Text Play: Breath of Fire (SNES): Issue Five: The Stoned Robot

This might be kind of a long one, compared to what's come before, but but better than too short, I think.

Text Play: Breath of Fire (SNES): Issue #4: Zombies Like Chitlins

Here's a bonus Monday edition of Text Play: Breath of Fire because I missed Thursday completely and forgot to update the on Tuesday at CLG. Sorry about that, everyone, but I'm sure you all know about how real life can mess things up for a guy.

Not About The Money

So a funny thing happened after I posted my Little Imp entry.

Crazy Movies: Argentinian Noah's Ark -- Animated

This may not be a movie for the holiday at hand, but it's as good a reason as any to share it.

So This Is Christmas...

Ah, Christmas.  The one time of year when we Americans tend to show our true nature.

Text Play: Breath of Fire (SNES): Issue 3: East Of Winlan

Once again, I've got a brief production note before I get into the actual flesh of this thing. For those of you reading on County Line Gaming, you've probably noticed my discussion with the good Mr. Amiss about including screenshots within each issue of this text play. I've looked into that, and given my current situation, that's going to have to be a no-go, at least for the time being. I'm hoping to find a way to change that in the near future, but that's a topic for another post or thread, as the case may be.

Things I Don't Get: Furry Haters

Every now and then, I'll think of something I don't quite get and have the urge to write about it. This is one of those times.

Being A Little Imp #1

So, technically, I'm not supposed to do this, but I'm going to anyway. And I kind of want to do a little experiment, too.

I'd also thought I'd wait until Wednesday to post this so I could get a better view of what happens, but since it's ready to go now, why not, right?

Added Sweeteners

A couple weeks back on my uStream show, I sorta hinted at having a topic and then backed off of it. Here's a little more about it.

The Schedule

From the looks of things, I'm going to need a blogging and streaming schedule.

Text Play: Breath of Fire (SNES): Issue Two: East to Winlan

The madness continues in Issue Two.  I'm starting to think maybe I need a schedule to do these things on...

Cross-Posting Between Blogs: Just Wondering...

I'm a terribly curious (and possibly just terrible) person, and sometimes I just have to ask questions.

Doing Something Cool For A Favorite Webcomic Artist

I'm the sort of fellow who likes to be charitable.  Unfortunately, my personal charity budget is pretty much used up for the year, so I'm doing this instead.

A Frustration Or Two

Much as I dislike writing about my frustrations sometimes, if I don't do something about them, they may wind up doing something about me.

Text Play: Breath of Fire (SNES) Issue One: Getting Started

This is probably one of the dumbest ideas I've ever had for a blog series, but why let that stop me?

A Brief List Of Things To Come

Every now and then , I like to list off a few of the things I've got going on in my writings.  This is one of those times.

Damned Snow Days!

I was hoping for a snow day.  Sometimes I really hate getting what I want...

A "Change! Ya Got Change?" on the way...

Since I'm gonna do this anyway, why not get paid for it?

A Few Thoughts On Movies

I like going to the movies.  Too bad there don't seem to be any good ones out right now...

A Few Thoughts On People

I do a uStream show Monday nights at 9:30 PM Central. One of the topics this week was how I view people.

Another Idea...

I've been giving it some thought since the other day, and since it seems like I can have more than one blog with Blogger, I think I've come up with another plan for monetizing things.

Bennett the Sage's Masterpiece Fan Fiction Theater

I like fan fiction. I like comedic dramatic readings. And I know a guy who does both.

Thinking Of Monetizing

I'm thinking of monetizing this blog after the first of the year so that I can have a little extra income. I'm not entirely sure if I actually will or not at this point. While any extra income would certainly be helpful, at present, there's no absolute need for it.

One big factor in my mulling this over for the next month or so is that one of the places I'd like this blog and my uStream channel to lead me is to a gig with a site like That Guy With The Glasses. Truth be told, it's the kind of thing I went to college for right out of high school. Even though I did mess up getting the actual journalism degree, I would still like to be doing something kind of like that with my life.

Thing is, though, I'm not entirely sure that having ads in my blog will be the best course of action to get me to that goal. I mean, sure, I see that quite a few of the people I follow from That Guy have their own sites, which, naturally, have ads on them to help pay for server space, bandwidth, and whatnot. And I'm sure being able to provide someone with solid numbers about viewers and ad revenue will be a big help in reaching my goal.

