Practically Dope

Good evening friend.

It's good to be around again. I am so excited that October is upon us, you have no idea! The weather has swung into fall mode: mid 50s and drizzly during the day and chilly, chilly nights. I thoroghly enjoy my walks to work this time of year.

I did take a few days off of life and work due to a sickness, but I'm back on the road of life eager as can be! I'm planning out the novel I am writing this year for National Novel Writing Month in November, and I'm getting some great ideas. This will be my first year doing it, but I've got some great buddies going along for the ride.

I just roasted another batch of coffee and got all of my dishes caught up (my least favorite chore), and now I'm all pumped and ready to get more done around my apartment... at two in the morning. My guess is that my neighboors wouldn't appreciate that too much. So I decided to sit down and write a bit.

What I'm very much excited for tonight relates to one of my favorite past times: tabletop gaming. I discovered upon logging into the internet today that one of my favorite games, Elder Sign, has an expansion on the way! This game takes place in the same universe as Arkham Horror (rereleased in 2005  by Fantasy Flight games) universe. Much of the theme and content derives from the works of H. P. Lovecraft and his contemperaries. It features a heavy horror theme mixed with science and the incomprehensable nature of the universe in which we live. Elder Sign is sometimes reffered to as Arkham Horror lite because you get a bit of the Lovecraftian horror elements in half to a third of the time as Arkham Horror (I've spent five to six hours playing Arkham Horror before).  If you want a quick demo on Elder Sign in play this episode of Tabletop is a great introduction.

I've picked up about half of the eight expansions available for Arkham Horror, and the only expansion available for Elder Sign. And now this! I was concerned that Fantasy Flight (who also publishes Elder Sign) wouldn't release another expansion to Elder Sign. It's been over a year since the last expansion came out and they are actively adding expansions to another game, Eldritch Horror (also in the Arkham Horror universe). I took this to be a sad sign that Elder Sign would just be set on the shelf with just the one expansion.

Don't get me wrong, I love the first expansion for Elder Sign. It adds a lot of new cards, as well as a couple of new mechanics that change the game, but not drastically enough to make it difficult to pick up. Now Fantasy Flight has announced a new expansion due out in the first quarter of 2015: Gates of Arkham. In this press release they talk a lot about what the new expansion will offer.

It looks like the defining component of the game is called Streets of Arkham Mode. Now, in Elder Sign, you play as an investigator looking for clues about the Ancient Evil threat. You go through rooms of a museum gathering useful items and clues on how to lock away the Ancient One using Elder Signs. In the new Streets of Arkham Mode, it seems to me that the investigators will now be able to go into the town of Arkham and have adventures there. This mode features a new deck of encounter cards as well as beefs up decks from the base game. It does appear, however, that several things from the base game won't be compatable with this new mode of gameplay.

For me, this begs the question: why change the basic components in an already good game when you could just release another game? It could be Elder Sign: Arkham Edition. From what it looks like so far, that almost seems like an easier solution than cramming more elements and locations from Arkham Horror into an expansion. That aside, I'm super pumped for this expansion. I'm a huge fan of the Lovecraft mythos and theme, and I love the way Elder Sign encorperates it. Fantasy Fight will be demoing the new expansion at a few events they have coming up in October and I really wish I could go see what it will be like.

I cannot wait until the first quarter of 2015. That could be March! Ah! Sigh. It'll be okay. I'll be sure to tell you about it the moment I can preorder it. Until then, I'll be re-reading this press release a few more times to see what other details I can glean from it.

Oh, and I'm listening to Dope off of Lady Gaga's most recent album. I've heard her joint album with Tony Bennett so much recently that I pulled out Artpop and gave it a listen. This song seemed strangely appropriate for this blog. What can I say? We all have our vices.

Have a great night, my friend.

It's Just Textbook Stuff

Good morning friend. Day off here. I have some photos from yesterday, I thought you might like. You know the coffee I roasted a couple of days ago? This is what it looks like as espresso! Beautiful double shot in my opinion. And delicious! 

The fall colors are really coming on. Here's a tree outside of my apartment. Its beauty was so striking, I had to take a picture for you. 

I took the picture from my phone as I was heading to work in the morning yesterday. Beautiful sunrise. 

