Y tú baja mamá, tambien. (Thank you high school Spanish class!)

   I wanted to post a link to an excellent short film that is soon to be released as a longer film, which I'm rather dubious about.

  I'm referring to the short "Mama". While only a few minutes long, it has a powerfully visceral impact. While it eschews an extensive plot I think the mood it conjures says more than many feature-length films I've seen.

   Its genius is in its brevity and the sincerity of its young actresses. You don't often see that level of believability in child actors, and they should be lauded for their performances.

   I'll check out the full-length version when it's available for home markets, but I'm concerned that what is beautiful, and most powerful, about the short will be ruined by killing the mystery of it all.

   Regardless, I highly suggest you check it out at the provided link.

Mamá- original short.

Oh, Nvidia. Baby, no...

Desktop and Mobile hardware maker Nvidia surprised the world at CES last night by introducing a handheld device will allow you to control Android apps via both touch and physical controls. This, of course, includes Google's burgeoning stable of gaming apps.

The device, called "Shield", has a 5-inch retinal display, an HDMI-out port, and supports micro-SD cards for additional storage. Evidently it also supports streaming content from PC, which is a rather odd inclusion since the tech still has a ways to go to my understanding.

The inclusion of hardware controls is the most appealing prospect for me, but as you all know, it's completely pointless if developers don't support add support for the device. HDMI is an attractive feature as well.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the device's premier showcase was the revelation of Mad Finger's Dead Trigger 2. It certainly made me think more than a little of PC classic "Painkiller"

Dead Trigger 2 footage.

A quiet day, much enjoyed.

   I had a lovely day with the kids today, We watched a few "Spooky" YouTube videos, which the kids always enjoy.

   I picked up Left 4 Dead again last night. I'd have to say that the L4D series is my favorite of this console generation. Normally a simple, straightforward shooter would not be terribly interesting to me but Valve got the basics so right, and the atmosphere so perfect, that I can't help but love it.

   It was also one of the first games that my daughters really grew to love. Learning to navigate in a 3D space with a controller, while second-nature to gamers nowadays, is a pretty complex skill for people to learn, and my girls learned how on Left 4 Dead.

   I'm also slowly, but surely, worming my way through "The Walking Dead" by Telltale games. It's been receiving many Game of the year accolades lately. So far as I've gone through it, it seems well-deserved.

  I'm definitely making progress on "Heart-Shaped Box" and am thoroughly enjoying it. Next up is "These Lonely Place" by R.K. Combrinck, whose blog you can find in my link section. There is so much excellent literature out there that I need to catch up on, it can seem overwhelming at times.

   Work has yet to start on next week's story, though I plan to develop an outline very soon and get cracking on things.

   Until we meet again, dear hypothetical reader.

What a lesson!

  When I first decided to write stories for this blog as a means of strengthening my writing abilities, I did so in a rather cavalier manner.

   In truth, I even decided to go with the flash- fiction format as I thought it would be easier. Nothing could be further from the truth! Being confined to 1,000 words forced edit after edit to make some sort of cohesive plot.

   Redundant words and purple prose had to be culled, and it was one of the most mentally taxing activities I've enjoyed in a long, long time. I'd like to say I learned a lot but that would imply a finality I'm uncomfortable with.

   I'm learning a lot. I'm unlearning a lot, as well. I feel like with my first piece of fiction as an adult I've taken a very important step, if not a grand one. A baby-step then.

  Please, enjoy the story. Leave a comment, if you'd like. I make no claims as to its quality, as my goal at this stage of the game is just to make sense and hopefully not insult the reader's intelligence.

                                                      *****

                                                  Hypoxia

   Marcus was a big man, and it took a lot to bring him down. Lately, however, he hadn't been himself. His easy smile no longer came easily, nor shown as brightly.

