The Daily Grind

There are times when I am really busy with work. I travel on business a fair amount. More precisely, I go places and live there for a few weeks. Depending on several factors, I may or not log in to an MMO, or even do much blogging. Other times, like this month, I am at home, going to the office during the week. I feel like I have more time, or at the very least am more relaxed. I might game more, and I might blog more. I go through spurts of interest in games and blogging. As I mentioned at the beginning of the month, I essentially took a break from blogging—and even gaming really—through most of July.

When I started my first gaming blog, "Rowanblaze Saves Azeroth," I was essentially speaking out into the void. I had no idea what I was doing, or whether anyone cared what I had to say. I'm pretty sure no one did read it, at first. Then I started this blog, met a few other bloggers talking about Star Trek Online, and found not an audience, per se, but a community. People like Scarybooster, who started Developer Appreciation Week because he LOVES games, and wanted to let the people who make them know it. People like MMOGC, Syp, and Syl, who got together to do the Battle Bards podcast because they love MMO Soundtracks. (Syp also organized the first Newbie Blogger Initiative in 2012.) People like Xander Hayes, who runs Holosuite Media because of his passion for games and the community. There are dozens more people who inspire me to write. Not the least of which is Belghast the Aggronaut.

I've never met Bel in person. I suspect, at this point, it might a cataclysmic event as two giants rush together in a great bear hug. It came to my attention that he was blogging every day in the spring of last year. I was making an effort to be more community minded and share posts I read on Twitter, and his posts inspired me to write alternate headlines and link to his blog. He was passionate about his games, and his friends. I was happy to become one. He runs House Stalwart, the name a reflection not only of an ideal trait, but of the man himself. In keeping with the general meaning of the suffix -naut; rather than a boisterous, reckless berserker, the Aggronaut is someone who stalwartly sails into the fray, drawing enemy fire to protect his comrades.

If you, Dear Reader, are participating in Blaugust, or recently started through the Newbie Blogger Initiative, I envy you. Your blog was birthed into a community of friends, headed by a giant of a man with a giant heart. You know you're not alone in your endeavors. After all, that is what community is for: to encourage each other and build something no individual possibly could.

Belghast reminded us this morning that Blaugust is more about blogging than blogging every day. It is about establishing a routine for writing, not about making blogging a chore—nor about beating yourself up for not doing it. Just the other day, the venerable Tobold commented that "the only difference between "playing" and "grinding" is whether you are having fun or not."

Blog because you have a passion. Blog because you have an opinion. Blog because you enjoy writing. Blog because it makes you feel part of a community. But whatever you do, don't blog because you feel you have to. Don't blog when it becomes a grind that you dread. And don't blog because there might be a prize at the end of the month.
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If you're interested in joining the summer flurry of Blaugust, breeze on over to Belghast's Blaugust Initiative Page on Anook and let him know you're there. It may even mean a small windfall for you, as Belghast has prizes prepared for high achievers.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

DataCronies: Greetings and Salutations

[EDIT: Very few will probably come back to this little post. But I belatedly realized it is the 600th post I have published on IHTtS.]

This is getting to be a habit. I want to post earlier in the day, but it just can't happen when I am up till midnight. I thought I might need to use one of Belghast's Prompts, but then my buddy Xander posted a new podcast on Holosuite Media, the inaugural episode of DATACRONIES!

In this new podcast, my buddy and fellow Beyond the Veil castmat,e Feii, joins his friend, Yolo_Vision, to discuss WildStar. This episode is more about introducing the two hosts and the show itself, and is about 22 minutes.

In the meantime, Beyond the Veil hits Episode 101: "Hit Me With Your Best Shot!!" with special guest Vikestart, Project Administrator for tswdb.com.

You can subscribe to Beyond the Veil through Holosuite Media's RSS feed, through iTunes (with older episodes here), and through Stitcher. You can catch the live show every Thursday at about 7p.m. EDT (11p.m. UTC) on Holosuite Excess. DataCronies and Beyond the Veil is produced by "Xander Hayes" and Holosuite Media.


If you're interested in joining the Whirlwind of Words that is Blaugust, breeze on over to Belghast's Blaugust Initiative Page on Anook and let him know you're there. It may even mean a small windfall for you, as Belghast has prizes prepared for high achievers.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

We Are Groot

Scooter and I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy this afternoon. And lemme tell ya, it was awesome! I am going to attempt not to spoil anything, but consider yourself forewarned.

I went into the movie knowing very little about the Guardians' backstories. And it may be better that way, since doing a little research afterwards, it became apparent to me that they aren't quite the same as the comics anyway. You probably gathered from the trailers that Peter Quill, aka Starlord, is a thief with a heart of gold. The others are a ragtag group of criminals, and they all come together to save the galaxy. It seems cut and dried, but the movie ends up being much more than simply a space adventure as we are given the opportunity to care about this motley crew.

