Back At Last

The rumors of my demise are greatly exagerated, though not by much for a while there. Now that things have gone back to more or less normal I can come back here to talk.

Pretty much all last week was spent in a half-awake haze where all I did was come to work, go home, then work on the Gala Dinner Journal for my shul. As i had expected, it did entail very late nights every night getting the thing done and then adding everything that had come in during the day, the quantity of which grew as the deadline fast approached. It simply was just easier to wait till 11 pm or so until my Rabbi had sent in everything he was going to send for the night than to start working and having to stop every so often to add this, fix that, or answer this and that. The result, however, was great. I sent in the final print-ready PDF to the printers on Sunday, and Thursday night I saw the results. The journal came out awesome, all bias aside, and everyone was super pleased with the way their ads came out. I even got the chance to sneak one ad in there as well, which brings me to news #2.

My wife, our friend and traveling partner, and I have decided to open up a new Travel business. Well, notcompletely new. I have spoken here before about Destination: Earth, what I wanted to be a Miami-based travel store. Things is, I don't have $100K to open up yet, so what to do in the meantime? Well, we are launching the brand as a Travel Planning service, where we help out people plan out their trips the same way we have planned out each one of our own trips, including our upcoming summer trip to Holland and Belgium. Basically what we do is take your interests, budget and time constrains, and help you plan a great trip based on your individual needs. We also offer the convenience of handling all the boring parts , like booking plane tickets, cars, hotels, etc. for an extra fee each. We are all very excited about this development, and hope that it eventually allows us all to both travel more freely and open the store as I had originally planned.

The other news is that I ran across this blog called Paris Daily Photo, and through it I found a whole community of Daily Photo blogs from across the world. But guess what, none for Miami. So I decided to jump right in and start Miami Daily Photo blog and see what happens. At the very least it will serve as a great promotion spot for Destination: Earth, and if I can show a different side to Miami than South Beach, all the better. The Miami Daily Photo blog launches Wed., March 22, so check it out!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy GM's Day!

I just wanted to wish all the hardworking Gamemasters out there a Happy GM's Day!

Celebrate by getting our GM's Day Mega Bundle. ;-)

A Worthwhile Gig

My synagogue will be celebrating its 1st Annual Gala Dinner on March 16, and we'll be having a Journal to commemorate the event. The job of putting together the Journal was assigned by my Rabbi to another congregant who does web design, but he has never done layouts, let alone have the software in his computer. This man (the same one with whom I am starting to do web design, from a couple posts down) came to ask me a few questions about layout. After I realized that he just had no idea what he was doing, I offered to do the job instead, much to his relief (and the printer's, after she realized that she could talk to me in technical terms and I knew what she was talking about). Last night I met with my Rabbi and got all the information I needed to start working on the layout, which I hope to start by Sunday.

I am very excited about this gig. I have a very specific set of skills and to be able to use those in service to my synagogue, my community and G-d is very satisfying. Besides, this would be the first freelance layout job I ever do, so there's that as well.

Now, gotta go home for Shabbat.

Interview - Finale

Got an email from the company I interviewed with. I was one of the finalists, but they chose to go with another candidate.

I know things happen because they are meant and for a reason, but it still sucks a little. Back to the search, I guess.

And The Dream Gets One Step Closer

I was just having lunch when there was a knock on the door. It was UPS delivering two envelopes from Rail Europe. Our train tickets for the Benelux have arrived; any five days of unlimited train travel within one month anywhere within Belgium and the Netherlands. Our trip just got one step closer to reality.

HMP Releases Liber Sodalitas: The Pneumaphagoi

Highmoon Media Productions is proud to present Liber Sodalitas: The Pneumaphagoi.

The Pneumaphagoi, or the Eaters of Spirits, are a loose organization of individuals that share one bizarre common activity: eating ghosts. Learned from ancient texts or from begrudging tutors, the secrets of trapping and consuming spirits yield numerous benefits, and thus appeal to people with a wide variety of motives. For some it is the thrill of consuming an exotic substance, which like all highs is fleeting and ever more elusive; for others it is the power, which quickly fades. The promise of longevity draws some, although the added years can be gray and thin. Others have more noble motives in their quest to destroy the undead, a nobleness that is quickly clouded by the addictive nature of the task. Many are the paths to becoming an Eater, few that lead away.

The Pneumaphagoi is an 11-page PDF detailing a drop-in organization for your d20 Fantasy game, complete with history, tenets, organizational structures, ways of joining, and ready-to-use NPCs. It also includes six new feats, two new spells, two new incantations, and all the necessary rules to bring spirit eating into your campaign along with the possible consequences.

Written by: Scott G. Carter
Artwork by: Nathan Rosario

Available now from RPGnow.com and ENGS

---

Not too long ago I placed an open call for submission to the Liber Sodalitas line. That very same day, Scott Carter replied to me with an idea for a group of people who ate spirits. I okayed it on the spot. Scott had already written one adventure for us, No Other Gods (our adventure for Testament), as well as a secret project that we have been working on for almost a year, so it was a pleasure to get to work with him once more. Scott is a publisher's/editor's dream freelancer, in that his ideas are great and interesting, and his manuscripts come in with minor need of editing work, which means little time from submission to release.

This organization is simply cool. Scott mentioned he got the idea from a book he read, and thought it would make an interesting new system for fantasy gaming. The use fo feats means most, if not all, characters could have access to it, and the rules are sumple but engaging, driving home the point that eating ghosts and spirits brings power but at a possibly incredibly high cost. What's more, the group can actually work out quite well in a Modern setting as well, so we'll probably be adapting it to release it as part of a possible Modern Sodalitas line of drop-in organizations for Modern-type games.

To top it all off, just today I got another submission from Scott for a Modern mini-setting that brings together two genres that by all means should never, ever, be put in the same room, let alone in the same game. Let's just say that H.P. Lovecraft would be either proud or dead ten times over.

Solar Death Ray

Behold the Solar Death Ray! Using the power of 112 suns to burn, melt and destroy things.



Be sure to check out the gallery and the sub-divison, the Gravity Death Log.

Interview - The Aftermath

The interview went really well, at least from my perspective. I met with the firm's other partner (the one's whose name is not the company's) and had a nice chat. We spoke for about half an hour about the position of office manager and what that entails in this company. It's pretty much the usual office stuff, plus the opportunity to help out with the company's main job, that of appraising photographs (for insurance purposes, donation/deductions, etc.). The salary is not what you'd call incredible, but it is certainly better than what I'm making at the moment, so that's good enough for me right now. After a 6-month probational period they have the option to make it into a salaried full-time position with some minor benefits and a small raise. The position has a salary cap, but it does have the opportunity to earn more on the side via the appraisals. We'll see what happens.

On a side note, this was my first interview since becoming a Jew (meaning showing up wearing a kippa and with my full beard, though I left my tzitzit tucked in). For what it's worth, as I imagined, it didn't seem to make any difference.

Interview!

Just got a call from Penelope Dixon & Associates, one of the places I sent my resume about two weeks ago (see Feb. 7, 2006: Job Hunting), to schedule an interview for this coming Wednesday for their Office Manager position.

I must admit that I am a little freaked out about going on an interview for the first time in 4 years. The position entails the usual office stuff, plus helping out with other duties around the office, as the guy on the phone explained. It would be for a test period of 6 months, 40 hours a week for a per-week fee, with an option at the end of the test period to become a salaried employee.

The way I see it I don't lose anything by going to the interview. The only problems I could forsee are my specific time requirements as an observant Jew and the trip to Holland/Belgium we have coming up in June-July. All I can do is be honest and upfront and let G-d take care of the rest.

Funny thing is that this weekend I finished talking to this man (Yehuda) from our synagogue who runs his own web development/marketing company called Sites That Sell Network. Yehuda runs a small-but-profitable suit that right now is stuck because he can't handle more work. I am also in a test period with him, doing one site ahead so he can get a good handle on my abilities and I can get a good handle on the businesses he does development for.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out now. I like the flexibility that doing at-home web development brings, but I also like the certainty of a regular paycheck. Perhaps I can do both? Not sure; Highmoon would suffer and I'd probably end up with little time to do other things.

I'm not gonna worry about that now. My main concern right now is finding a place where I can have one of my nice dress shirts dry-cleaned in one day.

