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31 Oct 08 – Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 5: The Old, Dark House
![[IMAGE]](http://eric.b.olsen.tripod.com/images/odh2.jpg)
I've saved the best for last.
I stumbled on this film on an internet search for classic horror movies. It was made in 1932, directed by James Whale (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Show Boat, The Man in the Iron Mask), and produced by the great Carl Laemmle, Jr. (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, All Quiet on the Western Front), and stars a first-rate group of actors. It doesn't matter who they are; they all play their roles perfectly.
It starts with the hoariest of scary movie cliches: a couple folks are out driving in a terrible storm, and take refuge in an Old, Dark House. At least they aren't horny teenagers, I suppose.
The house's tenants hide dark secrets, of course, which are slowly revealed over the course of the night. It feels like a stage play, at times, and I mean that as a compliment; I felt the stage's intensity as characters faced off.
One relationship shifts dramatically in the course of the night, and that was part of my big surprise. This being 1932, not that far into the talkie era, the film industry's code of decency hadn't quite solidified yet. As such, not only do we see a woman change out of a dress, wearing only a short shift beneath it, we're treated to this bit of dialogue from a girl describing her boyfriend:
| Gladys | He gives me a little money. Oh, not very much, just enough to keep me going. You probably won't believe me, but...Bill doesn't...he doesn't expect anything. D'you know what I mean by "anything?" |
| Bill | Yes, I know what you mean by "anything." |
Remarkable. We all know exactly what she means, but it's entirely implied.
In any event, the dark secrets are revealed, one by one. And it's done masterfully. The dread just builds, and builds, and builds, until a final climactic confrontation. There's nothing magical or fantastical about it; no ancient spells or science fiction hand-waving (though the family is said to be under a curse). It's just personalities, people, some deranged and some afraid and some grimly determined to get through it all.
A tremendous film.
30 Oct 08 – Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 4: The Mummy
![[IMAGE]](http://crazystable.squarespace.com/storage/mummy%20karloff.gif)
Okay, this review is predicated on a surprise, but it's a surprise that happens ten minutes into the movie. So I feel justified in explaining it, since it's the core of what I liked about the movie.
The classic The Mummy begins with a group of standard British archaeologists, enthusing over a new find: a mummy (Boris Karloff) and a sealed box, of which the former was buried alive, and the latter should contain the Scroll of Thoth, which was supposed to bring the dead back to life.
The older archeologists argue over what to do, the younger archaeologist opens the box, and the mummy comes to life and grabs the scroll. Of course.
We then cut to ten years later, to the son of the head archaeologist in that scene, who is now digging in Egypt like his father did, where he is approached by...Boris Karloff. Not wrapped in mummy bandages; just standing there, physically frail but psychically overwhelming.
So the entire movie is about the revived mummy, now walking about Egypt like any man, using his powers in a desperate attempt to revive his long-dead lover. Of course, there are complications, and a surprisingly effective love story in the center of it, as is common in any 1930's movie.
Which is what makes it so effective. It's not about a shambling, dusty corpse; it's about a driven man, blessed with ancient powers, and the normal humans who try to oppose him. It's a contest of wills, and Karloff plays a man of such intense will that he steals every scene he's in. He has immense gravitas; he practically glows with it. My eyes were drawn to him in every scene.
Even the ending contains a bit of a surprise; the mummy may have succeeded in something rather horrifying.
Overall, it's a surprisingly effective movie, mostly because of Karloff's performance. A great little film.
29 Oct 08 – Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 3: The Wolf Man
![[IMAGE]](http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/wp-content/wolfman2.jpg)
Watching The Wolf Man was a strange experience for me.
I first saw The Wolf Man in bits and pieces when I was in my early teens. I really enjoyed the tense mood and varied characters. I was in a phase of my life when I was watching a lot of black-and-white films, so I appreciated that type of movie: simple, direct, and reasonably well-acted.
Upon re-watching it this week...it doesn't hold up. While it is simple, direct, and reasonably well-acted, the plot itself just drags in places. It's a great example of pacing problems. The story's fine; the editing and pacing just aren't tight enough.
It does play successfully off that perfectly horrible fear of loss of control. The protagonist can feel his sanity slipping away, almost as soon as he contracts lycanthropy. He's constantly haunted by it. He's a decent man, and tries to be reasonable, but he knows what he's doing. And how can a person stop himself?
