Art and Time-Fear

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Well then, let’s blog.

Reading, hrm. It seems I only finished one book this week. I will mention I’m in the middle of a second, but this series runs long. I read the second of the Bog Standard Isekai series, and it was decent. A bit too much zombie invasion stuff, but otherwise good. I’m on the third one right now… still good so far, but yes, very long.

Didn’t do much of watching anything, just a Patrick Willems vid about a movie I don’t care about, but some conversation about Steven Spielberg’s directing. Which had me pondering… do I actually care about any of his films? Well Raider’s is great… I oddly love Hook… hrm.. Catch Me if you Can is a very fun story. But yeah, I don’t think I’m really his audience if I’m being honest. Oh well.

As for other things. I’m still doodling. I feel I finished the picture I was drawing for my son, and I think I did very well… but I’m still staring my journey. I’m currently trying to make something with a different pose. I’d been focusing on straight on or profile pictures… now I’m trying to push myself… it’s difficult. I may be working on this one for awhile. Samantha has shown me something she took offense too. Apparently some artist are taking 3d models, and posing them, then drawing what they want on top of it, making poses easier to draw. While I think it’s not quite tracing, I do feel there is a bit of an element on that front. I did mention those wooden posable figures some artist use, but again, you don’t just take a picture of it and… work over that image. You just stare at it, and try your best to use that for your picture. She said in her mind it would be better to learn how to draw without such crutches. She’s taking the stance that one shouldn’t rely on technology, and learn the basics. Which I understand. However, as I don’t trust my dexterity yet to utilize pen or pencil, I’m stuck using a mouse… heh. So I guess I’m trying to learn visually first, than how to control my hand.

As for diet and exercise… my weight at the beginning of the week was slightly down over last Monday, and here at the end I’m slightly above. Okay, I guess. As my scale keeps insisting that I’m healthier at a heavier weight I shall keep bulking. I slightly changed my diet, and used grass-fed beef instead of corned-beef, which I think is slightly more calories due to the amount, a pound of meet vrs a small can, so perhaps that’s the difference.

As to why I changed to that, well I believe I stated my blood-pressure was higher than I wanted most of last week, and I wanted to see if it was due to salt. Hrm, kinda I guess? It was still a little up a couple of days… but it’s fine now. As it was this time last week. So maybe not?

Moodwise, I was fine. Any issues could be pointed towards being hyperfocused on drawing, and not being able to do so… and feeling overwhelmed easily because I couldn’t participate in drawing for much time. I believe I discovered an issue with myself. I think I have something I’m calling time-fear. Nothing feels like long enough, and I need to feel like I have time before I do anything. Perhaps this is why I’m always early to everything, because that’s my focus at the time. My goal, be it going to work, or drawing, takes precedence over everything else, and I will become agitated if anything interrupts that. Even the feeling that I don’t have time for something. Yikes. Hopefully with this insight I will be able to modulate that stress going forward, but we shall see.

Anyway, that’s all I have for now. I hope you all have a great week.

TTFN

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.

Phoenician Scheme

Well now, it looks like I’ve some stuff to tag about. BLOG!

First up, reading. I finished 3 books this week. The latest in The Primal Hunter, an excellent read. It makes me sad I sometimes can’t find things as well written and or fun, but it’s always nice when one comes along. The next was the latest in the Absolute Mastery series. These books go by very fast, so that’s nice. Never lingering on anything, they can be page turners, even if as literary works they cannot compare to other things I enjoy more. But, cultivation and constant upgrading powers, fun. Okay, I tried to start reading a couple of books, one was a sequel to a series I’ve been reading, and I just couldn’t get in the mood for. Another was a new cultivation series about farming. I got about 35% through, and just couldn’t justify reading it. It’s either poorly translated, or poorly written… perhaps both. Maybe I’ll go back just to knock it out, but it wasn’t matching my mood. So I decided to look around for something, and boy did i find an enjoyable series. I just started the second book, because that first one was excellent. It’s called Bog Standard Isekai. And yup, dude gets reincarnated into a young kids body alone in a town where the undead come every night. Yes there are fight scenes, and well written ones, but it’s mostly about addressing dealing with coming into a new world in a body that doesn’t making up with who you were… and of course leveling up stats, hehehe. You, I’m happy with this, and am looking forward to the next four books that I believe are out already!

