LeftyBrown's Corner

Comic Book Wednesdays

2012-02-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is New Comic Book Day for geeks like moi. So I figured I'll try to chat about comic books and the like on Wednesdays.

One of my favorite graphic novels doesn't involve capes, but it does involve a battle against intolerance. Years ago I picked up a very used copy of Howard Cruse's Stuck Rubber Baby. The book is a fictional story of a gay man's sexual awakening against the backdrop of 1960's Alabama. It's an interesting look at gay life during this period but also of the civil rights struggle as well. While the book is fictional, Cruse does draw upon his own experiences. It is an absorbing read and I highly recommend it.

My copy is falling apart and I really should pick up that hardcover copy I keep seeing at my local comic shop.

While I'm at my local comic shop today, I am hoping (since I forgot to add it to my pull list) the next issue of Wolverine & the X-Men: Alpha & Omega from Brian Wood. It's an X-Men book (Wolverine's team since the whole Cyclops/Wolverine falling out), but Wood brings some mad ideas . I really enjoyed the first issue, so can't wait to dive into the next.

I am also continuing my read through the 100 Bullets collections. I have just wrapped up book five of the trades and am liking this build up of the mythology behind of the book. I can't wait to see how that pays off.

In Search Of....Your Questions

2012-02-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

I am taking questions so tomorrow I can provide some answers, so if there's something you want me to tackle, please leave a comment.

Weekend Aftermath

2012-02-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

So it was an interesting weekend to say the least for me and Kel. Let me bulletpoint the highlights:

+ The Other Show: We recorded our first Bonus Content podcast for owners of our The Married Gamers app. It was a lot of fun to do, and Kelly shocked me with some of the stuff she said, that I didn't even know about even after all this time we've been together. After recording it on Saturday night I spent the rest of the weekend worried if I should even release it. It is REALLY revealing, but it's stuff that funny, honest, and sometime it is good to just laugh at the craziness of life. So Kel ultimately convinced me to release it. I have to admit I'm pretty nervous about it, so I'm hoping I get feedback from friends I really trust. Future episodes will go down other paths. I know I want to talk about bad dates, politics, funny past work stories, and other things in a relaxed conversational manner.

+ The "Super" Bowl: Patriots versus Giants. Both teams played well. They were pretty evenly matched, so I thought it'd be a little more exciting than it was. Yep the last two minutes of the game had some of that sparkle but I would have enjoyed a few more Tom Brady turnovers for my liking. Still, both teams showed why they made it to the big show. I for one liked Madonna's performance but liked the same sparkly and drive of a rock band performance. Prince's halftime performance remains one of my all-time favorites. Oh, and I, like many others I'm sure, now am hoping that the Honda/Matthew Broderick ad inspires buzz for a Ferris Bueller sequel.

+ New Jeans: So yeah this IS one of the highlights of the weekend. Sue me. I went to Casual Male to buy a new pair of jeans. First, don't go to Casual Male because they are a good $20 more expensive to buy ANYTHING. Future self will just go to JcPenney's and order them online. It's like Casual Male feels like they can tax guys just for being fat. Like they're doing YOU a favor or something. Even their t-shirts are close to fifty dollars. Anyway, I did pick up a pair of jeans and wanted to say that somehow I went from a 56 (yeah I'm obese, ok) to a 48 in the last year. So I guess something is going on, but I'm also hoping that these new expensive jeans will have to be replaced by the summer as I continue my journey in Weight Watchers. I did lose 2 pounds last week in my first week in the program.

+ Gaming: I didn't play a video game at all this weekend, which feels a bit weird for me. Saturday was busy with errands around town with Kelly and then podcasting that evening. Sunday I sat in with the folks at Digital Gonzo to talk about my favorite Harry Potter film, Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the followed it up with the Super Bowl. Somehow I just didn't get time, and right now I'm sort of between games on my consoles and sort of overwhelmed by Star Wars: The Old Republic & Skyrim on the PC. I need to get busy because March is coming and that's when I disappear into Mass Effect 3.

"The Other (Podcast) Show"

2012-02-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

Last night Kel and I went to see Kevin Smith: Live From Behind. We had free passes and I'll be writing something about it on The Married Gamers website tonight The live show was pretty good, a little on the longish side (three hours), but was indirectly inspiring.

