Picking Friends on the Internet Playground

The last few weeks have been really interesting for me in that I have learned a lot about the etiquette of various social media these days. I have learned from the consultant controversy that you are not supposed to key people you're talking badly about into the conversation; nor are you supposed to do so on Twitter; nor in your blog posts. I think that's a coward's way to deal with issues that you have with other people. 

So let me state this unequivocally for everyone who reads me. If I bring your name up in a post then I will key you in on Google+ because you deserve to know if you're being discussed. Good, bad, or indifferent; to deny you the right to defend yourself if such is called for is devalue my own words and those of my readers.

A few other things that you should know about how I have been conducting myself, and will continue to do so in the future. 

• If I fuck up in a post, and make a mistake, I fully intend to own up to it. 
• If you present evidence in your arguments that is convincing I'll tell you you're right. I gain nothing by ignoring new evidence and trying to show you how big my metaphorical cock is online.
• If I don't care about what we're talking about I'll tell you that too.
• I will continue to curse in ways that amuse me.
• My titles will sometimes have nothing to do with what I'm writing about.
• My descriptions on Google+ will almost never deal with the post.
• I don't care about your gender, what clothes (and how much clothing) you choose to wear, your job, your race, or sexual orientation. I only care about what you're creating and saying.
• I will treat you fairly so long as you treat me the same. 
• I will read people that aren't popular and support them when they do things I like regardless of how other people view them.
• I will continue to be as honest as I can in my posts and in my interactions with each of you. I will fuck this up occasionally because I am only human, but when I do I will try to make it right by owning my lies. 
• I will rarely be talking about politics because this blog isn't focused on such things.

If you find this sort of etiquette unpalatable then it has been nice having you as a reader and I'm sorry to see you go. This is the way that I have been standing for a long while now and it is how I intend to go on for the foreseeable future.

There now; I feel better now that I've cleared the air and there are no delusions that I will be conducting myself in a manner that offends my delicate sensibilities. 

Topic Suggestions for the WTF Series

I'm going to be launching a new series on the blog soon called WTF. The idea behind the series is that I will be selecting a topic and exploring what it is and how it applies either to the hobby or life (depending on the topic) in a fun and engaging way. So far I've got some topics that I already want to explore but I'd love to get some suggestions from you guys! 

Topics in the Queue (so far)

Hollow World 

Necromancers

The Harpers

Burning Wheel

Rifts

Red Wizards

Plane of Fire

Devils

Drow

The Underdark

Mindflayers

Baba Yaga

Megadungeons

Dungeon World

FATE
Red Steel (Suggested by +Mark Van Vlack)
13th Age (Suggested by +Giuseppe Antonelli)
Savage Worlds (Suggested by +Giuseppe Antonelli)
 Numenera (Suggested by +Giuseppe Antonelli)
Edge of the Empire (Suggested by +Giuseppe Antonelli)
Planescape (Suggested by +Giuseppe Antonelli)
Alternity (Suggested by +Giuseppe Antonelli)
Aftermath
 Alma Mater
Mythender
Petty Gods
Powers and Perils
Flumphs (Suggested by +Erik Tenkar)
The Love Story of Robocop (Suggested by Andrew Davis)
Traveller (Suggested by +Adam Dickstein)
Carcosa
Star Frontiers
Boot Hill

Anyway, those are the topics that I have currently in mind to explore. What would you like to see me dig into? What topic has always been something that you've wanted to know more about yet haven't been able to devote enough time to learn as much as you'd like? Add your suggestions below! 

I'll be adding all of the upcoming topics to the queue above to let everyone know what's coming soon!

Drowning in Projects, But Such a Happy Corpse You Never Did See!

So this week I'm hoping to complete the following series:

This Will End Well (three parts left to finish)

You Will Remember My Name (two parts left to finish)

I'm also continuing the following series:

Basic D&D 

And I'm thinking about starting the following series:

The Pharaoh's Slumbers, module I3: Pharaoh (eight parts)

Exploring the Hollow World: A Delve Too Deep (estimated to run 30 parts)

WTF is . . . (ongoing series without an estimated ending)

I tell you, I take off from the blog for a bit to deal with some family issues and next thing you know here I am flooding the queue with posts and striving to finish up all the projects I've been working on in an effort to satiate my own thirst to write. Just goes to show you that once I've developed a habit that I'm one to fully commit to it. 

So what are you cat's doing this weekend?

The Book Shelf: Methuselah's Children by Robert A. Heinlein

Continuing my new found love of Robert A. Heinlein I finished Methuselah's Children this week and found it just a fantastic read. While this tale isn't anywhere near as quotable as The Cat Who Walks Through Walls it is still a strong book. The story beings slowly for a Heinlein book but quickly picks up the pace and from there never stops.

