What’s Bugging Me
May 13, 2010 in Blogs
The title of this entry primarily references the latest Examiner temporal anomalies article, which considers the impact of Noah’s spider-speak and the fact that he is able to program his computer to emulate it effectively. It’s entitled Parlor Tricks.
I am also bothered by the fact that I am sick this week–sick enough to have visited my physician yesterday, who put me on a foul-tasting antibiotic (I nearly choked on the first pill last night, and although the second went down smoothly half an hour ago it still left a nasty taste in my mouth which I had to clear with the end of a bag of very salty snacks). I’m also back on a couple meds to help my breathing.
Perhaps, then, it is an overreaction that I am disappointed that no one commented on my query last time about the possibility of posting reviews on the books I received from Eric. I have, in that regard, done a first draft of one, which comes across as far more negative than I think the book deserves but invites me to revise it accordingly. Perhaps no one wants to say that such reviews would be a waste of my time (which could be said much more diplomatically, such as that there are other things I could write that would be of greater benefit to the Gaming Outpost community). However, I think it telling that no one said such reviews would not be a waste of my time, and of course everything I write takes time. I’ll have to continue to muse on the question.
I am also somewhat pressed for time, as I have been called upon to provide transportation for one of my sons; but the car is currently elsewhere, so he and I will both have to wait and make such use of our time as we are able.
–M. J. Young
JohnA1nut said on May 13, 2010
MJ, I had a thought. Why not record the Multiverser novels as books on tape, with yourself reading them? The reason why I’m not much of a reader is because I’ve always been an audio learner. Teachers would ask me why I didn’t take notes in class. I didn’t have to. I paid attention during lectures and pulled the files out at test taking time. Record them as books on tape. That would be cool.
M. J. Young said on May 14, 2010
That thought has floated around here a few times. It probably is not entirely feasible.
I did recordings of What Does God Expect? and of About the Fruit, which as you know are both relatively short books maybe a tenth the length of each of the novels. Each of those recordings are nearly two disks in length. Further, even though they took less than two hours of audio time, they took far longer to record, what with the necessary retakes of sections to correct glitches–tripping over your words on the radio or on stage is one thing, but doing so on a recording is quite different.
It looks like the recorded version of one of the novels would have to retail for quite a bit more than we’d like, if it were on CD, and there aren’t a lot of other options in the current market. Cassettes might be cheaper (might not be, though), but cassette production is more difficult. Downloads are hard to sell.
But thanks for the thought. It has been considered.
–M. J. Young
Tadeusz said on May 15, 2010
And I’ve got a sore throat too. My boys spent the last week sick, and they’re still kicking it away. I’m in the ‘I hope I feel mostly okay tommorrow which is kinda what I was hoping for yesterday’ situation. I should have started to gargle earlier. It helped a good bit last night.
I’d be more interested in your thoughts on how to use these various books for gaming worlds. Maybe not the book as it is, but some element of it.
M. J. Young said on May 15, 2010
Ah, now that’s an interesting concept for an article series. I’ll have to give some consideration to that. I’ve already drafted reviews of the two Cordelia’s Honor books, so maybe I’ll publish them anyway; and I’m doing the reluctant warlock one (can’t remember the title, but it’s the second in the To the Magic Born book) but although I’d love to know what you make of the ghosts (everything else fits, but could psionic manipulation of the witch moss create non-corporeal beings that have the memories and personalities of the deceased, or are they some kind of psychic residue, perhaps projections of some sort, and if so by who?), but I don’t want to give too much away to my player, who is on the board.
–M. J. Young