Freezing ninja snow shoveling job.

So... It's winter up here in the cold northern wastes of Caro, MI, and we just got hit by a blizzard.  This means I have to dig out one of the most boring blades possible, and go shovel the walks.  Over and over.  The morning of the blizzard, I woke up to this message, essentially:  "Happy holidays everyone!  Now go shovel some snow!"  So, I've been shoveling, scraping, cursing, and salting the sidewalks.  Thank goodness I've got my brother to help, or this might take even longer.

The Hunger Games

This book, put simply; is gripping, slightly disturbing, and totally awesome.  It's about a society in the future, where North America has sunk beneath the sea, leaving only the highest points as a small nation.  The nation is divided into districts and a central Capitol.  With superior technology and tactics, the Capitol has subjugated the Districts and forced them to provide all it's manual labor.

As one of several reminders of it's superiority, the Capitol forces each district to send two contestants each year.  If the district has no volunteers, these 12-18 year old contestants are selected randomly.  There are almost never any volunteers.  In fact, it is usually a death sentence.  The 24 contestants are placed in a huge outdoor arena, usually miles in diameter, and left there until only one is left alive.  The contest is brutal.  And the book doesn't shy away from the violence.  Kids impaling each other on spears, beating each other to death, burning, slashing, crushing, poisoning, etc. etc.  And the Capitol treats it as a game-- broadcasting it for the entertainment of it's citizens.  Of course, the motivation for the players is there as well:  The districts are kept in poverty, except for the winner's district and the winner himself.  In fact, winning the Hunger Games usually means that a district can actually eat regularly for the year.

The book focuses on a sixteen year old girl who volunteers, to keep her younger sister out of the games. Unexpectedly, she encounters love on the battlefield, and then the story goes from there: they work together, knowing only one of them will survive, etc.  I won't spoil the ending.

Finally, a decent sharpener

It's in the title.  I finally found a decent sharpening device for my swords.  For those of you who don't know, or think you know, but you don't;  You can't simply take a grinder to a blade.  You see, a (real) sword has a temper from being heat treated.  This keeps the blade strong while still flexible, to a point.  And if you just grind away at the blade with a spinning grinding stone, you'll ruin the temper, making your sword really really crappy.  So... this might give you an inkling of how long it took me to find a device that won't take three weeks to get the job done, but won't overheat your sword either.  And of all places, it was in Meijer.  How crazy is that?

NaNoWriMo

Well, I'm gonna say this now, while the month is still young.  It's National Novel Writing Month, so... I'm gonna be writing a lot.  This means more posts here, as there'll be lots of story to share with 'yall.  So check back every so often if you want to read it.  Also, I'm going to be LARPing this weekend, so I'll have a post about how that goes.  Umm.... let's see, is there anything else to tell ya?   Nope.  Guess I'll just post the intro to my new story then.  Sorry if the text is a little small.

In the year 2023 AD, the advent of Aetholin changed the course of mankind forever.  instantly rendering all fossil fuels obsolete almost literally overnight.  Refined at the Aetholin plants all over the world, this miraculous substance fuels all of our vehicles, provides electricity to our homes, and is even used as an explosive.  It’s distinctive yellow color was often confused with gasoline in it’s early years, leading to many vehicular explosions, due to their rough design.

Aetholin does not pollute the atmosphere, as some people might claim.  Due to it’s nature as raw condensed energy, it only releases heat, light, and kinetic when burned.  However, this also makes it toxic to all known life forms, often causing victims to age at an accelerated rate, and even to decompose within a few seconds of their death.  It is undoubtedly the greatest creation of our era, thanks to the contributions from scientists around the world, although the final breakthrough is accredited to the genius Klaus Scienfeld, who was unfortunately killed in a terrorist attack shortly after his findings were completed.

So say the textbooks.  But I know that they’re wrong.  And the government leaders know they’re wrong.  But they decided that the average person couldn’t accept the truth, and I’m fine by that.  It means there are less people to come knocking on my door trying to figure out how to make Aetholin.  But I still like to remind them who’s really in charge here, lest any of the human governments try something stupid, like that idiot Scienfeld.  The idiot tried to make Sirithim and got Vampyres instead.  Which is why I’m recording this.  Can’t have the government’s lies as the only recorded history of the events surrounding the Aetholin Advent.  I am Malachi Silver, creator of Aetholin, Patriarch of the Sirithim, and living Scion

How I got my butt kicked in a board game 2000 years old.

