The new site is up!

Fair, readers,

The new site is up, in its rough form, ready for your consumption. Please visit at WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot.org.

Another successful zoo trip.

I love going to the zoo. I love the animals. I love the photo opportunities. I love watching the people watching the animals.

On Saturday, Brian and I took a trip up to York Wild Animal Kingdom in York, Maine. Neither of us had ever been up there before. Aside from a little parking snag, it was pretty great. They have a big amusement park as well as the zoo.

Now, let's face it. These are animals. There is always the chance that perhaps some animal or other may be engaged in... ahem, delicate activities. Of course, there are animals that you would be more likely to expect this sort of behavior from. I think anything from the ape family is highly suspect. Monkeys too. The big cats maybe.

But no!
For the first time, Brian and I saw animals engaged in such activities while at the zoo. And it wasn't a pair of primates or the big cats. Not even the giraffes, though I feel that would have been an enlightening experience. No, it was the tortoises.

So as wonderful as the rest of the zoo was, there was just no getting away from the tortoises. There were several other highlights, especially the kangaroos who were SOOOOO close and the prairie dog Alamo. You can see the rest of my photos from this trip here.

York Zoo 7-11-09

When cool kids drink

Before we all embark on another weekend adventure, I'd like to recall the events of the 4th of July.

The 4th of July around here is a time for celebration. Beers and barbecue. Friends getting together and enjoying each other's company. This is what Brian and I set out to do last Saturday morning. We headed down to the house of a friend of ours who was kind enough to host. The burgers were seared and the beers were flowing.

Now, this party was populated heavily with what I'll call "Cool Kids". These are people who are into sports, watching and playing. They've got the clothes and the sunglasses and all that...

... but, woe to them, for after a few beers, inhibitions are decreased... or erased entirely. Some suffering this fate participate in the usual acts of public drunkenness. But a few, the select few, are compelled to unleash their inner nerd upon the world. They do this by singing a World of Warcraft parody song. I am not making this up. I was serenaded about the woes of being a shadow priest from one such inebriated cool kid. I have proof.

So beware, fair readers, as you set out this weekend for whatever debauchery you have planned. You, too, could wind up showing someone your inner nerd.


Note: The one on the right is wearing a Nat Pagle Fishing Supplies shirt. He has nothing to hide.

[WoW] I loves me my PvE server

The Midsummer Fire Festival has come and gone. As with any of these holidays, there was a large amount of complaining about the PvP element. I am not without sympathy for these complainers. There are those that do not really enjoy PvP. I also fully agree with the solution to the problem that others have put forth; you don't have to do the holiday. For those of you still with me on the epic quest for the Violet Proto-Drake, it doesn't seem quite so much like a choice. Rather than complain, though, I wish people would embrace the excitement that a little bit of PvP can introduce to your regular game.

Behold, the PvE servers. As Brian reminded me, in the days of Vanilla WoW, they were referred to as "Carebear Servers". Of course, I'm not particularly concerned with my "hardcore" status, so that's where I roll. Even while cuddling my Carebear, I do love some good PvP. I like battlegrounds (except Warsong Gulch) and Wintergrasp. Woe to the lowbe Ally flagged in my presence. Otherwise, I like to be able to do what I want to do without having to worry about some jerk killing me for no reason other than the pleasure of ruining my day.

Along come the holidays. They seem to usually have some kind of PvP component, be it battleground achievements or world PvP. The Fire Festival is no exception. We must honor our own flames and desecrate those of our enemies. Desecrating enemy fires cause you to become PvP flagged. This is where the complaints lie. We're on a PvE server because we don't want to have to deal with world PvP. Really, though, give Blizzard credit for trying to make it something a little more than just a tour of the greater Azeroth flight paths. I, for one, relish the excitement of finding oneself vulnerable in the middle of the wilderness. Avoiding the Alliance on the roads, preparing to make a lightning strike raid on their main cities, waiting out a flag in the trees. This really makes my heart pound. There's preparation there. I ride around on my Dreadsteed instead of my wolf. I turn off my title to make my name shorter. I turn my helm back on to be less conspicuously Blood Elf. There's a Mata Hari-like thrill to the whole affair.

That being said, there are a few easy things you can do to make your life easier during these times. First, if at all possible, don't try to get this stuff done during peak hours. Brian and I raided all four of the opposite faction cities to get their fires first thing on Sunday morning. We only died once at the hand of another player. Because we got such an early start on the achievements, we had actually done all of Azeroth before they reset the quests. I actually wound up doing most of them twice. With all of those enemy fires, I only had a problem with other players a couple of times. I'll admit, once I became flagged, there was a fair amount of diving off the roads when someone was coming. Occasionally I'd cast water breathing on myself and wait it out at the bottom of a lake (This works well. Players don't like under water battles). It's great fun. And don't go alone. Even if you only have one other person to roll with, that's enough to protect you from the lone jerk wandering the wastes. Sure, you might die a couple times. Remember, if the person is camping your corpse, as long as you're not in the capital city, you can always wait out your flag as a ghost so they can't continue to grief you after you res.

