Exfanding Your Horizons is pleased to announce its very first extended hiatus!
...I guess sounding excited about it doesn't change the fact that we're going to stop posting here for a while.
As previously discussed, things have changed a great deal for us over the last several months. What was once a two-man blogging team gradually became a one-man blogging team; what was once our blog has gradually become my blog. Initially, I was holding down the fort for a few weeks until my blogging buddy Alex returned in October or November.
Happy New Year, incidentally.
Though it's a tough decision for us, Alex and I have agreed that it's time to bring this boat ashore, at least for a month or two or five. We've kept up with this blog since 2008, posting every day of the week (except possibly Sunday, our self-imposed day off) for the majority of that time. Nobody maintains that level of dedication for some random side project.
Exfanding has been our home for the last four years. We haven't always looked or sounded like the most professional blog on the planet, but I doubt your home has always looked presentable enough for company from around the world at all hours of the day. We've been honing our writing craft. We've thrown up some truly pitiful filler posts just to keep us in the habit of writing every day. I've been teaching myself enough HTML to tweak and tinker with the blog's layout from time to time (calling in my wife on occasion).
It's the coolest thing in the world that other people want to read what we've written, but that's not why we write. Exfanding is for us, first and foremost, and it always has been—sharing what we do with the global community just makes it better.
That's why it's time to say farewell, if only for a time. Exfanding isn't the same when it's me writing for us.
I've still got a couple of in-progress posts that'll take a while to finish, and I know there's at least one more guest post on the way. At the very least, we'll be returning for a few days whenever those are all ready—but when we return, I mean we will return. I'm volunteering Alex to write the next post you'll read here. In the meantime, we've got a lot in the archives, and our Month in Review posts might help highlight things that even longtime readers might have missed.
As of the end of this post, Exfanding is officially on indefinite hiatus. However, that doesn't mean that we, the writers, are just going to poof out of existence. I've got a personal website now that serves as a hub to all my other Internet activities, and I'm continuing to blog (and blather about Mega Man) over there:
http://nathanielhoover.weebly.com
Look for updates from Alex on his Comic Art Fans page, as well as on the website for his book, Sarah Faire and the House at the End of the World:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=30149
http://sarahfaire.com/
We'll still be checking in on Exfanding to respond to new comments, maybe clean up the archives a little bit, and perform whatever technical and administrative tasks we see fit, so it's not really goodbye.
But...um...until next time...goodbye.
Showing posts with label Milestones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milestones. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Sunday Spotlight: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind: The Only Game of the Year Edition
Monday, October 1, 2012
A Proper Crystalis Celebration
As is my yearly custom, I am pleased to report that I have celebrated the (15th!) anniversary of The END DAY by playing through Crystalis, the NES RPG cult classic that made the bold proclamation that this day in 1997 would mark the end of civilization as we knew it. Well, I say that the post-apocalypse has never looked better.
For starters, for the first time in a few years, I was able to play through Crystalis from start to finish in a single sitting. Marathoning the game isn't a requirement, but I'm at the point now where I can breeze through it in 3-4 hours; that's about how long I spend playing video games anyhow (when I get the chance), so why not finish the whole thing in one go? Besides, part of the enjoyment I derive from playing this every year is experiencing the continuous progression of the story and the gameplay from one area to the next; I don't get the full effect by taking a few days to complete the game.
More exciting than that, however, was the release of Part 1 of GameCola's Crystalis-themed D&D podcast, hosted by yours truly. It's an alternate retelling of the story in which the game's four wise men--Zebu, Tornel, Asina, and Kensu--are the heroes. If you're interested in Dungeons & Dragons, or are a Crystalis fan, or just like sitting in on other people's (virtual) tabletop gaming sessions, this one comes highly recommended.
However, the best part of this END DAY was unquestionably the rare opportunity to fire up my NES, settle myself into the couch, and watch the graphics of Crystalis' otherwise normal introductory cutscene go completely bananas:
In short, this was a good day for Crystalis.
Apparently, the mistakes of the past could have been avoided with a little more Tornel Teaches Typing.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Forty-Six Ways Star Trek Changed My Life
September 8, 1966. It's been 46 years since the very fifth episode of Star Trek went on the air. (Not the first one; the fifth one--"Where No Man Has Gone Before" didn't actually air until September 22, assuming my time-traveling sources are correct.)
To celebrate this awkwardly numbered anniversary, I've compiled a list of 46 different ways in which Star Trek--not just the original series, but the entire multimedia franchise--has changed my life, or at least influenced it in some way or another. Strap yourselves in, kids--I'm about to get sentimental, ridiculous, and incredibly esoteric all at once.
1.) I occasionally refer to human beings as "ugly bags of mostly water."
2.) I occasionally wear cologne, making me an ugly bag of mostly scented water.
3.) I masqueraded as Geordi La Forge one Halloween. It was awesome.
4.) I was an avid fan of Reading Rainbow growing up--in no small part because the show was hosted by LeVar Burton--which helped foster a lifelong love of reading.
5.) I know more about fictional technology than I do about my own car.
6.) Much of my time on the playground in elementary school was spent running around pretending I was a starship captain.
7.) I got it into my head that "Spot" is a perfectly acceptable name for a cat.
8.) It is incredibly easy to shop for calendars for me every year. "Do you have Ships of the Line? Yes? Beautiful. Done."
9.) For several months, I was engaged in geeky, philosophical, and religious discussions and debates with the author of "Star Trek by the Minute" that challenged me to think more critically and logically in my arguments.
10.) I missed about an hour and a half of festivities during one of my last cast parties with my theater group to catch the series premiere of Enterprise.
11.) I missed a sizeable chunk of the festivities at PAX East 2010 to meet Wil Wheaton.
12.) My now-wife and I had the perfect way to geek out with the invitations and table markers for our wedding.
13.) I paid a visit to the 24th century.
14.) I bought my first movie tie-in comic book in 2009.
15.) I got a lot of inspiration for blog posts, apparently.
16.) Riverside, Iowa is on my list of places to visit if I ever get the chance.
17.) I chuckle a little bit whenever I hear John Tesh on the radio, knowing he once played a holographic Klingon.
18.) I've learned that the best explanation for irreconcilable continuity errors is usually, "time travel."
19.) Where (in)appropriate, I refer to nudity in terms of Betazoid weddings and dressing like a Ferengi female. Yes, I'm terrible.
20.) I own a Star Trek: The Next Generation mug, which is my mug of choice when having toast and hot chocolate.
21.) On the rare occasions where I drink tea, there's usually only one choice, and it's the beverage that prompted me to drink tea in the first place: Earl Grey, hot, of course.
22.) My phobia of crawling around in ventilation ducts (a phobia that started with Space Quest V, which was also very heavily influenced by Star Trek) got slightly worse thanks to those squeak-burbling Parasite creepy-crawlies in Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force. (Yes, I just used the expression "squeak-burbling." It's incredibly accurate.)
23.) I am computer literate: After haphazardly tinkering with things I knew little about and accidentally destroying my family's Star Trek screensaver, I vowed to teach myself enough about computers to never let such a thing happen again.
24.) The exploits of Captain Proton encouraged me to watch Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, further expanding and deepening my knowledge and appreciation of vintage science fiction.
25.) I giggle anytime I hear the phrase "recipe for biscuits," which, admittedly, is not nearly as often as I'd like.
26.) I possess a sizable collection of action figures, toy props, and model starships, all of which contribute to the already overwhelmingly geeky décor of my home.
27.) My bedroom ceiling was once decorated with various tiny Star Trek (and Star Wars) ships suspended from it, amidst glow-in-the-dark stars. Going to sleep at night was about the coolest thing ever.
28.) "The Picard Song" is proudly featured on one of my many mix CDs, and I've developed an unexpected fondness for "Blue Skies," as well.
29.) I've started paying attention to the names of writers, directors, and music composers in film and television. It's so much easier to understand the ups and downs of a franchise once you know the people involved behind the scenes.
30.) I have an improved understanding of the general structure of languages thanks to a crash course in Klingon.
31.) My friends, family, and I have spent countless hours bonding over the episodes and movies we've watched together.
32.) My friends, family, and I are collectively around $3000 poorer for buying me every Star Trek movie and series on DVD.
33.) I managed to turn a hand injury into a training exercise at a young age and learned the Vulcan "live long and prosper" salute while two of my fingers were bandaged together.
34.) Though I enjoy Star Wars, I never got into it the way other people have, in part because it differed from my expectations that Star Trek had set for sci-fi. That's not a "Star Trek is better than Star Wars" argument; Star Trek simply beat Star Wars to the punch.
35.) When my computer starts acting up, I occasionally employ a hint of a Scottish accent and address the computer by name, picking up the mouse and speaking directly into it if I feel so inclined.
36.) I've seen more episodes of Hawaii Five-O than I'd ever expected to.
37.) I've learned how to better analyze difficult situations and see multiple sides to a problem or issue, seeking a greater understanding of a situation before jumping to conclusions and solutions.
38.) Despite all the problems and troubles of our world today, I've been reminded time and again that we can overcome our differences and shape a better future for ourselves.
39.) When I have to suddenly shut off my car's cruise control to slow down for traffic, I refer to it as "dropping out of warp."
40.) When I'm struggling to keep awake while driving, I frequently ask my wife to talk to me, and she'll often ask whether I've heard the story of the three brothers who go to Jo'Kala to sell a giant kava root. (Silly us; we usually mess this up and say "Kalto Province" instead. Duh.)
41.) My wife and I also do our best bug-eyed Gowron impressions at one another sometimes to cheer ourselves up. My wife would like to inform you that she is much better at it than I am.
42.) I've gained an appreciation for clever reuse of props, sets, and archive footage, and have developed a keen eye for spotting such material. Like the cave that's in every episode of Deep Space Nine.
43.) On more than one occasion, I've thrown open my flip-phone like a communicator and started talking with my best "Kirk on a landing party mission" impression.
44.) Beyond the real people I knew, I had a series of role models throughout my youth thanks to Star Trek--intelligent people who had a passion for learning and exploration, loved their jobs, showed compassion to those in need, and sought peace with their enemies.
45.) I think space is incredibly cool.
46.) Growing up, my Saturday nights were always a family event--homemade pizza and an episode or two of whichever Star Trek was on. Even after Voyager and Enterprise went off the air, the pizza tradition continued, and something feels wrong with the universe if I go more than a weekend without it. (The pizza, that is; not the universe, though that's important, too.)
47.) OK, so this list was supposed to stop at 46. But you've gotta have a 47 in here somewhere.
1.) I occasionally refer to human beings as "ugly bags of mostly water."
2.) I occasionally wear cologne, making me an ugly bag of mostly scented water.
3.) I masqueraded as Geordi La Forge one Halloween. It was awesome.
4.) I was an avid fan of Reading Rainbow growing up--in no small part because the show was hosted by LeVar Burton--which helped foster a lifelong love of reading.
5.) I know more about fictional technology than I do about my own car.
6.) Much of my time on the playground in elementary school was spent running around pretending I was a starship captain.
7.) I got it into my head that "Spot" is a perfectly acceptable name for a cat.
8.) It is incredibly easy to shop for calendars for me every year. "Do you have Ships of the Line? Yes? Beautiful. Done."
9.) For several months, I was engaged in geeky, philosophical, and religious discussions and debates with the author of "Star Trek by the Minute" that challenged me to think more critically and logically in my arguments.
10.) I missed about an hour and a half of festivities during one of my last cast parties with my theater group to catch the series premiere of Enterprise.
11.) I missed a sizeable chunk of the festivities at PAX East 2010 to meet Wil Wheaton.
12.) My now-wife and I had the perfect way to geek out with the invitations and table markers for our wedding.
13.) I paid a visit to the 24th century.
14.) I bought my first movie tie-in comic book in 2009.
15.) I got a lot of inspiration for blog posts, apparently.
16.) Riverside, Iowa is on my list of places to visit if I ever get the chance.
17.) I chuckle a little bit whenever I hear John Tesh on the radio, knowing he once played a holographic Klingon.
18.) I've learned that the best explanation for irreconcilable continuity errors is usually, "time travel."
19.) Where (in)appropriate, I refer to nudity in terms of Betazoid weddings and dressing like a Ferengi female. Yes, I'm terrible.
20.) I own a Star Trek: The Next Generation mug, which is my mug of choice when having toast and hot chocolate.
21.) On the rare occasions where I drink tea, there's usually only one choice, and it's the beverage that prompted me to drink tea in the first place: Earl Grey, hot, of course.
22.) My phobia of crawling around in ventilation ducts (a phobia that started with Space Quest V, which was also very heavily influenced by Star Trek) got slightly worse thanks to those squeak-burbling Parasite creepy-crawlies in Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force. (Yes, I just used the expression "squeak-burbling." It's incredibly accurate.)
23.) I am computer literate: After haphazardly tinkering with things I knew little about and accidentally destroying my family's Star Trek screensaver, I vowed to teach myself enough about computers to never let such a thing happen again.
24.) The exploits of Captain Proton encouraged me to watch Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, further expanding and deepening my knowledge and appreciation of vintage science fiction.
25.) I giggle anytime I hear the phrase "recipe for biscuits," which, admittedly, is not nearly as often as I'd like.
26.) I possess a sizable collection of action figures, toy props, and model starships, all of which contribute to the already overwhelmingly geeky décor of my home.
27.) My bedroom ceiling was once decorated with various tiny Star Trek (and Star Wars) ships suspended from it, amidst glow-in-the-dark stars. Going to sleep at night was about the coolest thing ever.
28.) "The Picard Song" is proudly featured on one of my many mix CDs, and I've developed an unexpected fondness for "Blue Skies," as well.
29.) I've started paying attention to the names of writers, directors, and music composers in film and television. It's so much easier to understand the ups and downs of a franchise once you know the people involved behind the scenes.
30.) I have an improved understanding of the general structure of languages thanks to a crash course in Klingon.
31.) My friends, family, and I have spent countless hours bonding over the episodes and movies we've watched together.
32.) My friends, family, and I are collectively around $3000 poorer for buying me every Star Trek movie and series on DVD.
33.) I managed to turn a hand injury into a training exercise at a young age and learned the Vulcan "live long and prosper" salute while two of my fingers were bandaged together.
34.) Though I enjoy Star Wars, I never got into it the way other people have, in part because it differed from my expectations that Star Trek had set for sci-fi. That's not a "Star Trek is better than Star Wars" argument; Star Trek simply beat Star Wars to the punch.
35.) When my computer starts acting up, I occasionally employ a hint of a Scottish accent and address the computer by name, picking up the mouse and speaking directly into it if I feel so inclined.
36.) I've seen more episodes of Hawaii Five-O than I'd ever expected to.
37.) I've learned how to better analyze difficult situations and see multiple sides to a problem or issue, seeking a greater understanding of a situation before jumping to conclusions and solutions.
38.) Despite all the problems and troubles of our world today, I've been reminded time and again that we can overcome our differences and shape a better future for ourselves.
39.) When I have to suddenly shut off my car's cruise control to slow down for traffic, I refer to it as "dropping out of warp."