The first half of the show was Smith and his on & off screen hetrosexual lifemate, Jason Mewes doing their podcast Jay & Silent Bob Get Old. It was pretty cool to see them just chatting and turning their everyday misadventures into some pretty funny material.

It made me want to explore that in our own little podcasting endeavors. So, if you don't already own The Married Gamers iOS or Android app you might want to download them. It's $1.99 but you can listen to our main show and then be able listen to our little experiment. For two months, Kel and I will record two shows. One show will be the traditional The Married Gamers podcast, but we'll also record a full additional show that will be released as exclusive bonus content for app owners.

This bonus show doesn't have a name yet. I've been calling it That Other Show, but we're going to leave it up to listeners to name. We'll be recording without a script and it'll be just Kel and I (and hopefully other podcasters) simply sharing stories about sex, dating, pets, growing up, movies, music, and whatever might spring to mind. It's going to far different than anything we've done and it'll be interesting to say the least. It'll probably offend some. It'll be no holds barred but I feel like it'll be a lot of fun and think folks will like listening to it.

The first show will appear as bonus content on episode 240 of The Married Gamers releasing on Superbowl Sunday. If the show is successful we're going to keep them as bonus content for the app as a value added incentive for people to purchase.

The E3 Expo & Inclusion of Diversity

2012-02-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't tried registering for E3 Expo yet for our website The Married Gamers. Several friends have already been rejected despite the excellent work they do and their previous stellar E3 coverage they've done in years past..

The expo is a big deal for gaming websites & podcasts. I've gone to four of them so far and they are NOT a vacation (although I do take vacation days to attend). It's a metric ton of work. The day is filled with appointments, and you never have enough help, time or energy. Also it's expensive staying for a week in downtown Los Angeles. It's great for original content that goes farther than the plethora of press releases and announcements. It is also great to build relationships with PR and community managers.

However, the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) which runs the event has become less and less interested in letting smaller community sites into the three day event. In addition to checking the validity of your credentials (business license, photo id, articles written in an editorial capacity, etc) they have are also using a measured standard of how big a site's audience is through use of sites like Alexa, Quantcast, Compete and the like. So it's easy-peasy for larger commercial sites to get in and harder for niche sites like The Married Gamers to get in each year.

I can understand why the ESA does this. E3 Expo is a very busy and well attended games convention. It is an industry event where not just games companies like to announce new games, consoles, projects to the press but also make sure they attract the attention of trade analysts and retail execs. It's not a convention to fuck around. It's where the sausage gets made so to speak for the gaming media. To some indie sites (not in any way everyone) E3 is a trip to Willy Wonkas. Some sort of reward or vacation. Some indie sites have also been involved creating fake tickets and other nefarious things that have giving the rest of us gaming indie sites a black eye. So I can understand why the massive media sites sometimes eats up all the available oxygen at E3.

However as much as I respect sites like Joystiq, MSNBC, G4, and others there IS a reason why smaller indie sites (and podcasts) should have access to E3 Expo. They tend to offer opinions, interviews, coverage that is MORE than "Just the Facts" or 'coverage for everyone.' Sites like The Married Gamers or our friends at Co-Optimus weight their coverage towards the co-op gaming experience. Other make certain game series or genres their speciality. One of my recent favorite site, XBLA Fans only covers (and rather well) the Xbox Live Arcade games. Not to take anything away from the paid journalists but I am attracted to the passions of the indie gaming sites, blogs, and podcasts.

There SHOULD be a discussion on how to include smaller hard-working sites. This discussion should include the ESA, game companies, and paid and indie media. Perhaps extending a day just for smaller media and games communities can be considered. Maybe smaller games and communities sites can be extended special passes courtesy of the games industry who are presenting on the show floors. I won't claim to have an answer other than a hope and belief that E3 is made better when it includes the diversity of coverage that we Indie sites often offer.

So returning to The Married Gamers and E3 Expo. I worry about our Alexa/Compete/Quantcast numbers. December has historically been a down month for us and a great many other sites. Recent staff additions have our site starting to really fire on all cylinders. I have never cheated/tricked Alexa as I have heard some sites have done. And E3 is always a working priority for any and all TMG staff members. However, I have a feeling that we may only get at the most one invite this year, which honestly makes coverage of the event very hard, especially as we move into more video interviews.

