Category Archives: Sharing Day

Today, I want you to post the best illustration you've ever created, whether with HeroMachine or not. Something you think is awesome, and for which you want to get kudos and applause. Everyone needs a pick-me-up every now and then, so this is your chance.

No negative comments, no critiques, nothing but positive vibes and attaboys! Show us your best and lap up some hard-earned praise!

If you want to ask me a question about something, go ahead, but mostly I just wanted this to be an Anti-Critique, let's all feel good kind of day.

We haven't done a "Sharing Day" in a while due to Friday Night Fights, and since I really enjoy getting to hear from all of you, I think it's about time we got back to it. Ordinarily I'd do that on Friday and our RPG adventure installment today, but since there's a chance I'll be away from the computer most of the day tomorrow I'm switching things around a bit.

Here's the deal:

You can ask me any question you like about whatever you like, which I will answer either completely truthfully or not at all (in which case you can ask something else). I say that because, come on, there are some things no one should have to know!

But you can only do so if you answer the following question about yourself:

What fictional character (from any media and genre) do you think you are most like?

I am going to go way out in left field for this one, and say I'm most like Robert Townsend's main character Bobby Taylor from the epic 1987 film "Hollywood Shuffle". Like Bobby, I daydream a lot and imagine crazy scenarios. I make up voices as I drive on the highway, I imagine nutty stuff happening while I'm on line at the bank, and reality constantly froths around me with possibilities. And irony, with a side of sarcasm. But at the end of the day, I can work at the Post Office and be happy, too.

Now it's your turn! Picking just one character from any movie, book, comic, TV show, or what have you is a challenge because it's so broad, but I think it'll be interesting to see what you go with. Thanks in advance for sharing!

(Image via.)

Dragon*Con starts this weekend, and for the first time in two years I won't be going. Possibly my favorite part of the whole experience is watching all the people turn out in costume, from the ridiculously elaborate Costume Contest people to the home-made Ma Kettle "Pot on the Head" frat guys showing up on a lark. I'm a little bummed, so I thought I would shamelessly leverage this space to live vicariously. Thus, my question for you, so we can all get to know each other a little better, is this:

Have you ever as an adult (or close to it) dressed up in any sort of super-hero/comic book costume, and if so, what did you dress as and why?

For being brave enough to share (bonus credit for photos!), you can ask me a question about whatever you like and I'll respond honestly. If I can't answer it for some reason, you can ask something else.

Note that by no means do you have to ask me anything to share your story, I know I'd love to hear it regardless.

So here's my answer to the main question:

For my thirtieth birthday, my wife threw a super-hero themed surprise party for me. Friends and family came in from all over, in full-on super costumes. Since I didn't know it was happening ahead of time, they recreated for me the outfit I used to run around my neighborhood in as a kid -- dish towel cape, sister's go-go boots, a meat tenderizer for Thor's hammer, and (best of all), my brother's American-flag-backed leather motorcycle gloves. This was as close as I could get, but it definitely brought back memories.

I have a photo here somewhere, but I can't find it 🙁 If I can get my hands on it some time today I'll post, but until then, I can't wait to hear your stories!

Sometimes there's a great piece of geekery out there that prompts all of your friends to achieve simultaneous nerdvana. You rush out to consume said piece of geeky entertainment, only to be left in that most dreaded state -- you just. don't. get it.

To be a geek is to "get" things that ordinary people don't, to be "in" on something that your average human simply can't grok. To find yourself not getting it, therefore, is one of the most distressing states to find yourself in. And yet, I'm sure we've all been there.

You know what that means -- time to share!

What bit of geeky goodness do you just not "get", that most other people in the nerd swirl love but you have never particularly enjoyed?

Maybe you are a Trek hater, or the Indiana Jones films seemed like wretched excess, or you always secretly thought Deadpool was a loser. Maybe you haven't ever been able to express your disdain for the popular bit of geekery in question for fear your friends would ostracize you. But now's your chance! Speak up in the comments and let it all hang out, I know I for one would love to hear about your secret loathing.

As for me, I'd have to answer with Stephen King. I remember liking "The Stand" as a kid, but when I went back to re-read it a few years ago I literally couldn't get past the first fifty pages. I thought the writing wasn't just bad, it was unreadable, from the characters to the actual sentence construction and word choice. I know King's a geek icon, a towering figure in both fantasy and horror genres with millions of rabid fans. But I just don't get it.

