Alright, Cubs fans, let's get your mind right. I've been observing you people closely, and have a few pieces of advice to offer that will enhance your experience as a baseball fan.
01) quit acting like this is the only chance you're ever going to have; this is sports; no one cares what you did last year or 108 years ago; this team is built really well, and is going to be good for a long time, especially with Theo (and whatever puppet is technically GM) and Maddon; you have one of the best pseudo-GM and manager combos in baseball; this is a very talented team that has several years before all these guys hit free agency and head to the east coast; and if things continue like they have, they should be replenished in terms of youth when that happens; like I said, win or lose this year, the Cubs (and their national media darling status) are going to be back here at least a few times in the near future.
02) you're not owed anything; no one cares that it's been 71 years since your last appearance and 108 since your last win; you got here because your team is really good, not because you're owed something; no, I won't root for your team out of pity; have some damn pride.
03) Believe. Stop it with the typical Chicago pessimism. This team can win. Yes, they are emblematic of evil and should be stopped at all costs, but the Cubs are a legitimate contender, and you should act like they are. When they're down by 1, late in the game, and you got two men on and two outs, stop it with the 'oh, here we go again, typical Cubbies' bullshit; I hate your team, and still wanna smack you for not respecting them. Have fun. Scream. Cheer them on. Go crazy, folks, go crazy. If you're gonna be a Cubs fan, then be a damn Cubs fan. Own it. Enjoy this. Love your team. They need you now, more than ever.
04) Let me talk shit. Stop being so thin-skinned. Let me tell ya, the national bandwagon loves you right now, but in a few years, they're gonna hate you even more than they hate my beloved Cardinals. America is obsessed with killing what it loves, and the Cubs are so good that people are gonna get resentful like they do with the Yankees and Cardinals. Get used to it now. No one is threatening your happiness. No one can lessen your passion. Just have fun, and get used to people talking shit. It's part of the game.
So, have a good time. I hope your team never wins another game ever. That's not gonna happen, no matter what I say or how far it would go toward making the world a better place. You're in the World Series, you're going to be in it again soon, and no one can ever take that away from you! Live it! Love it! Go Tribe!
What's your favorite part of gaming live streams? Of recorded gaming videos on YouTube? Do you want different things from them? What annoys you in each of them and makes you click away?
I'm considering going back to Twitch. I'd prefer not to use hyperbole, but the scene over at YouTube Gaming feels stagnant. I'd hazard a guess that YouTube is used mostly for playback, while Twitch is used more for streaming. And, really, those are two different kinds of videos. I've been treating them as one and the same, but they're not. Hey, check me out!
I'm contemplating a few things in regards to my streaming.
One, what is my identity as a streamer? What's my brand? I feel like this should be defined by a couple things. First, where is my passion, and second, is there a niche I can fill? I feel like my passion is storytelling in games, and my niche could be ... RPGs ... eh ... maybe the indie PC RPG stuff, and games that are tangentially related?
Actually, my niche could be gaming enthusiasts in their late 30s and older? I look at a lot of what's out there, and it skews waaay young. Some of the streamers look like maybe they're approaching my age, sorta, but their production style and on-screen persona definitely skew toward the more obnoxious. I don't mean all streamers, just a lot of the popular ones I see.
Two, my venue. Twitch or YouTube Gaming? Or Beam? I went with Twitch at first, while I was still learning the ropes, but then switched over to YTG because I'm lazy, and wanted my shit to auto-upload. It saved me a few clicks. It also seemed like a chance to get in early on something. Now ... it just doesn't seem like it's taken off.
Microsoft today announced a partnership with Beam that'll integrate Beam into Windows and Xbox for broadcast and consumption. I need to investigate it more. If things like video export to YT aren't there, forget it.
Three, my level of commitment. Like a lot of things that aren't my job or marriage, my level of commitment wavers. I just got real shit to do and worry about. And I think I need a bit more of a plan. I also need to be willing to stick to that plan and forego some things to stay on a regular streaming schedule, if I'm going to actually commit. Honestly, I wouldn't mind this being a solid income-supplementing side gig. Right now, we're nowhere near that.