As for watching things, Samantha and I watched The Phoenician Scheme. As always I’m a fan of Wes Anderson films, and I did enjoy this one. It took a moment for me to get into it, as our main character is quite unlikable, but as the story unfolds it really does something interesting. Yes everyone is quirky, and the humor is dry as usual, so lovely for me. But what the story does is meditate upon religion… somewhat from an atheist perspective. All the while having a somewhat respectful take. I’m not going to say it’s my favorite from Wes Anderson, but it is good. My emotional experience with Astroid City makes that one my favorite… and I have a big soft spot for The Life Aquatic, so they remain my top picks, but yes, I can safely say I could watch this movie again.

Oh, uh, it was my birthday this week. I got some drawing things, and I’ll be getting a replacement of jewelry that somehow went missing. Sigh, my poor silver necklace charm that I’d been wearing for around 20 years finally fell off and disappeared. My ex-wife got it for me, and I’ve been mourning its loss. But what can you do?

Hrm, otherwise I’ve need drawing. I’m working on a piece, for myself and for my son… I’m not going to share it with many folks, as it’s kinda for the universe, but not for anyone. Not that it makes sense to say it like that, I just feel that it’s… not a penance for my loss, but more a thing I feel compelled to complete. I’m really getting into hands right now, they are super fun and intriguing. Yes, they are difficult to make well, but oh so rewarding when they turn out well. In the end, it’s something that in some small way lets my son into the world again.

Anyway, diet and exercise. Well, I was up a pound over last week’s start, yikes. I assume it was because of the delicious Masala and the oh so rich red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing I had for my birthday celebration. However, I’m right back to where I was a couple of weeks ago at the end of the week… so I guess that’s good? My fat-free body weight is up, as is my muscle mass… according to the scale, so I guess things are going well. My increased exercise routine seems to be working out! I’ve recently discovered my way of doing pushups… kinda was off. I was still doing them correctly and everything, but I wasn’t doing the style I thought I was… so I’m doing that now. I felt it in the arms more this time around, so good!

As for mood… hrm. Nothing drastic, just slight dread now and again. Paying attention to my blood pressure, it was slightly elevated all week, save today. I hadn’t changed my diet during the week, so I’m unsure what the cause was… I’m planning on changing an ingredient with my beans next week to check something out… if it doesn’t help, welp, I’ve a couple of options to pursue, neither option makes me happy, but we do what we must to be the best version of ourselves.

Anyway, that’s it for now. I hope you all have a great week.

TTFN

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.

Just a Week, and My Music Enjoyment

Uh oh, we’re in trouble, someone can around and burst our bubble…. Uh, blog time?

Welp, only finished 2 books this time around. Both in the World of Magic series. You see, I’m almost done with a third, but it’s long. As for the books I did read, decent enough. But, ya know, I’m thinking that sometimes I want something more. Which the book I’m on right now is satisfying. Yippee. Hint… a long series with a Hunter

Anyway, what have I been up to? Uh, I can’t say I watched anything, not really. Just more Doc Martin… again. I’m in the second season once more. Still a quite satisfying show. Otherwise it was just more random YouTube.

I’m still playing around drawing stuff. But I tell you what, my dang shoulder isn’t happy with me. Well, it’s fine currently, but by the time my weekend is over it does ache. Apparently spending hours in strange positions drawing with a mouse will do that to you. But it’s a ton of fun, and has given me the opportunity to listen through all the music I’ve built up over the years. I’d pondered listening to other things…aka YouTube stuff, or other streaming services, but meh. I’m happy enough to hear things I know I love.

Listening to music for me is a complicated thing. They get stuck in my head… for days at a time now and again. Which let me tell you doesn’t help me sleep. I get like a lyric or a particular interesting piece of music lodged in my brain, and it plays on repeat FOREVER! But apparently when I’m only listening with half my attention while doing other things it winds up being fine. So finally I can enjoy music again without going mad!

As for diet and exercise, welp an interesting week. I was up a pound over last Monday… then I’m down a pound over last week. Honestly I’m lighter than I was at the beginning of the month. So that’s strange. I haven’t change my diet, so who knows? I suppose I did up some reps on some things… and okay, I did add one more routine to my daily workout. So maybe that’s it? From what I can tell my overall muscle mass is larger… so that’s good. Oh well, I guess I keep doing what I’ve done, and see where this goes.