So, come on, people, embrace the opportunity to show some of those snotty members of the opposite faction what's what.

Something's happening here...

... what it is ain't exactly clear.

Greetings, boys and girls.

I know, haven't posted in a while. Being unemployed has inexplicably given me tons of free time and yet made me completely busy. I've got a lot of projects going on right now. Several of them involve you, dear readers.

New site incoming...

I'm not going to say too much about it yet. It is in the infant stages right now. Well... I've got the domain registered. The blog will be there, as well some exciting content from Brian. Our portfolios will eventually be a part of that also. Very exciting.

Etsy Store in development...

I'm working on putting together an Etsy store full of gifts for nerds. I'm thinking it will have things for gamers, DMs, even baby nerds. Things like dice pouches, DM screens, dice towers, baby clothes and toys, stuff like that. Input on the kinds of things you'd like to see there is welcome.

I should also be posting more often. Be ready!

Thanks to everyone who reads ye olde blog. Be sure to follow me on twitter (twitter.com/Daniora) to keep track of what's going on.

Congratulations, Scott Johnson

I've gone back and forth over the last few days as to whether or not I wanted to write about this, but in light of recent events, it seems kind of important.

On Thursday, June 18th, Scott Johnson of MyExtraLife and podcasting fame announced on CNET's Buzz Out Loud that as of Monday (today) he would no longer be a slave to the 9 - 5 but would be working for himself. Somewhere along the way, Scott discovered that his web work and commissions were bringing in enough that he could do it full time.

That. Is. Awesome.

Even though I don't know Scott personally, I find this turn of events very exciting. I know there are other people who make a very good living as webcomic artists. But I wasn't there when Gabe and Tycho quit their day jobs or when Scott Kurtz decided to do his art work full time. I am here now, following Scott through his Twitter and his blog. And now he's living the dream.

So many people have commented on how Scott seems to do everything. I agree. He does. About a month ago, when he announced on Twitter his new iPod and iPhone application podcast, Appslappy, I retweeted this information with the comment that "Scott must be bored." He direct messaged me back with "Bored? Hey!" I told him that he clearly didn't already do enough if he was adding another podcast.

His reply... "Easy when you love it. :)"

Now, just a short few weeks later, he is doing what he loves as a career. I couldn't help but draw hope from this. One more of us regular people (albeit a very talented one) had done what everyone dreams of. I never seem to find enough hours in the day for everything that I love to do, let alone progress those things to a level where they could become profitable. I may have worked in the art department, but it certainly wasn't the art that I wanted to make. Seeing Scott succeed with his own work made me think that maybe I could find a way to do both.

Here I sit, no longer having the job that I liked well enough, but didn't love. Being downsized sucks, no matter who you are, but I'm having a hard time being completely unhappy about it. I have a singular chance to do what I love, at least for a little while. Maybe I can find that opportunity that will let me make my creative works a career.

It's comforting to know that someone made it.

Congratulations, Scott, and good luck.

[Webcomic Wednesday] From Comics Coast to Coast

As requested by Mr. Frost, I'm getting back into the Webcomic Wednesday groove. Behold, three webcomics for your entertainment. All of the following were originally suggestions from Brian Dunnaway and Justin Thompson's podcast Comics Coast to Coast.

Mythtickle

This little gem comes from Comics Coast to Coast co-host (try saying that five times fast), Justin Thompson. Admittedly, I haven't read many of them. I'm working on it. I do really enjoy Justin's whimsical style and color work. It has a simplicity that makes it absolutely endearing. The story revolves around Boody, the last dragon, and Dudley the knight who "disdains him for being his best friend".

Much the Miller's Son

I've started reading this one from the beginning, and I'm making pretty good headway. Like Mythtickle, it has a fantastic art style. The art here reminds me of the Asterix comics. The story revolves around Much, the son of the miller. He begins his adventures as one of Robin Hood's Merry Men, and things pretty much go downhill from there. A great read.

Cock & Bull

I really enjoy this one. After reading the first couple, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. But I soon found that I had read through every single strip and had fallen in love with it. I really enjoy the simple black and white line art. More and more comics are moving to full color, so that this is still black and white really helps set it apart. A word to the wise... The language is often foul, and they're certainly not above making horrible puns. But that's the charm. It's great for a quick laugh.

