Moe Lane's Blog, page 848

I’m in that dangerous stage of video game boredom.

You know: the one where I don’t care about any of the one billion games I’ve already got on Steam, Epic, Orgin, GOG, Bethesda, and Uplay and start wondering about new time-sinks. In related news: how’s Tropico 6? GOG’s having a sale on the previdammit I just bought Sid Meier’s Pirates.

The oddly interesting TAR trailer.

Maybe because TAR is going to be a drive-in special (we’re getting those back, maybe?) next month before it gets released to video. This feels like a good drive-in flick, honestly. I encourage more Halloween specials.

09/09/2020 Snippet, THE THING IN MY HIP FLASK.

Not-the-mob!

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Getting an explanation took a bit of cajoling and at least one reminder of my ongoing ability to simply leave this enterprise and seek actual employment if I so desired; although that threat seemed curiously empty, at least to me. Fortunately, David did not perceive that I was bluffing. Eventually, the truth came out.

The best thing that could be said about David’s actions was that he had not gone directly to the ‘mob’ for ingredients. He had instead spoken to rough sorts who might know those who might know members of organized crime; and they had found the idea of trading raw materials for spirits intriguing. I suppose that even an unwashed hoodlum might grow up hearing about the primitive romance of moonshiners, and wish to get into the fun of the thing. And at least we were not economically in debt to potentially violent thugs. No, instead David had promised them access to the first batch of spirits. Which we had just determined was undrinkable by any standards. Including, most likely, a pig’s.

At first I contemplated simply shrugging it off, having not been involved in any part of this conversation, but a moment’s somber review suggested that any ire that might end up violently impacting David’s face would likely also impact mine as his business partner. This seemed drastically unfair? In fact, it still seems so. What did I do to deserve getting pummeled? Well, besides breaking the law in the first place. Still: even for an uncaring universe, this seems particularly galling.

The DUNE trailer.

The new DUNE doesn’t look… bad? I mean, you got Emo Paul Atreides there, but what the hell. I can kind of buy that kid being the sort to start a galactic jihad*.

And Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho’s a real good casting call. So is Dave Bautista as Rabban. The others didn’t jump out at me right away. Dunno if they really should cram the whole thing into one movie, though…

Moe Lane

*And won’t that be an interesting topic for the movie to cover.

‘Single Ladies.’

Single Ladies, Beyonce

Dammit, I can feel myself crumbling over BILL AND TED 3 FACE THE MUSIC.

It’s not canonical, dammit. It’s not. And yet…

Progress report on the TALES FROM THE FERMI RESOLUTION Kickstarter.

There is a bit of news, in fact.

First off, there is going to be a Kickstarter: today I started putting together what I’ll need to set one up. I expect that the start date will be November 1, 2020, with a February 2021 fulfillment date.The working title will be TALES FROM THE FERMI RESOLUTION, VOLUME I: SHADOW OF THE TOWER. 10 stories, including an excerpt from the upcoming MORGAN BAROD novel and a Tom Vargas novelette!I don’t know if this one is going to have an audiobook. Audible has been moderately incompetent about approving a commercial version; it’s possibly not fair to put my producer through all those hoops over this again. Or at least so soon. But! We have an editor for the short story collection, and I’ve almost formalized getting an artist for the cover.

So things are moving along.

The BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM Honest Trailer.

I went to see BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM in theaters! It was great fun. I didn’t realize that it didn’t do well at the box office, though, which is a shame.

09/08/2020 Snippet, THE THING IN MY HIP FLASK.

Arcane Arkham references!

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It is only now, involuntarily ensconced as I am in this psychiatric facility, that I have begun to consider how oddly ambitious we all were. Not to mention how indulgent those ‘authorities’ turned out to be. We were proposing to be modern moonshiners, after all. Surely this should have bothered more people.

We did have some cover, albeit a razor-thin one. At least in our state, one may distill without a license — as long as it is for something like ‘essential oils,’ or water. We decided upon water, since that way we could switch over to illicit spirits at need without worrying too much about by-products contaminating the process…

“By-products.” “Contaminating.” Dear God in Heaven.

…and, besides: distilled water might even make us some money. What came from the tap in town was not bad, exactly, but the locals insist that the flavor was different before the reservoir was put in. None of them can precisely say how, since the reservoir was built a full century ago — but ‘oral tradition’ covers a multitude of tall tales.

The return of the Tyranny of Pants.

My children were not entirely happy to be told they’d have to wear full sets of clothing again. Well, except for socks. They’re supposed to, but neither didn’t and I think they both think they’ve put one over on their old man. I figured it was best to give ’em both at least one small victory.

Moe Lane

PS: Going fine, except when the county’s computer network freezes up under the sudden pressure. But that’s only happened six, seven times so far. In the last hour. I wonder how counties without any money are doing right now?