As for mood. Well now, it was pretty good. Had a slight downer Monday before work, but that’s kinda normal. My blood pressure rises over the weekend… likely because I loosen the shackles of my diet slightly then. And well, Monday at work always comes with unknown situations that must be faced. You know, usual stress from shifting from relaxation to job mentality. But yeah, overall a decent week.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Not much to report, but I do it anyway. I hope you all have a great week.

TTFN

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.

In Which I Speak About My Past With Art

Ah jeez, here we go again,

Welp it looks like I finished reading 3 books this week. The second in the Adventures on Brad was first… eh… it was okay. I’m still not sold on the tense being used, but it was fine. Then I read the next in the Absolute Mastery series… decent as usual. And finally the first book in World of Magic by Levi Werner. I wasn’t sold at first, as some of it felt a little lazy, naming-wise… but that was explained later. Dude is messed up in an accident at work, and is basically paralyzed. But is given the chance to join an immersive MMO permanently… so does so. Now he’s fully in the game, pain and all… but like a player, if he dies he’ll come back. I like the setting, and the world building… I will say the stats and such can be a bit much, as they are highly repetitive, but I tend to gloss over those after I’ve seen them before… thus making it a decent read.

As for watching things, wound up watching more of the Korean drama Goblin/Guardian with Samantha. While I do love this show, as it can be down right silly while still being a tear jerker… the dang Goblin himself can be at times a big ol’jerk. Now I can… accept/explain his behavior by way of understanding he’s immortal and thus very old, and also in constant pain with the sword through his chest, he’s giving mixed signals constantly to the main girl… not cool my dude. The last couple of episodes have been him just being like an overprotective boyfriend, while pushing her away… bah. Oh well, I know how it ends, so I’m fine. Samatha is frustrated with him… but hopefully we’ll be able to finish it. Heh.

As for other things… still drawing. I’m really enjoying making shadows and highlights. But dang clothes are hard. I mean, I can do the shapes, but texture and folds… whew. I’m gonna be doing some more practice this weekend I think, so fingers crossed for improvement. But yeah, I’m having a ton of fun. I did get to show off some of my stuff to some friends, and they are encouraging, so that was nice. I’ve drawn up four pieces, but I’m not sure if anything is finished. I keep wanting to go back and fix things as I improve. Oh well, sure is interesting to see a skill I haven’t really used in years coming back better than ever.

So a bit of backstory. When I was young, let’s say elementary age.. I was decent at art. I could draw most things fairly accurately, at least enough for it to be better than recognizable. To through middle school I kept at it now and again… then high school came along, and… well, I feel I wasn’t allowed to take any artistic classes. All science and math. Now I got really good at math, scoring awards every year, so that’s neat. But my artistic side was never fully fulfilled. I wish I could have been able to draw more, or even join choir or something. But I didn’t. Admittedly I don’t know how much of a choice I had, as my parents kept pushing me away from that front. Some of that may have been my own lack of pushing back, but it’s hard to say how they might have reacted had I fought for such a path. But then seeing my sister being allowed to do such things didn’t help my disposition. I again don’t know how much she fought for it, or if they simply allowed her to do as she pleased… oh well. I’m just happy as an adult I’ve been able to pursue such things… writing, singing, and once more visual art.

Becoming an adult is getting over your childhood, as I like to say.

Anyway, Diet and exercise. I started this week weight-wise about where I was the previous one, and I ended slightly higher. Only like .4 of a pound. So alright? I will say however my reps have increased, and I’m feeling stronger. My fat free body weight, and muscle mass has increased, which makes sense, so that’s cool. So yeah, I think my bulking is going well. It’s slow, but steady.

Mood-wise, pretty decent. My reading downs, though there was some issue with a work thing that I won’t get into. But hopefully that’ll be refunded shortly. All in all, I’ve been doing well. It seems my combination of getting enough omega 3’s, and keeping my blood pressure consistently at good levels is truly helping. There may be other factors I’m not accounting for, but yeah.. I think I’ve got this.

Welp, that’s all for now. I hope you have a great week

TTFN

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.

The Kid Who Would be King, and Art

Well hello there, shall we blog?

