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Wednesday, December 9, 2009
At a whopping 100,000+ words, the unedited playable draft of Do is complete and can be found on Google Docs at here and here.
In other words, the setting chapter, character creation chapter, how-to-play chapter, and a healthy chunk of the play advice chapter are complete, with tips, tools, and examples of play throughout. The examples of play account for at least 45,000 words alone, written since the beginning of November in a caffeine bender.
The stuff I'm writing this month, before sending the whole shebang to the editor, isn't essential for play, but it's nice to have. This includes a chapter devoted to a transcript of actual character creation, a chapter for a transcript of a three-session pilgrimage, and finishing the rest of the chapter titled the Subtle Art of Gonzometry.
A lot more time has been spent discussing gonzometry than I anticipated at first, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It inspired a setting detail that actually explains the whole business with pilgrim names being their source of superhuman powers (if any.) See section titled "Naming" for more info.
In short, the elders kinda sorta know they're characters in fiction. This enlightenment allows them a subtle power over that fiction in the form of metaphor and allegory. Thus, by naming a pilgrim "Rushing Spring," that pilgrim's abilities and how they get in trouble reflects that name. Or is it that the elders recognize those attributes first, then bestow a name that fits those attributes? Chicken and the egg.
This was inspired in part by Heinlein's world-as-myth stuff, which half-tempted me to make the Gonzometer an actual in-game artifact that the pilgrims carry with them, but decided against it. :P
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Shortpacked!: I thought about throwing in a few dozen nigh-identical panels at the middle there, but nah.
 Well, put Shortpacked! reader Stobert on the naughty list! He, too, was appalled at what he saw in Monday's strip and reported it directly to StandForChristmas.com. Oh, he's a stinker.
Of course, there's no guarantee the admins will, uh, let this past screening. And all posts do have to be screened. It all depends on how awful they actually are, as opposed to the awfulness they're merely inspiring and encouraging.
Steve Troop of Melonpool gave us a peek into one possibility for today's strip that didn't pan out. D'oh! So close. Maybe the next time our strips cross over.
And, hey, what else you guys got?
Um.
So Game Informer magazine says there's a G1 Transformers game coming out next year! From Activision, the same folks who brought you the two live-action movie video games. Seems they want to do a Transformers game every year from now on, and since there's no movie next year, they're digging deeper into the franchise. So, hey. Transformers: The War for Cybertron. I'd link you to the pictures that the Allspark put up to break this news, but the news broke them, sorta. So, uh, maybe go to the link to the TFwiki article I just gave you, if this Allspark link doesn't work. Oh, fragile Internet infrastructure...
I'm surprised my site survived Questionable Content's wanging of me on Monday! My site must be beefy tough.
Spoke today with the scheduler then the surgery nurse regarding the upcoming port implant surgery. We now have a date and plan.
The port is very helpful in following the chemo course, because it is effectively a permanent IV line. They install a catheter in my subclavian artery, with a port just beneath the skin below my collarbone. A special needle allows penetration of the skin and the port membrane for blood draws and IV infusions. I like to think of this as a Harkonnen heart plug, and consider it the next step toward my eventual instantiation as a cyborg.
I will be having the surgery as Day Surgery on Wednesday, 12/16. The usual rules apply — no aspirin or blood thinners effective immediately, NPO after midnight before the surgery, show up clean and dry with no makeup, etc. Exact timing will be unknown until Tuesday 12/15, when they will call me, but I assume from what was said that we'll shoot for the morning.
Surgery should last a couple of hours, followed by time in the recovery room until I'm well enough to be driven home. They'll be cutting into my neck and chest, implanting the port beneath my clavicle (hopefully on the right side), then sewing me back up. I can expect to be back to normal activity within 24 hours, reportedly, though some people do simply walk away from this.
In other news, I was at the physical therapist today for an assessment of the damage to my left rotator cuff arising from the stresses of the thoracic surgery. The physical therapist was very concerned that we not push too much on the healing skin of the incision, so I'm largely staying away from load bearing work in favor of passive manipulations and simple stretches. Looks like I've lost a fair amount of ground, but I'm not back to zero, and we're going to be careful not to aggravate the healing tissues. She'd also like to do "scar massage", which is apparently intended to help flexibility and tone of scars.
Because as you know, one can never have enough surgery...
Here's a little activity to tide you over until the next big update. A stripped down version of character creation.
Step 1: Pick a name from the list below.
