Just in one of those random moods because I just finished the absolute first draft of Shadowhawk (at least that's the tentative title...) It's still in the post-writing cleanup 1 stage but Part 3 (tentative title either Abendstern or Two Souls) is also coming together. Let's just say right now, I'm standing in combat with a brave hero whose hatred of the spindly grey alien-like shape-shifting creatures known as the S'vartalf is so strong that it might eventually rival her undying love for her fiancee...
Angharradh Shadowhawk was originally a rebel hero my D&D party was supposed to help, but they ultimately decided to work against her and I thought the idea was so amusing that I just kept running it. One of the things the party wanted to do was to "un-mask" her because there were several likely candidates running around, all being described as being a holy crusader with an unusually strong bond with nature. I enjoyed this semi-invisible nemesis so much that I thought a story involving her in some form another was well worth it. She draws upon many sources of inspiration, including the Knights of Solamnia (especially Sturm Brightblade) in Dragonlance, Nausicaa from Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, random tidbits of Native American and Celtic folklore, Robin Hood, Moses from the Ten Commandments, and Prince Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke. Despite her outlaw status, she always maintains a sense of honor and follows her ideals and urges her followers to do the same. In the Morgenstern epic, she comes back to life after thousands of years of being trapped in a cave as a sentient statue and she's ready to leave a pretty good claymore-sized mark in history again...
Firianna Celethorn, the Champion of the Clawed Fury, was once an MIT alum who majored in physics and has no real D&D analogue, although a few of my fellow D&D players were convinced that the "postal half-elf archer with the hawk mask and feather cloak that turned into wings and the twin scimitars" who kept plaguing them semi-randomly in the chaparral could've been her. Although she rarely shows up for long, her influence does show up from other characters talking about her and seeing the aftermath of her decisive leadership and fierce fighting abilities. Originally she was a warrior-priest for Cylithera, but she was the first to follow Iliiryana when disagreements grew between the former high priestess and the Eternal Huntress herself. At this point, she's the main leader of the Clawed Fury's forces in the "mortal" world and is usually the brains behind most operations, although her two lieutenants, also former students who fell under her sway, are also very intelligent and capable fighters. The earliest incarnation of her was more of that of a quiet soldier of above-average combat ability who only gets attention when she achieves things even her superiors would never be expected to pull off. It is rumored that one day, she will fall at the hands of someone she had defeated in combat previously. Inspirations for creating her include various evil drow characters (eg. Malice Do'Urden and Triel Baenre) in R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf novels, Darth Vader, the Baroness from the G.I. Joe series, and Kushana from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
And now... time to make sure dinner hasn't over-cooked. Whoever coined the phrase that a watched pot never boils is right. My corollary: an un-watched pot will always boil over or worse.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Thoughts on Characters 3/n
My brain is being unusually rebellious but then again it *is* that dead time immediately after dinner... so what the heck..
Iliiryana N'Shad-Daermon was originally Cylithera and Ilithara's half-sister, with her sharing fathers (an elven wizard of noble and somewhat inbred ancestry) with Cylithera and mothers (a dark elven enchantress) with Ilithara, and originally Iliiryana was a figure who was torn between being a wilderness vigilante like Cylithera or embracing a more light-hearted way of life like Ilithara. Over the years, Iliiryana took on a more feral aspect and became more and more ambitious. In her current incarnation, she is still Ilithara's half-sister with a dark elven enchantress as her mother (Tanilthara N'Shad-Daermon) and a human wizard as her father (Baelnorn Clawstaff). She also grew up alongside Cylithera and is slightly more "mature" because of her human blood. I had wanted a "High Priestess" of the Eternal Huntress (prior to Cylithera taking that mantle) and decided that Cylithera was too focused on her archery to really dedicate any time to being a priestess. So Iliiryana was created to fulfill that role and to serve as a foil to Cylithera despite their outward similarity. I always saw Iliiryana as the type to claw her way to the top and given her family history (Clawstaff trying to be a god but failing miserably), it seemed to make sense that she'd try to attempt the same... and succeed in becoming the Clawed Fury and creating her own race who embody her very ideals. I can honestly say she's one of my favorite villains because of the combination of noble intentions, strong convictions, raw fury, and willingness to do whatever it takes, even more so than Cylithera.
Baelnorn Clawstaff is another long-time character, having first originated alongside Killer Parakeet as "the evil brother" but gradually evolving into more than just "the evil brother who must be killed to save the world". In the earliest (and unfortunately lost) of stories, he was more of a comical villain with brainpower comparable to his twin, but gradually he became a much more powerful figure. He starts off as a sickly mutant parakeet like Killer, but in the same D&D campaign that Killer Parakeet was first shown to have once been human, we find out that he is Killer's twin brother. Unlike the parakeet, though, he never becomes a parakeet, having escaped being turned into a (were)parakeet. Among the other sources of inspiration for developing Clawstaff's character were Raistlin Majere from the Dragonlance series and Elminster from various Forgotten Realms books as well as certain professors I've had over the years. He still maintains a bit of his comical roots with his numerous ailments, which were the result of a spell he had cast on himself to prolong his life and his attempt to reach godhood (and failing by his own choice). Like Killer, he is the butt of many fart jokes, mostly because I couldn't resist them and I wanted a powerful figure who still had his own set of problems. I'm hoping to eventually flesh out Clawstaff's story, some of which came about from the D&D campaign with my friends that led to the creation of the Shadowhawk legend. In fact, I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, the next project after Morgenstern will revolve around Clawstaff now that I'm feeling more comfortable with a strong leading male character.
And now back to work...