Three fantastic webcomics, ready for your consumption. All of them suggestions from Comics Coast to Coast. Please do visit these sites, click their sponsers, the whole deal.

[Rant] An open letter to hosts of Warcraft Podcasts

Please, please, please. I'm begging you. When hosting a podcast, please don't speak as if you were in trade chat. "DK" does not take any less time to say than "Death Knight". Do not say "Lol" while actually laughing out loud. It's "Congratulations" not "grats". While these acronyms and colloquialisms may save in game chat times, you shouldn't have to rush your podcast.

I may be somewhat dismayed at the sloppiness of internet chat, but I accept that it's not going to change. I mean, somewhere along the way, people decided that "it is" is too long and made it "it's". That's fine. Language, especially written language in this age of faster communication, must evolve. Keystrokes are time, people. I get that. But please, people, there's no character count when you're speaking. Use real words.

That being said, I have no problems with using some acronyms. If you want to say BRD instead of Black Rock Depths, I'll accept that. Sometimes that's the only way I learn what the acronym actually stands for. DoTs are fine. Call it WoW. But let's be reasonable.

I've been trying to expand my podcast listening, maybe adding one or two more Warcraft related ones, and I just can't bring myself to do it. I downloaded one today, which shall remain nameless, but I just couldn't get past the WoW speak. This is, of course, not a universal problem. The Instance is safe. How I WoW is fine. WoW Insider is tolerable. These shows seem to have set a certain standard of professionalism for themselves, and because of that, the language used is, well, professional.

And if you want someone to listen to your product, a little professionalism might help.

E3 Part 2: Games and hardware that intrigue me

There were a fair number of games discussed at E3 that while I'm not necessarily excited to play them, I am intrigued by them.

Monkey Island - I won't deny it. I miss old computer games. I miss Hugo's House of Horrors and Day of the Tentacle. I am awesome at clicking the mouse on random items. News of a renewal of the Monkey Island franchise has made my ears perk up. It's just going to have to be a wait-and-see situation for me.

ModNation Racers - From what I saw, it has all the appeal of a Mario Kart where you can build your own tracks. And the build system they should could not have been easier. So while in games like The Sims, I don't mind spending hours perfecting their houses, if I'm making a track in a racing game, I want the time between creation and actually playing on it to be as short as possible. It just all looked so smooth.

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - I still haven't finished Phantom Hourglass. I have yet to play Twilight Princess. And I just downloaded Majora's Mask and have barely gotten into that. So this game is on my radar, but I've got a fair number of games ahead of it. I like the style that the Zelda games have taken of late.

I guess that's about it in terms of games that have really piqued my interest without being games I'm really excited about. My list of games that I really want to play is devastatingly long, causing this list to be shorter than I had anticipated.

EDIT: I was going save all the motion stuff for a separate post, but I think it will fit in here just fine.

Everyone has jumped on the motion control bandwagon. Not surprising; when done right, it can be really fun. One of the benefits of being in the business was that I was able to watch most of the big three keynotes streaming live while at work. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft all had motion demonstrations, and all of them brought something a little different.

Nintendo - Wii Motion Plus - I have to say, this is a huge disappointment. It seems to me that they want to sell me another periferal that will make games operate in the way they promised the Wii would work in the first place. I think this is especially apparent in the fact that one of the release games for this new technology is Red Steel 2. The first Red Steel game was supposed to be so awesome, since it would be like you were really swinging a sword. We were pumped. This was the wave of the future. I mean, come on, if you're swinging a virtual sword, how long could it be before you're swinging a virtual lightsaber. Geeks of the world, REJOICE.... until any of us actually played the game. It was "cool", but certainly not the revolution in gaming that we had all anticipated. So I really find I have no option with this new tech but to be wary.

Sony - Playstation Eye - This tech is clearly still in the early stages of development, but it seems to be based off the same principles as the Wii motion controls. You've got a couple of wands and you use those as placeholders for whatever your character is weilding in the game. The demonstration that had reminded me of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Not that it's a bad thing. It was really kind of cool seeing the image of the guy doing the demonstration holding cartooney weapons. Having a controller means that, yes, you will have to buy extra controllers if others want to play, but it also solves problems that I worry Microsoft might run in to. That being said...

Microsoft - Project Natal - I don't think that anyone at Microsoft doubted that the demonstration for their new baby would make people talk. And it most certainly did. I'll admit, I'm probably not as skeptical about it as I should be, but I want it to be awesome. One of the facts that gives me hope is that Johnny Chung Lee, the guy who put together the Wii head tracking 3d thing, worked on this project. This dude does cool things. My only concern is that while peripherals will be supported, game developers may be too willing to jump whole-heartedly into the motion sensing that they won't include them when needed. This would become especially a problem in terms of UI. Now, if I have a UI bar along the side and I can just virtually press buttons like in the movies, that'd be just fine with me. But if I have to pat my head and rub my tummy while standing on one leg to bring up the multiplayer menu, that would be a problem. Example: I love Okami. I have it for the Wii. It's tons of fun. But I haven't finished it. And I haven't played it in a while. I'm going to have to start over because I don't remember what any of the motions are. I just don't want an entire library of games that I'm going to have to remember a separate set of motions for.