40.) When I'm struggling to keep awake while driving, I frequently ask my wife to talk to me, and she'll often ask whether I've heard the story of the three brothers who go to Jo'Kala to sell a giant kava root. (Silly us; we usually mess this up and say "Kalto Province" instead. Duh.)
41.) My wife and I also do our best bug-eyed Gowron impressions at one another sometimes to cheer ourselves up. My wife would like to inform you that she is much better at it than I am.
42.) I've gained an appreciation for clever reuse of props, sets, and archive footage, and have developed a keen eye for spotting such material. Like the cave that's in every episode of Deep Space Nine.
43.) On more than one occasion, I've thrown open my flip-phone like a communicator and started talking with my best "Kirk on a landing party mission" impression.
44.) Beyond the real people I knew, I had a series of role models throughout my youth thanks to Star Trek--intelligent people who had a passion for learning and exploration, loved their jobs, showed compassion to those in need, and sought peace with their enemies.
45.) I think space is incredibly cool.
46.) Growing up, my Saturday nights were always a family event--homemade pizza and an episode or two of whichever Star Trek was on. Even after Voyager and Enterprise went off the air, the pizza tradition continued, and something feels wrong with the universe if I go more than a weekend without it. (The pizza, that is; not the universe, though that's important, too.)
47.) OK, so this list was supposed to stop at 46. But you've gotta have a 47 in here somewhere.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Exfanding Your Horizons Turns 4 Years Old!
It's official: Exfanding Your Horizons is four years old! Happy birthday to us!
Because it's now a tradition, we'll be following in the blogsteps of the last three years with a Q&A format guaranteed to please new readers and longtime Exfanders alike. (DISCLAIMER: That's just talk; we guarantee nothing.) Due to various circumstances, this year we've condensed the list from ten questions down to five. There's probably DLC already on the disc for the other five questions, though, so it's not like we're totally gypping you.
Our blog rules.
Hey...didn't there used to be two guys writing this blog?
NATHANIEL: Um...there did used to be two of us. It just occurred to me that perhaps I didn't back up the Alex Posts Stuff widget before I asked my HTML-savvy wife to do most of the work overhauling the blog, because I haven't seen him since.
ALEX: *Crawls out from under his rock, locks around, sees shadow, thinks about heading back under his rock.*
This past year, in an effort to minimize filler and still continue to write amidst everything else going on in your lives, you introduced a new weekly column and several revisions and reductions to the regular posting schedule. For the last six weeks, one of you has been blogging solo while the other has been completely occupied with other endeavors. How do you feel about all that?
ALEX: It certainly wasn’t the ideal for me to stop writing for the blog, but unfortunately, it was (and, sadly, still is) a necessary evil. I’ve pretty much stopped sleeping in an effort to extend the day, so sitting down to write up an Exfanding post should theoretically be something I can handle. And yet, apparently I cannot.
Handle writing an Exfanding post, that is.
I actually just got back from a week in LA for work, and this week has been nonstop crazy as I try to finish off everything that’s due. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, and I honestly do hope to be back to the blog pretty soon.
NATHANIEL: Hey, you're here now, and that means a lot. Writing solo for a two-person blog is like performing without your co-star when the marquee clearly says "[pick one: Laurel and Hardy / Abbott and Costello / The Blues Brothers / Jay and Silent Bob / Penn and Teller / etc.]." You can make references to the other person, and carry on with the same kind of material as usual, but after a certain point it's almost disingenuous to work as a one-person duo.
It honestly feels like a different blog now than it did a month ago. Yes, the new look is part of it. But I think what was most jarring to me was spending a couple of years posting every single day virtually without exception, and then suddenly looking at the blog one day to see that it'd been just me posting two or three things per week. That all happened over the course of less than a month, and I don't think either of us expected things to be so drastic or last so long.
It'd be one thing if we'd just decided to pursue other projects, and I ended up starting up a blog of my own, but Exfanding has always been about collaboration. I find myself missing the joint posts and the theme weeks and the daily back-and-forth e-mail banter that we had before things got busy for us--and I miss having Alex's posts to read. Like I said two years ago, I'm a fan of Exfanding.
All that being said, there's still been a lot of good to come out of the changes we've made to accommodate both our crazy schedules. Sunday Spotlight has rejuvenated my focus on sharing new fandoms, which is ostensibly what this blog is all about. By relaxing our self-imposed posting deadlines, I've been able to take my time on writing the kinds of long, rambly posts I like best. Consequently, that occasional feeling of, "Aw, I need to write a blog post tonight," has all but disappeared, and the number of new "favorite posts" I've been able to write will make our Year in Review for 2012 even more of a challenge, assuming we get to our 2011 edition before then.
Whether it was Flashback Week, being on a Konami kick, the epic tale of the wedding saga, New York Comic-Con/Anime Festival, the ups and downs of self-publishing, or your latest D&D quest, you've told a lot of stories in the last twelve months. You've also been a bit more outspoken, reflective, ranty, and soapboxy than usual. Where do you see your writing going over the course of the next year?
ALEX: Hopefully on the blog.
No, really. I don’t care what I’m writing about; I just want to have the time to write for the blog again.
NATHANIEL: Well, if Alex will be writing again, then maybe I won't take over his Waiting for Wednesday column and talk every week about all the comics on my shelf that I picked up ages ago but haven't gotten around to reading yet.
Actually, that idea's not half bad...
::ahem:: I'm looking forward to taking a break from sprawling stories than span multiple posts. Writing them is fun, but it's also exhausting, especially when you get up to seven or eight parts. I've always been a short story and poetry kind of guy, and these things keep turning into novellas, so I'll be striving to find new ways to keep my storytelling concise. I'm hoping to maintain and expand the variety of topics I cover as well; I mean, off the top of my head, I can't even think of the last time I mentioned Mega Man.
Got any big, geeky plans we can look forward to hearing about in the near future?
NATHANIEL: Once The Avengers comes out on video in late September, you can bet I'll be hosting a 13-hour movie marathon of everything the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to offer so far.
Now that I've already brought up Mega Man once in this post, I can also mention that I'll be doing something for the Blue Bomber's 25th anniversary in December. If I can swing it, I'll do a streaming livecast marathon over the Internet, but I make no promises because I'm not even sure if "a streaming livecast over the Internet" is the proper terminology for what I'm thinking of, let alone something I've got the technology or know-how to properly pull off. I might have to get one or two of my tech-smart friends involved.
Alex, I know you've got something exciting planned.
ALEX: Yes! I have spent the past several days piled under printer files for my forthcoming children’s book, which is scheduled to be on sale the first week of October.
Aside from that, I’ve also started work on a comic book for which I’ve hired a really kicking artist. We plan on completing the entire first issue, then posting it (for free) on KickStarter in an effort to get people to pay for the rest of the series. It’ll be a four-issue mini, and it’s an idea I’ve toyed with for a while now.
Hmmm…what else? Oh! I’m going to the Baltimore Comic Con in an effort to drum up some interest in the children’s book, and in the comic series. I haven’t been to a convention since last year’s New York show, so I am really excited to make that trip.
Dare I ask about that blog book you keep threatening to release?
ALEX: I don’t even want to talk about books, or getting books printed. Seriously. Ask Nathaniel.
NATHANIEL: Oh, sure. Ask Nathaniel. I think it's been long enough now that we can file this one under "Things We'd Like To See, But Probably Won't," along with the full story of The Great Comic Book Adventure of 2011 and Part 2 of that Transformers 101 guest post.
Oh, jeez. Didn't we promise you a t-shirt, too?
ALEX: And Exfanding Hand Puppet Theater©.
NATHANIEL: Yeah. You can officially stop listening to everything we promise you.
Our blog rules.
Hey...didn't there used to be two guys writing this blog?
NATHANIEL: Um...there did used to be two of us. It just occurred to me that perhaps I didn't back up the Alex Posts Stuff widget before I asked my HTML-savvy wife to do most of the work overhauling the blog, because I haven't seen him since.
ALEX: *Crawls out from under his rock, locks around, sees shadow, thinks about heading back under his rock.*
This past year, in an effort to minimize filler and still continue to write amidst everything else going on in your lives, you introduced a new weekly column and several revisions and reductions to the regular posting schedule. For the last six weeks, one of you has been blogging solo while the other has been completely occupied with other endeavors. How do you feel about all that?
ALEX: It certainly wasn’t the ideal for me to stop writing for the blog, but unfortunately, it was (and, sadly, still is) a necessary evil. I’ve pretty much stopped sleeping in an effort to extend the day, so sitting down to write up an Exfanding post should theoretically be something I can handle. And yet, apparently I cannot.
Handle writing an Exfanding post, that is.
I actually just got back from a week in LA for work, and this week has been nonstop crazy as I try to finish off everything that’s due. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, and I honestly do hope to be back to the blog pretty soon.
NATHANIEL: Hey, you're here now, and that means a lot. Writing solo for a two-person blog is like performing without your co-star when the marquee clearly says "[pick one: Laurel and Hardy / Abbott and Costello / The Blues Brothers / Jay and Silent Bob / Penn and Teller / etc.]." You can make references to the other person, and carry on with the same kind of material as usual, but after a certain point it's almost disingenuous to work as a one-person duo.
It honestly feels like a different blog now than it did a month ago. Yes, the new look is part of it. But I think what was most jarring to me was spending a couple of years posting every single day virtually without exception, and then suddenly looking at the blog one day to see that it'd been just me posting two or three things per week. That all happened over the course of less than a month, and I don't think either of us expected things to be so drastic or last so long.
It'd be one thing if we'd just decided to pursue other projects, and I ended up starting up a blog of my own, but Exfanding has always been about collaboration. I find myself missing the joint posts and the theme weeks and the daily back-and-forth e-mail banter that we had before things got busy for us--and I miss having Alex's posts to read. Like I said two years ago, I'm a fan of Exfanding.
All that being said, there's still been a lot of good to come out of the changes we've made to accommodate both our crazy schedules. Sunday Spotlight has rejuvenated my focus on sharing new fandoms, which is ostensibly what this blog is all about. By relaxing our self-imposed posting deadlines, I've been able to take my time on writing the kinds of long, rambly posts I like best. Consequently, that occasional feeling of, "Aw, I need to write a blog post tonight," has all but disappeared, and the number of new "favorite posts" I've been able to write will make our Year in Review for 2012 even more of a challenge, assuming we get to our 2011 edition before then.
Whether it was Flashback Week, being on a Konami kick, the epic tale of the wedding saga, New York Comic-Con/Anime Festival, the ups and downs of self-publishing, or your latest D&D quest, you've told a lot of stories in the last twelve months. You've also been a bit more outspoken, reflective, ranty, and soapboxy than usual. Where do you see your writing going over the course of the next year?
ALEX: Hopefully on the blog.
No, really. I don’t care what I’m writing about; I just want to have the time to write for the blog again.
NATHANIEL: Well, if Alex will be writing again, then maybe I won't take over his Waiting for Wednesday column and talk every week about all the comics on my shelf that I picked up ages ago but haven't gotten around to reading yet.
Actually, that idea's not half bad...
::ahem:: I'm looking forward to taking a break from sprawling stories than span multiple posts. Writing them is fun, but it's also exhausting, especially when you get up to seven or eight parts. I've always been a short story and poetry kind of guy, and these things keep turning into novellas, so I'll be striving to find new ways to keep my storytelling concise. I'm hoping to maintain and expand the variety of topics I cover as well; I mean, off the top of my head, I can't even think of the last time I mentioned Mega Man.
Got any big, geeky plans we can look forward to hearing about in the near future?
NATHANIEL: Once The Avengers comes out on video in late September, you can bet I'll be hosting a 13-hour movie marathon of everything the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to offer so far.
Now that I've already brought up Mega Man once in this post, I can also mention that I'll be doing something for the Blue Bomber's 25th anniversary in December. If I can swing it, I'll do a streaming livecast marathon over the Internet, but I make no promises because I'm not even sure if "a streaming livecast over the Internet" is the proper terminology for what I'm thinking of, let alone something I've got the technology or know-how to properly pull off. I might have to get one or two of my tech-smart friends involved.
Alex, I know you've got something exciting planned.
ALEX: Yes! I have spent the past several days piled under printer files for my forthcoming children’s book, which is scheduled to be on sale the first week of October.
Aside from that, I’ve also started work on a comic book for which I’ve hired a really kicking artist. We plan on completing the entire first issue, then posting it (for free) on KickStarter in an effort to get people to pay for the rest of the series. It’ll be a four-issue mini, and it’s an idea I’ve toyed with for a while now.
Hmmm…what else? Oh! I’m going to the Baltimore Comic Con in an effort to drum up some interest in the children’s book, and in the comic series. I haven’t been to a convention since last year’s New York show, so I am really excited to make that trip.
Dare I ask about that blog book you keep threatening to release?
ALEX: I don’t even want to talk about books, or getting books printed. Seriously. Ask Nathaniel.
NATHANIEL: Oh, sure. Ask Nathaniel. I think it's been long enough now that we can file this one under "Things We'd Like To See, But Probably Won't," along with the full story of The Great Comic Book Adventure of 2011 and Part 2 of that Transformers 101 guest post.
Oh, jeez. Didn't we promise you a t-shirt, too?
ALEX: And Exfanding Hand Puppet Theater©.
NATHANIEL: Yeah. You can officially stop listening to everything we promise you.
Monday, April 30, 2012
GameCola Recap: April 2012
Holy Hatris! Thanks to a frenzy of podcasting activity, some exciting news in the adventure gaming world, and the celebration of its tenth anniversary, videogame humor website GameCola.net was inundated with my participation in the month of April. Looking back through the archives, there haven't been this many articles with my name attached to them since February 2010!
I need a nap.
Column:
- The Archive Dive: GameCola's 10th Anniversary Edition [Collaboration with Paul Franzen]
News:
- See Ya on the Chronostream...Again?
Podcasts:
- GC Podcast #38: UNCUT [April Fools' gag]
- GC Podcast #39: It's Pronounced "Crystalis"
- The GameCola 10th Anniversary 10-Hour Podtacular Is Live NOW!
Videos:
- GameCola 10th Anniversary Blowout Extravaganza Collaboration Celebration
- GC Podcast #33 on YouTube: 3D Games
I need a nap.
Column:
- The Archive Dive: GameCola's 10th Anniversary Edition [Collaboration with Paul Franzen]
News:
- See Ya on the Chronostream...Again?
Podcasts:
- GC Podcast #38: UNCUT [April Fools' gag]
- GC Podcast #39: It's Pronounced "Crystalis"
- The GameCola 10th Anniversary 10-Hour Podtacular Is Live NOW!
Videos:
- GameCola 10th Anniversary Blowout Extravaganza Collaboration Celebration
- GC Podcast #33 on YouTube: 3D Games
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Unification
With the icebreaker questions ready, and everything else in place for the wedding (as far as I was involved, anyhow), there was nothing left to do but strap myself in and go along for the ride. Specifically, the ride to the church for our rehearsal, and then the ride to the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner, and then the ride back to the hotel for the botulism party.
Bachelor party, I mean.
The rehearsal was everything you might expect from a rehearsal attended by anyone who might want to associate themselves with goofball like me, with the highlight being where I was asked if I would take this woman to be my awfully wedded wife, and I replied, "I guess..."