I also get waaay too busy, which annoys and depresses me. I think being busy makes me unhappier than anything else in my life, but it's also part of being a grownup, and it never lasts longer than a few weeks at a time. I just need to pay more attention to what I'm committing to, so as to avoid it as much as possible.
Regardless, I'm actually pretty happy with my ongoing Mass Effect trilogy effort. Check it out below.
I heard an episode a day will enhance your sex life. Seriously. :P
Anyway, let me know what you think. I'm always looking for helpful feedback.
As I've continued to age, something that's become apparent to me is that conservatism isn't just a byproduct of being raised badly and having a lot of money and being white. It's also a byproduct of age. As we get older, we mourn our youth and alleged 'simpler time' in which we still had some shred of innocence.
I'm not saying that when you turn 35, you run to the nearest Klan rally.
No, what I mean is that as we age, a resistance to new concepts and new ideas begins to build up. I see it in everything from musical tastes to wed development paradigms to equal rights. While a certain amount of pragmatism has certainly settled in for me as I get older, I also find that I have to push myself a bit to resist slipping into 'x was better when I was younger' kinda thinking.
Nostalgia is a disease, and it's one I fight constantly. Nostalgia mutes any joy you might feel today, as you yearn for a past that is being viewed through blindingly rose-tinted glasses. I do this all the time, with the early 90s. I remember it as being a perfect time. Grunge rock, flannel, Star Trek, the Clinton election, T2, and on and on. When I look back, I see safety and a personal awakening.
If I really think, though, it wasn't perfect. I was in my teens, and everything was fucked up. Hell no, it wasn't perfect.
On top of that, now is great. Now is a better time than ever. A lot of that cool shit on Star Trek: The Next Generation that we wanted? We actually have better devices now. Who needs a PADD when you have a Surface or an iPad? Communicators and tricorders? We basically have all that rolled into a phone, which also has all the functionality of a PADD? Oh, and you can talk to it.
Beyond that, civil rights has come a long way (yes, it still has a ways to go) and we understand a lot more about the world around us.
Conservatism, in general, seems to invite a mode of thinking that states 'things stopped being good after x date.' There is something attractive about that, I'll admit. It invites one to stop facing the future, to only look backward, and not have to deal with what's right in front of them. It reminds me of my three-year old, when he's pissed that we're pissed at him. He just locks into a refusal to acknowledge the truth of the matter, that he threw a toy at someone after being told not to, and just screams and employs every avoidance tactic there is. There is no going back. There is only now. And why not just enjoy it?
Something I figured out, as I got older, was that deciding that I wasn't going to have a good time no matter what is a stupid way of thinking. I still see people do it all the time, when they don't get their way, or they are forced to compromise, and I still fight the tendency in myself, but my way of thinking is 'is it better to be happy or pissed?' I just find my fun.
Now, let's extend to this further, to the resistance of technology and science. I don't care whether someone is in fear of an angry invisible sky monster, or they just tell themselves that they're too old and give up on improving themselves, but rejecting technology and science is counterproductive, and ultimately, harmful. I roll my eyes at notions that there are things with which we shouldn't meddle. Yes, ethics is important, but not pursuing a particular branch of research because some angry monster to whom someone pays tribute once a week might ... what ... not like it? That's crazy. Any being worth worshipping should value life and the quality of it. Beyond that, evidence of the angry sky monster is anecdotal at best and utter conjecture.
Technology and science are the most important ideas in the world. If we pour energy into them, we can repair mistakes of the past and propel the species forward. We can unite, as a planet, and finally begin to realize our potential. We can elevate our thinking past outdated concepts like nationalism, and begin to think about the human species. We're in this together, no matter how much we might want to impose man-made borders and means by which to sort us. We are all human. We are all on this planet together, and we all impact each other. Science doesn't care what your nationality, ethnicity, sex, or anything is.
Let's let go of the past, let's let go of made-up ancient ideas, and let's have fun and learn together.
OK, this way got more preachy than I intended. You get the idea, though. The more election season beats me down, the more I wanna shake people and snap them out of it. It's all man-made nonsense. If we're obliterated by an asteroid tomorrow, no one's going to give a fuck about Hillary's email or the thirty more primitive utterances by Trump that came out today. That's all hyperbole and marketing. Get it the fuck out. Focus on what's real, what we can control. Let's carry the species forward, and stop getting so caught up in mad-made trivialities.