So up first, I finished reading 4 books this week. The first one was A Healers Gift. It was okay… but it was written by an author I’ve enjoyed before, so I pushed through. Their use of tenses feels wrong, but it’s a decent enough story. The last book I finished was the sequel, so, I guess I’m okay with the books? Anyway, I also read another book in the Absolute Mastery series, yup, more of the same… decent. And I salt read the latest in the Unintended Cultivator series. Oh yeah buddy, give me the good stuff. So overall a decent week of reading.

So we watched The Kid Who Would Be King. I’d heard it was decent before, and I was randomly served a clip and thought, oh yeah, I meant to watch this. So we rented it, and gave it a go. The fire horses and knights looked really cool… but like, were they really a danger, they fall apart if they’re tripped… sigh. Honestly it’s a decent enough kids film, but sadly I found the plot to be a bit flimsy here and there. Dues ex machina all the things! The best part of the film, for me at least, is all the Merlin stuff. The clip I saw was with him, so that’s why I felt compelled to watch it, and yeah, he’s amusing, but sadly it doesn’t make up for what I would call… simplistic writing. Oh well. If ya got kids, or are willing to ignore some of that, it’s fun enough.

Oh buddy. I did some more arting… uh, am I actually good at this stuff? I mean, it looks surprisingly good to me. Again, I’m not sharing here, but I’ve had some folks take a gander, and they liked it. What’s really surprising to me is looking at a doodle I did a few months back, and the huge difference. I’m getting all the good vibes from playing around, so I’ll probably continue. I plan on starting a new one, this one doing some anatomy work, so we’ll see how that goes, but what I’ve done with a head is… shockingly good to my eyes. I didn’t think I could do this stuff. Years and years ago I had doodled, and it was okay, but I kinda set it aside. And now out of the blue, I’m kinda good? Of course it doesn’t hurt that Samantha is an excellent artist and I’ve watched her draw amazing things over the years. That and we discuss the process often enough. I guess I picked up on some things. That and one of the YouTube channels we used to frequent, SINIX Design, talks about how they draw. So here I am, having fun with this instead of playing games. Go Linux powered Krita! Heh.

Anyway, diet and exercise time. So… I was a pound heavier at the start of the week over the previous… and here at the end I’m the same weight as last week. Diet didn’t change. So, uh, perhaps I’ve found the exact amount to eat to maintain my weight week to week? I dunno. I was trying to bulk. Whoops. As for exercise… reps are doing well… and my additions have grown in reps… so perhaps I’m burning just enough calories for maintenance. Whoops again. My legs have always been pretty muscular, but uh, getting a bit more crazy guys. Heh. My arms are lovely, and my torso is looking pretty neat. SO yippee. My scale does biological age, and it seems to saying my younger days are at a higher weight than previously, so I’m going to put that down to good muscular growth. Aka, any weight gain is stemming from muscle. Nice.

As for mood. Honestly it’s been okay. I had some stuff come up over the previous weekend, and yeah, it was stressful. But it didn’t send me spiraling as it might have in the past. My blood pressure was decent throughout the week, so perhaps that’s what it is. I’ll continue my observations, but I believe I have that issue licked at this point.

Alrighty, that’s what I have for you this time. I hope you all have a great week.

TTFN

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.

Sheep Detectives, and Doodling

Howdy ya’ll. Blog? Okay then.

So this week I finished reading 4 books. First was an excellent read called Faceless Hunter. About a dungeon slime that is able to duplicate things it eats. Its morals are survival. If you are companionable enough it won’t eat you, probably… unless it likes your skills… muahahaha. Next was Reborn as the Fated Villain. Ah, well it was okay. Kinda didn’t suit me as it was a bit more depressing. Luckily the next book, the latest in the series, is always a fun read. Nano Machines. The kid is still up to antics, and is starting to see girls as not just people who cause trouble… uh oh. And finally OP Level One Mage… better than the first book. I am actually looking forward to the next. Overall a decent week for reading.

Hey, we watched a movie! Sheep Detectives. Honestly I was already hopeful it would be fun… and well… It really was. Them sheep are great. They have their own societal norms, and ways of dealing with things. But they have also understood what their shepherder is saying, ala reading them detective stories. So they investigate. It’s very sweet. I highly recommend it.