The biggest thing holding me back is that I'm working a day job that I've been at for a really long time, and I'm scared of what will happen if I have to tell them that I'm also getting money from writing a blog. This is mostly because I can't really afford to lose any of my hours there at present. As I said before, I'm doing pretty good there, all things considered, and would like to be doing better, I'll sorta be screwed if I wind up getting my hours cut or losing the job altogether.

There's also the fact that I'm sadly uninformed about what I will and won't be able to do as compared to what I can and can't do now. To make matters worse, I'm not particularly well informed about those matters now, either, which is something I should probably remedy at my earliest convenience.

I'll probably also talk a little bit about this when I do my uStream show on Monday night, as any live help there would be as much appreciated as comments would here. I'd always appreciate comments, of course. I like it when when people admit to reading, looking at, and watching my work.

But anyway, that's one of the big things on my mind right now. Any and all help would be appreciated.

So, until next time, happy Thanksgiving! See you all later!

A Fanboy's One Question: Mystery Science Theater

Every now and then, I'll get to thinking about some of the things I'm a fan of and find myself wondering “If I could ask the people behind this one question, what would it be?” To be honest, at present, there are only two groups that get me to thinking this way. One of those groups is the one behind the quasi-official Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars Web series, but since there's half a chance I'll actually get a chance to ask them any questions I may have when the series concludes later on this year, I'll hold off on such things until I either have a chance or get to see if and/or where any answers might be found.

So, Video, Huh?

I got myself a new webcam recently and tested it out over Skype during a recent ZipperFish Live After Hours. There was a good deal if interest in my doing video work in addition to everything else I do. While that was kinda the point of my getting the cam, I must admit, I've really got no idea what I'm doing when it comes to video. Just check out my previous attempts on YouTube. Granted, those were done with a different camera and on different computers than what I'm using now, but I'm sure I was still doing something wrong.

So, what I'm looking for here is pointers, hints, and tutorials so that I can maybe do a better job of whatever video work I do. Anything would help.

One of the things that was suggested during that initial ZFL appearance was that I do a live program. I know there are several options out there that I could use, but I'm not entirely sure which one I actually should. I know a lot of people use uStream, but I've also seen people use LiveStream and JustinTV, and I know there are at least a few others, as well. I'd like to use uStream simply because if I do recorded shows, I'd like to have more than one or two at a time, but I'm not sure how difficult it is to use, which is the kind of advice I'm looking for.

Also, I've got a few characters I could and very likely will play. I know that's a popular and perhaps necessary thing, as so many others do it. Something I'm not sure of is if I should establish a baseline “normal me” persona before I start in with other characters.

Probably the biggest question, however, is of how I should go about recording anything I'm not intending on doing live. See, my new webcam didn't come with any such software of its own that I'm aware of because it's the lowest-priced one I could find, and the other video software I have at present doesn't seem to offer the option for recording. Suggestions there would be a real help.

As I've said before, any hints and pointers will be much appreciated. There will always be more to come, but that's for another time. Thanks in advance for the hints and pointers.

Why I Do Art

As I'm sure many of you know, I'm an amateur artist, emphasis on amateur. I'll admit, I'm not very good at it. Perhaps it would even be fair to say I suck at it.

From time to time, I'll get asked about why I do it, especially in light of my rather obvious lack of skill. Well, there are a lot of reasons. It's fun. I enjoy it. It's a way to kill time at the laundromat while I'm washing and/or drying my clothes. Most importantly, it's a way for me to try to give back to a community I've enjoyed for quite a few years.

At this point, I'm going to be The Walrus.  (His main Web site is here.) I'm going to be far more blunt than I should be and give entirely too much information about myself for the situation.  If you don't want that, are sensitive to strong adult themes, or are easily grossed out, turn away now, as this is indeed warning that what is to come is not pleasant or pretty.

Holding My Motivation/Where's My Outrage?

You know, sometimes I think I'm too mellow to be the kind of blogger I would like to be, and sometimes need to be, when I'm not actually sitting down to write.

See, when I first started this blog, I had a head full of great ideas to write about.  I still do, for the most part.  It's just that I find now that when I do actually sit down to write, my motivation and the sense of outrage that had me all riled up to hammer something out is gone.

No, it's not because I'm a horribly lazy person.  Not primarily, anyway.  It's just that I'm like quite a lot of bloggers in that I tend to have my best ideas when I'm all worked up about something.  Unfortunately, unless I'm at my day job and wishing I wasn't, I have tons of trouble staying worked up about whatever it was that got me going.  And what's worse is that I can usually manage to calm myself down to the point that I can't even remember what I was mad about or why in the time it takes me to drive home.

