Steven Savage's Blog, page 44
June 20, 2019
Make It So: Relocation Panels For Cons
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
As I note in Fan To Pro, a convention is a great way to scout an area for relocation. You get to visit an area, see how it handles a crowd, meet people, and of course know if the geekery there is for you. A con is good research – among all the other benefits.
This got me thinking – and helped me revive my old Make It So columns.
We need relocation panels at Conventions. Not how to relocate or...
June 18, 2019
It’s Fine To Spend Money
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
America has a weird approach to money. On one level, we love to spend it (if we have it) to judge by the things that people buy. On another level, we continuously shame people for buying things. It’s a strange duality – until you think about it for a few minutes.
Americans believe money is a measure of virtue. We believe having it shows virtue (even if someone inherited it or made it in que...
June 15, 2019
Steve’s Update 6/15/2019 (late)
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
Sorry this update is late. Been a bit busy.
So what have I done since last time? Way With Worlds: The Fashion Book is done and published! Get it at Amazon, itch.io, and other sources.Seventh Sanctum Book: Is done and in editing (which is a bit hefty). I’ll be looking for prereaders to read next month.Seventh Sanctum: The !Other: I was surprisingly productiv...June 11, 2019
Raiding Stars For A Vision
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
I’m a fan of Rifftrax and Mystery Science Theater 3000. This is because I love B movies and odd things, often they’re more revealing of the human condition than supposedly “good” and “popular” things. I find the humor of Riffers often tells us a lot about ourselves – be they dealing with a flawed movie or a popular one like the Rifftrax crew does.
Recently, I attended a Rifftrax of the half-Ki...
June 4, 2019
Those Little Reminders Of Location
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
Lately I tried to do the 10,000 step challenge. You know the whole thing, try to get 10,000 steps a day on average to get more exercise. The exact number itself isn’t gospel at all (it originated in a mix of pedometer publicity, a study of postal workers, and the general fact that walking is good), but it’s a good enough target for me to make sure I stay mobile. I’d been through a lot of chang...
June 1, 2019
Advice And Survivorship Bias
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
I want you to think about video game adventures. There, one goes on a grand quest, and of course one often saves the game to record progress. If things go wrong, one reloads the last save and proceeds. We’re used to that, even if “die and come back or start over” has become more popular over the decade, and the save game mechanic has been mocked in certain other games like Undertale.
Now imagi...
May 28, 2019
Fanime 2019 Roundup!
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
OK I was at Fanime 2019 and as usual, a quick roundup. This was pretty interesting.
DOMINANT FANDOM: My Hero Academia was seriously dominant in cosplay, Artists Alley, etc. It was clearly The Top Fandom in many ways that makes me recall stuff like Naruto or One Piece back in the day. However, I think MHA has a wider range of appeal.
OTHER FANDOMS: The Fate series had a large cosplay gathering,...
May 27, 2019
Steve’s Update 5/27/2019
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
Hello everyone, so here’s what’s up since last sprint.
So what have I done since last time? Way With Worlds: The Fashion Book is done and in the hands of my editor! I’ve also outlined the next one on News!Seventh Sanctum Book: I have literally one section left – on how people research data structures.Seventh Sanctum: I . . . did not launch the fantasy romance generator. No technical issues, bu...May 24, 2019
The False Intimacy Of Media
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
Earlier I posted on how there’s two different ways to connect to Media. I summed it up roughly as follows:
Known Connections: A fiction reaches us as it triggers existing associations, such as tropes.Created Connections: A fiction makes us see things anew, creating new associations and ideas.Today I’d like to focus on the Known Connections, those cases where a media gets us interested because...
May 20, 2019
Connecting To Fiction
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
While thinking over fiction writing, it struck me that fiction is something that we feel a deep connection to. We read a story or a book, and some of the concepts strike us, the associations come together, and we feel the story – we experience a Connection (with a deliberate capital). These Connections exist in fiction no matter its quality – we can be intimate with something awful or we can c...