That covers most of what I have to say about E3. I do want to cover a few major disappointments, then I can be satisfied that I have had my say.

E3 Part 1: Games I'm super excited about.

Alright, this is going to be the first part of my take on the stuff that came out of E3. These are the games that I am so very excited about.

The Last Guardian - Not much to say about this one. I've been waiting for years for another game from Team Ico. Here it is. The teaser trailer promises everything I'm looking for. And I am now going to have to purchase a PS3. I have no idea where we'll find room for it.

Overlord 2 - I admit, I haven't come close to finishing the first Overlord game. But it's so damn fun. I've heard about a fair few problems in the first one that I didn't play far enough to encounter. These are supposedly fixed in the second one. What's not to love? Brian claims that the Overlord looks like Arthas, but, hey, who wouldn't like to play as Arthas?

Assassin's Creed 2 - Again, I personally haven't played much of the first one, but they are so graphically stunning, I really enjoy it. And, again, claims have been made that most of the things people didn't like about the first game shall be remedied in the sequel.

Super Mario Bros. Wii - I'm fairly certain I have never really adapted to 3D games. So the prospect of a somewhat old school Mario side scroller is very exciting to me. Plus, Brian and I could use another game we can play together. As long as I get to be Princess Peach.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box - After I wrecked the first game (8 hours, baby. I loves me a puzzle game), it killed me to know that there were others in the series that I couldn't play. I would search the internet for whisperings of an English version of the sequels, but nothing. Finally, the second in the series is being released, and a game magazine I was flipping through at the book store stated that they plan to release the entire series in the US. Hooray! I do understand the delay, though. I imagine a puzzle game, especially something like Professor Layton which will inevitably have tons of language and cultural references in their puzzles, must be a nightmare to localize. I'm just glad that the first one did well enough to warrent them going through the effort for the others.

Star Wars: Old Republic - This game doesn't interest me personally so much as I am concerned about the possibility of losing my favorite Undead Warrior companion. If this game lives up to they hype, no Star Wars nerd will be able to resist.

Brutal Legend - Jack Black as Jack Black as Eddie Riggs in Brutal Legend. 'Nuff said. (And I still maintain that Tenacious D is the best concert I've ever been to.)

That pretty much sums up the games that I am truly excited about. There are several others that I look forward to playing, some that intrigue me, and there were a lot of E3 disappointments. But that will all have to wait til a later post.

Commissionathlon VICTORY!

So, yesterday, O drew our commission of Daniora and Vendetta. I haven't received the high res version yet, but it's been posted on O's site. I'm just tickled. It came out even better than I could have imagined. I'm glad that we gave O as much freedom as we did and extremely glad we had it done in pencil. He said it was his favorite medium to work in, and I think it really shows.

This one's for the people in the chat room

So, O is working on our COMMISSIONATHLON picture at the moment, and some of the people in the chat room were wondering if there were any pictures of our characters. Of course there are! Here they are.

So help me, I'm blogging.

Alright, here we go. An hour for lunch and I'm going to try and cram in most of what I've wanted to write about for the last two weeks...

First off, I am so very excited that yesterday was the beginning of COMMISSIONATHLON 2009. For those of you not in the know, Obsidian of Commissioned Comic has this mad plan to do one commissioned piece of art a day for the next month. All of this is to fund his trip up from Colombia to Conneticon at the end of July. O's first piece was Scott Johnson's WoW character Gerp and his tiger pet Henry. It looks awesome. It may be my favorite of the WoW character drawings I've watched O do so far. I was fortunate enough to get to see the whole thing, and I am not so much more excited for the commission that I have coming. Brian and my piece is scheduled for next Tuesday, June 9th. I'll be sure to tweet about it when it's happening and I'll put the finished piece up here when I get it.

Along those lines, I got a wedding invitation from two of my good friends, and their wedding is on the first of August. This is squarely in the middle of Conneticon, solving my on-going questioning as to whether I was going or not. I'm sad I won't get to go see O, but maybe the 'con means that more awesome stuff will be going on sale in his store.

