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What the HELL is wrong with these people?!
Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear “Muhammad.”
Just to be clear, I’m not a fan of any religion, so don’t start harping on me for singling out Islam. And I know this doesn’t represent all of Islam. But it does represent one very popular strain of it, and to all those people who go in for this particular brand of religious idiocracy, I say this: You are seriously, seriously, SERIOUSLY screwed up in the head.
It’s quite a world Penny and I have brought Ethan into, don’tcha think?
It’s been a month since the dingo stole my kidney. Lots of people have been asking how my recovery’s going, so here’s the sitch: I go back and forth between optimism and the blues. I’m still in a lot of pain and I’m still having difficulty walking, sitting, or standing for more than a few minutes. (Laying down’s not so bad.) But, I am better. A little. So that’s progress.
Next week I begin physical therapy on my back and legs. Think of it like this. For the last 12 months I’ve felt like there was a knife stuck in my abdomen all the way through to my lower back. It caused the muscles there to contract so tightly that, according to one doctor’s theory, they’ve wrapped around a nerve. Removing the kidney is the equivolent of pulling out the knife, but now we’ve got to fix the muscle problem.
I’m actually excited to start the physical therapy because I think it will really help. In the meantime, I still have three more weeks before I can go back to work. That’s frustrating, because I’d like to feel like a real, live, contributing member of society again, and three weeks seems like an awful long time to wait.
On the other hand, it’s great being home with Ethan and Penny all day. So there is a silver lining.
The man with the hat is back… and he looks damn good for his age. (EDIT: And I mean that in an entirely heterosexual way, all you jokesters—aka Penny.)
More pictures here. Only 175 days to go!
My family has a tradition at Thanksgiving that before we can gorge on the turkey and all the fixings, everyone at the table has to say one thing they’re thankful for. But this year I’m thankful for more than one thing, so consider this the expanded DVD version of what I said at the dinner table.
10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Yes, I’m incredibly thankful there’s going to be an Indy 4. This may seem like a completely inane thing to be thankful for, but my childhood was pretty much defined by Indiana Jones, and just thinking about a new Indy makes me feel like a kid again. (For the record, I’m not at all concerned that Harrison Ford may have “lost it” since Last Crusade. I am a little concerned that George Lucas may have, though. )
9. My job. Sure, I’ve been known to grumble about it on occasion, but the people at Smarter Travel have really taken care of me over the years, and never moreso than this year as I’ve faced various medical hurdles. This includes my coworkers, many of whom I consider friends, who have reached out to me with cards, emails, gift baskets, enticing promises of pecan pies in my future… even offers to help out around the house. Smarter Travel may not have the same “close-knit family” atmosphere it did when I started there seven years ago (Seven years? WTF?!), but it’s still a pretty damn good place to work.
8. Comic books. (Nerd alert!) It’s only when I’m stuck in bed for days with nothing but a stack of Spider-Man comics to occupy my time that I appreciate just how much they’ve meant to my life. It’s not just about the escapism and entertainment value so much as it about the reminder they give me of who I used to be back when I wanted nothing more than to move to New York and go work for Marvel Comics. I may not be that guy anymore, but I’m thankful I got to be him for a while. It’s this time of the year, for some reason, that most reminds me of my year at Marvel. Looking back, that two-hour commute from Staten Island doesn’t seem so bad anymore.
7. The mountains. It doesn’t even matter which mountain. I just love climbing them, and I love reaching the top when I’m all hot and gross and sweat-soaked and then letting the wind cool me off. There’s almost nothing better in the world. God, I can’t wait to climb a mountain again. I hope I can.
6. Travel. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to really enjoy traveling. The last couple of years all of my trips have been marred by the fact that I’ve been in various stages of excruciating pain. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love the idea of traveling the way I used to travel—with my steel-toed hiking books tied tightly, my walking stick at my side, and my backpack strapped to my shoulders… usually weighed down by Penny’s water bottles. (I kid!) Point is, what I love most about traveling is the chance to see the most stunning places in the world up close, to physically experience the landscape and connect to other cultures through the land they live on. I’m thankful I’ve had the chance to do that in some pretty amazing places.
5. My brother and sister. Probably because I’m the youngest (six years younger than my sister and *cough, cough* nine years younger than my brother), I’ve never really experienced that whole sibling rivalry thing. No, I’ve looked up to and adored my brother and sister for as long as I can rememer, and I’m thankful for both of them (and their kids) more than I’ve ever been able to tell them.
4. My in-laws. Rumor has it that lots of people don’t get along with their in-laws. Not me. I have probably the best father- and mother-in-law ever. Seriously. I’ve known them since I was a junior in high school and in many ways they’ve helped shape who I am today. They’ve been a warm, friendly, positive influence on my life, and I’m so glad they’ll be a big part of Ethan’s life, too.
