... Anything but actual blog posts...

I'm writing a young adult novel set in medieval Japan.

I'm working on developing a boarding with a post-apocalyptic setting that utilized mechs.

I'm going to start casting resin pieces to add nice touches to games I already own (first project: Mount Doom for War of the Ring).

And I'd like to re-skin the blog with a Star Wars theme, to fit what feels to be a tremendous Star Wars year.

... More when I've actually accomplished something!

Happy Holidays and the Nerd's Resolution

Merry Christmas! 

We are in the middle of the holiday season. Happy Christmas Eve folks. I just wanted to pop in and let you know what you can expect with the Arbitrary Nerd in the upcoming future.

Starting January first, I will begin the "Month of The Nerd," in which I will make at least one daily blog post,  Instagram update (find me at arbitrarynerd), and tweet, all related to either my nerdy self, a normal blog subject, or something nerdy in general.

If you think anyone might be interested in reading The Arbitrary Nerd, January will be a good month to get them started -- I plan on having the following items featured:

-Articles on my various nerd interests and why they interest me.

-Reviews for Fables trades (I've increased my collection by 450% recently).

-The upcoming year's worth of films and video game releases.

-Thoughts on some games I have yet to review.

-Quite possibly more...

I'd love to get some fresh readers and new comments, so please spread the word!

As always, I will take requests for content if there's anything you'd like me to talk about.

See you all back here on January first. Until then, keep flying and stay shiny!

Revenge of the Nerd!

I'm back! Ish! We've moved into the MA house and are in the process of getting settled. My work situation and schedule are still up in the air, so I won't go on record saying expect regular postings starting now, but you can certainly expect more very soon!

Casa de Nerd. Well... Sotano de Nerd, anyway.

Today I am working on finishing The Podcast is a Lie's late podcast (hopefully finalize by the end of the day). I'd also like to set up the Nerd-Cave as much as possible (recognizing that I don't have much in the way of furniture down here yet...).

Towards the end of the week, I have some more time off and will bring my Pull List Reviews up to date (though it will be a synopsis of where the PLR is more than an individual title review, sorry!).

I'm also hoping to convince the Wife to allow me to see Riddick this weekend, even though we just bought a house, so there will (hopefully) be a movie review soon as well.

And, today or later in the week, I'll be doing a write up of news in the X-COM world. Be prepared, because the alien menace is hasn't let up just yet!

Alright, to the podcast! ... This is my first time being the sole editor on a 'case due to Steve's absence, hence the delay and, possibly, the quality... We'll see!

If you were wondering...

Some of you may have noticed that I've not been posting very frequently. Most of you probably haven't. Well, I'm here to make excuses, yay!

RISK nights will (hopefully) come back!

I am currently in the process of moving from NY to MA. The Wife and I have been living in NY for the past three years (actually got married our first Summer here, though we met in college in MA), so this requires a number major life changes for us that will occur with the move. One of the biggest is that we're buying a house (closing this Friday, actually, so wish us luck!).

Instead of writing rushed blog posts (because I don't do any other kind), I've been planning for the move and, this week in particular, will be packing up the current apartment.

There may be an adjustment period after the move, but you can expect two things coming up soon:

I have a backed up pile of comics to write about in a Pull List Review. About two months of comics, actually, so expect a shortened version.

I will be living up the street from a comic book store. I already have a pull list set up. What does this mean? It means you can expect Pull List reviews on a (very close to) weekly basis! They'll be smaller, easier to manage, AND relative to what's on shelves! Oh my!

So keep an eye out! In the meantime, listen to our Podcasts and, if you are so inclined, drop some comments about other things you'd like to see this Nerd write about.

The Guest Writer and The Podcast

Remember that time I mentioned I had two exciting updates? Well, here they are:

First, The Arbitrary Nerd will be getting a new guest writer, Lyco, master of all things DC Comics (well, certainly more than me, anyway) and a current resident of Japan (yeah, we just went global).

Expect an intro post from Lyco soon and, following that, some brand new content about things I know little about!


The second bit of news is that, starting in the next week or so, I've been asked to work on a brand new podcast with some like-minded (and not so like-minded) nerdy folks. I believe we're doing our first test recording next week. Keep an eye out for The Podcast is a Lie, where we'll be talking about all things nerd culture. Any stuff. Yeah, stuff.

That's it for now, but swing by soon to check out all the new stuff happening just around the corner. Also, bring a friend or two and convince them to follow us -- it boosts my ego and gives me the warm and fuzzies.