So... I recently joined a group of Viking re-enactors at our local ren-fest, and during my first day as a Viking, I went from being in the queen's guard to being the guy in charge of the ancient board games.  I immediately realized that, unlike popular opinion, the vikings were not dumb giants with axes and boats.  They played strategy games that rival chess in complex strategy & difficulty, and this has led me to conclude that they were actually quite clever.  Anyways... I spent about 5 hours teaching the patrons these viking games.  And I lost just about every game.  By the end of the day, I had only won a grand total of 5 games.

Woop-dee-doo, I suck at strategy games.
See ya 'round.

So now we buy a not-crappy sword.

So yeah.  I found a quality sword, and I think I'm gonna go for it.  It's a Windlass, which is one of the oldest sword companies still manufacturing.  The steel is something like 1060 springsteel, although it could be carbon steel.  not sure which yet.  The only problem I've heard pertaining to this sword is that Windlass blades tend to be a tad whippy, meaning it acts less like a bar of steel, and more like a pool noodle.  But I'm not too concerned about that.

On a side note, I'm this [            ] close to fixing my previous attempt at a sword.  You remember... that crappy one that broke in my last post.  Well, I've almost got it presentable again.  And then it will go on display in my room and will have it's own personal "do not touch" sign.

So... until next time, Thanks for reading etc etc.

Never buy a crappy sword.

EVER.  I mean that.  Just today, I went and bought a nice looking sword at a local ren-fest, but in my excitement, (buying swords is exciting) I forgot to treat this certain wallhanger like a wallhanger.

Note for those of you unfamiliar with sword terminology:  Wallhanger means any sword that looks really cool, but if you try and swing it, it falls apart in your hands.

Thus, half an hour after getting home with my newly bought shiny sword... it came apart and I discovered that it was designed in such a way that it couldn't be repaired.  So... I am now faced with the problem of constructing a brand new hilt to attach to the still-shiny blade.

And the moral of this story is this:  Never, ever, ever, evereverevereverever, ∞, buy a crappy sword, unless it's going straight into an air-conditioned, vacuum-sealed, anti-rust display case.

Old Man's War

Well, it's been a while since I posted here, but I can honestly say it's not my fault.  I blame my internet connection, which won't ever let me login on account of there being "an insecure connection".  It doesn't matter how many times I've tried it, or how many settings I've changed, it always says the same thing.  So, here I am, posting on a different computer with a different server, etc. etc. etc.

Anyways... Old Man's War.  What did I think of this book?  I. Loved. It.  Awesome book with an interesting universe containing a myriad of species and technologies.  The plot is fast paced, and written in such a way that I almost literally could not put the book down.  At first glance, it seems almost the stereotypical "mankind colonizing the universe" ordeal, but a few pages in, we're at odds against some 600 other races, all after the same planets we're after, and instead of your typical army, our space military consists entirely of old people.  No offense to said old people, but when your youngest recruit just turned 75 a week ago, it doesn't make much sense.  Now I don't want to spoil how all that works, so I'm just gonna skip ahead a few chapters.

(flips past a few pages)  Um... Ah, here's something that won't spoil too much plot.  Technology & You!

The tech we possess in these books (yes there are 4 books)  is just amazing.  First off, the human soldiers  all have computers in their heads, referred to as BrainPals.  Yes it's a cheesy name, moving on.  These BrainPals allow the soldiers to communicate silently, access information at any time, without doing anything physically.  They can watch movies while running through a forest, listen to music underwater, etc.  But what really interested me wasn't their BrainPals, it was their weapons.  Their "rifles", instead of being just that, are more accurately described as a "rifle/shotgun/automatic/grenade- and rocket-launcher"  All out of the same block of ammo, too.  The gun's firing mode is selected via brainpal, and then it machines the ammo right into the chamber.  The ammo block itself is actually just that:  a block of metal.