   People were starting to get curious about the changes, and he couldn't blame them. As he clocked out of work that night and slipped on his headphones he stopped to think on all the curious things that had happened to him this year. The divorce. Being a weekend dad. Losing his car. It had all been unexpected and somehow inevitable. He hadn't exactly been shocked when his ex-wife broke the news to him, but he was convinced that nobody ever was. He surely wasn't a boyscout, but he knew that he wasn't an asshole.
  
   He braced himself against the cold as he exited the building. Home was a long ways off and a decent winter coat was just one more thing on his already expansive list of things he needed to buy. There just never seemed to be enough money, or hours in a day, or anything, these days.

   He did count himself lucky on that cold, clear December night though. He may miss seeing his sons daily. He might even, if pressed, admit to occasionally missing his ex-wife. One thing he didn't miss was the constant drama of the past few years. His new life had its share of challenges, but they were far from the opera he had found himself in before the divorce.

  The six mile walk to, and from, work had become so ingrained in his day that he pretty much didn't even notice it anymore. He just slipped on his headphones, got lost inside his own head, and before he knew it he was where he needed to be. He would never admit it, but it was his favorite part of the day. It kept him fit, and gave him much-needed time for introspection.

  Even with the constant distraction provided by the headphones, and his incessant daydreaming, Marcus tried to stay alert on his walks. It wasn't that town was dangerous. The entire length of highway he walked had a nice, wide sidewalk and he'd never actually came across another traveler on foot. Sometimes, when there was no traffic, he felt like the last man on Earth.

   It was on one such night that Marcus noticed a young woman slinking up from what he'd always assumed to be an abandoned house which sat off the road a piece. Much like the house, she was small and carried an air of neglect. Too-thin lips sat crookedly on a too-sharp face. To Marcus, though she was obscured in darkness, it looked like she had seen hard times.

   As she matched his pace, slightly behind him, he hoped that he could just keep his headphones on and be left alone. It had been a long day and he would have to leave the house at sunrise to get to work on time in the morning. He wasn't in the mood for company, especially at such an odd hour, and coming from a house he had passed many times and never seen a sign of life. The whole situation stank, and he lowered the volume on his music so he could listen.

  "Hey, man. You got a phone I can use?" She asked. He didn't reply, hoping that she would think he hadn't noticed and just leave him alone. "Hey, man. Your phone?" she asked louder this time. Marcus emphatically didn't want this shady chick handling his phone. "Sorry, it's not a phone. Just one of those cheap mp3 players" he lied, hoping she would take his word for it.

  "Shit, man. I really need to get to a phone to call a cab." she said. "You got a phone at your house?". He wasn't sure how to respond in a way that would get her to go away quickest. "I do, but my place is 4 miles away. You'll find a ride sooner by hitchhiking." he said, though he was uncomfortable suggesting anyone hitchhike on this lonesome stretch of highway.

  Marcus turned back toward home and raised his phone's volume again. He was blissfully alone again, and free to be lost in his music and flights of fancy. He didn't feel good about lying, but he didn't like the situation. The shady woman. The abandoned house. The whole scene rubbed him the wrong way. She might be cooking meth in there! She looked the part.

  As he eased on down the road, his conscious pricked at him. Really, what would letting her use the phone risk? It wasn't exactly new. He turned around and tried to catch the girl before she got picked up.

  When he got back to the darkened house, the girl was not out front. Marcus was certain that there hasn't been any cars in either direction, so where had she gone?

  Turning to face the house, his breath-cloud hitched in the cold air. Where else?

  Slowly, he crept toward the door. The knob was slack. broken. It twisted impotently in his hand as he opened the door. Something heavy crinkled behind the door, stopping it short. Marcus shoved his shoulder into it and everything gave way.

  Stepping into the decay and dark, his voice couldn't hide his fear. "Miss? You in here? I'VE GOT A PHONE!" he cried. No reply save deafening emptiness. The small house was truly deserted. He laughed at his wild imagination. She had obviously walked off in the other direction.