Evidently she still loved me enough to marry me the next day, but we'll get to that.
Following the rehearsal was the celebratory dinner for all involved in the rehearsing, during which friends and family made eloquent, heartfelt, often-humorous speeches about us. Most speeches about me involved Mega Man. One groomsman even supplied a brief musical interlude hummed to the tune of the first Dr. Wily stage from Mega Man 2 before segueing into his speech.
For the record, I do talk about more than Mega Man. There's also Star Trek. But we'll get to that.
Now, as a writer and former theater guy, I've got no problem getting up in front of people and making speeches. The trouble was, my ability to focus and string together cogent sentences had been slowly degrading since showing up in town at 3:30 AM the day before the wedding. It was a combination of fatigue, excitement, and deeply internalized wedding jitters that I was either unwilling or unable to acknowledge. I had been handing off responsibilities more and more to the people around me, and at the zenith of my "just tell me what to do and where to go" mentality, it was time for me to take matters into my own mouth and make a speech.
From where I was standing, whatever I said didn't do my groomsmen justice. The sentiment was there, but the wording wasn't. Or maybe it was, and I was too fatigued, excited, and jittery to recognize it. If we're talking in terms of Dungeons & Dragons, I've put a good many ranks into my speaking-related skills on my rise to becoming an epic-level commoner, and the night before the wedding, I was rolling the dice without looking at them. I suppose eloquence is in the eye of the beholder, and while I didn't turn to stone, it's entirely possible I was partially disintegrated. I really couldn't tell.
What I had hoped to convey was how much it meant to me to have my two best buddies from high school, my brother-in-law, and half the writing staff of this blog (read: Alex) as my groomsmen, and as my friends. The gift I gave each of them was a pocketwatch, hand-picked according to their individual styles and personalities from a list of about 500. I then proceeded to throw knives at them.
Let me back up a second.
After the food and the speeches came the violent part of the evening. I knew that a bachelor party had been planned by one or more of my groomsmen, but I had not been privy to any discussions about what it would entail or who would be involved. My friends know me well, because instead of a big, loud, potentially disastrous party, we sat down in a hotel room and started firing off rockets.
One of the guys was staying in what must have been the largest room in the hotel--two stories, with a living room on the first floor and the sleeping area lofted up on the second, overlooking the living room. I wasn't even aware hotels had rooms like that. After a brief moment of taking in the scope of the room, my eyes settled on the projector screen that had been set up against the wall. And the root beer and ice cream on the table. And the projector with the N64 hooked up to it. And the GameCube and NES and piles of games.
I would spend my last night on Earth as a bachelor playing video games with my friends. I could think of nothing more fitting.
After several rounds of GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Mario Kart 64, and root beer floats, I was exactly where I needed to be: relaxed, focused, and jitter-free. Enjoying a quiet (though appropriately rowdy) evening of launching grenades and turtle shells at your friends has a way of letting loose any pent-up...anything. I had enjoyed the opportunity to get together with a large group of friends and family for the rehearsal and the dinner, and I was looking forward to seeing everyone at the reception, but a small get-together with just a few people proved to be what I needed most that evening.
The following morning, I ate a bagel. I think that was the biggest part of my day. Well, and the part where I FINALLY GOT MARRIED. Per my wife-to-be's request, I dressed in tails (the traditional English morning suit, as I'm told), sporting the Star Trek delta shield cufflinks she bought me for the occasion. My bride, my lovely, gorgeous cupcake, came to the altar as a cake topper. She even described herself as such, so I'm not getting smacked for this paragraph.
Her dress was 6 feet in diameter--large enough to use as modest shelter on a camping trip--and when I was told I may kiss the bride, the first thought through my mind was, "how!?"
Still, it worked. The wedding went off without a hitch, except for the part where we got hitched. There may also have been some small (and major) glitches during the day, but if I don't acknowledge them, it's like they never happened.
No nerves; no one speaking now instead of forever holding their peace; no cursed pirate ring turning my bride into a gold statue. We had a traditional ceremony both led and attended by family and friends, followed by some picture-taking with the photographers, followed by our dorktastic wedding reception. As far as I was involved, anyhow, it was wonderful.
But we'll get to that in Part 6.
Bachelor party, I mean.
The rehearsal was everything you might expect from a rehearsal attended by anyone who might want to associate themselves with goofball like me, with the highlight being where I was asked if I would take this woman to be my awfully wedded wife, and I replied, "I guess..."
Evidently she still loved me enough to marry me the next day, but we'll get to that.
Following the rehearsal was the celebratory dinner for all involved in the rehearsing, during which friends and family made eloquent, heartfelt, often-humorous speeches about us. Most speeches about me involved Mega Man. One groomsman even supplied a brief musical interlude hummed to the tune of the first Dr. Wily stage from Mega Man 2 before segueing into his speech.
For the record, I do talk about more than Mega Man. There's also Star Trek. But we'll get to that.
Now, as a writer and former theater guy, I've got no problem getting up in front of people and making speeches. The trouble was, my ability to focus and string together cogent sentences had been slowly degrading since showing up in town at 3:30 AM the day before the wedding. It was a combination of fatigue, excitement, and deeply internalized wedding jitters that I was either unwilling or unable to acknowledge. I had been handing off responsibilities more and more to the people around me, and at the zenith of my "just tell me what to do and where to go" mentality, it was time for me to take matters into my own mouth and make a speech.
From where I was standing, whatever I said didn't do my groomsmen justice. The sentiment was there, but the wording wasn't. Or maybe it was, and I was too fatigued, excited, and jittery to recognize it. If we're talking in terms of Dungeons & Dragons, I've put a good many ranks into my speaking-related skills on my rise to becoming an epic-level commoner, and the night before the wedding, I was rolling the dice without looking at them. I suppose eloquence is in the eye of the beholder, and while I didn't turn to stone, it's entirely possible I was partially disintegrated. I really couldn't tell.
What I had hoped to convey was how much it meant to me to have my two best buddies from high school, my brother-in-law, and half the writing staff of this blog (read: Alex) as my groomsmen, and as my friends. The gift I gave each of them was a pocketwatch, hand-picked according to their individual styles and personalities from a list of about 500. I then proceeded to throw knives at them.
Let me back up a second.
After the food and the speeches came the violent part of the evening. I knew that a bachelor party had been planned by one or more of my groomsmen, but I had not been privy to any discussions about what it would entail or who would be involved. My friends know me well, because instead of a big, loud, potentially disastrous party, we sat down in a hotel room and started firing off rockets.
One of the guys was staying in what must have been the largest room in the hotel--two stories, with a living room on the first floor and the sleeping area lofted up on the second, overlooking the living room. I wasn't even aware hotels had rooms like that. After a brief moment of taking in the scope of the room, my eyes settled on the projector screen that had been set up against the wall. And the root beer and ice cream on the table. And the projector with the N64 hooked up to it. And the GameCube and NES and piles of games.
I would spend my last night on Earth as a bachelor playing video games with my friends. I could think of nothing more fitting.
After several rounds of GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Mario Kart 64, and root beer floats, I was exactly where I needed to be: relaxed, focused, and jitter-free. Enjoying a quiet (though appropriately rowdy) evening of launching grenades and turtle shells at your friends has a way of letting loose any pent-up...anything. I had enjoyed the opportunity to get together with a large group of friends and family for the rehearsal and the dinner, and I was looking forward to seeing everyone at the reception, but a small get-together with just a few people proved to be what I needed most that evening.
The following morning, I ate a bagel. I think that was the biggest part of my day. Well, and the part where I FINALLY GOT MARRIED. Per my wife-to-be's request, I dressed in tails (the traditional English morning suit, as I'm told), sporting the Star Trek delta shield cufflinks she bought me for the occasion. My bride, my lovely, gorgeous cupcake, came to the altar as a cake topper. She even described herself as such, so I'm not getting smacked for this paragraph.
Her dress was 6 feet in diameter--large enough to use as modest shelter on a camping trip--and when I was told I may kiss the bride, the first thought through my mind was, "how!?"
Still, it worked. The wedding went off without a hitch, except for the part where we got hitched. There may also have been some small (and major) glitches during the day, but if I don't acknowledge them, it's like they never happened.No nerves; no one speaking now instead of forever holding their peace; no cursed pirate ring turning my bride into a gold statue. We had a traditional ceremony both led and attended by family and friends, followed by some picture-taking with the photographers, followed by our dorktastic wedding reception. As far as I was involved, anyhow, it was wonderful.
But we'll get to that in Part 6.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Banerrific Update
We hinted at it in our celebration of three years of Exfanding Your Horizons, and now it's finally here!
Our lovely banner has been revamped by neko-chan, who you may recall as the artist behind our updated banners in 2009 and 2008, an occasional guest poster, and my fiancée. I'm still impressed by how pretty she makes my block letters look.
Our lovely banner has been revamped by neko-chan, who you may recall as the artist behind our updated banners in 2009 and 2008, an occasional guest poster, and my fiancée. I'm still impressed by how pretty she makes my block letters look.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Exfanding Your Horizons Turns 3 Years Old!
It's official: Exfanding Your Horizons is three years old! Happy Birthday to us!
Because it works, and because we like it so much, we're bringing back the same reflective Q&A style we utilized the last two times. We know what you're thinking: "Waitaminute--you guys celebrated this blog's first birthday on August 22, and its second birthday on August 26. What gives?" We'll tell you what gives: We have no idea.
Our blog rules.
Three years into blogging, is it (a) mostly the same as when you started, (b) less fun than when you started, or (c) more fun than when you started?
Nathaniel: How about (d) just different? Yes, I know When we first started, just about everything we wrote was a new topic and/or an excited introduction to one of our favorite fandoms. Now we've got a long history behind us to refer back to, and much of what we write expands on topics and ideas we've already covered.
I miss having that "world is my oyster" feeling of being able to write about anything for the first time--and having the time to do it--but I also appreciate the increased depth with which we're now able to discuss the subjects we've already introduced. Plus, there are plenty of fandoms yet untapped. If blogging is less fun, it's only because of circumstances conspiring to deny me the time I require to write a suitably satisfying post and still get to bed at a reasonable hour.
Alex: Funny you should mention that whole, not having enough time to write posts thing. Seems like we write a lot about not having time to write on this blog, but there's (somehow) still plenty of new content every week.
It's amazing that, no matter how busy the day--or week, or month--may get, we always find time for Exfanding.
Probably should have asked this question on Day One, but are we justified in having a blog? (It’s been three years, and we have readers, but still.) And, if so, what makes us/our opinions on things so special?
Alex: Well, clearly, it's the fact that we are all inherently special. Each of us, a precious snowflake with something unique to contribute to the world.
That, or Nathaniel and I just never seem to shut up about certain things. Specifically the things we love--like Star Trek and The Goon--and so we always have something to write about.
We're also snowflakely--I mean, uniquely possessed of that wonderful trait wherein neither one of us ever thinks our opinions are wrong. And so we force them upon--I mean, share them with unsuspecting denizens of the Internet.
Nathaniel: Asking us whether we're justified in having a blog is like asking us whether we're justified in expressing our personalities to other people. This blog is us, in a format you can enjoy in your home, at your job, outside, and all the other places we'd never actually want to go. Though we certainly listen to reader feedback, we have always written this blog for ourselves; if you're interested in our opinions or our writing style or the topics we choose, then that's a bonus, not a justification. Also, it helps that we're never wrong.
How often do you read other blogs? How have your blog reading habits changed in the last three years?
Nathaniel: I hadn't really been exposed to blogs until I myself became one. Erm...became a blogger. I started with Occasional Superheroine, Beneath the Screen, and KP's Take, reading them during my lunch break on a regular basis until they all started going longer than a month without a new post. Nowadays I'm subscribed to some two dozen blogs, a few of which are now defunct, and none of which I actually read. Well, aside from the occasional eye-catching post on my feed or our blogroll.
Alex: There are other blogs on the Internet?
A lot of Big Life Stuff has happened this year, some wonderful, others quite difficult. What has the blog meant to you these three years, and have your feelings about the blog changed over the past 12 months?
Nathaniel: I used to keep a journal, and while I technically still do, I now average about one entry a month; this blog has become my journal. As a result, my writing has become a little more personal than I ever wanted it to be online, but it's also become a little more philosophical.
This blog is not only a chronicle of my life told through a geeky lens, but it's also a great resource for sharing my longwinded tales and opinions with others. On multiple occasions, I've avoided wearing myself out retelling my engagement story or explaining why I'm not a big fan of The Legend of Zelda in sufficient enough detail to avoid being punched, simply by copy/pasting a link to a post.
To the casual observer, this might seem like a shamefully lazy thing to do, but when you think about it, this is actually shamefully lazy and it drives up blog traffic. Alternately, it's an efficient use of time that also allows me to share this wonderful website with others. Perspective is key.
Bottom line is that this blog has become a part of my life. I've stayed up until 3 AM to finish posts for the next day. I've abandoned quality time with my wife-to-be for the sake of that 11 AM deadline. I've occasionally adjusted my playing, viewing, reading, and listening habits to maximize the amount of blog fodder I get from my sources of entertainment.
There are days when I want to call in sick to the blog, but I never do (unless Alex is willing to cover, and he's awesome about that) because it is deeply rewarding to stick to this routine and continue developing both this absurd backlog of reading material for my future children, and this blogging partnership that has helped to keep both of us sane and in touch despite anything else that's been going on.
Alex: I think it's pretty clear that, at times, I use this blog as a place to vent or to complain. Sometimes I do so excessively, I admit, but that's never done without purpose. If I'm in a certain mood, or if something really frustrating has happened in my life, I love the fact that I can come here and talk about it.
Conversely, when something good happens, or when I discover a great new book or film or TV show, EyH is always there as an outlet for that. While I have a couple of geeky friends, the majority of the people I hang out with have no idea who Matt Murdock is and couldn't care less if the Kree have decided to attack the Marvel Universe again.
So when news breaks about, say, the DC relaunch, I can't bring that up at lunch with a co-worker and chat about the intricacies of starting that particular universe over from scratch. Because, as my brother likes to remind me quite often, that universe doesn't actually exist.
But--and this is going to sound corny--because of the fanbase of comics, or roleplaying, or what have you, these universes do kind of exist. In our heads, on paper, in a basement on a Saturday afternoon.
And writing about them here--and sharing my opinions on them with like-minded people--allows me to breathe just a little bit of life into the world of the Goon, or the Marvel Universe, or Gotham City.
And that's pretty cool.
What ongoing factors or situations have had the biggest impact on your writing in the last year, for better or for worse?
Nathaniel: Mega Man Mega Man Mega Man. When I first started recording my video game playthroughs for YouTube, it was a little side project. Between unavoidably protracted recording schedules and a huge increase in the number of comments I receive, I've been spending far more time in the Mega Man mindset than I ever have, and it's been very easy to default to Mega Man whenever I'm strapped for time or ideas. I swear, I can stop anytime.
Alex: I had a negative experience in the comics world this year, and I have to say, that's affected my Waiting for Wednesday columns for the past couple of months. Instead of writing about three, four, or even five new books, I usually keep the column to an intro and one or two titles.
