Random thought:

One criticism I've seen of D&D 4E is that there are very few mundane critters in the Monster Manual. There's a wolf and a bear, and horses for riding, but that's about it; everything else is a weird fantasy monster of some stripe, so you can't have heroic adventurers fighting tigers or gorillas etc.

Having been at the zoo on the weekend, I have decided that I like this decision, because I don't want to kill animals, even in fiction. I don't want my dwarf warlock butchering a lion or elephant, because those poor buggers have it bad enough already with the cages and the cold and the spectators. Even imagining my ego-avatar doing that makes me feel bad. No, he can fight demons and giants and six-legged purple insect-panthers with tentacles and special effects; I feel just fine erasing shit like that from existence. I'd rather save animals than fight them, and it may be that D&D 4E might appeal to others who feel the same way.

I don't know if that was the reason for the design choice; I don't know whether it makes me the wussiest man in the world or merely one of the Ten Most Wussy. But it works for me.

Tags: nerdier than thou
Current Mood: earnest

"Ten years ago, In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team".
Did it never occur to these guys that if they seriously wanted to stay out of the stockade, that perhaps Mr T (sorry, B.A Baracus) shuld have toned it down a bit with the hair and chains? He's not the type of guy that blends. Just a thought, the result of selling someone a copy of "Be Somebody- Or Be Somebodys' Fool!", the Mr T. inspirational DVD. And sorry, but it was our last copy, so you'll have to go somewhere else to hear "Treat Your Mother, Treat Her Right". Lyrics by Ice T. Yes, really. Now there's a pretty manky skeleton to have in your gangsta closet. I'm going to have a little boggle of disbelief and general betrayal now.

Current Mood: none or other
Current Music: Mentally, it's 80s tv themes.

Yesterday saw the 40th and 45th birthdays of KatieJane Garside and Lung Leg, my two favourite poster girls for being a little bit crook in the head. Both of them have made the world being a big and scary place something to grapple with fairly gleefully, rather than cower from. I am really overendowed with cower. Cower keeps you small and sad. I want some of this unmissable Medusa-like fearsomeness to rub off, maybe even stick to me for good. I have a birthday coming up too! As do we all, of course. But I want a bit more personal ferocity for my present.
Not safe for work, but just in case you are curious about either or both these dangerous angels:




Forget the circus, I'm running away to join the punk-metal-reptile-cabaret. Right after I pass next Tuesdays' cower-inducing house inspection. Sigh. I'm positive it's easier to be a performance artist without a stuffy landlord bugging you about all the snakes and dead guitarists strewn about.

Current Mood: cold
Current Music: Goldfrapp- Felt Mountain

I'm not much of a one for either TV or comedy (except occasional animation), but this looks all kinds of interesting:

No Heroics is a single-camera comedy about four old friends who just happen to be off-duty superheroes. Based in a capes-only pub in Soho, the show explores their relationship, their sex lives, and their constant desperation for success and fame. The central cast are:

The Hotness (played by Nicholas Burns) who has the power to heat up like a giant car cigarette lighter.

Electroclash (played by Claire Keelan) who can control electricity, and hence talk to machines.

Timebomb (played by James Lance) who can see up to sixty seconds into the future.

She-Force (played by Rebekah Staton) who's the third strongest person in the world.

And their nemesis - Excelsior (played by Patrick Baladi), the most powerful superhero of his generation, and a complete prick.

Not a lot of info on the official site, but the comics gossip site Lying in the Gutters has more of a rundown.

Hope it doesn't suck. Must try to check it out when it hits the internets (or even free-to-air TV).

And speaking of British comedy, I really should get around to watching Spaced one of these days.

Craig is really sick, snuffling, snorting and dousing himself with ginger wine as anaesthetic for his burning throat, but I'm the one having the demented dreams. A goat throwing up on Tom Cruise. Kittens playing soccer. Kittens with halos. Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine living (and fighting) in my dad's toolshed. My brain goes on the tilt-a-whirl each night without my permission. I need help. Perhaps we should get some fresher milk for the staff fridge. Just as a starting point.
And amongst other foolishness, somehow I've managed to once again eviscerate my bank account a full 48 hours before payday. Not good. I blame the household's fancy new vacuum cleaner. Living in filth is cheap, I support it. But I doubt it helps either of us in our joyous bouts with allergy. I bloody hate being responsible, but sometimes there's no other option. With any luck we won't have to buy another one for at least 8 years, and I can toss my cash at fun stuff again.

