Cadmon's Journal: First Entry

Cadmon's Journal: First Entry — Blue Ink Alchemy

A new experiment has begun. In Reading, Pennsylvania, a friend is running a tabletop game set in the world of George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. What follows are the recollections of my character, Cadmon Storm, in a journal he keeps on his person or ravens he sends to other characters. All characters, locations and events are copyright George RR Martin and the events that take place during this game can and will deviate from series canon. Now that I have time where I am not on the road or dealing with immediate threats, it occurs to me I should put down some record of my thoughts and travels. I know I am a bastard. I know that my account may not matter to many or amount to much in any end equation. Yet I still feel compelled to put ink to paper in the form of some record of this journey I find myself upon. Maybe some future bastard staring down a life of derision and bleak prospects will find something of use in these words. My name is Cadmon Storm. My mother is Rhiannon Penrose, a serving girl at Storm's End. She did not tell me, during my childhood years, who my father is. I learned later that she wished me to grow up free of expectation or ambition, to have as normal a childhood as possible. But with the surname of Storm in the ancestral home of House Baratheon, that of the King of the Andals and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, my childhood was not what I would call 'normal'. Few children wished to associate with me of their own will. They kept to themselves, to lessons with the maester and the septons. I found myself the unwilling recipient of several beatings by my peers, I'm assuming under the guise of learning my place as a bastard in a great House. I often would sneak free of the castle to wander amongst the villagers, and then down to the docks not far from Storm's End. The salty folk who made their living there had much more tolerance for a bastard and I found myself spending more and more time there. I had gotten into the habit of learning all I could. My mother encouraged this, always sneaking a little food from the kitchens for when I returned from my wanderings. Despite not having the focused instruction of the trueborn children of Storm's End, I picked up a few things on life at court, the lot of servants and the trades of the sea. I watched the swordplay in secret by day, and practiced down by the waters of the Narrow Sea at night. One of these practice sessions lead to what was the first pivotal moment of my young life. I'd found a broken oar handle, just long enough for my little hands to grip and swing properly. I was six, maybe seven. I'd paused in my usual trek down to the docks to practice what I'd seen the previous day on a sturdy oak not far off the road. One could see Storm's End from the docks and vice versa, so it wasn't uncommon for the children of the servants in the castle to run errands while the servants worked. One of those children, a girl with two or three name days on me, was coming up from the docks with a basket of onions. A boy older than us both was walking down from the castle, wearing the azure & sable colors of House Trant. He was looking up at the trees and the girl was minding her basket, which is how they collided. "Clumsy idiot!" The boy was spitting leaves as he got to his feet. "I'm so sorry!" The girl scrambled, trying to collect all of the spilled onions. "You've struck the son of a noble house! Do you know what that means? My father is going to flog you within an inch of your life!" He seized her arm and she gasped in pain. One of her onions rolled up against my foot. I bent and picked it up with my left hand, the oar handle in my right. I may have been a boy, but even then I knew right from wrong. And letting this pompous wet-nosed ass harm an innocent if somewhat clumsy girl was wrong. "Let her go." They both turned and stared at me and the boy just squeezed her harder. "I know you. You're that bastard boy who's always skulking around. Go back to the woods, bastard, before I have my father flog you too." "He's not here." He blinked at me. "What?" "Your father isn't here. Neither is mine. We're both bastards out here." He spat, releasing the girl to draw a dagger from his belt. In his hand it was nearly a shortsword. "You take that back!" I raised my 'sword' the way I'd seen them do in the courtyard a hundred times. "Make me." The girl, grasping onto a modicum of sense, grabbed her basket of onions and ran. The boy snarled and lunged at me. I backed up, moving to one side. He followed me and kept trying to stick me with his knife. It was on his seventh attack that it occured to me that I'd seen this, too. One boy lunged, the other stepped to one side and hit them. Once an instructor had aimed his blow at the oncoming sword-arm, to knock the blade away. I did the same, bringing my oar handle down with both hands. The boy made a very unmanly shrieking noise and dropped his dagger, only to swing at me with his free hand. He punched me in the throat and for a moment I was unable to breathe. He jumped on me, forcing me to the ground, and started punching my face. "STOP!" The boy didn't stop. I felt my nose break under his fist. Large hands pulled him away from me. I was helped to my feet, still gripping my makeshift weapon and the girl's onion. Several men dressed for the sea were trying to make sense of our melee, and one in the middle, wearing a black surcoat and drumming shortened fingers on his crossed arm, had an expression that demanded an explanation. "He hit me!" The boy was still shrieking. "The bastard hit me!" "Better me than the girl." My jaw hurt. Talking hurt. I did it anyway, wiping blood from my face with the back of my right hand. "He was going to have a girl beaten for running into him. He wasn't watching where he was going." "Liar!" "Enough, both of you." The man with the shortened hand looked from me to the boy and back again, then over his shoulder at the girl. "I think what we have here is an accident and a misunderstanding. Girl, apologize to the young Trant for running into him." "Forgive me." Her voice was timid, unsure. "Never!" The boy pulled away from the hands holding him. "You cost me my dagger! It was a gift from my father!" "This little girl disarmed you?" "No!" He thrust out his jaw at the man, pointing angrily at me. "The bastard did! He stole my dagger! He's a thief!" The man knelt so that he was eye-to-eye with the boy and his voice became more quiet and more menacing. "I know from thievery, boy. If he'd stolen it he'd be away from here as fast as his little legs could carry him. But here he stands." He glanced at the ground, found the small dagger and handed it to the boy. "I think you're making a hurricane out of a storm cloud, and what's more, you're making a fool of yourself." The boy opened his mouth, then closed it again. His fingers tighened around the dagger, holding it close to his chest. He thrust his jaw out again but tears welled in his eyes. "It's not fair! He's a bastard! I should be right!" "Life isn't fair, boy." At that, the trueborn dagger-lover burst into tears and bolted for the castle. The man stood and shook his head, then looked at me. His eyes flicked to the onion in my hand, then the oar handle. "What's your name?" "Cadmon." "Well, Cadmon, we'd best do something about that nose. It'll heal crooked otherwise." Before I could protest, he seized the end of my nose with his shortened fingers and tugged it back into place. It hurt so badly I passed out on the spot. That's how I met Ser Davos Seaworth.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

