Monte Cook's Blog, page 139
January 19, 2011
Battlestar Nostalgica
Battlestar Nostalgica
Over the last couple of weeks, I've watched the entirety of the original Battlestar Galactica series. This is an easy feat, as the show only lasted a single season. While popular, it's ratings never justified the incredibly high cost of the show.
When I was young, I loved this show. Hot on the heels of Star Wars, it scratched the guys-shooting-laser-pistols-and-swooping-about-in-fighter-like-spaceships itch rather nicely. The stories were often (when the show was at its best) epic, the characters larger than life, and the struggles clearly black and white. The bad guys were very bad and the good guys were very good.
If somehow you're not familiar with the series or its more recent remake on the SciFi/SyFy channel, it's about a number of humans fleeing from evil robot cylons based on wiping them out. The humans travel in a fleet of spaceships, lead by a massive warship called the Galactica. The main characters are either warriors who fly in jet-fighter like vipers or various support personnel on the Galactica. Ostensibly, these humans are looking for their lost brethren living on some mysterious planet called Earth.
The show starts out with a movie-like two-part series opener where we see the cylon attack and the assembly of the "rag-tag" fleet. This was actually made into a theatrical movie and released in many markets as such, and it shows. The budget-straining nature of the show is obvious from the start, with great special effects, elaborate sets, and imaginative costumes. (To save money, much of this would be recycled or abandoned for the rest of the series. So sadly, no more cool aliens like the ovians.) The interesting nature of the show was established from the start, mixing a Chariots of the Gods-style mythic backdrop with rootin' tootin' action and character camaraderie. I love, for example, the two young male lead characters, Starbuck and Apollo, and their "hey, old buddy" relationship.
The show was also fairly progressive--for the time--regarding its portrayal of characters of color and female characters. Unlike its antecedent Star Wars, you see plenty of black characters fighting alongside white, and--particularly as the show went on--female warriors fighting alongside their male counterparts. The two black characters with the largest roles, Lt. Boomer and Colonel Tigh, are arguably two of the most noble and stalwart in the series.
What I didn't remember from previous viewings of the show was how many mediocre standalone episodes fill out the series, particularly toward the beginning. Pretty much any of the shows that begin with either Apollo or Starbuck crashing on a planet alone are just... not great. Fortunately, there are plenty of great episodes as well. The show is at its best when the fleet is under attack by the cylons and there's a mix of spaceship dogfights and personal action, like the wonderfully, pulpily-named Gun on Ice Planet Zero or The Living Legend. Occasionally, the show veered too much into its Chariots of the Gods nature when the fleet encounters enigmatic beings of light (and darkness) with almost god-like powers. And, toward the end, the show mistakenly took the fleet away from the cylons and tried to introduce other villains. Thankfully, in the last episode of the series, The Hand of God, we get a rollicking good battle with the cylons. In fact, it's one of the best single episodes of the series.
Some will look back at this show and cringe at the 1970s special effects, the sometimes cheesy dialog, and the occasionally wooden acting. This time, none of those aspects bothered me in the slightest. Maybe it's nostalgia talking, at least in part, but I enjoyed rewatching the series very much. I did have my own cringing moments, however. Throughout the series, the writers insist on using alternate terms for common things, I guess to reinforce that these folks ain't from around here. Most notably, of course, they have their own units of measuring distance and time. They talk about centons rather than minutes, for example. This can be charming--to a point--I suppose, but it becomes annoying when instead of taking a "shower" they take a "turbo-wash" and the toilet is (no, I'm not kidding) a "turbo-flush."
Even worse than that, however, is that the writers just can't seem to figure out what the differences between a "system," a "sector," and a "galaxy." Arguably, they can make their own definitions for the first two, but even then they're not at all consistent. Further, when the Galactica needs to go really fast, it goes to "lightspeed." Wait a minute. It's traveling from planetary system to planetary system on a weekly basis, and it's NOT going at the speed of light? Now, I know there's plenty of physics-bending and science-wrecking in any space opera, but it would have been so easy to get this kind of thing right, and they never do. Even Star Trek is better at it, and, well, that's saying something.