The DevUp 2016 conference is wrapping up right now, but I'm already home. I typically hit a wall in terms of my energy level shortly after lunch on Saturday every year. I've typically gone to at least one or two sessions after lunch on Saturday, but this year, I was really wiped.
Overall, it was a great conference this year, and one of the best they've ever put on, even if Trump's buddy, Putin, allegedly knocking down DNS for most of Friday was annoying.
It also wasn't aided by the fact that I spent the night before completely losing track of time and playing four fucking hours of Civilization VI, which is excellent, by the way.
This weekend has really given me a lot to think about, much of which I plan to elaborate on over the next several days.
It's stuff ranging from me actually starting to embrace a JavaScript framework (Angular 2) to focusing on one set of mod tools (Creation Kit) to getting over impostor syndrome in the dev world to coming up with some pretty simple ways to extract more logic out of my code-behinds and into classes to removing some automation to help me more easily maintain a budget. Lotsa good stuff.
I've not been on here much of late. I just spread myself way too thin way too often. I'm going to remind myself that I don't need to post dissertations on here, that it's OK to just post whatever's on my mind at the moment. I keep falling back into this belief that everything I post on here needs to be Nobel-worthy, and the fact is, that's just not the case. Yeah, I've got some long-form stuff I wanna put on here, but not yet. And it's not stuff that I need to sit down and right all in one go.
I'm also easing back into streaming. And I have more modding stuff I wanna do. That does get kinda tough, since I do dev professionally, nine hours a day, and often, the last thing I wanna do is spend time learning yet another dev skillset, even if I really do wanna learn it. And I exercise frequently. And I have a family. And I have a wife with whom I love spending time. I wanna get back to writing fiction at some point.
I really need to just sit down for a few minutes and just triage. Like I said, I tend to spread myself too thin by trying to do all of it, which is highly illogical.
Whatever.
I'm gonna go continue my Mass Effect stream, and maybe even conclude it. Watch here.
We're doing a stream team with all Halloween-ish games, and it's going to be fucking awesome. Give it a look-see. We're playing a ton of games, but I'll be focusing on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and Soma.
Here's a quick preview:
Tonight, I'll be continuing my Mass Effect playthrough here. We're inching toward the end of the first game. We'll be starting up Virmire tonight.
Otherwise, I've been pretty busy working out, learning how to use Xamarin at work, and some gaming here and there. I'm loving Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Forza Horizon 3, when I have time.
With this blog, I promised myself that I would NEVER do one of those 'sorry I haven't been blogging' posts. I feel like a) that's a death knell, and b) it makes the thing feel like a job.
So, guess what? I'm not doing that here.
Honestly, I've been juggling this and the streaming thing, plus all the normal aspects of my life. I work, I run, I have kids, the Cardinals are in a pennant race, the oldest boy is back into acting, and on and on.
So, how's the streaming thing going, you ask? Well, here's the current playlist for my ginormous Mass Effect trilogy playthrough.
Pretty cool, eh? I think I'm going to do another episode tonight.
That's been mostly fun. I'm still working out what works best for me and my personality as a streamer/YouTuber, and I'm finding that those two are distinct concepts. So, I'm still working that out.
I'm also actually really gaining some momentum with the weight loss. I'm down about 25 pounds now, and it's still coming off. Honestly, it was just cutting out snacks, cutting my overall intake, still eating tasty things that aren't bad for me, and getting my heart rate up for extended periods at least three times a week.
That, and really believing that I am the only one that's in control of my weight. I dictate how fat I am. I am in total control of this situation. It's work, yes, but it's work that I've earned, and I can definitely do this. It's worth taking precious time away from my wife and kids to do the exercise three times (or more) a week, because it's actually going to make me live longer, which is more time with them.
And, I believe, living every day like it's your last is fucking stupid. If I did that, I wouldn't fucking exercise. I'd have an orgy while eating pizza and running slow drivers off the road.
