Steve isn't my actual name, but it is something I've always gone by when I don't use my real name. so I guess it is a name I've given myself. Anyway, this isn't really a blog about my life, its about my hobbies. I've recently found myself somewhat daunted be the sheer volume of hobbies I currently possess, plus I work full-time, am engaged, and planning a wedding. The purpose of this blog is to kind of talk to myself, or any who feel like stopping by, and sort of keep myself motivated. So I guess I'll start off with a breakdown of what I occupy my time with.
Dungeons and Dragons
This is currently my real joy right now as far as hobbies go. I've been playing this game for...fourteen years on and off now and for the first time ever I am DMing and gaming as a PC at the same time. Two different campaigns are being run in our group right now, there is so much Geek Pheremone in the air that I might choke and die. Eric is running a campaign and it seems interesting. Mixes fantasy with end of the world apocalyptic type shit. I think it has potential but Eric is kind of a beginner when it comes to DMing (he's done it before a few times, but it never goes for very long) and I'm concerned that if it doesn't go perfectly he's going to get discouraged and quit, which would infuriate me. I can count the number of times I've played as a PC in the past fourrteen years on the fingers of one hand, and I can still pick my nose and give a thumbs up with what I have left over. I'm playing a warforged fighter and it should be an interesting time. I am extremely excited about running my own campaign. I have a lot of neat shit stuffed into it that I'm hoping the players will wander around and discover. I'm looking forward to throwing a lot of ridiculously impossible steampunk gadgetry into the game. I just came up with something called a Non-Ferrous Reverse Polarity Field Generator. I think it repels bullets.
Reading
I read quite a bit, mostly fantasy and sci-fi and the occasional foray into regular fiction. My favorite authors would have to be Roger Zelazny, Michael Moorcock, Chuck Palahniuk, Robert E. Howard, Brandon Sanderson, Michael Swanwick, Dan Abnett and apparently Cory Doctorow. I just started listening to the Cory Doctorow podcast in which he read his books and I find them to be quite awesome. Right now I'm reading a Warhammer 40,000 novel that is a collection of stories from the Horus Heresy. So far its decent, nothing particularly awesome has shown up as of yet but it is always an enjoyable experience to read about the Heresy. My next read is going to be The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Should be an interesting read, its about Charles Babbage and his mechanical computers and what if they had actually worked back then and changed the course of the computer industry. After that is a biography of Nikola Tesla. I've been kind of fascinated by this guy and his inventions since I saw him in The Prestige played by David Bowie, who is awesome.
TV/Movies
I suppose everyone likes TV and movies and whatnot, otherwise actors would not make quite so much money I guess. That said, I watch a lot of fucking TV and movies. A list of my favorite movies because lists are apparently the trend of this first post: Alien, The Departed, Die Hard(s), Predator, The Prestige, Zoolander...nevermind. A shorter list would be a list of movies I don't like. I love cinematic adventures. My three favorite TV shows right now (despite the fact that they are all currently between seasons) are Burn Notice, Dexter, and Doctor Who. Glorious stuff. Dexter because the premise is utterly brilliant, as is Michael C. Hall's acting. Burn Notice for too many reasons to list. Doctor Who because its Doctor Who, and David Tennant is just as great an actor as Michael C. Hall.
Video Games
I have a PC (obviously), an Xbox 360, and a PS2. Currently I'm playing Fallout 3 and the Broken Steel DLC. I would say Fallout 3 is just about my favorite game for 360 and probably...my third favorite video game of all time. The first is Planescape: Torment because, shit, because its awesome. You play an undying creature that is basically an indestructible mass of scars. Plus, the game can actually be beaten with words instead of blades. Second favorite is Disgaea for PS2 because of its insane level of overcomplication and its quirky and loveable sense of humor. Plus, demonic knife-wielding penguings.
Warhammer 40k
I play Warhammer 40k, a miniatures wargame. I say "play" when I really mean paint and fiddle with Excel spreadsheets of point values and wargear lists. I have two armies in the works right now, Iron Warriors (Chaos Space Marines) and Lamenters (Loyalist Space Marines). I work on a squad at a time and sort of alternate between each army. I only really work on them once a week, but I think that's ok because I am apparently the only one who paints anything anymore. Not that it matters, I like painting the minis and its kind of a nice way to spend a morning. I'm a fan of the Iron Warriors because they are so bitter and angry and all they have left is the Long War. Plus they're helmets are cool. Lamenters rock because they are badass. Not only did they basically get fed into the face of a Tyranid fleet, but they survived it. Plus they're chapter symbol is a heart and I think that's neat.
Writing
I write. I've finished one story which I've sent out to most of my friends to read. Despite giving it to them over eight months ago, no one has really responded with anything about it which is actually really depressing. Right now I'm working on another one, about 21 thousand words in. The story kind of has, I dunno, have you ever heard the song Identity Crisis by Alice Cooper? Yeah, its kind of like that. It kind of flows back and forth between steampunk and western and definite fantasy elements. Its also set in the world where my DnD campaign is taking place.
