Braxton Woods Mystique has found a home!

OK, so this is kind of a big deal for me. A short pause as we cut away from my ramblings to announce breaking news! 

I'm happy to announce that my novel, Braxton Woods Mystique, has found a home at Ravenswood Publishing! Thanks to Trident Media and my agent Mark Gottlieb!

Photos. To filter or not to filter...that is the question

These days I constantly come upon photography blog posts claiming that Instagram style apps, with their many filters, are ruining photography as we know it. The arguments are as ubiquitous as the filters themselves: They are making us take pictures of boring subjects, they are making everyone seem like a better photographer than they actually are. Or, that it's somehow not an accurate representation of reality.

I've heard this line of thinking a lot throughout many creative circles lately, from art, to photography, to writing, and beyond. Self-imposed restrictions on what should be allowed, and the know-it-alls out there ready to tell you that if you use an app filter you are somehow cheating. Nonsense. Self-imposed restrictions are fine. But not for everyone. And certainly not as a general rule.

First off, to get slightly deep, "reality" does not even actually exist in any consistent sense. Sure, we take comfort in the fact that most people perceive things somewhat similarly. A red light looks red to the masses and most will stop for that color at a traffic signal. But within just our own species, there are those among us walking around with filters on all the time. It could be you and you might not even know it. I'm referring to people with color vision deficiency, more commonly known as colorblindness. Yes, they see the world differently than we do. When they use our so-called pure unfiltered cameras to take pictures they still don't see what we do. Are they cheating? Of course not. And who knows what our filters are doing to their photos. Some even suspect Van Gogh may have been colorblind and that his more limited visual spectrum resulted in his limited painting palate. Was he cheating? Nonsense.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that all our pictures are filtered. Until we somehow figure out how to capture what the brain is seeing, all photos are a filtered version of what humanity observes. First off, we see with binocular vision. Second, we see everything upside-down and our brains flip it magically. Then there is the fact that our eyes are roughly that of a 50mm lens. Some of us need glasses, some get headaches in too much light, some wear sunglasses. And then there is the fact that we all perceive the world differently. Some people love to take pictures of graffiti, or of wildlife, or clouds. There are lots of pictures of kids. Some take pictures of their food. And some take pictures of their feet. The more people shoot, the more common similarities emerge. Like that dream where you are in school late for a test and you're naked. Lots of people have that dream. Right? I think the problem here is not that we use too many filters. I think some people are seeing the huge common threads that run through our photos and that makes them feel somehow less special. As Fight Club's Tyler Durden said, “You are not special. You're not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We're all part of the same compost heap. We're all singing, all dancing crap of the world.” Don't despair though. Revel in this knowledge.

Then there are all the cameras. Good God are there a ton of cameras. Go look on the Flicker camera finder. Gajillions of different cameras. Film, digital, cell, SLR, mirriorless, full frame, plenoptic, Polaroid, 3D, Google Glass, etc, etc, etc. The list is endless. They all record so-called reality, each, slightly differently. There is also software onboard digital cameras that is translating the image differently. Then there are the multitude of lenses ranging from fisheye to zoom. Then there are real-world filters already built in to the cameras. Ever hear of an anti-aliasing filter? Well guess what... your camera likely has one built in. Oh, film you say. You love the purity and classic feel of film. Those grains of silver and chemicals look and feel like nothing that digital can ever even hope to approach. That's fine. It's still a specific filtered version of reality, taken with a specific camera, a specific lens, and shot by a specific person and developed in specific chemicals and printed on specific paper. And it's all filtered down a process line to give you a specific filtered version of reality.

Here's another argument I've heard: Everyone's pictures are boring. You don't say? This argument is boring. My pictures do not exist on Instagram to get you excited. I did not photograph my son's reflection in a puddle up on a cliff in The Catskills for you. Sure, you can see it on Instagarm if you happen to stumble upon it. Or if you happen upon it because I hashtagged it #puddles just as you searched for #puddles as the stream of puddle pictures introduced you to my picture. That is a cosmic coincidence of another order. Some sort of Repo Man plate-of-shrimp lattice of coincidence for sure. But my filtered photo is under no obligation to land on the Ansel Addams spectrum of your photo-meter-of-happiness. Humanity will have shot as many as one trillion photos this year alone. Filtered photography is not hurting anyone. And photography is not suffering. I'd argue it's thriving like never before.