I am mentally preparing myself for bad news when we do apply (most likely in March), and even if we don't get a media invite we will try our best to report the "news" and hope that in other conventions like PAX or community events we can concentrate on articles that adult gamers, gaming families, and married gamers want to know more about. At the very least it saves me some vacation hours at my library job.

Lefty's Random Thoughts

2012-02-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

I've been sick so while I catch up to speed, I'll just leave these random thoughts:

+ Leonard Cohen's latest album Old Things is a rare pedigree of music. So somber yet sweet. It reminds me a bit of Warren Zevon's last album before he passed away. Much of it is virtually spoken and some it comes out of Cohen's poetry. I'm a recent convert to Cohen's music (although I have KNOWN of him for a long time) and as someone who is not the perfect Christian or perfect sinner I find some brotherhood in Cohen's work. The new album is well worth a listen, especially in a quiet evening with a short glass of hard liquor drunk over a long stretch.

+ Today I'll be joining Weight Watchers for Men and giving it a 3 month trial. My diabetes is not under control and I got to change my dependency on foods that feed that disease. Plans are also underway to join a gym this weekend. Kelly has already made some outstanding changes in her diet and exercise so I'm hoping that we both can be better support partners for one another.

+ I started writing something on the E3 Expo, but I'm going to save it for a post later today.

+ I'm still looking for my blogs to add to my blogroll. If want me to take a look at yours, let me know.

+ February really snuck up on me. I had to scramble this morning to pay some bills. February is a weird month for me. I'm always in favor of a short month, even with that extra day this year. Also I get President's Day off from work. However Valentine's Day feels so manufactured and plastic that I've never been a big fan (even if I got a fantastic woman to share my heart with). Also this is also the month my mother was born and my mom and dad got married. Even though my mom passed over 16 years ago, I still at times miss her.

+ I'm half-heartedly going to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday but really undecided who to root for. I'm edging towards the New York Giants if simply to say that any team that could beat my Niners DESERVES to win the Super Bowl, or to root for NFC to "represent."

+ Congrats to Mitt Romney on winning Florida yesterday. I still firmly believe President Obama will easily win re-election, not by Obama-McCain margins, but it'll be decisive. I just want this Republican slugfest to end so voters will finally begin to see what stark contrasts they'll have when they vote in November: a President in favor of "the engine of the economy" (aka the 99%) or rich bigwigs that have fixed the game to avoid paying their fair share for the success.

More later...

Rolling In the Blogs

2012-01-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

I am working on a blogroll for this site which would feature friends, folks I am friendly with in the games industry, comics bloggers, and possibly some political bloggers.

If you want to be added to my list, please let me know.

Julian Assange & the Future of Democracy

2012-01-24T15:51:00.000-08:00

The latest issue of Rolling Stone (iss. #1149, Feb 2, 2012) has an interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. To be honest, I'm not real sure how much I agree with Wikileaks and their mission, but in the interview Julian says something that really got me to think.

Here's the excerpt:

"From the glory days of American radicalism, which was the American Revolution, I think that Madison's view on government is still unequaled," he tells me during the three days I spend with him as he settles into his new location in England. "That people determined to be in a democracy, to be their own governments, must have the power that knowledge will bring -because knowledge will always rule ignorance. You can either be informed and your own rulers, or you can be ignorant and have someone else, who is not ignorant, rule over you. The question is, where has the United States betrayed Madison and Jefferson, betrayed these basic values on how you keep a democracy? I think that the U.S. military-industrial complex and the majority of politicians in Congress have betrayed these values."

The rest of the interview is very good, and should be checked out. However this quote got my head reeling.

I think in some measure, Americans (including myself) have chosen ignorance instead of engagement. The United States is a representational democracy, meaning those we elect represent you and me. We've all heard that this is a government by the people and for the people. However, we turn a blind eye to some things that we, our government, does. Covert operations, assassinations, set ups. We've heard the stories, the insinuations, and the accusations of dubious (and even horrific) things done in our name. And we ignore them because sometimes Presidents, Congress, government, etc has to do horrible stuff to protect freedom. Bullshit, I say.