E3... It deserves it's own post, but I want to at least get my initial impressions out in case I don't get another chance to write. The big news: I'm going to have to buy a PS3. I don't really want to. But I must. Team Ico announced The Last Guardian, which I have been waiting for years to hear about. It's nice to have an actual trailer (even if it is only a teaser) rather than whisperings, hopes, and the occasional blurry screen shot. Shadow of the Colossus is very likely my favorite game ever, and now I'm trying to get my hands on Ico. Along with Little Big Planet, that I've wanted since it came out, and God of War 3, Brian and I just can't fight it much longer.

I'm sure my WoW characters have been weeping uncontrollably at my absence. I miss them, too. Daniora is working on getting her last Champion city, Orgrimmar. She's also gathering up enough Champion seals to get her hippogryph. Amelinda of Earthen Ring is leveling... slowly. She's still in the Ghostlands, but I have got to tell you, I am loving AIE. It's really nice after a hard day at work to be able to surround yourself with a wall of friendly green text. I think people have the impression that there are so many jerks on the internet because all the nice people are tied up playing in the guild.

Scott Johnson's got a new podcast, this time pairing up with Eric, otherwise known as SkyHawk. It's called AppSlappy and covers apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Very nice. I can't officially review it here until there are at least 5 episodes, but expect something soon.

Brian Dunnaway of Mission Deep, ELR, and Comics Coast-to-Coast has said he's been working on a few new things for the site. I can't wait for that!

Phew. That was quite the linkfest. Hopefully I'll be able to get more regular and less insane posts out in the near future.

Also, I'd like to give a big internet shout out to Beth, the greatest office manager any company could hope for.

Apologies to my handful of readers

Work has been absolutely insane. I worked a 14 1/2 hour day yesterday. I've been swamped for the last several weeks, so I haven't had my usual lunchtime breaks to be able to write up a blog post. I promise, things will calm down soon and I'll be able to get back on schedule. There's a lot I want to talk about, including the news coming out of E3 and the continuing adventures of Amelinda of Earthenring. So, stay tuned, I haven't forgotten you.

[Podcast Review] Coverville

So far I've only reviewed WoW related podcasts, so I thought I'd mix it up this week and appeal to the music nerds.

Brian Ibbott is reportedly the "nicest guy in all of podcasting". While I haven't had a whole lot of personal dealings with him, I certainly can't disagree. So far, he's played my request on the show, written back to me shortly after I sent him an e-mail with my show idea, and is following me on Twitter. That is one nice guy.

Coverville, as you might imagine, is a podcast dedicated to covers of songs. And we're not talking karaoke at the local bar kinds of covers, these are real, honest-to-goodness reimaginings of the songs. Brian chooses versions that will appeal to a very broad range of listeners, rather than, say, the hardcore metal version of "Over the Rainbow". For example, I am not the biggest fan of Dolly Parton, but I've got to say that the Dolly episode is one of my favorite so far. Her version of Stairway to Heaven is a must listen.

There are several formats for shows. The Cover Story takes one artist and presents covers of their songs and songs that they've covered. There are Originalvilles, where Brian plays the original versions of songs whose covers were more popular. Listener request shows. You get the idea. It's a fantastic mix of songs you know by artists you don't and songs you've never heard of by artists you know. Brian has a huge knowledge base and clearly has a passion for the topic.

The only thing I would change would be to selfishly make the episodes longer. But, realistically, since episodes are released 3 TIMES A WEEK!!!!, that's more total content than most of my podcasts put out. The length of each show is actually pretty perfect, keeping whatever the topic at hand is from getting dull or over done. I just wish Brian Ibbott could be my personal dj every day. At least I have the archives.

[edit] I forgot to mention the awesome-est part of Coverville. In the show notes, Brian provides links to places where you can buy the songs played during the episode. It's a fantastic way to find new bands.

[Webcomic Wednesday] Dungeons and Dragons

Today I've decided to do three themed comics, all based around Dungeons and Dragons (or tabletop gaming in general). Enjoy!

Commissioned Comic

Alright, so this comic isn't exclusively about gaming. O tends to have several story lines going at once, alternating between them as he sees fit. One such story line is "The Adventures of Dwarf & Elf ('n' Weretiger)". It's the ongoing campaign of three D&D characters and the people who play them.

O has been extremely prolific with this comic. It used to be a daily webcomic and is now a far more reasonable Mon-Wed-Fri posting. In addition to the D&D story line, the other ones are nerd based or centered around the business of trying to make a living as an artist. O has produced so many of these comics that his art style is strong and consistently wonderful.

DM of the Ring

This comic is different in that it has a definite beginning and end. There is talk of a sequel, but as far as I know, nothing has been done to that end yet.

The comic covers the storyline of the Lord of the Rings movies from the perspective of a DM and players playing each of the characters. Instead of original art, it uses screenshots from the movies with speech bubbles. Some of the facial expressions that are captured are just fantastic. A great read.