Unfortunately, the plot mires itself in side stories which distract from his path towards the beast, rather than highlight or enhance it. As sweet and poignant as the love story is at times, it slows the movie down, and does little to bolster it.
But it does feature some solid performances and genuinely creepy moments. Worth watching.
28 Oct 08 – Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 2: The Masque of the Red Death
![[IMAGE]](http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/wp-content/masque_of_the_red_death_xl_01-film-b.jpg)
Vincent Price. This is why Vincent Price is such a great horror movie actor.
You may have read the original Poe story, in which a corrupt prince holds a party at his manor, despite the raging plague outside. Price plays the prince in this 1964 film version, which has been expanded into a study of evil.
And it's a solid little story, really, as Price's character brings in an innocent young peasant woman with great Christian faith, and shows her the decadence of his life and that of his peers. He's completely given himself over to Satan, explicitly, and enjoys needling the girl with a faith completely opposite to her own.
There are a few sub-plots dealing with the girl's lover, the plague-ridden peasants outside, and another baron at the masque, which serve mostly as interesting highlights to the main story. I was particularly thrilled by the bit with Skip Martin's character—a jester-like little person—who wreaks vengeance on a noble for his treatment of Martin's character's wife. Besides Price, Martin's the best actor of the bunch.
The film was directed by Roger Corman, which I initially took as an ill omen. Actually, the film looked just fine; perfectly competent directing. That said, for such a gothic concept, I felt like it could've been shot much more imaginatively, giving the film a creepier, more intense feel. This is meant to be horror, and much of it was filmed like a stage play. That may be more the fault of the cinematographer Nicolas Roeg, though, who went on to direct some interesting things but I think fell flat here.
Despite the rather staid look of the film, it's definitely fun to watch, especially to watch Price be delightfully evil all the way through.
27 Oct 08 – Classic Horror Movie Week, Day 1: The Thing From Another World
![[IMAGE]](http://brentnewhall.com/graphics/blog/TheThingFromAnotherWorld.jpg)
This week begins Classic Horror Movie Week, where every day I write about a classic "horror" movie, leading up to Halloween on Friday. Um, that's Halloween the holiday, not Halloween the movie. Anyvay. I watched all these movies for the first time this week, so you're getting a fresh perspective.
I'm starting with Howard Hawks' The Thing From Another World, often called just The Thing. The basic plot involves a group of military and scientists at an arctic research station, who discover a crashed UFO, and recover a body. It thaws and comes back to life, and attacks them. Cue frenzied gunshots and general mayhem.
What's remarkable about this film is how taut it is. It's populated with half a dozen standout characters, each with distinctive personalities and viewpoints. One driven scientist insists that the creature is too important of a scientific discovery to kill, even if it's attacking them. One soldier is just plain freaked out by the thing. A reporter is always asking for information or complaining about the news blackout. The hero keeps a level head, of course, though he has his unsteady moments.
And they all interact. Some of the characters become antagonists, but never villains. They just all have different motivations.
Take that scientist. He becomes a real blockade to the hero, but his opinions make complete sense. He's not crazy; he just believes that the scientific discoveries possible from researching this alien are more important than their lives. Understandable.
Apparently, the creature never looked scary enough for Hawks, so he did the next best thing: it appears briefly, and then usually from a distance. It's effective, really, turning the movie into more of a noir piece. You fear the bad guy (whether the mob boss or the murderous alien) because the movie builds up to him.
Overall, I was impressed. It's a solid little film, full of fun, interesting characters and a taut, fast-paced plot. Like the best of the noir films, if nothing else it's an exhilarating ride.
26 Oct 08 – O God Of Earth And Altar
As sung in my church last week: "O God Of Earth and Altar", words by G.K. Chesterton, melody arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams:
O God of earth and altar, bow down and hear our cry, Our earthly rulers falter, our people drift and die; The walls of gold entomb us, the swords of scorn divide; Take not Thy thunder from us, but take away our pride.
From all that terror teaches, from lies of tongue and pen, From all the easy speeches that comfort cruel men; From sale and profanation of honor and the sword; From sleep and from damnation, deliver us, good Lord!
Tie in a living tether, the prince and priest and thrall; Bind all our lives together, smite us and save us all; In ire and exultation aflame with faith and free, Lift up a living nation, a single sword to Thee.
