The Return of Dr. Necropolis: Prologue

Prologue: Running Late

“Go go go!”

The van’s driver gunned it. Momentum shifted abruptly, throwing Tiffany hard into the nearest SWAT officer. He cursed, but for once, Tiffany bit back a retort. She’d never worked with this particular SWAT team, didn’t know the players, and wasn’t in the mood to start making new friends in the last few moments before a raid. The sound of squealing tires heralded another momentum shift, and suddenly that same SWAT operator flew back into Tiffany’s lap. Wordlessly, she focused just long enough to push him back upright. 

The van screeched to a stop, and its doors burst open. 

Dr. Necropolis Promo

I've been playing with this for a couple of days, and now, finally, I think I've about got what I want. I guess we'll see.

Just so you know, I put this 100% together using a 16 x 9 aspect ratio before I remembered that the kids do everything vertically these days. Sigh. I then had to recut the visuals vertically for your phones.

The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Audiobook): Part 1

Friends, 

If you follow this blog, you already know I've been working on an audiobook version of The Return of Dr. Necropolis. I've actually been working on it for a few months now. This is the third or fourth rendition, and I think I'm finally happy with the way it sounds.

I'll put some thoughts after the jump, but if you're interested, you can listen to this initial section right now, either via the embedded GoogleDrive player below or using this link. 

It's a 32MB audiofile, so if you go to download it, just know what you're getting yourself into. The reading itself runs just under half an hour. Lengthwise, that's exactly what I wanted.

Now Playing The Return of Dr. Necropolis: Prologue + Chapter 1

Casa Cabeza in Review: Top Posts of 2024

Our last two posts will be reversed this year. We usually write something like a Christmas letter in this space this week and then do a Top Posts entry in the days leading up to New Years Eve. I still want to do that, but I need to think a bit about the State of Casa Cabeza before trying to sit down to write about it. We lived through a chaotic end to this year with much, MUCH more chaos seemingly on the horizon. I'm not totally sure how to sum all that up just yet.

With that in mind, we'll do our Top Posts of 2024 this week, and if you're interested, you can look for my State of Casa Cabeza post at some point next week.

Sally's Fit-Chick Pics

Sally has sent me a bunch of fitness photos over the past couple of days. She's only just started her own personal training practice, so a lot of the Internet marketing stuff is still new to her, but these have been a cut above what she's done before.

Pics are below. They come with a reminder that she just started an 8-week detox yoga program taught via a private group on Facebook. You can still sign up if that's something you might be into.

It's Happening!!! SUMMER DETOX SERIES begins July 6, 2020. Do you feel sluggish? Tight? Maybe a little depressed from...
Posted by Sally Head Fitness on Saturday, June 27, 2020

Sally's website is here.

Pics are after the jump.  I really liked this set.

Is Writing Even Worth It Anymore?

Yesterday's Ross Tucker Football Podcast featured Chris Horwedel, founder of The Underdog Sports.  Good interview.  Horwedel talked about getting his start as a teenager writing about sports and hosting a podcast and how he'd been a little lucky -- and obviously very good -- in terms of finding collaborators and getting his business of the ground.

5 Things on a Friday: Did I Mention That It Snowed?

Happy Friday, folks.  We’re 'bout to get our weekend started right!

Thursday turned out to be a cold day in Hell.

5 Things on a Friday: The As For Football College Football Show

Happy Friday, everybody!  Let’s go.

5 Things on a Friday: As For Football

Happy Friday, folks!  Let’s get it on.

Via Pinterest

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For much of his life, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle truly disliked writing stories about Sherlock Holmes.  Amazing but true.  Alas, the public loved Holmes, and when Doyle attempted to end the series by killing off the famous detective, Londoners went crazy.  They simply could not accept that Holmes was dead.  More to the point, they didn't care overmuch what other projects Doyle himself looked forward to writing in the future.  In the end, Doyle bowed to the public's wishes and brought Holmes back from the dead.  That decision pigeonholed his writing forever.

