I picked this one up early on, but for some reason I didn’t dig into it right away. I can’t place a finger on the reason for that, but I will say I’m glad I picked it up. This book is a great ride. Spoilers ahead~
I’m not normally a big fan of zombie horror. It doesn’t bother me the way it does some, but I also have never found zombies to be particularly scary as a monster type. As with any zombie story I’ve seen, the real monsters and the true horrors are the humans.
As I started reading Jane’s story I thought this could be a fine action story set around the time of the Civil War. As it turns out there is a lot of action, but not in the sense I was thinking. This was certainly NOT the Harry Potter-esque life at a boarding school adventure type. The model of the school Jane attended was the Carlisle school, albeit slightly time shifted. This was racism and the blatant attempts of one group of people trying to keep another group of people down. The school, the treatment of the people and way they were expected to behave was just the starting point for the monsters.
The teachers at the school practiced the sort of abuse that wasn’t just physical. True to abusers everywhere there was psychological abuse riding hand in hand. Early in the story I wanted to see Jane make some move to solve the mystery of the missing family and give the school some sort of “comeuppance” that would allow for some kind of happy ending. I failed to see the problem with that line of thinking right away, but the author deftly moved to remedy the situation by wiping out not just the school, but the entire state of Maryland.
Taking Jane and her friends west into the plains removed any sense of East Coast familiarity from me and placed them all squarely in the path of the most monstrous people in the whole book – the self righteous. Using religion as a bludgeon to maintain the oppression of a people stoked the ugly feelings toward those opposed to Jane. I was sincerely glad when that town was wiped out and Jane’s little band made their escape. The writing here was really wonderful. It’s good writing when you loathe a fictional man that much.
I’m glad the main aspects of the story wrapped up in the first book. The history of each character and development of the world was excellent. The “cliffhanger” for the continuation of the story is there as Jane is in the middle of the prairie, but I do consider the story of the first book wrapped up. I could leave it at that if I wanted, but I suspect I’ll be going out and grabbing up the next book.
I hadn’t realized that I had subconsciously bought into the “that’s how things are” feeling of the way the schools were set up at first. I had to step back at the end and realize just how messed up that was. I’m glad the author put the reading recommendations at the end of the novel and I’d like to add one of my own (since I’m being so bold). For anyone sports minded it’s worth picking up Carlisle Vs. Army, a story about some of the athletes from the school in question and how they helped to shape the modern sports world.
It’s been a weekend of actually finishing things. I feel really good about the number of things I’ve accomplished. Thing about finishing all that other stuff was that I didn’t get much of anything accomplished here.
Found accomplishment clip art? Check.
I was finally able to finish the redecoration of our guest room (with one exception of work I don’t feel qualified to do). Back to reasonably comfortable in there.
Finished the edits for a story that will be published later this year or early next year. I’m excited for that to come out. It was a fun story to write.
Finished a contest entry and submitted it. I can’t post anything about it until after the contest is decided – I don’t think? I’m honestly not sure, but there’s a lot there to write up. I stretched outside my normal work routines and regular artistic endeavors to create a potion bottle prop. It did not live up to the vision in my head at all, but it is finished and in – and that’s a good feeling.
I finished reading a quick little book this weekend too – and I’m around 2/3 of the way through another. Good stories and even more “getting stuff done” vibe to add.
I just need to keep that vibe rolling through the week and get to updating some stuff around here and… Oh, yeah. Writing more.
I grabbed this from Tor’s free download book club and I’m glad that I did.
This was a quick hit of alternate history. The story is set in the early 1900s where an opening to a realm of magic has allowed the Djinn to become part of everyday society in Egypt. The arrival of these powerful magical beings has changed and shaped the way society flows and moves. In this story Hamed is an experience ministry investigator dealing with supernatural and magic related cases. He is called in with his new partner to deal with a haunted tram car. Simple, right?
I loved the setting and the world building on this. It’s a good story that balances the action, the character and the explanation of things well. There were one or two little things I didn’t expect along the way. It was a fun, quick read. If you can get your hands on a copy I would recommend it. Marketing success – I’ll be looking for more from this author!
