Taven Moore's Blog, page 25

[Anne] Spring Break

When I was young, beautiful and very smart, I was also well organized. Somewhere along the way, in a life that I thought was well- structured, ambitious and meaningful, I was pinpointed as a disruption in the universe and since that time, the universe has been throwing chaos my way to prove a point about how systems operate. The universe and I have been in a fierce battle since then.

As a woman in the 20th century, one of the things that I thought I could prove to the universe was that it is my constitutional right to control reproduction. The universe started giggling and within a month of getting married, the universe bellowed that those raised Catholic don’t get off that easy with reproductive rights. Still not content that it had proven its point, the universe made sure that my next two children would be born in March, because it knew that that would also be the month that I would be responsible for ending a fiscal year, and the educational systems would give a week of vacation.

I have never planned a Spring Break vacation for my family because the universe got all snippety about free will and such. One year, in an attempt to provide a relaxing Spring Break, I had the tonsils taking out of Youngest Child, forcing her to celebrate her Spring Break AND her birthday on the sofa eating ice cream. She still is pretty annoyed by that , so much so that this year when I told her that her new glasses would be her birthday present, she was not sure if I was joking or serious.

As Oldest Child was coming home to relax for Spring break this year, Husband decided, at the last minute, to take us out to remote west Texas for a long weekend. I was leery and reluctant, but honestly, I thought this might be my chance to redeem myself. The kids were just shocked that we might actually do something for Spring Break.

We loaded up and drove four hours out to the middle of mesquite tree infested nowhere. The ranch where we stayed did not have running water for the first day, and once we got the water working, then only about half of the taps actually worked. It was 375 acres of rocks, dry, dry dirt, a meandering creek and wildlife. We spent our days walking, exploring, fishing, and listening to the quiet. The boys walked about with axes, guns, knives and fishing poles. And despite the lack of running water and the “creepy “ bathroom accommodations, even the girls had a great time.

Because the universe was just right there. All quiet and pretty and not fighting me. Not even taunting me. Just being calm and relaxing.

It did remind who was boss, by sending feral hogs out to circle us as we were fishing one afternoon. But for once, it did not have to prove anything to me, and so the hogs went on their way, and the universe continued to undulate the peaceful rhythms of life.

Related posts:

[Anne] The Words We Use Are Powerful
[Anne] Husband and I have a Special Way to Torment Our Kids
Spring Flurries

Harry Potter 6 Discussion

This was a MUCH more enjoyable read than 5.

Interestingly enough, I didn’t remember much about the series from books 6 and 7 — probably because I’d only read them the one time. So in many ways, I was reading brand-new books for me.

My two major problems with this book were that the “plot” was mostly made up of “Dumbledore tells Harry about Voldemort’s past” rather than actual activity happening in the here and now. Also, I wasn’t super keen on the progression of the romance between Ginny and Harry (jealousy not being my favorite romantic motivation).

That being said? The stuff that DID happen in the here and now was fantastic, and much of that historical stuff was also interesting. Harry wanted to be treated like an adult, and Dumbledore gave him that opportunity — as well as letting him know when Harry had fallen short of adult expectations. (Did anyone else feel that this Dumbledore was more like the second Dumbledore from the movies? More angry and sharp? He read differently to me.)

Snape remained ever mysterious and evocative, and finding out that HE was the Half-Blood Prince was well done. I did find it odd that the book was so much better than “the way things were done” and was surprised that it hadn’t, in the intervening years, BECOME “the way things are done”. Like if everyone’s been making raisin cookies for years and suddenly someone’s like “let’s throw some chocolate chips in there!” … and then even though they’re fantastic, nobody does anything but make raisin cookies.

Dumbledore’s ending was no surprise to me, so it didn’t hit me the way it did the first time.

I really feel like the side characters are the ones who get to shine best in these books, especially the latter ones. Harry himself is certainly not inactive or voiceless, but there’s such a vibrancy to the Weasleys, a mystery to Snape … even Draco gets to break out of his one-dimensional villain shell and show some depth.