Whether it's backroom deals or unmanned planes, it's acts that separate us from our government. They (our elected officials) shouldn't be able to hid their acts on our behalf from us. They should be accountable to us since the represent us.

Maybe that's partially why we have such low opinions of politicians these days. Some feel that they can't be trusted. Others that they say one thing but do another. And I haven't even mention the amount of fundraising, special interest and corporate money that is involved that might make politicians beholden to "fat cats" instead of their home base of voters. My feeling is most are well-meaning (either side of the aisle), and if they aren't vote them out.

So, while I'm not completely sold that embarrassing politicians and straining relations with other countries that Wikileaks have done with their releases is the best way to do things, I do believe that in our representation democracy we should have an open government AND an engaged citizenry.

Scattershot Thoughts

2012-01-24T09:12:00.000-08:00

Here's just a few small bites of stuff I've been thinking about:

+ Hey if the porn industry can rip off Hollywood movies, can someone just make a rip-off of Thelma & Louise only WITH Zombies in it? That would blow my freakin' mind!

+ The more I see Romney & Gingrich slugging it out, the better I feel for Obama's re-election. I used to think that Romney could really give Obama a tough time, but man with his tax info now out there he is really looking like he is "unpatriotic" for not paying his fair share and hiding assets in the Caymans. A 13.5% tax rate? How many real jobs did this "job creator" actually create (that wasn't related to his campaign)?

+ I have literally spent several months trying to fin the perfect iPad2 case for my device to no avail. It's redonkulous how much time I've wasted trying to find something that look's cool, isn't bulky, and doesn't look like to business class. The search continues...

+ I am still debating whether to turn The Married Gamers into a LLC. At this point I really need to talk to other game sites in California who have done it, because I need to see what the State requires. I also need to find out what I can or can't deduct, and any stuff that I may not know about. It would awesome to be able to deduct for all this travel we spend to attend these events.

+ If I had the money I'd publish a Men's Health meets GQ magazine for fat guys that doesn't revel in our obesity but then again isn't filled with men who already looks like Team Six-Pack Abs showing us how to lose that gut. It would also focus on fashion that makes us fat guys look fashionable despite our largess. Hmm, sounds like a Kickstarter idea.

More later....

Game Over Man!

2012-01-23T07:41:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco Forty-Niners lost last night to the New York Giants. Although I have been a Niners fans since the early eighties, I've not always been a passionate sports fan. This past year something interesting happened and I found myself watching multiple NASCAR races, following soccer more closely, watched a few UFC fights, and watched a metric ton of football games. I even signed up for DirectTV's Sunday Ticket and would spend Sundays jumping from game to game like a bee collecting pollen. The Forty-Niners had a very good year, and I was delighted to revel in their success and be disappointed in their losses.

Needless to say last night's loss and the way it was enabled was hard to take. That being said, even as I have become at 40, a bit of a sports nut, I haven't lost that unwillingness to be rabid in fanboyishness. That hold true whether it's my favorite football team, my favorite comic book, or favorite zombie video game. Yes, losing sucks....but it's a game. Last night's terribly long game was a game well played by two terrific opponents. It wasn't on a "field of battle," nor was there any loss of life. I cringe should anyone get injured regardless of the jersey on their back.

For four hours I was an anxious nervous wreck. The game was close, neither team opened a huge lead, and the game went several minutes into overtime. My team loss. The San Francisco Forty-Niners, with few exception, looked great, played great, and did their fans well.

Congrats to the NY Giants, but also thank you to the Niners you made a significant portion of my fortieth year so enjoyable. When I was mired in my depression following my 40th birthday and soon-thereafter neck surgery, the team helped make the recovery a bit easier. Something to cheer for, a simple game to revive me out of the doldrums. Heroes to root for. So thanks Niners, and here's looking forward to the start of another winning season!

Three Things About Me

2012-01-19T10:05:00.000-08:00

Here's another feature I'll pull out from time to time. I'll give three things I about me that you may not know, or that I find weird, strange, or interesting. I'll leave it to you to decide if you do as well.

Three Things About Me:

1. I have two Justin Bieber albums on my WindowsPhone. They accompany early Van Halen, The Cars recent album, The Black Keys recent album, M83, a playlist of Rock/Metal ballads, the latest Roots album, The Who's Quadrophenia, "out there" Christian artists Swirling Eddies, and Sting's The Dream of The Blue Turtles. There's a few other things as well.

