Well, not much to write about today, except that I’m feeling a bit off. It probably doesn’t help that I’m feeling sick, and haven’t eaten yet today. (Just don’t think that a couple 20oz. Diet Mt. Dews count as food.) I did consume some interesting media this weekend. Besides gaming, I read some old (if not ancient) comics, caught a couple of interesting TV shows, and hit the bookstore.

Gaming went OK. I was already getting sick/tired and things were kind of unstructured. I wanted to see what the party would choose to find out/try to do, and it was interesting. As sometimes happens something minor I said because the focus of an hour or so of roleplay. That’s not always bad, because I can always retcon it later, if need be. The Ptolus book was pretty helpful in breathing some life into some locations/NPCs, of course, they start to change and mar as I use them, but that’s half the fun of it all. I’ve got them to the point I need to hand them player maps, and head into a nice killing-spree type dungeon. I’ve drawn part of it, but may make some mods to that, as well, just to keep it interesting for me.

I also started into my Infinite Crisis binge: it’s 9Gb of comic books that are related to the Infinite Crisis storyline and fallout. For those who don’t know, the Infinite Crisis (or more properly: “The Crisis on Infinite Earths”) was a huge, multi-comic-book spanning story line that DC did in the mid-80’s. I didn’t read many DC comic books then (and the ones I did finally read weren’t the ones the most involved with the Crisis.) Both Marvel and DC were doing things around then — Marvel’s was the “Secret Wars”, which was more focused, but the later “Secret Wars II” touched every comic they were publishing at the time.

Both were big excuses to make major character changes, like changing Spider-Man’s costume, or killing Supergirl. I’d heard DC’s continuity was pretty messed up, and reading the pre-infinite crisis books, I’ve got to agree. They’ve got characters all over the place, traveling between different universes and time lines, with different versions of Superman, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern (this one may be the most excusable), and the like. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to try to get started on one of these comics, picking one up in the middle just sort of confuses everything.

The writing and art are also spotty. One of the things I’m interested in is how they have changed over the years. I know the computer printing revolution has changed the way they look, and the quality of the line and coloring. I was pretty spoiled at the time, I had a few friends in college point me to the more exceptional writers like Alan Moore, and that’s most of what I read. Now reading The Flash or Green Lantern (not Green Lantern Corps), and then reading one of the early Alan Moore Swamp Thing issues, and I’m appalled at the writing (and art) in those books.

It doesn’t help that Green Lantern has the stupidest weakness in all comics. I finally got to the Infinite Crisis itself, and it looks better, if hampered by a bunch of random heroes and villains that I’m only peripherally aware of. I’ll talk more about the changes in style once I get out of ‘85/’86 and into the 90’s.

I didn’t feel good enough to watch Dresden Files last night, which means Girl probably did. But if it was new she recorded it and we’ll watch it on Thursday. Right, Girl? Let me know, and I’ll download it if need be. And speaking of downloading television, my regular perusal of torrent sites showed up the first episode of season 3 of the new Dr. Who. Woot! Definitely something to be happy about since it’ll be 3 more weeks before Heroes starts up again, and I’m not really sure when Gilmore Girls gets started back up.

The other show I’m watching (along with JB) is Divergence Eve on the Anime Network on Demand. It’s your basic Giant-robot fighting aliens type anime with plenty of fanservice. Evidently (at least so far) the primary requirement for piloting the Giant Robots™ is a minimum D-cup breast. Oh, and you have to be naked to fight the bad guy aliens (and win). Does it really need a plot, too? Maybe since it’s not really an H-anime.

SexyWife, JB and I went out Friday afternoon, and hit a bookstore; Saturday morning (after sleeping in until 10:30), SexyWife and I went up to Polaris and got some Chik-fil-a. She got her nails done, and I hung out at Barns & Noble and plotted D&D. I wound up with a couple of new books — Thunderbird Falls by C.E. Murphy and Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance.

Falls is the sequel to Urban Shaman, which at first blush sounds a lot like a lot of the other paranormal stuff out there. It’s about a female mechanic/beat cop who discovers she has shamanic powers, and must, of course, save the world. Unlike most of these, there’s no romantic subplot, and the main character is interesting without always running from her abilities, or just guessing. Falls has a lot of the running/hiding aspects, which makes it feel weaker, but I’m only a quarter into it, and she’s stepping up, like she did in the first book.

I haven’t started the Karen Chance book yet, it’s just sitting on my coffee table looking sexy. I’m still reading Dante’s Girl, which I didn’t expect to like either. The author’s experience with movie novelization has lent this book a run and gun pace, that’s almost — but not quite breathless. The interplay between vampires and werewolves is about the same as in other books, if a bit grittier. The werewolves seem to have the upper hand in this world, although that’s not certain. I’ll write more about it when I finish.

While we were shopping, JB and I discussed SF&F authors, and I realize how often I’ve gotten disappointed by them, to a point where they’ve lost me. A few bad books in a row, or ones which don’t meet my expectations, and I walk away. Card started losing me in Children of the Mind, and the second or third “Shadow” book had this powerful diatribe against homosexuality that turned me off. I know it was just a “character” speaking, but I know Card’s politics, and the piece felt like something out of Heinlein (with a vastly different agenda). I grew up on Heinlein, so I know when I’m being preached at.

Hamilton is losing me since she’s decided she wants to write plot-less smut. I don’t mind plot-less smut. I strongly suggest Stories Online, ASSTR, and alt.sex.stories.moderated for mass quantities of it. Some of it even has stronger plots than the latest Anita Blake novel, not that I intend to damn them with faint praise. As always, these are adult links, so judge from your seat. And, I might note that 90% of everything is crap, but at least this crap is free, and you didn’t pay $20+ for a 400-page large-print hardcover with a sexy picture and half-coy sex scenes interspersed with people “working on their relationship.”

I think this is why I’m glad the paranormal [with or without Romance] has spawned a bunch of new imprints (like Luna, and imprint of Harlequin.), and slowly gotten merged in with SF&F since that’s where I largely browse. As an erotica writer and a geek, this sort of paranormal romance, or sci-fi/romance sort of fits with what I’d like. And seeing more explicit sex writing in the SF&F section gives me some hope that my stories will find an audience.

I’ve written enough now for two posts, and I need some lunch. That and my plans for Girl#16180 are that the part I wrote for this week should be published next week. So if I want to have a blurb by Wednesday, I need to write something. That and I’m sure Girl would appreciate having a day or two to proof it. So a little pressure on myself, but then we’re a week ahead, easy.