The beginning of the book was a very interesting look at the way the muggle government interacted with the magical one.

Those of you reading along, what did you think? Anne, I think you mentioned this was your favorite book from the series? What are your favorite things about it? Inquiring minds want to know!

Related posts:

Harry Potter 1 Discussion
Harry Potter 3 Discussion
Harry Potter 5 Discussion

[Perry] The Future of Science Fiction

Do you ever wonder what the future will hold for books and stories?

I mean, in some respects, things will largely be the same. There will still be those biography pieces (Miley Cyrus Clone #227-4 does something scandolous!), and there’ll still be historical fiction (How I Survived the Great Walmart Closure of 2172) and all…but what about fiction?

Do you think fantasy will change at all? I don’t think it will, after all, fantasy usually takes place in a make believe world, and unless we discover an alien race with magical powers out there among the stars, I doubt that the realm of fantasy will change all that much.

You know what I really wonder about, though?

Science fiction.

I’m a pretty avid science fiction reader. I enjoy the little glimpses of the future that might be and I love looking at the way people imagine how things will turn out.

Books like Love Minus Eighty shows us what the future of social media might looks like.

Old Man’s War, The Legion of the Damned, and The Lost Fleet shows us the future of warfare.

Books like Vacuum Diagrams and Dune shows us what things might look like, far, far, far into the future, past our comprehension and biases…

But what will science fiction look like fifty years from now? One hundred years from now? Five hundred?

These thoughts kicked off as I re-watched an old episode of Firefly.

There’s a bit where everyone’s chatting and then this happens:

Wash: Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of…I dunno, science fiction.

Zoe: …You live in a spaceship, dear.

The quote stuck with me because…because that quote? It implies that science fiction hasn’t changed, in however far into the future the show is set at. It implies that spaceships travelling around the galaxy is STILL science fiction…

And I don’t think it will be.

I think that as our technology advances to the point that the things we see in sci-fi now seem commonplace? Science fiction as a genre will have advanced and evolved to take advantage of new possibilities that are just over the horizon.

…Or will it?

If you look at the fantasy genre in the past few centuries, has much of it really changed? Look at something like Tolkien’s work compared to something like The Wheel of Time.

Other than advancements in literary techniques, I don’t really see much that’s different or stunningly new in fantasy NOW as there was fifty or sixty years ago.

Science fiction, though? Has evolved.

Look at something like John Carter of Mars and the science fiction of the time compared to some of the sci-fi novels I’ve mentioned above. The science has a tendency to feel more real as our understanding of the universe changes, doesn’t it?

It makes me wonder how science fiction will change in the future…whether we’ll still be reading about robots with the Three Laws in their positronic brains…while we’re simply brains embedded in a titanium alloy casing to prevent aging.

Or maybe?

Maybe we’ll suffer a cataclysmic world war, go back to the stone age and be able to have the science fiction stories we have now be just as good hundreds of years down the line.

You think?

Related posts:

[Perry] Bleakness In Fiction
New Flash Fiction Up
[Perry] The Cultural Influence of MMORPG’s

[Perry] The Sky is Falling

*An excerpt from an email*

Dear Tami,

You know how sometimes, you see things that spur thoughts in your head? Or you see something that your mind suddenly interprets in a different way and you can’t stop SEEING it that way?

I had one of those moments this morning.

When I pulled into my parking spot at work, I looked up to the familiar trees as I walked and froze as I suddenly saw something else.

From my angle, the moon looked, almost like a bowl. It was slanted, for sure, but it was enough on its side that the bowl impression was hard to shake. And there were these trees, right? Trees bare of leaves with winter dry branches, reaching up to the sky?

And just where I was walking in from, the angle I looked up…

It looked like the tree was cradling the moon, holding it up in the sky.