Filters on apps such as Instagram or Hipstamatic are great. If you don't like 'em, that's fine. If you want to put self-imposed restrictions on the creative work you do, that's fine too. I think too many choices can often be a hindrance to creativity. Sometimes I shoot only black and white, or only on my iPhone, or only in Instagram. Sometimes I do not alter my pictures in Adobe Lightroom after the fact, and instead just leave them as they are straight out of the camera. SOOTC for short. It's a whole movement. #sootc.

If you want to avoid filters and have your photo shooting be as unencumbered as possible, that's fine. But don't fool yourself for one second into thinking you are some sort of upper-crust highbrow purist, while the rest of us plebeian photographers are somehow beneath you, producing crap with our Instagram filters.  We're not. We're everywhere. And we see you through the lo-fi filter!

Don't feel threatened by the less classically trained. We're not competing with you anyways.

Smartwatch RPG Apps I'd Like To See

Smartwatches are taking off in a very big way. Motorola, Samsung, LG, Microsoft, Asus, Pebble, and Apple all have smartwatches on the market. I own the Apple Watch, which despite some rather nifty notification features, has a lackluster app selection so far. I know apps are subjective and one person's killer app is another's entirely unnecessary app. Still, my take on many of the current Apple Watch apps is that most are just gimmicky and useless regressions of far better iPhone apps. Why use the small watch for something your phone does bigger and better?

Smartwatch app developers need to start thinking outside the box to create apps that take the small screen into account.  Simple apps are needed and RPG games are a perfect place to start. I understand that many people like playing games the old fashioned way with pen and paper and such. That's fine. This is not an argument against traditional play. This is just a post about modern tech play and how modern smart devices can aid, or be used for, traditional games. As a gamer I have a few ideas for apps I wish already existed. I did a few mock-ups to help illustrate what could be...

Dice Roller: A nice RPG dice roller app for any smartwatch could be simply awesome. Choose the dice you want to roll, then shake the watch or spin the crown, and presto! The dice randomly rolls and settles on the result. Multiple dice could be gathered for more complex rolls. Most smartwatches lend themselves perfectly to this task. Since many smartwatches are tethered to their phones, results could be displayed on a phone for all to see.

Simple Dice Roller App

Character Sheets: I know many serious RPG players use a zillion stats and complex income tax-style mathematical acrobatics to play games. Here at home with my kids we typically use HP, AC, SP and a few other basic abilities. Games tend not to suffer much from paired-down stats when imagination and storytelling excel. A simple character sheet with editable HP would be awesome on my wrist. I want this now!

Character Sheet Stat App

Maps: Viewing maps on a smartwatch could be amazing. Imagine scrolling around a map with your finger or only seeing a limited view of a larger map. If and when all devices can truly work together, a DM can put a large map on a cell or tablet and players can see a portion on their watch.

Map App

Minis: There are thousands of RPG minis out there. An app for viewing a virtual mini for your character could be a lot of fun. If you play multiple games you could have multiple character minis stored so you could scroll to the one you are currently playing with. This idea could easily be incorporated into a character sheet app. Since I'm not a developer and I'm just tossing out ideas, I'm not sure how much can be combined in one app. My instinct with smartwatch apps is, the less complex the better.

Mini Viewer App

Art: Players, monsters, non-playable characters, items, settings, etc. could all be displayed on a watch. Traditional modules could be created, very simply, so a DM could run a game from a phone and text or communicate small bits of information and images to players. A module app that loads small bundles of art to aid with storytelling and gameplay could be a lot of fun.

Module Art App

This short list is just what has come off the top of my head. Feel free to suggest other ideas. Remember to keep it simple. Smartwatches are small and intimate and there is no need to stuff large concepts into such a small device.

nabi Big Tab HD 24" Review

OK, this giant tablet is not perfect by a long shot, but it is cool. It's basically a BIG ASS Android tablet marketed for kids, although I'm already scheming how, exactly, I'm gonna use it. There are two models, a $400 20-inch model and a $500 24-inch model. I picked up the 24" unit at Best Buy. They have a 14 day return policy.