A Beginner's Guide to Westeros: Noble Houses, Part 2

A Beginner's Guide to Westeros: Noble Houses, Part 2 — Blue Ink Alchemy

The Game of Thrones is now showing on HBO. The production and promotion of this series has been fantastic, but not everyone tuning in may be familiar with the series of books upon which it is based. A Song of Ice and Fire, currently spanning four expansive novels, introduced us to the world of Westeros and provides a plethora of extensive information. Presented here is a bit of that information to help newcomers to this lush and living world get and keep their bearings. All information is presented free of spoilers and describe the circumstances at the beginning of the series… Westeros is a large expanse of land. Houses large and small make up the population of the Seven Kingdoms. There are a few that distinguish themselves amongst the nobility, and some even play major roles in the politics of King's Landing or the goings-on across the Narrow Sea. Here, in brief, we shall discuss a few of them and their prominent members.

House Frey

Sigil: Two Towers with bridge between Words: (House Frey has no words) To quote the news-monster Morbo of Futurama, the Frey family is 'belligerent and numerous'. Founded a mere 600 years ago and ceded the land on the Trident to realize the first Frey lord's vision of a bridge between the banks of the mighty river. The bridge is capped with identical castles on either side, called The Twins. By completing the bridge rapidly and exerting tolls from all who cross, the Freys grew quickly in wealth and influence. This meteoric rise caused other houses of the Riverlands to look upon them as upstarts, and they have been treated with disdain ever since. Currently in control of the Twins and Lord of the Crossing is Walder Frey, an aging but no less vivacious man who delights in his series of young wives and the control he holds over the bridge. He is ambitious and cruel, eager to take advantage of the Great House's need for his bridge, and according to his overlord, Hoster Tully, is disinclined to take oaths seriously.