I took a step or two to one side, then the other, and I found that there were enough conveniently located branches that I could always squint and make it look like the tree was holding up the moon.

It’s the trees, Tami, that hold up the sky.

All of our vaunted knowledge? Our precious science? All wrong. All disproven by the simple idea that what we see……and HOW we see it, is how it really is.

Trees reach up with their branches to hold up the sky, the stars, the moon…the firmament, you know? Have you ever run into that word before? I ran into it the first time while reading the Death Gate cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickmann (the Dragonlance authors) and I’ve never forgotten it since.

The trees hold up the sky, Tami. And we don’t know that. We’re so set in our ways that we believe ourselves to be right. We believe that there’s a troposhere, stratosphere, and ionosphere before the cold vacuum of space.

We’ll find out the immensity of the error of our ways when we chop down the very last tree on earth in the name of progress…and on that day? The sky will FALL to the ground, and doom us all.

And the Heavens will speak of the hubris of Man, who believed he could tame the sky.

Related posts:

The Trees Are Spilling Joy
[Perry] Wherein Perry Goes Rock Climbing
[Perry] Christmas

[Perry] Vanishing Post Jiutsu

*sprinkles vanishing post powder everywhere*

Y’all saw nothing.

Carry on with your Thursdays.

Related posts:

Guest Post at TooManyAnnas
Guest Post on Arrens.net
Pre-Post Post

Reading List

This one’s a biggie. Apologies in advance.

April 2013

The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron

This three-novel omnibus is filled with fun, exciting, and creative popcorn books. It’s basically an anime in novel-format, and there’s not a thing wrong with that. Vivid characters in a fascinating world. My only complaint is that the pacing is a bit wonky, with a TON of stuff happening in a rush all at the end. I have zero regrets about reading these and recommend them to anyone who wants to read about a sly thief who could sweet-talk a crabby door into destroying itself.

A Delightful 9 out of 10.

August 2013

Amped by Daniel H Wilson

Sci-fi near-future where people who are augmented by “amps” (anything from corrective vision to “curing” autism) become the hated target of normal people and our just-a-guy hero finds out his father wasn’t quite honest about just what his own amp could do. Interesting concept with some really great scenes, along with the sharp look at how awful society can be to people that sci-fi is so prone to doing — but overall a bit of a miss for me. The main character was kind of blah. If asked to describe him, I really couldn’t. Glad I read it, but not chomping at the bit for more. Recommended for sci-fi fans, though.

A Thoughtful 6 out of 10.

The Spirit War and Spirit’s End by Rachel Aaron

The completion of Aaron’s Spirit series started at the top of this post. The pacing issues continue, but I was so invested that I couldn’t help but zoom all the way to the end. Fascinating and energetic read to the end.

A Roller-Coaster 8 out of 10.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

A short(ish) read and full of Gaiman’s legendary surrealism. This one had strong overtones of an almost Stephen King-ish flavor to it and was a fun and fascinating read. I’m still not a Gaiman fanboy, but I absolutely appreciate the man’s skill.

A Fascinated 8 out of 10

September 2013

Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge

I love this author. She’s relatively new, and has such a curious and deft skill with both wordplay and characters. Never predictable, and even when the political stuff got all mucky (yes, I’m an immature reader, I know it) I was still fascinated. I love her oh-so-fierce goose, and every one of Hardinge’s worlds have had incredibly fascinating bits of lore. In this one, it’s the naming of the characters that so enthralled me.

A Pleased 8 out of 10

October 2013

Cursor’s Fury and Captain’s Fury by Jim Butcher

Part of a series that I’d started previously. I’ve now read the entire series, and Captain’s Fury was my favorite of the bunch. (yes, and epic fantasy series that actually ends! Be still, my heart!). Fantasy set in a roman-ish empire, with all sorts of great world-building and societies, and a main character you really, truly root for. I did have one frustration throughout this series but it’s mildly spoilery so I’ll hold off saying it.