Iliiryana N'Shad-Daermon was originally Cylithera and Ilithara's half-sister, with her sharing fathers (an elven wizard of noble and somewhat inbred ancestry) with Cylithera and mothers (a dark elven enchantress) with Ilithara, and originally Iliiryana was a figure who was torn between being a wilderness vigilante like Cylithera or embracing a more light-hearted way of life like Ilithara. Over the years, Iliiryana took on a more feral aspect and became more and more ambitious. In her current incarnation, she is still Ilithara's half-sister with a dark elven enchantress as her mother (Tanilthara N'Shad-Daermon) and a human wizard as her father (Baelnorn Clawstaff). She also grew up alongside Cylithera and is slightly more "mature" because of her human blood. I had wanted a "High Priestess" of the Eternal Huntress (prior to Cylithera taking that mantle) and decided that Cylithera was too focused on her archery to really dedicate any time to being a priestess. So Iliiryana was created to fulfill that role and to serve as a foil to Cylithera despite their outward similarity. I always saw Iliiryana as the type to claw her way to the top and given her family history (Clawstaff trying to be a god but failing miserably), it seemed to make sense that she'd try to attempt the same... and succeed in becoming the Clawed Fury and creating her own race who embody her very ideals. I can honestly say she's one of my favorite villains because of the combination of noble intentions, strong convictions, raw fury, and willingness to do whatever it takes, even more so than Cylithera.
Baelnorn Clawstaff is another long-time character, having first originated alongside Killer Parakeet as "the evil brother" but gradually evolving into more than just "the evil brother who must be killed to save the world". In the earliest (and unfortunately lost) of stories, he was more of a comical villain with brainpower comparable to his twin, but gradually he became a much more powerful figure. He starts off as a sickly mutant parakeet like Killer, but in the same D&D campaign that Killer Parakeet was first shown to have once been human, we find out that he is Killer's twin brother. Unlike the parakeet, though, he never becomes a parakeet, having escaped being turned into a (were)parakeet. Among the other sources of inspiration for developing Clawstaff's character were Raistlin Majere from the Dragonlance series and Elminster from various Forgotten Realms books as well as certain professors I've had over the years. He still maintains a bit of his comical roots with his numerous ailments, which were the result of a spell he had cast on himself to prolong his life and his attempt to reach godhood (and failing by his own choice). Like Killer, he is the butt of many fart jokes, mostly because I couldn't resist them and I wanted a powerful figure who still had his own set of problems. I'm hoping to eventually flesh out Clawstaff's story, some of which came about from the D&D campaign with my friends that led to the creation of the Shadowhawk legend. In fact, I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, the next project after Morgenstern will revolve around Clawstaff now that I'm feeling more comfortable with a strong leading male character.
And now back to work...
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Thoughts on Characters 2/n
Another blurb while my brain is rebelling against me and NOT wanting to do simulations or ecotourism stuff...
Ilithara N'Shad-Daermon was originally a character named Storm and was more of a gung-ho but flirtatious type. Then somehow, I decided that Storm wasn't an exotic enough of a name of a dark elf and the name Ilithara came up. She gradually became more of a flirty character who used it to her advantage in combat and was a bit of a gadget type. Somehow, though, in the last five or six years, she became more of a reckless, impulsively curious explorer who still carries many gadgets. Throughout her development, she's remained a character who shows no fear and rarely feels it and is a creature of action who generally would rather outwit her foes than hurting or killing them. A lot of her current characteristics have been inspired by several characters including Peter Pan, kenders from the Dragonlance series, Batgirl, and Fred & George Weasley from Rowling's Harry Potter series. At first, she was just an extra, but once she took on a more playful and curious aspect, I started enjoying writing about her (mis)adventures, mostly stemming from her tendency to have to take a closer look at something or wondering what lays beyond the door. She is also a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, having learned things pretty haphazardly, leading to the D&D version of her being nicknamed "The most useless NPC ever" after repeated failed attempts to do anything remotely useful despite her ability to soak up heavy damage. Her favored weapons are twin rapiers, although pranks and flashy (but otherwise useless) spells work even better. Along with her friends Killer Parakeet and Tindariel, she's one of my favorite comic relief characters, often providing a foil to her muscle-bound companions. The words "Oops" and "Uh-oh" are the two nobody EVER wants to hear from her...
Tindariel Il-Kanan, or more properly, Alhanthra Tindariel Il-Kanan Toel-Thorondarien, started off as a D&D character I made in late 2001 in a friend's campaign. The original Tindariel was a rather stern law enforcement type of character who favored dealing with her problems with the longbow, although her claymore wasn't very far. Then over the course of the game, she became more and more hill-billy, using battle-cries such as "Frontier Justice!" and taking up stereotypical redneck habits such as drinking moonshine or whiskey and dipping into tobacco. She hasn't changed much over the years in her love for administerin' Frontier Justice, although we do find out that her roots are a bit weird, even by noble standards, where inbreeding is still pretty standard to keep blood "purity". Despite her tendency to be crude and quick to solve her problems with her weapons or fists, she is extremely protective of those she considers her friends and is eager to set things right. She does appear in my friend's story (which I hope will eventually be published!) but I don't see it as any conflict to my version of her because she does live a pretty long time and it's not completely out of the question for her to travel to other worlds to get away from some of the trouble she gets herself into. Along with Killer Parakeet and Ilithara, she's another fun comic relief character, but she also has much more potential for epicness because of her strange roots.