I'm hoping that's something that will change for me in the next few months because the comics industry today is literally the most exciting it's ever been.
We’ve had run-ins with Blog Thieves and we’ve dealt with some negative criticism this past year—both Exfanding firsts. Anything in particular you’ve learned from the past 12 months?
Alex: Actually, yes. If you yell loud enough, eventually someone will hear you.
Nathaniel: If you yell loud enough and get other people to yell with you, eventually someone will hear you. Also: know when to use your indoor yelling voice.
Take a moment to imagine a world where Exfanding Your Horizons never existed. Once you're done wiping the tears from your eyes, how would your life be different?
Alex: Well, without this blog, I wouldn't know a minor Internet celebrity, that's for sure. I mean, the guy's got his own forum (that I just found today, thank you for telling me).
Nathaniel: Hey, I posted about that forum three months ago. I was going to say, "I probably wouldn't have become friends with Alex, and that would have been sad," but I take it back now that I know he's not reading my posts.
I would never have found that picture of the amazingly ridiculous cheesesteak hat.
Alex: Oh, and to answer a question from a little ways up there, the biggest change on this blog? Definitely how Nathaniel's Internet celebrity has changed him. Such a diva now...
Nathaniel: You are so fired.
How much has the Other Guy (read: your blogging compadre) influenced the kinds of things you talk about here, and how you talk about them?
Nathaniel: Alex got me to read comics. The fact that I have written any comics-related posts at all is a miracle. Maybe not a miracle on the order of, say, turning water into wine, but at least as impressive as turning water into Kool-Aid.
I think we've both picked up some of each other's writing mannerisms; I'm told by my family that, if you don't see the "Exfanded by So-and-So" tag at the top of a post, it's often like a game to determine which one of us wrote it. Personally, I don't think it's that difficult to tell us apart; I'm the one with the better beard.
Alex: That was going to be my answer. (Not the beard thing, though that is true.) During Nathaniel's recent move, his father told me that he sometimes can't tell our posts apart, and I think that's pretty cool.
I like Nathaniel's writing style, and if people compare mine to his, then that's a compliment I'll gladly accept.
Nathaniel: Okay, okay. You're un-fired. Flatterer.
When we get to this point next year, what will you hope to see on the blog? Changes? Mostly the same?
Nathaniel: We've got a revamped banner in the works, and a subtle background image of some sort might be nice to have. I might like to consult a professional someone-or-other about the layout and HTML code of the site, because I essentially slapped everything together with just barely enough know-how to get borders on all sides of a text box.
In terms of content--and this may be a shock to you--less Mega Man. More of all the stuff I seldom talk about, like anime and tabletop roleplaying games and Mega Man X.
Alex: Ya know, I want to see Nathaniel talk more about RPGs, too. I've been reading a lot of Wil Wheaton lately, and I really like hearing stories about things people did when they were kids--be it roleplaying, riding a bike to the local comic book store, or playing catch with their father.
So, yeah. More roleplaying, and more stories of our youths.
Seriously, now. Where the heck are that Blog Book and Blog T-Shirt you promised two years ago?
Alex: They both got bumped in favor of something WAY better. We're pleased to announce that we are currently hard at work on Exfanding Hand Puppet Theater©.
See? Told you it was better.
Nathaniel: I have no response to that.
Because it works, and because we like it so much, we're bringing back the same reflective Q&A style we utilized the last two times. We know what you're thinking: "Waitaminute--you guys celebrated this blog's first birthday on August 22, and its second birthday on August 26. What gives?" We'll tell you what gives: We have no idea.Our blog rules.
Three years into blogging, is it (a) mostly the same as when you started, (b) less fun than when you started, or (c) more fun than when you started?
Nathaniel: How about (d) just different? Yes, I know When we first started, just about everything we wrote was a new topic and/or an excited introduction to one of our favorite fandoms. Now we've got a long history behind us to refer back to, and much of what we write expands on topics and ideas we've already covered.
I miss having that "world is my oyster" feeling of being able to write about anything for the first time--and having the time to do it--but I also appreciate the increased depth with which we're now able to discuss the subjects we've already introduced. Plus, there are plenty of fandoms yet untapped. If blogging is less fun, it's only because of circumstances conspiring to deny me the time I require to write a suitably satisfying post and still get to bed at a reasonable hour.
Alex: Funny you should mention that whole, not having enough time to write posts thing. Seems like we write a lot about not having time to write on this blog, but there's (somehow) still plenty of new content every week.
It's amazing that, no matter how busy the day--or week, or month--may get, we always find time for Exfanding.
Probably should have asked this question on Day One, but are we justified in having a blog? (It’s been three years, and we have readers, but still.) And, if so, what makes us/our opinions on things so special?
Alex: Well, clearly, it's the fact that we are all inherently special. Each of us, a precious snowflake with something unique to contribute to the world.
That, or Nathaniel and I just never seem to shut up about certain things. Specifically the things we love--like Star Trek and The Goon--and so we always have something to write about.
We're also snowflakely--I mean, uniquely possessed of that wonderful trait wherein neither one of us ever thinks our opinions are wrong. And so we force them upon--I mean, share them with unsuspecting denizens of the Internet.
Nathaniel: Asking us whether we're justified in having a blog is like asking us whether we're justified in expressing our personalities to other people. This blog is us, in a format you can enjoy in your home, at your job, outside, and all the other places we'd never actually want to go. Though we certainly listen to reader feedback, we have always written this blog for ourselves; if you're interested in our opinions or our writing style or the topics we choose, then that's a bonus, not a justification. Also, it helps that we're never wrong.
How often do you read other blogs? How have your blog reading habits changed in the last three years?
Nathaniel: I hadn't really been exposed to blogs until I myself became one. Erm...became a blogger. I started with Occasional Superheroine, Beneath the Screen, and KP's Take, reading them during my lunch break on a regular basis until they all started going longer than a month without a new post. Nowadays I'm subscribed to some two dozen blogs, a few of which are now defunct, and none of which I actually read. Well, aside from the occasional eye-catching post on my feed or our blogroll.
Alex: There are other blogs on the Internet?
A lot of Big Life Stuff has happened this year, some wonderful, others quite difficult. What has the blog meant to you these three years, and have your feelings about the blog changed over the past 12 months?
Nathaniel: I used to keep a journal, and while I technically still do, I now average about one entry a month; this blog has become my journal. As a result, my writing has become a little more personal than I ever wanted it to be online, but it's also become a little more philosophical.
This blog is not only a chronicle of my life told through a geeky lens, but it's also a great resource for sharing my longwinded tales and opinions with others. On multiple occasions, I've avoided wearing myself out retelling my engagement story or explaining why I'm not a big fan of The Legend of Zelda in sufficient enough detail to avoid being punched, simply by copy/pasting a link to a post.
To the casual observer, this might seem like a shamefully lazy thing to do, but when you think about it, this is actually shamefully lazy and it drives up blog traffic. Alternately, it's an efficient use of time that also allows me to share this wonderful website with others. Perspective is key.
Bottom line is that this blog has become a part of my life. I've stayed up until 3 AM to finish posts for the next day. I've abandoned quality time with my wife-to-be for the sake of that 11 AM deadline. I've occasionally adjusted my playing, viewing, reading, and listening habits to maximize the amount of blog fodder I get from my sources of entertainment.
There are days when I want to call in sick to the blog, but I never do (unless Alex is willing to cover, and he's awesome about that) because it is deeply rewarding to stick to this routine and continue developing both this absurd backlog of reading material for my future children, and this blogging partnership that has helped to keep both of us sane and in touch despite anything else that's been going on.
Alex: I think it's pretty clear that, at times, I use this blog as a place to vent or to complain. Sometimes I do so excessively, I admit, but that's never done without purpose. If I'm in a certain mood, or if something really frustrating has happened in my life, I love the fact that I can come here and talk about it.
Conversely, when something good happens, or when I discover a great new book or film or TV show, EyH is always there as an outlet for that. While I have a couple of geeky friends, the majority of the people I hang out with have no idea who Matt Murdock is and couldn't care less if the Kree have decided to attack the Marvel Universe again.
So when news breaks about, say, the DC relaunch, I can't bring that up at lunch with a co-worker and chat about the intricacies of starting that particular universe over from scratch. Because, as my brother likes to remind me quite often, that universe doesn't actually exist.
But--and this is going to sound corny--because of the fanbase of comics, or roleplaying, or what have you, these universes do kind of exist. In our heads, on paper, in a basement on a Saturday afternoon.
And writing about them here--and sharing my opinions on them with like-minded people--allows me to breathe just a little bit of life into the world of the Goon, or the Marvel Universe, or Gotham City.
And that's pretty cool.
What ongoing factors or situations have had the biggest impact on your writing in the last year, for better or for worse?
Nathaniel: Mega Man Mega Man Mega Man. When I first started recording my video game playthroughs for YouTube, it was a little side project. Between unavoidably protracted recording schedules and a huge increase in the number of comments I receive, I've been spending far more time in the Mega Man mindset than I ever have, and it's been very easy to default to Mega Man whenever I'm strapped for time or ideas. I swear, I can stop anytime.
Alex: I had a negative experience in the comics world this year, and I have to say, that's affected my Waiting for Wednesday columns for the past couple of months. Instead of writing about three, four, or even five new books, I usually keep the column to an intro and one or two titles.
I'm hoping that's something that will change for me in the next few months because the comics industry today is literally the most exciting it's ever been.
We’ve had run-ins with Blog Thieves and we’ve dealt with some negative criticism this past year—both Exfanding firsts. Anything in particular you’ve learned from the past 12 months?
Alex: Actually, yes. If you yell loud enough, eventually someone will hear you.
Nathaniel: If you yell loud enough and get other people to yell with you, eventually someone will hear you. Also: know when to use your indoor yelling voice.
Take a moment to imagine a world where Exfanding Your Horizons never existed. Once you're done wiping the tears from your eyes, how would your life be different?
Alex: Well, without this blog, I wouldn't know a minor Internet celebrity, that's for sure. I mean, the guy's got his own forum (that I just found today, thank you for telling me).
Nathaniel: Hey, I posted about that forum three months ago. I was going to say, "I probably wouldn't have become friends with Alex, and that would have been sad," but I take it back now that I know he's not reading my posts.
I would never have found that picture of the amazingly ridiculous cheesesteak hat.
Alex: Oh, and to answer a question from a little ways up there, the biggest change on this blog? Definitely how Nathaniel's Internet celebrity has changed him. Such a diva now...
Nathaniel: You are so fired.
How much has the Other Guy (read: your blogging compadre) influenced the kinds of things you talk about here, and how you talk about them?
Nathaniel: Alex got me to read comics. The fact that I have written any comics-related posts at all is a miracle. Maybe not a miracle on the order of, say, turning water into wine, but at least as impressive as turning water into Kool-Aid.
I think we've both picked up some of each other's writing mannerisms; I'm told by my family that, if you don't see the "Exfanded by So-and-So" tag at the top of a post, it's often like a game to determine which one of us wrote it. Personally, I don't think it's that difficult to tell us apart; I'm the one with the better beard.
Alex: That was going to be my answer. (Not the beard thing, though that is true.) During Nathaniel's recent move, his father told me that he sometimes can't tell our posts apart, and I think that's pretty cool.
I like Nathaniel's writing style, and if people compare mine to his, then that's a compliment I'll gladly accept.
Nathaniel: Okay, okay. You're un-fired. Flatterer.
When we get to this point next year, what will you hope to see on the blog? Changes? Mostly the same?
Nathaniel: We've got a revamped banner in the works, and a subtle background image of some sort might be nice to have. I might like to consult a professional someone-or-other about the layout and HTML code of the site, because I essentially slapped everything together with just barely enough know-how to get borders on all sides of a text box.
In terms of content--and this may be a shock to you--less Mega Man. More of all the stuff I seldom talk about, like anime and tabletop roleplaying games and Mega Man X.
Alex: Ya know, I want to see Nathaniel talk more about RPGs, too. I've been reading a lot of Wil Wheaton lately, and I really like hearing stories about things people did when they were kids--be it roleplaying, riding a bike to the local comic book store, or playing catch with their father.
So, yeah. More roleplaying, and more stories of our youths.
Seriously, now. Where the heck are that Blog Book and Blog T-Shirt you promised two years ago?
Alex: They both got bumped in favor of something WAY better. We're pleased to announce that we are currently hard at work on Exfanding Hand Puppet Theater©.
See? Told you it was better.
Nathaniel: I have no response to that.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
1001 Posts and 36 Ewoks
Ladies and gentlemen, this is our 1001th (1001st?) post.
Whoa.
We've already done plenty of self-serving pat-on-the-back posts in the past, to celebrate the blog's birthday and how many hits we'd gotten, but I don't think we've ever kept track of the amount of content we've produced.
This is the part of the post where I'd astound you with a page count or word count, but I presumably have better things to do with my time than SIX MILLION FIFTY! That's the number of words we, uh, might have written. Those of you looking for an accurate number are out of luck, but I can offer some inaccurate numbers based on a cleverly lazy examination of the 1000 posts leading up to this one:
467 pages
832,816 words
36 Ewoks
Do bear in mind that these numbers are pulled from a massive Word document where I copy/pasted the entirety of the blog in HTML format (with all its
's and 's) and trimmed out everything from the header, footer, sidebar, and comments section. Also, I ran the numbers before yesterday's post was published, so the document I had technically comprised only 999 posts. At any rate, accuracy is not the primary focus here; self-congratulatory back-patting is.
Well done, us.
While I've got this massive document open, I think it's highly appropriate to look back through this blog's first 999 posts, which cover everything from orchids to Tally Hall to Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer, and have some fun with statistics.
- When identifying one of this blog's writers by name, 68% of the time we're talking about Alex.
- Contrary to the popular belief that I talk about my favorite video game too much, the name "Mega Man" is only mentioned 942 times. References to three of Alex's favorite things--Batman, baseball, and the Beatles--come to a grand total of...886. I'm not obsessed.
- The colon is 28% more popular than the semicolon in our posts. Compare this to George Orwell's famously light-on-semicolons Coming Up for Air, which favors the colon by a whopping 82%.
- Pirates outnumber ninjas by about 3 to 1.
- We spelled "apocalypse" correctly exactly 18 times. At least four of these were accomplished without referring to the spell check.
- Elvis shows up twice on the blog. Three times, if you count that Elvis impersonator.
- Of the 39 direct references to Abe Lincoln, 12 of them are preceded by the word "Zombie."
- DC Comics is referenced 587 times, while Marvel Comics is referenced 775 times. That adds up to 1362, which is the year when Louis I of Hungary defeated and captured Ivan Sratsimir of Bulgaria, according to Wikipedia. I'm sure there's a significance in that somewhere.
- Lastly, and this probably goes without saying: There is only one William Shatner.
Whether you've been here for all 1001 posts or you're just the daughter of a vizier who stopped by to pick up some stories to tell your husband tonight, we're glad you've stuck with us. I sincerely hope that we'll be able to write another thousand posts, because I'd hate to lose the opportunity to call a post "2001: A Blog Odyssey" and get away with it.