Although this is sort of a family purchase, I basically got this for my 8-year old son. Previously, he'd been using an old hand-me-down Apple laptop to do his online interactions. The nabi Big Tab HD is suited for kids, and the size will not let them go blind while playing online. It's perfect for my son, and he took to it like a duck to water. I had previously set him up with his own Gmail account, youtube account, etc. I needed to use these to get the tablet up and running.

Despite having never used anything but Apple products I needed to only give him a 2-minute lesson and my son was off and running.

The tablet is made and intended for kids, so it has cumbersome security features that we're not using. There is a parent mode and a nabi kid mode. We keep the tablet in parent mode and it's just easier that way. I made the passwords fairly simple so my son can remember them. A password is needed to switch modes. This way I am not needed if the modes are switched by accident.

There is zero danger of any purchases being made on this without my knowledge because I used a pre-paid $25 Google card that I bought at Target. We downloaded a few apps together, like Minecraft and others, and then I explained to my son that there is only a certain amount of credit remaining. I have instructed him to come to me when downloading another app that costs money just so he does not make a mistake. I know he will listen to me, but I'd not suggest this for everyone. Each kid is different, and only a parent can truly know or predict how one's child will behave with technology.

In addition to getting this tablet for my son to browse the web and watch youtube on, I also got to hoping we could all use the unit as a flat screen map to play RPGs on. The verdict is in and it's great for that. Maps can be easily scaled by pinching the screen and any jpeg you want can be loaded onto the tablet for easy access. As well, maps can be used so that players do not see the entire map all at once. You can scroll to off screen parts of the image or simply place black paper over parts that can't be hidden off-screen. Plastic minis can go on the screen with zero problems. Metal-based minis can be used carefully. If you are worried about damaging the screen you can get a screen protector for either size model.

Adding map images works well for RPG play

This unit has an aftermarket cable that will allow USB to be plugged in so external storage can be accessed. I have not tested this aspect yet, but when I do I'll add to this post. I did find it kind of crummy that the cable, only $8 on the nabi website, was not included with the tablet. A cheap cable like that should be in the box!

Selling the product with no HDMI cable is a huge oversight. Allowing a unit this big to be used as a TV, too, would be a big plus and would make it more attractive to parents looking for an all-in-one unit that accomplishes all a kid could want. My son is bummed that he cannot attach his PS3 to the unit. Any company that thinks less access to their device will help sales for proprietary apps for the unit is nuts. The more useful a device, the more likely it will be that people will buy it.

A big elephant in the room is that the camera on our nabi Big Tab HD 24" never functioned properly. It only shoots a partial image. My son couldn't care less about the camera, so it's not an issue here but I'm still waiting to find out what nabi will do for us. I called them earlier today. I was on hold for almost 20 minutes before I was connected to a person who could not easily answer my HDMI question without talking to a supervisor.  :/

Using the tablet flat on a table is a great experience and there are a bunch of 2-4 player games that kids can play head-to-head like air hockey. A hungry hippos-style shark game is also fun for the kids.

Red rubber feet on the back for tabletop play

Overall this is a very cool device that seems a bit too expensive. In order for it to be a hit, the quality and connectivity issues must be addressed.

Apple Watch Review: More is Less

Everyone keeps asking me about the Apple Watch, which I have had now for about two weeks. I keep thinking about what to say. There is not much to tell. Well, I guess there is a little to tell. For a brand new Apple product, this may appear as a bad sign, but the more I wear and use the watch, the more I realize it's not. With previous Apple products I could say things like "there's 128GB of space," or "it's got a great camera with lots of new features." Like The Six Million Dollar Man—better, stronger, faster. But with the Apple Watch, I'm like, "meh, it's OK," or "I don't know," or "leave me alone I'm still figuring it out and I have not found the words yet!"

The truth is that no one ever asked me about any of my previous watches, except to say that they liked how they looked. The time, sure. The thing always tells the time. That's a given. But does it look cool? I have a HUGE Nixon watch that is the size of a dinner plate. That watch looks badass on my wrist. I have a Seiko diving watch similar to the one Mick Jones is wearing on the cover of a Big Audio Dynamite album. In the past, I've even owned a very nice Omega. I tend to not last too long with crazy expensive things. I don't like the whole "look at me" ostentatious thing. That being said, my Omega was so beautiful and traditional looking that it barely got noticed. I sold it eventually anyway because I did not like walking around with 4k on my wrist. I knew the money could be better used elsewhere and I was right.