House Hightower

Sigil: Tower topped with Flame Words: We Light The Way Oldtown is perhaps the largest and most wealthy city in all of Westeros. While King's Landing has become more prominent, Oldtown has maintained its grandeur and ships from all over the world still crowd its harbor. It is home to the maesters' Citadel and until the construction of the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing was the seat of the Faith of the Seven. The tallest structure in the Seven Kingdoms is the 800-foot-tall Hightower, from which the ruling House of Oldtown takes its name. Lord Leyton Hightower has not left his namesake for over a decade. His uncle Gerold served as Lord Commander of Mad King Aerys' Kingsguard. His son, Baelor, is perhaps the most prominent member of the family still seen, known as 'Brightsmile' for his handsome demeanor. Despite his reclusiveness, Leyton's family remains influential in the Seven Kingdoms.

House Martell

Sigil: Sun and Spear Words: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken Very much a people apart from the other Kingdoms, the inhabitants of Dorne maintain their old traditions, born of the sands in which they grew strong. The Martells were not conquered by the Targaryens, but joined the Seven Kingdoms through marriage and diplomacy instead. Since then, the Martells have ruled Dorne on behalf of the King on the Iron Throne, but style their leaders Princes instead of Kings and value daughters as highly as sons. Prince Doran Martell, aging badly and affected by gout, rules Dorne from Sunspear. His sister Elia was married to Rhaegar Targaryen and slain by Gregor Clegane, along with her small children, during the Sack of King's Landing. While Prince Doran bides his time and nurses this deep wound, his hot-headed brother Oberyn has a lesser measure of patience.

House Tyrell

Sigil: Golden rose Words: Growing Strong When House Gardener fell to Aegon the Conqueror, the Tyrells surrendered Highgarden to their new lord. In return, they were named Lords of the Reach and Wardens of the South. As such, they were given fertile lands and oversight of Oldtown, but were also charged with defending their lands against Dorne, who occasionally skirmished with the people of the grasslands. Even in times of peace, the lord of Highgarden is often Defender of the Marches as well as Warden of the South. Those titles are currently held by Mace Tyrell, a lord charitably described as 'somewhat tedious'. Other members of his house are more exemplary of its virtues and the cause for the jealousy of others, from Loras Tyrell, the famous Knight of Flowers, to beautiful Margaery Tyrell, an intelligent and shrewd young lady betrothed to Renly Baratheon. If you would like to know more, please consult the official HBO viewer's guide or the Wiki of Ice and Fire (beware of spoilers). Also, if you find anything amiss or incorrect in these guides, please inform me.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Green Hornet

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Green Hornet — Blue Ink Alchemy