The XFL is Coming Back. Where to Put Its Teams?

The XFL is coming back, and I for one am delighted.  This world has long needed a minor league of professional football, there’s plenty of room for it in the spring and early summer sports seasons, and Vince McMahon and company got very close to getting the brand off the ground the first time they tried this, way back in 2001.  This despite lots and lots of issues, most of which have been well-documented.  This second go-round looks about as well-funded as the first attempt and seems far better-conceived.  With all the cable and Internet sports networks out there nowadays, and with all of them just aching for football content, the XFL appears to fill a void in the national consciousness that is in dire need of filling.

5 Things on a Friday: How to Make a Casa Cabeza App

Happy Friday, everybody!

From MTV's Celebrity Death Match

Saturday News & Notes: Tinkering with the Layout & Archives

I've finally fixed the links on the sides of the blog.  While I was at it, I added a link to the Rival Angels' "Halloween Special" that I wrote for my friend Alan Evans a couple of years ago and added an archives and a "word cloud" to help you navigate the blog's various archived topics.

My very brief stint writing for Rival Angels.
In case you ever wanted to know how I'd do as a
pro-wrestling promoter. 

5 Things on a Friday: Still Talking The Last Jedi

Happy Friday, folks!

"The beatings will continue until morale improves!"
Promotional image for Star Wars at Disney World.

Programming note: a couple of this week’s articles are about Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  These may contain spoilers.  Proceed at your own risk.

Advertising Update

Made a change to the blog's advertisement allowances.  I'd previously allowed anything (read: sports betting and various adult "dating" sites) on the theory that a) my audience is mostly adults, and b) even if they aren't, I'm still basically in favor of the corruption of the innocent.

Especially if it earns me a buck.

5 Things on a Friday: Let’s Talk about Messaging

Something occurred to me this week.  It’s this: The right way to talk about the current moment in politics isn’t to talk about the politics of the current moment at all.  In the modern world, one can find news to fit one’s worldview regardless of what that worldview happens to be.  Someone out there somewhere is reporting news with an editorial slant that agrees with whatever philosophy each and every one of us personally finds comforting.  Since people like to feel good about themselves, almost everyone has chosen to get their news from sources that make them feel some combination of smart and vindicated.

Arguing about reality is therefore pointless, and indeed, it’s becoming increasingly pointless to argue at all.  

Spoiler alert: no one is listening.

With this in mind, I’ve realized that the right way to talk about modern politics is to ignore the message and to focus entirely on the success or failure of the messaging.  In the end, it’s the success or failure of the marketing that’s going to determine the future of this country.

A Few Thoughts on Indie Publishing

A friend of mine is looking to start his own blog, mostly covering fantasy sports.  He asked me for some thoughts as he gets his ideas together, and so we've been exchanging emails.  The one below talks a bit about what's it's been like for me over the past decade-plus, and I figured I'd share it in case anyone else out there has some of these same questions.

For what it's worth, I really like my buddy's ideas, and I'm quite looking forward to seeing what he eventually puts together.

Comic Preview: Dr. Strange #1

With the movie coming in the semi-near future, it's no surprise that Marvel is also moving to put out some comics.  Dr. Strange is a character who hasn't always been able to carry his own book with overwhelming success--he sometimes struggles with sales depending on where the market is in relation to his particular backstory and skillset--but then, the same can certainly be said for the Guardians of the Galaxy, and it's not like Blade has ever been able to carry his own book.  And yet, those properties both of had movies that did well.  My sense is that if the Dr. Strange movie is as awesome and entertaining as everything else that Marvel has done, it'll do just fine.

The Secret Warriors and Other Stories...

It's obvious in retrospect.

5 Things on a Friday: Trying to Buy into the New Brand

By the time you read this, I will be enjoying some much-needed time off with one of my very best friends in the entire world.  As I type this, I'm sitting on a train headed into New York City for work, and I can't wait for the weekend.

Happy Friday folks!  Hope you have a good one.