Ilithara N'Shad-Daermon was originally a character named Storm and was more of a gung-ho but flirtatious type. Then somehow, I decided that Storm wasn't an exotic enough of a name of a dark elf and the name Ilithara came up. She gradually became more of a flirty character who used it to her advantage in combat and was a bit of a gadget type. Somehow, though, in the last five or six years, she became more of a reckless, impulsively curious explorer who still carries many gadgets. Throughout her development, she's remained a character who shows no fear and rarely feels it and is a creature of action who generally would rather outwit her foes than hurting or killing them. A lot of her current characteristics have been inspired by several characters including Peter Pan, kenders from the Dragonlance series, Batgirl, and Fred & George Weasley from Rowling's Harry Potter series. At first, she was just an extra, but once she took on a more playful and curious aspect, I started enjoying writing about her (mis)adventures, mostly stemming from her tendency to have to take a closer look at something or wondering what lays beyond the door. She is also a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, having learned things pretty haphazardly, leading to the D&D version of her being nicknamed "The most useless NPC ever" after repeated failed attempts to do anything remotely useful despite her ability to soak up heavy damage. Her favored weapons are twin rapiers, although pranks and flashy (but otherwise useless) spells work even better. Along with her friends Killer Parakeet and Tindariel, she's one of my favorite comic relief characters, often providing a foil to her muscle-bound companions. The words "Oops" and "Uh-oh" are the two nobody EVER wants to hear from her...
Tindariel Il-Kanan, or more properly, Alhanthra Tindariel Il-Kanan Toel-Thorondarien, started off as a D&D character I made in late 2001 in a friend's campaign. The original Tindariel was a rather stern law enforcement type of character who favored dealing with her problems with the longbow, although her claymore wasn't very far. Then over the course of the game, she became more and more hill-billy, using battle-cries such as "Frontier Justice!" and taking up stereotypical redneck habits such as drinking moonshine or whiskey and dipping into tobacco. She hasn't changed much over the years in her love for administerin' Frontier Justice, although we do find out that her roots are a bit weird, even by noble standards, where inbreeding is still pretty standard to keep blood "purity". Despite her tendency to be crude and quick to solve her problems with her weapons or fists, she is extremely protective of those she considers her friends and is eager to set things right. She does appear in my friend's story (which I hope will eventually be published!) but I don't see it as any conflict to my version of her because she does live a pretty long time and it's not completely out of the question for her to travel to other worlds to get away from some of the trouble she gets herself into. Along with Killer Parakeet and Ilithara, she's another fun comic relief character, but she also has much more potential for epicness because of her strange roots.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Thoughts on Characters... 1/n
In between academic brain-bursts and workouts thought I'd throw in a bit of stuff on the various characters in my stories, particularly the Dunheasa series with a mixture of (mostly) human characters from an alternate version of this world and epic long-standing heroes.
Killer Parakeet is one of the oldest characters I've had -- the first stories I recall writing about him were about 20 years ago. Explosive tempered but otherwise well-meaning, Killer is also probably one of the characters who's changed the least over the years. Over the years he's grown much more martially inclined and flatulent as well as having a bit more of a detailed background than "an oversized mutant anthropomorphic parakeet". He's easily one of my favorite characters, especially in the more light-hearted, comedic stories. I don't know what the post-Swan-Song timeline will hold for him but considering he lived at least 3000 years in my stories, there's plenty of time for many, many stories where he's either a star or a co-star. The typical Killer Parakeet story tends to revolve around him getting into trouble for any (or all) of the following: getting drunk, excessive flatulence, or chewing on something inappropriate like a real parrot.
Black Swan is another long-standing character, her origins sometime in my early teens under several different names. Originally she was an amoral mercenary who was motivated by power and took delight in double-crossing anyone who wasn't a friend of hers (ie, anyone other than Killer Parakeet and a few others). Later she became a character haunted by past atrocities and her attempt to escape from the heroic destiny held for her because she knew she would end up either dying or being stuck in a lifestyle she despised. Like many other characters, there were many other characters in other books that inspired her: Kitiara uth Matar from the Dragonlance series and Artemis Entreri from R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf books, just to name a few. Her True Name is Gilrain, which hasn't changed in all these years, and her use-name, Black Swan, hasn't gone too far from her original use-name, Night-Swan. I don't know what it is but something about black swans and dragons fitting well with her, hence her symbol, use-name, and her "true" form. Her sword also was an early part of her character development, complete with it only coming back to life when she redeems herself from her past dark deeds.
Cylithera Eaglestrike's first known incarnation prior to her creation in D&D was in my late teens. The original character was named Cylithera Falconhand and she was more of a swordswoman, inspired by R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden and the Caltech fencing team. Later on as I started sketching stories and poetry around her character, she somehow took on the role of an archer, albeit a rather postal one (just ask anyone who's played D&D with me). Somehow, I thought an eagle fit her better once she took on more to the vigilante archer aspect, having also gotten a bit of inspiration from San from Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke. I love one person's description of her at that stage: San crossed with Robin Hood gone completely postal. Later on though she became more than just a vigilante, but someone who would eventually embody the ideals of archery and hunting before I really knew what was going on. She has gone through many different incarnations over the years, ranging from crazed vigilante to staunch wilderness defender determined to destroy civilization to a cruel goddess of archery and celibacy to a protective archery goddess who does whatever it takes to protect the wilderness and her followers. Of all the deities, she is by far the one I'm most closely bonded to. She is also the character I see as one of the closest to my own voice, although her views start to diverge from mine a bit after the events in Swan-Song.
I'll probably start sprinkling more of these over time but I thought I'd just post bits and pieces pretty erratically.
Killer Parakeet is one of the oldest characters I've had -- the first stories I recall writing about him were about 20 years ago. Explosive tempered but otherwise well-meaning, Killer is also probably one of the characters who's changed the least over the years. Over the years he's grown much more martially inclined and flatulent as well as having a bit more of a detailed background than "an oversized mutant anthropomorphic parakeet". He's easily one of my favorite characters, especially in the more light-hearted, comedic stories. I don't know what the post-Swan-Song timeline will hold for him but considering he lived at least 3000 years in my stories, there's plenty of time for many, many stories where he's either a star or a co-star. The typical Killer Parakeet story tends to revolve around him getting into trouble for any (or all) of the following: getting drunk, excessive flatulence, or chewing on something inappropriate like a real parrot.