So, anyone else interested yet?
Until next time, thanks for reading.

Ranger's Apprentice

Set in a medieval kingdom, the story follows an orphan with dreams of becoming a knight for the local Baron.  Theres only one problem though:  He's too small.  However, it's this very trait that qualifies him for another life in service to his country.  The Rangers.  Believed by many to practice black magic and possess inhuman powers, they are the elite of the King's army.  But the orphan, Will, soon discovers that this is not the case.  Instead of practicing dark arts, he soon finds himself practicing archery, a skill only used for hunting.  Will soon learns that what most people think of as magic is simply unorthodox skills put to good use.

Such as archery.  Mostly used for hunting, many people believe the arrow to be useless against armor.  Except when a Ranger puts an arrow through the one-inch-square eyehole on a helmet.  The Rangers are also the first to fully exploit camouflage, wearing mottled green and grey cloaks which often look stupid, but enhance their trained ability to blend in with the terrain and shadows, making it seem as though they can walk straight through walls and rise from the ground at a whim.  They also carry two knives of uncommon shape, making them rather unwieldy for the common person, but a skilled Ranger can defeat the greatest swordsman with these knives.  They're also perfect for throwing.

I'd rate this series with an 9/10, the only problem being that it's kept in the children's section of my local bookstore.

Throwing Knives

Well, I finally did it.  I've gotten the rotation distance down for both of my throwing knives.  This has been rather a challenge for me, as they had different throwing styles and distances for the longest time.  But the wooden handle recently fell off the smaller one, changing it's balance (all important here).  Now they're both the same rotation distance and throwing technique.  All I have to do now is work on my aim.

Unstoppable Horde of Reavers vs. Immovable Psychic Warrior

Awesome show I've become a fan of recently, called Firefly.  Kinda a space-steampunk-cowboy-swashbuckling-pirate-rebel bundle of awesomeness.  It's only fourteen episodes long, ending with the fifteenth segment as a full-length movie titled Serenity.  The pro's and cons are that it has a decisive ending, but the story is over rather quick.  Quite funny, with a good bit of action, drama, and intrigue to balance things out.  

The story is set in the future, where the Earth's resources have been used up, forcing the Human race offworld.  We discovered a new Solar System, with dozens of planets, and hundreds of moons.  They terraformed most of these worlds, and spread across the whole system.  The central planets, those with the most sophisticated technologies, formed a systemwide Alliance, and warred to bring everyone under their rule.  A few governments and militias disagreed, and fought to remain independent.  They were inevitably crushed.  The series starts approximately six years later, following a former militia sergeant, now the captain of a Firefly class transport christened Serenity.  He picks up a rather ragtag group of misfits for a crew, and runs jobs for people needing a ship.  He doesn't much care about the nature of the work, as long as it pays well, and doesn't overly endanger his crew.

And that's just the intro they play before the theme song.

As for the title of this post, you'll have to either watch the show, or look it up on Wikipedia and read the ending.  I'm not gonna post any spoilers.  Ha ha ha.......

Excitement mounting

As you can probably tell from the title, I'm getting really excited.  And the reason is this:  StarCraft 2 is released at midnight tonight.  For anyone who doesn't know, StarCraft is a game that revolutionized the RTS (Real Time Strategy) genre.  Some would argue that it's the singular most revolutionary game in RTS.  It's been out for approximately 12 years now, and is still played extensively worldwide.  We (the fans) have been waiting for a sequel to StarCraft ever since the release, and now it's finally here!  Of course, there have been mixed opinions about SC2, even in the original SC fanbase.  The fans of the original were divided into two camps:  Those who believed that SC2 would improve on the original; and those who held that SC was perfect and could never be improved upon.

Well, I'm solidly in the first camp, and, having participated in the SC2 Beta, I can say that it is everything I'd hoped for.  The units are mixed up and refreshingly new, but it still has the feel of the original StarCraft, which is everything in my opinion.  Having the same gameplay means that skill acquired from playing the original isn't lost.  Unlike most games, where the designers try to change as much as possible in a sequel, SC2 was built to be as similar to SC1 as possible, while still improving everything they could.  The gameplay is simpler, thanks to a few improvements that make dull and time consuming tasks automated, unless you want to do them manually.  Another highlight, for me, is that it's cross platform, running on Mac as well as PC, and the game requirements are compatible with relatively older machines, so I won't have to shell out for top-of-the-line equipment.  And the whole thing is coming out TONIGHT!