My approach is to just live every day. Some stuff is fun, some stuff just keeps you moving forward, and some stuff just is what it is.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 early access hit, and it's blowing me away. The first Original Sin was, by the time the Director's Cut or whatever it was called was done, an absolutely wonderful, amazing experience. Wholly original and utterly enjoyable. This takes all that, and iterates in all the right places, and brings natural evolutions to systems in great ways. And I really, really see Chris Avellone in the writing. It is so fucking good. Not just the writing itself, but the way conversation are structured now is just fantastic. Man, what a great game. This and Torment are my two most-hyped games on the horizon. Even more than my beloved Mass Effect.
Anyway, yeah, September always gets a little outta control for us. It's the moment when summer has slammed into a concrete barrier at 75MPH, and we're hurled through the windshield and into fall. Shit just gets crazy.
So, that's what's going on.
Oh, and Tokyo Game Show is happening RIGHT NOW. There's a Twitch team here where you can watch. Just bear in mind, they're half a day in the future.
Alright, I'm out. I'll post something on Twitter when I'm going live later tonight, or just subscribe to my channel!
So, I'm really excited about the Mass Effect YouTube series that I kicked off yesterday. Mass Effect is a series that is very close to my heart, and I'm really pumped that I get to share it with the world.
To that end, even though I've played through the trilogy multiple times, and ready/seen everything that expands the universe, I'm doing a fair amount of research into both the development history, and the in-game lore. And I'm having a fucking blast doing that. I love this series so much, and I'm really enjoying putting the work in to make it great for you.
In fact, if you wanna check out the first episode, here ya go:
And if you wanna keep up with the series, and/or be notified when I go live with a new episode, PLEASE subscribe!
Now, if you REALLY wanna do it right, do a little homework before watching my stream! Check it out!
First, read the Mass Effect: Evolution comic! It provides some background on a key character that comes later, as well as gives you some familiarity with the conflict between humans and Turians.
Second, read the novel Mass Effect: Revelation! It's a fun read, and really gives the reader some insight into a couple key characters from the series. And for real, it really gave me a deeper appreciation of a particularly nasty character in the first game.
Third, read Mass Effect: He Who Laughs Best. It provides a neat little bit of background for one of the main characters of the series, and is a fun read.
After that, you're basically ready for the first Mass Effect.
I'm now actually contemplating doing an 'intro' video that explains some of the history prior to the first game. What do you think? Maybe a PowerPoint? I dunno. Opinions are welcome here.
Anyway, if you wanna join me and help guide some of the choices of my current Shepard, then join me during the next stream, comment below, whatever. And if you subscribe to my channel, you can get notifications for whenever I'm going live or publish a new video.
Other than that, I am thoroughly enjoying Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. I'm not streaming that one. I decided that I don't really like sharing my first playthroughs of game. I like the solitude and privacy my first time through.
Anyway, I played through the Dubai intro, which was stupid and frustrating, but I've really liked everything after that. I'm still in the main hub area after Dubai, doing side missions and learning the new Praxis system.
I also really want to, soon, set aside some time to really focus on playing Wasteland 2. That's such a great game that I've just never made the time for.
I've been pondering the next 'move' for my YouTube Gaming Channel after my fairly successful DXHR run.
The marathon part was a bit much, but it was actually pretty fun to have folks come and hang out for a while and talk Deus Ex.
The long-form continuous playthrough, though, has actually gained some traction, which surprised me. I can understand why it would be interesting to watch, theoretically, but I can't fathom someone actually setting aside the required 30 hours to do so. But, some folks are. Cool!
I like doing it, and I seem to slowly be finding a niche audience. Where do I go from here?