But overall, Battlestar Galactica is great. That's not saying that the remake isn't also great, but the shows are so different than the obvious comparisons really aren't even that interesting to me. The main characters in Battlestar Galactica are just so likable (and the villains so hate-able) that it's easy, watching a number of shows in a row to get absorbed into it and feel like a member of the crew. You really want to be a warrior alongside Starbuck and Apollo, zipping around in your viper and shooting up cylons one minute and hanging around laughing and playing Pyramid the next.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've watched the entirety of the original Battlestar Galactica series. This is an easy feat, as the show only lasted a single season. While popular, it's ratings never justified the incredibly high cost of the show.
When I was young, I loved this show. Hot on the heels of Star Wars, it scratched the guys-shooting-laser-pistols-and-swooping-about-in-fighter-like-spaceships itch rather nicely. The stories were often (when the show was at its best) epic, the characters larger than life, and the struggles clearly black and white. The bad guys were very bad and the good guys were very good.
If somehow you're not familiar with the series or its more recent remake on the SciFi/SyFy channel, it's about a number of humans fleeing from evil robot cylons based on wiping them out. The humans travel in a fleet of spaceships, lead by a massive warship called the Galactica. The main characters are either warriors who fly in jet-fighter like vipers or various support personnel on the Galactica. Ostensibly, these humans are looking for their lost brethren living on some mysterious planet called Earth.
The show starts out with a movie-like two-part series opener where we see the cylon attack and the assembly of the "rag-tag" fleet. This was actually made into a theatrical movie and released in many markets as such, and it shows. The budget-straining nature of the show is obvious from the start, with great special effects, elaborate sets, and imaginative costumes. (To save money, much of this would be recycled or abandoned for the rest of the series. So sadly, no more cool aliens like the ovians.) The interesting nature of the show was established from the start, mixing a Chariots of the Gods-style mythic backdrop with rootin' tootin' action and character camaraderie. I love, for example, the two young male lead characters, Starbuck and Apollo, and their "hey, old buddy" relationship.
The show was also fairly progressive--for the time--regarding its portrayal of characters of color and female characters. Unlike its antecedent Star Wars, you see plenty of black characters fighting alongside white, and--particularly as the show went on--female warriors fighting alongside their male counterparts. The two black characters with the largest roles, Lt. Boomer and Colonel Tigh, are arguably two of the most noble and stalwart in the series.
What I didn't remember from previous viewings of the show was how many mediocre standalone episodes fill out the series, particularly toward the beginning. Pretty much any of the shows that begin with either Apollo or Starbuck crashing on a planet alone are just... not great. Fortunately, there are plenty of great episodes as well. The show is at its best when the fleet is under attack by the cylons and there's a mix of spaceship dogfights and personal action, like the wonderfully, pulpily-named Gun on Ice Planet Zero or The Living Legend. Occasionally, the show veered too much into its Chariots of the Gods nature when the fleet encounters enigmatic beings of light (and darkness) with almost god-like powers. And, toward the end, the show mistakenly took the fleet away from the cylons and tried to introduce other villains. Thankfully, in the last episode of the series, The Hand of God, we get a rollicking good battle with the cylons. In fact, it's one of the best single episodes of the series.
Some will look back at this show and cringe at the 1970s special effects, the sometimes cheesy dialog, and the occasionally wooden acting. This time, none of those aspects bothered me in the slightest. Maybe it's nostalgia talking, at least in part, but I enjoyed rewatching the series very much. I did have my own cringing moments, however. Throughout the series, the writers insist on using alternate terms for common things, I guess to reinforce that these folks ain't from around here. Most notably, of course, they have their own units of measuring distance and time. They talk about centons rather than minutes, for example. This can be charming--to a point--I suppose, but it becomes annoying when instead of taking a "shower" they take a "turbo-wash" and the toilet is (no, I'm not kidding) a "turbo-flush."