As is usually the case with Heinlein's incredibly interconnected works I find that I have to read another one of his books, Stranger in a Strange Land, to fully appreciate it - which is fine by me as I've yet to be disappointed. 

If you're interested in this book then you'll find a lot of the foundational elements for his final series of books that culminates with To Sail Beyond the Sunset (which is also in my reading queue). Here you find the first appearance of the Howard Families, Lazarus Long, and the groundwork for many of his ideas of the World as Myth. 

Well worth reading.

Four grown men in diapers sucking a pacifier out of five.

Clearly I'm Not Meant for Tumblr

This morning I was scrolling through Tumblr trying to figure out if this was a medium that I could use to further extend the blog here. Four hours later and an ever expanding search through countless cat pictures and it's clear to me that Tumblr is not for me. I think that I spend too much time and effort for the sort of quick posts that pass for content on Tumblr. Says the man who posted three posts today that were less than fifteen paragraphs combined. 

Fucking A, I'm a damned hypocrite. 

The Book Shelf: Jungleland by Christopher S. Stewart

On Monday I finished Jungleland by Christopher S. Stewart. The book is a really fun exploration of what it means to be an adventurer in the days when there were still blank spots on the map and contrasting that with today's GPS and Google Maps. 

While many of the reviews for this book would have you believe that it's the sort of seat gripping adventure that will have you reading it in a single night I'm here to tell you that is far from the case. The book is absolutely well written, and the parts focusing on the explorer Theodore Morde are fantastic, but where it loses steam is when Chris focuses on his personal story. He whines, complains, and constantly presents himself in the most unflattering way possible. 

I like him. 

That said, the book drags whenever the narrative moves over to the author and his misery in the wilds. Yet it is in those parts where we see the reality of trekking off to lost places where no one knows what will happen next.

Well written and definitely worth the read for anyone interested in the search for the lost worlds of antiquity. 

Three Sad Beholders out of Five

Best Reads of the Week Schedule for the Rest of the 2014

I've been a little lax about posting the Best Reads of the Week series for the last few weeks, but honestly life has been a real bitch lately. Anyway, I'll be starting the Best Reads of the Week back up on August 8, 2014. 

The series is going to be considering posts published each week from Friday morning through the following Thursday evening (I'll usually start finalizing at around 7 PM Eastern Standard Time). The Best Reads will then be posted on Friday, preferably in the morning. 

Sorry for not keeping up with this series for the last few weeks as I know that there are a lot of people who use it to keep up with some of the cool things going on in the hobby. Hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am!

When That Update Comes . . .

When the Basic Game is updated in mid August I'm going to go through all the chapters I have already covered and bring them in line with the current version. All the titles will be changed to show that they have been updated and I will be resharing them in my feed. 

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on this point as it might be annoying for those of  you who have been reading every article in the series.

It's a Terrible, Soul-Sucking Idea

I was thinking about the Hollow World setting that came out years ago with the floating continents that circled a molten red sun. Each of the continents are supposed to be devoid of life if you can believe such noise. Anyway the idea I've been having kick around my head is this: what if each of these floating continents are actually where all the people that you don't kill immediately live and the world below is filled with monsters. 

It keeps bouncing round my head and I think that would be a lot of fucking fun to explore. I follow that with what the fuck is wrong with me? Ideas like that are soul-suckers that draw you down a rabbit hole where nothing productive gets done and life becomes a dreary repetition where hate is your only sustenance.

What about you? What's the idea that's been kicking about your brain that seems like a great idea and terrible one all at the same time?

Waiting on the New You

So I'm going to talk about Doctor Who for a few minutes. 

I started watching Doctor Who online with the Second Doctor. I don't know why he was the one I gravitated towards when every option under the sun was available but there I was watching this strange little imposter Stooge run about screaming for his compaions like a fretful child - and I loved every minute of it. I spent days searching out episodes on YouTube until I ran into the Third Doctor and there I stayed for nearly two years. I watched every episode on YouTube at least twice (some far more than that) as I just loved the hell out of the Third. Since then I've moved on through each of the Doctor's incarnations and never once have I been disappointed - though I haven't seen the Movie Doctor and many tell me that I will be there.

Now I'm waiting for the new Doctor and I'm really excited. This guy reminds me of the Doctors that got me into watching the show from afar. But what will he be like? Hard to say at this point as I've carefully avoided spoilers online.

Okay, more D&D related stuff later. I just had to get that out of my system.