2. My favorite titles published by DC Comics right now are Animal Man and Swamp Thing, which complement each other very well. They are a nice amalgam on superhero meets horror books that tweak what we knew about the sort of animal and plant totems laid out in the 90's series. Animal Man I'm especially loving because Buddy Baker has more to lose because he also has a family that is exposed to harm. Right now both series I immediately pick up using the Comixology iPad app.

3. The first Beatles album I ever picked up was The Beatles (White Album). On a lark I picked it up on cassette because I thought I was getting a great deal because it was on TWO cassettes! When I put it into my car's cassette deck I became upset because they didn't sound at all like the mop-top Beatles I loved. I nearly took the cassettes back to the music store. I must have been a freshman in high school at the time. Today I continue to love the lads from Liverpool, but my favorite album is Revolver and I have a particular love for the post-touring music of the Fab Four.

Answers from the Left

2012-01-19T08:24:00.000-08:00

I'll start my day answer the series of questions left recently. I do have other content I'll be posting today so stay tuned.

The esteemed Roger Green asks a series of questions:

Do you belief your pinko Commie views will offend your gamer crowd?

I know you're joking here, but I'm have pinko SOCIALIST views, because communism is a Godless system. ;)

Seriously, there are very conservative gamers and very liberal gamers so I'm not to worried about offending. I may take the piss out of some conservative views, but generally I try to be respectful of the earnest conservatives.

Do you think your occasionally salty language makes you a better Xian witness (he's human) or a worse one?

Honestly I am not sure. I can only say that I aspire to not swear as much as I should but I do like a good swear word from time to time to drive home my point/outrage/etc. I feel I'm better if I'm not being authentic and I do swear. It's not something I do all the time and I try to never use it to put down others in anger.

Do you find any conflict between your Christian faith and the gaming violence you participate in?

I think the biggest conflict is not the violence but the time lost where I could have used it for to better my local and global community. That being said I am comfortable with seemingly discordant views and actions. I am a pacifist, not JUST because I find Christ compelling me towards that action, but also, as Professor Stanley Hauerwas says, "I'm a pacifist because I'm a violent son of a bitch." I know anger that rises up in me and wants to strike. I find that to be an impulse to my fallen nature and so I seek a different path or contentious objection, reason, and peaceful rebellion.

As all this relates to gaming, well, in truth I KNOW that gaming isn't real. Yes it engages, but I never step away from it think I now America's next killing machine. It's also release much in the same way watching a UFC fight or football game. At least this is what gaming means to me.

Ok, my friend Gordon Dymowski also has a question:

Why don't librarians get more love from the general public?

I have a few ideas:

1. They don't understand how library systems work and the fear of technology.

2. In an online age of Facebook, Twitter and other social media, the library as public polis has decreased.

3. Libraries use tax money which to some [stupid people] is wrong.

4. Homeless people

5. This fucking self-entitlement movement. "What? I can't check out Girl with the Dragon Tattoo because you're all out of it! WTF!"

I could go on.

Anyway, if other folks have questions they'd like me to answer, please let me know.

A Few Words on My Return to Blogging

2012-01-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

It's been five or six years since I last blogged on a regular basis, so there will be an adjustment period as I make a return to it. So I guess I should answer the obvious question, why blog?

Well, since 1997 I have been running (along with my wife and a small staff) a site called The Married Gamers. As the title suggests, it mostly revolves around gaming from an older (and married) geek's perspective. The site despite its humble beginnings has become fairly well known and the podcast my wife and I record continues to gain listeners each month. The reason I mention this is because my moniker leftybrown has become a bit of a brand and so my Twitter, Facebook & Google+ social media areas often reflect a more corporate side to me. So I don't want to bloat those areas with my musings about faith, music, politics, comic books, and more. Well, maybe you'll find some of that on Twitter but in small 140 character nibbles. Blogging I have more room to expand on my thoughts, explore some ideas, and share things in a different venue.

So let me begin this new adventure by asking if there are any questions I can answer for you. I'll try to do this at least once a month as a regular feature.

Stay Tuned!

2012-01-18T14:05:00.001-08:00

Leftybrown's Corner is returning. You have been warned.