I find it aggravating because I know most of the same issues will keep coming back day after day when I go to work, and writing about them would probably help me deal with them a little better.

So really, I'm kind of looking for some pointers on holding onto the outrage, if anyone's willing to give them.  It would be much appreciated..

Note: the song in the link is Mellow by Spacekats.

Knowing When To Quit

Sometimes, a guy just has to know when to quit.  One of those times for me came recently, regarding a different blog I was writing for.

The name of the blog was Bad Ass News, started by some 16-year-old kid that I'd come across in the chat room for a webcast I watch on Friday nights.  Right then and there, I should have known that it was a bad idea to say I'd help this kid with his little project.  After all, I was a 16-year-old boy once.  My intentions were usually good, but my follow-through was awful.  It wasn't that I didn't mean to get things done.  I did.  I just had trouble motivating myself to do them, even with tons of outside help.

And so it was with Bad Ass News.  This kid that I'd never really met outside that one Webcast chat had asked me to help him do a blog on "cool news", and I'd been foolhardy enough to say yes.  Given the circumstances, I'm not, nor should I be, surprised that this did not go well.

The last straw came during the most recent show of the ZipperFish Live Webcast on uStream.  My young "friend" had won a contest a couple weeks ago and pestered the host into making him a logo for another blog he was doing.  I should have seen that he wasn't going to show up to claim it when I'd seen that the second blog hadn't been updated in two weeks and that I was the only one making posts to Bad Ass News.

So between failing to do anything himself with the blogs that he had created and not claiming the prize he had pretty much begged for, I finally found myself coming to the conclusion that it was little more than a wast of my time to continue writing for an idea who's creator could not back it up.

So now, I'm on to something that I can actually make work.  I can feel good about making that change.  It'll be good to make these things happen as I want, when I want, and not have to worry so much about what anyone else has to say about it.

Now, what can one expect to see here?  Well, as I may have said before, just random passing thoughts and crazy ideas that I've come up with in the course of my days, but also movie reviews, essays that I don't have any other place for, art of various sorts, links I find interesting, and various other things.

One thing I may try here are Player's Logs for various games I have in my collection.  Two prime contenders for me right now are Legend of Mana and the Origins version of Final Fantasy 2 for the PlayStation.  I'm not entirely sure how far I'll go with any of those things, but they're certainly fun ideas to at least try once.

But anyway, I'm moving on with things, which is, in a way, moving back to things I've done before, but that can be sort of the same thing

Hello and Welcome...

Howdy-do, blogverse!  It's time I started my own blog, which is something that I probably should have done years ago.  It's certainly something I've thought about from time to time, but have never really gotten around to doing very much of.

Sure, I've been writing and posting essays and tidbits and stuff around the web for years now, most recently on That Guy With The Glasses in the Looking Back and Recent Discoveries series, both of which I have a good deal fun with; and to a blog site called Bad Ass News, which, I'm afraid, won't be updated very much after this, as it wasn't my idea originally, and I'm about out of ideas for what to do with it because the guy who started it isn't doing anything to help with it, when I understood, or perhaps misunderstood, that he would be.  But, oh well, live and learn, right?  That's one reason why I'm starting this, really.

See, I'm pretty much just like everybody else.  I kinda like getting rewarded for my work.  At least with TGWTG, I can say I get that in the form of free, or relatively free high quality entertainment.  With Bad Ass News, I'm doing the work but getting nothing beyond the ability to say that in return.  Not sure what the dude who came up with the idea gets.  I just hope there's no money involved in this.

So anyway, the way things are going, I don't know how much longer Bad Ass News will last.  I said I'd give it until the 14th of November 2010 before I give it up, but I may do so before then, depending on how things go.

Originally, I was going to call this blog "J. Michael Shearer's Passing Thoughts And Other Weird Ideas".  The basic thought process behind all of this is that I'll just post things here that I want to write something about but don't want to post on TGWTG, my deviantART page, FictionPress, or FanFiction Net.  That could range from sort fiction of both fan and original varieties to rants to gamer's journals to, well, who knows, just about anything/   I won't guarantee anything, but I might even post videos and/or new art here from time to time.  We'll just have to see how I feel about it, and if I can get a working webcam and figure out how to use it to make decent videos with it.  But I do know it'll be my own content, written with my own rules on my own schedule

Just how far I'll make it with that, I'm not sure, but it'll be interesting to see what becomes of it.

Until next time, see you soon, dear readers.