A Day Late, and a . . . Day Late.

Well, the title says it all. It's late. By one day.

Anyone familiar with my website (NOBODY HAHAHA) would not be surprised. Not in the least.

Long story short, I simply forgot. I was having fun, and things got pushed onto the back burner. So is life.

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And now, a First Look at a Book. I might do a lot of these, too. I'm more often to start books than I am to finish them...both in reading and writing.

So, one of the gifts I got during my Christmas/Birthday extravaganza was a book by the name of, "How To Write a Damn Good Novel." I had seen good reviews of it on amazon, so I put it on my gift list (at the lowest priority, but hey...I still wanted it) and sure enough, on the day of the 28th it shows up in a pretty little package.

It is safe to say that I want to write novels. If I am lucky, or I work hard, or most likely a funny concoction of both, they may even later be labeled "good." But for me, the highest compliment would not be for my book to simply be "good," but for the reviewer to be required to swear before the adjective of "good," just to emphasize how "good" it actually is.

In that sense, How To Write a Damn Good Novel should suffice. If anyone ever finds a book called "How To Write a F***ing Good Novel," I'd love to have it.

Currently I am up to page ten (hey, it is a first look after all! A short perusing, if you will...) and from what I've read so far, I have this estimation:

80% of the book is bullshit.

The other 20% is comprised of the author taking past writers' ideas.

Which really, does not make it a bad book at all. Bullshit can be a good thing, when used properly. Bullshit has gotten me through pretty much every essay-driven class I have ever taken. Bullshit keeps workers working, thinkers thinking, and philosophers philosophizing. One could even say that the entire world runs on pure bullshit power.

In that sense, the book is made of very good bullshit. Grade A, or, if you play too many Japanese games, as I have, Grade S bullshit. It is, in fact, a wonderful book, and in just ten pages I already feel better about my writing.

I haven't even written a damn thing since opening the book, and I feel better. This is either very good, or very bad. I couldn't care less either way.

This is a book that I will, most definitely, probably finish. Which, really, is a pretty good compliment for it, all things considered.

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And now, since I've been playing way too much FFXI lately (finally got Alchemy to 18! Poison potion machine ftw) here's something I've been working on...part one. Kudos if you can guess where the original came from. ;)

Princeton: Say Kate, can I ask you a question?
Kate: Sure.
Princeton: Well, you know Trekkie Mithra upstairs?
Kate: Uh-huh.
Princeton: Well, she's Trekkie Mithra and you're Kate Mithra.
Kate: Right.
Princeton: You're both Mithra.
Kate: Yeah.
Princeton: Are you two related?
Kate: /angry
Kate: What? Princeton, I'm surprised at you! I find that racist.
Princeton: /shocked
Princeton: Well I'm sorry, I was just asking...
Kate: Well, it's a touchy subject. No, not all Mithra are related. What are you trying to say, huh? That we all look the same to you?
Princeton: /panic
Princeton: No, no, no! No, not at all. I'm sorry, I guess that was a little racist.
Kate: I should say so. You should be much more careful when you're talking about the about the sensitive subject of race.
Princeton: /confused
Princeton: Well look who's talking.
Kate: What do you mean?
Princeton: What about that special Mithra school you were talking about?
Kate: What about it?
Princeton: Well, can someone like me go there?
Kate: No! We don't want Humes like you there!
Princeton: /laugh
Princeton: You see?
Kate: /confused

<|To be continued...|>

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Oh, one last thing I should say: There is a poll to the right of this post. Basically, I have lots of things I could post here, but I would appreciate it graciously if everyone who drops by could give me a vote as to what they'd like to see.

That is all.

Two Posts in One Day? The Madness Cannot Last...(RP Madness 01)

Well, I figure even though my last post was technically on Friday, I may as well make another post. Must get used to this "regular posting" thing, after all.
So, this segment I'm going to call...uh. "RP Madness." Yeah. That works. The name is self explanatory, I'm sure, if you know anything about (geeky) acronyms.

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First off in RP madness, I have recently had the pleasure of having the first "official" RP session with my new D&D group. What I mean by the first "official" session is that we have, in fact, met thrice before this day to hammer out our characters, the setting, and even take a stab at roleplaying without killing things to understand our characters all the better. These meetings did not count, as we did not kill anything. Nor add little subtitles to our actions, or...well, I suppose I will just continue with my story.

Now, this group, of my finest friends whom I really should get to know better, has been outstanding from my previous D&D experiences for a few reasons, which I am now going to list:

• There is actually a central city, and even a central street, wherein the action takes place. In all of my other escapades with the dorkiest of dork hobbies, the setting was "generic fantasy world #23" and all fighting was done in dungeons, because those are part of the name of the game to begin with. However, when it came to plot or coherency, it was...nonexistent. We played either to get loot and level up, or make stupid jokes and do nothing of importance in the game. Here, in this instance, it is quite different. The world is developed, the city is both the haven and the dungeon all in one (without actually being a dungeon, mind you), and the characters may even have, dare I say it, motive for their actions that goes beyond "me want kill things for shinies."


• The DM only directs us; we are the ones who describe the action. This has never, ever happened before. I've had the DMs of the past explain, in detail, what my crits did to the enemy. I've had DMs simply note when something is dead, with little more than a scribble behind their folder and a nod to the next person with initiative. Never before have I had the privilege to describe what my character did to knock out a level 2 halfling, nor have the joy of describing where they landed, and how many things fell on them.
  


• We are all both comic and anime geeks. What this means is quite simple: our session did not simply end, but was left abruptly with a little spoken subtitle at the proverbial bottom of the screen: To Be Continued. We shouted horrible catchphrases while we attacked. The battle of the day was frequently filled with descriptions of comedic defeats, and the occasional fumble that resulted in swords being lodged in walls, or thieves tackling halflings. In other words, it was actually fun.

Needless to say, I am much looking forward to our next session.

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On a second RP note, this time in the world of MMORPGs, I am an avid player of FFXI, and have actually been playing it while writing this entry.

I would like to note, first off, that I have found that the music is better replaced with old Disney soundtracks playing in the background, most notably those of Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I do not know why.

Second, and more importantly, I have recently taken up the wonderful occupation of Alchemy within the game. However, barely past "Amateur" rank, I have already found a problem. Instead of doing this:

I am more likely to be found doing this:

Since the latter is somehow inextricably linked to the former.

I just want to say this much:
I
am
sick
of
fishing.

Also, the kelp is alive.

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Lastly, a shout out to my first follower, outlawcampos! Hopefully you're the first of many...but if not, that's all right too.

That is all. See you next time!