that I am just tired. We go to bed late most nights, and I wake up early. I don't sleep very comfortably, so the sleep I do get isn't often very restful. All in all, I'm kind of a wreck. And it affects my brain-output immensely. I need to fix something, I know it.

I'm getting excited for Father's Day again. Faith will be here the day before, and our plan is to grab lunch at Taco Bell and then go see The Avengers. Honestly, I couldn't ask for a more perfect outing with my daughter. I miss her a lot, and can't wait to just hang out with her again.

Oh, hey! It's Memorial Day weekend. So, let's head out to The People's Brat Fest tomorrow (sponsored by the companies who DIDN'T support Scott Walker), and then cook out with friends. And don't forget to hug a vet, and say a silent thank you to the men and women who gave all they could to make this country free.
 

It's too...quiet.

Been a while since I posted something, so I thought I'd just spew forth some randomness for your entertainment.

This week is the last regular week of my current college term.  Right now I have a B+ in the class, and assuming I don't bomb the final (an essay), I assume that's where I will probably end up.  Admittedly, I haven't put as much effort into school this term as I probably should have.  And it kind of shows.  My two papers, while competent, are kind of lackluster.  My mid-term essay was pretty standard, and my posts are nothing inspired, though I have taken to posting after most of my classmates, just so I can take their posts and talk about them from a different angle.  All in all, a good class, but I need to try harder in the future.  And that future starts on June 4th, with a class on the Roman Republic and Empire.  Should be fun!

In other news, I hate my body.  Ok, so that was a very "girl" thing to say, but it's true.  I have a tire around my belly, my ass is dwindling away, and I basically look like a potato with pencils for limbs.  This is mainly due to inactivity.  And that, in turn, is mainly due to physical ailments, and just plain being tired.  However, I have a plan.  I've started blogging about it over at Fighting Man's Fitness, but the basic gist is that I am going to draw on my military and martial arts backgrounds to get my fat, lazy ass moving.  If you're interested, check out that blog.  If not, don't worry.  I probably won't mention it much here anymore.

Tomorrow I am taking a personal day due to my daycare provider not being available.  It's no big deal.  She goes out of her way to accomodate us, so I don't mind an interruption every now and again.  Besides, it's a nice, convenient excuse to get out of going to work.  My plan is to get some writing in, most likely during nap time, and also take a trip out to a game store a couple of towns over.  Other than that, just taking it easy, and hanging with my little clone.

The game store trip actually has a purpose.  We are having another session of our Old School Gaming group this Sunday, using AD&D 1E rules, and I want to find a cool figure for my character.  This store has a used section, so I'm hoping to find an old figure to use, and maybe some basic paints to slather on, just to complete the look of the AD&D games I played in during high school.

Fiction writing has been all over the place lately.  It seems like each day I get inspired to work on a different project.  The other day it was all about the sequel to Blackskull's Captive!, and today I'm working on some groundwork for Agesilaus.  I have no idea what I will be working on tomorrow.  Probably something in space.  With guns.  And big monster aliens.  Or maybe supernatural cowboys.  Or...

Eh, you get the point.

Oh, and before I forget, check out the right side of this page.  There's a link to a petition I started.  I would like to generate interest for Marvel Entertainment to do a direct-to-video animated movie about Hercules.  For those not in the Marvel Comics know, this version is quite different than most versions presented in other mediums.  He's not quite the film version, brought to life by such greats as Steve Reeves, Reg park and Lou Ferrigno.  But, he's not really like the Kevin Sorbo TV show either.  And though he does have some shared stories, he's not much like the myths that inspired those versions either.  Personally, I love Marvel's Hercules.  He's my second favorite Marvel character, after Captain America.

And he needs a movie.

Comic Book Goodness

We saw The Avengers yesterday. I was considering doing a full review, but why? It did so well this weekend, and promises to continue doing well for a such a long while, that virtually everyone will see it anyways, so what impact could my comments have? That being said, it was brilliant! Loved it! Just about every minute was awesome. There were a couple of spots that annoyed me, but nothing that detracted from the film. We saw it in 3D, but honestly, it would have been fine in 2D. The 3D was good, but not over-the-top. One other note; I am now completely sold on Mark Rufffalo as Bruce Banner.

Before that, Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. So, between my wife, my daughter and me, we got a good stack of free stuff, with only one duplicate (stupid Dark Horse, and their reversible double-issues). Of course the annual Atomic Robo issue is always a treat. The series itself is really cool, but the FCBD issues are self-contained, and don’t feel like they “require” you to continue reading (unlike the Marvel ones).

These two elements, combined with the fact that I have watched more than a few comic-based animated films on NetFlix recently, have me almost wanting to collect comics again. Which I’m well aware is the point of FCBD. However, comic books have become an investment these days. Used to be, you could collect a single title, or maybe a small handful, and get the complete story. But not so anymore. Now, with so many crossovers and over-arching storylines, you have to practically buy everything on the shelf to get the whole story. And I just can’t afford that.

This makes me wish that someone would start a comic book company with four-color superheroes, but in self-contained titles. If I want to read Amazing-Dude, I don’t want to have to also read The Avenging League, and all the members’ individual titles, just to get the whole story. I’d like to be able to read 3-4 titles a month and be happy. But, with so much digital media and everything else out there, such a business model no longer works for a medium that has remained in its current form, virtually unchanged, since the 60’s.

So, chances are, I will not be buying comics. Instead, I may start buying occasional graphic novels that collect individual issues together, and tell a complete story. Then I can pick and choose what I read.

Also, we need to see Marvel’s Hercules on the big screen. He needs an individual movie, and then be included in The Avengers 2. It won’t happen, though. The Avengers and all of the other current Marvel movies are highly tied to the “Ultimate” Universe of Marvel (which is why we have Sam Jackson as Nick Fury), and in that universe, there is no Hercules. So, if I want to see my favorite Olympian on the big screen, I will have to wait for a movie based on the mythology. Still, it would be cool to see Herc and Thor go at it like they do in the comics.

Anyone else have a comic book geek-out weekend?