My Space

I've joined MySpace.com, mainly because I have various friends there. I won't be using it to blog (I like Blogger too much), but I'll use for stuff from time to time.

MySpace - Highmoon

Edit: What I am going to do is mirror my blog over at MySpace

Can We Even Call That A "Mini?"

From Figures.com and the New York Toy Fair, check out the full spread of D&D Miniatures size categories, as well as a sneak-peek at the Colossal ($75) Red Dragon.

The Unglamorous Side of Publishing

It is not until you are faced with a difficult submission that you truly and really treasure those writers that give you writeups that you can just give one look and approve.

I've been editing the submissions for Targum magazine and while I was able to do two in one day, I've been stuck for three days now in one adventure (and part 1, no less). The whole thing is not bad, but the whole thing is half in outline style, half in adventure style, and full of repetitive (or redundant) information or grammar errors like sentence fragments, typoes, etc. If it wasn't because I really need it for the magazine, I probably would have returned it. As it is, I'm almost done shaping it into something coherent though I am already dreading doing part 2 for next issue.

Back to it, then.

Matisyahu's New Album

Matisyahu has a new album, Youth, coming out March 7 and I am psyched about it. This guy is, without a doubt, the best thing happening to music right now, and it's all mind-blowing to me because the guy's a through-and-through Chabad chassid! It's crazy, but there he is, this Chabadnik on national TV, singing his reggae tunes about praising G-d and spreading love and Knowledge of G-d (we call it with the all-encompassing name of Torah) and everyone, Jews and non-Jews, is loving it.

Matis is my role-model for how to spread Torah to the world in a general, unobstrusive way that focuses more on the message than on the source. It is a constant goal in my mind as I work with Highmoon Media, and at the forefront especially these days as I prepare to launch a new line supporting Green Ronin's Testament.

Everyone, check out the Matisyahu Media Player and listen to samples form the new album, Youth, as well as the video for the new studio version of "King Without a Crown." Also check out www.Matisyahu.org and you can hear samples form his debut album, Shake Off the Dust...Arise! You won't regret it.

Bitchin'!

Now, this is a cool logo!

The Johari Window

Interesting little gadget. So, head over and let me know:

The Johari Window - Go here and choose 5 or 6 words that, in your opinion, describe me.
http://kevan.org/johari?name=Highmoon

I Had A Dream Last Night

Quite a strange one, too.

I was observing the action unfold. There was a man, whom I knew to be an Academician. I can only describe him like a professor version of Ebenezer Scrooge, that whole Victorian look, with the small round glasses, and the black graduation-type gown professors still wear in Cambridge or Oxford. This man was incredibly angry, because of an argument he had had with a student, whom had proved him wrong in front of a great number of other professors (a Doctoral dissertation, perhaps?). In his anger, this man started erasing the young student from every single record he could get his hands on: tests, papers, class records, emails, even pictures around the room, using an eraser to simply remove this young man from existence.

Later on in the dream, I was heading to a house (the setting was a street I knew back in Puerto Rico). While in this house, I went to the restroom, and after washing my face, discovered that my face had become malleable, much like a thick candle that's been left near a fire, becoming soft enough to be shaped, but still hard enough to retain the shape given. I tried setting my face back to normal, but there were a few things off; I could tell my left eye was lower than normal, and my forehead was slanted where I had tried to push it back into its regular position. That freaked me out.

Even later on, I had arrived at a store which I was to manage. It had music and books, and people working that I knew from various periods in my life. As I was walking towards the back office, I passed a mirror wall, and looked at my reflection: I was faceless.

I could perceive the world--see, smell, and seemingly talk--but my face was completely featureless. There was a slight depression where my eye sockets would be, but that was it, no eyes, no nose, no mouth. What was weird was that this didn't freak me out (in fact, I was more freaked out about the malleable face than about the no face). I don't really remember much after that.

I know that dreams about a face deal with your self identity, so it would seem that I have issues with my identity dissapearing, but I don't feel like going beyond that. It has been the strangest dream I've had in a while, and trust me, weird dreams are normal for me.

Hello, New Readers

Due to an unfortunate situation, RPGnow sent out with their current newsletter a list of several blogs belonging to various gaming industry folks, including this one. Problem is, most of those blogs have squat to do with gaming, other than being written by people in the industry. Most are like this one, a mixture of work and non-work related stuff, while others are strictly personal. The really sucky part is that the list was taken from a post in a private forum where another publisher asked for links to such sites, a post that was made by yours truly. I believe that no harm was intended on the part of RPGnow, but there's quite a few people out there rather pissed about the slip-up.

Well, in any case, if you are a new reader arriving here through the link on the RPGnow newsletter, welcome. This is my personal blog, where I talk about stuff that's relevant to me, including work stuff, Highmoon Media or otherwise, alongside post of a more general nature.

If you're looking for just RPG stuff info, then head over to my company's site at www.HighmoonMedia.com. If you want to stick around here as well, by all means feel free to do so.

The Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy begin today and I am psyched! I really can't recall when was it that I started getting excited about the Olympics, but now I am. In these Winter games, I am very much looking forward to the snowboarding events; they're just so freaking wicked! And curling, who can forget about curling. I'll be taping the Opening Ceremonies tonight and watching them tomorrow after Shabbat ends.

Art Frustration

Though not on my part. I comissioned Jeremy Mohler to do an illustration for my newest Bardic Lore, which presents the warp spasms of Celtic lore. These are massive, body-altering, make-the-Hulk-look-like-a-wiry-teenager fits of rage that turn the warrior into a veritable avatar of destruction. The most famous one of these warped warriors is Cuchulainn, though fans of the Slaine comic/RPG will be familiar with them as well.

Jeremy did one piece already, and while good, it wasn't quite what I had in mind (though that was my fault since I wasn't as clear as I could have been in my art directions), so I splurged big time and comissioned a second piece showing the full effects of the warp spasm. Problem is, the very same realism I so admire in Jeremy's art is getting in the way of expressing the utter ridiculousness of a full warp spasm. Seriously, these guys when they warped had their legs turn backwards (like birds), their torsos bulge to immense proportions, blood spurt like a fountain from their heads, and skin that turned inside out. Not all, but it's a pattern.

I just saw a sketch Jeremy sent me, and while not as warped as it could be, it is certainly there and I just gave him some quick notes on small fixes. I'm not paying him a huge amount for these illustrations, and I don't want him to either spend too much time on a low-paying job when he could be doing some other higher-profit ones, or send me to hell because I'm just too damn picky for the price. I rather keep him happy because I have more illustrations I want him to do. :-)

Hopefully we'll have this Bardic Lore out soon, so I can then have another one ready for St. Patty's Day. Now back to writing about the 12 Tribes of Israel.

We Are All Danes Now

Everyone should read this article from Aish.com: We Are All Danes Now.

I am sick of Islamic extremists and fundamentalists all over the world, period. You want to know why? Take a look at this picture here.

I sincerely feel bad for regular Muslim folk everywhere, cause they have these fuckwits representing them to the rest of humanity.

Oh, and about the cartoons? GET OVER IT!
Go ahead and protest, make your displeasure about the transgression to your religious laws known, but stop the whole rioting crap. It's a disgrace to Islam, to the Muslim population, and to the world.

Job Hunting

I'm back at the horrible and unenviable task of job hunting, as the job I currently have simply sucks and the torture must end. I've worked here for 3 years without a raise, and while it certainly has it's benefits in regards to flexibility of time, I just simply need more money to help out at home.

Did I mention I work for my father-in-law?

So I've been updating my resume and hitting the various job classified sections, both online and on paper. Monster, for all their hype, has yet to prove to me it actually works (I give it the benefit of the doubt because a friend of mine found a job here in Miami while living in Chicago), but I keep it active. Careerbuilder.com so far has been much better at giving me good leads, especially because the version I use has been customized for the South Florida market.

Just yesterday I sent out two resumes to two very interesting job postings, either of which would, I think, be very cool if they worked out. The first one is for a photography appraisal studio not far from my home in Miami Beach, and it involves both usual office tasks but also some creative work with Quark and their website. The other one is for an Office Manager at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, which would be so incredibly good if only because I would be amongst other Jews so it makes life easier for me in terms of food, time off for holidays, prayers, etc. We'll see what happens.