I have been side tracked lately with a lot of projects / work stuff that amount to not doing the stuff I really enjoy. One of those things I really enjoy is painting. I have a fair number of acrylic craft paints that come in these little round tubes. They can be a challenge to store in an easy to see and access way.
We had this wire rack system from years ago. My wife saw a video that showed a great way to reuse some of the panels from this “build it yourself” paint rack display. To be honest, we still have a number of these in use – they are shaky, but standing and holding some lighter weight things. We did have some leftover panels. Time to make a paint rack!
I watched a couple of videos that gave variations on how to connect the two wire bits in a way that made sense for hanging or mounting the rack on the wall. I don’t consider my art supplies to be art in and of themselves most days. I wanted a “floor mounted” model if you will. I was also not a fan of finding properly sized plastic pipes in white, finding matching caps or any of a list of other things. I wanted this to be something I could do at home with what I had on hand.
I needed a spacer that was about the right size and stumbled onto a video where the woman making her version of the rack used a child’s alphabet blocks. I didn’t have alphabet blocks anymore, but I did have a scrap chunk of lumber. I grabbed the saw and cut some little blocks (about 1” or 2.5cm). How to hold them? Zip ties of course. I drilled a single hole through one corner of each block and fastened it once in each direction (up/down, left/right) for stability. Spacing achieved!
Sanding and painting would probably help the blocks
Next up was the other side. My initial thought was to make a solid wood piece, but my woodworking skills and tools have a very low limit. Cutting and drilling was about as far as that was going to go… BUT I have XPS foam! A-ha!
So I carved up 2 slabs of foam and cut grooves into one side. This is one of those times when I wish I had a hot wire cutter for the foam. Doing this by hand with a hobby knife was rotten. It’s gouged, uneven and not pleasing to the eye. I wasn’t overly worried as the grooves should be on the side you wouldn’t normally see. I painted them up and waited for them to dry. I still hate waiting.
A hot wire tool would have made this so much better!
Next step – attach the foam. What to use? Hot glue. It’s what I have and it shouldn’t need to stand up to a ton of abuse. I should just need to make sure the top edge stays in place. Once the glue was dry, done!
I should work on my glue gun aim too…
In practice, when my wife started filling the paints in the rack fell over. She was not pleased. The position as shown in the picture is less than effective for actually standing up while holding paints. Solution? Turn it over. So, the smooth black painted foam is now on the desk acting as the stable foot and showing off all the nasty glue work, the parts of the foam that didn’t get painted right and the unfinished side of the wood block. In the end it is not about the look of the this rack, it’s about the function. Now I’ve got a pair of paint racks that will hold the majority of my paint collection at almost no cost ~ and I didn’t have to leave the house.
Right side up – as intended, not as in use LOL
Onward to the next project! What are you working on?
This was previously published in Watch The Skies fanzine – October 2020
It’s October and ‘spooky’ season is here. This year is looking like it’s going to play out differently than years past. I suspect there will be a greater number of folks than normal staying in and looking for some entertainment that matches the spirit of the season.
I happily recommend the horror / comedy Vampires vs. the Bronx. This movie is the story of three friends living in a neighborhood that is rapidly changing. They’re faced with routine challenges of daily life combined with the encroachment of a corporation that is trying to buy out all the business and people they know. The heroes are attempting to save the local shop they’ve grown up in from being pushed out. While canvasing for an upcoming party they discover the truth – vampires are behind the big business and need to be stopped!
The story is a fun romp. The villains are clearly the villains, the hero is clearly the hero. The issues kids deal with are part of the story as well. It’s nice to see a horror story that doesn’t immediately discount the use of cell phones and their place in our current society. It is reminiscent of Stranger Things, but on a lighter, shorter story arc. There is danger not just from the vampires, but also from day to day life. If you’ve got a tween or an early teen this is definitely a film that should be checked out for the Halloween season.