Whoa.
We've already done plenty of self-serving pat-on-the-back posts in the past, to celebrate the blog's birthday and how many hits we'd gotten, but I don't think we've ever kept track of the amount of content we've produced.
This is the part of the post where I'd astound you with a page count or word count, but I presumably have better things to do with my time than SIX MILLION FIFTY! That's the number of words we, uh, might have written. Those of you looking for an accurate number are out of luck, but I can offer some inaccurate numbers based on a cleverly lazy examination of the 1000 posts leading up to this one:
467 pages
832,816 words
36 Ewoks
Do bear in mind that these numbers are pulled from a massive Word document where I copy/pasted the entirety of the blog in HTML format (with all its
's and 's) and trimmed out everything from the header, footer, sidebar, and comments section. Also, I ran the numbers before yesterday's post was published, so the document I had technically comprised only 999 posts. At any rate, accuracy is not the primary focus here; self-congratulatory back-patting is.
Well done, us.
While I've got this massive document open, I think it's highly appropriate to look back through this blog's first 999 posts, which cover everything from orchids to Tally Hall to Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer, and have some fun with statistics.
- When identifying one of this blog's writers by name, 68% of the time we're talking about Alex.
- Contrary to the popular belief that I talk about my favorite video game too much, the name "Mega Man" is only mentioned 942 times. References to three of Alex's favorite things--Batman, baseball, and the Beatles--come to a grand total of...886. I'm not obsessed.
- The colon is 28% more popular than the semicolon in our posts. Compare this to George Orwell's famously light-on-semicolons Coming Up for Air, which favors the colon by a whopping 82%.
- Pirates outnumber ninjas by about 3 to 1.
- We spelled "apocalypse" correctly exactly 18 times. At least four of these were accomplished without referring to the spell check.
- Elvis shows up twice on the blog. Three times, if you count that Elvis impersonator.
- Of the 39 direct references to Abe Lincoln, 12 of them are preceded by the word "Zombie."
- DC Comics is referenced 587 times, while Marvel Comics is referenced 775 times. That adds up to 1362, which is the year when Louis I of Hungary defeated and captured Ivan Sratsimir of Bulgaria, according to Wikipedia. I'm sure there's a significance in that somewhere.
- Lastly, and this probably goes without saying: There is only one William Shatner.
Whether you've been here for all 1001 posts or you're just the daughter of a vizier who stopped by to pick up some stories to tell your husband tonight, we're glad you've stuck with us. I sincerely hope that we'll be able to write another thousand posts, because I'd hate to lose the opportunity to call a post "2001: A Blog Odyssey" and get away with it.
Friday, February 18, 2011
51,000 Hits!...um...52,000 Hits!
As promised earlier in the week, today's post will, indeed, feature an announcement of some sort.
But first, some back story, and some patting ourselves on the back.
As we've done in the past, we like to celebrate the fact that people actually find their way to this little blog by marking different milestones in the history of the site.
Typically, we "celebrate" by me having to sit down and watch three Star Wars movies, or by me having to sit down and watch Nathaniel's Mega Man YouTube videos, or by me having to watch the entire Firefly series (and a movie!), or...ya know, I'm starting to recognize a pattern here.
And I'm not saying I didn't like doing those things. I am saying that, once a milestone is reached and one of us needs to be Exfanded on something, things have seemed to be rather lopsided.
As in, "Hey, Alex, I don't like anything you like, so why don't we make this milestone a 'you watch one of my things' milestone?"
So, to rectify that, for this momentous [fill in number of hits here] post, I was tasked with getting us a Twitter account! And Nathaniel has washed his hands of it, leaving this not-so-new-or-brave world of Tweeting up to me.
So, finally, we get to do something I want to--waittaminute.
He did it again.
He used the psychology on me.
Gah! Every time.
At this point, I might as well give you the official info. As a way to celebrate the fact that Exfanding has (somehow) managed to accumulate over 52,000 hits, WE ARE NOW @Exfanding ON TWITTER!
Please give it a look, and if you're so inclined, follow us! What will we write about? No idea! Check it out, though! Please!
Woo-hoo!
But first, some back story, and some patting ourselves on the back.
As we've done in the past, we like to celebrate the fact that people actually find their way to this little blog by marking different milestones in the history of the site.
Typically, we "celebrate" by me having to sit down and watch three Star Wars movies, or by me having to sit down and watch Nathaniel's Mega Man YouTube videos, or by me having to watch the entire Firefly series (and a movie!), or...ya know, I'm starting to recognize a pattern here.
And I'm not saying I didn't like doing those things. I am saying that, once a milestone is reached and one of us needs to be Exfanded on something, things have seemed to be rather lopsided.
As in, "Hey, Alex, I don't like anything you like, so why don't we make this milestone a 'you watch one of my things' milestone?"
So, to rectify that, for this momentous [fill in number of hits here] post, I was tasked with getting us a Twitter account! And Nathaniel has washed his hands of it, leaving this not-so-new-or-brave world of Tweeting up to me.
So, finally, we get to do something I want to--waittaminute.
He did it again.
He used the psychology on me.
Gah! Every time.
At this point, I might as well give you the official info. As a way to celebrate the fact that Exfanding has (somehow) managed to accumulate over 52,000 hits, WE ARE NOW @Exfanding ON TWITTER!
Please give it a look, and if you're so inclined, follow us! What will we write about? No idea! Check it out, though! Please!
Woo-hoo!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Presenting the Engagement Ring Man
You've waited long enough. Finally, after all this interminable delaying, the pictures I promised. This is how I proposed to my girlfriend (spoiler alert: I'm engaged): Ring Man from Mega Man 4, built out of LEGOs.
He's much taller than I'd originally imagined.
As soon as I'd gotten it in my head to assemble a ring-bearing Mega Man character (or two) who could help me propose to my gal, I threw open the door to my closet and dragged out my big bucket o' LEGOs. I had the idea, I had a few hours to work, and I had a near-endless supply of bricks that had been accumulating since the time when we still paid attention to the choking hazard warning on the box.
The first step was to go online and grab the sprites of Ring Man and Jewel Man. Open up good ol' Microsoft Paint, blow up the robot masters (kaboom!) to 8x magnification, turn on grid-lines, and I'm ready to rock, man.
Then I opened the LEGO bucket.
I can't tell if this is a manufactured memory or not, but I vaguely remember the day a few years ago when I last put my LEGO bucket into storage, and I can't help but feel that I was just a very slight bit annoyed. Someone, presumably my mother, had organized the majority of my loose bricks into bags sorted by color. All the red bricks here, all the blue bricks there, plus a bag of wheels and axels for good measure.
My bucket had always been a cataclysmic mess of pieces that I could dump out onto the carpet, and then go treasure hunting. I enjoyed sifting through countless useless pieces to find that elusive 2 x 3 flat piece I'd been searching for. Placing everything neatly in bags diminished some of the fun.
I take back anything negative I've ever thought or said about plastic bags.
Opening the bucket to discover that everything had already been sorted made me immediately thank whoever was responsible, even though (a) I couldn't remember who that was, (b) if it was my mother, she wasn't anywhere close to being within earshot, let alone the same state, and (c) there was a slim chance I was actually thanking myself. If the bucket hadn't been semi-mysteriously organized, I might still be picking out pieces of Ring Man's nose.
Blessed with half the work having already been done for me, I set out to cull only the finest double-wide pieces from my collection. Doubly thick bricks seemed to be a nice balance between stability and portability--after all, Ring Man had to be transported to our Anniversary Hotel in secret and in one piece.
I figured I could recreate Ring Man pixel for pixel, or rather, brick for pixel. I started with the feet and worked my way up, but I knew I might get confused if I kept switching back and forth between different brick colors. I assembled all the red parts, then all the yellow parts, then all the black parts, and started clicking them together as soon as they became structurally feasible. It wasn't until I was putting on the finishing touches that he actually looked like anything, but I was proud indeed by the result:
You may notice a few things about this picture, which you've been so patiently waiting to see for, like, almost a week now. Things such as:
(1) He's pretty awesome.
(2) He has flat platform feet. Ring Man became problematic when I began fastening his head to the rest of his body--that is, he'd keep falling over and unfastening his head from his body.
(3) The colors are slightly off from the sprite art. I panicked when I remembered that Ring Man had eyes, and worse yet, that he had a little bit of extra face showing. Gray was the closest color substitute I had for fleshy robot pink, or apricot, or whatever the heck color it is.
(4) A couple of sections, most notably the (slightly larger) ring on his head, differ in configuration from the sprite art. This was strictly for the sake of stability. Loose pixels are fine on a screen, but a standalone black LEGO brick can't just hover in the air next to a yellow or red brick without the aid of viscous magic (A.K.A. glue). Maybe the professionals do it, but I could never imagine myself intentionally gluing any of my LEGOs together.
(5) I'm never getting these bricks back. I had this disheartening revelation about halfway through my building. I realized, "I'm never getting these bricks back." It is a testament to how much I love this woman that I would sacrifice virtually every double-thick brick I had collected since I was about four years old. Or, it is a testament to how I should plan out these schemes farther in advance so I can drive out to the nearest LEGO store and buy fresh, non-sentimental supplies.
(6) He's holding a tray with the fabled ring box on it. After a few rejected ideas of putting the ring in a treasure chest mounted on his head, or having some part of Ring Man open up to reveal the ring, I determined that heirloom ring and sharp-edged plastic toy had no business with one another, which left me with this cool-looking statue that accomplished absolutely nothing. "Here's a Ring Man! And also...would you marry me?" No no no. Knowing the ring would have to stay in the softly padded interior of the ring box, and knowing that Ring Man still had to be involved somehow, I figured he could hang on to the ring for a while. He looks like a waiter.
(7) There's no Jewel Man. Frankly, I had exhausted my supply of usable black bricks on just one robot master--one who turned out to be twice as tall as I had originally envisioned. Jewel Man was only necessary when this idea in my head was a little diorama with a reasonably sized Mega Man boss standing on either side of a comparably sized ring box. At this height, it'd look like he was playing Mega Man Soccer with the ring box.
What matters most is that I had a finished product that I was overwhelmingly satisfied with. I wasn't trying to outdo anyone. I wasn't even trying to impress anyone. I simply wanted to present my gal with something handmade, something uniquely me, and something that would romantically and geekily win her heart.
The mission was a success. My rate for collecting fiancées: 100%.
I picked her up from work on Friday, the day of our fourth anniversary (and, incidentally, National Kazoo Day) and drove her off to Small Romantic Town, USA. After a lovely (read: partially lost) romp through some quaint back roads, we reached our waterside hotel--just about the nicest place either of us had ever stayed in. If my calculations were correct, the luxurious hotel suite with its waterfront view would be an appropriately quiet and romantic setting to pop the question.
But first I had to pop some bricks back into place. I had to snap off Ring Man's signature headgear to fit him into my bag, and I assumed that one or two other pieces of questionable loyalty would break away during the voyage. It shouldn't take more than about a minute to set him up again, and I knew exactly where I'd put him.
I had ordered a dozen roses to be placed in the room for when we arrived, and there was ample space for a ring bearer nearby. (I'd also use that space to display the Star Wars collector's lunchbox she got me as one of my anniversary gifts, but that's not relevant now.) My gal walked in the door with me, admired the roses as we dropped our bags, and then she headed off to the bathroom after a few moments.
Now was my chance.
I opened the bag, took Ring Man out of another bag to make sure his pieces didn't get too far separated...and found that he was in five pieces. I had expected a number of different reassembly scenarios, and none of them included the particular dismantled parts I found myself with. I scrambled to put him back together properly, and when I heard the bathroom doorknob start to turn, I shouted something to the effect of, "Wait! Secret things are happening!" Truly, I am the master of surprise.
It only took an extra eternity or so before Ring Man was finally reassembled with his hand on backward, but I finally gave the word for my gal to step back into the room. Judging from the "Oh, wow!"-type noises she was making, she approved of my gift.
I could also tell that she was thinking. But it wasn't apparent that she had caught on yet. Sure, she might have suspected I was about to propose, but for right now, I was just giving her a neat LEGO statue of some Mega Man boss.
After a moment, I went over to her and asked her who she thought it was. Now, I grew up with a family that encouraged educational guessing games such as "Name that Tune," and I've been challenging my gal to identify Mega Man characters, etc. since we started dating. She might tell you that she's hopeless at my guessing games, but she's proven her geek cred on multiple occasions, and I've told her every time, "You can totally be my girlfriend."
This guessing game was a big one. I had to see if she had what it took to be more than a girlfriend. More importantly, I had to see the look on her face when she realized who I had built.
"Um...Bomb Man?" she guessed. Well, the color scheme and basic design were about right, so not a bad first guess. Try again. "Hm...Guts Man?" Again, the color scheme and basic design weren't too far off, but at this rate, we wouldn't make it to Mega Man 4 bosses until morning. I went to school to be a teacher, though; I was trained to lead students to discover the answer for themselves, and this is one answer I was not going to give away.
I could tell the guessing was becoming stressful, so I pointed out the object on the statue's head, and the box that he was holding. What might they mean?
She stared at the statue for a moment, and with an earth-shatteringly quiet revelation of "Ring Man," she collapsed to the floor under the weight of the realization that I was finally about to give her a ring.
It was worth every single brick, every hour, every nervous second to see it click in her head. I was honestly not expecting her to fall over.
Ring Man, she'd said.
"You can totally be my fiancée."
I picked up the ring box, dropped to one knee (both out of tradition and to be on the floor with her), and I asked her to marry me.
Over dinner, she told me that her guesses weren't completely random. "It's Bomb Man! Maybe he's dropping the bomb!" or, "It's Guts Man! Because he's finally worked up the guts to propose!" It didn't even occur to her at first that there was a Ring Man. That's all for the best, I say--it kept her guessing until the end.
And somehow, during all this, I was still thinking of a way to propose to her using a sound clip of Captain Picard saying, "Engage!"
But I wouldn't trade this for the world.
[Actually, I do manage to sneak Captain Picard into the mix in the next portion of the story, where the wedding planning begins. The engagement story is at an end, but you can see where things go from here in Part 1 of the wedding saga.]
He's much taller than I'd originally imagined.As soon as I'd gotten it in my head to assemble a ring-bearing Mega Man character (or two) who could help me propose to my gal, I threw open the door to my closet and dragged out my big bucket o' LEGOs. I had the idea, I had a few hours to work, and I had a near-endless supply of bricks that had been accumulating since the time when we still paid attention to the choking hazard warning on the box.
The first step was to go online and grab the sprites of Ring Man and Jewel Man. Open up good ol' Microsoft Paint, blow up the robot masters (kaboom!) to 8x magnification, turn on grid-lines, and I'm ready to rock, man.
Then I opened the LEGO bucket.I can't tell if this is a manufactured memory or not, but I vaguely remember the day a few years ago when I last put my LEGO bucket into storage, and I can't help but feel that I was just a very slight bit annoyed. Someone, presumably my mother, had organized the majority of my loose bricks into bags sorted by color. All the red bricks here, all the blue bricks there, plus a bag of wheels and axels for good measure.