Yep, "Misery" sums up my feelings perfectly.

Thinking maybe I hadn't read the "right" stuff that so inspired my fellow geeks, on the recommendation of some online friends I gave the "Dark Tower" series a try a couple of years ago. I managed to force myself to finish the first one, but had to give up after that. Turgid, dull, uninspired, and hackish were the words that came most readily to mind.

I know, I'm very much in the minority on this, but there you have it. Stephen King is my Secret Nerd Shame, a very (very!) popular bit of geekery that I just don't "get".

So now, what's yours?

Anyone who answers in the comments below can ask me any question they like (well, almost any question!) and I'll answer honestly.

I look forward to hearing from you!

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. Or a tennis player. I didn't know how to do math or play tennis, so neither one really panned out, but a close runner-up was to do something with super-heroes. And every day, I get to live that dream.

Which prompted me to wonder:

What is your fondest real-life "Geek Dream"?

In other words, is there something you'd love to do in real life that revolves around your geek life? Maybe you dream of starring in an episode of your favorite show, or to own an original "Star Trek" uniform, or to meet Rob Liefeld in person to get his autograph. Maybe you dream of having a career in the geek world, like working on an actual comic or super-hero movie, or officiating a panel filled with your favorite stars at a big convention.

I'd love to hear what your dream is (or was, if it's since been fulfilled)! In return, you can ask me any question you like about whatever you like, which I will answer either completely truthfully or not at all (in which case you can ask something else). I say that because, come on, there are some things no one should have to know.

Thanks in advance for sharing!

When I was a kid, watching the original "Star Wars" trilogy was practically a religious experience. Those movies flamed the geeky fires of my nerdy little heart. I was already a big sci-fi and comics fan, but that first movie was like nothing I'd ever experienced. For a long, long time, those movies were my favorites, setting the standard by which everything else was measured.

Then I saw "Phantom Menace", a movie so bad (in my opinion) that it tainted the earlier movies, almost ruining them.

Today's Sharing Day is about that kind of experience:

Have you ever loved a geeky franchise or product -- a movie or series of movies, a novel or series of novels, etc. -- only to have a subsequent installment that's so bad, it ruined the entire thing for you?

I'd love to hear if you've had an experience like that. If you respond with your own story in the comments to this post, you can (if you wish) ask me a question about whatever you like, and I'll answer honestly.

Alternatively, I'd also accept answers along the lines of some geeky thing you used to think was awesome, only to revisit it years later to discover that in fact, it blows. For instance, I used to love "The Dukes of Hazzard" TV show when I was a kid. But a few years back I tried to watch an episode and wow, was it horrific. Virtually unwatchable. It was so bad, it reached back in time to taint my feelings of joy as a child.

I think older audiences (raises hand) don't quite appreciate the impact computer games have had on the younger generation. We all talk about movies or books that profoundly influenced us while younger, but I suspect video games have done the same for a lot of folks.

So here's what I would like to know about you:

What computer game (not necessarily an RPG though of course it could be) would you say has had the biggest influence on you in real life?

In return, if you wish you can ask me any question you like about whatever you like, which I will answer either completely truthfully or not at all (in which case you can ask something else). You don't have to ask me anything if you don't want, but I'd still like to hear your answer to the question.

Speaking of which, my answer would be:

"Civilization". Seeing what a big difference location makes to the success of a culture definitely changed how I read history and view other countries. A few years after first being addicted to it, I was at a museum exhibit about the Aztecs, and you could really see how the resources they had starting out shaped the entire culture. Not choosing the "Wheel" tech was a big deal, too. And you could see how Tenochtitlan had to be built around massive irrigation due to the rocky surrounding climate. It was like seeing a game session played out in real life! It also led me to "Guns, Germs, and Steel", a fascinating look at how technology spreads, how resources vary from culture to culture, and how much of a difference early choices make in cultural development.

Plus, it was completely addictive fun!

Now it's your turn!

Certain fundamental disagreements on essential dogma are the hallmark of all great human endeavors. Jews and Christians disagree over the divinity of Christ, Catholics and Protestants have gone to war over the nature of Mary, IT Professionals come to blows about Macs vs. PCs, and of course many, many more.

