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| From Italy and Greece |
Posts Tagged ‘creative commons’
Retouching Athens
Thursday, December 10th, 2009On My Future
Friday, August 28th, 2009The future is something I spend a great deal of time thinking about, though it is often not in reference to my own future. The very concept of my life post-Swarthmore is terrifying and exciting in the same thought. There is so much to plan, and so many options to plan for. It would be easy to go right to graduate school, finish my education, settle down, and have a lovely practice in some location where I can have patients, make money, and raise a family.
Wait, what?! Family? Graduate school? There is so much that needs to happen between now and two years from now that it is only slightly amusing to me and probably pretty hilarious to everyone else. I mean, I haven’t even finalized my Bachelor’s degree program yet. I’m working on an Honors Psychology major and Honors English Literature minor, but there are a few minors I may yet add. Film and Media Studies or Peace and Conflict Studies come to mind. Or possibly Cognitive Science.
BUT! There is something I would like to pursue. A direction, if nothing else. After a recent discussion with some Deans, I’d like to apply for a Watson Fellowship. A Watson is very prestigious and highly-sought after, but I believe that I would have a fighting chance. There are many things that I’m passionate about, and traveling outside the US would certainly help me along my way. I am almost certain that I would like to visit Europe, and probably the Mediterranean. From there I could also visit northern Africa and a variety of European countries. My familiarity with Romance languages makes it easier to get around in non-English speaking parts of Europe, and I would love to improve my language skills.
As to what I would do while abroad, I can think of a few options. I’m working on some writing projects that I think would be very much enhanced by time away from home and in certain regions/cultures. More details on that later. In addition, I’d like to study the folklore and overlap of the Mediterranean/Eastern European regions. And hell, I’d love to study some dance.
The idea of not being allowed to return home really appeals to me. I can already feel the expanding horizons! Sure, it would get a bit much sometimes. Sure, I don’t speak any languages other than English (yet). Sure, I’d miss my home, friends, family, and CATS every second of every day. But sometimes you need to miss something to value it, and I think such an opportunity is rare and valuable in itself. I hope it works out, but there’s a lot to do between now and then…
In other news, one of my photos of Trevi Fountain from my trip to the Mediterranean a few years ago was selected for a travel guide. Check it out.
CoRCoD at 1KM1KT
Friday, August 28th, 2009What the hell is CoRCoD, you ask? And why the hell is it at some place called 1KM1KT? Well, I’ll tell you!
CoRCoD is the short version of the free, Creative Commons-licensed dieselpunk/pulp/noir City of Rain, City of Darkness setting that I posted here recently. And 1KM1KT stands for 1 Million Monkeys 1 Million Typewriters, a place where free RPGs are hosted (with any luck, in perpetuity). I added CoRCoD to the community to ensure that it will continue to be available to anyone who wants it, regardless of the status of this site. I strongly encourage all to check out what they host, since there are some real gems there. And it’s all free, so trying out something new is fast and easy. Heck, so is adding something! The more people who join up the better, so go ahead and submit your RPG/setting.
City of Rain, City of Darkness may be found here at 1KM1KT.
City of Rain, City of Darkness: A Setting
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009Update: I have already edited and fleshed out the document several times since it was first posted. You may find the most recent version here: City of Rain City of Darkness v2
A while back I wanted to develop a pulp dieselpunk setting for a roleplaying game. My initial impulse was to do a Savage Setting, and it may yet turn out that way. Over the past few months I’ve added bits and pieces here and there to an Evernote file, and while it is not large I believe it is complete enough to be a basic RPG setting. The overriding reason for brevity in this setting is that I’ve worked very hard from the beginning to set and maintain a consistent tone. As such, I’ve chosen my words carefully and added items only when I felt they were essential.
This setting is heavily influenced by pulp, dieselpunk, and noir. Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon guided my thinking throughout much of the conceptualization and design, as did Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen and many black-and-white films. While I have never had the fortune to see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the idea and trailer also helped to spark my imagination.