In other news, thanks to all the attendees of my third annual Halloween Party last night! A total of 12 attendees this year. The apple pie and cakes went quickly, as did the party mix. I was a bit surprised that folks barely touched the hot apple cider and mashed sweet potatoes, especially on a wet autumn night like this one. Nevertheless, 'twas a fun night, as usual.
25 Oct 08 – There's Nothing Like Apple Pie
I love seasonal food.
Of course, I'm blessed with a society that provides all sorts of food at any time of the year. If I want blueberries in February, I can get them.
But some food remains inextricably linked to certain seasons. Lemon ice cream just only tastes right in the summer. Beef pot pie requires snow on the ground (and, ideally, a crackling fire). Strawberry shortcake seems tied to spring, somehow.
And autumn is the best time for apple pie.
![[IMAGE]](http://brentnewhall.com/graphics/blog/classic_apple_pie.jpg)
Now, whereas some dishes are open for experimentation, apple pie remains a specific, classic dessert. When a person bites into apple pie, their teeth and tongue come to the experience with certain very definite expectations: Tender, flaky, buttery crust. A lattice top. Flavorful, tart apples. A sweet, thick interior that holds together; no running all over the plate.
That's what this recipe delivers. And—please don't click away from this page when you read this—it even includes its own pie crust, made from scratch. I'm proud of this, because the crust takes about 5 minutes to prepare (plus rolling it out, but that only takes another 10).
In fact, despite the length of this recipe, it's really dead simple: toss the crust ingredients together and massage until it forms a dough. Chill it, then roll it out. Chop up the apples, and toss the remaining ingredients together with the apples. Put them in the crust, make the lattice top (or not), and bake it. And you've got perfect apple pie.
Prep Time 30-45 minutes, total time 1 ½ to 2 hours, plus cooling and chilling time
Software
For The Crust: 2.5 cups (350 grams) all-purpose flour 1.5 sticks (3/4 cup) butter 1/4 cup Crisco or other vegetable shortening 1/2 teaspoon salt 7 tablespoons water For The Pie: 3 Granny Smith apples 3 McIntosh apples 4 teaspoons lemon juice 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon allspice 1/8 teaspoon allspice
Hardware
Large bowl Pie tin
To make the crust, melt the butter in a microwave for 30 seconds on high. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, first with a spoon, then with your hands, massaging until it forms a consistent dough. Divide into two halves (ideally, make one half slightly larger than the other; the larger half will be the crust and the smaller the lattice top). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then roll out.
Preheat the oven to 500°.
Peel each apple thusly: cut it into quarters, then cut out the core using a V cut, then cut off the peel. Slice into roughly ¼" slices and put them all in a bowl.
To the apples, add the lemon juice and stir. Separately, stir together the sugar and spices, then add those to the apples and stir until all the sugar mixture clings to the apples.
Pour the apples into the crust. Cut the remaining crust into strips. To make the lattice, lay out one small piece on the far end, and another at a 90° angle to it on an adjacent side. Then lay a third, longer piece next to the first one, peeling back the second piece so the third piece can go under it. Lay the fourth piece parallel to the second piece, peeling back the first piece so the fourth piece can go under that one. Continue layout out lattice pieces, peeling back existing pieces to create the proper lattice effect.
Bake at 425° F until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 375° F and bake until the juices bubble and the top is deep GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious), at least 25 minutes more. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. The pie will need several hours in the refrigerator before the filling sets firmly. Then get out the vanilla ice cream and prepare yourself for some classic apple pie.
(A tip for rolling out dough: Lay the dough between two sheets of wax paper, and roll it out. You won't need to sprinkle flour everywhere, your rolling pin will stay clean, and once the dough is at the edge of the wax paper, it's wide enough to fit in the pie tin.)
24 Oct 08 – My Reaction To Tintin
![[IMAGE]](http://tintintribute.com/logos/tintin1.jpg)
So I've finally bought and read some Tintin, the iconic comic book character created by French artist Herge. Specifically, I read The Adventures of Tintin, Volume 1.
I'd like to write that I loved it, that it was a work of genius. I can't. It had fun moments, and inventive moments. It was certainly good, in a timeless sense.
But it just didn't come together for me.
According to the Tintin Wikipedia article, Herge initially improvised all his stories, throwing Tintin into predicaments without knowing how to resolve them, then coming up with a solution on-the-spot. As a result, the book features many frustrating cliffhangers of the worst sort, such as Tintin being rolled up in a carpet, shot, then thrown into a river, only to discover that Tintin had escaped from the carpet earlier (with no prior clues to indicate this).