As for games, ah, I just did more Crossworlds… Sword and Fairy, and gave Gujian a bit more time. I’m liking them… however, something has taken my interest, at least for the time being…. Dum dum dum…

I’m doodling. Yup. I started out with GIMP, and I did a passable job at making something. Them Samantha, and other folks start telling me how Gimp isn’t the best for art stuff… so I gave Krita a try… welp… so far doodling seems to flow better. Yippee. Maybe one day I’ll share something, even though I’m pretty proud of what I’ve accomplished so far, but today is not that day.

As for diet and exercise, Welp I started this week about the same as I did the previous week… and I ended up about a half pound heavier than last week. So… uh, cool? My reps are doing well, and I’m feeling pretty decent. I will note I’ve added a couple of more routines to rotation, and well… I’m pretty sure my abs are really staring to show, so that’s neat. As for the things I’ve added, during my walks I rotate between holding a “Vacuum”, Ala sucking it in… and then pushing it out and holding that. I do this a couple of times per night, overall for about 30 minutes to 45, depending on what’s going on. I’m also doing quick tiny steps to get the heart rate up a few times through the evening, I’d say overall for about 10 minutes of that. Seems to be working a treat. My legs are ridiculous. Big ol’ musclely things they be. I could kick you apart, KICK YOU APART… hehehe.

As for mood? EH… honestly it was okay. It should have dipped, as I had a couple of things that came up that would do so, and while I wasn’t perfectly content, such feelings didn’t linger… so that’s good. I’m not going to say having a good diet and exercise will stop depression, but it certainly seems to be helping. Or perhaps I’m getting older and my perspective is allowing it. Either way I’m feeling pretty good about things.

Alrighty, that’s all I have. I hope you all have a great week.

TTFN

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.

Goblin, Games, and Gamepads

Welllllll, HIIIIII. Blog time.

So, I finished reading 3 books since last week. Hrm, a couple by the same author. Latest in Absolute Mastery, decent. Then Dao of Diligence, very fun. Then I found a new series called Necromancer Supreme in Another World. I quite enjoyed this one. Dude gets isekai’d into his Necromancer character that he made in game to solo final bosses. Um, it’s been awhile in the world, so he’s basically been forgotten. He kinda wants to just travel around and eat good food, but man, he’s way too OP to just walk around. And then things get messy as he tries to figure things out. Yup, a fun read.

Anyway, did some watching of things with Samantha. I’ve finally convinced her to watch Goblin/Guardian the Lonely and Great God. This is a Korean Drama that… well it’s my favorite, and actually my first. I watched it years ago, and have since watched several others… and boy, does this one still stand head and shoulders over everything. One, it’s beautiful. Two, it’s very heart wrenching. Three, it’s friggin hilarious. Basically dude is betrayed and killed, and has become a cursed immortal. He spends his time saving people now and again, and basically moving between places after several years and changing his identity. However there’s a story that has sprung up that the Goblin’s Bride is here. No one knows but him that it means she’ll be able to pull the sword from his chest and he can finally die… And a girl who can see spirits comes into the picture. Also theres a reaper who is stiff as a board, who winds up being comic relief. Guys, watch this show. I got it years ago, but I think you can find it streaming, or buy the dvd. It’s totally worth it.

Also I wound up watching a couple of episodes of Doc Martin again. Apparently I’m in the mood to revisit old shows. I do like the first episode, but I think the second one really makes the case for watching the whole 10 seasons. Heh. Anyway, still love it. I watched it on Pluto.

I also added Zenless Zone Zero to my games. I wound up playing for maybe an hour so far. I can say I do enjoy the combat, but I’m not sold on anything outside of that. Still it’s something to dive into now and again. Though Mostly I’ve been playing short burst of Sonic Racing Crossworlds.

Speaking of games… I think I have a problem… or maybe an addiction. I got yet another controller. I’ve had a GameSir Xbox style controller previously. I quite liked it, but it needed to remain plugged in. No rumble feature either. Eh, I didn’t think it was a big deal. But I had gotten a 8bitdo Xbox controller for Samatha so we might play some things. It was pretty. Well, that one was wireless, and I tried it out… so I said, WHY NOT? And got myself one as well. Oh boy, this thing rocks. So yeah, I kinda think these things are pretty, and I kinda want to collect them… what is wrong with me? Heh. I’m holding off for now, but if something really interesting shows up… and I hear it works well with Linux… ya know I’m likely gonna get one.

