Thursday, November 1, 2007

Big Trees


Pretty photo by Andif.

Is anybody else having lots of coincidences happening in your life lately?

Here's my latest: You know the "Games" link to the right? It leads to Big Fish Games, which is a company I really, really love because so many of their games are bright and pretty and fun, and they let you play ALL of them for free for an HOUR per game, and they seem to me to be a really safe, secure site. I found them about a year ago, thanks to a rave review in (I think) WaPo.

Eventually, after playing so many of their games for free without ever buying one, because I was broke at the time, I thought the least I could do was to spread the good word about them. So, when I opened this blog, I linked to their site. (I have bought a couple of their games since then.)

Well, yesterday, out of the blue, I got an email from a woman who asked if she could talk to me about the love that so many female readers have for mysteries. She wants to do that, because her company has a client that is creating "mystery" games. She wanted to ask permission for her company to give my name as a source for reporters. Good publicity for her client, but also nice for me.

Who's her client? Yup, Big Fish. I said I'd be happy to. Big Smile.

39 comments:

Nancy P said...

Posting early for the early-boids, since I don't seem to be one, myself, this week.

Family Man, you'll turn the coffee on? Thanks. And put on the teapot for Kelly?

There's a new poll!

katiebird said...

Nancy, That's so nice. Really nice.

But, I guess I'm going to have to quit bragging about the "person" who broke her video game habit using Eat4Today.

:(

GhostFolk.com said...

Mystery Games. Nancy, you & Big Fish: too cool. Golly, though, they have lots of Mystery Games. I wonder what they pay for the rights to make a game out of a known novel. I don't think any Agatha Christie's have slipped into the public domain?

I hate on-line games because I have never found a game to EXACTLY satisfy me the way the old ones did. There was a "Mouse Gets Cheeze Hides From Cats" Game that was freebie software with one of the early operating systems.

I LOVED this game. Then they took it away. When I upgraded my operating system, it was gone.

I'm still mad. Very Very Mad.

I found it listed at gamer's blog website once (which is tricky, because it has no official name) and tried to download my very own copy of it, but I got virus'd through that fking site and had to have my harddrive scraped. Which is as painful as it sounds.

In order to be permitted to use a computer these days I had to vow to my live-in web techy that I would NEVER EVER try to download this game again.

I'm still sad. Very Very Sad.

GhostFolk.com said...

Who do I kill?

Rejections. I wonder how well folks would survive if every time they proposed marriage to someone they were rejected with a pre-printed note on poorly photocopied letterhead?

GhostFolk.com said...

Hey, Rick, here's a Steal this Book Idea for you:

A novel written as a marriage proposal. No, check that, I mean a marriage proposal written as a novel.

There are some who have found satisfcation in reading Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock as his marriage proposal.

LET us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table

GhostFolk.com said...

It also might be interesting, if you can't find the right game to download and play today, to consider that many, many romantic comedy's work rather in their entirety as marriage proposals.

Perhaps our next query letter should read as a marriage proposal might.

Any luck at all, it won't turn out to be Annie Hall.

Does anyone at all remember an actual movie proposal? One that has always stuck in my mind is from Breathless:


Hey, girls! You ever kiss a pig?

katiebird said...

(head-reeling)

Good Morning ghostfolk!

I really like the progression of your messages. And I'm particularly impressed with your idea of a novel as marriage proposal.

But, before I play the quiz, I've GOT to have some coffee.

Back soon. Maybe.

GhostFolk.com said...

Morning, Katie!

Guess the next step is to design a computer game called "Kiss The Pig."

P.S. I think the pig gets married in the end. :-) Either that, or the pig's book gets published.

P.P.S. Seven Degrees of Separation set-up is in place with this post.

Larry Kollar said...

I've always thought of the old-skool text adventures as mysteries: you're solving puzzles and maybe fighting a villain along to the way to reach whatever the ultimate goal is.

Ghost, you got a rejection letter too? Must be the week for it. Large bottle of rum, check; two glasses, check. With all the trouble you had losing that game & never getting it back, I'll bring you the biiiig glass. (I'm the IT guy at FAR Manor, and I have a pretty good way of keeping viruses off the network: no Dozeboxes allowed.)

If there's any rum left, y'all are welcome to share. Bring glasses! It's Friday!

Larry Kollar said...

Oops, almost forgot. If you were waiting for me to say something: FAR Future, Episode 12, is up.

GhostFolk.com said...

Far,

Let's make a rum-based sangria type punch. I'm signing up for a platform game at Nancy's suggested site: 12. Primate Panic: Gather fruit for friendly monkeys.

But wait, No. 12 at Far Future? Think I'll do that first. BRB.