Well, I've been thinking about that, and here's kinda where I am:
01. In thinking about what I want to see more of on YouTube, I want to see:
a. someone that doesn't scream in falsetto (or at all, really)
b. someone that's committed to the roleplay of the character in-game, but not to their audience
c. in terms of a long 'canon' playthrough of a game, mods that enhance the original vision of the game
d. someone knowledgeable about the game's lore
e. someone knowledgeable about the game's development
f. someone that has well-founded opinions on the game, and that can communicate them in an intelligent, non-hyperbolic fashion
g. someone that's cool and funny 02. I enjoy sharing some of my gaming with the world; for example, I'm enjoying playing DXMD for the first time by myself, and wouldn't enjoy sharing that with YouTube; conversely, my new 'MMO & Chill' streams are there for hanging out and socializing; what I did with DXHR was my second playthrough after five years, and that really enhanced the experience; it was technically my first playthrough of the Director's Cut; streaming subsequent runs of games that I know and love is fun, especially when I can balance, commentary, comedy, and knowledge 03. I think my channel, for me to stick with it, needs to have more than one 'product;' that's where the 'MMO & Chill' thing came from; I don't want to just be that guy that makes 15-20 streams for one game, and it's this really long, involved, intense thing 04. I think I might get away from, altogether, playing brand new games on the channel; there's a ton of people already doing that, and that's really not the way I enjoy discovering games 05. I think I'd really enjoy devoting my channel to not-new games; not really 'retro' games, though some of those might come up; I'm not one of those dickheads that believes that everything good stopped being made after year X. I love all kinds of games from all kinds of years, and fully believe that every year, the best games ever made are being made
So, with that in mind, I think this where we're going from here.
01. I'm going to have an ongoing series in which I'm playing through a game (or series), at least an hour a week. Probably more. I may even have two in parallel. It'll usually be pointed at an upcoming release, but not always. The series that are will be titled 'The Road to [insert upcoming game].' They'll always be subtitled 'Blaine vs [insert title of game or series that's being played].'
a. in support of this, I will have done a lot of research on both the in-game lore, as well as the behind-the-scenes so that I can drop interesting knowledge bombs while playing.
b. I'll install mods to crank up the visuals to their max prettiest. I may install mods that bring cut content back. I won't install the 'Skyrim Needed Thomas the Tank Engine' mods, unless that somehow suits the theme I'm going for.
c. These will almost always be on a weekend night. I'm going to look into expanding my streaming schedule, but for now, this is what you get. 02. My other stream series will be Sunday mornings, and that will be my 'MMO & Chill' series. I'll rotate the following MMOs: Elder Scrolls Online (which was featured this morning), SWTOR, Guild Wars 2, Final Fantasy XIV, Star Trek Online, Guild Wars 1, and Neverwinter. I'll also try out others if enough people request them. The objective of this stream will be to just chill and do whatever in-game. 03. I don't have any other series planned yet.
I'm also part of a larger network of streamers called The 1UP Rejects, and we're slowly building a pretty decent catalog, with something for anyone. Give it a look. In particular, the Single-Player Multiplay is pretty cool. It's my buddy Marc and me each playing through DXHR, but totally differently. I dig the shit outta that.
So, here's what's coming next (for my channel):
Rest of 2016 + early 2017: The Road to Mass Effect Andromeda: Blaine vs the Mass Effect Trilogy
Later 2016: Blaine vs the KotORs
2017-2018: The Road to Dragon Age 4: Blaine vs the Dragon Age Trilogy
2017: add another weekly show (lemme know what you want)
2018: add another weekly show
The plan isn't super-aggressive, and that's intentional. I'm a husband, father, developer, writer, and too many other things right now to just set everything aside and do this, though I really enjoy this. The plan is to build up a bigger support structure for this over time, and we'll just see where it goes.
On that note, I could really use your help. Check out my channel. Watch my videos. Subscribe. Like. Donate. Comment. Share the videos. Please. And give feedback. Seriously. If it's constructive and/or praising, I really need both.
Here's a look at my first 'MMO & Chill' stream:
It wasn't as chill as I would've liked, but it still ended up being pretty fun.
I'm going to try and get started with my 'Road to Mass Effect' series today, but it may not happen. We'll see. I have a lot of modding to do with it first, and some of these mods are nearly the size of the base game install.
Anyway, give my stuff a look, lemme know what you think, and hit me with any requests.
If you're wondering where I've been, it's fantasy football season, AND school for the wife and kids has started back up, so I'm fucking swamped every moment of every day.
I did pick up Mankind Divided, played about a half-hour, and then put it away until I really have time to play it. Maybe in about three weeks? We'll see.
I love and hate this time of year so much. I love that football is cranking up, that the MLB pennant races are heating up, that the fall video game release cadence has started, that the kids are back in school, but I despise the drain on my time. Ugh.
The Deus Ex series is very near and dear to my heart. I got the idea last month to replay the previous game, since a) I'd never played the 'Director's Cut,' and b) it'd be fun to stream my entire playthrough of a game. I'd always wanted to do that, and this was a chance.