And so, it is my pleasure to present to you my very first roleplaying game setting – City of Rain, City of Darkness. It has rained on the city for longer than anyone can remember. The city has always built upwards, searching for a way to escape the incessant downpour. The wealthy rule this city, and the less fortunate are tossed aside to slip through the cracks. Life is hard here, and each citizen must do whatever he or she can to survive. And through it all, the rain pours endlessly down…
City of Rain, City of Darkness PDF
Character Sketch: Simon the Black
Sunday, July 19th, 2009Simon the Black is a character for the Savage World of Solomon Kane Savage Setting. I present him here in his original Novice format, and as a more experience Seasoned character. Rank matters not one whit as far as NPCs go, so feel free to disregard it and tweak to your heart’s content. As always, this content is available under a Creative Commons license, and I want you to take it, tweak it, use it, break, crash it, change it, need I go on into a Daft Punk song?
Background: Simon the Black was orphaned at a young age. His wealthy parents left him in the care of a tutor of great repute. He was a sorcerer, as it turned out, and he trained Simon as his minion and apprentice. Simon knew little of the world as he trained, and it was not until many years had passed that he understood his master’s true nature. Solomon Kane confronted and killed Simon’s master, but he uncharacteristically chose to spare Simon’s life. Simon began to learn of good and evil as he began to rely upon himself. He traveled, taking the name Simon the Black to protect his family’s honor and to allow him to travel more freely. He spent several years studying in a Swiss monastery and several more learning from the holy men in Tibet. Now, he uses his sorcerous powers to purify the earth and cleanse it of evil’s stain. He prefers to survive on his wit and skill, but will sometimes use the family name or funds if truly necessary to achieve his ends. While used to working alone, he prefers to have a team he can trust beside him.
—————
Simon the Black
Rank: Novice
XPs: 0
Abilities
Agility d6
Smarts d8
Spirit d6
Strength d6
Vigor d4
Skills
Fighting d4
Guts d6
Investigation d8+2
Magick d8
Notice d4
Shooting d6
Streetwise d8+2
Edges
Arcane Background (Sorcery)
Investigator
Hindrances
*Vow (to rid the world of evil)
Vengeful
Loyal
Powers
Light
Smite
Pace: 6″
Parry: 4
Charisma: 0
Toughness: 4
Gear
Spell components (10), dagger, wheel-lock pistol, clothes, backpack, bedroll, rations
—————
Simon the Black
Rank: Seasoned
XPs: 25
Abilities
Agility d6
Smarts d8
Spirit d6
Strength d6
Vigor d6
Skills
Fighting d6
Guts d6
Investigation d8+2
Magick d10
Notice d6
Shooting d6
Streetwise d8+2
Edges
Arcane Background (Sorcery)
Investigator
Hindrances
*Vow (to rid the world of evil)
Vengeful
Loyal
Powers
Light
Smite
Invisibility
Enchant Weapon
Pace: 6″
Parry: 5
Charisma: 0
Toughness: 5
Gear
Spell components (10), dagger, wheel-lock pistol, clothes, leather backpack, bedroll, rations, leather satchel, journal and writing equipment, rapier
Upcoming at Creative Anomalies and Creatively Anomalous
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009I have a number of projects currently in the works, and I hope to be able to bring some of them to you here. Soon. I promise. Here’s what’s going on at Creative Anomalies:
- A new comic schedule and a buffer of new comics
- A new comic THIS WEEK
- A new site theme
And at Creatively Anomalous:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer Savage Worlds fan conversion
- Need to get permission from the rights holders to publish this
- Apocalypticon campaign setting
- A Savage Worlds Savage Setting published under a fan license
- Thelenia campaign setting
- A D&D campaign setting published under the OGL or Creative Commons if I eliminate any remotely proprietary material and any references to the D&D system
- Some short works of fiction
All of the above will be available as a free download to you, the public. It will most likely be in PDF format, though I will probably add .doc and/or .html files so that you can edit and change it to your collective heart’s desire. I hope that you will use and abuse it, and send/post feedback. My plan is to get the basics for all of my blogging items posted some time in August, if not sooner. The fiction will be posted as it comes, and I hope it will be somewhat regular. And with that I return to my normal workday…
Update 7/14/09: I will also be writing some tips for Johnn Four’s excellent e-zine Roleplaying Tips. My tips will appear in August. I highly recommend signing up for the e-zine (it’s free) and checking out the website, if you haven’t already. Excellent tips for all systems.