Herge began planning his stories with The Blue Lotus, which is included in Volume 1. The planning improves the storyline tremendously; I fully enjoyed that particular storyline.
Another problem was the characters. Tintin's a plucky young man, but he lacks sufficient depth of character to make me really root for him. The rest of the cast is filled out by broad, simple personalities common to the era.
I wouldn't mind that if the stories themselves carried any depth, but most of these adventures are, well, adventures--simple mysteries and thrillers. Astro Boy, for example, has simple characters, but depth of plot. Tintin just felt...simple.
Perhaps that's his appeal: simplicity. I can appreciate that, and perhaps I'll revisit Tintin with an eye for clean stories and straightforward characters. But for now, I can't be counted a Tintin fan.
23 Oct 08 – Jason Calacanis, His Email List, and Layoffs
![[IMAGE]](http://content.mahalo.com/images/e/e7/Jasonburger_jh_022008.jpg)
Jason Calacanis is a very interesting man.
He's a classic Silicon Valley entrepreneur. He started several major websites, including Silicon Alley Reporter and Weblogs, and is currently running Mahalo, which is a sort of hybrid Google/Wikipedia site.
I first heard Jason Calacanis—literally, heard—when he was a guest on This Week in Tech, a tech audio podcast. He was completely confident, and opinionated, and threw out extremely self-assured opinions.
And this ticked people off.
Now, he wouldn't attack people directly (except when clearly in fun), and he made clear that he's been wrong before. He was also playful with his status as Silicon Alley big-shot, joking about his ability to buy things and such. But he was definitely certain of his beliefs, and dismissive of other opinions. Which he certainly has the right to be.
And, again, this offended people.
I discovered that Calacanis is rather infamous online. Apparently, people can't stand the fact that he has strong opinions.
It'd be one thing if he were nasty. He's just opinionated. Doesn't he have the right to be?
Anyway. He did something interesting a few months ago: he stopped blogging, and set up an email list. Instead of blogging to the internet, he sends an email to a relatively small group of people (750).
He pointed out that pressure from other bloggers, debates on TechMeme, accusations and comment hate, just became too distracting. As he put it, "Today the blogosphere is so charged, so polarized, and so filled with haters hating that it's simply not worth it. I'd rather watch from the sidelines and be involved in a smaller, more personal, conversation."
And today he posted a long, detailed entry to his email list about his decision to lay off a few people at Mahalo. He explained all of his reasons with clarity and honesty, and described the actual layoff process and what he's learned from laying folks off over the years.
It's an honest, insightful post, and I think it benefits from being sent to a "safe" group of people who've actively signed up to hear what he has to say. It changes the nature of the content, in a good way.
If you want to sign up for Jason's list, head over to his email list page. It may take you a while to get in, as you have to wait for a slot to open. But I think it's worth it.
22 Oct 08 – Online Photo Printing with Snapfish
![[IMAGE]](http://deallocker.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/snapfish.png)
Snapfish is an online photo printing service. Quite simply, you upload your photos to the Snapfish site, choose your print options, and pay with a credit card. Your photos arrive in the mail a few days later.
It's simple and powerful. There are similar sites, like SmugMug, but Snapfish is one of the cheapest and simplest. The site also provides basic photo editing tools (red-eye reduction, tweaking colors, cropping photos, etc.).
You can get your photos as regular prints, as well as posters, photo books, calendars, mugs, etc.
Overall, it's a really solid service. Highly recommended.
21 Oct 08 – Experimenting with DC Game Day III
I spent Saturday at DC Game Day, a full-day tabletop roleplaying experience. I normally don't go out much, to be honest, and I knew nobody there. But I wanted to meet some local tabletop RPG players, and get a feel for games I haven't played before.
![[IMAGE]](http://www.exilegames.com/storemaker/images/hex_cover.gif)
The first game involved 1936, Nazis on jetpacks, a temple in the jungle, lizard men, a mind-controlling wizard, and Excalibur. It used the Hollow Earth setting and system, which was pretty cool: You typically add together a few simple stats (points in some attribute plus points in some skill), and roll that number of special dice. If you meet or beat a small number, such as 4, you succeed; if not, you fail. Simple.