It occurs to me that job hunting (why do they call it hunting if you don't use a spear?) is very similar to dating. In both you have to scan the field for available prospects, take a risk and put yourself out there, find a way to sell yourself better than you are to attract a good prospect and then hope by the time they figure out the real you they have grown attached to you and let it slide, send out letters and calls that project your desire yet hide your desperation, then wait with baited breath for a call that may or may not ever come. One of the reasons I am very happy to be married is that I don't have to be a part of the dating world anymore, and the same goes for being employed. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

All I have to say, to end on a geeky note, is that job hunting proves to me that things would be so much easier if job postings and job applications were written in terms of character stats. This way I could go to the newspaper and see a classified ad like this one: Office Manager, Requirements: Desk Jockey level 3, Bluff or Diplomacy 4 ranks, Computer 4 ranks, Intimidate 2 ranks, Knowledge (corporate crap) 2 ranks, MS Office Suite Specialization feat, Track Management feat, GM (General Manager) has final arbitration on specific requirements and may waive some at his/her discretion.

Then I could go to my resume (character sheet) and see that I have 4 levels of Desk Jockey, Bluff +3, Diplomacy +3 (I could get away with it), Computer +5, Intimidate +2, no ranks in Knowledge (corporate crap) but I do have the English Major Bullshitter feat (Once per day you may apply your Bluff skill bonus towards any Knowledge skill check) along with the MS Office Suite Specialization feat. I don't have the Track Management feat, but I could make a case that I am an eager learned and will take it next time I level.

Wouldn't things be so much easier like that?

Yikes!

From Wizards of the Coast:

NEWS: Colossal Red Dragon

Sweet! I've been awaiting this figure for a while.

During development, the sculpture turned out so spectacular that we decided to really take it to the next level. The Colossal Red Dragon has more than 300 paint steps—that’s over twice what we've applied to any single figure—which provides unparalleled color and texture to accentuate the intricate details of the sculpture. Indeed, it has far surpassed our expectations.

Nice, very nice. But wait for it...

As a result of these developmental enhancements (believe me, we’ve pulled out
all the stops), we have reset the MSRP at $74.99.

And just like that I am not getting one. Hell, I was racking my brain trying to justify it at $50; at $75, I show up at my house with this fig, it will only be to gather my clothes so I can go move to the dingy hotel at the corner, my wife's shoeprint firmly etched on my ass.

Come on, Wizards, it's a toy!

Cool HMP News

Two very neat news for Highmoon Media:

1- I have finished the new Bardic Lore release. Now it's just waiting for art so I can lay it out. I am very happy with it, especially because I am writing again (and I also think it is very cool, in my own very biased opinion).

2- It looks like the new Explorer Guide might become a reality. I'm still in talks trying to iron out all the details, but the manuscript is in, the budget is being assembled, and artists lie at the wait. I am psyched about this!
2a- A corollary to #2 is that I have discovered that the writer of both the new Explorer Guide and the other mini-campaign setting we are working on is also an artist, and a good one at that! He sent me today some sketches that, with a little polishing, would be perfect final pieces for the book. It seems that what was going to be a new Legendary Land will become a new setting for HMP to produce. I'll leave you with a sample from Montdargent:

New Explorer Guide

So, what if I were to say that I might be able to publish an all-new installment in the Explorer's Guide line to follow the very successful Frost & Fur? What would the feedback be?

Follow-Up: Christ On Trial

As first reported in a previous blog post here, it seems an Italian judge is now set to deliver his verdict on a most bizarre case where the very existence of Jesus as a historical figure is being debated.

Judge to Rule on Merit of Christ Case
An Italian judge heard arguments Friday on whether a small-town parish priest should stand trial for asserting that Jesus Christ existed.
More.

I repeat, this kind of thing only happens in Italy.

Understatement Of The Year

And we're just barely ending January!

Officials: Hamas Wins Palestinian Election (emphasis mine)

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Hamas' top official told Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday the Islamic militant group is ready for a partnership after
defeating the ruling Fatah Party in parliamentary elections — a shocking upset sure to throw Mideast peacemaking into turmoil.
more.

I have such fear in my heart right now...

Thoughts For 2006

Got this in the mail; I thought it was funny.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ten Thoughts to Ponder during 2006

• Number 10 - Life is sexually transmitted.
• Number 9 - Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
• Number 8 - Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.
• Number 7 - Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.
• Number 6 - Some people are like a Slinky... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
• Number 5 - Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
• Number 4 - All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
• Number 3 - Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents?
• Number 2 - In the 60s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
• AND THE NUMBER 1 THOUGHT FOR 2006: We know exactly where one cow with mad-cow disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America but we haven't got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.

The American View Of The World

I got this in my email today. It's funny, mostly because (in general) it's true.
(Click on the pic to enlarge)

Awesome!

I just finished closing a deal to work with one of my favorite freelance artists working in the industry now, Jeremy Mohler. Ever since I saw some of his work a year ago at RPG.net, I have wanted to have him do illustrations for my products, and it looks like I'll finally get my wish. I am uber-excited about this!

Car Problems

The front left tire of my car has been making a weird sounds, on and off, for a few months now, kind of like banging a stick back and forth inside a plastic pail. It would just come and go, but yesterday afternoon, as I was driving home on the expressway at 70 MPH, it started in earnest, really loud, accompanied by a shaking of the steering wheel. Needless to say I freaked out and slowed down to a crawl, much to the chargrin of the other drivers, and made it home ok. This morning the sound started again as soon as I left the house, then it went away, and started once more when I was on my way to deliver some office paperwork not far from my neck of the woods in Miami Beach. As soon as I dropped those papers, I called my boss to let him know I wasn't coming in, and made my way back to my area to drop the car off at a mechanic.

I took the backroads, which means a 15-minute trip took almost an hour, but I didn't dare risk the expressway again, not when the sound was now very loud even at 20 MPH. Thank G-d I made it ok to the mechanic and they are already fixing the car; the ball bearings on the front left tire needed to be replaced, and the wheels rotated. It'll cost me about $500 that I don't have, but I will gladly credit card it. I want no funny business with tires, especially after last April, when a friend from the synagogue died from his SUV having lost a tire on the expressway, sending his car into a series of spins. It was the first thing that came to my mind yesterday and earlier today as I heard the sound and then felt the car shaking. $500 is a small price to pay for assuring as much as it's in my power that I will avoid a potentially-lethal accident.

Religion In The News

I opened My Yahoo! this morning to find that religion has front-page status today with three different articles.

First up, an article about two stations' refusal to air the new NBC series, The Book of Daniel. I've been seeing the promos for the show and I have to say it looks funny enough for me to set it to tape tonight and check it out later. I think people really need to relax, these are just TV shows.

Next up is an article that actually made me laugh out loud: An Italian court is set to hear a case in which it will be determined if Jesus actually existed. Two 70-something men--one a priest and the other an atheist, both from the same central Italian town, both having attended the same seminary when young and then going down different paths--are set to go head to head in court to prove the existence of the historical Jesus. I quote:

The plaintiff, Luigi Cascioli, became a vocal atheist who, after years of legal wrangling, is set to get his day in court later this month. "I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow against the Church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression," Cascioli told Reuters.
Cascioli says Righi, and by extension the whole Church, broke two Italian laws. The first is "Abuso di Credulita Popolare" (Abuse of Popular Belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or conned. The second crime, he says, is "Sostituzione di Persona", or impersonation.
"The Church constructed Christ upon the personality of John of Gamala," Cascioli claimed, referring to the 1st century Jew who fought against the Roman army. "In my book, The Fable of Christ, I present proof Jesus did not exist as a historic figure. He must now refute this by showing proof of Christ's existence," Cascioli said.

This kind of thing only happens in Italy, I swear. I'd love to be in the courtroom for this case!

Lastly, and on a more serious note, 700 Club-dude Pat Robertson has spoken again:

Robertson Links Sharon Stroke, God's Wrath
Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for "dividing God's land."
"God considers this land to be his," Robertson said on his TV program "The 700 Club." "You read the Bible and he says `This is my land,' and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, `No, this is mine.'"
More.

I just want it to go on the record that it is Robertson, a Christian, who's saying this, so they don't go blaming the ultra-Orthodox Jews around (though I am 100% sure there have been some of those as well, I'm sad to say).