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/green_hornet.mp3] Even if you've never seen a single one of his films, I'm willing to bet you know who Bruce Lee is. A martial arts master and action movie superstar, he was tragically killed on set in what is technically labelled an accident. His style and presence have informed everything from the main character of Cowboy Bebop to the likes of action-movie successors Kill Bill and The Matrix. Bruce Lee was first introduced to the world in The Green Hornet, a TV series of one season that was inspired by a radio serial of the same name. A modern movie has finally been made of it, and if nothing else, I think Bruce would be proud of his successor. The movie opens with Britt Reid, son of the owner of a crusading Los Angeles newspaper, generally being an irresponsible and obnoxious brat, even when he's a grown man. The senior Reid is killed and Britt is left his media empire. Britt discovers his father employed a wickedly talented mechanic named Kato, and together the two of them act out a bit against the deceased's somewhat caustic behavior. In the course of doing so they foil a mugging. Feeling a sense of accomplishment for the first time, the duo decide to continue this pursuit of vigilante justice, but in the guise of villains claiming their own turf. Britt uses the newspaper to sensationalize the events, and it's the press that call him the Green Hornet. The film was co-written by one of its stars, Seth Rogen, giving Britt the sort of bumbling, in-your-face humor that's mostly defined his career. He's written to be an arrogant, selfish and glory-seeking egomaniac on a power trip. He geeks out at the drop of a hat, isn't very good at concealing his secret identity and only scores with the ladies because he's got a pile of cash. And this is how he acts for most of the movie. It's only after innocent people are killed just for wearing green that he starts to take some responsibility. In other words, he spends the last 20 minutes or so on the character development that Iron Man spent the entire film building, and the slap-dash nature of it shows. It's hard to care about our hero when we don't really like the guy very much.
One of the few shots where Britt doesn't look or act like a bell-end. On top of that, we have a rich Caucasian man taking all the glory and credit for the goings-on while his minority partner does all of the work. In the original radio serial, Kato was merely the Green Hornet's driver. It was Bruce Lee that expanded the role to ass-kicking partner. Taiwanese singer Jay Chou plays Kato as something of a drifter looking for his place who finally finds it in fighting crime, but the fact remains that he is building the cars, gadgets and legend of the Green Hornet as well as doing most of the heavy lifting in fights, while his rich white douchebag of a boss is getting all the attention. This does come up in the movie, and it's certainly a more legitimate basis for the two to bicker and fight than the affections of Cameron Diaz. Don't get me wrong, Diaz does a fine job and her character actually helps the guys more than she knows, but the subplot of Britt and Kato vying for her affection goes absolutely nowhere and serves no purpose other than to drive an artificial wedge between the two of them and extend the running time. This is time that could have been spent making Britt more sympathetic, like trying to learn some of Kato's moves on his own or in showing more appreciation for Kato instead of marginalizing the poor guy in any variety of social situations. I think Seth saw Iron Man and how Tony Stark acted, especially around Pepper Potts, and tried to splice that directly into this flick. However, Tony Stark has a gradual and well-paced character arc, a real charismatic presence, some truly funny moments as he develops himself and treats Pepper with respect and courtesy. Britt Reid, on the other hand, treats nobody with respect, tosses money around in place of showing any sort of humility and is really more the butt of a joke than he is a superhero.
This kind of sums it up. Britt looks confused, and Kato looks badass. Admittedly, the movie is on the funnier side of things and isn't taking itself too seriously. There's also the fact that Christoph Waltz is clearly enjoying his turn as the affable crime boss Chudnofsky, and Tom Wilkinson and Edward James Olmos provide some much-needed maturity to counter-balance Seth Rogen's unashamedly juvenile behavior. The fact that Britt is the least competent person around is kind of the point of The Green Hornet, and this keen self-awareness is one of the things the movie has going for it. We are shown the potential of Britt and we want to see it used well even if we have to kick the jerk's ass ourselves, and it's gratifying when it finally does happen. It just happens too late to have any real significance. Instead we see Britt being a dick to just about everybody, and him and Kato behaving like partners in far more than the crime-fighting sense. In the end, The Green Hornet is relatively harmless. It's light-heartedness means it doesn't touch the depths of X-Men the Last Stand and it plays a lot more like a groovier and lighter play on Sam Raimi's Darkman. A lot of Britt's personality and motivations are lifted from other superhero movies, and Chudnofsky feels more like a gang boss from the gritty but hysterical London of Snatch or quite a few of Tarantino's movies, which don't quite mesh together perfectly, especially when you add the notion of one of the nation's last truly independent newspapers, or the mere presence of the hyper-competent and infinitely-cooler-than-his-boss Kato. It's a bit of a mish-mash, but because it's having so much fun just hanging out with you and showing off, it's hard for me to give a blanket 'Skip It' recommendation for The Green Hornet. If you can grok that Britt is supposed to be an asshole and get past the unfortunate implications of his treatment of Kato, and everybody else to a lesser degree, you might just catch yourself having a good time. It might also make you really thirsty for a well-made cappuccino, but that could just be my lack of breakfast talking. Josh Loomis can't always make it to the local megaplex, and thus must turn to alternative forms of cinematic entertainment. There might not be overpriced soda pop & over-buttered popcorn, and it's unclear if this week's film came in the mail or was delivered via the dark & mysterious tubes of the Internet. Only one thing is certain... IT CAME FROM NETFLIX.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Green Hornet