An exciting 8 out of 10.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

See my full discussion here.

A Fun 8 out of 10

November 2013

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

See my full discussion here.

An entertaining 7 out of 10

Princep’s Fury by Jim Butcher

The series is winding up to its culmination, but it doesn’t waste this book with buildup alone. I love the Canim, and this book really lets them shine. My second-favorite book in the series, easily.

A heart-stopping 8 out of 10

December 2013

Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban

See my full discussion here.

An exciting 7 out of 10

Lullabye by Chuck Palahniuk

A recommendation by a penpal, and one that started out so promising! The opening chapters are absolutely fascinating, about a woman who sells haunted houses deliberately, over and over again, to make commissions. The chapter ends with the hint that she’ll soon be dead herself.

AWESOME, right? Only … only then it goes into a lullabye that kills people if spoken aloud, and then the characters get all muddly and rather a lot of people die and there’s some awkward sex stuff and necrophilia and I have to say that although the author has a brilliant grasp on the written word, he’s not my kind of author.

An uncomfortable 3 out of 10

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Ocean’s 11, set in a fantasy, renaissancy Italian world. I loved this book. I cannot wait to read the next books in this series. The ONLY negative I’ve got is that the love interest female looks to be horrible. Which is not to say that the author can’t write strong females, as there are at LEAST two other heavy-hitters in this book who are fantastic. Still. The hint of what kind of person she was killed the 10 this book would have otherwise gotten from me. I loved the worldbuilding (the cinnamon brandy!) and Jean and so so so many little interactions throughout.

A Thrilled 9.5 out of 10

Ace, the Very Important Pig by Dick King-Smith

Ace, despite his piggy heritage, can understand human speech. As such, he finds his way into the farmer’s heart and even makes his way on television. There’s a corgi. And a cat. Overall? Not as entertaining as I remembered when I was a kid, but still cute.

A Nostalgic 4 out of 10

Babe, the Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith

On the other hand? Babe was STILL super fun and I love it. Sheepherding pigs and all.

A Delighted 7 out of 10

Oathblood, Oathbound, Oathbreakers (three books) by Mercedes Lackey

I re-read all three of these, and chose to keep only Oathblood. Mostly because it is an anthology that contained many of the best stories from the other two, along with its own new story. Love Tarma and Kethry, and how the author weaves the reality of life on the road with her stories of heroism.

Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey

If you want a good catharsis book, I recommend this one. A misunderstood and mistreated gay teen … grows up? He finds love, loses it, gains a talking horse, learns he can do magic, and a whole crapload of horrible stuff happens to him. This was too much of an “adventures of” style plotting book for me, and the unending anguish was effective enough to pull tears, but not fun enough to want to read again. Farewell, Vanyel. I loved ye well.

A cathartic 5 out of 10

By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey

The story of Tarma and Kethry’s granddaughter growing up and becoming a mercenary. I adore so much of this book, but at the end of the day, I’m not sure I’ll read it again. It’s leaving my bookshelves, but with a fond smile and a pat on the cover instead of disappointment. Just not my kind of pacing any more, and the final battle fell completely flat for me.

A fond 6 out of 10

January 2014

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

See my full discussion notes here.

An exciting 7 out of 10

February 2014

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

See my full discussion here.

An angst-ridden 5 out of 10

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

I seem to love pretty much all of this guy’s novellas. In this one, a cruel and impervious supervillain took over the city a decade ago and it seems there will be no end to his cruel reign. There’s one boy with a terrible secret, though. He’s seen Steelheart bleed.

A Glorious, Highly Recommended 10 out of 10

March 2014

Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews

Book … 6? I think? In this future-world urban fantasy where technology and magic come and go in waves. Loved it. Will be following this series all the way. I adore the way this author writes, and this is one of my favorite series.