Normally I’d have notes and various preparation bits that I’d share along with a link to the new video, but this is not about me. It was fantastic to hear from these women. Hopefully we’ll have more of this in the future!
A magical door opens. The space on the other side is clearly someplace… else. Could be in a summoning circle, could be in an ancient basement or it could be at the back of an old closet behind the coats. I’m not always a fan of portal fantasy, but they can be very enjoyable.
I saw the movie title “Monster Hunter” pop up the other day and I was interested. I have been a fan of the Monster Hunter International book series by Larry Corriea. There are guns and tough guys (and tough women) that stomp out and blow up the bad guys. They’re a fun romp.
The movie I saw the trailer for was not for that. It’s a video game adaptation. Video game adaptations are usually pretty weak, but they’ve been striving to get better in recent years. The film makers are likely banking on the draw of Mila for this one. She’s in charge of a military unit that gets drawn into a mystery portal and end up going toe to toe with all the video game monsters. I will likely find this one when it comes to some streaming service.
The next one I saw… I know a number of Nick Cage fans, but this movie looks like it’s begging for a mystery science theater type set up. Really. I can’t see how this will be anything other than a Saturday afternoon kung-fu flick. Having said that, on some distant Saturday afternoon I suspect I’ll grab this off some streaming service, grab some popcorn and prepare myself to be stunned…
This last one can only loosely be called a portal fantasy. Crossing over from life to death is certainly going someplace “else” as stated above but is generally not the same as the two movies listed above. It IS a Pixar movie, so I’ll be watching this one when it comes out as well. Definitely worth checking out the new trailer for this one too.
I grabbed this one off the shelf as part of my YouTube chat about fantasy works that inspire folks playing Dungeons & Dragons. I had every intention of just glancing through the pages to get a quick refresh on things.
I ended up rereading the entire thing. There are a few things in this series that have become “tropy” at this point, but the book itself came out back in 1979 or 80. Given the way things have changed in our current political environment I’m certain there are a number of my female friends that would not enjoy many aspects of these stories… but that’s one of the very best things about this book. There are multiple stories. The thieves’ world series is shared world. It’s the same setting with shared characters over a series of short stories. Don’t like the one your on? Skip to the next one, just don’t be shocked if you’re missing something that happened in another story.
This book also brings up the question of taking art as something separate from the artist. One of the first people on board and one of the stories in this book is by somebody lately accused of abuse. I don’t know all the details, but there is enough out there to make even the most staunch fans cast aside all this author’s works. It’s a tough question that has no clear answer.
IF you’re a fan of old school fantasy you should grab this book and take a look at what a city of villains, killers and schemers can be.
This part did not go up into the Goodreads review, but for those who question the abuser I reference was the author Marion Zimmer Bradley. I will reiterate that I don’t know all the details. Her time in the science fiction convention scene was well before my time. Her husband died in prison where he was after being convicted of molesting a child. I struggle to feel good about recommending something that includes the work of an accused child rapist and enabler of a pedophile. I don’t think we’ll ever know all the details since the author died back in 1999, but I felt it was important to point out.
Take it for what you will – I still recommend the work as a whole. It’s worth doing some reading to get deeper into the subject if you’re a fan of the work that Bradley did over the years to push women’s rights and the feminist movement. It’s simply more important to go into things knowing and understanding rather than blindly.
Art and it’s influence on Dungeons & Dragons for me – It’s fantastic to sit and talk about all the parts that have kept me on board with this hobby for all these years. You can check out the video here:
My notes on it all ~
Art has always been an important part of the D&D experience. Even from the earliest days when some of the production was created (clearly) using a typewriter and blurry copies there were sketches. I am a super visual person. In fact, the entirety of my day job right now is creating three dimensional representations of building designs. Design, drawing, art, aesthetic considerations are the core of what I do.