My bucket had always been a cataclysmic mess of pieces that I could dump out onto the carpet, and then go treasure hunting. I enjoyed sifting through countless useless pieces to find that elusive 2 x 3 flat piece I'd been searching for. Placing everything neatly in bags diminished some of the fun.
I take back anything negative I've ever thought or said about plastic bags.
Opening the bucket to discover that everything had already been sorted made me immediately thank whoever was responsible, even though (a) I couldn't remember who that was, (b) if it was my mother, she wasn't anywhere close to being within earshot, let alone the same state, and (c) there was a slim chance I was actually thanking myself. If the bucket hadn't been semi-mysteriously organized, I might still be picking out pieces of Ring Man's nose.
Blessed with half the work having already been done for me, I set out to cull only the finest double-wide pieces from my collection. Doubly thick bricks seemed to be a nice balance between stability and portability--after all, Ring Man had to be transported to our Anniversary Hotel in secret and in one piece.
I figured I could recreate Ring Man pixel for pixel, or rather, brick for pixel. I started with the feet and worked my way up, but I knew I might get confused if I kept switching back and forth between different brick colors. I assembled all the red parts, then all the yellow parts, then all the black parts, and started clicking them together as soon as they became structurally feasible. It wasn't until I was putting on the finishing touches that he actually looked like anything, but I was proud indeed by the result:
You may notice a few things about this picture, which you've been so patiently waiting to see for, like, almost a week now. Things such as:(1) He's pretty awesome.
(2) He has flat platform feet. Ring Man became problematic when I began fastening his head to the rest of his body--that is, he'd keep falling over and unfastening his head from his body.
(3) The colors are slightly off from the sprite art. I panicked when I remembered that Ring Man had eyes, and worse yet, that he had a little bit of extra face showing. Gray was the closest color substitute I had for fleshy robot pink, or apricot, or whatever the heck color it is.
(4) A couple of sections, most notably the (slightly larger) ring on his head, differ in configuration from the sprite art. This was strictly for the sake of stability. Loose pixels are fine on a screen, but a standalone black LEGO brick can't just hover in the air next to a yellow or red brick without the aid of viscous magic (A.K.A. glue). Maybe the professionals do it, but I could never imagine myself intentionally gluing any of my LEGOs together.
(5) I'm never getting these bricks back. I had this disheartening revelation about halfway through my building. I realized, "I'm never getting these bricks back." It is a testament to how much I love this woman that I would sacrifice virtually every double-thick brick I had collected since I was about four years old. Or, it is a testament to how I should plan out these schemes farther in advance so I can drive out to the nearest LEGO store and buy fresh, non-sentimental supplies.
(6) He's holding a tray with the fabled ring box on it. After a few rejected ideas of putting the ring in a treasure chest mounted on his head, or having some part of Ring Man open up to reveal the ring, I determined that heirloom ring and sharp-edged plastic toy had no business with one another, which left me with this cool-looking statue that accomplished absolutely nothing. "Here's a Ring Man! And also...would you marry me?" No no no. Knowing the ring would have to stay in the softly padded interior of the ring box, and knowing that Ring Man still had to be involved somehow, I figured he could hang on to the ring for a while. He looks like a waiter.
(7) There's no Jewel Man. Frankly, I had exhausted my supply of usable black bricks on just one robot master--one who turned out to be twice as tall as I had originally envisioned. Jewel Man was only necessary when this idea in my head was a little diorama with a reasonably sized Mega Man boss standing on either side of a comparably sized ring box. At this height, it'd look like he was playing Mega Man Soccer with the ring box.
What matters most is that I had a finished product that I was overwhelmingly satisfied with. I wasn't trying to outdo anyone. I wasn't even trying to impress anyone. I simply wanted to present my gal with something handmade, something uniquely me, and something that would romantically and geekily win her heart.
The mission was a success. My rate for collecting fiancées: 100%.
I picked her up from work on Friday, the day of our fourth anniversary (and, incidentally, National Kazoo Day) and drove her off to Small Romantic Town, USA. After a lovely (read: partially lost) romp through some quaint back roads, we reached our waterside hotel--just about the nicest place either of us had ever stayed in. If my calculations were correct, the luxurious hotel suite with its waterfront view would be an appropriately quiet and romantic setting to pop the question.
But first I had to pop some bricks back into place. I had to snap off Ring Man's signature headgear to fit him into my bag, and I assumed that one or two other pieces of questionable loyalty would break away during the voyage. It shouldn't take more than about a minute to set him up again, and I knew exactly where I'd put him.
I had ordered a dozen roses to be placed in the room for when we arrived, and there was ample space for a ring bearer nearby. (I'd also use that space to display the Star Wars collector's lunchbox she got me as one of my anniversary gifts, but that's not relevant now.) My gal walked in the door with me, admired the roses as we dropped our bags, and then she headed off to the bathroom after a few moments.
Now was my chance.
I opened the bag, took Ring Man out of another bag to make sure his pieces didn't get too far separated...and found that he was in five pieces. I had expected a number of different reassembly scenarios, and none of them included the particular dismantled parts I found myself with. I scrambled to put him back together properly, and when I heard the bathroom doorknob start to turn, I shouted something to the effect of, "Wait! Secret things are happening!" Truly, I am the master of surprise.
It only took an extra eternity or so before Ring Man was finally reassembled with his hand on backward, but I finally gave the word for my gal to step back into the room. Judging from the "Oh, wow!"-type noises she was making, she approved of my gift.
I could also tell that she was thinking. But it wasn't apparent that she had caught on yet. Sure, she might have suspected I was about to propose, but for right now, I was just giving her a neat LEGO statue of some Mega Man boss.
After a moment, I went over to her and asked her who she thought it was. Now, I grew up with a family that encouraged educational guessing games such as "Name that Tune," and I've been challenging my gal to identify Mega Man characters, etc. since we started dating. She might tell you that she's hopeless at my guessing games, but she's proven her geek cred on multiple occasions, and I've told her every time, "You can totally be my girlfriend."
This guessing game was a big one. I had to see if she had what it took to be more than a girlfriend. More importantly, I had to see the look on her face when she realized who I had built.
"Um...Bomb Man?" she guessed. Well, the color scheme and basic design were about right, so not a bad first guess. Try again. "Hm...Guts Man?" Again, the color scheme and basic design weren't too far off, but at this rate, we wouldn't make it to Mega Man 4 bosses until morning. I went to school to be a teacher, though; I was trained to lead students to discover the answer for themselves, and this is one answer I was not going to give away.
I could tell the guessing was becoming stressful, so I pointed out the object on the statue's head, and the box that he was holding. What might they mean?
She stared at the statue for a moment, and with an earth-shatteringly quiet revelation of "Ring Man," she collapsed to the floor under the weight of the realization that I was finally about to give her a ring.
It was worth every single brick, every hour, every nervous second to see it click in her head. I was honestly not expecting her to fall over.
Ring Man, she'd said.
"You can totally be my fiancée."
I picked up the ring box, dropped to one knee (both out of tradition and to be on the floor with her), and I asked her to marry me.
Over dinner, she told me that her guesses weren't completely random. "It's Bomb Man! Maybe he's dropping the bomb!" or, "It's Guts Man! Because he's finally worked up the guts to propose!" It didn't even occur to her at first that there was a Ring Man. That's all for the best, I say--it kept her guessing until the end.
And somehow, during all this, I was still thinking of a way to propose to her using a sound clip of Captain Picard saying, "Engage!"
But I wouldn't trade this for the world.
[Actually, I do manage to sneak Captain Picard into the mix in the next portion of the story, where the wedding planning begins. The engagement story is at an end, but you can see where things go from here in Part 1 of the wedding saga.]
Saturday, February 5, 2011
When Ideas and Bricks Click
I was ready to get engaged. (Spoiler alert: I got engaged.) I had the ring. I'd brainstormed for months about how to propose. I had ruled out entire categories of proposal ideas and narrowed it down to something simple, handmade, presentable anywhere, and romantically geeky. Now, with mere hours to pull anything together, the gravity of the situation finally got through my thick skull, and my brain started pumping out some ideas I could actually use.
All while watching random Internet videos my friend had sent me of people rapping about fast food at the drive-thru window, police cars crashing into telephone poles, and some guy flipping out about a "double rainbow."
The first hurdle was to stop thinking of grand plans that would impress and outdo everyone else who had ever gotten engaged. The only thing to be concerned with was doing something that was uniquely us. The second hurdle was determining that I'd be better off doing something uniquely me, because all my ideas revolving around my girlfriend's tastes ended up with me dressing up like David Bowie.
If I was to do something geeky based on one of my fandoms, it'd either need to be something with a strong personal/shared significance, or something that seemed inherently suited to a marriage proposal. Fortunately, I managed to pull off both.
The first thing that came to mind was Metroid--it's one of my favorite video game series, and my girlfriend was currently stubbornly struggling through the original NES game on her own (even though she'd openly admit that her forte with platformers is watching me play them). That was just the icing on the cake, though; the real reason Metroid seemed like a good idea was because of how perfect it would be to present her with a ring-bearing Chozo statue.
I considered the wisdom of attempting to manufacture a load-bearing Chozo statue in the last few hours I had to prepare anything. For some reason, I could only think of making the thing out of paper, until it occurred to me that I had a big bucket o' LEGOs in my closet.
Not only was I big into LEGOs growing up, but my gal and I had spent maaaany hours playing through LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones together--though the former was terrifically entertaining, the latter was more fresh in our minds as the source of all sorts of frustrations and disappointments. Not exactly the first association I wanted her to have with getting engaged.
Still, a LEGO sculpture of a videogame bird statue seemed like the romantically geeky thing to do. Super Metroid is what I was thinking of, but translating that into LEGO bricks would be far too complex, especially given my limited timeframe and the fact that I really had no idea exactly how many of the appropriately colored bricks I had to work with.
The only way I could think of making it work was to recreate the sprite art with LEGOs, effectively creating a 2-D sculpture with no more depth than a double-wide LEGO brick. Unfortunately, the regal Super Metroid sprite I wanted to use would probably be a little too complex, and the simpler sprite from the original NES Metroid always seemed a little creepy. ("Marry me! Boogedy boogedy!")
There was also the issue of looking at the sculpture from the proper angle--it only works when you're looking at it from the side. For the ring (presumably still in the ring box) to be facing her directly, she'd be staring at some neatly stacked double-wide LEGO bricks that didn't particularly look like anything from the front. A fun idea on paper, but still not quite perfect.
However, I was at least on the right track to do something feasible--after all, a 2-D LEGO sculpture would be little different from some bead art I'd seen of various characters from Mega Man.
Mega Man...
And then it clicked.
Mega Man 4, my favorite game in the series. Something uniquely me that she would appreciate and find geekily romantic. This was so perfect that I'm amazed it escaped me for so long.
Think about the bosses in Mega Man 4: Pharaoh Man, Toad Man, Drill Man, Dust Man, Bright Man, Skull Man, Dive Man, and...
Ring Man.
He had been there all along.
I would build Ring Man out of LEGOs, and have him present the ring to my girlfriend.
Time and materials permitting, I would also add Jewel Man from Mega Man 9. For good measure. And great justice.
I excitedly got to work.
...So much for a conclusion.
...And not using as many one-sentence paragraphs.
But next time--and this is a promise I can keep--there will be pictures.
[Continued in Part 4.]
All while watching random Internet videos my friend had sent me of people rapping about fast food at the drive-thru window, police cars crashing into telephone poles, and some guy flipping out about a "double rainbow."
The first hurdle was to stop thinking of grand plans that would impress and outdo everyone else who had ever gotten engaged. The only thing to be concerned with was doing something that was uniquely us. The second hurdle was determining that I'd be better off doing something uniquely me, because all my ideas revolving around my girlfriend's tastes ended up with me dressing up like David Bowie.
If I was to do something geeky based on one of my fandoms, it'd either need to be something with a strong personal/shared significance, or something that seemed inherently suited to a marriage proposal. Fortunately, I managed to pull off both.The first thing that came to mind was Metroid--it's one of my favorite video game series, and my girlfriend was currently stubbornly struggling through the original NES game on her own (even though she'd openly admit that her forte with platformers is watching me play them). That was just the icing on the cake, though; the real reason Metroid seemed like a good idea was because of how perfect it would be to present her with a ring-bearing Chozo statue.
I considered the wisdom of attempting to manufacture a load-bearing Chozo statue in the last few hours I had to prepare anything. For some reason, I could only think of making the thing out of paper, until it occurred to me that I had a big bucket o' LEGOs in my closet.Not only was I big into LEGOs growing up, but my gal and I had spent maaaany hours playing through LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones together--though the former was terrifically entertaining, the latter was more fresh in our minds as the source of all sorts of frustrations and disappointments. Not exactly the first association I wanted her to have with getting engaged.
Still, a LEGO sculpture of a videogame bird statue seemed like the romantically geeky thing to do. Super Metroid is what I was thinking of, but translating that into LEGO bricks would be far too complex, especially given my limited timeframe and the fact that I really had no idea exactly how many of the appropriately colored bricks I had to work with.
The only way I could think of making it work was to recreate the sprite art with LEGOs, effectively creating a 2-D sculpture with no more depth than a double-wide LEGO brick. Unfortunately, the regal Super Metroid sprite I wanted to use would probably be a little too complex, and the simpler sprite from the original NES Metroid always seemed a little creepy. ("Marry me! Boogedy boogedy!")There was also the issue of looking at the sculpture from the proper angle--it only works when you're looking at it from the side. For the ring (presumably still in the ring box) to be facing her directly, she'd be staring at some neatly stacked double-wide LEGO bricks that didn't particularly look like anything from the front. A fun idea on paper, but still not quite perfect.
However, I was at least on the right track to do something feasible--after all, a 2-D LEGO sculpture would be little different from some bead art I'd seen of various characters from Mega Man.
Mega Man...
And then it clicked.
Mega Man 4, my favorite game in the series. Something uniquely me that she would appreciate and find geekily romantic. This was so perfect that I'm amazed it escaped me for so long.
Think about the bosses in Mega Man 4: Pharaoh Man, Toad Man, Drill Man, Dust Man, Bright Man, Skull Man, Dive Man, and...
Ring Man.He had been there all along.
I would build Ring Man out of LEGOs, and have him present the ring to my girlfriend.
Time and materials permitting, I would also add Jewel Man from Mega Man 9. For good measure. And great justice.
I excitedly got to work....So much for a conclusion.
...And not using as many one-sentence paragraphs.
But next time--and this is a promise I can keep--there will be pictures.
[Continued in Part 4.]
Friday, February 4, 2011
Pursuing the Perfect Proposal
There is one major benefit to being a traditional kind of guy who's dating a geeky kind of girl: You can propose to her in absolutely any way your romantically geeky mind can come up with.
There's also one major drawback to this situation: You can propose to her in absolutely any way your romantically geeky mind can come up with.
During our fancy dinner on the night we got engaged (spoiler alert: we're engaged), I let loose with a veritable novella of what took me so long to propose, how I pulled together my proposal, and all the rejected and unused proposal ideas that I and my friends conjured up. Then I thought, "Hey! I could use this for a blog post!"
The next time your blogger boyfriend proposes to you, don't hesitate to question his motives.