As for diet and exercise… I started this week a pound over last, and wound up two pounds heavier than last Friday. Hrm… I don’t believe I changed my diet.. so I’m not sure what that was about. I even think my exercise increased slightly over last week. SOOOO…. Maybe muscle?

As for mood… well the previous weekend saw some ups and downs, but only slightly. I believe it was a justified mood, and not just one that happened without reason. But the week wound up being fairly pleasant. So that’s nice.

Anyway, that’s it for now. I hope you all have an enjoyable week.

TTFN

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.

Reading, and Some Game Talk

Hola folks. A blogging we will go.

Hrm, it looks like I finished reading 3 books since last post. First was the latest in the Runebound Professor. Fun stuff. A bit more exploring the world, and seeing further power structures. Amusing as usual. Then Nightmare Realm Summoner, first book. I liked it well enough, I’ll likely continue the series. Then finally the latest in the Cultivation Nerd series. Oh boy, I do love me some cultivation.. and the fact he’s such a bookworm nerd, yet wants to go out into the world for more… oh heck yeah. I’m assuming enlightenment upon concepts will happen a bit later, but we are still building up to it, yet hints linger. Yippee.

As for watching things? I mean, YouTube as usual. This time I watched several about obscure anime… ones that make me want to seek them out. Not because they are good per-say, but because they are interesting in their layout. Hrm, how to explain? Simply put, the one I’m currently thinking of has a huge cast, in a somewhat future world, school setting, and somewhat has an issue on focusing on characters. I dunno, sounded interesting to me.

As for games… I’ve been playing Sword and Fairy lately, and I’ve got to say… I like it. Works well in Linux, and my controller controls, heh, the game well. All in Chinese, with subtitles, but I’m enjoying my time.

As I’ve said before I’m leaving behind Where Winds Meet.. they need to optimize their updates. I’ve been paying more attention to the number of them, and yeah, lately it seems daily, and yes, they are all huge. That and the way Vulcan shaders take time to load, and then it won’t run right after, have to wait 10 minutes after the first try, that’s not good. That’s like nearly 2hrs of set up to play a game that I usually only play for an hour at a time… nope.

Now diet and exercise. Interesting week. I started out a pound heavier than last Monday, then ended the week a pound down… I dunno, I ate the same stuff, though I may have pushed my walking and other exercises a bit more. That being said, I think I’m feeling stronger, even if it’s only just noticeable.

As for mood… actually a good week. I had two things going against such positive vibes, one being my monthly meet up with friends which usually drains me so much it makes the week more difficult mood wise… nope, I was fine. Then some issues in another friend group… but nah. I was fine. So that’s cool. Perhaps my diet is now aligned enough that I won’t be getting big dips anymore? Only way to know is to keep it up.

Well, that’s all I have for now. I hope you all have a great week.

TTFN

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.

Problems with Books and Games

Well hiya. Um, blog for your trouble?

Oh boy, it looks like I finished reading 5 books since last post. First up was Bookbound Bunny book 2. Fun times. I’m actually craving more from this. Academy time for this story, and I think people who enjoy that sort of stuff would quite enjoy it. Very relaxing, no world ending story as of yet, and I hope it continues to be mostly peaceful in later books. Then I did some silly things and read a few short books in a series… one that each book’s title is different. Which makes it hard to tell they’re in a series without amazon listing them as such. The first two follow logically into each other, as the setting/main character remains the same, but by the third book everything is completely different about the main character. Instead of being a paper pusher who’s exhausted from their previous life before reincarnation into a magical world, he’s now somehow an auditor who can see dividends and such… whereas before he was a necromancer using skeletons as a workforce to farm… I’m suspecting AI, as logic completely is random and makes no sense. SO yeah, I’m not going to mention names with this one. And finally I read a book called Ward Breaker. Again short, and more palatable . Still the writing is… I dunno how to explain it other than saying the storytelling seems… off… maybe foreign in translation. I’ve read other books by the same persons… and they have a similar feel, so perhaps it’s just their writing style. Oh well, it was interesting enough. Somewhat wuxia in feel, but the magic system is different enough that I wouldn’t say it fits in exactly with that genre. Their other works being in wuxia may be a reason I thought of it. Oh well. Fun enough.