Now the big question, do I agree with him?
Not in the literal, no, but I cannot discount that I also had seen the link between the events of Tisha B'Av/August 15, 2005 (the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif) and his current condition. I am very careful not to sound like a hatemonger or a divine-retribution-with-a-lightning-bolt kind of guy, which is why I say that I don't agree with Robertson's literal expression, but I cannot shake the feeling that there indeed is a connection between the two events. G-d alone knows the whole truth, and I don't think I am in any position to be passing that kind of judgement. I actually do wish Sharon a refuah shelemah (full recovery to health) regardless of the fact that I don't agree with his plans to continue to give away land.

[HMP Open Call] Seeking Writers for Liber Sodalitas line

Highmoon Media Productions is seeking writers to contribute to our Liber Sodalitas line of products.

From our website:
Liber Sodalitas (LEE-ber So-DA-lee-tas), the Book of Societies, presents different organizations from a variety of backgrounds, each generic enough to be easily usable in any fantasy campaign, but with enough detail to give you a fleshed-out group to simply drop into your game. Each group is presented along with its history, tenets, ways of becoming a member, as well as with iconic NPCs, generic NPCs that can be used to introduce the group to your players, and new rules such as new feats, spells and prestige classes.

Writers for Liber Sodalitas should be well versed with d20 fantasy rules. You will be expected to write both crunch and fluff. It's ok to use existing OGC, though we like to present around 60%-70% new material. The Liber Sodalitas organizations should be interesting, and explore new concepts of fantasy or, alternatively, present staples and archetypes in a new light. Though we do have a template of information that each product should present, the rest is really up to you. I try to be flexible with my freelancers and give them the opportunity to really get creative.

Payment for this project would be in royalties, and paid monthly via PayPal.

We already have three titles in the series, which I strongly encourage would-be applicants to be familiar with. You can find more info about them at our website: Liber Sodalitas product line info.

We are looking to expand the series to at least 15 throughout the rest of the year, though if we can make more, then all the better. Once we have between 10 and 15, we will collect a number of them into a Liber Sodalitas book to be offered both as a PDF and POD.

If you are interested, and/or would like more information, please just email me at submissions@highmoonmedia.com and we'll talk.

Quoted For Truth

From Order of the Stick #262:

"Love makes the world go round. And has been known to provide a +2 circumstance bonus to certain skill checks."

Ain't that the truth!

Happy New Year 2006 Everyone!!! :-)

[HMP] First Review for No Other Gods

No Other Gods has received its first review at RPGNow.com from Staff Reviewer Anthony Roberson, who gives it 4 stars!

The review came in super fast at one day after release. The only low-point it finds is the Testament background, which apparently is still too dark, so it's just a matter of lightening it a little more. Beyond that, the review gives great marks to the product as a whole, from Scott's writing (and, by omission, Spike's excellent editing) to the layout and design of the book. I hope that this will help us out in the long run to generate sales, because I want to keep producing Testament material.

[HMP] No Other Gods - An Adventure for Testament released

Highmoon Media Productions, in association with Green Ronin Publishing, is proud to present No Other Gods.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
-Exodus 20:3

The Lord is displeased with Bethbeer. This village in southern Israel has been experiencing a series of strange occurrences, from inordinately high birthrates to mysterious sightings in the wilderness, for three years. Visitors from afar have taken a keen interest in the isolated roadside town, and shadowy figures conspire with powers alien to the Lord. Will you discover the secret of Bethbeer and help redeem the village from its downward spiral into heresy?

No Other Gods is a challenging adventure set in the world of Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era for heroes of 1st- through 3rd-level. Set in the time of the Judges, it can be easily adapted to any era between the Conquest and Exile, as well as scaled for higher-leveled parties.

No Other Gods is the first adventure in the Terra Mythica line, and the first licensed adventure for Green Ronin's Mythic Vistas setting Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era.

Written by: Scott G. Carter
Pages: 28, Fully Bookmarked

No Other Gods is available now from RPGnow.com.

---

Our first adventure for Testament is now finally out for sale, and I am so incredibly psyched about it. This adventure has taken a long time to get done for various reasons, mostly dealing with timing and conflict with other projects, and the incredibly bad luck I had with freelance artist over the past year. Three different artists agreed to do illustrations for the adventure, and each of them cancelled/disappeared from the face of the planet over the past 6-7 months, leaving me, in the end, with no interior illustrations for the adventure, something I regret. Unfortunately, the adventure was fast approaching that dreaded state of Vaporware, and I couldn't wait any longer if I wanted to protect my investment.

I am, however, quite happy with the end product. Scott Carter did an excellent job of writing an introductory adventure that highlights the themes and feel of Testament; Spike Y Jones did a superb job as editor, teaching me along the way all that the position entails (hint: a LOT more than proofreding!); Craig Zipse came through with two great maps; and the graphic design by Deborah Balsam, of Dog Soul Publishing, truly tied it all together and gave the project its very own identity. (My layout is ok, I guess, though I already see a lot of things I can improve on for the next one.)

Special thanks go to Robert J. Schwalb at Green Ronin, who as Manager for the Mythic Vistas licensing program, has been of utmost help in getting this product done, not to mention a great supporter of the whole project. Many thanks also to Chris Pramas, and everyone else at Green Ronin, for the opportunity to play in their sandbox and letting us use their tools as well.

I love Testament, which is why I went ahead with this product, even though it is a niche-within-a-niche release. We have other products in the works, as well; be sure to check out the last page of the adventure for a teaser ad of our next big project for Testament, coming in 2006.

Un-freakin-believable...

I guess it had been a while since we'd have some @$$hole out himself publicly like this:

Iranian Leader Calls Holocaust a 'Myth' - Yahoo! News

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad escalated his anti-Israeli rhetoric Wednesday, calling the Holocaust a "myth" used by Europeans to create a Jewish
state in the heart of the Islamic world.

Ahmadinejad last week questioned whether the Nazi destruction of 6 million European Jews during World War II occurred and said Israel should be moved to Europe. He also provoked an international outcry in October when he called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

But Wednesday was the first time he publicly denied the Holocaust. Touring southeast Iran, Ahmadinejad said that if Europeans insist the Holocaust happened, then they are responsible and should pay the price.

"Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in the southeastern city of Zahedan.

"If you committed this big crime, then why should the oppressed Palestinian nation pay the price?" Ahmadinejad asked rhetorically.

"This is our proposal: if you committed the crime, then give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them so that the Jews can establish their country," he said, developing a theme he raised in Saudi Arabia last week

I am speechless. I shouldn't be, really. I should know there are pieces of work like this moron out there, but everytime I see or read one of these I am honestly dumbfounded by the capacity for stupidity some people have.

Sometimes, just sometimes, it is really hard to believe in good.

A Radical Thought

I normally stay away from topics that concern only Christians because it's really not for me to get involved in such issues. That said, I saw this story when I opened Yahoo! this morning and clicked on it.

Pope: Christmas Polluted by Consumerism - Yahoo! News

I have to say I agree 100% with the Pope on this one, and it's something I believed even back when I still celebrated Christmas.

Here's a radical thought for today:
If you are Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic, Atheist, Buddist, Satanist, or just plain undecided, don't celebrate Christmas. This is a Christian holiday which celebrates the birth of the central figure of the faith, the person Christians believe to be the Messiah and the son of God, in short, a religious holiday for those of the Christian faith. THAT MEANS NO CHANNUKAH BUSH, PEOPLE!

If you are Christian, celebrate the Christmas holiday as it applies to your faith, and don't debase it by polluting it with crass consumerism. Remember that this season celebrates a pivotal moment in your religion, and pass that lesson to your family.

If you are Pagan, and celebrate the Yule season, then by all means do. Just don't pollute it with the consumerism of the season. And see if you can make it to Norway, where the pagan symbols of the season are still very strong.

Whatever you do, just remember that Master Card and Lady Visa have nothing to do with the season.

But Is It Art?

From NBC6.net, the local NBC affiliate:

Residents Furious Over Bound, Blindfolded Santa
Neighbors Call Police Over Creepy Santa

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- In one South Florida community, a man's holiday decorations are causing holiday fear for local children instead of creating holiday cheer.

Residents called police and complained to the city that a house near West 50th Street and Fifth Avenue in Miami Beach had a life-sized, blindfolded Santa Claus doll hanging on a tree with its hands tied. (More)

This is great (be sure to see all the pics they have)! I mean, it has a slightly creepy, "Nobody loved me as a child," deep-seated issue kind of vibe going on, but it is certainly funny, which of course most people fail to see. The guy who put it up said it was an "artistic expression." I'll let you decide.

