Month in review: November, 2011

Well, another month shot to hell.  :)



Anyway, this has been an interesting little month. This was the month I discovered Stumbleupon.com.... and I posted links to almost every single blog entry, and through in some of Masks as well .... only in that case, I crashed the website for a little bit. Oops.



So, all of that adds up to this month having over 13,255 hits on the blog.  It's been a good month.  Even if I had to rewrite the top ten blog list. I may still yet have to.



Anyway...



There is a Story By Twitter coming up soon on the blog, and probably next Monday.  If you have a twitter account, find join my twitter feed (you can find a link in the right hand side). Otherwise, you may not get it for a while.



I've written characters of mine who take surveys, starting with Egyptian cop Hashim Abasi ... who has a list of enemies on his mouse pad.



And, if you ever missed a video we've done thus far, well, you can't: here are the complete Videos of A Pius Man.  Not to mention that there's also a video going around the net that makes me think I have to seriously up my A-game: a live action recreation of a video game fight from the epic game Arkham city.



Oh yes, and there is a contest going on: I hope someone has notice.



Our music blogs have had: Dragonforce's Heart of a Dragon, Final Fantasy's One Winged Angel, and Mozart. We also had Tom Smith's Cooking for 93 ... a little something for Thanksgiving.  There was also the classic science fiction summary in song Rocket Ride, by Tom Smith, as well as some Dragonforce's Where Dragons Rule.  We also had some Two steps from Hell, and the greatest beer that any bar has ever had for sale: it's Three-oh-seven Ale.



I've also had the most FAQ that any author has ever had to deal with: "Where do you get your ideas from?"  Here's an answer.



There was also some issues with Google.  Feh.



And, finally, there was a self defense review: with kill shots, Occupiers, and ... something else, I'm sure.



See you Monday.

Week-In-Review 7-14-11

Another week is shot to Hell. Welcome to the Week-in-Review.

Monday 

We started off the week with Holy Terror .... Batman?  It was a writing blog where I examine the possibilities behind the defunct Frank Miller project of Batman vs. al-Qaeda.

The music blog was not up that day.  However, I did post three self-defense columns over at Examiner.com

Meeting people from online in real life, part one A two-part series on how to make certain you don't go from okcupid.com to meeting an axe-murderer. 

Self defense in New York. Again. Or: Killing people isn't fun. Defending yourself?  Be careful with the aftermath.

Tuesday 

There was a review of mystery and thriller authors, everything from James Rollins to Matthew Reilly.  And more.

And the music blog: I decided that if people wouldn't like Tom Smith's "Talk like a Pirate Day" they would enjoy Dragonforce.  And vice versa

Wednesday

Some more Tom Smith, and some more Dragonforce lead the blog. 

And I found a Maureen Dowd post I didn't utterly despise.

Thursday

The music blog: whether or not you hate the Blue screen of death, or you prefer the Fury of the Storm, I had some of each.

And my friend Jason had posted a little something on Egypt. I blogged a bit about it.

By the way, before you leave, check out some of our sponsers' ads ... please. We can use the money. :)

Music blog: Fury of the Storm & Blue Screen of Death

Have issues with Bill Gates? You're not the only one.







Dragonforce ... more music to blow stuff up.

Music Blog: Rich Fantasy Lives, & My Spirit Will go On

I thought this would be the only thing I posted today. Then I got the Dowd column in the mail. Who knew?



Anyway, onto the music.



A Tom Smith song ... dedicated to all those people who live better lives in their heads than most people do in the real world.







Another Dragonforce song .... again, this is music to write fight scenes to.

Music Blog: Dragon Force, & Talk like a Pirate Day.

Tom Smith is a regular on these posts. I think he's going to be a good balance to the Dragonforce music clip below.



Let's just say that "Talk like a Pirate Day" is something for September ... but I have no idea if I'll still be doing these in September.

Starfire, by Dragonforce .... I like it. Again, this is music I write to. Though this is one of the few Dragonforce songs than I think I can understand without resorting to the lyrics. 

Music to Write to: Tom Smith, Halo

Yup, another music blog.  I haven't had any complaints yet.

Tom Smith is a weird fellow who does mostly "filk" music-- pardoy songs you hear at science fiction and comic book conventions. Filk started as a misprint in a pamphlet -- the intended target being "folk" music. But, as the I is right next to the O key, there was a misfire. It's never been corrected.