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Air- Virgin Suicides

I threatened to talk about my goals, and here I am!
My June goals were these:

1. get my Works In Progress list down from 15 to 12
2. get the number of items for sale in my shop up from 32 to 40.
3. Tidy up the hobby room.

The results are these:

1. My WIPs list is now 12. Woohoo! But all the old stuff is still on there so I want to look at that next.
2. No. of items for sale is currently 35. It was 36, but then it dropped back to 33 cause a few things expired, and I re-listed 2, but the third one had a crap photo so I left it. I've got 6 items that I let expire because I no longer liked them/was ashamed of them/thought they sucked, etc. This goal could get quite complicated!
3. I tidied up the big desk enough so that I had room to do some painting on it. I thought that was pretty good going!

OK, now July goals:
1. Increase number of items in shop from 35 to 45.
2. Finish 3 older projects.
3. Re-photograph and re-list 4 projects.
4. Work on long-term project/s for at least 4 hours total.
5. Improve storage situation in hobby room.
6. Set next month's goals at the start of the month, not a week in!!

Okay, I am going to make this July/August goals, so that I don't feel quite so pressured. I do have to work full-time and do my exercise goals as well! (That's another blog completely!)

I'm gonna go do stuff now!

Current Mood: optimistic

In other editing news, it looks like I may be doing a MS appraisal/reader's report for a published author pretty soon, thanks to a really glowing recommendation of my skills by patchworkkid.

It's an interesting change of pace from my usual work. No rewriting or picking on grammar, but I'll looking at things like structure, pace, consistency and plot/character development. Pretty cool stuff, and helpful for developing my own writing and editing to boot. And hey, it may lead to more freelance work, which could be fun/profitable/a life-destroying drain on my time & energy (choose one).

So yeah. Interesting times.

Current Music: SAUL WILLIAMS - Tr(n)igger

Less rude but still a bit mad would have to be the man on Saturday who ran up to me, ripped off his sunnies and fixed me with the most rabbity red- eyed stare imaginable. I'd had a bad night myself so I felt a bit of his pain, but I seriously doubt this guy had known any sleep for at least 48 hours.
"So what's the story, love?"
"Er, can I help you?" If in doubt, act doubting!
"You are the girl who jumped on stage at the Angels gig and danced until the bouncers dragged you away, aren't you? What was all that about?"
"Sorry, but you're thinking of some other classy lady."
I don't know what worries me more, that the delusional deluge has clearly descended once again, or that I have a doppelganger who is a rabid, exhibitionistic Angels fan.

Current Mood: befuddled
Current Music: The Cure- Paris

I just had my first crazy bitch customer! It's taken a while. This woman refused to tell me how she was going to pay, or to let me operate the eftpos machine myself, "in case I stole her details". I don't like being treated like a thief when simply doing my job the way I have done it for 14 years. What a paranoid old bag-apparently "the bank" told her not to let anyone see how she used her card, or tell them what kind of account she had. Yeah, right. Thought she wasn't even going to let me have the merchants' copy of the receipt, until I explained that without it I would simply cancel the transaction and not give her the DVDs.
Glad I got that out of my system. She must have a wonderful time at the Safeway. "No, you can't see my money- I'm handing it to you in a sealed envelope, you dirty little crook". Charming.

Current Mood: irritated

It's done and over.

Posts with more words coming. I am presently regretting a night's drinking compressed into about three hours, and about to embark on a love/hate relationship with food.

I have a bunch of video to edit and put up from the four days, but the short answer is that the convention was FREAKING AWESOME all things said and done.

Now I'm going to go figure out what to do with my time and brain. Writing and preparing for this has been the texture of my life this year.

See you all soonish, with words and pictures.

Tags: gencon08