Friday, March 28, 2008

I'll take that future. No, the one to the left. Yeah, that one.


I had the privilege to hear Syd Mead reminisce about Blade Runner last year. Someone dug up some old illustrations he did for United States Steel about what the future would look like.

I like Syd's future. I'll take that one.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Monday, March 10, 2008

Decayed Orbits

Decayed Orbits has a workblog. And it's here.

I honestly don't know what a workblog is, but I have one, and if you click on it, you can see things.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

The Long Tail of Destruction

NIN is making serious money.

Between this and Radiohead's In Rainbows release, I think the math is pretty clear. The music industry as it stands is virtually obsolete. Any musician with half a brain is going to figure out that they're leaving money on the table. If you're tied to the music industry, or any creative industry, figure out who your fans are quick, and speak directly to them.

Also, read this piece about the Long Tail and True Fans. You don't need a million fans. You need one thousand. Just make sure you take care of them.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Fail save vs. Death Magic

Gary Gygax passed away.

Dungeons and Dragons and the various other incarnations of RPGs helped me, in all seriousness, survive high school. DnD gets a bad rap, but some of my fondest memories are from roleplaying sessions with good friends. The night of my Bachelor Party (ugh.) was a knock-down, drag-out, laughing-on-the-floor gaming session with friends and brothers, rather than a creepy, uncomfortable evening of stag films and strippers.

I gamed instead of going to Prom.

Screw Prom.

I played DnD for the first time when I was eight years old. From then on, I pored over Players Guides, DMs Guides, and Monster Manuals for years.

Fantasy is an escape, roleplaying is a shared hallucination. It serves a purpose. Very few people can handle living in the "Now" every waking moment. We need fantasy, and we need play some of the time.

Gygax is on the list of people I owe, but I've never met.

Sixty-nine isn't a bad age to go, but everybody wants more time.

It was fun, Gary. Once the party and I get some gold together, we'll go find a high-level priest and get you back in the game.

"We're reading the Bible, Mom!"