Black Swan is another long-standing character, her origins sometime in my early teens under several different names. Originally she was an amoral mercenary who was motivated by power and took delight in double-crossing anyone who wasn't a friend of hers (ie, anyone other than Killer Parakeet and a few others). Later she became a character haunted by past atrocities and her attempt to escape from the heroic destiny held for her because she knew she would end up either dying or being stuck in a lifestyle she despised. Like many other characters, there were many other characters in other books that inspired her: Kitiara uth Matar from the Dragonlance series and Artemis Entreri from R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf books, just to name a few. Her True Name is Gilrain, which hasn't changed in all these years, and her use-name, Black Swan, hasn't gone too far from her original use-name, Night-Swan. I don't know what it is but something about black swans and dragons fitting well with her, hence her symbol, use-name, and her "true" form. Her sword also was an early part of her character development, complete with it only coming back to life when she redeems herself from her past dark deeds.
Cylithera Eaglestrike's first known incarnation prior to her creation in D&D was in my late teens. The original character was named Cylithera Falconhand and she was more of a swordswoman, inspired by R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden and the Caltech fencing team. Later on as I started sketching stories and poetry around her character, she somehow took on the role of an archer, albeit a rather postal one (just ask anyone who's played D&D with me). Somehow, I thought an eagle fit her better once she took on more to the vigilante archer aspect, having also gotten a bit of inspiration from San from Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke. I love one person's description of her at that stage: San crossed with Robin Hood gone completely postal. Later on though she became more than just a vigilante, but someone who would eventually embody the ideals of archery and hunting before I really knew what was going on. She has gone through many different incarnations over the years, ranging from crazed vigilante to staunch wilderness defender determined to destroy civilization to a cruel goddess of archery and celibacy to a protective archery goddess who does whatever it takes to protect the wilderness and her followers. Of all the deities, she is by far the one I'm most closely bonded to. She is also the character I see as one of the closest to my own voice, although her views start to diverge from mine a bit after the events in Swan-Song.
I'll probably start sprinkling more of these over time but I thought I'd just post bits and pieces pretty erratically.
Monday, November 30, 2009
A Long Shot or So I'm Told
I shot her from about 150 yards (the other half thinks it was closer to 200 yards) with my rifle. I saw her leap up and kick when I fired, which usually means a hit, although we couldn't tell where I hit. We blood-trailed her about 40 yards into the woods and at first there wasn't too much blood but eventually we started seeing tons of blood and there she was laying on the ground in a small clearing. Towards the end of the trail we saw a lot of frothy blood, which is from her lungs that she coughed up. I got her pretty good in the lungs -- aimed for the pocket right behind the shoulder and got her about 2" below that. I did have a stick to put my rifle on to steady it. I was going to get her on Thursday or Friday but we were worried that some other dude was going to be in the line of fire so I had to hold off, although I think I could've gotten her free-handing the shot, just that I was more likely to gut-shoot her than heart/lung shoot her.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Some Additional Sources of Inspiration...
In other news, Shadowhawk is moving along at a pretty good clip thanks to random dead moments and having my pen & notebook nearby. I still have no idea how certain plot elements will play out, but I'm having way too much fun with some of the characters, especially Tindariel, who not only runs around administering Frontier Justice but also goes into Rebel Yell mode.
Feuer Frei (Fire Free! or Fire at Will!) -- More of just a fun one to watch with the pyrotechnics. If I only had orthodontic devices like that when I had to wear orthodontic braces!
Adios -- Actually I think it already did influence a bit of my writing. I'll let you figure out how/where.
Nebel (Fog) -- One of my all-around favorite "soft" songs. I think the translation is pretty self-explanatory about how it might influence certain things in this current Morgenstern/Shadowhawk epic.
Feuer Frei (Fire Free! or Fire at Will!) -- More of just a fun one to watch with the pyrotechnics. If I only had orthodontic devices like that when I had to wear orthodontic braces!
Adios -- Actually I think it already did influence a bit of my writing. I'll let you figure out how/where.
Nebel (Fog) -- One of my all-around favorite "soft" songs. I think the translation is pretty self-explanatory about how it might influence certain things in this current Morgenstern/Shadowhawk epic.
Leave Me Alone, I'm Dead!
No kills this weekend but saw a really beautiful rat-snake. It was a rather large one, probably about 4 feet long. At first we thought it was dead because it was laying there on the road despite the threat of a truck turning it into rat-snake jelly. Then we saw it stick its tongue out a handful of times after we stepped away and it slithered off to mind its business. I can imagine what's going on the snake's mind...
Rat-Snake: Oh crap! *plays dead*
Me: Wonder if it's alive... *approach it*
Rat-Snake: I'm dead! I won't taste very good!
R: Poke it with the barrel of your gun, it's harmless.
Me: *pokes the tail with barrel*
Rat-Snake: Seriously, I'm dead! See the rigor mortis?
Me: Still pretty. *takes pictures, flash goes off*
Rat-Snake: I'm really dead! *tongue goes in and out with each flash* See?
*R and I get back in the truck and leave. We see the snake slither off in our mirrors.*
Rat-Snake: Oh crap! *plays dead*
Me: Wonder if it's alive... *approach it*
Rat-Snake: I'm dead! I won't taste very good!
R: Poke it with the barrel of your gun, it's harmless.
Me: *pokes the tail with barrel*
Rat-Snake: Seriously, I'm dead! See the rigor mortis?