The DM clearly loved the adventure and the setting, and he understood pulp. I was playing the Pompous Professor archetype, and as soon as I yelled to the evil Nazi doctor, "You've befouled the name of science!" he laughed and threw me a Fate Chip (which I could turn in later to force a better die roll). I had great fun.
The latter session was also fun, though I felt more tired and thus didn't enjoy myself as much. It was a space pulp adventure using I think a variant on the Fudge rules, in which a group of U.S. Rocket Corps fellows crash on Jupiter, and have to face the Iron Lords, Mole Men, Mind Spiders, and Living Mountains.
Character creation used the idea of your character's novel. The back of the character sheet had five spaces: in the first you described your character's childhood, and in the second his or her role in the Great War. In the third, you summarized the plot of a grand pulp adventure novel starring your character. You then randomly pick two other player-characters, who guest-star in your novel, while you fill in the fourth and fifth sections with how you guest-starred in other player-character's novels. And for each of these sections, you list a few aspects of your personality that were formed by these adventures.
And the system had a fascinating mechanic: when attempting to use a skill, you simply compare your skill value to your opponent's skill value (or a difficulty number), similarly to the Hollow Earth setting. However, you (and your opponent, if applicable) also roll "Fudge dice," which simply have +1 on two sides, -1 on two sides, and 0 on two sides. You add the result to your total. If you're trying to hit something, then if your final result is over the opponent's final result, you subtract the difference from their health, armor, etc.
It's elegant. Your stats are directly equivalent to your enemy's, but the Fudge dice can, um, fudge the comparison in interesting ways.
I met a bunch of great guys (and some girls), many of whom I'd enjoy playing with again. Even better, I won at the raffle (twice!) netting me a bunch of old roleplaying source books (Shadowrun, Dread, Colonial Gothic, Steal Away Jordan, and many others).
I'm definitely going again in six months, if I can.
20 Oct 08 – The Chatty DM
Short one today, but I want to talk about this guy.
It's rare to come across a person as nice as the Chatty DM. He blogs about D&D, amiably and reasonably, and is a great font of knowledge and perspective. He's very active on his comments and forum, too.
If you have any interest in fantasy roleplaying or D&D, Chatty's a great place to check out, particularly for his forthcoming Kobold Love adventure idea.
15 Oct 08 – WalaWiki.org
![[IMAGE]](http://walawiki.org/images/brent_screenshot.jpg)
Several years ago, I tried to install a wiki. Back then, the most popular wiki was a horrible mess of spaghetti code, and I just couldn't figure it out. The others all seemed to require too much setup and configuration.
So, I wrote my own wiki engine. I had my own goals, so I didn't call it a wiki; I called it a Wala, which I believe is a Hawaiian word for "talk" ("wiki" is Hawaiian for "quick"). My Wala includes an "Add to this page" field at the bottom of each page, so that folks can quickly append information to a page. This creates a very different user interaction flow than a standard wiki, which requires users to navigate to a separate Edit page to change a page.
I released the code on various places, and Brennen picked it up. He went his own wonderful direction with it, and ended up with a much more powerful version. He wanted to release his own version, too.
After we discussed it a bit, he created WalaWiki.org, a website backed by a Subversion repository that hosts both of our versions of the Wala.
Wala is undoubtedly the most popular piece of code I've ever written, and I'm very happy with it: feature complete, easy to install, and easy to change, with clean code and essentially no bugs. Literally, you just have to put two files on your website, in a non-read-only directory, and your web hosting company has to support Perl.
So, if you want to install a wiki or wiki-like app, consider Wala. And let me know what you think.
14 Oct 08 – Helen Eppley's Pound Cake
![[IMAGE]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3047/2938768779_d3333e1694_m.jpg)
This is the greatest pound cake in the world.
That may seem vain to you. However, I make this claim because I've been eating this pound cake for far longer than I've been making it.
This is the pound cake made by Helen Eppley, a dear woman that sat near me in church. Every week, she'd make a couple of pound cakes, and bring them to church and give them out. You never knew when you'd get one. But when you did, oh man, you knew what you'd be having for dessert.
Helen Eppley's pound cake is rich, buttery, and dense, without being too heavy. It goes just to the edge of heavy, to use a very strange wording.
It tastes mostly of butter and vanilla, with just a hint of lemon.
It's also fantastic when grilled and topped with vanilla ice cream.