So what's the deal with the Apple Watch? Well, for starters, it tells time. You get to choose from different watch faces. I picked one and I'm good. (I imagine more faces are coming.) You can customize each face and add or remove info like battery life, date, sunrise/sunset, color, weather, etc. I own the Apple Watch with the leather strap, the sapphire crystal with the stainless steel case. Since I've owned nice watches and crappy watches in the past, I knew to spring for the more robust materials. Sapphire is very hard and not likely to scratch. Ever. I already banged the watch into a metal outdoor chair and there is no evidence on the watch. A watch needs to be sturdy so it won't look like a damaged piece of crap on your wrist. The basic design of all Apple Watches is the same. It considers design before practicality. So the watches made of the lower-end materials will suffer scratches, dings, and bangs the most.  Unless you plan on being careful all the time, I suggest getting the Apple Watch with the sapphire crystal and the stainless steel. The bands can be swapped easily so you have options in that department.

So what else does the watch do? Well not much, but that's the point. This is not a device to do things on. That's what your phone is for. The Apple Watch makes it so you pull your phone out less. Apple brings the watch back onto our radar and teaches us that some of technology's woes and downsides can be solved with a watch. That is, if you feel they need to be solved. If you love checking your phone and you hate wearing a watch, I suggest keeping your money. If you like watches, as I already do, and you want to be alerted to every email and text, but at the same time don't want to check your phone every two seconds, then the Apple Watch might be for you. It took more than a week of wearing the watch for my body and mind to recognize the new subtle vibrations and dings. I was missing alerts at first and I thought the watch sucked. But Apple is a freaking genius, and no I am not just sucking from their cooperate teet. If something sucks, it sucks, and no logo will help me love it. I enjoyed Google Glass but it's not practical, it attracts a lot of attention, and now it's in a box. I rarely use it.

The Apple Watch does a lot more too.  For example, I used it to take remote pictures with my phone. I took a selfie with the good camera, not the shitty Facetime one. I stopped alarms on my phone with my watch when the phone was elsewhere in the house. I changed music tracks on my phone from the watch as I listened to music on a bluetooth speaker outside. I replied to texts simply with prefab responses. I checked the weather easily without digging for my phone. I checked the calendar easily. I put some family photos on the watch that I can see easily. I shazamed music easily.

There are also many apps and alerts that can be turned on or off via your phone. If you want the weather, time, Twitter feed, Instagram feed, etc., then they are there for a quick look-see. Mostly I just check the time, see my wife's texts come in, ignore many notifications, and use the watch to use my phone less. So far it's come in most handy when driving. Eyes on the road and I can still see who texted. It's easier to look at than the car radio, and I don't even need to take my hand off the wheel to look at and activate the screen.

And so far the Apple Watch is this understated blah of a device that does not do much, but somehow does everything. It's too small to do anything substantial, but just right to help you do everything.

I'm loving the simplicity of it in a way that I never dreamed possible.

The James Bond in me does wish it had a camera in it. And also a laser.

Mad Max The Linchpin Hero

Mad Max: Fury Road

Vague spoilers. FYI.

Sell the house. Sell the car. Sell the kids. 

There has not been a film like this for a very long time. I'd almost forgotten a film like this could exist. I skipped Avengers Age of Ultron. I know what to expect.... More formulaic characters with a few tentpole action scenes thrown in here and there. I already know the story from the trailer. I'm sure it all gets worked out in the end. I can wait for the Bluray. 

With Fury Road, I had no idea what the hell was going to happen as I sat and watched. The trailer showed a lot but it did not spoon feed me the plot so that I could already see the end before even handing over my money. 

We're not spoon fed Max's backstory like the comic book films continually do when they force-feed endless origin films that everyone already knows. Like Spider-Man's origin, again. Yawn! Fantastic Four origin, again. Double yawn! 40 minutes of Max's background? Nope! Fury Road did not waste your time telling you what you already know. Every second of the film was carefully engineered to push the story forward, even if you were not ready to be pushed forward. 

This is not just a film with 20 minutes of action stitched together with weak, inexpensive talking scenes that attempt to tell a story. This was a biblical tale with Max Rockatansky as the linchpin for the entire adventure. 

Yes, he's the linchpin.