100 Questions

Found this on GMSkarka's blog, and decided, "Why not!"

h a v e y o u e v e r. . .
01. Tasted blood? Nope.
02. Made out with JUST a friend? No.
03. Been rejected? Yeah.
04. Been in love? Yes
05. Been in lust? Yes
06. Used someone? I want to say No, not consciously anyway.
07. Been used? Yeah.
08. Had a crush on someone of the same sex? Not really, no.
09. Fooled around with someone of the same sex? Does it count if you were very, very young?
10. (There was no question 10.)
11. Done something you regret? Haven't we all?

W h o w a s t h e l a s t p e r s o n t h a t . . .
12. You touched? My wife.
13. You talked to? My wife.
14. You hugged? My wife.
15. You instant messaged? Deborah Balsam of Dog Soul Publishing, who's doing some graphic design for me.
16. You called? My friend Josue in Puerto Rico.
17. You yelled at? My cat.
18. You laughed at? The cat.
19. You had a crush on? My wife, way when we were not a couple and I was going out with someone else. Over the years there have certainly been people who call my attention, but nothing I would call a crush. That has been reserved for my wife for the past decade.

D o Y o u ?
22. Color your hair? Not anymore. Did so for like 2 years back at the start of this decade.
23. (There was no question 23.)
24. Have Piercings? Not anymore, they've closed now.
25. Have a boyfriend/girlfriend/both? No/Yes (Wife, really)/No.
26. Floss daily? No, though my dentist would like me to.
27. (There was no question 27.)
28. Ever get off the damn computer? Yeah, I don't have the staying power I used to.
29. Sprechen sie deutsche? Nein (though I can sing Wolfsheim's Künstliche Welten almost perfectly).
30. Habla español? Sí, perfectamente (Spanish is actually my native language).

G e n e r a l Q u e s t i o n s
40. Considered a life of crime? No.
41. Considered being a hooker? Not seriously.
42. Considered being a pimp? No.
45. Schizophrenic? No.
46. Obsessive? Not really.
47. Obsessive compulsive? No.
48. Panic? Not like me, though I've done it.
49. Anxiety? Only under extreme stress.
50. Depressed? Not for a long time, never truly or deeply.
51. Suicidal? No.
52. Obsessed with Hate? No.
53. Dream of mutilated bodies? Not that I can remember.
54. Dream of doing those things instead of just seeing them? No.

R a n d o m S t u f f . . .
55. If you could be anywhere, where would you be? Back in Paris.
56. What would you be doing? Just enjoying life.
57. (There was no question 57.)
58. What are you listening to? The sound of my wife clicking her mouse.
59. Can you do anything freakish? I can be really dense in the face of something that should be utterly obvious.
60. Chicken or fish? Depends, though I'll go with fish.
61. Do you have a favorite animal? I like owls a lot, though cats would be a more accurate answer.

C u r r e n t l y :
62. Current Clothes: Pajama pants and sleeveless comfy shirt.
63. Current Mood: Tired.
64. Current Taste: None, yearning for something sweet.
65. Current Hair: What my wife refers to as a Roman haircut: short all around and combed to the front.
66. Current Annoyance: The multitude of super tacky, in-your-face, fuck-you-if-you-don't-celebrate-it X-mas decorations taking over the city (and the world, really). I've no problem with nicely done, elegant decorations, though.
67. Current Smell: None in particular.
68. Current thing I ought to be doing: Getting some work done.
69. Current Desktop Picture: This one, though it cycles every 15 minutes.
70. Current Favorite Group: Matisyahu.
71. Current Book: Paris to the Moon, after just having finished A Year in the Merde.
72. Current DVD In Player: Who the hell leaves DVDs in the player?
73. Current Refreshment: None, though I would like a Quik so bad.
74. Current Worry: Creating a worthwile future for me and my family, with Money never being too far behind.

F a v o r i t e s :
76. Food: Could never be just one thing, sorry.
77. Drink: Quik, Orangina.
78. Color: Black, Blue.
79. Shoes/Sandals: Shoes.
80. Candy: Dark chocolate.
81. Animal: Wasn't this asked already?
82. Movie: Too many. Off the top of my head: Braveheart, Amelie, LotR (all 3), The Matchmaker, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, etc.
83. Dance: None.
84. Vegetable: Potatoes.

F u t u r e :
85. What do you want to be when you get older? Fulfilled.
86: Married? Yes.
87: Kids?: None yet, though as many as G-d wants us to have.
88: Living Where? Europe, though it will probably be Miami.

T h i s o r T h a t :
89: Gay or straight?: Straight, though I sometimes confuse people for some reason.
90: Boxers or Briefs: Briefs.
91: Reading or Writing: Both.
92: Basketball or Baseball: None.
93: Walking or Running?: Walking.
94. (There was no question 94.)
95: Left or Right?: Depends if we're talking politics or road directions.
96: TV Shows or Movies?: Movies.
97: Brittany or Christina? Are they still around?
98: Rap or Rock? Rock, though none of the crap coming out now. EMO? What the fuck is EMO!
99: Day or Night? Night.
100. What do people call you? Danny, or (my wife, and only my wife) Monkey (and I am already regretting putting this out there...)

Scammed

I was going to PayPal payment to my freelance graphic designer, so I decided to make sure my account balance could cover the payment. I went to Wachovia.com, checked my account and, lo and behold, my balance is -$500!!! A quick check of the transactions done and pending reveals two charges to a Ticnet.se, which a quick Google search reveals to be a Swedish Ticketmaster partner. So it seems some scumbag decided to charge for concerts in Sweden using my credit card. Considering the conversion is about 8 Swedish Kronor for each dollar, this bastard purchased tickets for him/herself and their whole family, friends, and village. Thankfully the folks at Wachovia were able to put a hold on the transactions, restore my original balance, cancel my card and issue me a new one, all in about 20 minutes.

Did I have this card saved on some online store? Yes, two to be precise: PayPal and RPGnow.com. Guess what I'm not doing from now on.

La Vie Boheme

I went with my wife and sister-in-law to see the RENT movie this past Saturday night. What you need to know upfront is that we are all huge fans of the musical; it is, to use the cliché, one of those things that changed our lives, to each in a particular way. In my case, RENT has always been about the Now, about the power of dreams to shape your life, about not giving in and selling out. The tag line, "No Day But Today," pretty much sums it all up. I've seen the musical only once, and as a traveling show at that, not on Broadway, but the CD has been one of those perennial favorites that we play to death, put aside for a while, and all of a sudden pick up and start playing again.

I've known about RENT for a few years now, which means I have grown with the message of the musical and indeed have it shape who I have become in some ways. At first, in my mid-20's, when I was angst-ridden and non-conformist and still had the luxury of that lofty idealism that rejects anything even remotely smelling of The System, RENT was a war-cry, a banner behind which to rally in our desire to never sell out and go for our dreams, even if we rarely did anything beyond talk about it. As I grew up, and entered my cynical stage in which you cannot see a way out of becoming another cog in The System and you are torn apart by the impending doom that is your future, RENT was a good memory of what I had once believed in, what I had wanted to do with my life, what society had crushed out of me. After I finished university, when I was more or less in control of myself, my actions and my future for the first time in almost a decade, RENT was a reminder of what I once thought possible, and what now could be a reality if only I applied myself. Perhaps now I could truly follow through with Mark's call in the song La Vie Boheme, "being an Us for once, instead of a Them."

The movie was good, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had some weird issues with timing at the beginning, and I still can't figure out why set it in 1989-90 and not in the mid-90's when it was released (it causes some anachronisms, like referencing Thelma & Louise, which didn't come out till 1992). I agree with my wife that Chris Columbus' directing style was way too soft for this movie, and ended up removing a lot of the grit and grunge that is associated with RENT. These minor complaints aside, the movie did justice to the musical, and having 90% of the original cast was simply amazing (the two new additions, Rosario Dawson and Tracy Thoms, were very good ones and both help their own with the original cast wonderfully), giving the movie a timelessness that will allow it to survive the years to come.

