New Year's Booklist

While at the library today, I became even more aware of the New Year swiftly rolling in: all of the receipts printed for loaned books and DVDs and audiobooks and CDs were printing 2014 again and again.

Pondering this during one of my down moments, I decided to gander through my book list from this year, and share with everyone the many pages and authors I read in the last 364 days.

With the turn of the New Year I am currently reading The Abominable by Dan Simmons.
It's a hefty, near-700 page book about a 1925 expedition that may or may not involve a yeti. Also, there is an intriguing introduction involving handwritten accounts from one of the supposed mountain climbers. Have yet to decide if it's more or less legitimate with a flourish of Simmons' fiction, or if even the entire context is fictitious, a la Neil Gaiman's "Sandman: Dream Hunters" and Michael Crichton's "Eaters of the Dead."

And then the other books I read this year; broken down into categories.

Non-fiction
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman
The Hungry Sea: A Swordboat Captain's Journey by Linda Greenlaw

Fiction
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card
Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card
Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia
The Fifth Floor by Michael Harvey
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Graphic Novels / Comics
Chi's Sweet Home, Vol. 1-9 by Kanata Konami
Arkham Asylum: Serious House on a Serious Earth, Grant Morrison and Dave McKean
The Filth by Grant Morrison and Chris Weston
Sin City, Vol. 2-6 by Frank Miller
Metamorphosis (Kabuki) by David Mack
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki
Sandman Series, Vol. 1-10 by Neil Gaiman, et al
Sandman: Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano

WWU HvZ Fall 2012, Day 1

Last week, it was revealed that a number of Western students were carriers for the zombie virus. Announcements were made, posters were posted, and flyers flew to get the word out that students should be tested. Over the last seven days, we were able to identify 494 possible carriers, with 11 advanced cases.

For some reason, only this specific population of carriers can be infected. They have all been briefed on how to defend themselves, and we are currently working on a cure, or a way to at least stem the virus' advancement.

Using algorithms, we were able to determine that the virus in the advanced cases would be contagious today, Wednesday October 17. The cold weather has been shown to slow down the virus, and so active times are between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Some of our researchers have questioned the amount of light in the day may also affect the virus' behavior.

Since this morning, there have been 16 confirmed cases of zombification this morning. Including the original 11, that brings Western's total to 27 confirmed cases of the outbreak.

There have been sightings of students dressing up in costumes. This may or may not be a side-effect of the virus working in the carriers, as many of them are still Human. Only time will tell.

For more information, and to track the contagion, please check our website http://www.wwuhumansvszombies.com/. Further announcements may also be added.

I will continue to update throughout the day, as well.

---
9:05 a.m. - 38 confirmed cases. 456 Humans remaining.
11:27 a.m. - 81 confirmed cases. 413 Humans remaining.
7:52 p.m. - 172 confirmed cases. 321 Humans remaining.

Faster Than Light, Story 2

{I thought it best to host this here, instead of plugging Seattle Whispers up with game-stories like this. Plus, this blog hasn't been updated nearly enough}.

After being reinspired by playing FTL for a few hours, I decided to dramatically narrate the following game, no matter if I was shot down in my third jump, or made it all the way to the end. The following story is a little long, but I feel I wrote it in an enjoyable way. Those who have played FTL by Subset Games may find more humor and awesomeness in it, though.

I walked out into hidden, Federation hangar, escorted by a short man with worried eyes and jittery hands.

"Are you sure you can get it to the base safely?" he asked quietly.

"Don't you know, safety is no promised thing out here," I said somberly. He nodded and shook my hand one last time, and scuttled back into the depths of the base. It was hidden on a backroads planet, out of the sights of the Rebels. We were never too careful, and needed to head out.

Late night story

As I was falling asleep last night (much too late after reading more of Neil Gaiman's American Gods), I turned off my light and couldn't fall asleep. Just before I had turned off the light I had seen the small scatter of coins on my bedstand, and some prose started composing itself in my head. Not wanting to lose the stream or forget it by morning, I grabbed a pencil, and the closest paper to me, and wrote.

This is what came out of the pencil.
(Only slightly edited from its raw, late-night format)

Misplaced energies and babbling

The beginning of this summer I started using a technique to cut down on procrastination and get more stuff done. It's sort of worked: Mainly, I've been reading daily (Neil Gaiman's American Gods).

The technique has helped me open my blog and write a lot, but that doesn't always translate into more blog posts that are published. I have at least three reviews of albums almost ready to publish on Seattle Whispers, but they don't feel done.

Things I've Heard in College, QVI

"Why is it that we recognize Barack Obama as the first black President, not the President born to an anthropologist? His mother was an anthropologist, you didn't know that? I'm sure you can find it on his birth certificate."

Anthropology teacher trying to draw parallels between hijra in India and an equivalent here: "I just don't get the sense from the buskers downtown that if I don't pay them they'd mess with my reproductive future."

"You can do whatever you want! I don't want to sound like Dr. Seuss, but CSS is quite powerful!"

"I ordered crummy weather. It will be raining all weekend so you can read. That is not what I ordered!" Pointing accusingly outside at the sunshine.

Things I've Heard in College, QV

Another fairly class-segregated (and really, really, really late) installment of what I've heard while in college.

First day of school, after classes, my roommate and a friend of ours are on the bus. There's this guy and girl sitting next to each other talking, and while eavesdropping (he was talking pretty loudly, anyway) we hear him say: "Men buy drinks for women that will at least entertain the notion of sleeping with them."
The conversation goes in and out for a bit, and then the guy says: "Relationships are like hunting deer. You can shoot deer with buckshot, and you kill it, and you're eating that great meat, and you hit that bit of buckhot and spit it out--gross--and that's what love is like."
He then asked for her name. At this point, we thought they were at least friends or dating, but they were complete strangers. My friend speaks up and jokingly added, "Look out, he may buy you some alcohol."
The guy said, "For coffee at least," and the girl consented. They exchanged numbers before we all got off the bus.

Productive Summer!

So, during my sophomore year of college I started dropping the ball on doing things: One of them was updating my other blogs. Starting today I am using a productivity helper called Don't Break the Chain to make this summer productive. (The video below will explain it). My charts will have me focusing on reading, blogging, doing art in some fashion, and staying organized.

Winterness

I have been a terrible blogger: I was in the middle of headline-causing news, and am only now talking about it. A few weeks ago, the Pacific Northwest was hit with a strange bout if snowy weather. Bellingham was not exempt from this weather, and we got several inches. The campus remained open most of the time, with one two hour delay that Tuesday, and classes after five cancelled on Wednesday.

Here are some photos I took during this snow storm, as well as an image of my winter-warding gear (bottom).

First Week!

Second day (Wed.)

Found out I actually got into a class I wanted, and while looking at the AS Bookstore for textbook prices I bought some of the less-expensive. I usually wait to the end of the first week to buy all the textbooks because some textbooks aren't required or truly necessary.

Third (Thurs.)

Easy day: One of the classes doesn't start this first week, and the long class went by really quickly. Day of chilling  Went exploring campus for graffiti, which I post up on my other blog, WWU Urban Art.