Skyrim created a world too awesome to bother saving
If you’re familiar with Skyrim, congratulations. You don’t need to be told. But for everyone else, this 2011 Bethesda game is a classic. There, I’ve said it. 11 years old, and it ranks as an all-time great. Frankly, it has been for a while. Even SIX years after...
AI-generated artwork: Move Over Dalí, it’s DALL-E Time
In the earliest days of machine automation (we’re talking about looms here), workers worried that they’d be rendered obsolete revolted. These movements and the actions taken gave rise to the terms sabotage and Luddite. By and large, however, the efforts to stop the...
Writers don’t get summer vacations
I seem to remember, a long time ago, that school started in the first week of September, shortly after Labor Day. It feels like it’s gotten earlier, slipping into August. Since it’s been an increasingly-distressing amount of time since I was last in school, I no...
Good Omens: A Buddy Comedy For The Apocalypse
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett are two of the better known fantasy authors of the late 20th Century. Their works are snarky, irreverent, and often explore deep philosophical meaning under a veneer of satire. So, when they combined to write Good Omens, there...
Sidekick Powers
Can A Good Pun Become A Great Book? I no longer recall where or when this idea originated, just that it came from not paying attention. I probably misheard "psychic power" as "sidekick powers" and thought, "Hey, what about a series starring sidekicks with lesser...
Truberbrook: Twin Peaks meets Fringe
Truberbrook is a point-and-click mystery game set in a quaint little town in the mountains of Germany. And by quaint, I mean batshit crazy. It’s an onion of a puzzle game, and each layer is weirder than the one before. You play as Dr. Hans Tannhauser (yes, there’s a...
Ballpark In-seat dining
Press 1 For Peanuts. Press 2 For Cracker Jacks. A few weeks ago, my wife and I ventured out to see our former hometown (or at least, home region) Boston Red Sox on the Anaheim stop of their West Coast trip. It's always interesting being a fan on "foreign" turf, but...
Meet Black Ocean: TNG
Welcome to my first formal author update where I'll talk about what I'm working on, plus any general news (if relevant). This new topic will replace "Musings & Brain teasers", since most of you didn't seem too interested in them. If you DID like my "musings"...
You only WISH your pet store carried these!
From Pokemon to Disney princesses, magical pets are common throughout fantasy fiction. Some are mere companions, others ferocious guardians. But what makes a GOOD pet, and which ones are more trouble than they’re worth? More importantly, if YOU were the protagonist,...
The Best Half-Movie in Ages
If you are of a certain age and sci-fi prediliction, you’ve likely seen the 1984 oeuvre by David Lynch simply entitled: Dune. It was based on a novel by the same name, written by Frank Herbert, in much the same way that the movie Battleship was based on the board...