The funny thing is that we live in such a different world than we did in the early- to mid-90's that a lot of the themes of the story seem now symbolic, as opposed to current, as they were back in the day. People don't necessarily die of AIDS as portrayed in the movie anymore, and NYC is a different place than that depicted in the musical/movie. This isn't a bad thing; we still have drug problems in the city, and AIDS is very much still a problem, if not an immediate death sentence as it used to be. You can substitute any current problem for those depicted in the movie, and the themes remain the same, though, which is what signals how good the story truly is (after all, RENT is a remake of Puccini's La Boheme, and that is still a valid work of art).

As for me, seeing the movie brought up those old feelings of rebelliousness back to the forefront. Coupled with my current state of mind after returning from Paris, RENT stirred up something in me, a desire to once again be one of Us instead of a Them. Things aren't as clear-cut as they once were, but then again, neither am I as naive as I was, and the options available to me are far greater now. I do have the tools to follow my own dreams, and in some respects I already have done so (Highmoon Media Productions). Now I just have to achieve that next step, where you find a way to have your dreams sustain you. That next step, for me, is my Travel Store, and that is what I am focusing on from now on.

I don't know that anyone can truly live La Vie Boheme anymore, but it is good to dream about it. Better yet is to make that a reality. It doesn't quite look like the one in the movie, the one in tales--even the artists who went to Paris to live and love and create art worked to do all this--but it can be done, and I intend to find the way to do it.

Rejoining Reality... Ugh!

It is a commom symptom once one returns from a trip, and for me it is greatly felt after European travel: I don't want to rejoin reality. The thing I most enjoy about traveling is that utter disconnection from everything that is your regular life: groceries, TV, cooking, bills, emails, work. As I sit at the office wondering exactly how slow can a minute be, I avoid work by checking my emails and catching up on last week's news for my other work, Highmoon Media. Frankly, I almost feel like ditching everything. Almost. I won't, of course, and I'm sure by Monday I'll be back to normal, but then again there is a certain sadness because by Monday I'll be back to normal. All I want to do now is curl up on my couch and finish my journal from the trip before the memories fade even a little. Maybe on Sunday I'll have a chance to do that and thus enact the transition back into regular life.

Photo From Paris

Just a shot from our trip to Paris (that's me and my wife):

Back From Paris, Back To Reality

We all got back from Paris yesterday at around 4:00 pm after a 9 1/2 hour flight. I am exhausted and drained and in the last place on Earth I'd like to be (work), but I am so glad we took this trip. It was an amazing experience, to see Paris as winter knocks on the door, and it makes the aches well worth it.

I have some 450 photos to go through, so I'll be posting some as I go along preparing the web journal for our trip.

As far as Highmoon Media business is concerned, I am back though it won't be until Monday at least that I am fully caught up, just so you know.

I can't believe that it is already December.

Almost Out Of Here

Just one more day before taking off to Paris for a week, and the last thing I want to do is work.

Nevertheless, I have had a couple of very productive days in the last week. I have finished the layout for the Testament adventure finally, and all I need to do now is fix a few things here and there. What's even cooler, I have contracted Deborah Balsam of Dog Soul Publishing to create a series of covers for my product lines, which means the Testament adventure should have a nice cover to boast.

As an aside, I want to state publically that I think it's a crime that Dog Soul Publishing be relegated to The Edge. I think these folks should be at the main RPGNow.com site, and I hope that once the new year starts they will make the switch.

I have received a number of new Mythic Vistas adventure outlines, so I hope to have a good selection of those for next year. And of course, the new quarterly magazine, Targum, in support of Testament, though an official announcement still needs to be made (and no, this isn't it).

As far as NaNoWriMo goes, I have so given up for this year. There was too much other stuff to do, though I did get a good start on the ideas for the story I began. Maybe next year I'll be able to do the whole 50,000 words.

Lastly, Highmoon Media Productions has finally joined the EN World Game Store, though I have only uploaded one product. Once I get back from Paris, I'll put that storefront up to date.

I am so already in France in my mind. Now, all I need to do is finish this work day and finish packing up and get through tomorrow. Come Thursday, I'll be in Paris!

Head In The Clouds

This is where my mind is at today:

I can't wait to leave next week!

Damage From Wilma

Finally got around to posting the pictures I took on the day Wilma hit and afterwards.

Slideshow:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=d8jcvtv.8c897sin&Uy=-ammph4&Ux=0

Yoda Dog

This is hilarious! My wife forwarded it to me, and someone forwarded it to her, so we have no idea whose dog this is, but it rocks.

Trudging Along

Today's been one of those days where you do a hundred different things but don't really finish anything completely.

I have not written much lately in my NaNoWriMo project, though last night I did about 770 words and currently have a total word count of just over 6000. Not bad but not great either. I am not giving up on NaNo, though. I'll write as much as I can during the month and see what happens, though with the trip to Paris, the last seven days will be a total loss. At least I'm writing again, which is good. Tonight, however, I have not written anything, nor do I think I will, seeing how I'll be going to bed soon.

I received today four outlines for Mythic Vistas adventures, including one for the sequel of the finished Medieval Player's Manual one by Bret Boyd. I need to finish laying out the Testament adventure and get it out for sale already. I'm hoping to be able to do it before I leave in exactly two weeks, which also means I need to finish the press release for the new project in association with Green Ronin, so I can put an ad for it in the adventure to start drumming up interest. After the Testament adventure is done, I can move to the MPM adventure (as soon as GR sends me the graphics). I guess somewhere along the way I'll find some space and time to write something myself. One hopes.

Today we emailed the hotel in Paris where we hope to stay. The price is a little high, but it is centrally located in the Marais, right next to the Jewish Quarter, which means we'll have kosher eateries by the dozen, as well as synagogues to choose from, not to mention two Metro stations just a street away and one of the landmarks of Paris, the Centre Pompidou, one block behind. I'm now waiting for their confirmation. Now we are trying to arrange our itinerary so we make the most of our 6 days in Paris.

Lastly, and the only thing actually accomplished today, my wife and I (by which I mean really my wife, with me just helping out here and there) made some etrog and orange marmalade. Etrog is a citrus fruit, known sometimes as citron, which looks like a large, bumpy lemon, and which Jews use during the festival of Sukkot. After the holy day is done we normally save the etrogs and either plant the seeds later in the year (during the New Year for Trees), burn it right before Passover, or make candy, as we did. It is now cooling, though we had a small taste and it is very yummy, an interesting combination of sweet and tart.

Now to sleep, cause I gotta work tomorrow.

I Get To Be A Minion

I got this from the nice folks at TableTop Adventures, on the occasion of our companies' mutual first anniversary:

Pretty sweet, no? :-)

Israel Yields Two Archeological Treasures

It seems the land of Israel is starting to be a little more cooperative with us humans bent on figuring out what secrets it holds in its dusty depths.

First, from Aish.com, Reclaiming Biblical Jerusalem is an article about one of the, arguably, most important archeological discoveries in Jerusalem. Dr. Eilat Mazar has discovered what she thinks can be the outer wall of King David's palace in the Old City of Jerusalem, in the area known as Ir David (The City of David). While, as with any archeological finding, there is no 100% conclusive evidence, the circumstantial evidence, especially that of the finds in the same area in digs over the last few decades, leads Dr. Mazat to speculate with a good amount of confidence that the ruins excavated outline the sumptuous palace of the most famous of all Jewish Kings, David. It now remains to be seen what subsequent digs reveal, and how the obstinate groups that seek to deny any connection between Israel and the Jews react.
Link: http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jerusalem/Reclaiming_Biblical_Jerusalem.asp

Second, from CNN.com, Site Of Ancient Church Unveiled reports on a surprise discovery in the area of Meggido, believed by Christians to be the place where Armageddon, the final battle between good and evil, will be fought. Prisoners working on what will be the foundations for a new ward of the prison found two elaborate 3rd-century mosaics, one covered with fish--ancient symbol of the Christian faith--and one depicting the story of Roman officer and a woman named Aketous who donated money to build the church. The Vatican is happy about the discovery, as it would mean this is possibly the oldest Christian church in Israel, predating Constantine and the Council of Nicea.
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/11/06/israel.ancient.church.ap/index.html

MSNBC.com has better pictures of one of the mosaics.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9950210/

And just think of all that the land of Israel has yet to reveal to us...

[RPG] 652 Prestige Classes?!