-The Nerd

Geek & Sundry: I've been missing out!

I'm bad at YouTube. I follow a few channels, but I never seem to find time to watch videos that don't involve short clips of cats being adorable. This morning, thanks to Pinterest, I noticed that Felicia Day tried out parkour. I enjoy Felicia Day and I think parkour/free running is awesome -- what could go wrong? As a video, nothing! It was a lot of fun to watch.

Then I realized there was a ton more content. Yes, this was all realized today. I really don't keep up to date with web videos and I don't even follow too many blogs. I have the same issue with podcasts -- I get recommendations all the time, but when it comes down to it, I find my attention pulled to writing, reading, or playing a video game.

Well, this is my public apology for not being supportive of the channel Geek & Sundry until now. It is a channel that is all about the things I love from some amazing people, including, but in no way limited to, Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton. My unfamiliarity with the rest of the creators will be something I rectify ASAP!

Why am I posting about this? Because I'm going to make an effort to catch up on all the previous content on G&S AND keep current with new things, and I'll be posting a weekly favorites section where I link (and probably rave about) a video I thought was amazing and no one should miss out on (as I have been). This weeks is going to Felicia Day's parkour/free running adventure:


Also, I've been inspired. In college, a group of friends and I used to play RISK almost every night. When I moved to NY a few years ago, that stopped. Whelp, I'm planning on moving back to MA soon. This Summer would be the earliest. I'm hoping I can get my friends together regularly when I'm up there and I'd like to incorporate a Game Night series where I tape my friends and I playing different games (or just RISK, if that's all they're interested in) and work it into a feature on here.

If that sounds a bit dull or stupid... bear with me! This just came to me this morning!

Alright, now I'm going to get back to work...

Note: If I'm missing more wonderful channels on YouTube, let me know! The Nerd is always looking to increase his nerdy level.

This Week and Tumblr

So. I started a Tumblr. I'm hoping it's another way to get the blog out there. For the most part, there won't be much that goes on there that isn't here or coming here, but I may choose to post some of my shorter, more errant thoughts over there... Meaning you should probably follow me for your Nerd fill:

http://arbitrarynerd.tumblr.com/

You'll notice that I've got two posts about upcoming content on here: expect to see reviews of/thoughts on Thor: God of Thunder and Superior Spider-Man this week, as well as the new and improved (well, expedited, at least) Pull List Review.

If my posting seems to be coming a bit slower than normal, bare with me! The MFA coursework has been picking up.

Looking for suggestions...

I'm going to start a blog for my writing (usually sci-fi and fantasy stuff), and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for names?

It's not going to be affiliated with the Nerd (well, beyond that I'll be doing the writing...), so it's pretty much fair game -- leave some suggestions in the comment section below!

Question for the Readers: Pull List Reviews

Hi all,

I have a question for you folks. Currently, I do a Pull List Review whenever I pick up my Pull Lists. Then I proceed to write short descriptions of each issue, include the cover (or especially interesting panel) image, and assign it a relatively arbitrary rating, which a succinct list of reasons why.

This sometimes takes me awhile to get them all out (I do have to actually READ the issues, you know). I was wondering if this format has been working for folks or if an alternative setup would work better.

Example: instead of doing an issue description of each issue from my Pull List, I could choose major issues/moments and then the most interesting (or recent, if that makes more sense -- series like Amazing Spider-Man that come out multiple times a month tend to pike up) issues from the selection. This month, I really enjoyed reading All-New X-Men, but I didn't particularly care for Deadpool. I could write a short one line or so about Deadpool and then go through the normal process of posting the cover and a more detailed description of my personal favorite All-New X-Men issue.

This would make the posts shorter, quicker to come out, and potentially more on point. However, if someone was really interested about Deadpool (which I WILL be posting about soon, don't you fear), they might miss out there, other than to see I didn't have a high opinion of it.

Input? Thoughts on this or the rating scale or anything else on the Pull List Reviews/blog in general? I'm looking for your feedback!!

Thanks for taking the time to read The Arbitrary Nerd, it means a lot to the amateur blogger!

Big Changes! Justice, Like Lightning -- No More

I've decided that my current blog setup isn't conducive to anyone but me.

With that in mind, I have changed the name, the URL, and will be hunting for someone to make me a pretty layout/banner.

For now, welcome to The Arbitrary Nerd!

Arbitrary - "Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system."

Nerd - "An intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit."