And best of all, it's incredibly easy to make, using the muffin method (mix butter and sugar together in a blender, add eggs and remaining wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients that have been sifted together).
Prep Time 15 minutes; total time 1 hour, 45 minutes
Software
3 cups (630 grams) sugar 1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter 5 eggs 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (255 grams) milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 2 tablespoons lemon extract 3 cups (435 grams) flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder
Hardware
Mixing bowl (stand mixer or bowl with hand mixer) Two loaf pans, or one large spring-form pan
Preheat the oven to 325° F.
Grease and flour the pans. In the large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in milk, vanilla, and lemon extract.
Separately, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder, then add the mixture slowly to the batter, stirring as you go.
Bake for 1 hour at 325° F, and another ½ hour at 350° F.
(Mixing tip: I put the flour, salt, and baking powder in a hand sifter, then turn the mixer on low. I hold a flexible mat next to the mixer as a ramp, sift the flour mixture onto the mat, and let it slide into the mixer. The flour mixture is incorporated into the batter gradually, and I don't need a separate sifting step.)
13 Oct 08 – The Importance of Review
![[IMAGE]](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/12/96724309_985b8acd3f_m.jpg)
I wrote recently about the importance of writing things down, and of reviewing them. Today I want to talk about review.
By "review," I don't mean just looking things over. I mean study. Analysis. Deep thought.
For example, when you come across a really good article in a magazine, what do you do with it? Do you read it, then toss the magazine? How do you make sure that the information in there stays with you?
This is one of the uses for my tickler (43 folders, one for each day of the month, and one for each month of the year). If I come across a good magazine article, after reading it thoroughly—and writing down personal actions from it—I put the magazine in my tickler, so I can re-read the article later. Then repeat.
Moreover, I never read (or, for that matter, watch) anything without a piece of paper or computer file on hand, with which to record my thoughts. Ideas fly at me while I read (they probably do for you, too; you just don't write them down and they fade away within half an hour).
That which I read, sticks.
How about you?
12 Oct 08 – Thoughts on Game Development
![[IMAGE]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/2311476162_fe1ebe90dd_m.jpg)
So I'm working on this tabletop RPG system, Gunwave. The goal is to make a fun group game that imitates the fast action of an anime action series with giant robots. Lots of Mega Beams, psychic blasts, and charging at your enemy while screaming about the futility of war.
A few things I've learned:
- It takes time. Time to write, time to tweak, time to review, and time to playtest. A really clear rule set requires a lot of words, often re-arranged many times to achieve optimal clarity.
- Playtesting is key. I thought I had a great system, until I sat down with some players. We had fun, but obvious problems with the system reared their head quickly. Every playtester has been worth their weight in fusion reactors.
- Get lots of feedback. This ties into playtesting. At the end of every playtesting session, ask the players lots of questions. Ask them what worked and what didn't. Ask them if a particular fight was fun. Ask them what could have made it better. Ask them what they'd like to see. Ask them what could be dropped. I've also sought advice on various RPG design forums, including Chatty DM's Forums and RPGnet's Game Design Forum. Lots of people are just waiting to give you advice. Much of it can be ignored, but some of it will massively improve your game.
- Take lots of notes. Playtesters, critiquers, and friends will toss out all sorts of ideas, especially at the end of playtests. Write them all down. Many won't work as they stand, but will give you a great idea when you review them a week later. You'll get ideas at odd moments, too (showering, driving to work, etc.) — write those down, too, and toss them into the pile. I currently have a text file with 328 lines of Gunwave notes (the vast majority of those lines contain at least one idea).
- Expect extensive changes. The current version of the system looks almost nothing like the first one. I completely changed the dice mechanic halfway through, requiring changes to almost every page of the rule set, and a completely new look at how every dice roll worked. And it made the game fit my goals better. Speaking of which:
- What do you want out of your system? Define it. Fast? Simple? Comprehensive? Atmospheric? Hint: "Fun" doesn't count.
- Make it look nice. I use NeoOffice to format my documents, and I've deliberately learned a lot of neat features that make it look professional (different styles for different types of content, headers displaying the current chapter name, an automatically-generated index, etc.) Folks have commented on and gotten excited about the Player's Handbook just because it looks nice.