And so ... Tom Smith: I want to be Peter Lorre

Halo: On a Pale Horse... I think the title explains this one.

Dragonforce: Valley of the Damned

The visuals from this one are from the Halo video games.

As I said before, I listen to Dragonforce for the guitar, not necessarily for the lyrics.

Cruxshadows; Dragonfly. This one will be a little weird. While the imagery is nice, I suspect I'll have to google it in order to make any sense out of it. Right now, I'll lay money on Greek mythology, but that's just a guess.



However, I don't have to think about the music while I"m writing.

Mozart, Soldiers of the Wasteland, Halo (again)

Yup, I'm posting another music blog. Muwhahaha.



Did I ever mention that I'm a fan of classical music?

If I've said it once, I've said it ... probably four times by now: I don't listen to Dragonforce for the lyrics. If you can comprehend what the song's supposed to be about, I congratuate you. If you can't ... you might want to just enjoy the guitar work.

I've mentioned the Halo franchise of video games already during these music blogs. Well, here are two more. They're short, but I think they're worth it.

The week in the Blog. Halo 4, Discworld, JMS, Thor, Love, and Music

This week was rather eventful. Eight blogs, no waiting. A little review.

Monday: The first major music blog went over rather well, if the blog stats are to be believed. With Winterborn, March of Cambreadth, a little Nightwish, and a historical military tune, it had a good reception.  Monday also had the first "Inspiring Authors" article with J. Michael Straczynski, the man behind the story of the film Thor, and one of the best authors that Marvel ever screwed over.



And, for a follow up, the day ended with Spoiler Alert ... for a Video game? where we had a very brief discussion of the awesome and epic writing ever seen in a first person shooter video game -- the story arc of Halo. It was mostly in celebration of the release of the new teaser-trailer for the upcoming Halo 4 video game.



Tuesday was a brief discussion about writing a love story, using an example from, of all things, my own love life. Lord help us all.



Tuesday also saw the next music blog. Which just proves that my taste in music is deeply, deeply schizophrenic. It had the Our Father in German, This is War, by 30 Seconds to Mars, and Dragonforce's Through the Fire and the Flames, a favorite of Guitar Hero fans.



Wednesday had a small sample of the works of Terry Pratchett -- and I mean a very small sample. Oh, and some Neil Gaiman too.



The music selection was one part Doctor Who (sort of), another part Nightwish, and how to condense Greek Mythology into five minutes of music.



And Thursday ... Thursday, I got lazy. I didn't feel like doing more than posting the theme to Halo, Final Fantasy VII's One Winged Angel for orchestra, and some epic commercial music from Two Steps from Hell.



Next week, I hope to do a little better. To start with, I have a new job that involves teaching you how to kick ass and take names .... okay, basic self-defense maneuvers.  I suspect it's going to turn into a weekly roundup of interesting stuff on this blog. Once I figure out the mechanics.

The week in the Blog. Halo 4, Discworld, JMS, Thor, Love, and Music

This week was rather eventful. Eight blogs, no waiting. A little review.


Monday: The first major music blog went over rather well, if the blog stats are to be believed. With Winterborn, March of Cambreadth, a little Nightwish, and a historical military tune, it had a good reception.  Monday also had the first "Inspiring Authors" article with J. Michael Straczynski, the man behind the story of the film Thor, and one of the best authors that Marvel ever screwed over.

And, for a follow up, the day ended with Spoiler Alert ... for a Video game? where we had a very brief discussion of the awesome and epic writing ever seen in a first person shooter video game -- the story arc of Halo. It was mostly in celebration of the release of the new teaser-trailer for the upcoming Halo 4 video game.

Tuesday was a brief discussion about writing a love story, using an example from, of all things, my own love life. Lord help us all.

Tuesday also saw the next music blog. Which just proves that my taste in music is deeply, deeply schizophrenic. It had the Our Father in German, This is War, by 30 Seconds to Mars, and Dragonforce's Through the Fire and the Flames, a favorite of Guitar Hero fans.

Wednesday had a small sample of the works of Terry Pratchett -- and I mean a very small sample. Oh, and some Neil Gaiman too.

