8/2/10

Look At Me! I'm A Blogger!

Current Status: Ashamed of absence
Twitter Status: Active
Current Music: Chameleon Circuit (Doctor Who music, yes, I'm a nerd)
I realize that it's been almost three months since my last post. I also realize that nobody really cares...we'll call it even.
I have recently discovered the incredible community that exists on YouTube. I know! You'd never guess from the amount of crap comments that there happens to be a large amount of incredibly made of awesome people. Hoo! Ha! Nerdfighters! If that confuses you, check out the vlogbrothers, who are made of awesome, despite my political views clashing with theirs from time to time. Also check out Charlie Mcdonnell and Alex Day, a couple of British youtubers who are really awesome too.
Guess what comes out in thirty days! The next Brandon Sanderson book! It's been no secret on this blog that I adore this guy, but this book, titled The Way of Kings, is shaping up to be his best yet. If you need evidence, I recommend you click here and start reading.
I have Twitter. Just thought you might wanna know. Username's Flame_Soul is you're interested in following me. I also have Facebook, but I don't want you guys finding me there, thanks. I also have a YouTube account, but you might want to hold off on that until it doesn't suck.
I have an interesting with my local library. I will go for long stretches of time without anything checked out. Then I'll get a half dozen plus books at a time, kind of like a negligent boyfriend who makes up for his absence with lots of expensive gifts. I'm currently in the "lots of books" phase of this cycle. Here's my current reading list:
Oathbreaker: Assassin's Apprentice - S.R. Vaught and J.B. Redmond - spontaneous pick up (first in a fantasy trilogy and I'm liking it a lot so far, I'm about half way through)
Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want - Obert Skye - reread (I've been slowing making my way through this series again so I can finish it, about 1/4 of the way through)
Spells - Aprilynne Pike - sequel, recommendation (second in a YA romance series that was recommended on Writing Excuses, let me put it this way, it's everything Twilight tried to be in about a third of the pages, but better, and with fairies instead of vampires, a great read, haven't started this one yet)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan - reread (same sitch as Leven Thumps, but for this I'm wanting to compare it to the movie, which I saw recently, haven't started)
Hero.com: Virus Attack - Andy Briggs - sequel, spontaneous pick up (second in a middle grade series about a website that lets people download superpowers, has a parallel series called Villain.net that's from a bad guy perspective, very interesting and likes to mess with some typical comic book tropes while embracing others, haven't started)
The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters - James Dashner - recommendation (another Writing Excuses recommendation, I've read the first chapter and it seems quirkily fantastic, can't wait to read it)
Leven Thumps and the Wrath of Ezra - Obert Skye - sequel (waiting to finish rereading Eyes of the Want to start this one, eagerly anticipating)
In addition to all that, I'm picking up a couple MORE books at the library tonight. Yeah, I'm kind of a maniac.
I've also found myself totally enamored with Doctor Who, if I haven't metioned it already. But in June I saw the finale of series 5, the first under the control of Steven Moffat, who wrote the best episodes up to that point. And he did NOT disappoint. It was so awesome. You should watch it.
One that that DW has done differently this year is the inclusion of the Doctor Who Adventure Game. Which are fully canon Doctor Who episodes, but in downloadable game format. You don't need them to have the full arc of the season, but they're still awesome. The thing is, though, that the developers seem to be about a generation behind the times when it comes to game design. It looks and plays like a game from 2004. And while it may feature voice talents of the actual actors of the show, this only minimally enhances the experience. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, while great screen actors, don't measure up when it comes to voice only. You don't get the same character dynamic present in the show. Also, the voice bites to match up with the lip syncing in-game, which isn't really noticeable most of the time, but sometimes the audio clip will finish a full five seconds or more before the on-screen model finishes its lip flapping. Apart from some severe technical difficulties, the game plays pretty well. It's stealth and puzzle mechanics, which make up the majority of the gameplay, aren't exactly original, but the backdrop they're presented against, meaning plot and setting, really work well. Plus, dodging right behind a Dalek or Cyberman makes you feel more than a little smug.