What I didn't consider was how busy I am. An hour or two a weekend didn't cut it.
Thus, I'm going to try and play through the rest of it late tonight, all day tomorrow, and all day Sunday.
PLEASE come hang out and watch. PLEASE. I'm going to have fun with this, and it would mean a lot if folks came out, showed some support, and had a good time with me.
Here's some quick hits of my favorite stuff at Gamescom so far:
Tyranny! Man, I cannot frakkin' wait for this game! This is from the fine folks at Obsidian. It's an original IP, uses the same engine as the excellent Pillars of Eternity, and has the player playing as one of the bad guys of a previous war. It looks AWESOME.
Next up is Prey. This debuted at E3 this year, and looked like a cool concept with some awesome people working on it at Arkane. Today, we got to see a bit more, and it looks super-rad.
And, the just-delayed Final Fantasy XV has had its opening hour or so released ... I've actually not watched this, because I'm avoiding spoilers, but check it out, if you like.
One of the biggest surprises of the show is just how damn good Titanfall 2 looks. I liked some aspects of the first one, but ultimately put it down because multiplayer-only gets boring for me quickly. Everything about this, though, is looking great, on both single-player and multi-player. Hell, the single-player Titan stuff is looking like it's going to out-Guardian The Last Guardian, which would amuse me to no end.
And Battlefield 1 is shaping up nicely. And I don't really play shooters.
And that's about it, for now. I can't find any of the Deus Ex footage that I watched earlier, but I'll post it once I find it. Also, there's a number of games, like Elex, that I haven't seen yet, that I'm excited for.
If you wanna watch some of the live coverage, IGN has it. I'm gonna check around more tonight and see if I can dig up any other live streams.
I'm still coming to understand Gamescom, as it is a bit different from E3. It's in Cologne, Germany, for one, but it also has an 'open to the public' component, as well.
It's bigger, in terms of attendance, but it's temporal proximity to E3, I think, has diminished its overall profile. It seems to have fewer pressers every year, but there's still lotsa great looks at games there.
It's also a chance for a lot of my favorite European developers, like Larian, Piranha Bytes, and CD Projekt Red to shine and get some love.
SERIOUSLY? This guy?
Oh, and Final Fantasy XV got delayed. Hmm. I have the game preordered, but I can't say that I'm really expecting a lot from the title. I despise the character design, I like that they added pause-and-play to combat after foolishly ditching turn-based, and the characters themselves seem to be somewhere between bland and melodramatic fucktards. Still, it's a numerical Final Fantasy, and I'm a slave to that series, so ...
But, I'm still looking forward to the game. I just wish it was coming to PC. YEAH YEAH YEAH, I know. You hate being able to tailor your gaming experience to your exact desires. Sure.
Anyway ...
FFXV will also be at Gamescom.
Hey, if you're not watching Dark Matter, you're part of the problem. Give it a look. I love this show.
Once Nuka World releases, I don't think we're seeing any actual big new games from MGS for a long, long time. Elder Scrolls VI is way, way down the road, and don't even bring up Fallout 5. Of course, it would be awesome to see New Vegas 2 from Obsidian. I'd greedily devour that shit. New Vegas is probably in my top 10 games of all time.
I wanted to share some super coolness that came out this week. Some of my favorite people and franchises popped up on YouTube and I just gotta share.
First, Sven Vincke and Chris Avellone were on the PC Gamer Show, talking about the latest news, as well as Prey and Divinity: Original Sin 2.
I'm a huge fan of both both guys, and I LOVE that they're working together. I totally fanboyed out when I saw that they were going to be appearing together on the show. And it doesn't disappoint.
Next, THAT TRAILER hit Thursday night ...
Then, last night, Josh Sawyer showed up on Fallout: Off the Record. Again, I totally fanboyed out. Give it a look.
Very cool stuff.
Also, I jumped back into my Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Director's Cut playthrough last night, and I had a fun stream. Here's the playlist.
And that's it for now. I'll try to get my Star Trek Convention Megapost up tomorrow.
Thanks, and lemme know if there's anything else you wanna see me stream. And is there anyone from the old-school RPG scene of whom you're a big fan?