A fangirl-squealing 8 out of 10

Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter

A little girl plays the “glad game” — finding something to be glad about in every situation, and changes the lives of nearly everyone in a small town. I still love this book. I need a copy that’s a little less beaten and torn, but I love this book. Without fail, it makes me want to be a better person.

A GLAD 9 out of 10

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Not-so-surprisingly, this story of a brilliant child punishing the small-minded and cruel adults around her has lost its shine for me. I can see definite Harry Potter-esque situations and logic in this one, but overall, the magic is gone for me.

A quiet 5 out of 10

Dragonsong and Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey

More old favorites. The story of a quiet musician girl who fled the parents who did not understand her and impressed nine fire lizards, then grew to become the apprentice to the Masterharper of Pern himself.

Dragonsong won’t be staying — too many parts I skimmed to “get to the good stuff” but Dragonsinger is a permanent member of my library. Music, a quiet and loveable girl, dragons, and so much more. Love this book.

A Beauteous 9 out of 10

Related posts:

2012 Reading List (as of August)
2013 Reading List (As of March)
2012 Reading List (as of April)

[Perry] Prepare for Titanfall

Gunfire coming from a window on the third story of a building across the street. The rest of my team is pinned down behind what scant cover they have, taking potshots when they can, but their angle is bad. 

I approach from the left side of the street. A jetpack boosted leap at the top of my jump gets me across the street and hanging off the wall of the building around the second floor. A moment of running along the wall and I jump off, bracing myself off a hanging signpost before reversing directions. I use my jetpack to leap back along the wall, now aligned with the third floor window. 

I jump in through the window and kick the offending enemy in the face. 

He didn’t even know what hit him.

Titanfall is a recently released game for the PC and the Xbox One. It’s a multiplayer shooter with well balanced maps, Mechs (called Titans), and interesting weapons.

Did I mention the jetpacks?

An enemy Titan is rampaging around. It’s an Ogre class, with heavy shields and heavier armor. My team is having a hard time taking it down. 

I leap from my rooftop vantage point, using my jetpack to boost me at the top of my jump so that I can run along the wall of the building across the street. 

Gaining some momentum, I jump again as the Titan passes beneath me, landing on top of its shoulders. I reach for the hatch and start opening it when I hear the sound I’ve been waiting for. 

The Titan drops to its knees and starts powering down as the cockpit opens up. The enemy pilot knows I’m up here and he knows that I can shoot into the vulnerable circuitry and take him out alone if he doesn’t deal with me. He’s planning on leaping out and finishing me off while I’m perched up here, then, he’ll hop back in and continue his rampage. 

Luckily, I have a plan. 

As soon as his cockpit opens, I leap off, using my jetpack to boost into the air and gain some distance. I call down my titan on top of his location. 

I have the Warpfall Transmitter perk. My Titan drops out of the sky in two seconds flat, smashing the enemy pilot and his stationary Titan before they have the chance to react.

I run along the wall, away from the point of impact, telling my Titan to auto-follow behind me as I search for more enemies.

Titanfall has your usual map types, there’s no real surprises there. It has your team deathmatch, Hardpoint control (Dominion type), and Capture the Flag. It also has one or two unique modes to the game like Last Titan Standing and Pilot Hunt, but they’re nothing too special and don’t add all that much.

No, the standard modes that seem most popular so far seem to be Attrition (team deathmatch), Hardpoint control, and the Capture the Flag.

I’m running around on my Stryder Titan. It’s a fast Titan. More suited for hit and run engagements with other Titans and squishing enemy pilots than it is for stand up, face to face fights.

It pays for this extra mobility with drastically weaker armor and shields. I’m running through the inside of a ruined factory, looking for enemies.

When the enemy finds me.

An alert chimes on my heads up display, flashing red in the corner, telling me that an enemy pilot has boarded my Titan.

I don’t have a lot of time. Even simple pilots can destroy a Titan with their weapons if they hop on and open up the hatches.

