False Positive

“Webcomic Tales of the surreal, fantastic, & macabre”

The art is what drew me in to this one. I’m not the biggest fan of horror, gore, or over-the-top tentacle-and-eyeball crazy. I hang out with the kids when the wife has her horror movie nights, making sure that they’re playing nice and getting their fair share of the popcorn. But, I tell you what, I loves me some good artwork.

False Positive has amazing artwork. The artwork is so good that it kept me around for the horror, the gore, and the tentacle-and-eyeball crazy. It drew me in so completely that I find myself reading through the comments, guessing right along with other readers about what the next plot twist will be.

Big Mike can twist a plot.

Compared to many in my ridiculously long list of webcomics in my RSS reader, I’m a newcomer to this one. It took two or three comics to suck me in to reading through the full archive of Season 1. It’s currently in the fourth chapter of Season 2, and has dipped into Sci-Fi. This pleases me.

The comic updates on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s worth your time to eyeball. http://falsepositivecomic.com/

 

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Daddy’s Little Girl

IMG_20130607_085233My little girl can soak up attention like a sponge. We had her second birthday party yesterday, and it went off unbelievably well. Family and friends came by to celebrate and to spoil her with amazing presents and fun. She played with cousins that she hadn’t seen in a long time, was hugged by aunts, uncles, grandparents, and pretty much everyone else. The cute level was off the charts.

Two years ago today, my daughter was born, and it changed my life forever. Happy Birthday, Acelyn Elizabeth Crampton. I love you.

Batman Beyond

Batman BeyondTerry McGinniss makes a good Batman. There, I’ve said it.

Yeah, he’s a teen. He’s got a problem with authority, has high school problems, and has trouble learning to think before he acts. But he’s got redeeming qualities, too! He facepalms with the best of them.

I’d watched Batman: The Animated Series as a teen, and I had hoped that Batman Beyond would be a faithful continuation of that saga. While my hopes were misplaced, this show was worth watching in its own right.

My favorite characters weren’t the protagonists. I loved the concept of Inque. Commissioner Barbara Gordon was beautifully complex, and they didn’t shy away from her feelings about having been Batgirl, let alone her issues surrounding the Robins. Max does an amazing job of being Terry’s Lucius Fox, badass and vulnerable on top of ridiculously helpful. Don’t get me started on Henry Rollins as Mad Stan. I’d squee for HOURS.

I hated the Cobra gang. I couldn’t separate it from G.I. Joe, especially when they started giving nods to it. The new Royal Flush Gang were far more interesting adversaries.

The setting was a ridiculously large leap forward in time. From the 1950’s retro Gotham of Batman: The Animated Series to the hypertechnological Gotham of Batman Beyond was more than a one or two generation jump. And yet, in the intro, when I see old Gotham dwarfed by the titanic skyscrapers, I feel the thrill for that future that Marvel’s 2099 comics could never pull off. Let’s face it, Gotham doesn’t do anything half-ass.

I have (purely by accident, I assure you) addicted both the 12-year-old and the 4-year-old to this series. I found it on Netflix Streaming; check it out if you’re so inclined.

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Farscape

FarscapeWhen Netflix didn’t have all of the episodes of SG:U available for streaming, it was understandable. It was still relatively new, and barely out on DVD. When they ran out of their streaming licenses for Farscape halfway through watching, I got a wee bit irritated. Frelling trelks!

Once again, the Capital Area District Library came through. It had every episode on DVD, as well as the concluding movie.

Out of all of the twists and turns, the back and forth between Crighton and Scorpius, the magnificence of the aliens (played by actors and animatronic puppets), I think that what stuck with me most was the ebb and flow of Crighton’s madness. I cackled with glee every time he’d let loose with a string of unhinged TV and movie references, possibly grow a beard, and risk everyone’s lives on a gut feeling.

The writers weren’t afraid to make fun of themselves, either. They regularly referenced other science fiction, in print, film, and TV. Even their golden boy, Crighton, was confronted with his “wacky hi-jinks” and “everyman charm.”

I was completely pulled in. The characters quickly developed depth. The setting was enormous and detailed. The special effects were both cheesy and grand enough to satisfy me. The episodes forwarded the metaplot at a good pace, with a healthy peppering of smaller story arcs and alien-of-the-week  to prevent BSG-level heaviness.

I cared about what would happen to Crighton, to Aeryn, to D’argo, to Moya and Pilot, and even to Scorpius. Between the WTF ending of the series and the right-in-the-feels ending of the follow up movie, I’m left satisfied. Farscape is well worth the watch. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to learn how to hum the 1812 Overture.