Wizards posted a Prestige Class Index on their site today, covering only official D&D sources.

There are 652 Prestige Classes! Not quite, though, since there are 64 (more or less) classes repeated, so it's more like around 590 official prestige classes. That's a lot of PrCs! Funny thing is, as I look through the list, there's a lot of PrCs that I don't think should bear the name. D&D would be wise to introduce the concept of Advanced Classes, as found in d20 Modern. A PrC should not be something like the Tempest, which basically just turns you into a mobile food processor with two blades, but rather more like the Red Wizard of Thay, Disciple of [Insert Demon Lord Name Here], or Aglarondan Griffonrider, classes tied to prestigious organizations/situations that are demanding but rewarding in both mechanics and roleplaying aspects.

That's what I set out to do when I create/modify a PrC, and that's the reason why a product like Liber Sodalitas: The Blind Path is not just the Unsighted PrC, but rather a whole package of context for the class. I realize a lot of people just use the class by itself, which is why I named that one something rather generic, but it really is very tied to the context I gave it. With Liber Sodalitas: Scions of the Holy Triad I went all out with the concept, to the point where taking the PrC away from the context I gave it actually punishes the class and the character that takes it. It may hurt sales a little (Blind Path sells twice as much as Scions), but as a writer and publisher I need to take a stance. I believe the long-term effects will be much better for me.

Now, what I would really like to see, is that same PrC Index but with as many 3rd-party publisher sources added as possible. Now THAT would be a crapload of classes!

[Travel] I'M GOING TO PARIS!!!

My wife and I are doing something out fiction, something only done in movies: we are going to Paris, France for a week, leaving the day before Thanksgiving.

Yes, we are dropping everything, saying to hell with everyone, and going to the City of Lights. We just purchased our tickets tonight, and now we are gathering info for hotels.

This is the kind of things we will tell our friends, especially those with kids, and they'll hate us for. But the way I see it, G-d willing we will have kids soon, and we won't be able to--literally-fly to Paris on a whim, so what the heck.

I am going to Paris!!!

[Travel/NaNoWriMo] Travel Dreams And Writing Realities

My travel dreams are soaring today, so here's a very nice slideshow on bella Italia.

http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?type=ss&launch=9826987,9741926&pg=10

Of note:

• Picture 1 - Check out the beautiful lights they placed above the streets.
• Picture 3 - The Duomo in Milan has reopened (it was closed during 2004-2005 for rennovations). Check out also about Carless Day. We should do that here in the States as well.
• Picture 5 - Awesome view of Pompeii, ancient and modern.
• Picture 8 - Check out that most interesting tidbit about the Mole Antonelliana dome! Seems Torino was a lot more Jew-friendly than I knew.
• Picture 10 - Imagine waking up to that in the morning.

On the NaNoWriMo front, my total word count stands at 3031 as of this post. I am trying to squeeze in some writing time today, but work keeps stealing my precious time away. As it is, I am a little behind schedule, but not by much.

The same songs keep driving the story forward. It seems that what I really want to write is the story of a relationship, but I am looking to wrap it in a dark modern fantasy blanket. I am also trying to keep the story contained to a relatively small area (Miami), but already there has been a murder in Brooklyn, so there goes that. Don't know if the main characters will travel to NYC, but I do feel like they should travel at some point. We'll see what they tell me.

[NaNoWriMo] Music

There are two songs that are currently driving the forming story in my mind, though don't ask me why precisely these two, cause I don't know.

One is Damien Rice's "I Remember," though more the part sung by Laura Hannigan (below) than the part sung by Damien Rice (complete lyrics here).

I remember it well the first time that I saw
your head ‘round the door 'cause mine stopped working
I remember it well there was wet in your hair
you were stood in the stair and time stopped moving
I want you here tonight I want you here
'cause i can't believe what I found
I want you here tonight want you here
nothing is taking me down
I remember it well taxied out of a storm
to watch you perform and my ships were sailing
I remember it well I was stood in your line
and your mouth your mouth your mouth your mind
I want you here tonight I want you here
'cause i can't believe what I found
I want you here tonight want you
‘cause nothing is taking me down
‘cept you my love...

The other song is U2's "Bad," and this one is tied to a very traumatic death.

If you twist and turn away.
It you tear yourself in two again.
If I could, yes I would
If I could, I would let it go.
Surrender, dislocate.

If I could throw this lifeless life-line to the wind.
Leave this heart of clay, see you walk, walk away
Into the night, and through the rain
Into the half light and through the flame.

If I could, through myself, set your spirit free
I'd lead your heart away, see you break, break away
Into the light and to the day.

To let it go and so to find away.
To let it go and so find away.
I'm wide awake.
I'm wide awake, wide awake.
I'm not sleeping.

If you should ask, then maybe
They'd tell you what I would say
True colours fly in blue and black
Blue silken sky and burning flag.
Colours crash, collide in blood-shot eyes.

If I could, you know I would
If I could, I would let it go.

This desperation, dislocation
Separation, condemnation
Revelation, in temptation
Isolation, desolation
Let it go and so to find away
To let it go and so to find away
To let it go and so to find away

I'm wide awake, I'm wide awake, wide awake
I'm not sleeping
Oh no, no, no.

My Nephew's First Halloween

And he looks cute as hell!

NaNoWriMo 2005

I have decided to participate in this year's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

My wife participated last year and ended up with a complete novel which we hope to eventually self-publish via Highmoon Media Productions. I can't say that I have a very solid idea of what I'll be writing, but I do have a germ of a story born from a daily writing excercise a couple months ago. As a bonus, the story idea ties into a product HMP will be releasing in the near future.

50,000 words in 30 days. Let's see what happens.

After Wilma

Just a quick post. My family and I are all fine after Wilma. I just got power last night, thank G-d, but half of Miami is still in the dark. I'll post later more info as well as some pictures.

Time To Hunker Down!

With Wilma set to make its appereance in Florida starting later tonight, my wife and I have finished all our preparations and are ready to hunker down. The day off tomorrow comes in nice, though only if we don't lose power, in which case it's going to suck. If I lose power, I might post via my cellphone. If, however, we don't lose power, then I may be able to use the day productively and finish the layout for the Testament adventure once and for all.

Wish us luck, cause here we go again!

About The RPG Business

Cross-posted from Mark Gedak's blog.

FYI, the quote Mark attributes to "One of the people I volunteer with" was said by me.

I think my biggest problem with the new move by EN World, as a fan (as a publisher, it's completely different), is that it has broken down the boundary of what EN World had set itself to be: THE site for d20 news on the internet. This is not the case anymore, and I lament that. I see many people say that nothing has changed, that people are reading too much into things, but I think that this is being naive. Though there has always been a business aspect to EN World, one I fully understand since it needs to keep itself afloat, I could count on this site to inform me with a fair amount of impartiality. Yes I understand that no thing is 100% unbiased, but this was pretty close to it, and that's now gone. Though I will still frequent EN World, I can't help but now take everything with a healthy dose of salt.

One of the weirdest realities I had to face once I began Highmoon Media Productions was that, while this is my hobby, this is also a business now, and that means loosing some of the fun, some of the magic, though to what extent is up to me. As I told a potential partner a couple days ago, fun is very much a part of the equation to me. If I am not having fun with my business, then that's it. Money is not everything, and I live by that statement.

And to answer two specific concerns:

When I revise and develop material with Daniel am I a) working with Daniel or b) working for Daniel?

Though my first instinct is to say both, it's really (a). Even in the project you are developing for HMP, it's really a joint effort (though you are really doing 99.9% of the work). If I were paying you to develop the project for me and that's all, then you would be working for me, but the way we are working, we both have a vested interest in the project, from development until it goes on sale, so "with Daniel" is correct.

I shudder at the thought of my name appearing on a business plan as a resource or asset.

As far as this is concerned, at least with me, that will never be the case.

And I Emerge To Find...

...a crapload of stuff going on! It is really the only drawback to the Holy Days, the mess of having to catch up with the rest of the world.

After the first two days of Sukkot, I emerge to find a really large hurricane (Wilma) already forecast to threaten South Florida, though we don't know yet when or where. I've taken some precautions, and much like the rest of South Florida, I wait.