Anyway, what did we watch this weekend? Well, we did view a review for Hook. Patrick Willems again. He’s not a fan, though he see’s certain aspects that are interesting enough. Mostly the psychology behind the director, that being Stephen Spielberg. I’m a fan of Hook myself, but I do recognize some inconsistencies with the narrative. Fun review.

And because this discussion of fantasy films Samantha and I, as we often do, talked about one of our favorite aesthetic films, Legend. Directed by Ridley Scott, it’s simply beautiful. Now here’s the thing, we enjoy the theatrical release over the directors cut… not because the story differs, but because of the music. We actually thing the studio interference actually made the right call and had Tangerine Dream score the film, instead of the orchestral one that the director wanted. I’ve watched both, and with tons of thought about it over the years, and trying to ignore my nostalgia, we think the almost ethereal quality to TD’s score elevates it beyond what an orchestra soundtrack could ever do. It’s far more haunting and powerful… in our opinion. I’d suggest giving it a watch, either version, simply for the visual appeal, and Tim Curry as Darkness is a real treat. That being said, while I love this movie for many reasons, I fear the cheesy quality of the dialogue hampers the heroic side. Not at all for the villains though, I love that stuff. Maybe I’m more forgiving of camp from baddies, they’re so fun… but man, some of those lines from the protagonists… jeez. Oh well, I still love it, even if I felt embarrassed now again at some lines.

Sigh, so games. Where Winds Meet has been unplayable again. I’ve been unable to connect to servers once more. Samantha has already given up on it, not because she hasn’t been able to play, though I’m not sure that’s she’s tried recently, it’s mostly because of the constant updates. Now you would think that would be a wonderful thing. Fixing stuff, and adding new things to the game all the time… yet the updates are almost daily, and each one is somewhere between 6gigs to 8gigs at a time. That’s simply too much. If you plan to play the game you would really have to carve out time before hand just for the download, and if you are Linux users like we are, then wait for the Vulcan Shaders to load before you can play. Now I’ve done this. I’ve been strategically making sure to have everything downloaded the morning before I plan to jump back into the game. It was something I’d gotten used to. And for months it’s been functional. I really like the world, and the gameplay is wonderful. Honestly if it was a standalone game I would have gladly purchased it… however, it’s an online game, with multiplayer features(ones I never utilized) and cannot be played without the internet. As such ever since this issue with being unable to connect, consistently or not at all, my passion for the game has wained, and my frustration has grown. I might continue to try now and again, but for now I think I’m finished.

On that front I’ve decided to explore other wuxia like games. Currently I’ve just made it through the tutorial for Sword and Fairy 7. It’s not quite like WWM, but… it’s scratching that itch so far. I plan to give it a longer session over the weekend. Hopefully I like it well enough.

Anyway, diet and exercise. Hrm, welp I’m up a couple pounds over last week. Not terrible as I felt I fell short the previous Friday. I did change my beans again.. so maybe that’s what it was. Instead of grass fed beef this time I grabbed a can of Corned beef hash and threw it in. It’s not as… satisfying… tastes fine and all, but perhaps the nutrients from grass fed beef are something my body likes more. Anyway, exercise remained elevated, so that’s good. I feel my muscles getting stronger, so yippee.

As for mood… it was good. I had reason to be stressed now and again, but that simply didn’t really put me down. Not sure why. As I indicated, my addition of the corned beef should have upped my salt intake, therefore blood pressure, but that wasn’t in evidence this week. So yay? We’ll see how I feel next week as I plan to visit friends, and for whatever reason that ups my stress. Or perhaps it’s simply a monthly cycle as I’ve thought previously. Fingers crossed it’s not a bad time for me next week.

Anyway, that’s all I have for you this time. I hope you all have a great week.

TTFN

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.

Bad Book, Good Movie

Hello buds… let’s go blogging.

