Onward to NaNoWriMo! Onward to Victory!

So, this year will be my 4th attempt at National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as it is frequently shortened to. It is an annual self-regulated event that happens every year on November 1st, and ends on November 30th. The goal of the event is to compose a 50,000 word novel over the period of a single month. It's a lofty and difficult goal to attain. I have yet to ever complete it, as November tends to be one of the busiest months of my year, every year.

Still, this year I am determined to put forth my best effort ever, and finish this thing. I've got an outline for the novel worked out, plot, and characters, so I'm all set. I just need to do my best to keep pace. Any of you out there who'd like to cheer me on, feel free to do so. If you do decide to join in, be sure to 'friend' me at NaNoWriMo. http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/shivy

"Character is half the dynamic of plot, a given situation is the other half." ~Anne Bernays~

My Favorite Video Games #2: 'Final Fantasy VIII'

Videogames are like films to me. I mean this in the sense that my opinion of a game is often strongly influenced by what how I was feeling emotionally at the time. Final Fantasy VIII is one of the most impacting games that I recall playing, and one that holds a special place in my memories.



A powerful story set in a huge world on the brink of war; what attracted me to this Final Fantasy above all others was its focus on the love story developing between Squall and Rinoa, rather than the conflict of the world. Squall himself, was a character that I felt held a lot of qualities and conflict that were very personal to me. As a character, Squall embodies traits that a large cross section of gamers can relate to.


I did not own a Playstation at the time, but managed to borrow one in order to play this game. Wanting to return the system to him as quickly as possible, I played the game almost non-stop for a week. Eventually I hit what I consider to be one of the most powerfully sad scenes in any game. Towards the end of the third disc, I found myself crying through the entire “Eyes on Me” scene, as well as what happens immediately afterward. It was enough to depress me, and I decided to take a break at this point.

During my break, my friend returned, claiming that he needed his Playstation back for a week, and that I could borrow it again when he returned. I reluctantly returned it to him, and spent the week miserable, pondering the fate of Rinoa and Squall, unable to know how it would be resolved.


I didn’t realize something like a video game could affect my mood so drastically. I guess this was an early sign that I was destined to find passion and beauty in video games, and experience them as I would any film or book. These were powerful stories with truth and emotion to be discovered, not only in the characters, but also in the hearts and minds of the players themselves.



The game play of Final Fantasy VIII revolved around encountering enemies in battle. This is typical of the Final Fantasy games, but in this iteration the designers created a 'Junction' system to change things up a little. Throughout the game your party acquires these mythical beasts known as 'Guardian Forces' that can 'bond' with your characters and augment their abilities and skills. These junctions are powered my magical energies that you can harvest from the monsters you encounter throughout the game. Many people were critical of this system, since it was so different from the previous Final Fantasy games, and required, initially, some time spent drawing magical energies from the foes you face. Later in the game, this behavior becomes less necessary as you can break down items and loot into magic bits.



The Guardian Forces make up some of the most incredible monster designs of any Final Fantasy leading up to this installment, including the return of some favorite 'summoned' creatures, like Shiva and Ifrit.


All of this is framed around (at the time) professional quality CG Cinemas, including a sweeping opening sequence that features a bombastic orchestral piece called Liberi Fatali (Fated Children). This features prominently into the overarching theme of the story: being forced to take on adult roles in an organization called SeeD that trains war orphans to become profitable mercenary teems to be dispatched around the world. Most of the characters in the story are under the age of 18, and are forced to confront some harsh truths about the adult world that they would have been shielded from had their childhood experiences been different. There are some extremely poignant scenarios throughout the 4-disc epic storyline.


Now that the world has had 13 seperate Final Fantasy games in the franchise, not including sub-sequels or spinoffs, there exists a large pool of games to compare Final Fantasy VIII to. While I enjoyed the gameplay changes made to this particular game, I have to say that it was the emotional impact of the story that pushed the game to being my clear favorite of the franchise, and a game that I will cherish as I play through it again and again.