Let's back up, though, to see how we reached this fancy post-engagement dinner. This was the first night of our anniversary weekend, taking place at the end of January, but the story really starts around Thanksgiving. Perhaps all that talking about turkeys prompted me to build up the courage to ask this girl to marry me. Perhaps I'd been ready to ask her for a while, but the timing didn't work out in what I thought was my favor.
I spent most of November through January laying the foundation for an engagement: I asked parental permission, picked up from my parents the 73-year-old engagement ring my grandmother had worn, and waited until after the holiday season had ended to get an appointment with a jeweler we trusted to appraise and clean up the ring. The wait was worth it--especially because I didn't figure out how I was going to propose until the night before.
I was cursed by having creative friends and a working Internet connection. Any proposal idea I came up with had already been done by someone I knew or had heard about online, but with more flair than I could pull off. Composing a song and getting some guys together to seranade her into pre-wedded bliss? Taken. Hacking a Super Mario World ROM to make some gold coins spell out, "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" Taken. I realized that getting engaged is not a competition, but I had no intentions of being outdone.
I plotted fruitlessly for months. For longer than I care to admit, my fallback plan was to be out on a romantic walk somewhere when I stop and reach into my pocket, saying, "I think I heard my phone ring," then pull out the little jewelry box and pop it open and say, "Whoops, wrong ring." If she could say yes to me after an appalling pun like that, then she was definitely the one I wanted to be with.
I had some decent ideas, but all of them required access to a computer, which would most likely be the one in my only vaguely romantic apartment. Though it was fleetingly amusing to think of proposing to her through a YouTube video or an MP3 I recorded in four-part harmony with myself, I'd still be proposing within 15 feet of a garbage can. This would not do.
I began thinking of more romantic settings, but anywhere I could think of proposing in the middle of a particularly oppressive winter was not a place I wanted to be kneeling on the ground to give her the ring. Anywhere indoors that I could think of was too crowded--knowing her, I decided it would be better to propose in private. Which brought me back to my apartment and its piles of unfolded laundry and centrally located garbage can.
The only way I might propose in my apartment was if I followed one friend's advice and proposed to her during a session of Dungeons & Dragons. I'd run a straightforward game that culminated in the most epic dragon battle in D&D history, and when the heroes emerge victorious, they search the dragon and discover treasure--represented in real life by a series of props.
"You search the dragon and find...an impressive-looking magical sword." I'd hand the sword prop I still have from my high school production of Pippin to one of the players. "After searching a bit more, you find a curious old scroll." I'd give another player a rolled up piece of parchment with illegible scribbles on it. "Finally, just as you're about to stop looking, you find...a ring." I'd hand over the engagement ring to my gal, and as the players won the game, I'd win her heart.
"For extra realism, the ring should be dripping in dragon ichor," my friend added.
And then, "You owe me $20 if you use that idea, though."
I continued conjuring up new ideas, but nothing seemed quite right. The setting wasn't romantic enough, or there was too much risk of the proposal not going as planned (two major strikes against the otherwise fantastic D&D idea). I had to do something that would appeal to her heart while simultaneously triggering her squeeing geek reflexes, and I eventually determined that this would rule out any performance-oriented proposal ideas. No singing; no gaming; no juggling gnomes. I would give her a gift.
I would make her a gift.
At first, I thought of writing her love poetry (I've been known to write from time to time) and presenting the ring at the conclusion of a sweet and witty sonnet, but that would still qualify as a performance. Maybe if I gave her a sort of gift basket of love--a poem for every year we'd been together, accompanied my a handmade token of my affection that related somehow to the poem. Yes. This was a good plan.
I was only a week away from our anniversary weekend when I started thinking down this avenue, so anything I did had to be feasible to create in only a few days with materials I had on hand or could easily acquire. Naturally, my free time for the week disappeared with other anniversary preparations (such as figuring out where we were going), an impromptu Venture Bros. marathon, and an entire evening unexpectedly spent with the girl who was never going to become my fiancée at this rate.
I ended up with just one evening to (a) call my family and inform them of my engagement plan, (b) figure out what my engagement plan was, (c) actually prepare my engagement plan, and (d) pack for our anniversary trip to Small Romantic Town, USA. Instead of doing any of this, I went back through the e-mails I'd been neglecting for the past several weeks and watched all those funny videos my one friend sent me in mid-December.
Meanwhile, I plotted.
Then, in an instant, it clicked.
And the answer was Mega Man.
I just hoped I had enough LEGOs.
I'll bet the suspense is unbearable.
Full disclosure and conclusion tomorrow.
And probably not as many one-sentence paragraphs.
Guaranteed.
[Continued in Part 3.]
There's also one major drawback to this situation: You can propose to her in absolutely any way your romantically geeky mind can come up with.
During our fancy dinner on the night we got engaged (spoiler alert: we're engaged), I let loose with a veritable novella of what took me so long to propose, how I pulled together my proposal, and all the rejected and unused proposal ideas that I and my friends conjured up. Then I thought, "Hey! I could use this for a blog post!"
The next time your blogger boyfriend proposes to you, don't hesitate to question his motives.
Let's back up, though, to see how we reached this fancy post-engagement dinner. This was the first night of our anniversary weekend, taking place at the end of January, but the story really starts around Thanksgiving. Perhaps all that talking about turkeys prompted me to build up the courage to ask this girl to marry me. Perhaps I'd been ready to ask her for a while, but the timing didn't work out in what I thought was my favor.
I spent most of November through January laying the foundation for an engagement: I asked parental permission, picked up from my parents the 73-year-old engagement ring my grandmother had worn, and waited until after the holiday season had ended to get an appointment with a jeweler we trusted to appraise and clean up the ring. The wait was worth it--especially because I didn't figure out how I was going to propose until the night before.
I was cursed by having creative friends and a working Internet connection. Any proposal idea I came up with had already been done by someone I knew or had heard about online, but with more flair than I could pull off. Composing a song and getting some guys together to seranade her into pre-wedded bliss? Taken. Hacking a Super Mario World ROM to make some gold coins spell out, "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" Taken. I realized that getting engaged is not a competition, but I had no intentions of being outdone.
I plotted fruitlessly for months. For longer than I care to admit, my fallback plan was to be out on a romantic walk somewhere when I stop and reach into my pocket, saying, "I think I heard my phone ring," then pull out the little jewelry box and pop it open and say, "Whoops, wrong ring." If she could say yes to me after an appalling pun like that, then she was definitely the one I wanted to be with.
I had some decent ideas, but all of them required access to a computer, which would most likely be the one in my only vaguely romantic apartment. Though it was fleetingly amusing to think of proposing to her through a YouTube video or an MP3 I recorded in four-part harmony with myself, I'd still be proposing within 15 feet of a garbage can. This would not do.
I began thinking of more romantic settings, but anywhere I could think of proposing in the middle of a particularly oppressive winter was not a place I wanted to be kneeling on the ground to give her the ring. Anywhere indoors that I could think of was too crowded--knowing her, I decided it would be better to propose in private. Which brought me back to my apartment and its piles of unfolded laundry and centrally located garbage can.
The only way I might propose in my apartment was if I followed one friend's advice and proposed to her during a session of Dungeons & Dragons. I'd run a straightforward game that culminated in the most epic dragon battle in D&D history, and when the heroes emerge victorious, they search the dragon and discover treasure--represented in real life by a series of props.
"You search the dragon and find...an impressive-looking magical sword." I'd hand the sword prop I still have from my high school production of Pippin to one of the players. "After searching a bit more, you find a curious old scroll." I'd give another player a rolled up piece of parchment with illegible scribbles on it. "Finally, just as you're about to stop looking, you find...a ring." I'd hand over the engagement ring to my gal, and as the players won the game, I'd win her heart.
"For extra realism, the ring should be dripping in dragon ichor," my friend added.
And then, "You owe me $20 if you use that idea, though."
I continued conjuring up new ideas, but nothing seemed quite right. The setting wasn't romantic enough, or there was too much risk of the proposal not going as planned (two major strikes against the otherwise fantastic D&D idea). I had to do something that would appeal to her heart while simultaneously triggering her squeeing geek reflexes, and I eventually determined that this would rule out any performance-oriented proposal ideas. No singing; no gaming; no juggling gnomes. I would give her a gift.
I would make her a gift.
At first, I thought of writing her love poetry (I've been known to write from time to time) and presenting the ring at the conclusion of a sweet and witty sonnet, but that would still qualify as a performance. Maybe if I gave her a sort of gift basket of love--a poem for every year we'd been together, accompanied my a handmade token of my affection that related somehow to the poem. Yes. This was a good plan.
I was only a week away from our anniversary weekend when I started thinking down this avenue, so anything I did had to be feasible to create in only a few days with materials I had on hand or could easily acquire. Naturally, my free time for the week disappeared with other anniversary preparations (such as figuring out where we were going), an impromptu Venture Bros. marathon, and an entire evening unexpectedly spent with the girl who was never going to become my fiancée at this rate.
I ended up with just one evening to (a) call my family and inform them of my engagement plan, (b) figure out what my engagement plan was, (c) actually prepare my engagement plan, and (d) pack for our anniversary trip to Small Romantic Town, USA. Instead of doing any of this, I went back through the e-mails I'd been neglecting for the past several weeks and watched all those funny videos my one friend sent me in mid-December.
Meanwhile, I plotted.
Then, in an instant, it clicked.
And the answer was Mega Man.
I just hoped I had enough LEGOs.
I'll bet the suspense is unbearable.
Full disclosure and conclusion tomorrow.
And probably not as many one-sentence paragraphs.
Guaranteed.
[Continued in Part 3.]
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Waiting for Wedding Day; or, I'm Sorry You Had to Find Out from the Blog
We interrupt Alex's regularly scheduled Waiting for Wednesday to bring you an announcement from Friday that wouldn't work for Saturday through Tuesday, but couldn't wait for Thursday.
With me so far?
Right. Thought so. I'm engaged.
It's been just over four years since my gal and I got together, and I had somewhat managed to convince her that I would finally propose around Valentine's Day. I say finally with italic emphasis for a good reason. We've been mistaken for a married couple by every stranger we've met since we started dating. I've even mistaken her for my wife when I've asked her on occasion to do my dishes while I'm playing video games, but that's another matter entirely.
We figured out very early on that we tend to balance each other in the ways that we're different, and we usually compliment each other in the ways we're alike. This alone is enough to provide stability in a dating relationship, and it's how we managed to stay a state of relationship limbo for so long. For months--even as much as a year or two--we've both had enough relationship XP to level up...but I lacked the self-imposed prerequisites to do so. Also, the magical ring.
My path to husbandhood was simple and logical: Get a girlfriend. Get to know her. Determine she's the one I want to be with for the rest of my life, except for a few deal-breakers that need to change (read: vegetarian). Realize that a lifetime of playing excessive amounts of Mega Man without being nagged to stop is worth a few extra vegetables, and deal with the deal-breakers.
Here's where it got tricky: Secure a steady job and move out from my parents' house--I wanted to establish that I could be a functional human being on my own before bringing anyone else into my mess. The idea of getting married wasn't driving me to get a job and a place of my own, but the lack of a job and a place of my own was a barrier to progress.
I was unemployed for a year, and it was a few months until I started looking at apartments, but my lady friend waited patiently for me. After I got the apartment, however, it started to look like I was stalling. How long would it take before I proved I could be a functional human being on my own? Especially when that ever-growing pile of laundry implied the urgent need for a certain feminine touch?
Evidently, the answer is, "However long it takes for me to put a ring on her finger." I've got all sorts of perfectly valid excuses as to why that didn't happen weeks or months ago, but the important part is that we're now engaged.
The more important part is that we're now engaged thanks to Mega Man.
Consider yourself teased.
[Continued in Part 2.]
With me so far?
Right. Thought so. I'm engaged.
It's been just over four years since my gal and I got together, and I had somewhat managed to convince her that I would finally propose around Valentine's Day. I say finally with italic emphasis for a good reason. We've been mistaken for a married couple by every stranger we've met since we started dating. I've even mistaken her for my wife when I've asked her on occasion to do my dishes while I'm playing video games, but that's another matter entirely.
We figured out very early on that we tend to balance each other in the ways that we're different, and we usually compliment each other in the ways we're alike. This alone is enough to provide stability in a dating relationship, and it's how we managed to stay a state of relationship limbo for so long. For months--even as much as a year or two--we've both had enough relationship XP to level up...but I lacked the self-imposed prerequisites to do so. Also, the magical ring.
My path to husbandhood was simple and logical: Get a girlfriend. Get to know her. Determine she's the one I want to be with for the rest of my life, except for a few deal-breakers that need to change (read: vegetarian). Realize that a lifetime of playing excessive amounts of Mega Man without being nagged to stop is worth a few extra vegetables, and deal with the deal-breakers.
Here's where it got tricky: Secure a steady job and move out from my parents' house--I wanted to establish that I could be a functional human being on my own before bringing anyone else into my mess. The idea of getting married wasn't driving me to get a job and a place of my own, but the lack of a job and a place of my own was a barrier to progress.
I was unemployed for a year, and it was a few months until I started looking at apartments, but my lady friend waited patiently for me. After I got the apartment, however, it started to look like I was stalling. How long would it take before I proved I could be a functional human being on my own? Especially when that ever-growing pile of laundry implied the urgent need for a certain feminine touch?
Evidently, the answer is, "However long it takes for me to put a ring on her finger." I've got all sorts of perfectly valid excuses as to why that didn't happen weeks or months ago, but the important part is that we're now engaged.
The more important part is that we're now engaged thanks to Mega Man.
Consider yourself teased.
[Continued in Part 2.]
Saturday, August 28, 2010
On Two Years
Two years ago, almost to the day, Nathaniel and I were sitting around a little table in the middle of a gloomy little courtyard outside of our old office. We were both fed up with a lot of things. Our jobs, mostly, [Editor's note: Alex exaggerates on my behalf a little...] but there were other everyday annoyances that were bringing us down.
And then we started talking about Otakon, and Nathaniel’s experiences at the show. Then I started talking about comics, and comic conventions, and things just started rolling downhill.
Before I had that conversation in that gloomy little courtyard, though, I was aware of Nathaniel’s geeky tendencies. He wears his heart on his sleeve, as they say, and it was pretty apparent that he had an affinity for things like Star Trek and Mega Man.
But a lot of people like a lot of things, and we were both hardworking, professional people with a wide range of interests and hobbies. I just assumed that Star Trek and Mega Man were these cool little side things that he liked, and that he could never possibly be as deeply into as I was into comics.
Well, clearly, I am a poor judge of character.
During that talk, we decided to put together a blog. Just for ourselves. Just for fun. Two years later, we’re still doing the same exact thing we set out to do that afternoon after lunch.
The fact that we’ve gained readers is amazing. And shocking. And, in Year Three, we plan to do some things to expand our readership, to up that hit counter, and to take our posts to places they haven’t yet been.
But that’s for the near future. For today, Nathaniel and I just want to say thanks.
Keep reading, because we’ll keep writing.
-- -- -- --
Happy Saturday, everyone!