Me: Still pretty. *takes pictures, flash goes off*
Rat-Snake: I'm really dead! *tongue goes in and out with each flash* See?
*R and I get back in the truck and leave. We see the snake slither off in our mirrors.*
Monday, November 16, 2009
Belated Pictures from the Suwannee
Pictures courtesy of Dr. Stein. This was from the Suwannee canoeing trip that cost me the first weekend of hunting season. It was very much worth it though. Yikes, got some serious guttage going in that picture, but that was from some intestinal inflation from too many granola bars.
In other randomness, I've acquired a taste for a band called Eisbrecher... here's some samples of their songs:
Vergissmeinnicht (Forget-Me-Not)
Schwarze Witwe (Black Widow)
I've got a real soft spot for the German language it seems.
In other randomness, I've acquired a taste for a band called Eisbrecher... here's some samples of their songs:
Vergissmeinnicht (Forget-Me-Not)
Schwarze Witwe (Black Widow)
I've got a real soft spot for the German language it seems.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Odd Little Hog
I think the pictures will explain why this hog was really odd. I may post more when I have a few more brain cells to rub together. For now, enjoy!
Monday, November 09, 2009
Two More FITA Field Pics
Courtesy of fellow archer, B. Jones the official FAA photographer it seems. He certainly carries a very nice camera with me and isn't afraid to use it!
Sunday, November 08, 2009
FITA Field
I survived my first FITA Field round at Central FL Archers. I didn't shoot a particularly good score, but heck, it was quite a learning curve with half of the targets being unknown distances ranging anywhere from about 5 to 50 meters... and trying to correct for wind with arrows most people saw as massive flu-flu arrows! It was just a blast shooting with a fun-loving group of guys who have a different set of insights on shooting without sights or other funny gadgets. Now if I can get me a deer (or two) this season! As always, click on the title for the photo album.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Half Field/Hunter Round
As usual, click on the title for the rest of the pictures. I shot the little 42ish lb @ 28", 58" hunting recurve that Robert made after he bugged me quite some time for it. For shooting a 400+ grain arrow through this thing and only having 2 days to really prepare, I think I did VERY well with a 215/560. It was a gorgeous day with the perfect temperature, courtesy of a passing cold front. For comparison, I had a 224/560 and a 186/560 for field and hunter rounds respectively with the Chek-Mate Crusader under some really nasty conditions (rain, heat, humidity... oh and more rain). It's hard to compare my performances given the radically different conditions but what I can say is that under 35 yards, I did better with the little shorty, but past about 55 yards, the Crusader really shines. Overall though I still prefer my Crusader -- absolutely love the grip on it and so far, there's been no beating it. Now if Robert can make me a 45ish lb, 64-66" longbow with a low wrist grip without the handle-forwardness he likes, I think I'd be in great shape for these shoots!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Belated American 900/Classic 600 Pics
Courtesy of Ed Demateo, a fellow traditional archer from Everglades Archers. He did a very good job of photographing parts of the event that I either didn't have my camera or was too busy doing my own thing. As usual, click on the title for the rest of the pictures.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
(Anticipated) FAQs 1/n for Morgenstern
Q: So where does this take place?
A: In an alternate version of this world where the interface between this world and the Veil is very, very thin. Parts of it also take place in various parts of the Veil. It's got a pretty broad geographical scope.
Q: When will the other part(s) show up?
A: I have no clue. It's inversely proportional to the amount of time I spend stuck in situations where I can't sleep or do real work or otherwise do anything else useful.
Q: What inspired this one?
A: Far too many things. Qualifier exams, certain professors and colleagues I felt like poking fun at, music I've been listening to, fellow archers, the general feeling of incompleteness after Swan-Song. Plus there are still some episodes from old D&D games that need to be made fun of or written up.
Q: Do I need to have read the other stories before reading Morgenstern?
A: Probably a good idea. I tried to put a bit of the background in from the other stories but there's a lot of details and inside jokes only findable in past stories. The next revision might be robust enough to make this a stand-alone along with its sequels.
Q: Any tentative ideas about the sequels at this point?
A: Of course. Not saying too much about it now, mostly because I don't know what the ultimate fate of some of the characters will be and I think it's more fun to watch/read/hear the groans and "WTF?!" from people first. It's definitely going to be a multi-part story though. Otherwise the printout would look a lot like Tolstoy's War and Peace. Ok maybe I'm exaggerating but you get the picture.
Q: Any warnings prior to reading this story?
A: Besides length? Yes. This one has materials that is NOT suitable for the squeamish or the easily offended, even more so than Swan-Song. If this were a film, I'd say this would probably be well into the R rating. You have been warned.
A: In an alternate version of this world where the interface between this world and the Veil is very, very thin. Parts of it also take place in various parts of the Veil. It's got a pretty broad geographical scope.
Q: When will the other part(s) show up?
A: I have no clue. It's inversely proportional to the amount of time I spend stuck in situations where I can't sleep or do real work or otherwise do anything else useful.
Q: What inspired this one?
A: Far too many things. Qualifier exams, certain professors and colleagues I felt like poking fun at, music I've been listening to, fellow archers, the general feeling of incompleteness after Swan-Song. Plus there are still some episodes from old D&D games that need to be made fun of or written up.
Q: Do I need to have read the other stories before reading Morgenstern?
A: Probably a good idea. I tried to put a bit of the background in from the other stories but there's a lot of details and inside jokes only findable in past stories. The next revision might be robust enough to make this a stand-alone along with its sequels.
Q: Any tentative ideas about the sequels at this point?