Bacon, King of the Breakfast Table

A popular topic amongst various peoples of the internet and multimedia worlds these days is that of bacon. Bacon is salt-cured strips of pork, usually from the back or side of the pig. because of their salty flavor and fatty crispy crunch, people tend to hold this food item in very high regard. I count myself amongst this number.

Those that know me, know that bacon is one of my favorite foods. I hold bacon as king amongst the breakfast foods, and have even been known to indulge in the aged Italian 'bacons' such as prosciutto and pancetta. Bacon makes it's own cooking grease that slowly melts off of the meat as you fry it in the pan. Because of this, it is difficult to question bacon's convenience factor. It is as though the salty little tendrils themselves are trying to help you cook them.

Bacon does it's best work when mixed with other foodstuffs. For example, when placed on pizza, it manages to create a delicious treat that is superior, in my opinion, to even salami and pepperoni: other cured meats. On a Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich (or BLT) it steals the show! Even on a club sandwich where it is relegated to a more minor role, the bacon tends to have a way with it's keen flavor for greeting your tongue most thoroughly in every bite. Bacon is delicious when sprinkled into macaroni and cheese, chili, and I even like it when it is finely chopped into pancake batter and fried on a skillet.

Bacon itself has some surprising qualities. Part of the popularity of the food likely stems from the fact that it contains no fewer than 6 different ingredient types that contribute to addictive aspects of 'umami', or the savory response of food to taste buds. This allows bacon to be a stand out flavor that is both striking and delicious enough that even certain vegetarians might find an excuse to turn to the 'dark side' and enjoy a piece or two.

All in all, bacon is simply one of the best foods that exists in the world today, and stands out as a reminder of how wonderful it is that we get hungry again every handful of hours.

Getting Married

Those of you that know me also know that I am imminently going to be married. My fiancée is an extremely talented woman who I would describe as a ‘Jill of All Trades’. She can cook, she sews, quilts, crochets, makes jewelry, clothes, blankets, purses, and all manner of other creative goods. I really count myself as lucky. (She has her own blog about our wedding process here: Lydibug-Fluff)

One of the favorite things that Lydia and I do together is watch films. We regularly watch movies together, and have a subscription to Netflix that keeps us nice and supplied with new things to watch. Of course, we don’t always see eye to eye on the types of movies we watch. Lydia, for some reason that surprises and amazes me, loves thrillers and scary movies. If there’s a haunting, or a killer, or some sort of paranormal threat, she’s there (she does draw the line at the subgenre of ‘slasher flicks’ she doesn’t care for those ones as much). I on the other hand, enjoy watching more lighthearted fare, as well as being prone to watching the same movies again and again. Seems like every year that I watch the Star Wars saga, the Back To The Future trilogy, The Karate Kid movies, and the ever excellent Bill & Ted films (Speaking of which, I still have a very exciting Bill & Ted themed blog entry I’ll finish soon). Lydia knows what she’s getting into with me and Star Wars. She’ll begrudgingly let me watch all 6 movies, as well as endure my enthusiasm for them (she did make me an excellent Jedi costume that I wear whenever I can find a good excuse to). As an accommodation, I’ve agreed to watch the entirety of the Harry Potter movies with her each year. That’s a total of 8 films, so she’s the winner by quantities’ standards.

Lydia also puts up with many of my quirks. I see her roll her eyes and laugh whenever I open an automated motion-sensor door by waving my hand like a Jedi, or where I stop the microwave at the last possible moment as though I were disarming a bomb, or when I go into ‘Adventure mode’ while driving whenever a particularly action-themed musical score begins to play on my CD player (In adventure mode, I focus my eyes on the road and try to give my best, stern, action-hero face while I drive).

The date of the marriage is swiftly approaching, and I'm eagerly looking forward to it. I had no idea organizing and planning a wedding would be as much work as this, but in the end it will all be worth it. Hopefully the transition from being a singular into a true married couple will go smoothly.

My Favorite Video Games #1: "Riven"

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Myst fan. I've read all the books, i've played all the games, countless times, and in my younger years I even helped maintain an AOL Help forum for Myst and Riven, its sequel. I've gone to Mysterium, the annual Myst convention, when it came to Los Angeles back in 2007, and I also regularly contribute to a monthly podcast called The Cavern Today, dedicated to the Myst franchise as well as the Online Multiplayer exploration of Myst Online: Uru Live, which has recently become a free-to-play online game.

