S.W. Hammond's Blog, page 9
April 4, 2019
Media and Press Kit - The Mixtape Manifesto by SW Hammond
The Complete Press Kit includes additional files, graphics, photos, and promotional materials not listed for download below. The partitioning of the press kit allows easy and quick access to the most commonly used files. If you require additional materials or graphics, please contact us.
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File Name
File Size
Click to Download
1
Complete Press Kit w/ Photos & Promo
20 MB
Download
2
Author Bio - SW Hammond
743 KB
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3
Book Synopsis - The Mixtape Manifesto
557 KB
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4
Interview Questions - The Mixtape Manifesto
554 KB
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5
Press Release - The Mixtape Manifesto
567 KB
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6
Sample Chapter - The Mixtape Manifesto
1.3 MB
Download
7
Speaker Introduction - The Mixtape Manifesto
548 KB
Download
February 13, 2019
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: Good Enough
Overall, the game began to feel like a chore, but I wasn’t disappointed with it—my favorite sequences involving spacemen and sea-monsters.
I like narrative driven games, they’re my favorite. No matter the genre—books, movies, games, tv shows—to me, the story is all that matters. I can overlook mistakes, budget limitations, and mediocre acting if a story is compelling enough. That’s where I’d put The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, the story was just compelling enough.
The game is only a couple of bucks through the Playstation Store, I think you can also pick it up on Steam and whatnot. Overall, it’s rather basic. You just walk around and discover the story. There’s no objective other than playing detective and trying to figure out what happened to some missing kid. On the surface that sounds easy enough—but you literally start off in the woods with no guidance, direction, or clear objective. Things kind of start happening to you, but you have no idea what you’re supposed to do about them.
January 30, 2019
Privacy: Extortion and Your Digital History
Should you ever find yourself in a position of influence, you’ll be required to pay the toll of compliance.
I am part of the first generation. I was dial-up internet chatting with friends and strangers over ICQ and AIM in junior high. I have created an account on just about every major social networking site since the phenomenon’s inception. I’ve gambled on sites that have long since dissolved and disappeared. I’ve been a user on sites that are only popular in other countries. I have used my own name. I have used fake names. I have lurked, trolled, whored, geeked, gamed, and just about everything else one can do online. I have a long history of internet use—with almost two decades of it occurring before privacy ever became a notion or concern.
Prior to Trump, my generation—the first generation of social media users—could have never been elected into office. There’s too much dirt on us—sticky digital fingerprints all over the trash, photos, videos and every ignorant thing teenagers and twenty-something morons think, do, and say online. For the first time in human history, all the nonsense of growing up and discovering life—experiencing all of the good and bad in the world—has been digitally documented and preserved forever. Moreover, we didn’t know that prior to going in—neither did the adults—and we surely didn’t consent with an understanding of the consequences.
January 22, 2019
Steep – So Much Potential But Disappointing
Steep, the extreme winter sports game, had so much potential but falls flat where it counts—creating any sort of connection between the rider and mountain.
Free this month with your Playstation Plus Membership.
I used to be really into snowboarding games. I had tons of fun with 1080 on N64 and spent way too many hours with friends playing Shaun Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder on the PS2. In fact, my roommates and I developed a drinking game based on Palmer’s “Horse” — the winner of the round earning the privilege to drink, where the loser was only allowed to sit back and watch the sweet nectar dribble down the winner’s chin. Of course, there’s also the Tony Hawk games, but my favorite of the “X” sports was always surfing—Transworld beating out Kelly Slater by just a pinch.
With that, Steep was a promising concept. Take a massive open-world and allow the player to endlessly explore a mountain region through a variety of mediums—snowboards, skis, wingsuits, and paragliding. A big part of the game’s objective is to scout out and discover new locations and earn helicopter drops so you can hurl your character off of a new cliff or down a new mountain face. Pretty sweet.
November 5, 2018
The Soul and Hammond: Realization by Advancing Perspective
The answers I’ve arrived at could have never been told to me—as I cannot tell them to you—they were achieved through realization by advancing my perspective.
I’m going to try to make this as pithy as I can—an almost insurmountable task as I spent a great deal of the 474 pages of my novel, The Final Book: Gods, covering the subject—and it’s only the first book of the trilogy.
I was raised loosely under the notion of dualism. I am a product of American society, American education, and the little bit of values our culture has are continually shaping my past. However, I’m not sure I ever “believed” any of it. I’ve always been curious of why, and constantly receiving inadequate answers—whether it be from priests, scientists, or professors—has made me skeptical. That is why I have taken up philosophy—and while the trade has given me many tools, it is still difficult to find answers.