Even worse than that, however, is that the writers just can't seem to figure out what the differences between a "system," a "sector," and a "galaxy." Arguably, they can make their own definitions for the first two, but even then they're not at all consistent. Further, when the Galactica needs to go really fast, it goes to "lightspeed." Wait a minute. It's traveling from planetary system to planetary system on a weekly basis, and it's NOT going at the speed of light? Now, I know there's plenty of physics-bending and science-wrecking in any space opera, but it would have been so easy to get this kind of thing right, and they never do. Even Star Trek is better at it, and, well, that's saying something.
But overall, Battlestar Galactica is great. That's not saying that the remake isn't also great, but the shows are so different than the obvious comparisons really aren't even that interesting to me. The main characters in Battlestar Galactica are just so likable (and the villains so hate-able) that it's easy, watching a number of shows in a row to get absorbed into it and feel like a member of the crew. You really want to be a warrior alongside Starbuck and Apollo, zipping around in your viper and shooting up cylons one minute and hanging around laughing and playing Pyramid the next.
January 7, 2011
Malhavoc Books Back In Print
Malhavoc Books Back In Print
With the exception of the Collected Book of Experimental Might, all Malhavoc Press books have been out of print for a while now. But, thanks to the help of OneBookShelf, the cool guys behind DriveThru.com and RPGNow.com, we're working on changing all of that. As of right now, you can once again get Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved, Book of Hallowed Might, Book of Hallowed Might II, and the Complete Book of Eldritch Might all in print as well as in ebook format. There's even a special deal for those who want both formats, or have purchased the pdf already.
And there's more to come! In just a short time, look for Book of Iron Might, Legacy of the Dragons, and Secrets of the Delver's Guild all in print at either DriveThruRPG.com or RPGNow.com. Secrets of the Delver's Guild has never been in print, so that's particularly exciting.
With the exception of the Collected Book of Experimental Might, all Malhavoc Press books have been out of print for a while now. But, thanks to the help of OneBookShelf, the cool guys behind DriveThru.com and RPGNow.com, we're working on changing all of that. As of right now, you can once again get Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved, Book of Hallowed Might, Book of Hallowed Might II, and the Complete Book of Eldritch Might all in print as well as in ebook format. There's even a special deal for those who want both formats, or have purchased the pdf already.
And there's more to come! In just a short time, look for Book of Iron Might, Legacy of the Dragons, and Secrets of the Delver's Guild all in print at either DriveThruRPG.com or RPGNow.com. Secrets of the Delver's Guild has never been in print, so that's particularly exciting.
December 30, 2010
Holiday Traditions
Holiday Traditions
It's one of those conversations you can have with just about anyone you meet. You can ask most Americans, "Did you open your Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?" and you'll get an answer--often with some interesting embellishments. If you're talking to someone who's not Christian, "What did your family do on Thanksgiving?" works just as well. Just about anyone probably has an interesting answer to the question, "What special foods did you eat on the holidays?"
Holiday traditions of some kind or another exist in pretty much every household, in every culture. (The holidays may not always the same, but the concept of tradition is pretty much pervasive throughout the race.) I've had great conversations with people from all over the world on the subject.
This time of year, of course, makes me think about my own family's traditions. For example, my family celebrated Christmas and opened gifts on Christmas Eve. I have three sisters and a brother, all older than me. Long before I came along, my family realized that the kids just didn't have the patience to wait through a big dinner (and the ensuing cleanup) before getting to the presents, so my mom starting making a big buffet of so-called "finger foods." These could be eating in little bits all evening long, while gifts were exchanged and enjoyed.
My mom is of Norwegian descent, and so had a few traditions from her childhood based on that. Specifically, these involved foods. Oyster stew on Christmas Eve was one such tradition, apparently, although she never convinced Dad or any of us kids to join in. Another was lutefisk, which is fish cooked with lye. Yeah. And it isn't quite as good as it sounds. On the other hand, she also introduced us to lefse, which I love (it's kind of like a potato tortilla, but even thinner and lighter).