A dozen of one, a dozen of another. But, what is it that you refer to as Dozeboxes?

Not the ones donuts come in?

GhostFolk.com said...

Far Future No. 12.

The Dems are similarly conflicted… some think cutting Idaho and Wyoming loose would help the budget (more tax dollars go in than come out), others don’t like the precedent.

Please, please, please put Utah in there, too.

P.S. Thank you for considering.

I work well with editorial guidance.

I look forward to your reply.

:-)

AndiF said...

Well I guess showing up after being away for several days when you post one of my pictures could be considered a coincidence if I weren't supplying with pictures on a regular basis. :)

But how about that I planned to post this "fly away home" picture as a bonus welcome myself back to your blog when you first comment mentioned "early boids" for a coincidence (strained but still ...)

Nancy P said...

Oh, god, katiebird, I forgot about that! lol! Well, you can tell them I DID break it on the games I WAS playing. :)

Good morming! How's your (root canal) mouth?

Nancy P said...

Aw, Ghost, I so feel for you! I still miss Super Mario, and I don't even know if it's gone. :) I wonder if there's a computer version?

The games I like are sooo throwbacks to my childhood. Like, Hidden Objects games.

Nancy P said...

Ghost, lol!

First, I would MUCH rather be rejected--for anything--by mimeographed paper than in person.

Second, I love the idea of a marriage proposal as a novel.

And third, who would ever marry a poet with his pants rolled up?

Nancy P said...

Note to self: get over to far's place! And beth's. What a creative crew.

Speaking of Beth. . .I wonder what the surf is like in Key West, with Noel wandering around. I still haven't heard from my friends in the Bahamas, but I'm (optimistically) assuming "safe, albeit uncomfortable."

Andi, that is GORGEOUS. It's going front page soon, too. Thank you, and welcome home.

Anonymous said...

Stopping by to wave. My sister had one of the original Macs, and it had a game called Dark Castle. I LOVED that game. But they didn't have it for PCs, sob. Since then I play Freecell, but that's about it.

Far, you're dropping IDAHO?? I am crushed. Can't you cut off California instead? :-)

(Apologies in advance to my Californian friends.)

Ghost, I'm taking the Ghost Tour of Key West Sunday - wonder if their ghost stories match any of yours...?

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I'll be back up and at 'em on Tuesday. Waving from Key West!!

GhostFolk.com said...

And third, who would ever marry a poet with his pants rolled up?

Nancy, I do suppose pants rolled up might be preferred in some circles, and in many restuarants, to pants rolled down.

But, knowing people who have traveled more widely than opportunity has provided me, I cannot guarantee rolled up is an advantage in all social situations.

Anonymous said...

GMTA, Nancy! It's sprinkling here a bit, and still a little breezy from Noel's waving at us from the east. But it was really a non-event here.

I'm going to try and post this morning - I'm too tired to go to the morning party at 10, not to mention that I don't drink in the morning. Plus there are countless other parties today - I can catch up later.

Anyway, sounds like Noel has become a hurricane - my sis in NH says they're supposed to get it, now. Mother Nature playing her games at the tail end of hurricane season.

Nancy P said...

Beth!!! Sounds as if you're having a great time. When you have to rest up from a vacation. . .:)A party at 10 a.m.??! Yes, you are in Key West.

Does the ghost tour take that open trolley thing?

Ghost, maybe if he were eating a peach. . .?

GhostFolk.com said...

hey there, Key West!

I'm taking the Ghost Tour of Key West Sunday - wonder if their ghost stories match any of yours...?

Sounds like murderous fun, Beth! Should you see any cats on the tour, please let me know. :-)

Jen said...

I still miss Super Mario, and I don't even know if it's gone. :) I wonder if there's a computer version?

Super Mario is not gone, and yes, there is "a computer version". A lot of the old platform games are still floating around. They can be picked up pretty cheaply at lots of places that sell used games.

Also, many of the more popular ones, like Mario, are now available for download online in "emulator" form. This is not entirely above board, I think, but I haven't chcked for sure b/c I still have all my old platforms! :D In a nutshell, I think it goes like this: you download an application or "emulator", then download a game file to load into the emulator, and then you can play classic platform and arcade games with a controller or joystick that hooks up to your 'puter.

Anonymous said...

Oh what a week, Nancy. Street party all day on Duval - morning party at the Hog's Breath - the Budweiser Clydesdales are on the island today, so will be stopping by for a chat - and a poop. :-)

Pool party at the Casa Marina all day - sunset cruise this evening - live music all over town. I'm too old for this much fun!

The tour is a walking tour - but I have been on the trolley tour before, which is great fun, and informative. Even if it IS touristy!

