What’s your favorite writing blog?

Comic books for the rest of us.

First of all, 100 posts. Yay me. I don’t know how much of an accomplishment that should feel like, but it feels as though it is significant enough to warrent celebratory status. I’m excited.

On to news that other people might be excited about; I have my meeting with the illustrator tonight so we can finally get started on my comic. I don’t want to share to much info about the project itself at the current time, but I do want to share something. I am so excited that if I don’t, I fear I might wet myself. So, welcome to:

Hairball Comics

I decided that any self respecting comic needs a company,  if in name only, behind it. I am in love with the logo, I have been staring at it as a background on my phone for almost a year now. Deciding on the name was simple, writing an producing my own comic felt like a hair-brained (feels even more hair-brained now) idea. Hemmingway felt that, “The first draft of anything is shit” and since this was my first attempt at such a project, hairball seemed perfect. Not that I think my comic is crap, I just appreciate a little self deprecation. It keeps the ego in check.

The logo is the work of my lovely wife Joanna Crawshaw. I love the subtlety of the hairball behind the cat.  Though it is far removed from the abstract art she is known for, I think she was really spot on with the logo. If you have any questions regarding the logo, or her work, check out her website to contact her.

As far as the comic goes, keep checking back for status updates.

I feel like I should be doing a recap, or making resolutions for the future, but I think I’ll save that for the end of the calendar year.

How did you spend the last year?

Peach pie anyone?

Over at Hack A Day they have all kinds of camera hacks. My only regret is that I can’t try them all. Oh cruel fate, why have you stricken me with such little time. This most recent pressure triggered rig looks like a lot of fun and is a great addition to all the stop-motion rigs out there. I’m just afraid I would hit my camera instead of the peach. As you can see, if you can aim you chunk of rebar in the dark, you are in store for some awesome stop-motion pictures. Eadweard Muybridge would be proud.  Check out their post, and let me know if you get a chance to try it.

Anybody out there running a ‘zine or know of any good ones? I’d be happy to post them here.

Also, I am open for business as far as my freelance business goes. So, if your in need of a writer, don’t hesitate to let me know.

See you there.

Rockin' it old school

I did it. Heck, I’m proud I did it. I played RPG‘s from elementary school through my first few years in college. I am probably preaching to the converted, but RPG stands for Role Playing Game, the most well known of which is Dungeons & Dragons.  My favorite character class was the thief. The traveling vagabond aspect has appealed to me since I was young. There are plenty that scoff at the thought of  RPGs. “It’s for geeks and losers. Anyone who plays D&D is going to be living in their mothers basement at thirty. It’s for anti-social freaks who have nothing better to do with their time.” I have heard it all before. Like all stereotypes, you can find cases that support any of these and more. But, again like most stereotypes, they are much more the exception than the rule. I may be a bit of a geek, but I am thrity-two, married, very social and I don’t live with my mother. Playing D&D I learned very valuable lessons about socializing with others, team work, story telling and dealing with differences of opinion. In fact, I would say I owe a bit of what success I’ve enjoyed to playing D&D. I suspect there are other people, much more successful than I, who occasional found themselves rolling for initiative at some point in there lives.

In honor of the hobby and in and effort to get it out in the public eye, The Escapist – an RPG blog, is sponsoring  Read an RPG Book in Public Week. It takes place three strategically chosen weeks a year, you can find out more at their site, and the hope is to make the hobby more visible. At the very least, inspire some nostalgic memories among former gamers and at most, create some interest among the uninitiated.

Check it out. I think I may even dig out my copy of the 2nd Edition Dungeon Master’s guide. I don’t really game anymore, but I think I’ll throw my hat into the ring on this one.

What was your favorite RPG? I played, D&D of course, but other favorites were Teenagers from Outer Space, G.U.R.P.S. and Tales from the Floating Vagabond.

Every once in a while though, I feel like I need to indulge in some modern literature. It’s an area I know surprisingly little about. I can wax philosophical all day about Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters and Shakespeare, but I can hardly tell you who the hot pen is at the current moment. I have indulged in the Stephanie Myers devotion, but that was more out of idol curiosity than a quest for a great story. I have only made it through the first two, but I feel like I need something to clean my pallet between doses. We’ll get to that another time.

The practice I have when I am in need of something new and different, the supernatural and the fantastical can only hold interest for so long, is to sell myself to hype and look up the New York Times Bestsellers List. I know, great literature is not always what the unwashed masses are reading, but those titles are there for a reason. In my experience, if they are on “The List”, somebody is enjoying them. That means I might too.  I don’t always find something that will go down as a member of the canon of great American literature, but I almost always enjoy the read. So next time you looking for something to read, take a leap of faith. Look up “The List” a make a blind choice. You might be surprised.

So, what have you folks read lately?? Let me know in the comments.