My dad's Christmas food tradition was a chocolate candy that he called haystacks. These are kind of a cream-filled bon bon sort of thing. We always made sure to have them on hand for my dad. It wasn't until many years later that we realized that he didn't really like them. It was just tradition.
As for gift opening, as I already stated, we opened them on Christmas Eve. However, when we kids were little, there was always one present that was saved for Christmas Morning. We didn't have stockings. We would instead set out a chair, usually with our name pinned on it. This gift was supposedly from Santa. The thing is, while I remember this tradition, even as a very little kid, I don't remember ever believing in Santa. Even at the age of four or so, I knew that "Santa" was really my parents.
We didn't have much in the way of New Year's traditions. We'd often get together with family friends, and I remember being allowed to stay up until Midnight, which was a big deal. But that's about it. I know some people have special food traditions, or resolutions, or what have you. I knew someone once who opened the door at midnight to let the new year in, for example. I've heard of people displaying a broom prominently on New Year's Eve because you "swept away the old year." Others enjoy fireworks or even fire off guns.
I'm sad to say that what holiday traditions my family did have, I don't really carry on myself. No oyster stew or haystacks for me. No setting out chairs. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had children. Maybe I'd want them to pass those traditions along. As it is, those traditions are just happy memories for me. And maybe that's enough. Maybe that's what traditions are really all about.
It's one of those conversations you can have with just about anyone you meet. You can ask most Americans, "Did you open your Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?" and you'll get an answer--often with some interesting embellishments. If you're talking to someone who's not Christian, "What did your family do on Thanksgiving?" works just as well. Just about anyone probably has an interesting answer to the question, "What special foods did you eat on the holidays?"
Holiday traditions of some kind or another exist in pretty much every household, in every culture. (The holidays may not always the same, but the concept of tradition is pretty much pervasive throughout the race.) I've had great conversations with people from all over the world on the subject.
This time of year, of course, makes me think about my own family's traditions. For example, my family celebrated Christmas and opened gifts on Christmas Eve. I have three sisters and a brother, all older than me. Long before I came along, my family realized that the kids just didn't have the patience to wait through a big dinner (and the ensuing cleanup) before getting to the presents, so my mom starting making a big buffet of so-called "finger foods." These could be eating in little bits all evening long, while gifts were exchanged and enjoyed.
My mom is of Norwegian descent, and so had a few traditions from her childhood based on that. Specifically, these involved foods. Oyster stew on Christmas Eve was one such tradition, apparently, although she never convinced Dad or any of us kids to join in. Another was lutefisk, which is fish cooked with lye. Yeah. And it isn't quite as good as it sounds. On the other hand, she also introduced us to lefse, which I love (it's kind of like a potato tortilla, but even thinner and lighter).
My dad's Christmas food tradition was a chocolate candy that he called haystacks. These are kind of a cream-filled bon bon sort of thing. We always made sure to have them on hand for my dad. It wasn't until many years later that we realized that he didn't really like them. It was just tradition.
As for gift opening, as I already stated, we opened them on Christmas Eve. However, when we kids were little, there was always one present that was saved for Christmas Morning. We didn't have stockings. We would instead set out a chair, usually with our name pinned on it. This gift was supposedly from Santa. The thing is, while I remember this tradition, even as a very little kid, I don't remember ever believing in Santa. Even at the age of four or so, I knew that "Santa" was really my parents.
We didn't have much in the way of New Year's traditions. We'd often get together with family friends, and I remember being allowed to stay up until Midnight, which was a big deal. But that's about it. I know some people have special food traditions, or resolutions, or what have you. I knew someone once who opened the door at midnight to let the new year in, for example. I've heard of people displaying a broom prominently on New Year's Eve because you "swept away the old year." Others enjoy fireworks or even fire off guns.