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Green Hornet — Blue Ink Alchemy

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/green_hornet.mp3] Even if you've never seen a single one of his films, I'm willing to bet you know who Bruce Lee is. A martial arts master and action movie superstar, he was tragically killed on set in what is technically labelled an accident. His style and presence have informed everything from the main character of Cowboy Bebop to the likes of action-movie successors Kill Bill and The Matrix. Bruce Lee was first introduced to the world in The Green Hornet, a TV series of one season that was inspired by a radio serial of the same name. A modern movie has finally been made of it, and if nothing else, I think Bruce would be proud of his successor. The movie opens with Britt Reid, son of the owner of a crusading Los Angeles newspaper, generally being an irresponsible and obnoxious brat, even when he's a grown man. The senior Reid is killed and Britt is left his media empire. Britt discovers his father employed a wickedly talented mechanic named Kato, and together the two of them act out a bit against the deceased's somewhat caustic behavior. In the course of doing so they foil a mugging. Feeling a sense of accomplishment for the first time, the duo decide to continue this pursuit of vigilante justice, but in the guise of villains claiming their own turf. Britt uses the newspaper to sensationalize the events, and it's the press that call him the Green Hornet. The film was co-written by one of its stars, Seth Rogan, giving Britt the sort of bumbling, in-your-face humor that's mostly defined his career. He's written to be an arrogant, selfish and glory-seeking egomaniac on a power trip. He geeks out at the drop of a hat, isn't very good at concealing his secret identity and only scores with the ladies because he's got a pile of cash. And this is how he acts for most of the movie. It's only after innocent people are killed just for wearing green that he starts to take some responsibility. In other words, he spends the last 20 minutes or so on the character development that Iron Man spent the entire film building, and the slap-dash nature of it shows. It's hard to care about our hero when we don't really like the guy very much.
One of the few shots where Britt doesn't look or act like a bell-end. On top of that, we have a rich Caucasian man taking all the glory and credit for the goings-on while his minority partner does all of the work. In the original radio serial, Kato was merely the Green Hornet's driver. It was Bruce Lee that expanded the role to ass-kicking partner. Taiwanese singer Jay Chou plays Kato as something of a drifter looking for his place who finally finds it in fighting crime, but the fact remains that he is building the cars, gadgets and legend of the Green Hornet as well as doing most of the heavy lifting in fights, while his rich white douchebag of a boss is getting all the attention. This does come up in the movie, and it's certainly a more legitimate basis for the two to bicker and fight than the affections of Cameron Diaz. Don't get me wrong, Diaz does a fine job and her character actually helps the guys more than she knows, but the subplot of Britt and Kato vying for her affection goes absolutely nowhere and serves no purpose other than to drive an artificial wedge between the two of them and extend the running time. This is time that could have been spent making Britt more sympathetic, like trying to learn some of Kato's moves on his own or in showing more appreciation for Kato instead of marginalizing the poor guy in any variety of social situations. I think Seth saw Iron Man and how Tony Stark acted, especially around Pepper Potts, and tried to splice that directly into this flick. However, Tony Stark has a gradual and well-paced character arc, a real charismatic presence, some truly funny moments as he develops himself and treats Pepper with respect and courtesy. Britt Reid, on the other hand, treats nobody with respect, tosses money around in place of showing any sort of humility and is really more the butt of a joke than he is a superhero.
This kind of sums it up. Britt looks confused, and Kato looks badass. Admittedly, the movie is on the funnier side of things and isn't taking itself too seriously. There's also the fact that Christoph Waltz is clearly enjoying his turn as the affable crime boss Chudnofsky, and Tom Wilkinson and Edward James Olmos provide some much-needed maturity to counter-balance Seth Rogan's unashamedly juvenile behavior. The fact that Britt is the least competent person around is kind of the point of The Green Hornet, and this keen self-awareness is one of the things the movie has going for it. We are shown the potential of Britt and we want to see it used well even if we have to kick the jerk's ass ourselves, and it's gratifying when it finally does happen. It just happens too late to have any real significance. Instead we see Britt being a dick to just about everybody, and him and Kato behaving like partners in far more than the crime-fighting sense. In the end, The Green Hornet is relatively harmless. It's light-heartedness means it doesn't touch the depths of X-Men the Last Stand and it plays a lot more like a groovier and lighter play on Sam Raimi's Darkman. A lot of Britt's personality and motivations are lifted from other superhero movies, and Chudnofsky feels more like a gang boss from the gritty but hysterical London of Snatch or quite a few of Tarantino's movies, which don't quite mesh together perfectly, especially when you add the notion of one of the nation's last truly independent newspapers, or the mere presence of the hyper-competent and infinitely-cooler-than-his-boss Kato. It's a bit of a mish-mash, but because it's having so much fun just hanging out with you and showing off, it's hard for me to give a blanket 'Skip It' recommendation for The Green Hornet. If you can grok that Britt is supposed to be an asshole and get past the unfortunate implications of his treatment of Kato, and everybody else to a lesser degree, you might just catch yourself having a good time. It might also make you really thirsty for a well-made cappuccino, but that could just be my lack of breakfast talking. Josh Loomis can't always make it to the local megaplex, and thus must turn to alternative forms of cinematic entertainment. There might not be overpriced soda pop & over-buttered popcorn, and it's unclear if this week's film came in the mail or was delivered via the dark & mysterious tubes of the Internet. Only one thing is certain... IT CAME FROM NETFLIX.

