Poison Moon

My article "The Cluracan: Bottoms Up!" was just published in Kobold Quarterly #4. (Contents of article are best enjoyed while intoxicated. The article has no preference and leaves the choice of beverage up to you.)

I was editorial assistant for the Kobold Quarterly #4.

The Faerie Ring and a second, as-yet-undisclosed work are on target for publication by Zombie Sky Press before the summer's over.

This is the final, final, final quarter of my so-very-long journey through higher education. As I finish my classes, perform two TAs, and (maybe) volunteer some editing for my department's newsletter, I'll make sure to smell the flowers on the way.

Frantically looking for future employment.

• It started with a hot vacation to Arizona with my wife. I won't bore you with a travelogue, but I will point out some highlights behind the screen.

( Vacation Highlights )

• I came back from vacation to be surprised with my second short-article publication in Dragon #357. Yay! Go buy the issue.

• Then, I was surprised to find I had a week to write the article I proposed for Kobold Quarterly (if only I could hit my self-imposed deadlines like this). This is a new online and, recently, print RPG journal run by industry veteran Wolfgang Baur. The chance to be published in Wolfgang's premiere issue of Kobold Quarterly was an honor I couldn't pass up. You should also check out his ongoing Open Design project for other exciting material: customadventure. The article in question is "The Far Darrig" and offers a bit o'the fey... and the issue just hit mailboxes a couple hours ago. Additionally, if anyone hungers to know what Zombie Sky Press is working on, this article bears many similarities to our inevitable first product.

• In fact, the Zombie Sky Press ad in the recent issue of the Kobold Quarterly clearly states that a product should be out this fall. How's that for forcing myself to meet my own deadlines? :)

Six years in the making. Witness the epic struggle of good versus evil. In a tale of growth and discovery, of pain and despair, one man must sacrifice everything. Will he ever learn to love again? Blah, blah, blah…

My master's thesis, Model Development for Magnetoreception and Mutagenic Analysis of Translational Regulation in Malaria, is complete. This is the culmination of five years of rather schizophrenic research—blood, sweat, and tears were actually mixed with the ink. It was actually written about a month ago, but bureaucracy is a harsh mistress: wrassling with a 57-page style guide, wrangling signatures, waiting for credit audits and review comments, wishing for a quick and painless release.

It, also, signals my departure from research science. The research on magnetoreception and magnetotactic bacteria was fascinating; the research on malaria was eye opening. I wouldn’t wish away the experience, but it’s time to move on. I feel *SO* much lighter, and presumably, I can move forward now.

This is the stuff that always makes me happy. I eat it up like some... carnivorous sponge.

Just the idea that there really are “more things in heaven and Earth” makes everything somehow OK. But yes Horatio, I’m weird like that.

“Cradle of life” appears to be a rather sensational claim. A first-pass of the Nature article, itself, more firmly grounds this as speculation. What these findings really illustrate is that there are a ton of new questions.

It’s truly a shame that this will ultimately spell our doom, though. It’s only a matter of time before we stumble across and awaken the hibernating Elder Things and are plunged into a horrible, new age. Oh well, guess we’ll just have to make the most of the days we have left!  XD

Maybe I'm being silly, but this is 1400 words from which I'm going to milk all the joy I can. (Actually, I was amazed at how much had to be cut--about a third--presumably due to the table-like formatting that was necessary for the material. I had never considered that would be a problem when I wrote it a year ago.) All I have left to say is... WOOT!