General Update 12-7-2010

Ok, I know it’s been too long between posts when my How to Strip Paint Tutorial is back at the top of the “topic with the most hits this week” list.

I’m not dead, I haven’t forgotten about my blog, and I haven’t given up.  I’m just doing some behind the scenes things, and it’s the holiday season.  Which means there’s movies to see (this one and this one and this one and this one and this one and… and… and…), video games to check out (mainly this one, though I did install Return to Castle Wolfenstein the other day.  Man, good times!  Brakka brakka!).

I’ve also been trading models on Bartertown.com, mainly getting rid of Cryx (since there are now 4 other people who play it at the LGS) in favor of Cygnar, who I’ve always had a secret love of.  I’m developing a pStryker force that should be fun to play.  Look for a test model soon (I love painting blue).

I’m trying to solidify 35-50 pt lists for my favorite factions that include my favorite models so I can decide on what models to get / trade, etc.  I need to be less packrat, and more tour director.  I don’t need every model in a faction…  Just the cool ones, right?  Right.  Yeah.

I’ve also been spending a lot of time reading and listening to music (watching Glee too.)  I’ve been enjoying a novel recently published by Jim Butcher, Side Jobs.  It’s a collection of short stories that occurred in between Butcher’s best selling Dresden Files novels (Storm Front starts off the series).  It’s great Urban Fantasy for anyone who enjoys Harry Potter & murder mysteries, but wants something more tangible (explaining the mechanics of the magic), adult (bow-chika-wow-ow) and a bit of Die Hard type kick the good-guy’s ass until the very end.

Also on my reading list is Gale Force, book 7 of the Weather Warden Series by Rachel Caine.  This is similar to the Dresden files, but weather oriented.  It’s urban fantasy with a strong female lead, and that familiar Die Hard flavor.  Good stuff.  Especially when I have these all in one place on my Kindle (given to me by my wonderful wife for my birthday.  Thanks Honey!).  I’m also looking forward to Indulgence in Death by JD Robb (Nora Roberts) – the latest in a long series (first book here).  Futuristic (but not too far ahead) murder mysteries.  My mom reads these too, they’re great.

No, I don’t work for Amazon, I just really, really enjoy the Kindle, and reading is a favorite past time.  Amazon is also one of the cheapest way to get a few books.  Just break $25 and you get free shipping.  Not hard to do with a few books and a CD or so.

As far as music goes, Glee: The Music, Volume 4 is a great start.  Their remixes tend to always be as good as, if not better than the original.  The show’s pretty great too.  I have a strong music background, having played in the school orchestra from 6-12th grade and worked a musical or two.  Also, anything by Michael Bublé.  The man was born a generation late and could easily outshone Sinatra had he been given the chance.  Give him a listen.  I’m also a huge fan of mashups (DJ Earworm is amazing) and multi-tracking as well as when both happen at once.

So.  There’s some non-warmachine-related info about me and what I’ve been up to lately.  I promise to get back to the regularly scheduled program in  a few.  I’ll be getting lots of painting done over the holidays, so stay tuned!