There's plenty of comedy. And action, too: both hand-to-hand and space fighter combat. I could easily see Starlord and the rest fitting into a movie with Iron Man, or Captain America, from a visual perspective at least. And it does go to show that Earth is not the only battleground. The movie also ties into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances by Thanos and Infinity Stones. While it may not be fully necessary to see this before the next Avengers-related film, it certainly won't hurt.

[EDIT: The trouble with doing a review post at 10:30 at night is that I forget stuff I want to mention. I love the 1970s rock soundtrack. Obviously, there are orchestral cues during the movie, but the classic rock tunes cue up at just the right times to set the tone of the movie, and are often didactic, just like the metal music of Iron Man.]

It seems that in the run up to GotG, many folks in the media couldn't wrap their heads around the concept. "Do You Prefer Your Superheroes Silly?" "[It] could be Marvel's first flop." "[My] wife thinks Guardians of the Galaxy looks like the silliest and dumbest thing she’s ever seen. But she’s . . . on board." "Will Be a Flop" "A Xanatos Gambit" (Meaning it will work out for Marvel even if it does bomb.) Granted that most those links are to articles posted in February, there was a lot of pessimism out there toward GotG. Even the ones that were positive seemed to lack an understanding of what the movie was going to be about. Well, I wasn't sure either. (EDIT: I wanted to add that we attended a packed showing at 1 p.m. on a Sunday. I'm not too worried about how successful it will be.)

It turns out to be surprisingly affective. Each of the main characters has an opportunity to display enough emotive gravity to pull you in. Even the put-upon policeman played by John C. Reilly gets such a beat. Considering Marvel has managed to make us care about a billionaire playboy and a musclebound demigod, I guess that shouldn't be that shocking. But I promise you'll come to care about each of the Guardians, unless you have a heart of stone.


If you're interested in joining the circadian sun showers of Blaugust, breeze on over to Belghast's Blaugust Initiative Page on Anook and let him know you're there. It may even mean a small windfall for you, as Belghast has prizes prepared for high achievers.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

Driving to El Paso . . .

. . . At least, it felt that way.

Belghast may already be in bed, but this post will get in just under the wire to count for today. I would have had it posted sooner. But Scooter decided it was car shopping day, and we spent about eight hours out and about looking at "mid-size" crossover SUVs. We drove all sorts of vehicles, from a Jeep Cherokee to a Dodge Journey. However, my personal favorite was not even an SUV, but the Nissan Juke.

This one was for me, really. Not that I am in the market for a car myself, but I have been eyeing a Juke in the parking lot of my office for some time now. And today's outing was the perfect opportunity to check one out up close and personal. I won't go into the details, but it was a ton of fun to drive, both sporty and fuel efficient. It had quite a bit of get-up-and-go, and handled great. I can't really justify the expense of a car payment right now, though. Mine runs fine and has been paid off for several years. But . . .

But the time is swiftly approaching when I will need a newer, more fun, more efficient, car. And the Juke is at the top my list.

If you're interested in joining the circadian sun showers of Blaugust, breeze on over to Belghast's Blaugust Initiative Page on Anook and let him know you're there. It may even mean a small windfall for you, as Belghast has prizes prepared for high achievers.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

Blaugust: A Whirlwind of Words

My blogging heart is all aflutter this morning as I embark with several of my peers on a Grand Experiment inspired and organized by the inimitable Aggronaut. Personally, I think Belghast let a golden opportunity sail right past in naming his daily blogging contest. "BLOGUST" would've been the perfect designation for the volume of hot air figuratively whistling out of the mighty windbags that comprise the blogging community, myself included. It takes a certain type of inflated ego to think that when we puff on our horns, people should lean into the gale. What better way to commemorate the tempest in a teapot that is any fandom—but especially the swelled heads of the gaming community, squalling about every whiff of change—than a summer flurry of posting, preparing us for the inevitable blogging shitstorm coming this fall as Hurricane WoD drives forth from the Irvine studios of the now venerable Blizzard. So on such an august occasion, I rush along with my fellow Aggronites as we begin our whirlwind of words. But enough of my bloviating on the subject.

I hardly posted in July; and honestly, it was a nice break. To catch you up, Dear Reader, I'm back in WildStar as of a couple weeks ago—along with my favorite gaming partner, Scooter—and enjoying every minute. Just this week, a kind and generous friend sold me his G73 to replace mine that was damaged on a trip this spring. In addition to being able to play WS with a non-pixelated view, this also means that I can get back into TSW, instead of watching from the sidelines.

If you're interested in joining the circadian sun showers of Blaugust, breeze on over to Belghast's Blaugust Initiative Page on Anook and let him know you're there. It may even mean a small windfall for you, as Belghast has prizes prepared for high achievers.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.