11.04.05
Random ravings
I find myself in a position where so much has happened since I last updated my blog that I have a truckload of things to say and no particular order to say them in. I also only remember half of them, and often not even in their entirety. So now I’ll just let my mind wander, and you can skim over it until you find something interesting or reach the bottom of the post.
I really like the name Off Topic Productions. The contrast between the business-like tone of the word “productions” and the tongue-in-cheek tone of “off topic” strikes a perfect balance in my opinion. And if you are to read a little meaning into it, the name suggests that we think outside the box, our projects are “off topic” rather than similar to what everybody else is doing. For now, that is most certainly true, TNM is unlike anything I’ve ever heard of. Maybe because it’s a bad idea? I don’t think so, but then I did think of it…
On the topic of Off Topic Productions, I’ve been obsessing a lot over the High Definition Texture Package lately. Those people put out some bloody amazing work! Phasmatis has produced modelling I never even knew he was capable of. He has a very realistic style which so far has stricken me as a bit… expressionless. His models have been lacking character. But with his latest iteration of Gunther Hermann, he really managed to produce a face which almost tells a story all by itself. Phasmatis makes me proud to be on the same team as him.
Greenpeace must be among the world’s best places to work. They let me get to work at 10 am and they never stress me out about the jobs they give me. The jobs are generally quite interesting too: today I’ve been translating some articles from Swedish to Danish, and I helped one of their chemistry campaigners proofread a press release. Sure it may not seem very interesting, but I’m 19 years old, I have no education beyond high-school, and I’m being forced to work in a government-funded institution… my expected jobs range from making coffee and sweeping the floor to mailing endless amounts of letters. The people at Greenpeace are pretty cool, and they’re actually reluctant to give me boring copying jobs and such, even though I don’t mind those jobs at all. And to top it all off, they’re planning to send me to Stockholm (in Sweden!) on the 14th, I’m going to help their tech people resurrect some old laptops and install Openoffice or Linux on them. How cool is that?
I’ve been trying to make a new weapon for Neverwinter Nights since yesterday. I got the idea at work, it’s just too perfect for the character I play in Maniac’s campaign, Crimson Tale. My idea is to make a weapon with no actual model except a fire emitter placed in the wielder’s hand. That way it’ll look like your hand bursts into flames when you equip the weapon, as though you had a magical ability to do that. According to plan, it wouldn’t be extremely powerful, it’s just for the effect, you know? Style before substance seems to be my mantra these days…
Speaking of roleplaying, Michael’s campaign was just as mean as I remembered it. He threw us straight into a seemingly impossible situation, and although I’ve had a week to think about it, I still think our best shot may be to drop the mission and run away. But at least the new updates to the LEF system has rendered it quite a bit less cruel. You can actually block double-six hits with your weapon now! No more instant deaths due to an impossibly lucky DM roll and a lack of a helmet on your character.
I’ve been considering joining the rhythmic evening school in Copenhagen, where I can be guaranteed to get to play in a band. I’m just so sick of playing solo, it’s cool to be able to play some bluesy licks and the occasional Metallica solo, but I’m missing a groove! And I think having a whole band depend on me would do wonders for my lacking motivation. Besides, playing in a band is way harder than playing on your own, and difficulty = improvement. I don’t know if I can join now though, I’m probably a few months late. I’m so unenthusiastic about my guitar playing these days, and that really sucks when you have a $2,215 Gibson Les Paul hanging on your wall, tsking condescendingly at your lack of skills every time you pass.
