Moving to Wordpress

Well, my blog's been locked for a while because it apparently got stuck somewhere during the conversion process. See, I've been publishing by FTP and Blogger is forcing everyone to either start using a blogspot.com address or mess with CNAME settings as of May 1. So I figured I'd try to get it out of the way now, since things are just going to get busier for me over the next couple of months -- only once you start the conversion process, there's no reset button. Supposedly posting your error on their migration panic spreadsheet means they'll get around to fixing your account ... eventually. So there you go; I'm annoyed enough now that I'm not sticking it out.

I did some more investigation into Wordpress and I really like the way it's set up. In any case, here's a heads-up to my two readers: the URL isn't changing, but you may want to double-check your feed at some point after the switch.

EDIT: Reload http://miakoda.net to reach the new blog.

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QoC Reviews

Just a short post to keep track of these things ... it's been Monday for weeks and weeks.

There have been some good reviews rolling in for The Queen of Crows:

• Jason Thorson, for RPGNow.com / DriveThruHorror.com
  
• author Janette Dalgliesh, on RPGNow.com / DriveThruHorror.com
  
• Steven Dawes, for FlamesRising.com
  

I'm flattered that all three reviewers gave the design a positive mention -- Monica's writing and Leanne's portrait of Mahochepi are obviously the selling points of the piece, so it's nice to hear my foray into graphic design didn't detract from their work. (Speaking of their work, did I mention Violet War has a new site?)

Also: I've created a Twitter account, which is funny, to me, because I really have nothing to say that I wouldn't rather post here. Mostly it's a mechanism to eavesdrop on Interesting People, which strikes me as a very odd thing to do, considering you only get half of any given conversation. In all likelihood, I'll just pay even less attention to it than I do to Facebook...

The other reason:  someone at work posted a note about Twitter being used for Choose Your Own Adventure stories, which made me all nostalgic and amused. I remember CYOAs fondly from my youth, and had stacks of those things at one time. In fact, CYOAs, Tunnels of Doom, and Shadowgate are pretty much the main culprits to blame for my initial interest in roleplaying.

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The Longest Weeks

It's been a very, very long two weeks, full of deadlines and surprise/emergency projects, two classes, missed meetings, insomnia, panicking students and lots and lots of venting and anger from multiple directions. Everyone's nerves are frayed, and all I really want to do is stay home and sleep for a week.

Even gaming sounds too much like work right now.

For the last three days I've eaten lunch in my car, with the windows rolled down a bit. Funny how a car can feel like a hothouse even in 40-degree weather if the sun's out. For that matter, it's funny how a couple of 40-degree days with sunshine feel like a heatwave after the winter we've had. Today I even went for a drive over lunch, just to get away.

The sun is helping a little. Will is also trying very hard to keep me from crashing; I still find it a little bewildering how well we balance each other. I've also watched the new OK Go video about four times. I'm not the world's biggest fan of their music, but I have to admit this and the treadmill video are pretty amazing -- and handy when you just need to unfocus for a bit.



We were amused to see HIM as the featured artist on X-Box live today, as well. I love them dearly, but they really don't strike me as a band that would be popular amongst the XBL set. [Side note: The HIM pack for Rock Band was labled "01", so that may mean there are more in the future. Hopefully with some of the older songs?]

Time to try that sleeping thing again. But before I do:

Okay, week: you have two days to make up for the last 10. You have been warned.

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Queen of Crows on Sale

Psst.

I am told there's a GM's Day Sale going on in ebook land. What does this mean to you? Why, it means The Queen of Crows is available at 25% off through Sunday, March 7.

So! If you've been debating whether to pick up the story, now's a good time to do so. Support your favorite independent artists -- at about $3.75, it's both cheaper than a Starbuck's grande caramel macchiato, and more fulfilling. ;)

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The Queen of Crows: Available 3/1

Today, The Queen of Crows was unleashed on an unsuspecting world. (I don't mean you, of course. You are obviously the handsomest and cleverest of all pandas, suspecting things left and right, hither and yon! It must be so, if you are perusing Monica's blogs over breakfast, and chasing down your evening snack with my own humble little scribblepad.)

But what is The Queen of Crows?, ask the poor, confused pandas who have just wandered in from the bamboo forest.  It is, of course, a digital-release short story by my good friend Monica Valentinelli. The story is full of magic and bones and fire and revenge, set on the eve of the real-life horror known as the Navajo Long Walk, and it is delicious.

In addition to the story, Monica has packed a selection of other goodies into the PDF: an original portrait by artist Leanne Buckley, author's notes on the story inspiration and her concerns on writing historical fiction based in another culture, a brief discussion about the main character, a crash course on her Violet War setting, and more.

Plus, you get my fabulous cover! And interior layout. And editing. Yes. So be a good panda and go download The Queen of Crows, won't you?

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Anatomy of Kaiju

No, not Steve (god, Steve!).  The other kaiju. Mythic fiction author and editor Midori Snyder posted an article on her blog this morning about Yōkai Daizukai, an illustrated encyclopedia of Japanese monsters. Intrigued, I checked out her source, (pinktentacle.com):

authored by manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, [it] features a collection of cutaway diagrams showing the anatomy of 85 traditional monsters from Japanese folklore (which also appear in Mizuki’s GeGeGe no Kitarō anime/manga). 

I'm incredibly amused by the preview entries. But it only makes sense ... the only thing that rivals the Japanese aesthetic for bizarre creatures is the old D&D Monster Manual. I wonder if there's a correlation there ... perhaps Gygax and crew consumed too much wasabi at some point, and it pickled their brains. That would explain the Rust Monster, wouldn't it?

For the record, the Kijimunaa is much cuter in Devil Survivor. (Really, what would a Shin Megami game be without fairy-demons?)

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Fun OCW Classes at ND

Did you know Notre Dame has a free, non-credited, online class in Creole Language and Culture? Or one on Reinveting the Fairy Tale?  Crime, Heredity and Insanity in American History could be fun, too.

I find these ... intriguing.

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