I trigger a cockpit release, flooding the compartment with light as the walls unfold around me and my Titan goes immobile, crouched down.

I clamber out of the cockpit with a leap into open air. I twist in mid air, triggering my jetpack and up and over behind me, to where the industrious enemy pilot is firing his pistol into the open hatch of my Titan.

I lash out with a kick, knocking him off and to his death.

Threat dealt with, I drop down and hop back into my Titan, ready to continue my rampage.

Balance is key to games like this and balance is handled supremely well here. Every weapon feels pretty solid and none of them really pull away from the others.

Granted, you’re likely to run into more than your fair share of shotgun and smart pistol users than anything else, but thus far, I’ve met death from all the manner of weapons and methods and I’ve never felt that one weapon or another had a crazy, unfair advantage over me than any of the others.

I hang from the corner, just under the roof in the factory complex, waiting. My Titan stands below me, a silent unmoving sentinel. 

An enemy pilot spots my Titan, sees the ‘auto pilot’ sign flashing above his head and leaps up, catching hold of the Titan to ‘rodeo’ it, by yanking open the hatch and destroying it. 

I’d had my eye on this guy as he came up. Long before he can do any damage, my smart pistol had acquired its three lock ons. I pull the trigger and three bullets fly out, automatically embedding themselves in the pilot’s head. 

I chuckle and activate my cloaking again before his friends come to find me.

What I found most interesting was Titanfall’s little nods to those who may pick up the game, but maybe aren’t so good with the FPS genre.

For those without killer, split second aim, or lightning fast reactions, they introduced a weapon called the smart pistol.

It’s pretty easy to use. Doesn’t require much aim or precision.

Have the smart pistol equipped and the center portion of your screen (literally, like 50% of your screen space from the center outward) is your targeting reticle.

As long as you’re within a certain distance, all you need to do is keep an enemy pilot within that portion of your screen for your pistol to start locking on.

Once 2-3 seconds go by, the lock ons will go red and you pull the trigger, sending three bullets directly into the enemy’s head.

It’s that simple.

A pack of 5-6 red dots flash on my minimap, just around the corner. I dash forward with my Titan. 

My Dash Core special is online so dashing doesn’t cost anything. I cross the space in a moment, readying my weapon, prepared for a fight…

There’s nothing there but a mixed pack of enemy Grunts and Spectres. 

I don’t waste too much time on them. I stomp around their area, smushing them all underfoot in moments before eyeing my minimap and heading for the next red dot.

Matches are all 6v6, but there’s a little more to it than that.

Littered throughout the map are grunts and Spectres.

Grunts are AI controlled enemy soldier, and Spectres are AI controlled, enemy robotic soldiers (they’re a little tougher and deal a little more damage, but easily dealt with).

Their inclusion serves a few purposes.

These AI controlled minions DO deal damage, but it’s miniscule. It almost seems a complete non-threat…right until the first time you run away from a fight with another human opponent, run off with the barest hint of life…only to turn a corner, run into a pack of grunts and get your face blown off.

They’re a lot easier to kill than other pilots, taking 1-2 shots and they don’t move around much, preferring to stand in small clumps, shooting at any nearby enemy.

Killing them advances your team’s score in the Deathmatch mode, and killing them also reduces the cooldown timer on your Titanfall.

But they serve a greater purpose than that.

They help to populate the battlefield.

They help convey the impression that every match is a large scale battle operation. There may only be 6 human controlled opponents to deal with, but if you count up the neverending stream of grunts and Spectres for each side, battles feel more like 30 on 30 affairs and lend a suitably epic feel to the fights.

We’ve won the match. The enemy’s been routed and now it’s time to hunt down the survivors. 

A red highlighted area shows up on my minimap, marking the spot the enemy drop ship will be coming down to evacuate survivors. 

We won’t let them get away. 

I push my Titan to its limits, dashing to where the enemy drop ship is carting off pilots to fight another day. 