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Woody’s Oasis

We have a lot of good food around here. A lot of really enjoyable, delicious food. So much so that I stare, open-mouthed, at people who bemoan the lack of anything to do. All you need to do, good friend, is go out there and eat!

Woody’s Oasis is where I first ate falafel. Woody’s is also where I fell in love with falafel. If Batman had gone there before he strung up Gordon’s corrupt partner, he would have taken care not to spill the falafel all over Gotham’s sidewalks.

DON’T SPILL THE FALAFEL, BATMAN!

Woody’s has a falafel sandwich, which is really a wrap, with pickled veggies and a tahini sauce that ties it all together. I pull a Pavlov’s dog and start drooling as soon as I think about unwrapping that crinkly paper wrapper, exposing the soft flatbread underneath… *AHEM* It’s a really good sandwich.

They also have great hummus, as well as a pretty good salad. They also have selections of store-made desserts, imported juices, and a full menu of stuff that I have yet to try. As of right now, they’ve got two locations – one on Trowbridge Road in East Lansing (new building!), and one on Jolly Road, between Okemos Road and Hulett Road in Okemos.

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Energy Locked Away

The Voltaic Age was not what I imagined it would be. Energy makes me think of lightning, of laser beams, of the plasma in the sun, and in weather like hurricanes and tornadoes.  I did not expect rusty gears, cliff faces, rocky gorges, and a deflated air skiff. There was some head-scratching upon my arrival.

Every accessible door was locked, save one. Near the river, there was a manhole that allowed access to an underground door. Opening the door allowed access to a piston that engaged… something. Nearly every piece of machinery that comprised the energy infrastructure for the Age had been disengaged, jammed, or broken. Hydroelectric, steam, and mechanical all needed to be reactivated and funneled in the correct direction. As I bent my head to the task, it was difficult to discern which repairs were set up as puzzles by Atrus for his sons and which were broken and disjointed by Saavedro.

Riding on the air skiff was far more fun than I expected. I knew it had been coming as soon as I’d determined where energy needed to flow, but it still took me off-guard. My fun turned to awe as I completed the Age, and saw more of the energy that I had originally anticipated than what the puzzles of the Age had brought me to expect. I found a second linking book back to J’nanin and breathed a sigh of accomplishment.

One of three down.

I took the sigil I’d received to the observatory and unlocked a new message from Saavedro. What he’s done is monstrous, but what has been done to him, if he’s telling the truth, is just as monstrous. Sirrus and Achenar left more damage in their wake than what they’d done to Myst and its Ages. My anger at them is impotent now, after what Atrus had done to their prison Books in the Myst library. Nothing more can be done to them, but Saavedro, if he’s not lying, is still trying. I’m not sure if he can be talked down, but having all of the facts might make a difference.

For now, on to Edanna, the nature Age. “Nature encourages mutual dependence.”

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Exiled and Exploring

A few years back, I wrote about my history with Atrus. Yesterday, I went back to J’nanin, the training Age. The lunatic’s name is Saavedro, but he’s no longer in the observatory, which is mounted on the center tusk of the island.  I’ve wandered a bit, found his journal (which was missing quite a few pages, but still managed to be both horrifying and enlightening). Thanks to clues found there, I’d figured out a way in to the observatory via the back door, and viewed his taunting message to Atrus. He’d linked away, though, as soon as I’d found a way in. If I want the Book to Releeshahn, I’m going to have to play his game. I’m going to have to follow in the steps of Sirrus and Achenar, and learn what Atrus tried to teach his sons twenty years ago.

I’ve figured out how to redirect the sound to the strange plant buds near the nature Age bridge. I can get to the tusk, but not inside it. I’ve also aligned the light beams across the island to route around the broken prism, and recorded their order. That allowed me in the (mechanical, energy?) tusk, but I did not now how to arrange the pebbles. I’d seen a similar layout inside the observatory, so I headed back there.

After I found the right viewport, I arranged the angled image over its twin on the tusk as closely as I was able. I recorded the pebble positions, and then duplicated them inside the tusk. Something clicked, and a metal basket descended from above. It contained a linking Book, and was titled “Voltaic.” An energy Age, not a mechanical one, then. Too much to hope for to revisit the Mechanical Age that I linked to from Myst, it seems.

So, here I go again. Let’s hope that this lesson teaches me something about energy and balance. What was the phrase in that notebook Atrus gave me right before I left?

“Energy powers future motion.”

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