November 3, 2018
2019 Colorado Springs Galaxy Fest
February 1, 2, 3 – The Antler's Hotel, Downtown
Last year, Galaxy Fest turned out to be one most fun shows I did. I met some great local authors, had fun talking philosophy and sci-fi on the writing panel, and became friends with a couple of the other exhibitors. It was a snowy and cold weekend, but that didn't stop the cosplayers from showing up and rockin' the show.
This year, you'll have the chance to grab The Final Book: Gods if you didn't last time, plus I have a few surprises in order for my new novel in the works, The Ballad of Stevie Pearl. I look forward to seeing familiar face and meeting some new ones. Get your tickets early and come say hi!
Visit the official Galaxy Fest website for ticket information, schedule, and special guests:
Galaxy Fest Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/GalaxyFest/
November 1, 2018
Anna - Raining Color Designs
I met Anna at Galaxy Fest, a pop culture convention in Colorado Springs. It was her first big public event and we were booth buddies–both of our tables next to each other. She was awesome–and so were her friends–we were all snowed in at the hotel and had a great weekend. Obviously, her work was a huge hit and she killed it. She is beyond talented, but also everything you hope she'd be as a person.
Since that snowy weekend, Anna and I have done a few more shows together–sharing burritos in San Jose, pool parties in Denver, and chicken wings back in Colorado Springs. I can't tell you how great it is to see a friendly face and have her support at these shows. She's an artist in high demand and I hope I can get her involved in my upcoming projects–possibly a book cover, inserts, or character prints. Either way, I super proud of her. Be sure to check out her work and look for her at your next convention.
Hey there, partner!
My name is Anna and I am an artist currently based in Denver, Colorado. I’m really a big ol’ nerd at heart who takes a lot of inspiration from the things I love such as anime, movies, cartoons, music, and video games. I love doing both fanart and original art and I’m even dabbling in the world of character design.
I also sell art at conventions! If you want to see my convention schedule, click here!
Thanks for giving my work a gander and I hope you have an amazingly awesome day!
Official Website | Tumblr | Instagram
Colorado Authors' League
It was a special moment when the Colorado Authors' League accepted me into their organization. I still find it odd to be a peer among the talent in this group–seeing my name and work listed in their company is an honor. CAL is a professional organization that supports local Colorado authors. They hold workshops and social events that helps authors navigate the many steps of the writing and publishing process.
Established in 1931 to “foster the art and craft of authorship,” the Colorado Authors’ League is comprised of more than 250 professional writers, including authors of adult fiction and nonfiction, cookbooks, children and young adult books, playwrights, poets and bloggers.
The Colorado Authors’ League:
fosters career success through networking with other professional writers
encourages friendships with other working writers
develops creative writing via education and interaction with interesting speakers, ideas, and each other
October 31, 2018
Journalism: 5 Reasons Why Newspapers Have No Future
No matter your political stance, newspapers are organizations of sensationalism, partisanship, editorial opinion, and payola. Journalists must abandon these institutions to rebuild credibility.
I caused some hurt feelings on Twitter the other day. While filling out my ballot for the midterm elections, I took to the internet to help make sense of convoluted wording of the propositions. First off, that’s saying something about the voting process. I have a degree in philosophy and found it easier to understand Spinoza than the different amendments and propositions that I was voting for.
To gain clarity, I went to Google and began searching. Naturally, my local newspapers—namely The Denver Post and Colorado Springs Gazette—continued to pop up in the results. Once clicking on them, I quickly found that all of the important information about candidates and the propositions was gated behind a paywall. These sites required that I buy a subscription to view this content.
October 22, 2018
The Anglo-Zanzibar War: The Shortest War in History
On every measurable scale, no matter which side you are sympathetic toward, The Shortest War In History adds to the long list of Unjust wars plaguing history.
In keeping with my theme of researching the Justness of odd and absurd wars, the Anglo-Zanzibar War makes the list as it is regarded as the shortest war in history. Fierce debates have risen over the actual length of the war; Zanzibar sympathizers insisting that the conflict lasted for at least 45 minutes, while British historians claim it was a mere 38 minutes. Let’s just call it an even 40.
Like most dumb wars, Great Britain was a belligerent and its main cause was ensuring that the sun never sets on the British flag. Zanzibar, on the other hand, simply didn’t believe that Great Britain had the stones to fire on them. They were wrong. With a scene straight out of The Simpsons—Bart playing the role of Zanzibar and Lisa playing the role of Great Britain—ultimatums were levied with the attitude that if Zanzibar didn’t comply, it would be their own fault. What more justification for war could O’Brien need?