A: Of course. Not saying too much about it now, mostly because I don't know what the ultimate fate of some of the characters will be and I think it's more fun to watch/read/hear the groans and "WTF?!" from people first. It's definitely going to be a multi-part story though. Otherwise the printout would look a lot like Tolstoy's War and Peace. Ok maybe I'm exaggerating but you get the picture.
Q: Any warnings prior to reading this story?
A: Besides length? Yes. This one has materials that is NOT suitable for the squeamish or the easily offended, even more so than Swan-Song. If this were a film, I'd say this would probably be well into the R rating. You have been warned.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Draft 1 of Morgenstern
If the title doesn't work, click here. This is an absolute first draft of who-knows-how-many. I have no clue how long it'll be before the next part will be posted, but thought I finally reached a good pausing point in the story. This is the first of two or three, with three being the more likely number.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Classic 600 Round
As usual, click on the title for the full suite of pictures. The classic 600 is a much more difficult round for two reasons: 92 cm target instead of a 122 cm and the shoot starts at 40 and ends at 60 yards. I finished the shoot with a 238/600 total (100 at 40, 81 at 50, 57 at 60) which was reasonably good given that I had a bit too much unsweet tea beforehand. By no means my most brilliant performance, but it was a pretty respectable one. Now I have a 735/1500 total to try and beat next time :)
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Day 1 of FAA State Championships
I survived day 1 of the target shoot state championships, which was an American 900 round. It consists of 5 ends of 6 arrows at 60, 50, and 40 yards. Anyway, I went uncontested in my own division but had some really nice competition from friends new and old. I finished with a 497/900 (136 at 60, 170 at 50, and 191 at 40) -- which was a pretty decent score given humidity, wind, and rain. It certainly wasn't my highest ever 900 score -- scored a 526 at the Villages but most of my points were at 40 yards. My 50 and 60 yards were really, really good today. Apparently I was really keyed in at 50 yards after sacrificing the first round for re-calibration. My 40 wasn't as strong, but it was about what I was expecting for today. The score I had at 40 yards that one day in the Villages was insanely good for me and actually put my Bowtech Equalizer to shame so yeah, I wasn't expecting to recreate THAT score but I wouldn't complain if I did!
Friday, October 09, 2009
Character Design Inspiration
What can I say? Stuff like this can go a very, very long way in inspiring character design. It's truly amazing what can and will give me ideas for visualizing the various characters and places that show up in my writing.
In any event, I survived giving my presentation today in the plant ecosystem ecology research symposium over in the botany department today. I was feeling wired to the point where I had to drink a triple espresso to slow down. Chalk it up to general fall restlessness, I suppose. Plus I've eased up a bit on my training for the week to get academic stuff done, so I've got more than a bit of pent-up energy in my system too. Now it's time to relax and get ready for the American 900 and Classic 600 this weekend! Pictures should be coming, barring any fumbles with the camera.
In any event, I survived giving my presentation today in the plant ecosystem ecology research symposium over in the botany department today. I was feeling wired to the point where I had to drink a triple espresso to slow down. Chalk it up to general fall restlessness, I suppose. Plus I've eased up a bit on my training for the week to get academic stuff done, so I've got more than a bit of pent-up energy in my system too. Now it's time to relax and get ready for the American 900 and Classic 600 this weekend! Pictures should be coming, barring any fumbles with the camera.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Small Record-Breaker
Even more than the 237 IKAC or the 92 and 84 Royal Rounds, the biggest highlight tonight was the 36/40 on a timed round at 20 yards. I'm still hoping to break 250 on my IKAC and/or reach Grandmaster Bowman ranking this season (top 3 Royal Round average 100+), with the 250 IKAC being the more attainable goal of the two. Right now my top 3 Royal Round scores are 94, 94, and 92. My top IKAC is a 247.
And now... back to prepping for a talk I give tomorrow afternoon in the plant ecology group and a poster I present on Tuesday. And prepping for the American 900 and Classic 600 shoots this weekend at Newberry. I really hope I'll have some fellow traditional archers to keep me company this weekend!
And now... back to prepping for a talk I give tomorrow afternoon in the plant ecology group and a poster I present on Tuesday. And prepping for the American 900 and Classic 600 shoots this weekend at Newberry. I really hope I'll have some fellow traditional archers to keep me company this weekend!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Oops Forgot...
Insomnia really sucks royally but there are ways of turning crap into gold. In any event, it looks pretty likely that Morgenstern will be the first of at least 2, more likely 3, different stories given the amount of material I've got in mind. As it stands, I'm at 100+ pages (with 12 point font) and still a long way from the "destination" I've got in mind. I didn't expect this one to reach the extent it has, but stories and characters have a way of growing in strange directions!
More details once I figure out where would be a suitable pausing point for Morgenstern and make the appropriate pre-posting clean-ups.
More details once I figure out where would be a suitable pausing point for Morgenstern and make the appropriate pre-posting clean-ups.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A Small Sample from Morgenstern
Disclaimer: There is no guarantee that this will appear in the "final" product but thought this was a pretty representative sample.
As usual, click on the title or here to take a look. I still have a very long way to go on this one though before a full draft gets posted. Right now, I can honestly say that of all the characters I've had in my stories, none have been as complex as some of the ones in Morgenstern and some of the characters from past stories have taken on levels of complexity I've never dealt with before. This is definitely not a Killer Parakeet & friends story, even if there is a fair amount of potty humor in it!
As usual, click on the title or here to take a look. I still have a very long way to go on this one though before a full draft gets posted. Right now, I can honestly say that of all the characters I've had in my stories, none have been as complex as some of the ones in Morgenstern and some of the characters from past stories have taken on levels of complexity I've never dealt with before. This is definitely not a Killer Parakeet & friends story, even if there is a fair amount of potty humor in it!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Vultures and Lighthouses
Suwannee River field trip: http://s375.photobucket.com/albums/oo194/cylithera137/St%20Augustine/Suwannee%20Canoe%20Trip%202009-Sep-26-27/
I don't know why photobucket put the Suwannee trip under St. Augustine but what the heck...