Order of the Stick

Arguably one of the best stick figure comics, it has become so much more than that. This is another long-running comic that has become very comfortable in its style and, as a result, puts out a really good product. I'll admit, I haven't been keeping up with story of late, but from the few recent ones I checked on before this post, it's still high quality. It also makes a lot of references to the mechanics of playing a table top game rather than just the story of the characters, aiming for its target audience squarely in the middle of the dice-rolling masses.

So, nerd it out with a few great comics. Click sponser links, support awesome people. Go forth!

As a bit of an addition, I'm throwing in Mission Deep by the fantastic Brian Dunaway of ELR and Comics Coast to Coast fame. I'm tacking it on to the end of this post for two reasons. First, while he has promised us that he'll be updating more regularly, he hasn't started yet, so there's not a whole lot there to see for now. Second, he rounds out the cast of ELR and finishes my Podcasters-I-love-who-also-have-web-comics collection.

[Podcast Review] WoW Insider

Along with WoWhead and WoWWiki, WoW Insider is one of my major sources for Warcraft information. They are a fantastic resource. They have a vast panel of writers, some who cover specific aspects of the game, like events and holidays, and some who specialize in a specific class. They also dedicate a large portion of their coverage to what's going on with the PTRs. It's a great place to get a peek at what's coming up.

The podcast maintains this high quality. They production values are high, with once exception. Listeners can send in intros for the show and the segments. While I appreciate the sentiment, some of them are not of the highest production value... and some are downright awful. I think their screening process might need to be a bit stricter.

But I digress.

Mike Schramm is an excellent moderator. Sometimes perhaps a little too good. Like so many podcasts, WoW Insider occasionally falls prey to its time limit. While I appreciate that a podcast could easily get out of hand and be hours upon hours long, I don't feel that running a bit long once and a while in favor of lively and spirited on-topic conversation is a bad thing.

Of course, with Terpster it's easy to get off topic. He is the color commentator to Mike's play-by-play. Even if the show is on a topic that I care nothing about, Terpster makes the podcast interesting to listen to. There are many guests who appear on the show from time to time; the WoW podcasts really like to visit each other. There is also usually at least one contributor to WoW Insider on the show to offer their opinion. It's during these shows with several guests that the discussion can become somewhat truncated. However, it's always lively with multiple viewpoints on each topic. Mike does an excellent job of making sure everyone has their say.

During the "Meat of the Show" they discuss the most read article on WoW Insider. This results in an interesting variety of topics. The public at large does seem to be most intrigued by what is coming up rather than what is happening now, so many of the episodes deal with the goings on of the PTRs. There's a little part of me that thinks it feels a bit like spoilers, but lord knows I'll hear about what's coming down in the new patch somehow or another. At least I know that this particular source is somewhat more reliable than many others.

All in all, a very entertaining and informative podcast. Waiting for the new episode to be posted on iTunes has become an important part of my Monday ritual.

[Webcomic Wednesday] Penny Arcade, Extra Life, PvP

I'm introducing a new regular contribution this week. In Webcomic Wednesdays, I'm going to intoduce three webcomics that everyone should read.

Since this is the first post like this, I'm going to sent 3 big ones that everyone is probably already reading. And if you're not, you should be!!

Penny Arcade

Let's face it, every nerd reads Penny Arcade. Even those who don't read it can't deny that it's a force in Geekdom. (I've got my PAX10 tickets already) I don't know that it's necessarily my favorite webcomic right now, but it is the comic I've been most faithful to. A few years ago, I started at comic #1 and read all the way through. It is an important part of my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule. So that's got to count for something. And since I am maybe a bit narrow minded in my gaming news, it's nice to have a source that so suscinctly provides me with everything I need to know.

Extra Life

While I'm a recent newcomer to this, I've been back through the archives and am all caught up. I follow Scott on Twitter so that I know the moment a new comic is posted. This comic follows gaming and Geekdom in general. World events. Pretty much anything that pops into Scotts head. It's impecably drawn and always entertaining.

PvP

I'll admit, I haven't read this one in a while. When I was first introducted to it, though, I went back to the beginning and read all the way through. It's great. I do want to get back into it, but I have to figure out where I left off so I can catch back up.

All three of these are well established comics that have been going on for years. It's pretty fun to go back and watch the evolution of styles.

So, go forth! Elevate the webcomic (and comics in general, for that matter) to the exalted level they deserve. Read them, click their ads, support the hell out of them.

[WoW] Achievement Pressure

I went to school from the age of 5 to the age of 24. I had high standards for grades. Getting a C in handwriting in second grade is directly responsible for my clear penmanship today. I know the pressure of academics.