(breathes deeply) Okay, now I've got that out of my system, I'll talk about something else.  Hmm... Book.  I read a good book this week entitled "From Hell With Love" by Simon R. Green.  It was an interesting read, kinda like James Bond meets Lord of the Rings meets Men In Black meets... Everything.

I also found out that the next few books from Ranger's Apprentice have been released, and I'm itching to read them.  Hopefully my library gets them soon.

Well, That's all I have for now, I've gotta go practice for StarCraft tonight, so to all you SC fans out there:  En Taro Adun!

Hybrid

I've been thinking about a new story that's been bouncing around my head for a while, and I've finally gotten an intro down on paper.  If you care to read it:

     Underwater.  He was floating underwater.  Strange lights played across his vision in hues of blue and green.  He raised his right hand to touch them, and it glinted silver.  His arm was metal, with blue crystal lining the seams.  The lights pulsed again, and feeling flooded into his hand.  Fire and lightning crackled around the metal hand and suddenly coalesced into a burning blade extending from his wrist.  Another hand floated into view, twisted with sinew and tendons tense underneath the taut skin.  He flexed it experimentally, and feeling shot through his left arm.  With a slight burning sensation, a long claw sprouted above his wrist and extended itself until it matched the fiery blade on his right.  Suddenly the water started dropped away, and he was standing.  He looked down at his body, a blend of smooth machinery and muscular flesh.  Clothes appeared on him, hiding the hybrid body from view.  The lights he had seen earlier also disappeared, and he saw that they were arc lamps, similar to ones used in surgery.  A short doctor was slumped in a chair behind them.  He walked over, and the old man looked up.

“Now you are complete, my brother.  They cannot hurt us any more.”

Then he fell back, and the room disappeared in a screaming wind.

The only problem is, that's about as far as I've gotten.  If you people could give me some advice here, or just a base idea, I'd be grateful.  I'll get back to you in about a week, as I'll be a few thousand miles from my computer for a while.  When I'm back, I'll look at the feedback (if any) and pick something out of there.

Revamp

Hello, to anyone who's reading this.  If you're returning from Oddballs United, I know it's been a while.  I thought I'd expand the contents of my blog a little, since my writing is kinda slow, and it was hard for me to maintain.  Trying to do better this time.  But on to the blog itself.

I'm gonna start off with the LARP I participate in.  Monthly, except for the summer, I gather up my costume and weapons, and drive to Camp Kidwell near Kalamazoo, MI.  Once there, I dash to a phonebooth and transform into... SUPER GEEK!!!  Well, that's not quite how it goes.  I usually start off by claiming a bunk and then getting "in character" for the rest of the weekend.  Then I start setting up the main building while I wait for everyone else to show up.  Once the game get's underway, we're going at full tilt for 36 hours with only six hours of sleep.  It's no joke, either.  Everyone is in costume all the time, and acting as their characters in full tilt.  And when I say full tilt, I mean a group of very normal guys are suddenly a high pitched goblin getting into a "drinking" contest with a dwarf, and a werewolf is yelling his rage as he leaps into an undead army...  Well, it sounds stupid to some, but I enjoy being a roving warrior mage carrying a sword in one hand and a death spell in the other.

And then there's the books I'm reading right now.  Currently, I'm reading a series of books entitled "The Age of Fire".  It's a fantasy book, with many of the familiar races: Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Dragons, etc.  But it's not the usual Tolkien spin off.  It's written from the Dragon's perspective, something I've not seen before, and the rest is written in such a way that is very refreshing after all the usual "kill the orcs" stuff.  I heartily recommend this series to any fantasy readers out there.  (By the way, the first three are simultaneous, so you might be able to get away with reading them out of order.)

Well, that's all I have to say for now, so I'll just end it here:
Welcome back,
Nathan of the Arnett clan.