---

Blue Ink Alchemy

The Art of Thor: Ah, The Power of Cheese

The Art of Thor: Ah, The Power of Cheese — Blue Ink Alchemy

"Hmm... that Probe looks suspicious. I better question it. With my gun."

"Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions."

This concept will be nothing new for StarCraft players. On a conceptual level, things of this nature have existed since gaming began. From the shark at the blackjack table to the RPG player grinding a particular area over & over again, gamers like to game and some especially like to game the system. Sometimes, this is referred to as cheating or exploiting. StarCraft has a particular term for it. They call it cheese. Cheese is a strategy for opening a game that looks to take advantage of a timing or mechanics advantage you might have over your opponent. While it's not the same as going all-in on a particular strategy, if your cheese fails you can end up at a severe disadvantage economically. Many cheeses also involve a measure of micro-management, pulling your focus away from establishing the foundation for longer play. If you invest in cheese up-front and don't follow up with a solid mid-game, your clever strategy might actually become the reason you lose the game. Let me give you an example from each race.

Protoss: Proxy Pylon

The basic infantry units of the Protoss - Zealots, Stalkers, etc - are produced at Gateways, which can be converted to Warp Gates. When they become Warp Gates, the buildings can teleport units into play anywhere the Protoss have built a Pylon. Pylons require minimal investment, can be built anywhere and, like all Protoss buildings, do not require a Probe to be present while completing construction. The cheese in this comes when the Protoss player builds a Pylon far from his home, in or near the enemy base. On some maps, the geography allows the Pylon to sit out of the enemy's sight while its power grid, the area which powers Protoss buildings & provides space for the aforementioned units to warp in, intrudes into the enemy base. A Protoss player can warp in units at his leisure or even build Plasma Cannons to destroy their opponent's economy, wreck their buildings and generally be a nuiscance.

