Conan, Canes and Control

The word of the week is equilibrium.

Oct 23 – DnD Resurrected?

What's old is new again - Roll for initiative!

Dungeons & Dragons has been making a comeback recently, which is music to my ears, especially as it's never been far from my heart though I've been distant from the DM Screen or player's sheets for far too many years.

Why the resurgence, you ask? Simple: good stories.

All the best and brightest in Hollywood of late have been neck-deep in D&D, because when it comes down to the basics, it's story that drives a good campaign.

Story = good writing, hence the intense interest by writers and creators of all types. Not that that's news to people who know the game well, but it seems it's been a bit of a revelation to many folks in the entertainment industry everywhere.

I'm just happy, as a writer, to see that people in the film and TV industries are finally getting it through their note-happy skulls that story is the most important thing when it comes to capturing an audience's hearts and minds. Not flashy CGI, not big-name stars, and not rebooting yet another franchise for more steady cash.

Story is king, and that's all a writer ever wants to hear!

Oct 24 – Conan

I think I found my ultimate costume: Conan The Barbarian!

And not just ANY Conan: the FrankFranzetta version... here's his 1966 painting:

To wit, about Frank:

In addition to movie posters Roy Krenkel convinced Frank Frazetta to started producing paintings for paperback book covers. His book cover "Conan the Adventurer" by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp in 1966 caused quite a stir in the fantasy art world. The series ended up selling approx. 10 million copies in a few short years (the 1960s equivalent of Harry Potter in terms of popuarlity). Frazetta redefined Conan's look and dramatically altered the visual look of the fantasy genre as hordes of artists started copying Frazzeta's style, influencing generations of fantasy artists. Jeff Jones, Berni Wrightson, Michael Whelan, Don Maitz, Boris Vallejo, Arthur Suydam, Simon Bisley and many others were inclined, inspired or instructed to paint in this new, dynamic "Frazetta" style.

Now, here's the costume( sans the BIG hands ):

Isn't that incredible? Hot as hell though, so cooling would be a must... and it IS cool!

Oct 25 – The Waiting Game

A couple of years is all it will take, I hope...

Recent data on the number of rental units under construction here in Victoria shows that two years should see definite relief in the shortage of housing here on Vancouver Island; a 0.5% vacancy rate is fun for exactly nobody.

As you can see, rentals aren't the whole story: Victoria's red-hot condo market is heating up to the tune of nearly 3000 units being planned, with 1,270 already under construction. With nearly 4000 rental units planned and 2500 under construction, the crunch should be relieved as people move up into condos or houses, and the market adjusts itself with the improved supply.

That's the theory, anyway. We'll see how it pans out in 2 years or so; I'd love to find a two-bedroom rental a few blocks back from a main road for around $1200 or so, but right now that's a pipe dream, with so-so two-bedrooms going for $1500 or more. Add a good location, newer-than-2000 updates and a lack of mice or mould, and you're looking at $1800 at least.

WAY out of my price range.

Patience. I'm good living where I am right now, despite the noise from the road and above, which I've found ways to tolerate. It's not conducive to creative work, but needs must... and until I win a lottery, that cabin in the forest glade will wait.

Oct 26 – Ouch!

Back to using a cane this week...

I wore my 'work' shoes for the last 2 days while walking TO work, as my new sneakers' mesh allowed rain to soak my socks inside - wet feet aren't great.

But, even with gel soles, it seems the support of my work shoes wasn't enough, and now my left foot's plantar tendon is swollen up again, making it painful to walk.

So I'm back to limping around with a cane for the rest of the week. I'm placing chilled gelpacks under my foot every hour, as well as using anti-inflammatory cream... and generally trying everything I can NOT to aggravate it any more already while giving it plenty of 'resting time' while at work and at home.

Looks like my back-to-normal recovery plans are pushed back to early 2018 now, though I'm doing well in most other respects: my abdominals / core muscles seem pretty well normal now, and my right leg's been supporting my weight as needed without major complaints.

I'm just pissed off that I'm such a f*cking fragile human mannequin.

And, in a bit of irony, I'd finally picked up a standing desk a few weeks ago from Anthrodesk for a GREAT price, thanks to my participation in a Facebook contest of theirs last month. While I didn't win, I did get a consolation prize of $100 off one of their desks... which were going for $250 on Amazon, so with the coupon, I got one for $157 with tax AND shipping: NICE DEAL!

Except I can't use it for another 2-3 weeks now, thanks to my foot.

FML(F). ( frack my left (foot) )

Oct 27 – Pressure

Just a short note about air pressure...

My 'new' Galaxy S5 phone's built-in air-pressure sensor has been proving its worth, allowing me to monitor when the weather's changing and compare it to early signs of impending headaches.

The good news? I've been getting far less of them of late. Case in point:

Normal pressure here is 101.00 or so - yikes!

The above screencap from my phone shows a HUGE air pressure rise over the course of 24 hours, the single-largest spoke in barometric pressure I've experienced in the last 5 years, at least that I know about.

And my head? It felt fine, if a little 'squeezed' - but no headache!

The reason? I think it's a combination of completely cutting out caffeine( which affects blood vessel dilation )and sugar( which causes tissue inflammation )which when both removed has meant a remarkable tolerance for weather changes. Compared to Ontario ten years ago, when I got a headache every 1-2 weeks, I can go 3-4 months here in BC without a major headache, and even those I've suspected are more stress or light-flash related than anything to do with weather.

Thanks to my S5, I can keep monitoring this positive pressure trend!

Oct 28 – Shakespeare!

Today, this arrived:

It's the full-blown, no-holds-barred Munchkin Shakespeare Deluxe Kickstarter, with all the extras( for only a few dollars more )from Steve Jackson Games.

First begun back in February 2017, SJG managed to raise almost 10x's the original target of $30K USD, meaning a TON of bonus extras, as you can see from the picture above. All for the tune of about $75 USD, plus shipping: super value!

My lady and I played several games this afternoon at a quiet downtown cafe, and had a blast! This edition is FULL of puns, ALL of them Shakespeare-esque, and we laughed anew at every new card revealed... and there's hundreds to discover!

We'll be playing this one for years to come, I think.

Also tonight, it was Halloween Party time!

We both went out to our friend Jen's annual Spooky Bash; I went as a French Citizen( with a tricorn hat! )while my lady went as being 'A little Cheesy' - she pinned a sample-size piece of Brie to her blouse. Loved it! :-)

The winning costume of the evening, in my opinion, was this guy:

Oct 29 – Meh

After spending a lovely sunny day out and about with my lady, I was feeling down when I got home, and dove into a bit of reading to lighten my mood, which helped somewhat.

I gave some thought as to why I'm feeling down, and while I couldn't pin down things exactly, I think it has to do with control of my life: I'm Not Quite There Yet.

As I've mentioned before, my financial burdens keep weighing on me, and my inability to land a better government position is pushing me inexorably into the classic 'Rock And A Hard Place' situation, and there's nobody who can help me.

Add to that my physical frustrations( FOOT! CORE PAIN! ANXIETY! )this year, and my two-years-delayed GlowForge-based-business, and the control issue seems fairly accurate. Top it off with all of the above getting in the way of my Writing Muse, and you might see why some days I come home to my rental apartment and wonder why I'm not living in a mortgaged home, writing well into the evening after working my pays-all-the-bills Solid Day Job to further my Writing Career.

But, as I said to my lady today:

Words to live by.

That's about all. Next week: a VERY SPECIAL BLOG POSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SEE YOU THEN!