Apocalypticon: You’ve never seen such chaos…
Monday, June 29th, 2009Several months ago I had an incredibly odd and realistic dream, and much to my surprise the contents of the dream stuck with me to this very day. The dream was of a world in chaos, where people with modern technology were at war with advanced technology and magic all at once, embroiled in a battle spanning the entire globe and then some. While mulling over this dream, I was reminded of the Oresteia, Aeschylus’ trilogy of tragedies concerned with the House of Atreus. In the final book of the Oresteia, Prince Orestes is chased to Athens by the Furies, who seek to punish him for the murder of his mother. Thanks to divine intervention, the Furies are convinced to lie dormant beneath Athens and become the Eumenides, or the Kind Ones (also the name of the play). There they shall rest until the trial-by-jury system of Athens fails.
So, I have come up with an RPG setting based upon the synthesis of these two ideas. Modern audiences scoff at the tale of the Eumenides, or at least they do until the system of law fails and the Furies awaken. Somewhat cranky at having been awoken after thousands of years, they rip Athens to pieces as they tear loose from the foundations of the city. In the resulting chaos an unknown party launches an ICBM at Athens, destroying the remainder of the city, killing thousands, and only making the Furies angry.
Since that point, the world has changed dramatically. The primal forces that awoke with the Furies have risen in other parts of the globe, pushing and pulling at the fabric of reality and altering the timelines of geographic locations. Parts of Italy are once again under the Roman Empire, while others have entered the free city system of the Italian Renaissance. Canada remains the last bastion of 21st century civilization, and refugees from around the world flee to its shores. Technology levels vary greatly from region to region, though there is no clear-cut superior system due to the influence of magic and the accelerated technology development in some nations. Natural resources are scarce, the law is unclear, and cooperation between states is rare. Piracy is on the rise once again, and lawless bandits have made the seas and skies dangerous for the unprepared.
The setting is intended to fit any game system, though I will likely end up making it into a Savage Setting for Pinnacle Entertainment Group’s Savage Worlds system using a fan license (or a publications license if I’m lucky enough to interest a publisher). Savage Worlds is my first choice of system due to the flexibility inherent in the rules. I plan to make a PDF of the basic world information available later this week, though it will be systemless until I decide which avenue to pursue. As always, content posted here will be under a Creative Commons license.
This is…Apocalypticon.
On Cory Doctorow and Creative Commons
Thursday, June 18th, 2009Today I heard about Little Brother, a book by Cory Doctorow. Little Brother is just plain cool – even if it didn’t address all kinds of important and serious social issues it’s still about a bunch of kids (though not so far removed from my own age) sticking it to the Man. And on top of all that, it’s FREE! And it is free for precisely the same reasons why I release everything on this blog and webcomic under a Creative Commons license.
*Ascends soapbox*
As we’ve seen in so many cases, DRM/restrictive licensing is a BAD IDEA. Say it with me: DRM is a BAAAAD IDEA. Yes, artists should make money from the work they create. Yes, they should get credit for it. But by trying to restrict fans the record labels, assorted recording industries, and anyone who releases content with restrictive DRM or licenses demonstrate the disconnect between those producing the content and those using it.
Mr. Doctorow points out many excellent reasons why he releases his content with a CC license, and I think that his explanation of the economics of it all is quite compelling. To put it in my own words, I will benefit more in the long term by achieving a wide distribution of content and greater name recognition than I will by trying to charge for my content and attempting to limit who is allowed to read/view/watch/listen to what I’ve created. And in the event that I do decide that I need to make money from my creative endeavors, having built a large and dedicated fan base (not that any such thing exists at this time) will make that easier.
And finally, I think that it is difficult for creativity to truly thrive in a culture that restricts its expression and limits participation in the creative process.
*Gets a bigger soapbox*
When you read a book or a poem or a comic or watch a movie or listen to music you don’t just read/watch/listen to it. The work affects you and your own thought/creative process. But it doesn’t stop there. As T.S. Eliot noted in “Tradition and the Individual Talent,” an essay on poetry and the canon, new works do not simply add to an ever-growing list. Rather, each new work profoundly restructures the canon. By reading this blog post, everything that you, the reader, have read prior to this point will now be viewed through a lens colored by the ideas presented here (whether or not you agree with them). So, a new work causes us to change how we look at what came before, even if it is ever so subtly. My point with this little digression is that the act of consuming some creative work has ripples and eddies that will grow, magnify, wilt, or explode. By attempting to restrict those ripples and eddies, one deprives the world of some new creation and added richness.