The Myst series over the years has remained my favorite franchise, created by the remarkable creative minds at Cyan Worlds. No other game spoke to me so powerfully with a deep story of betrayal and consequence, told subtly through the clues and environment, rather than through cut scenes and dialogue.

I was at CompUSA as a child, shopping for a new PC with my parents; the first real computer my family would own after the ancient 386 I had been using. With this computer (a prefabricated Compaq model that eventually proved less than sufficient. My parents weren’t the savviest computer shoppers), my parents allowed each of their children to select a software title of their choice (within reason; no $400 AutoCAD or anything like that.) My sister chose some Winnie-The-Pooh Clipart program; my older brother selected an early home-architecture program from Broderbund. My younger brother chose Jet Fighter 2, and I chose a game that captivated me with its box-art of a lonely island amongst an endless sea: MYST.

Playing the game is among the happiest childhood memories I have of playing games with my siblings. My older brother and I worked hard to solve the puzzles in the game together, drawing out notes and maps. I felt so proud of how well we had done when at last we solved the final puzzle and completed the game.

By the time Riven had been released, my siblings were already starting to move on from games, or adopt a more casual attitude towards them. He didn’t want to play Riven with me as he had done before with Myst.

This was a pattern that could continue on until today, where I still remain deeply passionate about video games, and my siblings either no longer play them, or only retain a passing interest in them (With the distinct exception of my brother Jon who is well into the clutches of World of Warcraft). Even so, playing these games with my siblings would leave me with my fondest childhood memories.



While Myst was an intriguing game unlike anything I had ever played before, it couldn't compete with the far superior Riven. The game had a much darker and almost steam-punky feel to it, thanks to the hiring of Richard Vander Wende, an artist and designer who worked for Disney on Aladdin.



Throughout the game there are some pretty dynamic moments. Chief among them are the sequences where you travel between the five various islands that compromise Riven. Most of them are connected by Mag-Lev transport (Magnetic Levitation) or through mine cart tracks.


The sensation was pretty incredible. The other aspect that really intruigued me was the design of the puzzles. Everything in that wolrd felt like it belonged. The game didn't follow the common adventure game tropes of having puzzles for the sake of having puzzles. All the puzzles in Riven felt like they belonged where they were, and had a good reason for being there.
A good example is a puzzle involving decoding a security password written in D'ni, the fictional language of the Myst series of games. Solving the puzzle involved figuring out the unusual base 5 and 25 number system, which meant finding a school-house on one of the islands that was being used by the villagers to teach their children. There is a mechanical hangman game in the classroom where one could watch the D'ni numerals come up, and count the number of clicks, extrapolating from what they've learned to pick up the remaining numbers. All of it felt natural, as though you were a detective using all your resources to solve a mystery.


To date, I own 7 copies of Riven:
1. Original 5 CD-Rom release (Cardboard art-sleeves)
2. 5 CD-Rom release (Double Jewel-case)
3. Playstation Release, 5-Discs
4. Ages Beyond MYST - Myst + Riven CD-Rom bundle
5. MYST Anniversary DVD Versions (Includes MYST, Riven, MYST III: Exile)
6. GoG (Good Ol Games Digital Copy)
7. Steam Release Digital Copy

This may seem like a lot, but I own nearly every version of *all* the MYST games. Everyone's gotta collect something, right?




Yes, there were Myst III action figures!


And finally, the MYST Board game.... It's not very good. Basically a 'Competitive Jigsaw Puzzle'

Powered by Coffee

There’s a few things that start off just about every day of my life. The first is a shower, since I like starting the day with a refreshing blast of water in my face.

The second thing is a hot mug of coffee. In fact, (and this may be strange to some of you), but I have a coffee pot that I keep set in my unusually large bathroom. That means that in any given morning, I can step right out of the shower and have a hot mug of coffee waiting for me. What can I say, I really like coffee!

