Fallen Earth: End of the World and Beginning of New Career!

About three and a half years ago, I joined the development team working on Fallen Earth. I'm pretty sure some people thought I was making it all up. I'm not sure what they thought I was doing instead. Panhandling for coins and WoW time cards at Maynard and Chapel Hill Road? Working nights for the CIA? Infiltrating the Keebler Elves cookie factory? WELL! Look at the picture! Proof positive that I have, in fact, not been making it up all this time.

The game is now a reality, complete with a box and everything.

Do you own your copy yet?

Learning to lead the dog

Recently finished Cesar's Way, a book by Cesar Millan (of National Geographic's "The Dog Whisperer"). If you've got a dog with some tendencies toward misbehavior, I highly recommend it.

I'm already seeing great results of working with my Golden Pyrenees, Huckleberry, based on the advice contained in this book. Really, they're simple things that basically boil down to showing the dog who's boss without freaking out and making sure you don't mistake a dog for a human, with human psychology.

I've still got to work on my pack leader skills, but we're on the right track.

Short Attention Span Review: "Heroes" 9/28

I think I'm just about done with this show.

The Parkman-Sylar craziness has gone beyond silly. I think we're supposed to be perversely drawn to the college ho-mance developing between Claire and alcopop heiress Madeline Zima, but I'm not. Peter's gullibility is second only to Parkman's. The show did too much telling and not enough *showing* - case in point: The mansion of the doomed! That was a missed opportunity.

I'm less intrigued by Samuel this week.

The one bright spot: Deaf girl who sees sounds as color. Life for her: One big game of Simon.

Short Attention Span Review: "House" 9/28

So, to make up for last week's premiere being pretty much all about Gregory House, we get an episode that's pretty much all about Foreman, Thirteen, and Taub while House plays Galloping Gourmet at Wilson's place.

The patient of the week: A video game designer who trolls the Internet for a diagnosis and uses reader polling to determine courses of treatment. So, of course, I thought that was rather cool.

Also cool: Andre Braugher seems poised to make regular appearances as House's shrink. Win!

Not so cool: I didn't really care about Foreman and his efforts to supplant House or wrestle with the conflict of interest issues of being his girlfriend's boss.

Short Attention Span Review: "Saturday Night Live" Season Premiere

It's a good thing Megan Fox has looks going for her, because she's a pretty terrible actress and she simply cannot bring the funny. Of course, it probably doesn't help that the writers only seemed capable of giving her material that involved either 1) being a pinup girl or 2) being vapid.

Weekend Update? Not very funny. They're hamstringing the show by wasting their better material on the Thursday episodes.

The two performances by U2? Quite good.

And the f-bomb inadvertently uttered by the new cast member? Best moment of an otherwise meh night.

Short Attention Span Review: "Dollhouse" Season Premiere

This show was up and down for me last season. It ended mostly on an up note, especially with the surprise renewal.

I DVRed the show Friday night. I started watching it on Sunday while taking a break from hunting for missions in World of Warcraft's Blade's Edge Mountains (where I was hoping to get my On the Blade's Edge achievement). I discovered that I didn't care at all about the plot involving Agent Helo, Echo, and Apollo Brit-Style, but I did enjoy the Topher/Amy Ackscar story. However, even THAT got old for me.

Eventually, I opted to go get drunk on WoW's Brewfest. Yes. I preferred to stare at a screen getting increasingly blurrier due to virtual alcohol. I'm fairly certain this means Dollhouse is doomed.

Short Attention Span Review: "Fringe" Season Premiere/Second Episode

I loved this show last season.

I greatly enjoyed the season premiere, with the Terminators who transform using iPod cords and the parallel universe wackiness.

That said: The only thing I really enjoyed about the second episode was the subtle reference to the fact that Professor Hobbit-Shouter stole Pacey from another dimension. The crazy monster-of-the-week? That plot was used on an old X-Files episode and it was done better back then.

Still watching, but growing weary of X-Files rehashes.

Short Attention Span Review: "Heroes" Season Premiere

Heroes is back. Do I actually care?

Well, only a little.

I'm very intrigued by the carnival storyline. Consider me mildly interested in the Nathan/Sylar drama. And I'm meh about Parkman, although I got a kick out of his MindSylar moments.

Can't muster up much love for the Tracy/HRG business, but did enjoy Ray Park and his two-bladed zoominess.

Worth watching for another week.

Short Attention Span Review: "House" Season Premiere

House is back!

In the season premiere, he's in the loony bin. By the end, he's out of it - after playing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for a while, nearly getting a fellow patient killed, and having an affair with a married woman in the ward.

On one hand, I'm glad they're not spending much of the season following House's misadventures in the asylum. On the other, Andre Braugher is outstanding and I hope they bring him back for more wit-matching against House.


A fun, well-produced return of the show.

The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy...

...is an overblown Bill Clinton contradiction in terms.

I'm a registered Democrat, I'm relatively liberal-minded, but I have never believed in the idea of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" as touted by the Clintons. Ever. Conspiracies are secretive by nature. No one ever made a secret out of working against the Clintons. Nor, despite his latest claims, has there been any subterfuge involved in the campaign against President Obama's health care plan.

Saying it's a "vast right-wing conspiracy" requires an underestimation of the Republican party's long-standing expertise at tearing down their opponents. It wasn't a "vast left-wing conspiracy" that got Barack Obama elected. It was an organized Democratic effort.

Give credit where it's due and don't resort to scare tactics. I didn't like it coming from Republicans. I don't like it coming from Democrats, either.

No Excuses...

It's been nearly two months since I posted in this blog.

I blame Twitter and Facebook, ultimately. It's very easy for me to exhaust most of my random thoughts and musings via those outlets. I haven't bothered to expand on them here and I should.

So, my goal from now on: Use Twitter and Facebook like a scratch pad for ideas. Then take a bit of time to flesh out the premises here.

In other news: I've really been exceedingly busy working on Fallen Earth and the games at Jointhesaga.com this last couple of months.

Fallen Earth is available for digital download now. It should be on store shelves tomorrow.

OtherSpace and Necromundus are chugging along!