St. Augustine: http://s375.photobucket.com/albums/oo194/cylithera137/St%20Augustine/
Vultures are awesome despite the debate going on with taxonomists whether New World vultures are more closely related to Ciconiiformes (storks and herons) than Acciptriformes (kites, hawks and eagles). Taxonomy is really fickle in my opinion especially with all the DNA stuff going on. Now it seems like taxonomists have decided that falcons (still in Falconiformes) are more closely related to parrots and passerines (not so fond of them except for corvines like crows, ravens and jays... mostly wimpy little songbirds). Now I'm very, very tempted to incorporate a bit of taxonomy humor into some future piece of writing. Maybe Killer Parakeet arguing with someone over who his closest relatives really are... ach, the possibilities are endless!
In other news, I'm still plugging away at Morgenstern, which seems to have taken a whole new life of its own that I've never expected it to take. As it stands, this may be my weirdest work yet and may even make stories involving Killer Parakeet & friends look extremely tame in comparison. If the mood strikes and/or I make enough progress on some academic work, I might post a chapter or two, although Morgenstern is so fluid that anything can happen and no chapter is guaranteed to remain in the "public" draft. I also have reason to suspect this story will be even longer than Swan-Song given the inter-twining story-lines and that I'm really going in-depth with some of the characters.
I don't know why photobucket put the Suwannee trip under St. Augustine but what the heck...
St. Augustine: http://s375.photobucket.com/albums/oo194/cylithera137/St%20Augustine/
Vultures are awesome despite the debate going on with taxonomists whether New World vultures are more closely related to Ciconiiformes (storks and herons) than Acciptriformes (kites, hawks and eagles). Taxonomy is really fickle in my opinion especially with all the DNA stuff going on. Now it seems like taxonomists have decided that falcons (still in Falconiformes) are more closely related to parrots and passerines (not so fond of them except for corvines like crows, ravens and jays... mostly wimpy little songbirds). Now I'm very, very tempted to incorporate a bit of taxonomy humor into some future piece of writing. Maybe Killer Parakeet arguing with someone over who his closest relatives really are... ach, the possibilities are endless!
In other news, I'm still plugging away at Morgenstern, which seems to have taken a whole new life of its own that I've never expected it to take. As it stands, this may be my weirdest work yet and may even make stories involving Killer Parakeet & friends look extremely tame in comparison. If the mood strikes and/or I make enough progress on some academic work, I might post a chapter or two, although Morgenstern is so fluid that anything can happen and no chapter is guaranteed to remain in the "public" draft. I also have reason to suspect this story will be even longer than Swan-Song given the inter-twining story-lines and that I'm really going in-depth with some of the characters.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Caltech Visitor
http://s375.photobucket.com/albums/oo194/cylithera137/OLeno%202009-Sep-19/
http://s375.photobucket.com/albums/oo194/cylithera137/Gator%202009-Sep-20/
Enjoy! Neither computer seems to be particularly functional at this point -- computer with pictures is worse of the two. More later when I get computer back up.
http://s375.photobucket.com/albums/oo194/cylithera137/Gator%202009-Sep-20/
Enjoy! Neither computer seems to be particularly functional at this point -- computer with pictures is worse of the two. More later when I get computer back up.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Oddly Fascinated
I don't know but for some reason I'm really, really fascinated with this video. Click on the title or here to watch. It's for "Rosenrot" by Rammstein. Let's just say this song might also color a bit of my writing...
And now back to my usual order of stuff...
And now back to my usual order of stuff...
Monday, August 31, 2009
Some Delayed Pictures
One of my fellow shooters sent them to me... and I also have some that I pulled off the camera. Some were from the FITA shoot, some were from an International round in Inglis, FL at Citrus County Archers. I think I've been inspired to try and not look *too* much like some of my fellow archers but I've also got a very positive role model in the form of my fellow longbow shooter :)
Monday, August 24, 2009
FAA FITA State Championship
I set some records up in the women's longbow division. In fact, the two of us also set a record for the most women wielding longbows at a single event. My scores are as follows: 108 @ 70m, 105 @ 60m, 100 @ 50m, and 202 @ 30m, all out of 360, with a grand total of 515/1440 for the entire shoot. It was a real blast just knowing that I *can* hit the target 3-4/6 times pretty consistently at 60 and 70 meters, although I know the sound of thunder can really throw off my shooting. Just ask my fellow longbow archer about what a storm in the vicinity will do to me :) It was also awesome getting to chat with an Olympic hopeful and her coach and learning some of the things they do, even if a lot of what they do for their shooting goes against everything I've learned as a hunter. We also had awesome moral support in the form of my other half and my fellow IKAC shooters. It was definitely worth getting up early and being lightly cooked this weekend after a week of hell!
Now I just need to break my own state records eventually and make sure my ego doesn't get over-inflated!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Another Bad Idea (tm)
I really like jalapeno peppers although I haven't been eating them (along with beans) as much as I used to, mostly because of the people around me being excessively prudish. I really wanted some so I got a few from the store and made miniature chile rellenos, complete with some really good cheddar cheese, and they came out to be a lot like those little popper things I really, really like, but a bit healthier. At the time, they sounded like a good idea. Now though I'm sitting at my computer and realizing that they're more of a Bad Idea (tm). Let's just say it'll be a while before I can get to sleep so here I am.
For an extra measure of entertainment, either click here or on the title. This was mostly from the 40 yard line in my friend's yard while we attempted to do an IKAC round before we got rained out.