Pilgrim Darri, the Classic Soup
Pilgrim Mee, the Favored Beat
Pilgrim Avani, the Divine Mill
Pilgrim Padma, the Elite Charge
Pilgrim Alani, the Pure Dog
Pilgrim Pathama, the Right Cat
Pilgrim Palila, the Cryptic Ribbon
Pilgrim Barina, the Deliberate Perch
Pilgrim Apari, the Light Roof
Pilgrim Kanan, the Fifth Plateau
Pilgrim Diya, the Charming Burst
Pilgrim Oroiti, the Worldly Scale
Pilgrim Haukea, the Fair Marble
Pilgrim Pasang, the Tense Grove
Pilgrim Turi, the Able Bench
Pilgrim Ihorangi, the Willowy Layer
Pilgrim Lani, the Sublime Pew
Pilgrim Jubiang, the Courtly Plug
Pilgrim Mahuru, the Keen Hay
Pilgrim Daivya, the Ghastly Lock
Pilgrim Rata, the Forceful Chant
Pilgrim Nila, the Poetic Roll
Pilgrim Kanan, the Watchful Robe
Pilgrim Barwon, the Versed Roar
Pilgrim Vijak, the Known Hiss
Step 2: Where did she grow up?
Step 3: How did she find the Flying Temple?
Step 4: How does her name reflect how she get into trouble?
Step 5: How does her name reflect how she helps people?
What I'm doing: fooling around with social networking sites. (I made a "Kaja & Phil Foglio" fan page on Facebook!)
What I SHOULD be doing: lettering tonight's page, which I should have done ages ago. (It's not like I don't know what it says...)
What Phil is doing: drawing something that he thinks is funny.
What Phil SHOULD be doing: finishing the cover art for Volume 9 so I can send the info to Diamond.
Current mood:  busy
As of 0:dark:stupid ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) calendula_witch is on her way back to sunny California. Wish her well on the long drive home.
I'm here at Nuevo Rancho Lake with shelly_rae, further improving on my further improvements. We braved a one mile walk in the 19 degree air this morning, because I couldn't stand not to get out and move.
Dad is coming over shortly to take us out for some errand running, then a physical therapy appointment, then a psychotherapy appointment. Much as happened yesterday, by the time we get home I'll be a puddle of exhaustion. The rest of the week is much lighter, with a couple of low key family events, and that's about it.
Main thing right now is waiting to find out the surgery date for having my port implanted. I figure that's about like getting a Harkonnen heart plug installed, which can only serve to make me even more science fictional.
For now, sprawled on the couch attempting to recover energy for the next part of the day.
 
Bowling for Soup w/Smile Smile, Adelaide, Saturday, December 5, Houston, TX@ The Scout Bar
Arriving early turned out to be a good plan for the Bowling for Soup show. We were able to secure a table in the Scout Bar, off to the side of the stage. Granted, it was a bit chilly over there by the stage door, and we had to deal with noise bleed from the Scout Bar’s intrusive second room, The Green Room dance club. But anything that allows my significant other to sit instead of stand on the hard floor for the better part of five hours is good, as it keeps her bad knees from acting up. And it was a five-hour night, as it turned out. Despite the doors opening at 7:00, the first band didn’t start until 8:30. But hey, at least we had a table to sit at while we waited.
When Adelaine, a local Houston band, did finally get onstage, they played a brisk 30-minute set of hard rock. While the music was solid, it wasn’t anything particularly exciting. And the band’s female singer was equally unremarkable, doing the whole Amy Lee (Evanescence) operatic vocal thing without much style or aplomb. It’s not that Adelaine was bad, it’s just that they weren’t particularly distinctive or interesting.
The second band of the night was Smile Smile, a male-female, acoustic guitar’n’keyboards duo. These guys were quite good, but they seemed like an odd choice as tour partners for the jokey Bowling for Soup. Their songs were catchy but also quiet and reflective, which made them difficult to hear at times from our location by the dance club. It seems a bit pointless to have a dance club with a dj going, doors to the room wide open, while there’s a live show taking place in the main bar. Especially considering there was exactly one person in there dancing during the entire duration of the show. Anyway, Smile Smile’s set was highlighted by strong songs and good singing, and they even threw the Bowling for Soup fans a bone by playing an energetic (though downtempo) version of Blink-182’s “Dammit.”
As the clock ticked past 10:00, most of the eyes in the club gradually turned to the various tv’s showing the Big XII Championship Game featuring Texas and Nebraska. The football game was incredibly close, with Texas winning it on a last-second field goal. Predictably, the game delayed Bowling for Soup, Texas residents themselves, as they watched the end of the game backstage before coming out shortly after 10:30. The band walked onstage to pre-recorded music that had a chant of “Bowling for Soup! Hey!!” repeated over and over. The crowd didn’t completely pick up the chant and run with it, but they still cheered loudly as the band came out. Despite having a new album out recently, the show leaned heavily on older material and stage banter.