I'm sad to say that what holiday traditions my family did have, I don't really carry on myself. No oyster stew or haystacks for me. No setting out chairs. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had children. Maybe I'd want them to pass those traditions along. As it is, those traditions are just happy memories for me. And maybe that's enough. Maybe that's what traditions are really all about.
December 24, 2010
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This season, I hope you get that thing you wanted and/or get to be with that person you like.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This season, I hope you get that thing you wanted and/or get to be with that person you like.
December 18, 2010
A Pink Christmas
A Pink Christmas
So I'm watching A Pink Christmas, and I wondering... isn't the pink covering the Pink Panther his skin and fur? Because twice this cartoon makes it seem like it's a costume.
And why's it all Victorian? Doesn't the Pink Panther usually live in (relatively) modern times?
Still, it's pretty well done. I always liked the dialog-less adventures of the Pink Panther. He was always a favorite of mine as a kid.
So I'm watching A Pink Christmas, and I wondering... isn't the pink covering the Pink Panther his skin and fur? Because twice this cartoon makes it seem like it's a costume.
And why's it all Victorian? Doesn't the Pink Panther usually live in (relatively) modern times?
Still, it's pretty well done. I always liked the dialog-less adventures of the Pink Panther. He was always a favorite of mine as a kid.
Speaking of Which...
Speaking of Which...
The anthology coming out next year that I have a story in, mentioned obliquely in my last journal entry, is entitled The New Hero. I can tell you that because it is announced here. And you can read a bit more about it here. I'm excited and honored to be in this book, launched by a new fiction imprint, Stone Skin Press. It's edited by Robin Laws, who was great to work with. My story, Sundown in Sorrow's Hollow, is a steampunk-western-fantasy mashup with a hero, Iona, who uses her six-shooters with martial artistry alongside her soulbound companion, Duncan, a very special dog. I hope you'll check it out.
Also, I was recently interviewed by Ed Healy for episode 2 of the Iron GM podcast. You can listen to it here.
The anthology coming out next year that I have a story in, mentioned obliquely in my last journal entry, is entitled The New Hero. I can tell you that because it is announced here. And you can read a bit more about it here. I'm excited and honored to be in this book, launched by a new fiction imprint, Stone Skin Press. It's edited by Robin Laws, who was great to work with. My story, Sundown in Sorrow's Hollow, is a steampunk-western-fantasy mashup with a hero, Iona, who uses her six-shooters with martial artistry alongside her soulbound companion, Duncan, a very special dog. I hope you'll check it out.
Also, I was recently interviewed by Ed Healy for episode 2 of the Iron GM podcast. You can listen to it here.
December 14, 2010
What I'm Up To
What I'm Up To
2011 is looking to be a good year for me. Thanks to lots of hard work this year, I'm going to have two different serialized fiction series come out, one in a magazine and one on-line. I've got a story coming out in an anthology, and at least one in a magazine. I'll have at least two different new rpg products come out, and hopefully one, and just possibly two novels come out (fingers crossed).
Specific details, of course, are still forthcoming.
Of course, I'll be continuing my column in Kobold Quarterly, and my work on dungeonaday.com as well.
2011 is looking to be a good year for me. Thanks to lots of hard work this year, I'm going to have two different serialized fiction series come out, one in a magazine and one on-line. I've got a story coming out in an anthology, and at least one in a magazine. I'll have at least two different new rpg products come out, and hopefully one, and just possibly two novels come out (fingers crossed).
Specific details, of course, are still forthcoming.
Of course, I'll be continuing my column in Kobold Quarterly, and my work on dungeonaday.com as well.
December 13, 2010
Here I Am, In the Future
Here I Am, In the Future
Beware. This post is going to sound like an advertisement for Apple.
A couple weeks ago, I got an iPhone4. I'd been drooling other people's iPhones for a very long time, and the fact that my old cell phone (not a smartphone) began to show some weirdness seemed like a good excuse to buy one. I've had it only a few weeks and I'm already willing to say it's one of the best purchases I've made in a long, long time.