*Steps down from soapbox*
So, licensing aside, Little Brother attacks restrictive government and infringement of liberties. The idea of Big Brother still haunts us even though 1984 came and went, and Doctorow’s book is a serious look at the harm an Orwellian government can do. I haven’t read it through just yet, so you’ll have to pardon my vagueness.
Ahem. I thank you for your time and attention. I close by recommending most highly that you buy or download Little Brother and give it a whirl. Perhaps it will change your world.
One of these days…
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009…I will write about something other than Dollhouse.
Here’s a little list of some upcoming items:
- A list of my favorite webcomics, and why.
- Some RPG material.
- Some more RPG material.
- Some creative writing projects I have been working on.
- Poetry criticism
- Dollhouse!
Among other things, I have begun work on a steampunk/gaslight short story that I hope to turn into a script for a graphic novel, or maybe even Creative Anomalies, if I get skilled/quick enough with the drawing. I intend to publish it in installments here, and with a link to a PDF stored on Dropbox. In addition, I plan to write some system-free RPG material that can be used with any system and by anyone (Creative Commons, of course). Examples include my campaign world, Thelenia, and random items, characters, and locations to drop into any adventure.
While you wait breathlessly for all of the delicious content I have offered above, take a moment and read the beginnings of Enterprise:
Smoke rose from the shattered remains of the coffee shop. Only hours before it had been the bustling center of business in London. The pre-dawn light began to creep over the horizon, reminding the few onlookers awake at that hour that the work day was fast approaching. Few who passed could take their eyes from the giant, smokey gear floating above the remains of the shop. A watchman stood outside, next to the broken shards of the great bay window that allowed the businessmen of the Exchange to look upon the tools of the commerce they planned and traded. Every so often someone stopped to inquire about the “accident” and she moved them along with a nod or shake of her head.
Inside, two watchmen stood over remains of a strange device that lay twisted and blackened on the floor. It was clearly some sort of infernal engine, but the techs had yet to arrive.
“Hell of a device,” one said.
“Hell isn’t strong enough for it,” replied the other.
The first watchman removed her helmet, shaking out her short, brown hair. The badge on her black jacket labeled her a Detective.
“A harvester will be here soon,” she said, the tone in her voice indicating she was not the least bit pleased about it, whatever it was.
The other watchman paled slightly. “They creep me out, the way they’re so cheerful. I mean, we need them, Lord knows, but…” He trailed off.
The woman nodded. “Your men have done well establishing a cordon. It will be that much easier for me to collect evidence.” She fingered her badge. “Have you given any thought to applying for Detective yourself? I think you’ve got the mindset.”
“I’m not sure I’ve got the knack,” he replied. “I can tinker a bit, and I can work some basic charms, but I just have difficulty making it all work for me.”
“How are your divinations?”
“Mixed, just as with my tinkering. I often get hunches that turn out to be true, but you can imagine how unfounded ‘feelings’ go over at Whitehall.”
This time, she grinned. “You just might find yourself a home in the Detectives, then. We’re all about following your nose. And your ears,” she added a bit sourly as a cheerful whistle came trilling through the dawn air.
The watchman minding the storefront started slightly as a man in a pristine white laboratory coat approached him suddenly from the crowd, whistling a cheerful ditty. His feet almost began to shuffle of their own accord.
“What can I do for you, sir?” he asked peevishly.
The man in white simply grinned back at him, hands clasped behind his back. “My good man, I am a Harvester. I have come to…clean up the premises.”
Again the watchman started, this time assuming an official posture. He cleared his throat impressively and not-so-subtly adjusted the hem of his jacket.
“Yes sir, right away!” he replied. “This way, please.” He held up the police cordon and beckoned the Harvester through. The Harvester cheerfully nodded his thanks and casually strolled onto the crime scene. Glass crunched beneath his boots, the destruction reflected in the shine of his glasses.
I remind you all that my work is licensed under a Creative Commons license and is free to reuse and redistribute with attribution for non-commercial purposes.