Perhaps no other question cleaves the Geek Community like this one, however:

"Star Wars" or "Star Trek"?

Further fueling the ongoing philosophical range war is the fact that both properties have manifested themselves in so many ways. Factions develop around "Voyager" and "Enterprise" or "Clone Wars" and video games like "Knights of the Old Republic". Partisans rally around polarizing figures, whether passionately positive supporters like those of the Holy Trinity (Kirk, Spock, McCoy) or equally sincere and vehement hatred like that engendered by Jar Jar Binks.

The time has come to choose sides, my friends. Like a violent Reformation or IT Department "Technology Purge", we're not here to listen to namby-pamby fence-sitting, we're at your door with torches and pitchforks and asking which side you're on, and why. So in the comments, tell us which kind of geek you are, and why you think your "Star" is the One True Nerd Way.

In return for answering the question and telling us all a little more about yourself, if you like you can ask me a question about whatever you wish and I'll do my best to answer it.

Now, cry havoc! And let slip the dogs of (geek) war!

(Image via "FashionablyGeek.com".)

Since Mother's Day is coming up, I thought it would be appropriate to ask you to answer the following question:

What's the best single piece of advice you've ever gotten?

Because we all know moms love to give advice! But it certainly doesn't have to be advice from your mom, although that would be fine too. Maybe it was a book you read, or something your best friend told you, or even a segment on Oprah. It might've been as life changing as "You should take that job" or as mundane as "You'd probably look better without wearing that pink thong on the outside of your leotards, Hydroman."

In return for answering the question and telling us all a little more about yourself, you get the chance to either give me some advice:

I'd like to know what it is about the HeroMachine blog you like, or even better, what you don't like. What you think I do well or what you think I do poorly. What you want to see more of, or less of. What you think I should do to get more readers, or features you'd like to see added or dropped, or really anything else you like, so long as it's about the blog portion of the site and not the actual application.

It's your chance to tell the Man off! For certain values of "Man" that equal "Bald fat guy who writes this blog."

Anyway, here's my answer to the main question:

The best single piece of advice I've ever gotten was from my brother Joey. He said, "The opinions of worthless people are worthless." I've always had a horrible lack of self-confidence, and at one point was really depressed and angsty about what people thought about me. It kind of was controlling my life. When he told me that, I guess I was finally at a point where I could really understand it, because it totally clicked for me. I stopped spending so much time worrying about what people who I didn't even like thought of me, and started spending more time worrying about what the people I loved -- and even more importantly, what I -- thought of me. It was a very liberating conversation and set the stage for a lot of personal happiness.

Now it’s your turn to share the best single piece of advice you've gotten, and hopefully to then give me some advice in return about the blog!

I need a break from Open Critique Days (they'll return next week), but in the meantime I thought it would be fun to have another Sharing Day! We've talked before about geek moments that got you sad or weepy, but today I wanted to talk about nerd-dom's dark underbelly: rage.

Here’s the deal:

You can ask me any question you like about whatever you like, which I will answer either completely truthfully or not at all (in which case you can ask something else). I say that because, come on, there are some things no one should have to know.

But you can only do so if you answer the following question about yourself (note that you don't have to ask me anything, if you'd rather not, but I'd still be interested in your answer):

What's the angriest you've gotten over a piece of geekery, whether it be an RPG session, computer game, movie, novel, or what have you?

Here's my answer for that one:

I think I've mentioned this before, but to this day I still get angry over "Superman III". It was such a desecration of an institution I love that I could feel my face getting flush, my hands clenching into fists, and an uncontrollable urge to find the producers and punch them in the face. Non-geeky friends sometimes ask me why I'm not planning on seeing a given super-hero movie, and "Superman III" is why. When you love something so much, seeing it done poorly is much more painful than just sitting through a random bad movie.

I'm getting pissed just thinking about it, almost thirty years later! What an awful, putrid, offensive train-wreck of a movie. I think the entire Superman movie franchise still hasn't overcome the unholy stench of that film splashed all over the character. Bastards.

Now it’s your turn -- let the stories of anger spill forth!

(Image at the top available as a T-shirt from TeeNormous.com.)