And then we started talking about Otakon, and Nathaniel’s experiences at the show. Then I started talking about comics, and comic conventions, and things just started rolling downhill.
Before I had that conversation in that gloomy little courtyard, though, I was aware of Nathaniel’s geeky tendencies. He wears his heart on his sleeve, as they say, and it was pretty apparent that he had an affinity for things like Star Trek and Mega Man.
But a lot of people like a lot of things, and we were both hardworking, professional people with a wide range of interests and hobbies. I just assumed that Star Trek and Mega Man were these cool little side things that he liked, and that he could never possibly be as deeply into as I was into comics.
Well, clearly, I am a poor judge of character.
During that talk, we decided to put together a blog. Just for ourselves. Just for fun. Two years later, we’re still doing the same exact thing we set out to do that afternoon after lunch.
The fact that we’ve gained readers is amazing. And shocking. And, in Year Three, we plan to do some things to expand our readership, to up that hit counter, and to take our posts to places they haven’t yet been.
But that’s for the near future. For today, Nathaniel and I just want to say thanks.
Keep reading, because we’ll keep writing.
-- -- -- --
Happy Saturday, everyone!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Exfanding Your Horizons Turns 2 Years Old!
It's official: Exfanding Your Horizons is two years old! Happy Birthday to us!
Just like we did to celebrate last year, Alex and I have assembled a list of questions that make us feel like we're special guests on a geek talk show, like Sally Jessy Raphael Donatello or something. Year Two was a big year, and our penchant for inflating our self-importance guarantees we'll make it even bigger.
Our blog rules.
Most blogs don't last nearly this long; why are you still here?
Nathaniel: I love to write. I love the stuff we write about here. I love collaborating on geeky stuff with Alex. The fact that we post consistently at 11 AM every day gives me the structure I need to keep from posting "when I get around to it," yet the flexibility to switch posting days with Alex or write a fluffy links post keeps blogging from becoming a self-imposed chore. The Internet hasn't kicked us out yet; why wouldn't we be here?
Alex: 11:00, you say? Haha...erm. Yes. Well. Of course, just to foul up Nathaniel's response to this question, I purposefully posted at 11:40 yesterday. Yeah, that's what I did. Uh huh. All part of the plan.
What was the question?
Did you honestly think we'd make it to two years?
Nathaniel: Absolutely. This blog started out as a fun little side project, and after a few weeks or maybe months, it became a habit. Two years later, it's a fact of life. Like eating, or weekly showers.
Alex: Soon after we started, I read somewhere that 99% of all blogs go bye-bye within the first two weeks. At that point, we were about a month into Exfanding, and we both took that as a major positive. That we, um, hadn't gone bye-bye, I mean.
We always knew we were better than 99% of everyone else, now it was just being scientifically proven.
Honestly, though, I had a feeling we would both be too stubborn to ever give it up, and woe unto whichever one of us tapped out first. Now, like Nathaniel said, posting here is very much an everyday routine type of thing.
What's the best part about having a blog? What's the worst part about having a blog (And no chickening out--be honest!)?
Alex: The best part is having a soapbox from which to shout. And the worst part is having a soapbox from which to shout. What I mean is, I have a big mouth. What can I say? It's my nature. So it's nice to have a bit of a forum to express myself, especially when I read or watch something that I love, and that I want to share with others.
On the other hand, expressing myself tends to get me into trouble. And, apparently, I tend to take digs at Grant Morrison.
Nathaniel: The worst part about having a blog is the sheer amount of time I spend talking about geeky endeavors instead of actually engaging in them. Don't get me wrong; I love to write, and I love to gab about my favorite fandoms. It's just that there are nights where I'd rather be playing a video game than staying up 1d3 hours later than anticipated to finish a post that may or may not be what I feel like writing anyhow.
The best part about having a blog generally makes up for that, though. It is staggering to me how much material we've written, and it's a joy to scroll through the archives and look at how our thoughts, personalities, and humor are preserved in such detail across such a broad array of topics. And we get to share that with the world.
Has blogging gotten any easier or harder since last year?
Alex: I honestly thought that we'd have nothing left to talk about by now. That was my number one concern when we started this up. But, somehow, there's always a new post waiting in the wings. And that certainly wasn't the case (for me, at least) a couple of years ago.
Nathaniel: Speak for yourself! Blogging is hard! Actually, coming up with anything to post for the next day has gotten much easier for me--I seldom stare at the ceiling anymore, waiting for a post to emerge from the plaster--but writing the big introductory posts is much tougher, as you may have noticed from the lack of them these past several months. That ties in with the previous question, actually.
When would you say your writing was the strongest this past year? The weakest?
Alex: I've told Nathaniel this already, but I think it's pretty clear that he's carried the blog this year. Whereas my writing has been very inconsistent, I think he's been in overdrive--certainly through this summer--and he's posted some of my very favorite things we've yet had on the blog.
Personally, I think I peaked at the end of last year. I felt like things were really clicking for a while there. Maybe I'm just a better writer when I'm angry, but I'm really going to try picking up the slack for the rest of 2010.
Nathaniel: I feel like my writing was strongest when we both collaborated on "theme weeks," and when I let myself loose to geek out about Mega Man and Star Trek in greater depth than usual.
It's strange--I didn't feel at any point that I was carrying the blog; I was simply adding my contributions for the day. Okay, so I was carrying the blog during Video Game Week, but Alex agreed to it, so that's his own fault.
In truth, all my strongest posts that immediately came to mind are from Year One. I think my posts this past year were less diverse than the year before, so they don't stand out as much to me. I feel like I lost a lot of focus in May and June when a lot of Big Life Stuff was going on, and most of those posts in particular seem like filler to me.
Name a few blog-related things that surprised you in Year Two.
Alex: The amount of people who robbed banks, stores, and fast food restaurants dressed as super heroes and/or pop cultural icons.
Nathaniel: I was surprised to discover that I am a fan of Exfanding Your Horizons. A few weeks ago I had this big realization that I wasn't reading Alex's post that day just to check in on the blog--I was reading it because I really wanted to see what he had to say. I've always enjoyed reading his posts and re-reading my posts, but it never occurred to me that I'm actually a fan of our own blog!
...Does that count as "a few"?
Alex: Thanks for making my answer sound (even more) trivial than it was intended to be.
Nathaniel: My pleasure!
Were you introduced to anything new/cool this year because of the blog (either by each other, or by a reader)?
Nathaniel: The films of Akira Kurosawa. Not only were the screenings fun little adventures of their own, but I felt cinematically and culturally educated afterward.
Alex: Firefly and Serenity. I love that series, and I'm glad to have been introduced to it and to all of its ancillary stories.
Who would win in a fight--Batman or Superman?
Nathaniel: What, you haven't read Hush?
Alex: Are we talking the Taco Bell Batman Bandit, or the real Batman? Because if it's the real Batman, isn't he trapped in time/space somewhere, dressed as a pirate? And isn't Superman walking Earth and moping around all the time again? EMO Superman rocks!
I'm gonna have to go with the Goon.
What are some blogging goals/site goals/plans for Year Three? Any possible exciting news we can reveal about the next year?
Alex: One thing I'd love to see would be more of a presence on comic book sites. Exfanding ads on Newsarama? CBR? Heck, yes! I think it might be a logical next step for the blog to take.
Nathaniel?
Nathaniel: I'd like to figure out when we started italicizing Exfanding, for starters.
As a blogging goal, I'd like us both to add a few more fandoms or genres to our regular idea pool. I'd like to write more about anime and Dungeons & Dragons, and I know Alex must have a few music artists or television shows up his sleeve that he hasn't told us about.
As a site goal, I hope to finish all these minor and gradual tweaks to end up with a totally polished and professional blog that shows up in Google searches for something aside from "potty mouth Batman."
As far as plans go, I'm itching to do a bunch of formal fandom introductions; it's only a matter of having enough time and energy to write them. I also intend to complete all the New Year's Resolutions(TM) Alex made for me while simultaneously causing him to fail hilariously at his resolutions.
Hey, where's that book and t-shirt you promised us last year, hmm...?
Nathaniel: Erm...we compiled all our posts from the first year and then...and then something happened that...we had everything together and...and...and...THOSE GNOMES!!!
Alex: I don't think I would buy a t-shirt--uh...I mean...they're coming soon. Promise.
Just like we did to celebrate last year, Alex and I have assembled a list of questions that make us feel like we're special guests on a geek talk show, like Sally Jessy Raphael Donatello or something. Year Two was a big year, and our penchant for inflating our self-importance guarantees we'll make it even bigger.Our blog rules.
Most blogs don't last nearly this long; why are you still here?
Nathaniel: I love to write. I love the stuff we write about here. I love collaborating on geeky stuff with Alex. The fact that we post consistently at 11 AM every day gives me the structure I need to keep from posting "when I get around to it," yet the flexibility to switch posting days with Alex or write a fluffy links post keeps blogging from becoming a self-imposed chore. The Internet hasn't kicked us out yet; why wouldn't we be here?
Alex: 11:00, you say? Haha...erm. Yes. Well. Of course, just to foul up Nathaniel's response to this question, I purposefully posted at 11:40 yesterday. Yeah, that's what I did. Uh huh. All part of the plan.
What was the question?
Did you honestly think we'd make it to two years?
Nathaniel: Absolutely. This blog started out as a fun little side project, and after a few weeks or maybe months, it became a habit. Two years later, it's a fact of life. Like eating, or weekly showers.
Alex: Soon after we started, I read somewhere that 99% of all blogs go bye-bye within the first two weeks. At that point, we were about a month into Exfanding, and we both took that as a major positive. That we, um, hadn't gone bye-bye, I mean.
We always knew we were better than 99% of everyone else, now it was just being scientifically proven.Honestly, though, I had a feeling we would both be too stubborn to ever give it up, and woe unto whichever one of us tapped out first. Now, like Nathaniel said, posting here is very much an everyday routine type of thing.
What's the best part about having a blog? What's the worst part about having a blog (And no chickening out--be honest!)?
Alex: The best part is having a soapbox from which to shout. And the worst part is having a soapbox from which to shout. What I mean is, I have a big mouth. What can I say? It's my nature. So it's nice to have a bit of a forum to express myself, especially when I read or watch something that I love, and that I want to share with others.
On the other hand, expressing myself tends to get me into trouble. And, apparently, I tend to take digs at Grant Morrison.
Nathaniel: The worst part about having a blog is the sheer amount of time I spend talking about geeky endeavors instead of actually engaging in them. Don't get me wrong; I love to write, and I love to gab about my favorite fandoms. It's just that there are nights where I'd rather be playing a video game than staying up 1d3 hours later than anticipated to finish a post that may or may not be what I feel like writing anyhow.
The best part about having a blog generally makes up for that, though. It is staggering to me how much material we've written, and it's a joy to scroll through the archives and look at how our thoughts, personalities, and humor are preserved in such detail across such a broad array of topics. And we get to share that with the world.
Has blogging gotten any easier or harder since last year?
Alex: I honestly thought that we'd have nothing left to talk about by now. That was my number one concern when we started this up. But, somehow, there's always a new post waiting in the wings. And that certainly wasn't the case (for me, at least) a couple of years ago.
Nathaniel: Speak for yourself! Blogging is hard! Actually, coming up with anything to post for the next day has gotten much easier for me--I seldom stare at the ceiling anymore, waiting for a post to emerge from the plaster--but writing the big introductory posts is much tougher, as you may have noticed from the lack of them these past several months. That ties in with the previous question, actually.
When would you say your writing was the strongest this past year? The weakest?
Alex: I've told Nathaniel this already, but I think it's pretty clear that he's carried the blog this year. Whereas my writing has been very inconsistent, I think he's been in overdrive--certainly through this summer--and he's posted some of my very favorite things we've yet had on the blog.
Personally, I think I peaked at the end of last year. I felt like things were really clicking for a while there. Maybe I'm just a better writer when I'm angry, but I'm really going to try picking up the slack for the rest of 2010.
Nathaniel: I feel like my writing was strongest when we both collaborated on "theme weeks," and when I let myself loose to geek out about Mega Man and Star Trek in greater depth than usual.
It's strange--I didn't feel at any point that I was carrying the blog; I was simply adding my contributions for the day. Okay, so I was carrying the blog during Video Game Week, but Alex agreed to it, so that's his own fault.In truth, all my strongest posts that immediately came to mind are from Year One. I think my posts this past year were less diverse than the year before, so they don't stand out as much to me. I feel like I lost a lot of focus in May and June when a lot of Big Life Stuff was going on, and most of those posts in particular seem like filler to me.
Name a few blog-related things that surprised you in Year Two.
Alex: The amount of people who robbed banks, stores, and fast food restaurants dressed as super heroes and/or pop cultural icons.
Nathaniel: I was surprised to discover that I am a fan of Exfanding Your Horizons. A few weeks ago I had this big realization that I wasn't reading Alex's post that day just to check in on the blog--I was reading it because I really wanted to see what he had to say. I've always enjoyed reading his posts and re-reading my posts, but it never occurred to me that I'm actually a fan of our own blog!
...Does that count as "a few"?
Alex: Thanks for making my answer sound (even more) trivial than it was intended to be.
Nathaniel: My pleasure!
Were you introduced to anything new/cool this year because of the blog (either by each other, or by a reader)?
Nathaniel: The films of Akira Kurosawa. Not only were the screenings fun little adventures of their own, but I felt cinematically and culturally educated afterward.
Alex: Firefly and Serenity. I love that series, and I'm glad to have been introduced to it and to all of its ancillary stories.
Who would win in a fight--Batman or Superman?
Nathaniel: What, you haven't read Hush?
Alex: Are we talking the Taco Bell Batman Bandit, or the real Batman? Because if it's the real Batman, isn't he trapped in time/space somewhere, dressed as a pirate? And isn't Superman walking Earth and moping around all the time again? EMO Superman rocks!
I'm gonna have to go with the Goon.
What are some blogging goals/site goals/plans for Year Three? Any possible exciting news we can reveal about the next year?
Alex: One thing I'd love to see would be more of a presence on comic book sites. Exfanding ads on Newsarama? CBR? Heck, yes! I think it might be a logical next step for the blog to take.
Nathaniel?
Nathaniel: I'd like to figure out when we started italicizing Exfanding, for starters.
As a blogging goal, I'd like us both to add a few more fandoms or genres to our regular idea pool. I'd like to write more about anime and Dungeons & Dragons, and I know Alex must have a few music artists or television shows up his sleeve that he hasn't told us about.
As a site goal, I hope to finish all these minor and gradual tweaks to end up with a totally polished and professional blog that shows up in Google searches for something aside from "potty mouth Batman."
As far as plans go, I'm itching to do a bunch of formal fandom introductions; it's only a matter of having enough time and energy to write them. I also intend to complete all the New Year's Resolutions(TM) Alex made for me while simultaneously causing him to fail hilariously at his resolutions.
Hey, where's that book and t-shirt you promised us last year, hmm...?
Nathaniel: Erm...we compiled all our posts from the first year and then...and then something happened that...we had everything together and...and...and...THOSE GNOMES!!!
Alex: I don't think I would buy a t-shirt--uh...I mean...they're coming soon. Promise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)