10 Oct 08 – Batman: Gotham Knight
This is an odd duck: a bunch of Japanese animation studios each produced a short film about Batman, and assembled them into a movie. Moreover, the shorts are all connected in a loose overall plot, despite the wildly different visual styles of each short.
Batman: Gotham Knight features a Batman who is still mostly a whispered legend, even to police. Indeed, the first film is entirely about that legendary aspect, as four teens describe their sightings of Batman in hilariously different forms—to one he's literally a shadow, to another he's a relentless machine, and to another he's a vicious half-bat.
Every story deals specifically with what it takes to be Batman. In one, he tests a bulletproof energy field which turns out to be too effective. In another, we see a young Bruce Wayne training in India to purge himself of his demons (you can imagine how well that goes). In a later short, he slogs wearily through a sewer after a painful battle with Killer Croc. I rather liked a short told from the perspective of two normal detectives, who debate Batman's effect on the city.
Some of the shorts work better than others, and much of my enjoyment of the film came from my interest in the animation styles. Some are sketchy, some are beautifully fluid, and some are highly stylized. The film remains interesting throughout.
However, because each short is so different, it can be a difficult film to watch, especially if you have no interest in Batman or animation.
Still, it was a noble experiment, and worth checking out.
9 Oct 08 – Keith Ferrazzi's Online Community, Greenlight
![[IMAGE]](http://api.ning.com/files/-XKceF2iyVFMDISuBa2C0okhF2a3wUv1rMcg*yb8RSZO-umoIQW4u1uP*ighoyRwhL-YKD8st1qHFLunnJVNAhlInVVGcj2u/tmp23891.png?width=136)
If you've never read Keith Ferrazzi's Never Eat Alone, well, go out and read it now. It's an inspiring call to action, insisting that we all need to build a big network of friends and associates. Not a stereotypical marketer's network of barely-remembered business contacts, but a close-knit (while also large) community.
He has a website, of course, but he's also built an online forum-based community, Greenlight. It's a place where people can talk about their problems and perspectives. Very valuable.
I must point out that it has some early-commmunity problems. Much of the content is currently requests for advice, followed by vague suggestions. A lot of folks show enthusiasm that doesn't seem to translate into specific real-world action (there are posts like "This is a great place! I can't wait to do great things here!" with no further action).
But that's normal for any forum. The site already features a variety of interesting discussions, including Simple formula for success, burnout at work - balance, and kindness a weakness at work?. Well worth checking out.
8 Oct 08 – Doing a World of Good
![[IMAGE]](http://pics.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/logos/logoWorldOfGood2_350x110.gif)
One of the neat things about the web is the way it connects people with businesses, products, services, and other people that they wouldn't otherwise have known about. There are just so many neat things out there.
And sometimes, those things are good for everyone involved.
Such is the case with WorldOfGood.com, an eBay-sponsored site of cool products made by individuals and eco-friendly small businesses around the globe. The idea: connect Brazilian farmers, African jewelry makers, Indian paper-makers, middle American housewives, and Eastern European weavers with those who can buy their work.
Everybody wins: shoppers get cool, distinctive, high-quality objects—like journals, serving bowls, and necklaces—and the producers get a good price for their work.
If you're looking for memorable gifts, WorldOfGood is a great place to start.
7 Oct 08 – He's Way Too Calm In The Face of Imminent Alien Death
![[IMAGE]](http://www.worstpreviews.com/images/halo.gif)
So I'm terrifically behind the times when it comes to computer gaming. But many months ago, I finally got around to playing the original Halo.
It's a perfect first-person shooter. Now, that's all it is, but it provides a fantastic environment in which to shoot at things. Excellent quality all around.
Until I noticed something: the character animation was surprisingly poor. By that I mean that the movement and "body acting" of the other characters, particularly during cutscenes.
The ultimate example was during an alien attack on the ship I was in. I watched through a window as an alien blew open the door to another room and shot a human technician. The scene begins with bangs and explosions on the other side of the door, and I watched as the technician screamed "Help me! They're coming in!" as he calmly straightened up from his chair, and turned towards the door. His body was ramrod straight, his arms at his sides, even as he screamed in terror. Then the door burst open and he died screaming.
How did that get signed off? Why didn't the technician at least crouch, or hold up his arms, or try to duck behind something in the room?
It made no sense, and it destroyed the believability of the scene. The game became just a computer game, no more than a chunk of code twiddling bits and causing a set of sprites to waltz across the screen.