Terran: Planetary Fortress Rush

It may seem a bit silly, but a Terran player can use their initial base structure as an offensive unit. The Command Center has the option to be upgraded to either an Orbital Command or a Planetary Fortress. The latter upgrade beefs the building up with layers of armor and adds a pair of cannons on a turret on top. After upgrading to the Planetary Fortress, the building cannot lift off again as most Terran buildings do. The thrust of this opening is for the Terran player to build a second Command Center as soon as possible, float it into the enemy base, drop it in place with a few SCVs for repairs and upgrade directly to the Planetary Fortress. After the enemy workers have been eliminated, the Terran player's own workers can acquire the resources of the enemy base while the Fortress blasts anything that tries to take it down. It is meant to capitalize more on psychological impact than any practical issues like longer game strategy or unit counters.

Zerg: Zergling Rus

It's a StarCraft tradition. The Zerg rush has been used so often and so effectively that the term has seeped into other games and aspects of culture. Zerglings are the least costly of the initial starting units of all three races, and the nature of Zerg unit production allows for many of the units to be produced at once. Take a bunch of these little guys, produced as quicly as possible, and point them in the general direction of whatever you want consumed. The basic strategy is alive, well, and relatively unchanged from the original game. The Zerg player puts down a Spawning Pool with all due haste. The initial batch of Zerglings then speed their way to the enemy base. A half-dozen Zerglings can absolutely gut the economy of an unwary player in the very early game. It relies on quick scouting and constant unit production.

Beating Cheese

Getting around cheese is actually relatively simple. Maintain strong macro, scout your base and move aggressively against any encroachment. If you are constantly building units, even the most basic fighters, most early opening cheese won't lost too long. Keep a unit, be it a builder or something more robust, peeking out from your base and coming back just to make sure the enemy doesn't get any bright ideas. And if you do see a builder or a couple units whistling innocently as they approach our base, stomp them as quickly as possible. That shoul take care of most cheese, but sometimes, you just won't get your placement exactly right and those Zerglings will slip through, or you'll scout your entire perimeter only to just miss the Pylon about to dispense unpleasantness on your buildings. Keep playing & practicing, and it'll happen less often.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

The Crossroads of Art & Technology

The Crossroads of Art & Technology — Blue Ink Alchemy

Technology really isn't this scary. Relax. There is an ever-growing crossroads where art and technology meet. As companies develop easier and shinier ways to put smaller and yet more expensive devices in the hands of consumers, the degree to which technology permeates those consumers' lives grows. That technology not only makes communication and advertisement easier but also allows artists are more direct route for reaching new audiences, provided the artist in question leverages the tools available. Art and technology have more in common, though, than just being a medium of expression and its means of distribution. Both are forms of alchemy. Both allow for the creation of something out of nothing. This blog entry began as a blank text document. Paintings begin as blank canvases. New devices start their lives as empty documents, bits of graph paper or pages in a sketch journal. They all spring from the same source - our imaginations. And imaginations and artistic minds are much like processors, capacitors and bits of memory. The more there are in close proximity working in concert, the more powerful the outcome. That's why collaboration and the sharing of ideas is so important. Technology makes this easier than it has ever been, and art is still sought by audiences the world over. The more artists support and promote one another, the more successful everyone becomes as a result. And the more an artist leverages a resource like Twitter or Facebook, the more they can support and promote other artists. So why is there a divide between art and technology? Between social media, fundraising means and the advance of media-streaming methods, it should be easier than ever for purveyors of art, from the lowly aspiring novelist to the coordinator of major musical events such as orchestra concerts and ballet performances, to put their labors of love in front of as many eyeballs as possible. Yet some of these artists and art-friends refrain from using these accessible and free-to-use tools. Are they uncertain of the hows and whys? Unaware of their presence or power? Unimpressed by what might seem to be a passing fad? I wish I knew the answers to these questions. To me, technology is nothing to be feared or scoffed at by the artist. This divide, which is all too real and yawning for some artists, should be seen instead as a crossroads. And as more artists embrace the technology available to them to make their lives easier and give them more time to create, and technology continues to be molded by digital artists and natives, the crossroads will continue to grow until it becomes a town square of its own. And Philadelphia's one of the best places for it to happen. Sure, the west coast of the US is covered with tech talent, AAA game studios, big media moguls, what have you. And New York is the landing zone for art and fashion from the rest of the world. Philadelphia may never attract multi-million dollar corporations bent on harnessing technology or the most glamorous of glamor-making glamorhounds. What it has, does and will attract is fresh, interesting and passionate talent from all walks of life. Much like the technology I've discussed, it's a crossroads for all sorts of people, from the tech-savvy to the artistic and everything in between. And you can bet that, this being Philly, when the exciting stuff starts happening and new ground gets broken as this crossroads continues to expand, somebody's gonna be loud and obnoxious. Like the guys over at Geekadelphia or Technically Philly, for example. In any event, I think what those of us who have technical inclinations need to impress upon artists is that the barrier for entry when it comes to valuable tools like social networks and streaming media is not as high as one might think. We need to educate, to network and to ignite imaginations. If we can do this for artists, the artists can in turn do it for the world. That's my take on it, at least.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