And nothing compares to the fact that I've only got two holidays left before I get my violet proto-drake.

If I screw it up now, I'll probably lose my mind. Lord knows I'm not that hardcore of a player. I mean, I'm serious about what I do, I read the blogs, I research things, I'm down with it. But, man, these achievements are killing me. It's not all of them that I care about, but this looming META-ACHIEVEMENT for all of the holidays.

I love having the achievements for holidays, not just because I enjoy getting the points, but because it gives you a list of activities that you can participate in during those holidays. I mean, I didn't even know there was a Brewfest boss before the achievements came out. I had no idea how many elders there were... though I learned pretty fast.

I had heart palpitations about the pvp achievements for Children's Week. I thought sure that was going to be the end of my proto-drake. Granted, they turned out to not be so bad, but still. Damage done. My stomach lining will never forgive me. And now that I've only got two holidays left, the pressure is really on.

Brian didn't get all of his elders, so he's out of the running til next year. He keeps telling me that Blizzard didn't really intend for people to do the whole meta in one year.

I beg to differ.

It was a challenge set before us, a challenge so many of us have, for better or worse, willingly accepted and so valiantly fight towards. I have met several fellow achievement-hunters who have been wonderful. We've run instances, fought monsters, killed the Alliance. It's been good. But, man, the pressure is here. I can relax for now. The next holiday isn't for a little while. But it will come. And I'll be ready.

It's on.

[Podcast Review] How I WoW

How I WoW might be a bit of a misnomer. Their tag line is "@ the intersection of Real Life and World of Warcraft". This is a more accurate description.

Patrick and Shawn began as (and are still) regular contributors to The Instance. They've branched off to make what I find to be a very entertaining, if not entirely WoW-centric, podcast. It's an interview based format with guests who are WoW players, very often those who are also what I will call "WoW Web Celebs".

It's still a young podcast, especially in terms of number of episodes. Their 1 year anniversary show is episode #17. The earlier ones are definately a bit rough. Both Patrick and Shawn are a bit overly concerned reigning the subject back in to WoW and a time limit. Later episodes become a bit looser and, consequently, more enjoyable.

While some of the more hardcore WoW players might argue that most interviews don't have too much to do with Warcraft, but I find that to be to their credit. It is "How I WoW". It's people who game and how it fits into their lives. The longer format allows the guests to really be themselves, which is extremely enlightening.

If you don't have enough time to listen to anything but the most hardcore podcast, there are still a few episodes that are must listens. Episode 1 has Scott Johnson, who is always fascinating. Turpster is on episode 9, and without Mike Schramm from WoW Insider to reel him in, he really gets to run a bit wild. It's fantastically funny.

This isn't to say that the other episodes aren't worth listening to. They're all wonderful, and the format just gets better and better as Patrick and Shawn become more comfortable with their positions as hosts. Felicia Day is precious and makes me question things about myself (Sorry, honey) and Curt Shilling's episode is great for us baseball fans to see this whole other side of him.

I need to mention the two part anniversary show. The first half (Episode 16) has a bunch of the most popular guests from the past years' podcasts all on together. It is a laugh riot. The second part (#17) is interesting in that the person interviewed does not play WoW. But it's Jonathan Coulton, so that makes it awesome. It works because so many machinima set to his songs have been made using WoW footage, and he is a huge nerd at heart. If you're a fan of JoCo, it's a good listen.

How I WoW is a great listen. Highly recommended for it's entertainment value.

[Podcast Review] The Instance

This is the first in my series of podcast reviews spawned by my new found love of podcasts. Most of them will be World of Warcraft related, but the rest will be pertinent geek life.

I'm going to start right off and say that I love The Instance. I'll admit, I'm a bit of a fangirl of Scott Johnson. I read all his comics, listen to all his podcasts, read his blog. But I digress...

Scott Johnson and Randy "Deluxe" Jordan have fantastic chemistry. They balance each other perfectly. This does a lot to do attract the high numbers of listeners that they have that don't actually play World of Warcraft. If Scott goes off on a rant about this or that, Randy is there with the hard facts to bring him back again. Randy and Scott can be on opposite sides of an issue, but it never decays into an arguement. After so many episodes together, they've developed a rapport and inside jokes have developed. I mean, who would have thought that Scott's wrestling name in high school would be the same as the band that Randy played bass for?

It's very clear that both of them have a passion for the game and truly enjoy playing. It is not a podcast that's going to teach you how to get that extra 5 points of DPS in 25 man Naxx. It's more concerned with making sure that you get the most out of the game no matter what your play style is. They strive to make sure that listeners know what's going on in the game and with Blizzard in general so that no one misses out on anything. Most refreshing is that unlike some WoW players, they never loose sight of the fact that it is a game and should be enjoyable, otherwise it's not worth playing.