Justice, Like Lightning the blog is no more. I'll let The Thunderbolts (or possibly Milo Sweetman, maybe) have it back. You know, if they ever stop being the Dark Avengers...

The URL has been changed as well, please make sure you update any bookmarks!

The blog will continue in the same vein as it has been, just trying to make it more approachable.

Let me know what you think!

EDIT: I HATE this layout and have decided to work on my own. I downloaded Gizmo and expect to have something up by tomorrow. A banner will be the next addition. The newest layout is acceptable. I dub it "The Scarlet Nerd".

Best Star Wars Song I've Ever Heard

So many true statements in this song. I have decided I'll be rewatching the original trilogy, hopefully before I go away for the 4th.

I've always thought that it would be easy to make a "new trilogy" that was much better than what we got. Maybe I should write a new version...


Dustin Update: Only news here is that I'm planning to focus more on this whole writing thing. For an hour every day (starting today, I suppose), I'll work on writing my fiction. I'm going to start with short stories first, to hopefully keep my limited attention span. I'll post here with how its going and when I start looking to submit something for publishing (digital first, I imagine).

Enjoy the holiday!

Dustin Update

Haven't been able to post much in a bit, so here's a few updates you probably weren't waiting for:



Get a Doctor: This series of posts will be extended from the initial concept. Instead of doing a post per Doctor, I will do a post per season. I am in the process of re-watching the series and started season 2 last night. Once I finish (or find a spot I think is appropriate), I'll update with a review and what makes the season worth watching. This will be the wife's first time watching them all, so I'll see if I can't get her to chime in as well.



Beginner's Guide - Comics: I've been taking my time with this post, expect to see it soon(ish). I've been focusing on the digital cataloging of my own collection, and it has been slow going. I only have a few pictures left to take and then I can begin re-naming images/organizing the images into a makeshift (or official, who knows) database.

I did pick up supplies for physical storage/ordering this weekend, so that's a plus!




Pull List: I think I will make a "Pull List" series of post that I update everytime I pick up my selection of comics from The Joker's Child. It will be a mini-review of each issue I picked up, including random back issues I tend to grab. Expect to see one of these posts soon, I was also able to grab my list this weekend.


Now Playing: Several changes to this list, I'll need to work on a new post soon.


The Blog: I've gotten some suggestions on keeping my posts a bit shorter an including more images. In this vein, I'll be ending this post shortly and will try to keep these suggestions in mind for all future endeavors!!


And, on a personal note, I've been married for one year today. It's been a good one :)

A Dustin Update

I should probably explain a couple of my techniques I plan to use in the blog.

When writing about characters that have a varient (or more than one), I will put the specific version I'm talking about in parantheses before the character's name.

This was seen last post when I spoke about (Ultimate) Spider-Man and (616) Spider-Man. Or when I spoke about (Ben Reilly) Scarlet Spider vs (Kaine) Scarlet Spider.

If the paranthetical text doesn't mean anything to you, a quick google/wiki search should catch you up to speed. I won't expect readers to be experts at anything I'm talking about (especially since I plan on covering a wide variet of topics), but I also will avoid hand-holding more than I have to.

I explained last post how I'll do things I consider potential spoilers. I'll separare them like:
________________________________
this. This is where the spoilers live. I don't know if Blogger supports a spoiler tag, and I don't much care to find out.
________________________________

When I started this blog, I was an undergraduate student. I'm now employed full time and am taking classes to get my MA in Writing. Also, I managed to get married somewhere in between there, not too sure how.

As I'm inspired by new methods/techniques to use here or plan on broaching brand new subjects, I'll try to do a "Dustin Update" each time. That way, a new reader can find all my methods with one easy to use label.

I think I had something else I wanted to write here but I've already forgotten, which is going to be a reoccuring theme with me, if you hadn't already noticed.

Oh, I suppose, since I plan on including video games into my blog, I'll end posts with a "Now Playing" list whenever that happens to change. That way, even if I'm not talking about the games, I can still show interest in talking about them. This will also get its own label.

Now Playing (in order of time devoted):
PS3: Starhawk
PC: Star Wars: The Old Republic/Disciples 2
360: The Force Unleashed (again)/Enslaved, Oddysey to the West
3DS: Chrono Trigger (Every now and then)
Vita: Tactics Ogre (PSP Title, slowed down now that I'm at the end)
PS2: Persona 4/Nocturne (I plan on eventually getting back to these)
X-box Original: Nothing atm, most recently Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1+2