My Khef

Oh how like Roland I feel.

It was only a few weeks ago that the Dark Tower first came into my life. Once glimpsed, however...Ka like the wind as they say. The Dark Tower has taken hold and like a Gunslinger my quest takes me closer to it each day. I've turned 1,731 pages (Books 1 - 4) in the last month, give or take. I have sacraficed time, sleep, and in some cases food in my quest to reach The Dark Tower.

I spend much of my waking hours these days thinking about Roland's tale and how it will unfold. I think that had I started reading the saga before King had finished it and subsequently endured the long periods between books (prior to the last three which were written in quick succession) I would be as ravenous as those who anticipate the future Game of Thrones installments. I was never a real fan of Stephen King in the past. To be honest, I never had any real interest in picking up any of his novels prior to the Dark Tower series. What was it about these books? What drew me to seek out Roland's tale? That too may have been Ka.

What most people don't know is that Roland isn't the ony one with a story to tell; now is not the time for mine, but perhaps soon. The truth is that I have had a story in me for quite some time. The characters have been evolving and forming in my head, the plot twisting and turning as I sleep. As it did I began to envision something I didn't quite understand and I still don't. Nevertheless, I was drawn to the tower. For a story I never read and a tale I knew nothing about I stated to see many similarities between King's world and the one growing in my mind. Can a writer unknowingly create a tale that exists in a world close to one that has already been imagined?

To my friends that write (mainly my sister) I ask does the influence of another writer's tale strengthen or hinder your ability to draft something original? Are we capable of creating something COMPLETELY original or will it always draw from our literary experiences? These were the thoughts that almost kept me from reading the series before I began writing but the draw of the tower was far too great.

Ka like the wind.

My First Since My Last

   About once a week I think, "I need to update my blog."  Then about once a year I actually do.  Today is one of those days.  What drove me back to the interwebs this afternoon?  I've been working overnights this week at Burlington for our remodel so of course it's 5:30pm and I just climbed out of bed.  What was the first thing I did?  I reached for my phone to see what my social networks had to offer me in terms of recent events and friends' communications.

   That's the world we live in now; we are always connected.  Phones on our hips (or nightstands), tablets in our bags, and TVs that connect directly to streaming libraries with millions of choices for movies and series.  The next big thing that will connect my life is going to be the XBox One.  Finally I will be able to sit on my couch and control my experiences ala Miority Report (or at least as close as I have ever been able to come.)  It promised unparalleled integration into my living room and some really next generation features like the use of the cloud for persistent worlds and remote access to my content; things only before available in PC gaming.

   So today's news came with mixed reaction from me.  Microsoft has announced a slew of updates  innovations  sandwiches  revisions to their XBox One system features.  Some things I am excited for such as the ability to lend/share disc based games with zero (forseeable) limitations.  That means more freedom for me to try new games and even recoup a few $ on the games I complete and will no longer play.  Win.

   Microsoft also announced that an internet connection will not be required to play offline XBox One games.  This sounds like a big win for most of the people that were crying about the XBox One.  I, for one, don't understand the drawback of connecting.  Maybe it's because I have an always on blazing fast internet connection.  But if you don't have internet access you probably aren't going to drop $500 on a new XBox anyways.  So basically, there will by no 24-hour connection requirement.

   Here is the part that I'm not happy about:

These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray. 

   What does that mean?  We don't really know yet.  Some parts are clear; we will have to put the disc in to play the games.  That means a disc version purchased will not come with a cloud version to access.  It also means that the proposed Family Sharing Plan is dead.  That really sucks.  That was, in my opinion, the future of "sharing" your games.  The biggest draw?  That anyone in your "family" could play your shared games.  One person could even play AT THE SAME TIME as you!  That was revolutionary.  Now, because people were afraid they wouldn't be able to borrow a friends outdated disc format of a game that will not happen.

   So some wins and some losses with the latest news.  It doesn't change my mind on which system to buy as I already pre-ordered an XB1.  I'm still hopeful that the advances in the way we share content and use cloud-powered computing will propel the XB1 further than we can imagine right now.  But, like anything, we will have to wait and see.