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Black Myth: Wukong

 Dear Reader, We're nearing the end of the year! It seems that a lot of websites and social media fronts are doing their end of the year wrap up with statistics, memories, and the like. There's also a few awards ceremonies going on to look back at some of the entertaining releases we've had in the form of books, movies, music, and video games, all of which seem designed to frustrate the masses as taste and awards generally don't seem to line up. Here's where I divert: Black Myth: Wukong. At the 2024 Video Game Awards Black Myth: Wukong was up for game of the year amonst a smattering of titles that all kind of seemed lackluster. At the time I hadn't played either Wukong or ReFantazio, but I had safely assumed that one of the other would take away the award. Astrobot won, and it has a lot of people confused and ranting about the wrong things. I had just finished Astrobot a few days before the awards, and even I was confused since the game seemed like a Super Mario...
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Art Divisive

I think the art/media community/profession is in one of it's most precarious positions ever. Every day it seems I'm reading an article that talks about how some big multi-million dollar project became a massive flop and then the artists behind it are laid off without a second chance. Video games and movies have been the biggest failures recently since they've been chasing trends rather than setting the tone. I don't think it's entirely the industry's fault: Art does have to follow the money often times because without funding, well, it's hard to live and continue your unpaid work. It looks like there is a shift back towards quality experiences versus quantity (thank Marvel and DC for the flood of mediocrity in the last few years).  But. I say "but" with a big emphasis because quality used to dictate whether or not something was successful. That is no longer the case. Look at the recent release of Dragon Age: Veilguard of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (...
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Collaboration

 Greetings!      As my posts generally run the gamut of the various arts and their myriad forms this one will be focused on writing specifically. I recently was fortunate enough to reconnect with my old friend Aaron Penney who is still pursuing their film career and is about to put out a short film that their submitting to a film festival in Georgia. Literally exciting stuff here, this is a person to watch.  https://www.instagram.com/directedbyp?igsh=MTRpcmh2YjdnN3o0Zg==      Aaron was super excited about a new project that he had been outlining and he wanted to bring me on board. Saying yes has never been so easy, especially after I got a chance to read the material (it would have been a yes anyway, but I'll let you know what I read was solid and I'm thrilled to be attached). This project is still months/a year or so away as it's in its infancy so I can't bring about any details in this particular post.... yet.   This post is focused on the ...
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Sum 41, thanks for 30 years.

Greetings reader, Born in the late 80's, I'm a 90's baby that grew up on the West coast and then moved to Hawaii. For some reason California punk rock bled over to the Canadian band Sum 41 when one of my friends introduced them to me by letting me listen to their CD playing Walkman. (Yeah, I'm that old.) It was over after that.      I've been a fan of Sum 41 for the last 30 years and was fortunate enough to see them in Vegas like 15 years ago when they played at Extreme Thing. Fast forward 13 years and I got to see them again at WWWY, and now once again for their final US performance at Planet Hollywood (where I work oddly enough, way to go full circle). I loved their latest album and like a lot of fans wish we could get another 30 years.      I get it though.      I plan on buying Deryck's (lead singer) soon to be released memoir book about all the ups and downs. I expect to be surprised by quite a few details. Check it out if you're a fan. ...
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Pentiment - Artful Storytelling

 Aloha! I've been playing my Xbox off and on while I'm working on a couple writing projects of my own. I've been playing a little game called Pentiment, which I'm fairly sure only niche gamers are going to be inclined to play or even hear about. It's one of those games that comes out from a pretty major developer but still falls under the umbrella of "independent."      For those of you who end up reading my blog because you happened upon it while reading about writing tips, what I'm up to or the like, I'd recommend exploring the storytelling artform in other mediums. I've discussed how beneficial it's been to me to experience story's in their myriad forms so if you happen to be a gamer, I'd highly recommend delving into this game's story. It's simplistic in it's gameplay as it is a point-and-click adventure, basically a storybook come to life. A lot of the game revolves around you talking to people and trying to uncover...
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Old Friends

 Greetings readers, I've been fortunate in life to cultivate a few friendships that will last the test of time. Not in the sense that we'll always be friends--that's a given for quite a few people I know. These people however are the types that you don't talk to on a daily, weekly, or even yearly basis, the type of people that you seem to only catch up to when something big happens or the moment strikes, but when you finally do connect, it's as if no time has gone between you two.      It's sobering though, of course. A lot has happened in the intervening years. There's a certain level of disappointment associated with all the "what if's" and "what-could-have-been's," but it's also empowering and a whole different injection of energy that I'm completely ready for. There are times when you get stagnant and feel like you're at odds with yourself, but then someone you know comes along to challenge you and remind you that ...
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Gardening

 Greetings! I lived a sordid life so far, gone with the flow, seen a few things and done a few others. I'm not sure if it's because I'm approaching my mid-life mark or if the last several years have served to calm me down, but I woke up the other day with the urge-no, the need -to garden. I immediately hopped onto Amazon and got soil, seeds, and text my girlfriend to get to-go cups from where she works because I need to get planting, stat.     I am currently awaiting germination.     I live in a one bedroom apartment in the middle of the desert. Not exactly an ideal location for gardening. There's something therapeutic about it all though, even if the idea is a bit haphazard. I remember my uncle gardening, and by that, I mean I remember him telling me where to dig, which weeds to pull, and where to move everything for him. My aunt and uncle seemed to have some notion in their head that I never wanted to get dirty. It wasn't about that. It was about the work itse...
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