The format consists regular segments for every episode covering the biggest news, WoW rumors, and questions from listeners. Episodes generally run about an hour and a half, but if the particular episode happens to be jam-packed, Scott and Randy are more than happy to let it run long to cover everything. I have to say, this is a rarity in WoW podcasts. Many others tend to be a bit too tied to their "time limit" and will cut off topics without letting them progress to their logical conclusion. However, they also know when someone (like a guest... ahem, Turpster) is wandering a bit too far off target and Scott and Randy are excellent at reigning them back in without stifling conversation.

Regular contributions from listeners like Patrick (from How I WoW), Mean Gene, Buxley, and others provides a variety of information for listeners. These segments contain information in little snippets that if they were the basis of the podcast would bog it down in number crunching and urls. There's the Mod of the Week, PvP tips, twinking tips, and many others that come and go from week to week. This might be one of The Instance's best qualities: Anyone can contribute. My favorites, by far, are the WoW parody songs. Those get stuck in my head, and I sing them for days.

The Instance has the highest production values of any WoW podcast I've yet heard. The segments submitted by listeners vary in quality, but all are better than many whole podcasts I've heard. This does a lot to make it enjoyable. There aren't any sound problems to distract from the content. A lot of smaller podcasts suffer this fate, I feel, making me not want to listen even if I am completely interested in the subject matter.

The Instance has been described to me as "listening to a couple of your close friends talk about WoW." It's true, Scott and Randy feel like friends to me now. I follow both of them on Twitter. (You can follow me too!) But I've got to tell you, it's way more interesting than listening to my friends talk about WoW. And while the expansion and all the new content had a lot to do with it, The Instance has really gotten me "into" WoW again. I'm even thinking about overlooking my distaste for leveling alts just to join the guild they started, Alea Iacta Est. I find that even though the podcast is all about playing WoW in whatever way you find enjoyable, it makes me want to be a better WoW player.

So, thanks, Scott and Randy, for setting the bar so high for other WoW podcasts.

The Twitter Allure

To Tweet or not to Tweet.

I was talking about Twitter with a couple of people around the office yesterday, and they were asking me to explain what's awesome about it. I had to think about it. I have my own personal reasons for loving Twitter, but I was trying to get at the deeper draw. I finally came up with four main reasons to Tweet. Any or all of these probably apply to everyone on Twitter.

1. Everyone elses' lives are more interesting than our own.

I'm pretty sure this is a universal truth, and it's not just related to Twitter. It's why people gossip and why people watch horrible reality television (Note: I am also guilty of such nonsense). It doesn't matter what mundane thing someone else is doing, it's still more interesting than the mundane thing that you are involved in.

2. You can follow the lives of the semi-famous.

It is very easy to follow minor (or former) celebrities and still manage to be sure that they are who you think they are. For example, as I mentioned before, I'm following three of the cast memeber of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I followed a very short and very stable chain to find them.

Scott Johnson (Podcast host extraordinaire) who is following ->
Felicia Day (Internet superstar, Dr. Horrible, The Guild) who is following ->
Wil Wheaton (Real life friends with Felicia Day) who is following ->
Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton

So, there I am. Celebrities sending updates into my little inbox. Fantastic. And their lives are just as boring as mine, but I get to hear about it (See point 1).

3. You're promoting one of your other internet ventures.

That's why I wound up on Twitter in the first place. Not because I was promoting something of my own, but because the guys who do the podcasts I like to listen to leave messages on Twitter saying when they're doing the cast live and listeners can join the chat room. It's sort of expanded from there. But it's a good way to let people who are interested in what you have to offer know that you've updated something or are running some sort of promotion.

4. The possibility of internet stardom.

It's part of the same reason why people blog. People want other people to care about them and what they're doing. I'm not going to lie. Internet stardom is so very appealing. I'm so into so much web culture that I can't help but want to be a part of it. Hence the blog and the Twitter and all of that.

So, that's that. The Twitter Allure. So go forth and Tweet.


And you can follow me on Twitter.

Blog resurrection

I'm taking it back. What better time for a resurrection than Easter. Sacrelicious! I know, I know. Everyone has a blog. I won't delusion myself that anyone but my husband-to-be will want to read it (Hi, honey).

But here I am, on the internet. I got myself hooked up with the Twitter. I'm Tweeting and following minor/major celebrities. Very exciting. I'm slowly adding to my ST:TNG collection. So far, I've got Wil Wheaton, Brent Spiner, and LeVar Burton. Going well, I think. Plus, now that I've got this podcast bug, I find I have more to say.

So, there. The premier entry. The champagne bottle broken over this repository of ramblings.