Bowling for Soup’s live shows are equal parts music and comedy. The band constantly stops between songs to tell stories or jokes, usually with lead singer Jaret as the main storyteller, with guitarist Chris and bassist Erik chiming in. Poor drummer Gary doesn’t have a microphone, so Jaret occasionally has to hand his mike over so Gary can make a comment. On this night we got a story about a bad experience in Las Vegas involving zippers and urine, rips on San Antonio for not liking the band’s planned photo op interlude to Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration”, and a conversation where Jaret decided that whenever he did interviews from now on, he was going to tell people he was from Down the Street, Texas.
As for the songs, the band played a lot of its best stuff, opening with “I’m Gay” and hitting “Ohio”, “The Girl All the Bad Boys Want”, “Punk Rock 101”, and “High School Never Ends.” Early shouts for the band’s signature hit “1985” were met with admonishments from the stage- “Here’s a hint: if a band only has one big hit, they’re saving it for the end so that you don’t leave.” And they indeed closed the main set with that song. Along the way, a handful of new tracks made appearances, like the juvenile “My Wena”, the self-explanatory “Hooray for Beer”, and the ode to shirking your responsibilities “No Hablo Ingles.” The show finished up with a “A Really Cool Dance Song” in the encore, in which Jaret ditched his guitar to sing and roam the crowd, exhorting us to shake our booties. On stage, the remaining band members handed off their instruments to the roadies, who took over playing the end of the song while they all danced around. It was a great end to a very fun show.
Just being gay gets you life in prison - having AIDS means you can be executed. Oh, and leaving Uganda isn't enough. Per this law, being gay is like treason. I guess they'd be demanding extradition of homosexuals because I can't think of anyone stupid enough to say, "Oh, sure, I'd love to come home and be persecuted."
Oh, and why the FUCK is it Christian and Muslim leaders only ever seem to agree on the most horrible shit. Yeah, this law is being endorsed by Christian and Muslim leaders in Uganda.
That doesn't even need a smarmy comment. Religious leaders of faiths that claim to be about love are endorsing persecution and government-sanctioned murder - oh, and cutting all funding to AIDS programs as it supports homosexuality.
Christian leaders in the U.S. understandably threw their hands up and said, "Whoa! Back the fuck up there, Sparky! Nooooooo."
Loose thoughts for a game:
Native South America vs. Conquistadors
Conquistadors and settlers as analogs to Fahrenheit 451, Big Brother.
Instead of squelching books and literature, they're squelching the culture of potion-making.
D&Dish, but potions are the only magic. Also, no XP.
Materials for potions come exclusively from the strange animals that live in the Jungle.
A large catalog of simple black silhouettes of weird beasts, their organs labeled and outlined within.
The mechanical emphasis on "Killing monsters" and "Taking their stuff" is reversed, so harvesting materials from monsters is the tense thing.
Challenge Ratings reflect how difficult it is to take down the beast without damaging the valuable parts.
There is a distinct time-bomb feel to the harvesting of organs from the animal. Finesse and time are critical.
Finesse, to not damage the organs.
Time, because the longer you spend harvesting the organs the more you run the risk of encountering conquistadors.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Shortpacked!: She didn't know what she was getting into.
 Hey, everybody! So, like, when Jeph Jacques links to you in the area under his comic, apparently that means you get an absolute buttload of traffic. It was like the entire population of a very very large city descended upon us and read through my archives. Hello, new people! I hope you enjoyed my Batman and Frank Miller jokes. Please stay around! My blog's RSS feed is a fun way to follow me.
(Apparently I choose the right cartoonists to draw in compromising coprophilic positions.)
 ((You're next, Danielle Corsetto.))
These pictures are of a custom G.I. Joe figure made not by me, but by my buddy and groomsman Ron "Robowang" McBalls. But I sure wish I could claim it as my own! Yeah, it's friggin' Beach Party Destro. See, he got a Destro head (duh) , a Chuckles torso, and a Sagat pair of legs. Oh, and flippers. Of course. I thought that was totally awesome, and so I asked if I could share it with you.
Things like this are basically why vintage Joe parts interchangeability exists.
So, yeah. James McCullen Destro XXIV, wearer of shorts. Rocker of the luau shirt. Weapons supplier. Party animal.
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