Welp, it seems I finished reading 3 books this time. First up I finished the latest Absolute Mastery novel. Fun enough. Then the next book in the Cultivation Would be Easy If People Weren’t Stupid. Yeah, this one was superior to the previous, less weird repetition of actions, less descriptions changing characters into other people now and again. However the last book I finished, sigh… I don’t even want to mention it by name. It was dreadful. I mean the premise was interesting enough, a sociopathic murderer gets summoned as the hero into another world after being executed in ours… yet… oh yet… Repetitions of same scenarios constantly… same exact phrasing constantly… situations made out to be pivotal moments, then they happen again as if it were the first time. Completely awful. I had to force myself to finish it, and utilized the skill I don’t often utilize… speed reading, just to get it done. It never got better, and if anything got worse as it went on, because again, repeating everything constantly, all the while arguing from a place of ignorance that laws are bad. I mean I get it, sometimes they get convoluted and because of that almost nonfunctional in times of need, but this was overblown. I rated it 2 stars out of 5… I would have given a one if it at least hadn’t presented an interesting take on the summoned hero trope, but I strongly encourage everyone to avoid this… yuck.

Anyway, watching things. We watched Project Hail Mary. Yup, it was good. I was amused by all the fox imagery throughout. And Rocky was great. Puppet for the most part, and excellent work all together. Visually a wonderful feast for the eyes, and story wise fun and exciting. I had enjoyed The Martian from the author previously, and that film was fun as well. So yes, I’d say give this one a watch. Ryan Gosling was an excellent choice for this part. I’d gush more, but I worry about revealing too much, thumbs up.

As for gaming stuff… bah. Okay, I finally just left the fight I was stuck on in Where Winds Meet. I just couldn’t make it happen. But because I’m roleplaying my character as a good doer, I just wandered the town I’m in and seeing if i can help out. I’m on a quest line right now now to clean up some corruption. A restaurant was being harassed, and I caught one culprit, but now I’m tracking down the mastermind. Good stuff. However an update happened Monday, or late Sunday night which just broke the game for me. I can’t tell you if it was a Linux thing or not, but I couldn’t connect to the server anymore. I tried various things, swapped Protons, forced IPV6 off to use only IPV4… checked the files weren’t corrupted… nothing. I even reset WiFi stuff… blarg. So anyway, yesterday another 7gig update dropped… another complaint I have for the game is constant updates that are 7gigs in size every time… anyway, the update fixed it and I’m back in… phew… Luckily I hadn’t planned on any play time this week, I was just going to grab my daily’s… so I didn’t miss out on playing, but still kinda stressful. The only game I’ve really gotten into in years was broken, and I feared it was over for me. So yippee… for now. However, if it does fail, I’m considering Crimson Desert as my alternative… now if only it weren’t so dang expensive, heh.

As for diet and exercise. Welp I started off the week 1 pound lighter than last weeks start… weird, as I had some good meals. And by the end of the week I was down 2lbs over the end of last week. Again weird, as I ate more than I had previously. However my beans were palatable, if not wonderful this week, as I added some grass fed beef to the mix. That’s all it needed. NO salt added, just wonderful meat! So yeah, more calories, and somehow lighter. As for exercise, doing great. Reps still up, and even the higher weights I’m using seem to be holding steady for me. Good stuff.

As for mood… honestly pretty decent. We had a bit of a storm, and I had to drive though it for work… and visibility was really low at points. Speed was reduced by about 20-25 miles an hour… and in one of those moments, something appeared in the road. It looked big… like a low footrest… black, and slightly boxy shaped. No time to doge as it just appeared out of the rain, and I drove over it… sigh. Afterwards I heard nothing outside of normal, so I finished my drive to work… I had to rush inside as the rain still was pounding… but when it calmed down I examined the vehicle. Sigh, missing a reflector on one side… otherwise nothing of note. Lucky I guess. But even with that stressor, I was doing alright. So yeah, blood pressure was doing good, and my mood followed suit.

Anyway, that’s it this time. I hope you all have a great week.

TTFN

Oh, a link you say? Here ya go.

The Owl and the Mystery of Sorcery

https://www.amazon.ca/Owl-Mystery-Sorcery-Steven-Oaks-ebook/dp/B0DDF5B7QT?ref_=ast_author_mpb

TTFN again!

You Must Be Drunk link to the Amazon store here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM

What I’ve published

Walk On

click here for a link to the book

Outsider Trilogy

Click here for a link to the book

Poetry

Link to my author page on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Steven-Oaks/e/B00MEGSEZ6

Or you can help me out on Patreon. Again, thank you. https://www.patreon.com/StevenOaks

Update: You Must Be Drunk is published. Find it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8KH6WM. Did some editing, looking good, if slow… back to it next week.

– Steven Oaks

Follow me on the things below.