This morning I finished a book called The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancy. I read the first book in this series probably a year ago. That one was called The Fifth Wave. Great read, interesting story, ingenuitive way to talk about an alien attack, I really  enjoyed it. I'm worried that The Infinite Sea is just a slightly uninteresting way to bridge the events of The Fifth Wave and the last book in the series. It had engaging ideas and more creative alien attacking ideas. I think that fans of the first book will enjoy this one, but almost in the way someone enjoys fan fiction. Not quite as good as the real thing, but it'll sate a thirst. 

It's also much shorter, only about 2/3 the size of the fist book. Not that a good story can't be told in that time, it's just something I took note of. It feels a bit like the first book in terms of climaxes and rising excitement, all that. However, where the first book rises toward the final climax, this one just sort of ends. All of the story threads are wrapped up, but I think that's part of my problem. Aside from caring about the characters, there's nothing really grabbing my attention in anticipation for the third book. Sure, there's some excitement at the end of the book, but nothing near what I craved. I'm really hoping that it's just the author saving all of the good, tasty bits for the third book. 

I will give this to The Infinite Sea: it filled in a lot of the problems I had with the first book. For instance: why did the aliens bother with the five waves if they had the technology to send an EMP across the world in one fell swoop? It seemed like a whole lot of theatrics, and Rick really explores their motivation for the theatrics. He also adds a couple of cool alien devices that mix up the story, and add to the "humans are so screwed, but we still have hope" feeling that pervades the series. 

I really recommend the first book to anyone who enjoys basic sci-fi. It's a great introduction to sci-fi and post-apocalyptic writing. I might wait until the third book is released to pick up the series, however. Or, you could enjoy the first book on its own - it's well worth reading as a standalone novel. 

I'm also reading through a collection of H. P. Lovecraft's works. Last night I finished his short story, Dagon, which was a frightening read. Not the best thing to be reading at three in the morning when you're trying to sleep. However, it thrust into my mind vivid images of the horrific and strange landscape that the narrator traversed. A quick read, but well worth it. 

Well, I'm off. Until next time, my friend! 

First Train Home

Good evening friend.

So you may or may not have noticed that I have had a small obsession with Imogen Heap in the last few days. In reality, it's been about a month or two (but hey, who's counting?). I find in her music something unique yet universal. It flows through my ears, into my veins and down through my feet into the ground. I hear in it the lifeblood of humanity. I'm not even sure if I like some of her songs, but I feel them and I connect with them in a beautiful way.

Take for instance her song First Train Home. I listen to the song and waves of familiarity rush over and through me. There's something casual and yet understood underlying the song. That need to be home, to be with that one you love. It's that desperate need to be with someone that understands you, that will move on with you. However, you're stuck where you are. People don't get you, they look at you and don't see you. It's not that this relationship you're rushing to is perfect, but it will be what is best.

And so you find yourself rushing to that place that feels right and natural.

That in a nutshell is why I love Imogen. Her music is a bit cryptic, vague, and experimental, but I think she finds a common thread of humanity that I can connect to. Her music engages me, body and soul, and I crave that connection with humanity. I think we all do. We just find it in different ways.

I suppose that's another reason I started writing on this blog again: to connect. I'm aware that I have a rather unique perspective, but I think people might be able to connect with me in ways that perhaps they couldn't through a "normal" perspective. That's why I share what I'm reading, cooking, cleaning, listening to. We might not like the same things, but you can appreciate with me how we connect to the whole of our existence.

While we're talking about things I'm sharing with you, here's some coffee I just roasted. It's a Mexican/Peruvian blend, roasted in my air popper. 75.1 grams, first crack begins at 2:20, second crack at 4:40, took off the heat source at 6:00. Beauifully greasy. I hope you'll share a cup of it with me tomorrow. Until then, my friend.

The Moment I Said It

Hello friend. Well, it's the second day of writing and I'm still very pumped up. I was thinking all day about what I'll be talking about on the blog. It was day five of seven at work, so I'm tired yet incredibly grateful for the day I had. While I'm on the topic I'll explain a bit about my job. I work full time in retail, in lower management. I love my job. There is a lot of freedom in my position, and the company I work for treats me excellently.

So last night I finished a young adult novel called Conversion by Katherine Howe. I managed to get my hands on an advanced readers copy a few weeks before it came out. I'll probably refer to this type of book as an ARC. Essentially a publisher will send out copies to interested parties a month or two before the book's release to get people reading, reviewing, talking about, and generally getting excited for the book. Anyway, I had picked up this book on a whim (I was oddly attracted to the vague implications of witchcraft on the cover), and read a page or two.