As a young child, I was reviled by the fierce bitter taste of the coffee bean. It was an unpleasant beverage when compared to sweeter fare such as Dr. Pepper or apple juice. Still, as I grew older, I began to lose my taste for the sour and sweet candies I enjoyed most, and began to gravitate towards bitter flavors. Things like unsweetened teas and coffee.

Coffee is a delightful drink. In many ways it’s an adventure with every cup, since coffee tastes different every time I brew up a pot full. This is the nature of extracting a flavor from a living-growing plant that holds a slightly different flavor each and every day of its life and subsequent roasting. I drink it black too. No cream, no sugar, I take it straight. Some people like to put a pinch of salt into their coffee grounds to cut some of the acidity. I’ve recently tried this, but found I prefer the unaltered nakedness of a hot cup of smooth, bitter coffee.

The coffee I tend to drink every morning is Yuban. I really like the smell and taste of that particular South American blend, but there is also a strong factor of nostalgia involved, since that was what my father always brewed up every morning. One of the coffees I really like is the Dunkin Donuts brand. It is usually expensive to buy at the supermarket, and comes in smaller bags, so It is reserved as a rare treat. I have always wanted to try a hot cup of coffee at a Dunkin Donuts franchise, but the closest one to California is in Las Vegas… A little out of the way for morning joe, ya know? (Hey, I rhyme!)

Something I did not know about coffee: Coffee was used during some religious ceremonies in Africa, and during the 17th century, it was banned in some parts of Turkey as part of a political battle.


I typically drink 3-4 cups of coffee in a given morning. That might seem like a lot, but I always picture Fry from Futurama buying 100 $3 cups of coffee in a day with his $300 tax break.

Dogs

So, I've never been much of an animal person. The "pets" I've taken care of mostly consist of the few plants I've managed to take care of and keep alive; mainly my Succulent plant, which I've named Ereshkigal, after the Sumerian Queen of the Underworld.

Also in recent life are the two new kittens that terrorize me in the mornings, and throughout most of the day... actually pretty much any time their little eyes are open. It's a good thing they're cute.
Leonard

















Sheldyn
(Yes the names are inspired by characters from "The Big Band Theory")

But despite the presence of the kittens (who aren't actually mine), I've never really been in touch with animals, much less dogs.

Dogs have also seemed pretty normal for a pet. I don't know what it was historically that first connected man and dog, but they seem to be a made to coexist in a full symbiotic relationship. Dogs are fiercely loyal, and the perfect companions for most human beings. They're pretty strange too. I don't know how often anyone thinks about the existence of a hidden "dewclaw", but anything that doesn't exist on the human body is fascinating to me.

I never thought I would be one to really be exposed to dogs. As a child the barking dogs of the neighbors would frighten me. When visiting any childhood friends I knew who owned dogs, I invariably would cause a normally placid dog to begin to bark at me. They didn't seem to ever like me. Any dog. Furthermore, I have always been mildly allergic to dogs. Not to quote movies here, but when it comes to dogs, I constantly "Had. A bad. Experience."

So along comes my Lydia, who you may know to be my fiancée, and the love of my life. She has always loved dogs. When I began dating her, I was exposed to her old dog, Jesebel. While she was certainly a nice dog (didn't bark at me, for once), I never really felt comfortable around canis lupus familiaris. It wasn't until Jesebel sadly passed away that I was exposed to a different dog.

Tori, short for Victoria (After the queen, since this dog certainly thinks she is one).

This is the tiny little dog (a cross between a Papillon and a Long-Hair Chihuahua) that was rescued by my bride-to-be one fateful day. The dog is generally quiet, friendly, clean, and enjoys attention. Constant attention. Still, the little gal has really began to grow on me over the years. I think she likes me because I'm thin. When I sit in a chair, I sorta act as a nice concave lap to sit in; bowl shaped. I believe this is the base of my friendship with this tiny dog.

Dogs are always going to be a part of my life from this point on, since my future wife is going to want to have them around. She makes accommodations for me, though; Tori is bathed nearly every week in an effort to limit my allergies to her. Which his fine, because it's nice to sleep in a bed with a tiny animal curled up next to you, and let's face it: cats are far too aloof for that.