Disappointing.
6 Oct 08 – Paper In...Then What?
The biggest hole right now in my personal productivity system: processing physical items.
A lot of paper comes into our lives. Each item represents a potential commitment — a phone call to make, a reply to send, a book to read. So they all need to be reviewed.
![[IMAGE]](http://brentnewhall.com/graphics/blog/physical-inbox.jpg)
Every piece of paper that comes into my life goes into my physical inbox, which is literally a black metal tray on my desk. That includes postal mail, papers I want to save, books that people give me, magazines to read, index cards with scribbled notes; everything.
Then, separately, I take some time to process my inbox. I pick up the top item, figure out what needs to be done (send an email, file it, trash it; whatever), do it, and move on to the next item. I go through the entire inbox that way.
In addition, I have a tickler file, which is a set of 43 folders, one for each day of the month and one for each month of the year. I file reminders in there for future events, articles to re-read, monthly or yearly chores, etc. Every day—ideally—I take out that day's folder, dump its contents in my inbox, and file the (now empty) folder in the back of the tickler.
But I don't do the above nearly often enough. I process my inbox maybe twice a week, and my tickler maybe once a week. This is bad—I sometimes miss reminders and birthday cards.
And I don't know how to do better. I can just purpose to process these every day, but that's wishful thinking with no external component. I need some way to remind myself to do it.
So, for now, I'm stuck. But I'm thinking about it. I may tie it to my end-of-the-workday email review, so once I'm done with emails I'll process my physical stuff. Worth a try.
5 Oct 08 – Happiness
A thought just sprang into my head, unbidden: If I didn't have a computer, I'd be so much happier.
Hmmmmm.
3 Oct 08 – A Clockwork Orange
![[IMAGE]](http://www.scifimoviepage.com/images/clock4.jpg)
So I'm trying to figure out how to review A Clockwork Orange. And I don't know if I can.
It's certainly a remarkable film, and I use that adjective deliberately. I want to make remarks about it. I want to talk about it with others who've seen it. Because it's an intensely visual film that manages something very difficult:
Its protagonist is an amoral punk, and by the end you feel sorry for him, while still abhorring his deeds.
Alex, the protagonist, is the violent leader of a small British gang in the near future. They go around smashing up people and raping girls, with equal abandon.
Alex is eventually caught and sent to prison, where he is entirely unrepentant and does an excellent job of appearing reformed so he can get out early. He then volunteers for aversion therapy, which works (apparently; you never know how much Alex fakes), upon which he's released into society. At which point every single thing he did in the first third of the movie comes back to haunt and destroy him. Every single thing. Everybody wants revenge. And he's broken by it.
Which is the tragedy: whether he was truly reformed or not, he really did want to move on with a new life. But all of his past choices grabbed him and pulled him back into darkness.
And then the ending, which I won't spoil here. Which turns it all around.
But all of the above doesn't do the film justice. It really is an intensely visual film. Kubrick provides very specific information with each shot. This sometimes results in clinical shots, but even those have a modern elegance.
I don't know if I can recommend the film. It's dark, sparse, and filled with violent and sexual imagery. But it works.
2 Oct 08 – Vinnie Veritas
I've had this song running through my head for the past few days: Jumbo's "Dia". It's a Mexican pop song.
The reason? An awesome Flash animation called Rush 2 from Vinnie Veritas.
Vinnie is a Mexican artist who draw simple pen-and-ink drawings, mostly set in a place called "CCC City." It's a pulp urban fantasy setting, where teens and young adults in cargo pants and halter tops carry swords and guns, chatting and fighting and running and searching for each other. It's wildly imaginative. Rush 2 features a "day in the life" of CCC City, while his other videos feature things like a sweet little adventure story (Ho te amo), a kite running amok through a city (Papalote), and a silly, fast-paced railroad chase (The Chase).
Every time I watch one of his animations, I smile. They're light-hearted, with a certain kind of innocence—nobody ever dies, despite the number of guns and explosions happening every day.
1 Oct 08 – Wikify Your Text — Wiki To HTML
This one's very geeky.
I've written a Python script, Wikify, that will convert Wiki formatting into HTML. I actually wrote it many months ago, but only recently have I tested it enough that I feel it's ready for public consumption. It's only 116 lines of code, but it works very well now.
You can find Wikify on my Toolbox, a part of Brent's Software.