Just about every day, some new capability or application of the phone makes me just amazed at how great it is. Today's was the SoundHound app, which allows you to sing or hum a song (or just your phone listen while a song plays) and then it will tell you the name of the song, give you the lyrics, and a link to buy it on iTunes. Yesterday was Google's new app that allows you to take a photo of something and then search the Internet for that thing. I don't think I've even fully let the implications of that one sink in yet. I haven't yet delved into my newest app, called Star Walk, which allows you to hold the phone up to any position in the night sky to learn the names of the stars and constellations (and it appears to do so much more than just that amazing thing).
Of course, just having constant access to Google to get at information is wonderful too. No more, "I'm going to have to remember to look that up when I get home tonight."
And that's not even getting into the games. The fact that if I'm sitting waiting for my food to come in a restaurant, or I'm in a long line at the bank, or just sitting around and find myself with 3 minutes of downtime, I can pull my phone out of my pocket and play a fun little game, well, that's incredible. And the games are surprisingly good. One game I'm enjoying is Words with Friends that allows me to play Scrabble (basically) with any friend I have with an iPhone. And we take turns whenever we have a spare moment. Sure, the game ends up lasting weeks, but it's still very fun.
Similarly, with the Kindle reader, I basically have a stack of books with me at all times, ready to pull out and read if I've got a few minutes. Like many others, I find myself reading more with such a device, not less. But then, most of you probably don't need to be reminded that I've long been a proponent of e-books. Frankly, I think e-readers and e-books are going to save reading. But that's another blog post.
It's amazing to me what a leap into the future I made by purchasing the smartphone. It's amazing how quickly I've become reliant upon it.
It even makes phone calls, apparently.
Beware. This post is going to sound like an advertisement for Apple.
A couple weeks ago, I got an iPhone4. I'd been drooling other people's iPhones for a very long time, and the fact that my old cell phone (not a smartphone) began to show some weirdness seemed like a good excuse to buy one. I've had it only a few weeks and I'm already willing to say it's one of the best purchases I've made in a long, long time.
Just about every day, some new capability or application of the phone makes me just amazed at how great it is. Today's was the SoundHound app, which allows you to sing or hum a song (or just your phone listen while a song plays) and then it will tell you the name of the song, give you the lyrics, and a link to buy it on iTunes. Yesterday was Google's new app that allows you to take a photo of something and then search the Internet for that thing. I don't think I've even fully let the implications of that one sink in yet. I haven't yet delved into my newest app, called Star Walk, which allows you to hold the phone up to any position in the night sky to learn the names of the stars and constellations (and it appears to do so much more than just that amazing thing).
Of course, just having constant access to Google to get at information is wonderful too. No more, "I'm going to have to remember to look that up when I get home tonight."
And that's not even getting into the games. The fact that if I'm sitting waiting for my food to come in a restaurant, or I'm in a long line at the bank, or just sitting around and find myself with 3 minutes of downtime, I can pull my phone out of my pocket and play a fun little game, well, that's incredible. And the games are surprisingly good. One game I'm enjoying is Words with Friends that allows me to play Scrabble (basically) with any friend I have with an iPhone. And we take turns whenever we have a spare moment. Sure, the game ends up lasting weeks, but it's still very fun.
Similarly, with the Kindle reader, I basically have a stack of books with me at all times, ready to pull out and read if I've got a few minutes. Like many others, I find myself reading more with such a device, not less. But then, most of you probably don't need to be reminded that I've long been a proponent of e-books. Frankly, I think e-readers and e-books are going to save reading. But that's another blog post.
It's amazing to me what a leap into the future I made by purchasing the smartphone. It's amazing how quickly I've become reliant upon it.
It even makes phone calls, apparently.
November 23, 2010
A Three Hour Tour...
A Three Hour Tour...