Will watch for cats, ghost. :-)

GhostFolk.com said...

LOL, Nancy!

But, Shhhh.... No human voices allowed.

GhostFolk.com said...

Yeah, Nancy, Mr. Eliot had the habit of getting away with a left line now and then, like Prufrok's wondering to eat a peach.

But when he is right, he is so very very right:

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

Nancy P said...

Jen, thanks! Not that I will ever DO that, you understand, but it's interesting.

Nancy P said...

Oh, sigh, Ghost, that stanza caught me at a vulnerable age and never has let go of me. The whole poem in fact. Makes me feel as old as Michelangelo. :)

Here's a thought to haunt you. . .

Somewhere, women are coming and going and talking about you.

Nancy P said...

Speaking of boids. Remember these guys?

http://www.premise.org/main/boids/

From Wikipedia:
Boids, developed by Craig Reynolds in 1986, is an artificial life program, simulating the flocking behaviour of birds.

As with most artificial life simulations, Boids is an example of emergent behaviour; that is, the complexity of Boids arises from the interaction of individual agents (the boids, in this case) adhering to a set of simple rules. The rules applied in the simplest Boids world are as follows:

separation: steer to avoid crowding local flockmates
alignment: steer towards the average heading of local flockmates
cohesion: steer to move toward the average position of local flockmates
More complex rules can be added, such as obstacle avoidance and goal seeking

Larry Kollar said...

Wow, everyone woke up while I was driving to work!

Ghost, the sangria sounds good - do you use apples? Plenty of apple orchards about half an hour from the manor. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Utah. :-) Dozebox: a computer that runs the OS I refer to as Doze. (I refuse to use the syllable "win" in conjunction with any Microsoft product.)

Andi: That picture is freeking gorgeous! I want to be there!

The emulator that Jen referred to is called, I believe, MAME. I remember many evenings spent playing Dr. Mario with Mrs. Fetched. Not as fun as playing just plain Dr., but it was better than watching TV. I ought to look into MAME a little further: set up a MacMini with a couple of controllers and Dr. Mario, and… hm, I wouldn't get much writing done.

Speaking of which, I started a short story last night. It's been cooking in my head for a while, but it started asking to be let out yesterday afternoon. Same world as Old Guy's, and ghosts abound.

Nancy P said...

I like to think at least some of us are inspiring others of us all the time, far! Since our brainstorming session (was that this week?) I've finished one short story, written two new ones, and now I have a 4th one partly written in my head. I'm so happy you're inspired, too!

What novel? I'm supposed to be finishing a novel?

Nancy P said...

I'll be writing all weekend, so day is my play day. I'm off to Smithville with friends to see the leaves, eat lunch, and then stop at a rock and bead show. I am hoping to keep writing my new story idea in my head, though. It "stars" the two buddies I'm going with, plus me. I've never done this before--base a story on real people. Of course I'll give us different names.

See you inspiring, playful people later!

AndiF said...

Hey Far, you are welcome to freeking be here. In fact, coincidentally, the lake in my pictures is at the 800 acre kids camp next door which has cabins for rent in the off-season so EVERYBODY can freeking com here. :D

Cathy C said...

Nancy, very cool publicity opportunity. Coincidences like that are great.

I am so out of my league with well-informed game enthusiasts. I haven't played any video or online games in quite some time.

I got into a Snood-playing jag a few years ago. I'd play earlier in the day, and my daughter would play at night. I'd feel so proud of my new highest score, only to wake up the next day to see that my daughter had blown my score out of the water overnight.

I tend to do things I enjoy to the point of insane obsession - picture a skeleton propped at the computer still trying to finish one more game.

I eventually went into snood recovery and removed it from my system. Not sure I'd dare try it again.

I also remember having the flu and getting hooked on Galaxia (sp?) That was centuries ago!

My sympathies on the rejections, guys. I got three from agents early last week. And just as I was gnawing my way through the barn-size bar of chocolate, at the end of the week, another agent requested the full manuscript. Although I've been here before (with agents), I'm still hopeful - it's that damn optimist who won't give up!

Larry Kollar said...

In the “WHEW” department: the "elderly man who… escaped uninjured" is my dad.

AndiF said...

I'm so glad he's okay, Far. I'm sorry to read about the loss of his home, though.

olivia said...

Yikes FAR!!! I'm glad he's okay!

boran2 said...

Nice going, Nancy. It sounds like this might be a lot of fun. I've been saying lately that if you do something long enough, some good will come of it.

Nancy P said...

Oh my gosh, far! Thank goodness he's okay!! I'll check your blog to see if you put up more details.