I also emerge to find two big changes at EN World. First, we have been forbidden from providing links to, even mentioning by name, other e-book retailers, such as RPGnow.com or DriveThruRPG. We are allowed to have links to our company websites, even if the website does link to other e-tailers, but in our signatures or press releases, we can only mention the ENWorld Game Store, and that would be the second big change.

EN World has thrown their hat in the e-book retailing arena with their own ENWorld GameStore. Already about a dozen publishers have joined, and so did I, though in a moment of complete business brain fart, I did not read the terms. Their percentage fee is very good, but they have a set-up fee that I am not too keen on, at least not at the moment. While I am 100% convinced of the importance of EN World to my business and to the general d20 market, I don't know that it will transfer to the store. I am happy to sell in yet another retailer (especially since I will be dropping one very soon), but I'm making some steady sales and I would like a little more security. RPGnow was, and is, the foremost name in gaming e-book retailing, DriveThruRPG exposes my products to people who shop form their cadre of exclusive vendors as well as those who don't shop at RPGnow, and e23 exposes my products to the SJGames/GURPS crowd, which is exclusive to their site. What does ENGS bring me as a publisher? Still trying to figure it out.

Right now I would rather use the money from the set-up fee to contract art for a product, though if they can show it's worth it in new customers and/or sales, I'll go ahead and put up my products.

I'm almost afraid of what I'll find once I emerge again Wednesday night after Simchat Torah is over.

Three Great News For Highmoon Media Today

I love days like this. Yom Kippur yesterday was great, and even though I started really feeling the fast late in the day, I was able to truly get into my prayers in a way I haven't really achieved before. Now, I check my mail/industry sources, and there are 3 wonderful pieces of news that make me all tingly. Please forgive if I am somewhat vague on two of them, as I need to wait for legal papers to be finalized (you know how these things do).

1. Green Ronin has approved my proposal for a new type of support for their Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era Mythic Vistas setting. I already have a signed license to do adventures for Testament and other MV settings, but this new project will go beyond adventures, and will actually include the other Ancient World MV settings in a fashion. An official announcement should be coming soon.
2. A primarily non-d20 company has approved my proposal for support for one of their roleplaying lines. Yes, it is a medieval fantasy-type RPG, but not a D&D clone. This opportunity for HMP to venture outside of d20 is something I am very keen on, esepcially because it is a very low risk for us. More details after I sign contracts and such.
3. Mongoose Publishing has just announced they will be doing a new edition of RuneQuest in 2006. What's even more interesting than that, they will be opening the system for 3rd-party development! If there was a competitor to D&D in the Golden Era (aka. the 80's) it was RuneQuest, and the ability to develop for another well-established brand is just too cool. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for more details about this.

Like I said, great news all around on the business front. Now I just need some more capital. Anyone an investor? ;-)

Happy Birthday To Me!

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday #31, Happy Birthday to me!!!

:-)

D&D Class Test

Now, this was a surprise. I expected Bard or Loremaster at most.

Mystic Theurge 48% Combativeness, 30% Sneakiness, 82% Intellect, 61% Spirituality

Brilliant and spiritual! You are a Mystic Theurge! Score! You have a prestige class. A prestige class can only be taken after you’ve fulfilled certain requirements. This may mean that you’re an exceptionally talented person, but it probably doesn't. The Mystic Theurge is a combination of a cleric and a mage. They can cast both arcane and divine spells, and are good at both, making them pretty terrifying on the battlefield. They have more raw spellpower than just about any other class. You're both intelligent and faithful, but not violent or deceitful. I guess that makes you a pretty good person.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 33% on Combativeness You scored higher than 34% on Sneakiness You scored higher than 78% on Intellect You scored higher than 82% on Spirituality

Link: The RPG Class Test written by MFlowers on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

[HMP] Highmoon Media Productions Turns One Year Old

One year ago, Highmoon Media Productions' first product went live at RPGNow.com. Today, we are here to celebrate this first milestone and reflect on where we have been and where we are going.

For celebration, we have put all our products on sale at RPGNow.com from Monday, Oct. 10 until Friday, Oct. 14. In addition, any purchase of $5.00 or more gets a free copy of our first product, Liber Sodalitas: The Blind Path, as a gift. You can read more about our first year and the future of HMP below.

*************************************

HIGHMOON MEDIA PRODUCTIONS CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY

October 10, 2005--Miami Beach, FL: It has been one year since Highmoon Media Productions appeared on the electronic game publishing market with our first product up for sale at RPGNow.com. In the past year we have experienced tremendous growth, far beyond what we originally envisioned for this spare-time, why-the-heck-not business. From a one-man operation, we have grown to include a number of excellent freelance writers and artists as part of our regular ensemble, people who have contributed their hard work and vision to shape Highmoon Media Productions.

Our launching product, Liber Sodalitas: The Blind Path, received a very warm and enthusiastic reception since its release, and to this day remains our best-selling original product. Its success encouraged us to expand the series with two successful follow-ups, Erzsak's Drake Riders and Scions of the Holy Triad, both equally well-received by customers and reviewers alike.

Bardic Lore: The Fachan introduced readers to a creature out of Celtic mythology, launching our second product line. With the timed release of Bardic Lore: Ogham for St. Patrick’s Day, Bardic Lore acquired a life of its own, evolving from a general fantasy product line to our specialized Celtic-themed line, and introducing customers to new gaming material from Celtic mythology as well as presenting them a glimpse into the lands of Ierne. The third release in the series, and our first collaboration with another 3rd-party publisher (UKG Publishing), The Villa of Mysteries expanded the boundaries of the implied setting of Ierne to include the Roman lands of Albion by presenting a historically-accurate villa with gorgeous floor plans.

Over the last year we also became the exclusive online distributor for the critically acclaimed, but now defunct, d20 publisher MonkeyGod Enterprises. With our help, MonkeyGod's electronic catalog grew from five products to over a dozen, with many more on their way. This partnership has brought new life to MonkeyGod's excellent adventures for all levels, as well as their comprehensive sourcebooks, including the first environmental book for d20 rules, Frost & Fur: The Explorer's Guide to the Frozen Lands--declared by some as the best sourcebook on cold-weather adventuring--and the massive encyclopedia of weapons and armor, From Stone to Steel, the single most comprehensive tome of martial equipment published.

Our sales have grown steadily over the past year, allowing us to expand into new and exciting projects we hope to unveil in the near future. Though we are a small company, we are and have always been firmly committed to producing quality products, a commitment which has been clearly attested to by the fact that we remained in the main RPGNow.com site after the reorganization into two sites. We will continue to work to bring you only the best of what we have to offer.

So where are we headed in our second year? We have a number of projects in the works to take Highmoon Media Productions to the next level:

• New website - Highmoon Media Productions will be unveiling a brand-new website in the coming months, featuring simplified navigation, integrated forums, development blog and the capacity for expansion into member-only areas and store.

• New product lines - We have two great new lines coming up: DaVinci Labs, our d20 Modern line for futuristic gaming, and Terra Mythica, featuring adventures and sourcebooks set in the most wondrous world of all: our own. And of course, we cannot forget about the new setting we have been developing for close to a year now, one that combines familiar concepts with elements seldom seen in modern gaming to create an innovative vision of the universe for characters to explore.

• New partnerships - We have joined forces with Green Ronin Publishing for the development and publication of licensed support material for their Mythic Vistas line of settings. Our first product, an adventure for Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era, should be out within the month.

• Further support for established lines - New Liber Sodalitas, Bardic Lore and MonkeyGod products are in development, to bring you more exciting releases in your favorite lines.

We would like to thank each and every customer we have had in the past year for helping us reach this milestone. Highmoon Media Productions was started as a dream and it is your support that has made it not only a reality, but a successful one. In a small market with so many good publishers producing great books, we feel humble that you have chosen us time and time again to fulfill your gaming needs. This gives us the courage and impetus to continue on this journey and make even more great products for you.

Our second year promises to be one full of good things, and we couldn't be more excited about all that we have in store, so stick around and join us on this amazing ride.

Daniel M. Perez
Highmoon Media Productions
October 10, 2005

Daniel M. Perez
Highmoon Media Productions
http://www.highmoonmedia.com/

Products available at: Digital Book Booth, DriveThruRPG.com, e23, RPGnow.com

Shanah Tovah!!!

I just want to wish everyone a Shanah Tovah, a Happy New Year!

On this Rosh Hashanah, may we all be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for good and blessings all year long.