I have always been drawn to, and absolutely love the visuals of this amazing and wide ranging fantasy game. It is a constant source of inspiration to me, even now, in my current game and world building. I back very, very few Kickstarter campaigns, but when I saw that there was one about the art of D&D I went as high as I could afford on it right away. It matters that much to me. IF you have the chance, go out and grab a copy or watch via your streaming service the film “Eye of the Beholder – The Art of Dungeons & Dragons”. I Highly recommend this film.
What are my top ten art pieces from D&D? That was both a simple and a massively complex question all in the same breath. I can see them in my head. I remember the feeling when I first saw them. I have many of them collected up in their original book covers, box art, and magazines. I have a handful of prints from conventions that are from product production runs showing the art without the text added in. I’m not a hardcore collector, but I can say without question this art surrounds me almost every day in my home.
The real question is where to start?
Love that the plans actually say, “Blue Print”
#1 – Sketchy Art. I do not in any way want this to sound like I’m trying to be down on these pictures at all. Quite the opposite. I found them inspirational simply because they looked like they could be achieved to me. One example (there are many) is this cartoon from Dragon Magazine. It’s funny and it’s clearly hand drawn. I looked at pictures like that in my gaming materials and thought, “I can do this too”. So I started drawing and creating trying to match the cool, funny, fantastic pictures I saw in the gaming materials – and even got some published!
I still cringe when I see this
This piece was part of an actual book of cartoons published by my middle school. I think I was 11 at the time it was published. Little did I know how hooked I’d be on that feeling.
Note how they don’t care about the other characters behind them.
#2 – Cartoons. Particularly in the AD&D 1st edition books. Black and white single line drawings with text below. They were fantasy art AND they cracked me up. Anyone that played then will know them. I can say, “… or it’s a +2 back scratcher” and you’ll know exactly what cartoon I mean.
Artist – David A. Trampier
#3 – Emirikol the Chaotic. Staying in 1st edition, in the DMG there were full and half page art pieces that were just fantastic. One of my favorites was this crazy wizard riding through town just blasting people. It was a snapshot of action. It was proof positive that not everyone was a good guy. It was how you set up an adventure with a single idea and give it location. It’s right there! Start at the Green Griffon and go from there! Love it.
Artist – David A. Trampier
#4 – The cover art for the AD&D 1st Ed. PHB. It told a story. It didn’t stop with a single image, it wrapped around to the back of the book too. There were monsters and maps and gems. There was a ton of ways you could dig into this picture and see what was going on here. An absolute classic.
Artist – Rubin
#5 – The Wizard’s Room. Cover art for the Grenadier miniatures. Wizard’s room I think was the very first set of miniatures I ever got… although it might have been the hirelings box… hazy memory right now. I still have them all. It was art that went beyond the cover. There was actual sculpture in the box that YOU could paint. I wanted any and all that I could get from that series. If I saw the yellow edge of that box in any hobby shop I was going to see what it was and most likely try to buy it.
Artist – Larry Elmore
#6 – Draonlance Art. I could totally put any in here, but I’m going to pick just one. “The Death of Sturm” stunned me. It was character death in a novel. It was art that showed characters took damange and there were consequences to choices made. This is my favorite, but Dragonlance is a total “pick ’em” set. Larry Elmore’s art is amazing. Go look up any of it. Full stop.
Artist – Denis Beauvais
#7 – Dragon Magazine issue #92. Dragon, maiden, wizard. Spells, danger and the knight wasn’t just any knight, he was a centaur. I was all over this. It was such a popular cover that Ral Partha made a miniature of that cover. I still don’t have the nerve to paint it because I’m afraid I can’t live up to that cover.
Artist – Denis Beauvais
#8 – Dragon Magazine issue #86 “Stalemate”. Glowing multi-level chess warriors with some crazy lich in the background? Any cover from the “chess” series was amazing, but this one really worked for me. I tried to emulate that glowing effect in my own art (unsuccessfully) for a really long time. (I didn’t realize how many amazing covers this artist did, nor how much I really admire his art. Check out this stuff here: Dragon Covers )
Still looking for where the promotional art came from…
#9 – Al Quadim (I can’t figure out the name of the painting). I’m picking this piece as a representative of the whole line. This was a limited run, not an ongoing set of world building pieces. It had an exotic look and the bonus of laying out (via the Secretes of the Lamp supplement) the fabled City of Brass as shown on the 1st ed. DMG. There was so much to love here. I wish I could remember how I came to lay hands on a packet of promotional art – but these pieces have been in my collection since the very early 90s and they are fantastic.