Essentially, it's the story of a high school senior girl named Colleen, and the strange circumstances happening in her town. Girls at her private school are falling ill of a strange illness with a variety of side effects; one looses her hair, another can't speak correctly, another jitters uncontrollably. Intermixed through the book, the narrator flashes back to Salem during the witch trials. At some point you learn that the town where Colleen lives was once West Salem, and had changed its name. And that right there brings up the main draw of the story to me: are the girls in modern day faking the illness, like we think the girls in Salem did? Or, were both events part of a more supernatural event?

The author did a great job of describing the life of a typical teanage girl; that's what lost me. I kept reading to find out what was causing the illness. If you've looked at the book, you'll know it's been out for several months. At one point, about halfway through, I had enough and set the book down. I only picked it up again a day or two ago. And why, you ask? Because I had to know what caused this mysterious illness. SPOILER ALERT, you never really find out. I'd like to think I know, but the author leaves it on an uncertain note.

I can't say I loved this book, but I think I actually liked it. The ending also seemed anticlimactic as far as an excitement level, but it makes sense in the context of the story and I think I'm okay with that. Colleen never really knew what caused the illness, and she ends the story on antidessants that make her drowsy. So it would make sense for the end of the book to be level and unsure. The flaws of writing a book in first person, I suppose. Right now, I really want to talk about it with someone and no one in my circle of friends has read it, and I doubt anyone would. Don't you hate that? When you really want to talk with someone about something you're passionate about, but you can't find a single person that would?

At any rate, I'm just enjoying some Imogen Heap (The Moment I Said It), the quiet of the night, and some tea. A great way to spend a night. Well, more work tomorrow for me. Have a great night, my dear friend. 

Act II

 Well friend, it's time to pick this up again. The time has come for a new format, and a new way of looking at things.

I decided recently that I needed to start writing and getting my thoughts out. I was very much tempted just to make a new blog and leave this one to sit gathering dust... This would, I think, somehow discount the life I left here for you to read and enjoy.

The new format isn't even entirely worked out, but I figure I should start practicing my writing several times a week, if not an attempt to write daily. I'd like to discuss thing from my day, though not specific enough to violate anyone's privacy nor disclose too much personal information. We'll see as we go along.

This space will be used also as a means to let you know about my projects here online. Sometimes I'll appear in YouTube videos with my great friend Lindsay. She has a daily vlog that I occasionally appear in. We're also working on a series of videos for her other YouTube channel called Drunk Disney Reviews... so far it's been as fun as it sounds like it would be. The first few episodes are recorded, but not uploaded yet. We're also working on a great podcast that I might share here in the future.

Also later on this year, I'll be working on my first attempt for NaNoWriMo which I am uber stoked about. I have a few details worked out, but not enough to start writing tomorrow.

I've also been getting into board games a lot recently and will probably be doing some reviewing and discussion about them. Pictures to come, certainly.

Since reading is also important to me, I'll be attempting to read a whole lot more, I'm gunning for about a book or novella a week. At the end of that read, I'll be writing out my thoughts in a semi review form. Nothing too serious, just expressing the deep need that I've found to communicate and share my thoughts and opinions. Feel free to interact at every point. Comment on posts and tell me what you think of my ramblings.

As always, I'll be sharing the music that's on my mind (currently Propeller Seeds by Imogen Heap).

Oh, and expect pictures of food and coffee. I'm a bit addicted to both.

Feel free to visit my other blogs, one I might still use for fun, one completely dead and gathering internet dust.

Raise Your Ragged Sail

We are Such Stuff as Dreams are Made On


Thank you for staying with me, friend. The two years I've let this lay quiet have been good for me to refocus and find a new purpose, a new meaning. Something to tell you about in the future to be sure.

i can still be what you're thinking

Hello friend.

It's been a while - I'm sorry about that. Life had gotten quiet and distracting. I'm working on new ideas for my blog, and potentially a whole new direction. Either way, I'm hoping to update much more frequently in the coming months and years.

Until then - have a great night. Sleep well, my friend.

it's a brand new day and the sun is high...

Well, friend, life sure has been interesting. Since my last update, I've moved to a bigger city, got my own place, started a new job, and have done a whole new summer show! More updates soon!

Sleep well, my friend.