The Professional Gamer - October 5, 2015

Many weeks, I sit down to write this article feeling that I have precious little to talk about with you.  I've had to stay long at work, or been busy with garden chores, or run into another of the myriad distractions that can suck away my fun times.  But, in spite of some cat issues, I had a whole lot of fun this past week.  Read on to see what's been happening in my life.

Reading: I'm currently in the taper prior to my half-marathon run (which is on Sunday, but since I'm composing this on Friday, I won't be able to tell you about my results.  Spoilers, yo!)  But, with less time required for running, I've had more time to read.  I've nearly finished another volume of Pretty Guardian: Sailor Moon.  But, I've left off in the middle of the climatic battle with Nehelenia, Queen of the Dark Moon.  Soon, I'll be into the ultimate story arc, and then finished.  And, my local library has Lumberjanes available for digital loan.  Which led me to reading two more issues last night when I should have been going to bed.

Playing: My gaming this week was again limited to a few minutes of Guild Wars 2, but that's probably not really worth reporting on.

Watching:  First, lets discuss the TV that I've been watching.  I decided to start watching through Doctor Who from the beginning.

No, not that beginning.  This beginning:

Original Doctor Who is somewhat of a mixed bag.  The writing is reflective of its time (i.e. strong white man is basically the hero, while the women are basically left to scream about things).  Sometimes the plots are a bit clunky , and could have been better paced.  However, there is some gold in there.  As silly as they are, the Daleks are still frightening enemies.  And the Doctor is still a mad man with a box.  So far I've watched the first two serials "The Unearthly Child" and "The Daleks", and much prefer these two to "The Aztecs", which I watched last year when it was released on Netflix.  I do wish that the writers had written Susan and Barbara as a bit more clever and brave, but that, maybe, is simply my expectation as a modern viewer looking back on an older work.  I'm going to keep working my way through as many episodes as I can, and we'll discuss them here.

Lastly, I had an opportunity on Wednesday to attend a lecture by Neil deGrasse Tyson.  His talk was entitled "Cosmic Bizarre" and focused on all the weird things that existing in our galaxy, from tardigrades to black holes to dark energy/matter.

That's all I've got for this week.  I hope you all have some geeky fun.  Have a great week and game on!

The Professional Gamer - September 28, 2015

Hello, fellow geeks and other interested parties.  I've finally got that tough project done and am enjoying my reduced workload.  I may still be using most of my lunch time for running (and hence not getting in my usual reading time) but I'm still having a lot of fun with my other activities.  Read on to see what I've been doing.

Playing: I haven't had a huge amount of free time for video games this week, but I did spend some time playing Guild Wars 2 after I'd had enough with work last weekend.  Sometimes, I feel like GW2 is the methadone to the heroin that is World of Warcraft.  At least I'm avoiding an expensive habit.

Watching: I've nearly finished watching the Good Eats episodes that are available on Netflix.  All that remains is Pumpkin Pie! But, I also found out that the latest Doctor Who Christmas special is now available, so I will be watching that very soon.  And, I watched the latest episode of Steven Universe: "Catch and Release".  I have a lot of feeling about this episode.  I feel like this is our first chance to see Peridot as more than a threat/annoyance; and that's a really good thing.  I'm also glad that Steven's constant kindness to her seems to have paid off in some degree of trust.  Also, sounds like there is some spooky stuff going on with Earth, and some sort of experimental gem  thing may blow the whole planet up.  We can only hope that the Crystal Gems will be able to avert disaster.

That's all I have for this week.  Come back next week, and I should have a bit more for you to read.  If you haven't already, have a listen to our conversation with Laurissa and Crystal about their experience at Nan Desu Kan 2015.  Have a great week, and game on!

The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 214

Just posted Episode 214 of our podcast, in which we discuss the Artist Alley experience at NDK with Crystal and Laurissa.  Check it out!

The Professional Gamer - September 21, 2015

After 60+ hours of work this week, I haven't had a lot of time to myself.  I did manage to get out for my lunch time running on Monday - Thursday.  As of Friday night while I'm writing this, the only other thing that it feels like I've done this week is watch a few more episodes of Good Eats.  I will be heading over to the Denver Small Press Fest tomorrow, and will report back what I find later.  Hopefully, I can find some more time next week to have fun.  Check back here again next week.

NDK Costume Contest!

This took longer then I wanted it to, but I finally when through the pictures that I took for the NDK Costume Contest. Now these are not all the pictures I had, just the ones I liked best, so if you see something you like please feel free to ask my "rejects" and I can get them to you. Enjoy!

You can all see these at THIS PAGE as well.

Don't forget, Small Press Fest Denver is tomorrow.  Go check it out and support your local artists/authors/creatives.

The Professional Gamer - September 14, 2015

I'm back now from NDK, and, as you may have read here, I had a great time.  That being sad, what did I find to do with the time that I had for the remainder of the week.  I did manage to spend Labor Day at home, and therefore, got to enjoy my free time a lot.

Reading: In the whole week, I read about 5 pages of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.  I only have a few weeks left of my intense running program (training for a half-marathon), and then I should have my lunch time free for reading again.

Playing: Almost all of my video game time this week was spent going through my StreetPass on Nintendo 3DS.  Nan Desu Kan is a great place to meet people because there is a huge crossover between anime fans and Nintendo fans.

Watching: On Monday, I binge watched all of the episodes of My Love Story!! that were available on Hulu (which is a few weeks behind the CrunchyRoll release schedule).  I love the show so much, primarily because Takeo and Yamato are such huge dorks and don't know what to do with themselves.  This is another case of "not your typical shoujo" and I strongly recommend it.  I also found out the Food Network changed out the collection of Good Eats episodes that area available on Netflix streaming, and have been watching those too.

That's all that I've got for this week

NDK Attendance Reaches New Record

NDK has let me know the estimated attendance for 2015, and it is a dozy. The registration department's best guess is 9,200 people. That is 1,700 more then the previous years attendance cap! Here is to the continued growth of our favorite anime convention.