Music: Bowie To Bowie - Flight of the Conchords
Dungeons and Dragons
This is currently my real joy right now as far as hobbies go. I've been playing this game for...fourteen years on and off now and for the first time ever I am DMing and gaming as a PC at the same time. Two different campaigns are being run in our group right now, there is so much Geek Pheremone in the air that I might choke and die. Eric is running a campaign and it seems interesting. Mixes fantasy with end of the world apocalyptic type shit. I think it has potential but Eric is kind of a beginner when it comes to DMing (he's done it before a few times, but it never goes for very long) and I'm concerned that if it doesn't go perfectly he's going to get discouraged and quit, which would infuriate me. I can count the number of times I've played as a PC in the past fourrteen years on the fingers of one hand, and I can still pick my nose and give a thumbs up with what I have left over. I'm playing a warforged fighter and it should be an interesting time. I am extremely excited about running my own campaign. I have a lot of neat shit stuffed into it that I'm hoping the players will wander around and discover. I'm looking forward to throwing a lot of ridiculously impossible steampunk gadgetry into the game. I just came up with something called a Non-Ferrous Reverse Polarity Field Generator. I think it repels bullets.
Reading
I read quite a bit, mostly fantasy and sci-fi and the occasional foray into regular fiction. My favorite authors would have to be Roger Zelazny, Michael Moorcock, Chuck Palahniuk, Robert E. Howard, Brandon Sanderson, Michael Swanwick, Dan Abnett and apparently Cory Doctorow. I just started listening to the Cory Doctorow podcast in which he read his books and I find them to be quite awesome. Right now I'm reading a Warhammer 40,000 novel that is a collection of stories from the Horus Heresy. So far its decent, nothing particularly awesome has shown up as of yet but it is always an enjoyable experience to read about the Heresy. My next read is going to be The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Should be an interesting read, its about Charles Babbage and his mechanical computers and what if they had actually worked back then and changed the course of the computer industry. After that is a biography of Nikola Tesla. I've been kind of fascinated by this guy and his inventions since I saw him in The Prestige played by David Bowie, who is awesome.
TV/Movies
I suppose everyone likes TV and movies and whatnot, otherwise actors would not make quite so much money I guess. That said, I watch a lot of fucking TV and movies. A list of my favorite movies because lists are apparently the trend of this first post: Alien, The Departed, Die Hard(s), Predator, The Prestige, Zoolander...nevermind. A shorter list would be a list of movies I don't like. I love cinematic adventures. My three favorite TV shows right now (despite the fact that they are all currently between seasons) are Burn Notice, Dexter, and Doctor Who. Glorious stuff. Dexter because the premise is utterly brilliant, as is Michael C. Hall's acting. Burn Notice for too many reasons to list. Doctor Who because its Doctor Who, and David Tennant is just as great an actor as Michael C. Hall.
Video Games
I have a PC (obviously), an Xbox 360, and a PS2. Currently I'm playing Fallout 3 and the Broken Steel DLC. I would say Fallout 3 is just about my favorite game for 360 and probably...my third favorite video game of all time. The first is Planescape: Torment because, shit, because its awesome. You play an undying creature that is basically an indestructible mass of scars. Plus, the game can actually be beaten with words instead of blades. Second favorite is Disgaea for PS2 because of its insane level of overcomplication and its quirky and loveable sense of humor. Plus, demonic knife-wielding penguings.
Warhammer 40k
I play Warhammer 40k, a miniatures wargame. I say "play" when I really mean paint and fiddle with Excel spreadsheets of point values and wargear lists. I have two armies in the works right now, Iron Warriors (Chaos Space Marines) and Lamenters (Loyalist Space Marines). I work on a squad at a time and sort of alternate between each army. I only really work on them once a week, but I think that's ok because I am apparently the only one who paints anything anymore. Not that it matters, I like painting the minis and its kind of a nice way to spend a morning. I'm a fan of the Iron Warriors because they are so bitter and angry and all they have left is the Long War. Plus they're helmets are cool. Lamenters rock because they are badass. Not only did they basically get fed into the face of a Tyranid fleet, but they survived it. Plus they're chapter symbol is a heart and I think that's neat.
Writing
I write. I've finished one story which I've sent out to most of my friends to read. Despite giving it to them over eight months ago, no one has really responded with anything about it which is actually really depressing. Right now I'm working on another one, about 21 thousand words in. The story kind of has, I dunno, have you ever heard the song Identity Crisis by Alice Cooper? Yeah, its kind of like that. It kind of flows back and forth between steampunk and western and definite fantasy elements. Its also set in the world where my DnD campaign is taking place.
Music: Bowie To Bowie - Flight of the Conchords
I tell you, sir. Get me a hard copy of The Last Blade, and I will read it forthwith. Reading 120+ pages on a monitor would make my eyes explode.
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