The Crossroads of Art & Technology

The Crossroads of Art & Technology — Blue Ink Alchemy

Technology really isn't this scary. Relax. There is an ever-growing crossroads where art and technology meet. As companies develop easier and shinier ways to put smaller and yet more expensive devices in the hands of consumers, the degree to which technology permeates those consumers' lives grows. That technology not only makes communication and advertisement easier but also allows artists are more direct route for reaching new audiences, provided the artist in question leverages the tools available. Art and technology have more in common, though, than just being a medium of expression and its means of distribution. Both are forms of alchemy. Both allow for the creation of something out of nothing. This blog entry began as a blank text document. Paintings begin as blank canvases. New devices start their lives as empty documents, bits of graph paper or pages in a sketch journal. They all spring from the same source - our imaginations. And imaginations and artistic minds are much like processors, capacitors and bits of memory. The more there are in close proximity working in concert, the more powerful the outcome. That's why collaboration and the sharing of ideas is so important. Technology makes this easier than it has ever been, and art is still sought by audiences the world over. The more artists support and promote one another, the more successful everyone becomes as a result. And the more an artist leverages a resource like Twitter or Facebook, the more they can support and promote other artists. So why is there a divide between art and technology? Between social media, fundraising means and the advance of media-streaming methods, it should be easier than ever for purveyors of art, from the lowly aspiring novelist to the coordinator of major musical events such as orchestra concerts and ballet performances, to put their labors of love in front of as many eyeballs as possible. Yet some of these artists and art-friends refrain from using these accessible and free-to-use tools. Are they uncertain of the hows and whys? Unaware of their presence or power? Unimpressed by what might seem to be a passing fad? I wish I knew the answers to these questions. To me, technology is nothing to be feared or scoffed at by the artist. This divide, which is all too real and yawning for some artists, should be seen instead as a crossroads. And as more artists embrace the technology available to them to make their lives easier and give them more time to create, and technology continues to be molded by digital artists and natives, the crossroads will continue to grow until it becomes a town square of its own. And Philadelphia's one of the best places for it to happen. Sure, the west coast of the US is covered with tech talent, AAA game studios, big media moguls, what have you. And New York is the landing zone for art and fashion from the rest of the world. Philadelphia may never attract multi-million dollar corporations bent on harnessing technology or the most glamorous of glamor-making glamorhounds. What it has, does and will attract is fresh, interesting and passionate talent from all walks of life. Much like the technology I've discussed, it's a crossroads for all sorts of people, from the tech-savvy to the artistic and everything in between. And you can bet that, this being Philly, when the exciting stuff starts happening and new ground gets broken as this crossroads continues to expand, somebody's gonna be loud and obnoxious. Like the guys over at Geekadelphia or Technically Philly, for example. In any event, I think what those of us who have technical inclinations need to impress upon artists is that the barrier for entry when it comes to valuable tools like social networks and streaming media is not as high as one might think. We need to educate, to network and to ignite imaginations. If we can do this for artists, the artists can in turn do it for the world. That's my take on it, at least.

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Blue Ink Alchemy