  Numb with relief, he turned toward the door and stumbled over what had blocked it. He fell on the tarp amid a racket of crinkling sounds. A sickening wave took hold as he saw the oblong parcel.

  The clear tarp had been wrapped around the object so much that it was almost translucent. Almost.

  He was face-to-face with the girl from the road, her long-dead face stuck in a desperate last gasp for oxygen she would never find.

                                                     *****
 

 
 

A quick update!

  I've been pecking away at Joe Hill's "Heart-Shaped Box" despite some unexpected, but not unwanted, obstacles. My children have been at my place all week and have been occupying me constantly.

  As a little gift I will include a few links to some really neat bite- sized webcomics I've been exposed to courtesy of www.Neogaf.com .

  Speaking of bite-sized stories, I've also been working on a piece of flash-fiction for a planned weekly feature called "Flash-fiction Fridays". Each Friday there will be a new story awaiting you, never to exceed 1,000 words. You come in, have a quick fiction snack, and get the hell out and go on about your business. Nobody gets too attached, and I get to work on my chops.

  So those links I was referring to:
His Face All Red-
http://emcarroll.com/comics/faceallred/01.html

Bongcheun-Dong Ghost-
http://m.comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=350217&no=31&seq=

Enjoy, ya' filthy animals!

Hold up. Comics? Where are the cats and lasagne?

  Recently I've been bemoaning the sad fact that I haven't read anything other than web content in many a long year.

  To remedy this I have made good use of eBook marketplaces that didn't really exist back in the day to pick up quite a few books and graphic novels that I've heard great things about over the years.

   In this post I'd like to focus on the comics, since they are serial in nature and it may be months before I "finish" these series.

   I started off with volume 1 of Joe Hill's acclaimed "Locke & Key" series. It tells the story of a family who, upon losing their husband and father, return to his ancestral home of Key House.

   I won't spoil the story for you, which is excellent so far. I've found it at turns chilling and touching, with a real dusting of fantasy to it. Few things get my motor running like a good haunted house story, and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the Locke family's tale.

   Having previously not bought a comic book in over 20 years, I was heartened by my experience with Locke & Key and my enjoyment of the "Walking Dead" video game. I took the initiative and also bought Volume 1 of Robert Kirkman's "Walking Dead" comics.

   I'll be honest, I'm a huge zombie fan since small times and was very excited for the television series when it was announced but couldn't gather much enjoyment from it once I actually got to watch it. I knew the WD universe was something I should, by all measures, love but it just didn't click with me until I played the marvelous adventure game by Telltale software.

   Now, I'm tackling the game, the comics, and the television series all at once. I heartily suggest you try all three. The game is it's own story, and the comic and show are so different, so quickly that they really only compliment each other. Almost as if they are branching, alternative realities so far.

  I intend to stick with both stories on a regular basis. If you know of any other great horror comics I'd love to hear of them, so feel free to leave a comment. Years back I read all the old EC horror comics and would just die to find a place selling digital copies, so please inform me of a source if you know of one.

  Currently I've just started reading "Heart Shaped Box", also by Joe Hill. What can I say? The man impressed me. As soon as I finish that, I'll be certain to post my impressions.

Introductions are in order

  Hello there. My name is Chris and I am a guy in his thirties just trying to pick up the pieces after a difficult marriage, all the while balancing being the best weekend dad I can be and trying to improve myself.

Since I started trying to build my life again around 10 months ago I've been mostly focusing on learning healthy eating habits and making healthy lifestyle changes. To that end I've started walking to, and from, work and logging every I eat.
 
I've had some tremendous success and have lost 120 pounds so far, and intend to lose 70 more. Besides weight loss, though, there are many other ways I want to improve my lot in life with the coming new year.

This blog is an attempt on my part to improve my writing and to hopefully get to interact with some like-minded folks. I plan to discuss things related to video gaming, horror media, and technology but don't be surprised to see the occasional fitness or personal entry.

I'm learning a lot about life and who I am and, if you're interested, I'd like to invite you along on my journey.