3. My parents. I guess it’s true that you never fully appreciate just how much your parents love you until you become a parent yourself. Mom, dad, I finally get it. And I’m thankful not just for the bottomless love you gave me as a child but for the continued love and support you’re giving now. It’s indescribable how much comfort I’ve taken since my surgery just knowing my parents love me and are there to help whenever I need it. Who’d have guessed it?
2. My son. This week Ethan started crawling and he started to put noises together that sound like “ma-ma.” (I’m proud to say he already mastered the “da-da” sound a while ago.) Being a father is so different from anything I could have imagined. Doesn’t matter what anyone told me ahead of time, I never believed that just looking at my son could make me this happy. He’s such a good boy—so sweet, so friendly, so bright (gets that from his mom), and so full of enthusiasm for life (even his crying is enthusiastic… maybe a tad too much so). Everything he does is wonderful. I just hope I can be a good father to him. That’s my number one goal in life now.
1. My wife. Penny is the best friend I’ve ever had. She is the very definition of a true companion. She’s game for pretty much anything, whether it’s trekking across Iceland (in the freezing rain), watching thousands of innings of baseball a year (and only complaining a little), encouraging me in both my fiction writing and my travel writing (even when it means spending evenings or weekends on her own, and even when it means offering feedback that she knows I won’t want to hear), and helping me recover from surgery by doing literally everything around the house (including yard work!). Just about the only thing Penny won’t do for me is watch a horror movie. No one’s perfect.
But Penny is more than my best friend. She’s radiant, she’s kind, she’s funny, she’s smart, she’s interesting, she’s active, and she keeps me going even when I don’t think I’m up for it. Basically, she’s completely out of my league, so thank God I found her back in high school before she was wise enough to know she could do so much better.
And did I mention she’s also the very best mom our son could ever have? I love watching her with Ethan because it’s obvious how much she loves him, that she’s engaged in his life and his development, and that she takes such joy in being his mother. Not a day goes by that I’m not thankful she and I found our way back to each other after a very rough time of it in 2003.
If there’s one thing in the world I’m most thankful for, it’s that Penny is my wife.
Well, at least this will give the Religious Right something to do once they’re done protesting The Golden Compass…
German filmmaker Robert Sigl’s The 13th Disciple is still in the planning stage but producer Mario Stefan is in India’s western tourist state of Goa trying to attract an Indian co-producer for the project.
“It’s a fantasy-adventure film and takes place completely in present-day India,” Stefan said on the sidelines of the 38th International Film Festival of India, which opened over the weekend.
The story traces the journey of two German archaeologists looking for evidence that Jesus visited India. The researchers, who are twins themselves, find that Jesus had an evil twin brother who is reincarnated in the present as the scheming head of a religious sect.
This gives me hope that one day the world will be ready for my post-apocalyptic religious thriller, Zombie Messiah. In it, of course, Jesus rises from the dead… AS A ZOMBIE!!
Discuss.
Last night, How I Met Your Mother inched ahead of The Office as my favorite current sitcom…
This is one of my favorite things: The moment you look out the window and see the first snow of the season. It’s a light but steady snowfall with big leafy flakes. No accumulation, but perfect all the same. Penny and I have a tradition of going for a walk every year during the first snowfall. I’ll have to walk a little slower than usual today, but nothing’s gonna stop me from carrying on the tradition!
Where: Tobago, West Indies
When: April 2006
What: I took this photo from a private beach on the grounds of the Arnos Vale eco-lodge (a former sugar plantation) in Tobago. I love the way the sunset filters through the clouds, but what really makes the shot for me is the lonely sailboat off in the distance. I think it perfectly captures the whole laidback Caribbean experience.
Further inland, Tobago’s rainforest has been legally protected from human interference for more than 200 years, which has allowed more than 210 species of birds, 23 types of butterflies, 16 lizards, and even some fish-eating bats to thrive. No doubt about it, Tobago is one of the last truly undisturbed Caribbean gems.
The best way to make sense of all the biodiversity is by choosing an experienced guide. I went with Harris McDonald, a native of Tobago who calls the jungle his “playground.” He has twice won Tobago’s top tour guide award, and his jungle tours set the standard for the island.
One of the few good things about being laid up after surgery is the chance to catch up on stuff I’ve been meaning to read but hadn’t gotten around to for one reason or another.
Now, first, a disclaimer: I graduated college with honors as an English major, and I have a fairly refined taste in literature. But, man, when you’ve just had your kidney forcibly ripped from your abdomen, sometimes you just wanna read a good old-fashioned comic book. (OK, yes, that’s a little dramatic, but it sounds more impressive than “surgically removed under general anesthesia,” so work with me here.)
Point is, I’m not ashamed to say that I’m up to my elbows in trade paperbacks collecting a few years’ worth of issues from some of my favorite series. It feels good to catch up with some characters from my teens and 20s and see what they’re up to these days.