I'm visiting old friends and old haunts in Seattle. Yesterday, I met my friend Stan! for lunch at a place just three miles from where I was staying. As we are wont to do, the already late lunch went even later, and so around 3:30 we decided to head out because the snow (yes, snow in Seattle) was really coming down. I bid Stan! a farewell and we got into our individual cars. I really needed to fill up with gas, and headed for a station I knew, and saw that there was a lot of traffic. Now, normally in Seattle, noticing something like that would be like noticing that there are a lot of Starbucks here. It's just a truth you learn to accept and live with. But this was more than I would have expected for the time of day, even for the Seattle area and even for the slowdown the snow created. I debated whether or not to get gas or just get out of the traffic snarl. I got gas.
I tried to figure out the best route to get to my friend Bruce's house, where I was staying, and it worked pretty well. Obviously, the heart of rush hour had moved up. Everyone was leaving work early because the weather was going to turn worse. At this point, however, there was little I could do other than be patient and not think about how I really needed to use the restroom.
For those who've never been here, the roads in Seattle and the surrounding suburbs just aren't designed to handle the amount of traffic that exists. You can get on a street that feeds into another street with streetlights that ensure that the cars on your street will never feed into that other street, because the cars on that street aren't moving because there's no room for them to feed into a street that that one feeds into. And so on. Worse, there are only occasionally alternate routes that will help, because space is at such a premium. This kind of thing probably would have driven me (no pun intended) a lot crazier when I lived here but for the fact that I spent most of that time working at home and knew when to never leave the house.
It took me an hour to move about a half mile at this point. I called Bruce to tell him that I was still about two and a half miles away and would probably be another forty five minutes at least (I figured that traffic would have to lessen at some point). An hour later, and I was right. Traffic did lessen. Unfortunately, in the two hours I'd been trapped in traffic, barely moving, the snow on the ground turned to ice. The hill that lay ahead of me on a major road was slight, but very icy. Cars ahead of me couldn't get up. I joined a roving band of people who were helping push these cars up the hill. Then, they in turn helped push mine up. I thought I would be OK at this point, but near the top of a slight incline the car in front of me stopped, so I had to stop. And of course, once they could move, I tried to move forward again. But with no momentum, I was stuck. A friendly passer-by knocked on my window as my tires spun. I rolled it down.
"You're screwed, Dude," he said, and then walked off. Thanks, friend.
Another couple of guys helped me out with a push. At that point, all I wanted to do was round the corner and get off this major thoroughfare. You see, I had tire chains in my car. This isn't at all typical of me, but this same storm had already made my life really difficult when I was trying to reach Seattle and had to cross a high mountain pass on an icy interstate. I hadn't put the chains on before I left the restaurant because it wasn't slippery then. That was three hours earlier at that point. The treacherous hill that required two teams of strangers pushing my car had offered no place to pull over to put the chains on without me, you know, dying. Cars had been slipping and sliding all over the place and I'd been sure that one would slam right into me as I chained up.
Once on the less traveled street, however, and I could put the chains on and get to where I was going slowly but surely. The three mile trip took about three and a half hours or so.
I don't think I'll get in my car again until spring.
I'm visiting old friends and old haunts in Seattle. Yesterday, I met my friend Stan! for lunch at a place just three miles from where I was staying. As we are wont to do, the already late lunch went even later, and so around 3:30 we decided to head out because the snow (yes, snow in Seattle) was really coming down. I bid Stan! a farewell and we got into our individual cars. I really needed to fill up with gas, and headed for a station I knew, and saw that there was a lot of traffic. Now, normally in Seattle, noticing something like that would be like noticing that there are a lot of Starbucks here. It's just a truth you learn to accept and live with. But this was more than I would have expected for the time of day, even for the Seattle area and even for the slowdown the snow created. I debated whether or not to get gas or just get out of the traffic snarl. I got gas.
I tried to figure out the best route to get to my friend Bruce's house, where I was staying, and it worked pretty well. Obviously, the heart of rush hour had moved up. Everyone was leaving work early because the weather was going to turn worse. At this point, however, there was little I could do other than be patient and not think about how I really needed to use the restroom.