Yeah, I know, I never posted Sunday's pics. And I'm not posting them right now. I'm going to do a monster blog post this weekend on the Star Trek convention from last week.
I have a lot to say about the convention, most of which I'm saving for the mega-post, but for now, I think I can summarize it simply by saying that it's as close to a religious experience as I've had in ... years, maybe? I dunno.
It was a really special five days for me, and the most I've enjoyed myself in a long time. I loved it, and I want to do it again in a few years.
Anyway, I got back midday Monday, and I've been scrambling ever since. I usually build in a 'buffer day' between vacation and work, and didn't this time, since I've already taken so much vacation time this year. With school starting back up this week for our oldest, it really did get hectic very fast.
And fantasy football is starting to ramp up, too, so that's taken some of my time.
And it's not like my weekdays were exactly overflowing with free time before this, either, so there ya go.
I definitely have more ambitions and goals than I do time. It's not like time is going to slow down or start adding extra hours to the day, so maybe it's time to start getting a little more real with what I expect to accomplish during the week.
I have ideas for two new books that I'd love to write. I have a Fallout mod that I want to make. I want to be able to game a little every day again. I want to have more time for exercise.
I'm already exercising, but I want to add more cardio to my routine.
So, I dunno. Going on that trip to Vegas to the convention really kinda shook me up, in a good way, and I have a strong desire to make some changes and just enjoy myself more. I feel like I spend a lot of time doing what I need to do, and not enough what I want to do.
And predictably, yesterday was awesome. Again. This whole convention has been a deeply spiritual experience for me. I typically hate belonging to clubs, and in fact go to obnoxiously extraordinary lengths to avoid them, but being a Trekkie surrounded by fellows Trekkies has been wonderful. And our mutual love for those that make Star Trek has been like a warm blanket on a cold night. It's been beautiful. I am sad that today is the end.
But today has hardly even started! Here's those pics from two days ago that I promised!
So, the last two days, like today, have been heavy panel days, so I didn't get out and explore nearly as much. It's been perfectly structured, honestly. The first couple days, we did some panels and lotta exploring, and the last 2-3 days, it's been watching/listening to some of our favorite people that make Star Trek.
Yesterday's recap:
The Tribute to Matt Jeffires was great. It was really cool hearing from production folks how he did what he did (design the Enterprise, its bridge, and more), and how he worked with Gene to do it. What a great presentation.
The Women in Star Trek Panel was awesome. It was Kate Mulgrew, some feminist bloggers, and a lady volcanologist that is also a contributor to trekmovie.com. They didn't all agree on things, and discussed it live on stage like responsible adults.
After that was TNG Part 3, which was WILD. Frakes, Sirtis, and Dorn. I felt bad for Michael Dorn because he didn't get nearly enough questions. Frakes got almost all of them. However, the nuthouse Frakes and Sirtis presented was hilarious and appreciated. He played up an almost Shatner-like persona while she lectured the audience on what questions to ask and which not to. It was very funny.
And Walter Koenig came out and talked for a while. He was a bit quieter, but it was very interesting getting to hear the history of TOS from his perspective.
After that, it was Shatner time. He was definitely Bill Shatner, which just a hint of a little more humility brought about by experience. And he was great talking to my oldest boy.
Then, it was time for Count Bakula. Scott, being a fellow St. Louisan, was, as expected, gracious and funny. I really could've used more time with him.
And Kate Mulgrew might have been the highlight of the day. Voyager was not my favorite series, Janeway was not my favorite captain, but she might be my favorite actor on the show. She is amazingly well-spoken, and projects such a sense of balance. And she has wicked comedic timing.
We closed with a really cool Borg makeup and history presentation from Michael Westmore. That was really neat.
Here's some pics of the day:
OK, one last time, we're heading to the con! I'll try and get today's write-up/pics up this afternoon before going to bed! Thanks for reading!
Gotta be quick here. I don't know why I don't do these at night.
Quick recap of yesterday:
Opened up with Chase Masterson and StarFleet Academy cheer squad. She was very funny and passionate about change,
George Takei went next, and was also very outspoken about his experiences as a Japanese-American during World War II, and being gay. His words were particularly inspiring.