Max is the hero on the hero's journey. Without Max, the entire plot falls apart. He is pulled in by forces beyond his control. Max is not a superhero. His ability to overcome conflict is not always a given, and that's why the film is so amazing. When the hero's outcome is not a foregone conclusion, then the audience becomes more invested in the character. He does not always outwit the forces against him. He is not infallible. He has flaws. Max's character, background, wits, and skills also figure in—but sometimes fate, luck, chance, and happenstance all play a part. The screenplay is so well-written you can't sense the writing. The action also does not let up. The only time you have a moment to breathe is when Max has a moment. And there are not many of them. 

Yes, it's true, Charlize Theron's character is very much the protagonist in this story. Others have criticized her character and the plot as feminist propaganda. WTF? Only male-chauvinist caveman thinking would arrive at such a conclusion. This is a classic and complex story that is much larger than the lone-wolf Max. He just becomes a part of Furiosa's adventure. And although the Furiosa character is the true protagonist, without Max there as the linchpin, the story would have collapsed. Furiosa would likely have failed. Max is essential. Just like in The Road Warrior—where without Max as an unwitting decoy, the adventure would have failed, imploded, collapsed. Remember Road Warrior? Max did not care. He did not want to get involved. He got his ass kicked. Eventually he gave in to fate and played his part in the bigger story that played out before him. He gave in to destiny and played his role. Fury Road had a different story, but Max fell in and out in much the same way. 

"As for the Road Warrior... That was the last we ever saw of him. He lives now... Only in our memories."...until the next film, where he'll likely wander into some chaos that is much larger than himself, again somehow figuring in as the story's linchpin hero. 

The Apple Watch & Your Judgmental Snobbery With Other People Using Technology

So I just got the new  Apple Watch. 

Verdict... it's OK. No homerun. No strike out, either. 

It's a fancy watch that links to my iPhone. It does stuff. Some stuff I want, some stuff I don't want. I can turn that stuff off. 

I own it now. It's mine. I like it OK. I have no plans to sell or return it. I also only just got it. I'm sure I'll learn more about it, and more apps will come out for it. I also know no one with it, and I can see that it will be more useful if I can communicate with other  Apple Watch users. My gut reaction, rather than some in-depth pro/con review about every feature is more important for me. My gut reaction says that it's OK. It's certainly not as necessary as a cell phone is. 

Technology is for individuals. Not for everyone. Each and every one of us needs to make choices about everything in life. What do we want to do? Where would we like to go? Who do we want to hang out with? What do we want to wear? All personal choices. Problems arise when people think they know what's better for others with the personal minutiae in other peoples lives. 

"People who like Apple are fanboys and suck!"
"Android users just don't get it!"
"Technology sucks and is ruining our lives."
"Books are better than tablets." 
"Humph! Look at that asshole with his phone out at dinner."

While I personally feel new technology needs to be navigated carefully and a good measure of etiquette needs to be exercised, I am more shocked by people who feel they know better and thumb their noses at other people they see simply because they are not doing things the way they would do them.

If you care that someone at another table is continually checking a cell phone at a restaurant, then you have a problem. If you see someone walking and texting and you are annoyed by that, you have a problem. If you see a family all checking phones, playing games, and buried in screens and you are annoyed, you have a problem. As long as other people are not being rude, driving while texting, or affecting those around them then the problem you have with them using technology is your problem, not theirs. What is the difference between someone sitting alone at a cafe looking at a tablet or a book? Maybe when the book first came out people hated them and wanted scrolls?

We need to stop worrying what others are doing and how we think it's bad just because it's not the way we would be. Society seems to be responsibly creating laws, where needed, to deal with dangerous situations that put the public at risk, like texting and driving. People seem to be getting the idea, though, that it's rude to interrupt others with technology--such as in a movie theater.

The gray area is when we see people caring more than we feel is normal about technology. If I saw someone knitting on a train or restaurant I might think it's a bit out of place, maybe. But I'd not think the person has a problem with knitting and should stop being obsessed.

The judgmental snobbery that many people have adopted for others' unobtrusive day-to-day technology use is entirely worrisome to me. Stop worrying that other people are not like you!

This all being said, if you want to be bothered less by your phone, get a  Watch. It might help you. So far, though, it has no app that will help you worry less about how your friends, acquaintances, and strangers use technology. 

If you think it's bullshit to add another device that will help you use your phone less, then fine. Don't buy it.