The music selection was one part Doctor Who (sort of), another part Nightwish, and how to condense Greek Mythology into five minutes of music.

And Thursday ... Thursday, I got lazy. I didn't feel like doing more than posting the theme to Halo, Final Fantasy VII's One Winged Angel for orchestra, and some epic commercial music from Two Steps from Hell.

Next week, I hope to do a little better. To start with, I have a new job that involves teaching you how to kick ass and take names .... okay, basic self-defense maneuvers.  I suspect it's going to turn into a weekly roundup of interesting stuff on this blog. Once I figure out the mechanics.

Music to Write to: Cruxshadows, Nightwish, and Doctor Who ... sort of.

Yup, another music blog. What do you have to lose?



To start with, as always, there has to be at least one cut from Two Steps from Hell. The title Protectors of the Earth, always makes me think of Doctor Who.

I tripped over this one recently. I had been playing through videos for "This is War" (previous post) and uncovered this tune by accident. I think it works.

 Nightwish isn't a band I use all that often during my writing, though it's got a beat, and you can kill legions of dark forces to it .... Not that writing vampire novels have influenced my writing in any way. Muahahahaha.... Anyway, most of the visuals are taken from video games in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises.

 And this one is a bit for shock value. Another Dragonforce piece ... I don't listen to them for the lyrics, which read like something from Terry Brooks, but they have some nice tunes, and interesting guitar riffs.

 This is going to be a little weird. I initially followed a Youtube link from "Winterborn" to this song. It was the first time I heard Greek mythology in a song ... like this (don't even ask me to guess what type it's supposed to be). I later heard the opera "Orpheus in the Underworld" .... the Cruxshadows condensed the entire myth in five minutes, and did a better job than an opera could in an hour and a half. Not a bad job.

Music to Write to: Cruxshadows, Nightwish, and Doctor Who ... sort of.

Yup, another music blog. What do you have to lose?



To start with, as always, there has to be at least one cut from Two Steps from Hell. The title Protectors of the Earth, always makes me think of Doctor Who.

I tripped over this one recently. I had been playing through videos for "This is War" (previous post) and uncovered this tune by accident. I think it works.

 Nightwish isn't a band I use all that often during my writing, though it's got a beat, and you can kill legions of dark forces to it .... Not that writing vampire novels have influenced my writing in any way. Muahahahaha.... Anyway, most of the visuals are taken from video games in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises.

 And this one is a bit for shock value. Another Dragonforce piece ... I don't listen to them for the lyrics, which read like something from Terry Brooks, but they have some nice tunes, and interesting guitar riffs.

 This is going to be a little weird. I initially followed a Youtube link from "Winterborn" to this song. It was the first time I heard Greek mythology in a song ... like this (don't even ask me to guess what type it's supposed to be). I later heard the opera "Orpheus in the Underworld" .... the Cruxshadows condensed the entire myth in five minutes, and did a better job than an opera could in an hour and a half. Not a bad job.

Music to Write To: Dragonforce, E Nomine, This is War, and Citadel

Yup, another music blog. Why? Because they're fun.

Two steps from hell.... they do movie trailer music. No, I'm not kidding.



Some things sound cooler in German. Even the Our Father. And, yes, this is the Our Father in German. Go with it. Trust me, what have you got to lose. I even hope to use this for a trailer at some point. The visuals are from a video game called Kingdom Hearts. The song is from a group called E Nomine. The song is called Vater Unser.

An exercise in epic nerdity. This is War by 30 seconds to Mars is a piece I tripped over by accident. I picked this vid from youtube since it has the most Star Wars visuals....

What part of "Nerd" do you not understand? :)

The next one is from the Cruxshadows, a nominally Goth band.  Citadel, by the Cruxshadows ... well, every time you try playing one of their tunes, when in doubt, think Greek mythology. Troy, usually.

This last group is called Dragonforce. Their group is hard to explain. Imagine a song with lyrics by Terry Brooks, played with electric guitars, probably while everyone involved is high on crystal meth.



This one song is called Through the Fire and the Flames. When I first saw this, is was in a John Ringo. novel called Choosers of the Slain. It was a sequence where a helicopter gunship is heading to wreak havoc on an entire mountain filled with terrorist infantry.



Which is why, everytime this piece conclude, I think "And then the mountain blew up."