The Voyager panel with Garrett Wang, Ethan Phillips, and Tim Russ was fantastic. They were absolutely hilarious.
The TNG panel with Levar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Brent Spiner was very entertaining and provided some great insight. And my god, Spiner has a dry sense of humor. I loved them dearly.
Kirstie Alley was a pleasant surprise, in terms of how endearing she is, until I looked up her up and saw that she's a scientologist.
John de Lancie and Denise Crosby were fun and interesting. I would've liked more time with them.
The Roddenberry Entertainment panels were interesting. Lots of cool footage of the 60s show has been unearthed. They had nothing new to say about Discovery, which was a huge disappointment.
The Neal McDonough panel was really special. He actually pulled my oldest son up on stage and talked to him for a bit, which really meant everything to my son. He was gracious, funny, and really took care of a younger fan.
We closed with a Deep Space Nine panel, which featured Terry Farrell, Nana Visitor, Nicole deBoer, and Ira Steven Behr. That panel was wonderful, and I wish it had been six hours long. That show means everything to me.
I finally got pictures uploaded last night, even if video is an absurd struggle on the (free) hotel wifi.
Yesterday was amazing. Aron Eisenberg literally moved me to tears, Whoopi Goldberg was funny and charming, and Melanie Smith provided some wonderful insight into one of my favorite characters, Ziyal.
First, here's some pics from the last couple days:
^ Dominic Keating
^ Nicole deBoer
^ Connor Trinneer
^ Garrett Wang
^ Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman
^ Aron Eisenberg
^ Melanie Smith
^ Martha Hackett
Yesterday, we started out with Gary Lockwood and Sally Kellerman from 'Where No Man Has Gone Before.' Both of them were very funny and far more accomplished than I'd ever realized. They also couldn't have been more different. Where she was all class and utterly professional, he's that friend of your dad's that has multiple ex-wives and stopped giving a fuck a long time ago. I found him funny but didn't really like him up until the moment he started talking about his daughter with an intense pride.
Following that, Aron Eisenberg and Max Grodenchik came out in full Ferengi costume and makeup and delivered an incredible performance. It was both funny, as they riffed on what a great Ferengi Donald Trump would be, and moving, as Eisenberg talked about the fan support for his kidney transplant, as well as how moved he was by his character Nog's arc throughout the show.
As an aside, something I always loved about my favorite Star Trek show, Deep Space Nine, was how deep the cast was, in terms of both regulars and recurring, but that show really did lean on their recurring characters, and even devoted entire shows to them. I loved it so much.
Following that, we grabbed a quick bite and then took our youngest to the youth Star Trek trivia. He bounced out relatively quickly in all three rounds, which surprised me. He knows the super-deep hardcore trivia, but missed stuff like 'does Captain Picard like earl grey tea, hot?' I think he's cursed with my need to overthink everything.
After that, we watched some of the TOS cosplay group photos, and there was some amazing stuff.
And after that, we hurried back to the Nimoy Theatre for Whoopi Goldberg, which was immensely gratifying. One of my favorite things to hear about is how much it meant to her to see Nichelle Nichols on the bridge of the Enterprise when Whoopi was a child. She has an immense passion and humility that are wonderfully balanced, and it's so wonderful to hear about Star Trek from her perspective.
And we closed the day with a panel that I deeply loved, which was Guest Stars of Star Trek, and featured Martha Hackett, Hana Hatae, Natalia Nogulich, and Melania Smith. Each of them played a character that I greatly enjoyed, in particular, Melanie Smith.
To me, Ziyal was both the most tragic character in all of Star Trek, and the manifestation of Gene Roddenberry's vision. She was a child of two disparate worlds, and wanted so badly to just bring people together in peace and love. Her character's murder was one of the most gut-wrenching moments in all of Star Trek for me, and I believe actually had me in tears when it happened, as it was so sad. It also put Damar in the sights of the two most dangerous men in the Alpha Quadrant, Dukat and Garak.
So, it was really cool finally getting to see Melanie Smith talk about Ziyal. That was a really special moment for me.
And I apparently screwed the pooch and whiffed on Nichelle Nichols. Shit.
Well, we're getting ready to head out for day three! Talk to ya later!