Right now I’m really enjoying Dark Horse Comics’ revival of the Conan series. I’ve plowed through the first three volumes by Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord, and believe me this stuff is phenomenal. Nord’s artwork alone transcends anything I’ve ever seen in fantasy storytelling, and Busiek’s blend of original material woven amongst Robert E. Howard’s classic pulp stories creates an unusually rich chronicle of Conan’s journey from savage youth to adulthood, and all the stages of his career in between: mercenary, thief, pirate, wanderer, and eventually king. Phenomenal stuff. I have volume four on order from Amazon. It’s addictive.
I was also blown away by the new Buffy trade collecting the first six issues of Joss Whedon’s ”Season Eight.” This is Buffy like we’ve never seen her before, but at the same time it’s also a faithful continuation of both the story and the overarching themes of the television series. So far, for me at least, Xander’s Sergeant Fury act is stealing every scene. But reading it is a mixed bag, too. On the one hand, it’s awesome. No doubt about it. On other hand… it only makes me miss the TV series that much more.
I’ve also been catching up with Spider-Man (I’ll weigh in with a review of One More Day at a later date), Planetary, and a few others. I suppose eventually this could get expensive again—comics have a track record of taking over my life if I let them—but so far I’m keeping it under control.
Plus, hey, Christmas is coming!
After six months of hard work and anticipation, another era in the production of my would-be adventure game opus, Rise of the Hidden Sun, has come to a disappointing end.
First, though, some background. Buckle up ’cause this may take a while.
Rise of the Hidden Sun is a 2-D point ‘n’ click adventure game in the tradition of old computer classics like King’s Quest and The Secret of Monkey Island. I was practically raised on those games in the ’80s and ’90s and I’ve wanted to make one of my own for as long as I can remember. As a kid I designed countless text adventures using the programming language BASIC, and I always thought that some day I’d move to California and go work for Sierra On-line, which at the time was the definitive adventure game publisher.
Unfortunately, Sierra stopped making adventures at basically the same time that I graduated from college—so there was to be no “Adventure Game Designer” job title in my future. That is, until I discovered Adventure Game Studio, a do-it-yourself game design program that was both free and easy to use.
So back in 2003 I decided to put my spare time into the creation of my own game, and I settled on a Wild West setting, an epic treasure hunt, and a largely comedic backdrop. I spent about eight months hammering out the plot, the dialogue, the characters, and the puzzles in what is to this day probably the best and most polished work of creative writing I’ve ever completed.
This game wasn’t going to look like a one-person job. No, no. This was going to have professional production values from the writing and music to the background art and animation. And for a while, everything went according to plan. I was able to recruit some top-notch talent from the amateur adventure game design community. I served as the project coordinator and de facto art director, making sure that everything met a certain very high standard of production and had a consistent “feel” to it from artist to artist.
My biggest problem since this all began, though, has been attrition. Simply put, people who volunteer their time on projects like this—particularly people who you only know through the Internet—just don’t stick around to finish what they’ve started. They’re usually good for about three months of work before they just drop off the face of the planet, never to be heard from again.
So, about two years ago I made the decision to start paying people to work on my game. I couldn’t pay much, of course—I had always planned on Rise of the Hidden Sun being a freeware game—and it basically came down to how quickly I could sell stuff on eBay to pay for the work-for-hire artists I needed to create the professional quality artwork I wanted. This was a bad business model, obviously, but that’s why this whole thing is called Chapter 11 Studios. I knew I’d go broke doing it this way, but I was determined to make Rise of the Hidden Sun the best damn freeware adventure game ever made.
I’ve had pretty good luck with background artists who draw and/or digitally color the game environments. My track record with animators isn’t so good, though. But I thought I’d finally solved the problem for good back in June of this year when I began working with a professionally trained animator named Jim Peebles.
Not only was Jim willing to work for very short money—again, I could afford him just by selling my old comic books on eBay—but his work was good. Damn good. He was fast, willing to listen to my suggestions, and responsive to my emails. Together we made more progress on the animation front in two months than I had in the previous two years. It was a revelation. The characters in Rise of the Hidden Sun were coming to life before my very eyes. After years of searching, I’d found my animator!
Or not.
Because Jim, like each and every one of my would-be animators before him, eventually stopped producing. Progress updates became less and less frequent. The quality of the animations dropped significantly when he did get around to sending me something.
And then this past weekend came the final straw. He emailed me probably the two worst character animations I’ve ever seen. Sloppy, careless, and clearly very rushed. They looked nothing like the amazing work he’d done for me just months earlier. It left me with no choice: Jim’s time on Rise of the Hidden Sun was over.
Thus, I have no animator, and I don’t even know if I can use the good stuff Jim created because every animator has a different style and it’s hard to combine the work of different artists without the discrepency between their styles being obvious.
It’s left me to once again question my plan to make Rise of the Hidden Sun a freeware game. If I really want it to be professional quality, it seems, I’m going to have to take a professional approach—and that means a for-profit model that would make this an actual business. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, I could embrace the do-it-all-myself approach and be the game’s chief artist/animator, which would ensure that it would get done—but at a significantly reduced level of quality.
So here I am, back at the drawing board again… literally. I’m standing at a crossroads in the game’s development, and I have no idea which road to take.
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