For an extra measure of entertainment, either click here or on the title. This was mostly from the 40 yard line in my friend's yard while we attempted to do an IKAC round before we got rained out.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Spider at Work
Would've preferred the prey to have been a big mosquito or something a lot less appealing than a dragonfly, but cool nonetheless.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
TBoF Fall Shoot 2009
As always, click on the title or here for the entire set of pictures. Not attaching pictures directly tonight because for some reason my internet is spazzing but might do it later when I have a better connection.
Something urged me to shoot in all three classes (longbow, primitive, and recurve). I knew I was going to shoot longbow and recurve (well, they call it traditional but it's anything that involves any inclusive subset of the following: recurve or non-natural material arrows) but after shooting what felt like a really embarrassing longbow round with my Chek-Mate Crusader (190/300), I figured I was going to amuse myself by shooting the other divisions. My recurve round was a lot better, although the first half was a bit rough because I had a few misses that were worth the damage to my score, including a wimpy little vine that intercepted my arrow on its way to the kill on a standing bear. I pulled a 235/300 with the Chek-Mate Hunter I. Then I returned to the base station and started chatting with the people running the shoot and one of them offered to loan me her self-bow and cane arrows. I have no qualms about borrowing her bow but I do have serious qualms about borrowing cane arrows because they're hard to come by, build, and cost a fortune. So I look around for some subset of arrows or bow. Luckily, there's some guys selling some nice self-bows who not only let me test-shoot it and loan me arrows, but also help me convert a few of my "junker" wood arrows into self-nocked arrows and let me compete with the bow. This morning I shot a 165/300 with the cedar-hickory self-bow, which was surprisingly good for a bow I had gotten my hands on last night after test-shooting, calibrated at 15 and 20 yards only, and then shot without any real experimentation.
I honestly wasn't expecting to place in any of the divisions after glancing and/or overhearing the kind of scores people were shooting... but somehow, I was able to take 3rd in primitive and longbow and 2nd in recurve. All in all though it was a great shoot and I finally got to shoot what my friends call the trifecta of TBoF. It was the first time (in the time I've been around at least) that TBoF allowed people to shoot shorter courses in multiple divisions and I took advantage of that opportunity. The self-bow I got my hands on certainly had a whole different feel and provided a breath of fresh air from its more technologically advanced kindred. It drew smoothly, shot quietly, and didn't shake me up like some other bows do. But when all's been said and done, my favorite is still my fairly high-tech two-part stick with a nice string on it.
Something urged me to shoot in all three classes (longbow, primitive, and recurve). I knew I was going to shoot longbow and recurve (well, they call it traditional but it's anything that involves any inclusive subset of the following: recurve or non-natural material arrows) but after shooting what felt like a really embarrassing longbow round with my Chek-Mate Crusader (190/300), I figured I was going to amuse myself by shooting the other divisions. My recurve round was a lot better, although the first half was a bit rough because I had a few misses that were worth the damage to my score, including a wimpy little vine that intercepted my arrow on its way to the kill on a standing bear. I pulled a 235/300 with the Chek-Mate Hunter I. Then I returned to the base station and started chatting with the people running the shoot and one of them offered to loan me her self-bow and cane arrows. I have no qualms about borrowing her bow but I do have serious qualms about borrowing cane arrows because they're hard to come by, build, and cost a fortune. So I look around for some subset of arrows or bow. Luckily, there's some guys selling some nice self-bows who not only let me test-shoot it and loan me arrows, but also help me convert a few of my "junker" wood arrows into self-nocked arrows and let me compete with the bow. This morning I shot a 165/300 with the cedar-hickory self-bow, which was surprisingly good for a bow I had gotten my hands on last night after test-shooting, calibrated at 15 and 20 yards only, and then shot without any real experimentation.
I honestly wasn't expecting to place in any of the divisions after glancing and/or overhearing the kind of scores people were shooting... but somehow, I was able to take 3rd in primitive and longbow and 2nd in recurve. All in all though it was a great shoot and I finally got to shoot what my friends call the trifecta of TBoF. It was the first time (in the time I've been around at least) that TBoF allowed people to shoot shorter courses in multiple divisions and I took advantage of that opportunity. The self-bow I got my hands on certainly had a whole different feel and provided a breath of fresh air from its more technologically advanced kindred. It drew smoothly, shot quietly, and didn't shake me up like some other bows do. But when all's been said and done, my favorite is still my fairly high-tech two-part stick with a nice string on it.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Rejected Sequel Material
This was something I dug up recently. Originally it was supposed to be material for a sequel to Telcontar Restored (Children of the Tuatha in the compilation) but rejected in favor of The Lay of Imladrien and Tinuvion and Swan-Song. Killer Parakeet's eating habits do make it into Swan-Song though.
As far as the Shadowhawk/Morgenstern story goes, I'm pretty much standing alongside a graduate student taking her qualifiers and learns more about her fey roots while another graduate student is trying to finish his dissertation but is haunted by not only his fey roots but also an oath he had sworn years ago and a mysterious creature with suspicious motives.
As far as the Shadowhawk/Morgenstern story goes, I'm pretty much standing alongside a graduate student taking her qualifiers and learns more about her fey roots while another graduate student is trying to finish his dissertation but is haunted by not only his fey roots but also an oath he had sworn years ago and a mysterious creature with suspicious motives.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Taste of Long Hammock
Here's a sample of the various denizens that attend the Long Hammock shoots. I'm hoping the other photographer has some better, more representative pictures!
Oh and here's a few gratuitous pictures I took to cheer myself up after realizing that my gut looks a lot like an ameboid beer keg.
Oh and here's a few gratuitous pictures I took to cheer myself up after realizing that my gut looks a lot like an ameboid beer keg.
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