For those who've never been here, the roads in Seattle and the surrounding suburbs just aren't designed to handle the amount of traffic that exists. You can get on a street that feeds into another street with streetlights that ensure that the cars on your street will never feed into that other street, because the cars on that street aren't moving because there's no room for them to feed into a street that that one feeds into. And so on. Worse, there are only occasionally alternate routes that will help, because space is at such a premium. This kind of thing probably would have driven me (no pun intended) a lot crazier when I lived here but for the fact that I spent most of that time working at home and knew when to never leave the house.
It took me an hour to move about a half mile at this point. I called Bruce to tell him that I was still about two and a half miles away and would probably be another forty five minutes at least (I figured that traffic would have to lessen at some point). An hour later, and I was right. Traffic did lessen. Unfortunately, in the two hours I'd been trapped in traffic, barely moving, the snow on the ground turned to ice. The hill that lay ahead of me on a major road was slight, but very icy. Cars ahead of me couldn't get up. I joined a roving band of people who were helping push these cars up the hill. Then, they in turn helped push mine up. I thought I would be OK at this point, but near the top of a slight incline the car in front of me stopped, so I had to stop. And of course, once they could move, I tried to move forward again. But with no momentum, I was stuck. A friendly passer-by knocked on my window as my tires spun. I rolled it down.
"You're screwed, Dude," he said, and then walked off. Thanks, friend.
Another couple of guys helped me out with a push. At that point, all I wanted to do was round the corner and get off this major thoroughfare. You see, I had tire chains in my car. This isn't at all typical of me, but this same storm had already made my life really difficult when I was trying to reach Seattle and had to cross a high mountain pass on an icy interstate. I hadn't put the chains on before I left the restaurant because it wasn't slippery then. That was three hours earlier at that point. The treacherous hill that required two teams of strangers pushing my car had offered no place to pull over to put the chains on without me, you know, dying. Cars had been slipping and sliding all over the place and I'd been sure that one would slam right into me as I chained up.
Once on the less traveled street, however, and I could put the chains on and get to where I was going slowly but surely. The three mile trip took about three and a half hours or so.
I don't think I'll get in my car again until spring.
November 17, 2010
My Poor Memory
My Poor Memory
Last weekend I was at a signing and someone asked me about a recent project I'd worked on. And I couldn't remember the name of the book! The book that I wrote. How embarrassing is that?
Here's the thing, though. What I could remember was the name I'd originally intended for the book. I couldn't remember the name it was changed to, however. (For the record, it was Curse of the Riven Sky, the original title of which was Revenge of the Storm Queen.) This actually happens to me a lot in this context, however. See, in publishing, and in particular game design, things change a lot before a product is ever published. And so my faulty memory gets confused with prior versions.
For example, when someone asks me a rules question about D&D 3rd edition, I can often remember the three different options we came up with to handle a certain situation. I can remember which one Skip liked, and why, and which one Jonathan favored. I can even often remember the meeting room at Wizards of the Coast where we discussed the rule. I just can't remember which version of the rule ended up in the actual book! So I have to look up rules as much or more than anyone, if that level of detail is really needed.
Still, it's embarrassing.
Last weekend I was at a signing and someone asked me about a recent project I'd worked on. And I couldn't remember the name of the book! The book that I wrote. How embarrassing is that?
Here's the thing, though. What I could remember was the name I'd originally intended for the book. I couldn't remember the name it was changed to, however. (For the record, it was Curse of the Riven Sky, the original title of which was Revenge of the Storm Queen.) This actually happens to me a lot in this context, however. See, in publishing, and in particular game design, things change a lot before a product is ever published. And so my faulty memory gets confused with prior versions.
For example, when someone asks me a rules question about D&D 3rd edition, I can often remember the three different options we came up with to handle a certain situation. I can remember which one Skip liked, and why, and which one Jonathan favored. I can even often remember the meeting room at Wizards of the Coast where we discussed the rule. I just can't remember which version of the rule ended up in the actual book! So I have to look up rules as much or more than anyone, if that level of detail is really needed.
Still, it's embarrassing.
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