The book and packaging are art too!
#10 – Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History. I suspect that some people will consider this “cheating” as many consider two dimensional paintings to be “art” but I disagree. This magnificent book is over four hundred pages of glory. My lovely wife got me the special edition box set with extra art included. It covers everything I’ve talked about here and so much more. There are pictures showing the entire line of handbooks from the earliest all the way up to 5th edition. There are old print ads, module maps and photos from the earliest days. I am happy this was made and delighted that I was able to get my hands on one.
There is so much art that ten pieces really can’t cover it all. Art and D&D are intertwined at the very core of what the game is. Imagination with a little something to spark it. Nudge your brain with a bit of a sketch or blow it away with some of the masterful works of these dedicated artists. I’m amazed at the variety of art that exists out there now and I intend to keep looking for it for the foreseeable future.
It has become part of the American culture. The Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka tumbling into our living room as he shows up to give the winners of the golden ticket a tour of his legendary chocolate factory. The contest was simply to purchase a chocolate bar and see if there was a golden ticket inside. Easy. Winner of each ticket gets in, but then only the purest, most well behaved of the children invited to the tour lasts until the end without being ejected in some way for poor behavior. At the end, Charlie learns that it has all been a test and he will inherit the chocolate factory. Very much a “rags to riches” sort of theme that resonates with most Americans.
While that story can give a warm, fuzzy feeling that’s only if you don’t look too closely.
I bring this up because there was a news story (here) about somebody (claiming to be the founder of the Jelly Belly candy company) declaring that he has hidden golden tickets in various places around the US and the ultimate winner will get a candy factory. Not joking – that’s his contest.
There are issues with this.
First and one might think, most importantly, the Jelly Belly company has been forced to come out and explain that this person is not, in fact affiliated with their company and has not been since around 1980 (four decades ago). So this person running this contest is essentially using the name of a famous candy to drum up business for his contest. It’s misdirection and marketing BS right from the start. A flourish to get attention without the substance it claims.
The contest itself is less than clear on the main page. It’s not actually for kids the way the story was. You’re required to be 18 or older to participate. You’ve got to pay a $50 entry fee up front. There’s a series of steps after the entry fee that lead to a treasure hunt that might mean you can be one of the finalists…
but that’s only if enough people sign up. IF they don’t sell enough tickets they bag the whole thing. Yes, it’s in the terms and conditions part.
You’re required to be able to connect to the internet and have a valid e-mail address. It seems like a little thing these days, but to some it’s really not. We’ve seen the disparity between those that have solid internet and those that don’t pretty clearly since the start of the pandemic.
So is there a factory? Sure. The building, the machines and the land with no guarantee of actual value. It does NOT include things like the customer list, the ingredients, the recipe or formulations for the actual candy. You know, little stuff. It doesn’t cover the taxes either. It sounds like an extremely one sided business deal that’s going to unload some weak or undervalued property on somebody else.
This contest is a symbol of what I think is at the core of issues in America today. It’s run by somebody that wants things to be “like they used to be” without any concept of just how out of whack that all sounds today. It shows a distinct lack of clarity about all the criticism that was brought against the original story. This is a shadow of a contest that was designed to keep the money and power in certain hands and not others. There are small barriers that a lot of people “in the right group” wouldn’t even notice. There’s this thought that a magic ticket will solve your problem in some way. That’s not how problems get solved. Problems get solved with work, ingenuity and consistency.
Don’t go looking for the easy way out. This has the look of a trap to me. Another ‘get rich quick’ kind of scenario that really won’t end well.
I’ll be interested to see if any candy comes from this.
