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Why, yes, it has been quite a long time since I've written an entry. One could be forgiven for thinking that I'd all of a sudden up and left the livejournal. Rest assured that no, I have no abandoned my small collection of readers. I know you're out there. And most of you I know personally. But in any case, I guess I've got a lot of writing to do, so let's get right to it.
The first full week of August held that vacation with the Filsons down in Ocean City. We were at 2947 West Avenue just three blocks from the beach. The same exact people were there this year, of course, expect for Jordan. José Cuervo never once showed his face, either. Thank goodness for that. I still haven't forgiven Señor Cuervo for how he misbehaved through Ian last year. That incident is brought up a lot, actually. Ian takes it in stride, though. Everyone who drinks eventually falls victim to the part of alcohol that manifests a chip on one's shoulder. For me, the chip doesn't really give a damn.
But anyway, this year there was far far FAR less noise and chaos. All we did was play drinking card games and just chat. Actually, we only played beer pong just once. And it was three games among three people. I was always on the winning team regardless if I was on my own or with a partner. Nice. And during the card games I taught Richard how to shuffle playing cards. He caught on quick. He's 17 years old now, so that means English Sarcasm is the only language he knows. He's a cool kid, but there were a few times when I wanted to smack the snarkiness right out of him. But then I remembered how disaffected I was at that age, so I just smirked knowingly and let it slide. I can tell it's subsiding, though. After he graduates high school, he thinks he might be attending college in Philly because it's closer to everyone he knows. His only other option is a very similar school in California. What he wants to do is work on cars for a living. He's been heavily interested in cars all his life: how they work, why they don't work, and how to make them work again. Richard and I spoke a lot about grown up things like working, drinking, people, the Future, and so forth. If he were a bit older and I a bit younger, we'd probably be good pals. Oh yeah, and he's growing a thin beard. It suits him and still throws me for a loop every time I see it.
Tyler was there, too. He's 10 years old and has taken a strong liking to me even stronger than last year. He must view me as an older brother or something because he's always coming up with strange ideas and situations that he wouldn't tell just anybody. Normally, a haughty 20-something would scoff and tell the youngster to talk like a grown-up, but I wouldn't. Tyler reminds me of how Shaun used to be at that age except a bit smarter and less physically active. Tyler is always willing to learn and create. I actually taught him chess! He saw that I brought my wooden chess/checkers set. I asked if he wanted to learn, and he answered, to my great surprise, in the affirmative! He understands how the pieces move now, but tactics and strategy will have to come later, of course. Not only that, but I somehow talked him into writing a story. As the lot of us (Sarah, Ian, Richard, Tyler, and I) were playing in the waves back on Tuesday or Wednesday, Richard asked me about some of my passions. Naturally, writing came up and that conversation evolved into NaNoWriMo and the three rough drafts of novels I've got saved away. Tyler thought that was neat. He told me that he's currently reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy and challenged me to write a story with him. That is, we each write our own separate stories. I set the word minimum at 400 words. On Friday we shared our stories. Mine was a miniscule 425 words, about. Meanwhile, Tyler had a full beginning middle and end easily in the 1000+ range! He's certainly got a wild imagination. It's largely centralized around the fantasy genre, but that's perfectly all right. Maybe he'll be a writer one day.
Since this is the first entry of the month, I've got to show you the picture my calendar has for August. It's beautiful. It's a volatile and unpredictable red giant star near the edge of our Milky Way galaxy called V838 monocerotis. Also, there exist certain other pictures of this same object that bear uncanny distinct resemblances to the Firefox icon. Don't believe me? Conduct an image search for 'V838' and you'll definitely see what I mean.
Speaking of other beautiful things, I've actually got an artistically pleasing game from Drawception to show you. Now, there have been a great many games that have completed since my last entry, so it was kind of tough to choose just one to put in this entry. But this one really is the correct choice. In Drawception, you can use coins that you earn to buy and use different color schemes.
Obviously, the scheme used for this one is 'greyscale.' Such an option makes it possible to create very detailed and textured drawings like in the case of the very first panels. And in other panels, it's very possible to create a layered and gradual fade like with my panel at the very end. I still love this game.
On the kickstarter side of things, I've found some more projects to support. Two new bands each with a CD they want to publish without a major record label. It helps to think of them as the musical equivalent of indie games developers that don't want to go anywhere near EA or Ubisoft. Anyway, one band is called 'David Hasselhoff on Acid,' and they are from Kansas City, Kansas. They have a progressive rock sound mixed with punk and/or metal beats. To me it sounds like an early Pink Floyd mixed with a lazy Metallica. I'm still unsure how to classify them, but their sound intrigued me enough to support them. Their kickstarter ends on August 25. The other band is called 'Garden State Line,' and they are from Trenton, New Jersey. Their sound puts me in the mind of Incubus crossed with Jimmy Eat World. They are looking to publish their first ever album entitled "The Send Off." Their kickstarter ends on September 16. In both cases, a mere $15 to each kickstarter page will get you a digital download of their albums but only if they reach their kickstarter goals. So, like with all things art-related, let's help the people succeed who need it more than most.
And I've backed two other video game projects that have recently met their kickstarter goals. One is called 'Lioness,' and seems really cool. I can't be sure about that, though, because the campaign manager has provided zero updates. I'm starting to think it was a scam. Uh-oh... The other is called 'Tangiers' and has very many updates. And that game looks like it will be cool. Its gameplay is heavily based on Thief. I still haven't beaten that game yet. I'm still on the final level.
Looks like I have a lot to look forward to. And that's where this entry will end. No question this week because I can't stay awake. G'night.
Incidentally, there is a beer called "G'knight." What's your least favorite beer? Mine is Steel Reserve. (Yes, fine, I've asked a question.)-
Bryan