Pro Gaming: Yes, It's a Thing.

So this is exciting.

Maybe not for everyone, certainly not key demographics of my readers, but still, I'm pretty happy with it. I'm a little confused why this is still an issue and, to be honest, still a law, but then again It wasn't too long ago that North Carolina made a big deal about it so...There's that.

DOMA? More like...FOMA...Because...Failure starts with 'F'...Sigh...I wish I was funny...

Because He's a Marshmallow! Marshmallow's don't talk! Nor do they have faces or appendages! It's FUNNY! *sob*

Challenges, Breakthroughs, and Observations in Games as Literature

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there, Internet, today I'm pretending to be that one Simpsons character everyone was supposed to dislike but kind of grew fond of anyways for some reason.*

*Tom's exposure to The Simpsons is minimal at best and he has almost no clue what he's talking about.

So for the last few weeks, in my lifetime pursuit of learning Old English, I've been writing all my notes in the fuþorc rune set, though only as a direct substitution, not a full translation (New letters, same words). Mostly I just want to get familiar enough with the characters so I can start reading and then that's another hurdle taken care of. So far things are going better than expected and I'm really starting to get a handle on some of the odder ones (Like F, F, and O, o, which give me no end of trouble for some reason). As a direct side-effect of course, this means that all my spirals are starting to look like this:

Man of Paper: Why We Care About Superman at All

Here we are once again, Internet. Now that paper season is starting to get underway, I think I'm finally starting to hit my groove with this semester so with any luck this will be the latest post I make for a while. Right now I'm going through a bunch of really awesome classics that my school wasn't cool enough to make me read and a few others that I'm kinda meh on but still should probably have read just for the sake of knowing them. All-in-all it's a pretty good time. I'm feeling like I can start feeling justified for calling myself a Literature Major, a thing that was really hard to do a year or two ago when most, if not all, of my classes had nothing to do with my major. Some of you could probably relate to the feeling you get when you explain that yes, you're a [blank] major who has done absolutely nothing even kind of relating to your major that year. College is kind of whacky like that.

"Can't I just write you a five page essay on the sun as a metaphor?" --Me, one year ago

Back From Vacation: Blog News, Future Topics,and Some Nifty Kickstarter/Greenlight games to Keep your Eyes On

Internet! I'm back from my vacation! It was great, I went to all these exciting places and met new people and had a life! The Dardenelles, mountains of Peru, all that shit! It was...haaaah, no. I mostly just spent the last week going to class, playing games and reading. Mostly reading. My combined workload has me reading the equivalent of about 3/4 of a paperback novel per week which really isn't too bad all things considered but I absolutely have to stay on top of that, especially with paper season right on my doorstep. Remember that big pile of books I showed you that one time? Turns out it was a few books (late additions plus downloaded readings) short. 

A degree in Graphic Design probably would have had less reading and been slightly more lucrative but I kinda like the way I do things now. It has a certain charm to it.

How to Literature: The $@#$ does 'Critical Reading' Mean Anyways?

Another week, another late post. Unexpected workloads and more impromptu computer repairs delayed the week's post by a day or two again and also stopped any attempt at writing the Saturday Bonus post dead in its tracks. The good news is that any computer problems are now completely solved for the foreseeable future; I gave CLIO a full cleanout and reassembly and that seemed to perk her right up. Now she's as good as she's ever been, though admittedly down one hard drive.

Yes, CLIO is my computer, Yes, I gave my comptuer a name; I built her from discounted parts off of Newegg and love. Yes, I refer to my computer as if it were a woman. DON'T JUDGE.

Just me and my lady chilling at homeohgodimsolonely.

How to Write: Foreshadowing is Harder

Whoa, okay, I think...I think I'm back...

Sorry I'm a day late on this week's post, Internet. One of my hard drives has started dying and I had to scramble and reformat to try and eek as much life out of it as possible. Between that and school I unfortunately couldn't write anything meaningful without that awful, awful blue screen. I still have nightmares. The problem still persists but I think I've kicked enough life back into the old girl to keep things groovy for a while. Still, I'm a man who hates missing deadlines so to make it up to you guys, I'll also be posting a SSSBP this weekend. Yay for you!

On the subject of school; I started school this week! It was partially the reason why this post is happening a day later rather than just later in the day. I'm almost stupidly excited for the semester because I'm at a shiny new college and finally up to a level where I can focus on my major and do actual literature stuff instead of...you know; everything besides my major. It also benefits you guys directly because while I'll have less time to myself, I'll get a whole new set of ideas for blog content; something I'll openly admit I'm on the cusp of running out of. It's the heaviest reading list I've ever had with the most written work and I'm apparently a masochist because I can't wait to dive right in.

My reading list with a 5" Mega Man action figure for reference. Yes, I have a Mega Man action figure. I also have a complimentary Rush action figure.

Tom Will Never Be Good at Art: WTF is Dysgraphia, Anyways?

Internet; It's 4:15 and I'm just now starting this week's post. It's not because I've been working on other projects or I struggled to find inspiration, no. It's because I rediscovered Mega Man games and am currently in the throes of a huge retro game kick. It all started when my sister and I decided to try and beat the original Mega Man together. We had a blast because It really is a genuinely well-designed game; a fact that sometimes gets lost over the years of unblinking fanboy worship. This lead to me remembering that I had a longstanding nemesis in Mega Man X, which had sent me packing in the intro stage every single time as a kid, so of course I had to try it again. Now I'm browsing sites for some of the more obscure NES classics because oh my God guys; I forgot how good these games were. Expect this latest obsession to manifest into a SSSBP at some point in the future, though I couldn't tell you exactly what yet. It's a secret. Even to me.

No. No, we are not making that joke. Everyone has made that joke and we are not aw shit we just did.