I see the timer ticking down till the drop ship is departing, I’ll barely make it to the spot in time…

There! I see it. It’s perched next to a rooftop, its shields flaring as other members of my team fire rockets and bullets toward it, trying to bring it down. 

I see a blip on my minimap and look up. 

One last enemy pilot, trying to make the plane. He’s running off walls, using his jet assisted leaps to cross distances and avoid fire. 

He’s across the street from the drop ship, running for the edge of the roof. He jumps, popping his jet pack for one last burst of speed that will carry him to safety…

Not a chance. 

I dashed my Titan forward, fist cocked and powering up a punch as I move. My mechanical fist lashes out, catching the pilot in mid air, inches from the open drop ship doors. 

He dies, falling to the ground. 

The drop ship gets away, battered, but whole. 

But this pilot? This last pilot? 

He ain’t going nowhere.

There’s a lot to love about Titanfall.

A frenetically paced action game.

Great shooting mechanics.

The Titans…watching them drop from atmosphere? Seeing them crush enemies unfortunate enough to be standing beneath them. Leaping up to yours and hitting the key to enter will have the Titan grab you, cockpit opening as it sort of rams you inside before the cockpit closes and the viewscreens come to life. Or? You can drop your titan and set it to auto-follow/guard mode and run around as a pilot.

The newest thing is the concession made to the less experienced players of the genre.

The maps are populated with weak, AI controlled units to kill so that if you feel a little intimidated by the thought of chasing down a player, you can go hunting the AI units and still be contributing to your team’s victory.

The smart pistol helps cover the gap if your reactions are slow or your aim a little unsteady, affording everyone the chance to rack up kills, regardless of if their precision aiming is suffering from lack of practice or not.

There’s a lot to love about the game and I highly recommend it to just about any gamer who enjoys the competitive games.

Just be advised that there isn’t much of a story on offer here.

There’s a shell of a campaign, but they’re all just the same multiplayer match types with a little bit of dialogue attached to the beginning and the end to give it context.

Still, there’s a lot on offer here and if you have interest in the genre at all, it’s great title to spend a bit of time on.

Related posts:

[Perry] The Flag of Splenderificness
[Perry] Adventures in XCOM
[Perry] Shaping Player Behavior

Birthday Art!

It’s that time of year again! My favorite tiny people have a birthday, and it’s time to bombard them with arts.

First up, an adorable batling protecting her teddy bear. Because bats are amazing, wonderful, fantastic creatures and there needs to be more art of them.

Next! It’s a conglomoration of a few favorite tv shows for AJ, most notably the merpuppy from Bubble Guppies. With a balloon. Because when I’m at a loss for something, I add a balloon.

Related posts:

Art: Birthday Cubs
That’s Not How You Blow Out Birthday Candles
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[Steven] Videorama – Delivery

A short film, for your viewing pleasure.

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Related posts:

[Steven] Videorama – Ron Burgundy in Boise
[Steven] Videorama – Dancing Lessons
[Steven] Videorama – Fanmade Trailers

Assistance Required Re: Image Hosting

So … recently, Mr. Moore and I went through all of my old sketchbooks (ALL OF THEM) and yanked out pages worth keeping.

Some of them are hilariously random, and I don’t even remember drawing them. Like the T-rex decorating a Christmas tree with the assistance of several mice. Or the OTHER t-rex running across the page while shouting “LOLOLOLOL”. Or the coy seal. or the tiny musk ox.

Seriously? Some of this is worth sharing, even if it’s not awesome.

However, my hosting provider does not give me very much disk space, and my flickr account is for art more worthy of a portfolio.

Does anyone have any suggestions for random art uploads (bonus points for easy uploading via my phone camera) that I can use to then link on my blog? Imgur is out because it seems to drop images without enough buzz.

Any suggestions?

Related posts:

A New Place For Art
Art Commission Open
New Art – Canine Adventure!