Up late talking games & writing? You're...

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Games: Still working on Call of Juarez. I'm sort of split on it.
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I like Westerns and this one is certainly a great deal better than the first in the series. I have a fondness for the characters, as well… the voice work is good and they fit snugly into the niche that cowboys and outlaws occupy in my mind.
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On the other hand, the gameplay just isn't that exciting, and although I have an enjoyable time while actually in the act of, as soon as I turn the console off and step away, it's as though the game has never existed for me. It instantly vanishes from my mind, and I feel no draw whatsoever to get back to it apart from the knowledge that I have a review due.
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In other game news, I needed something to play on the PSP since I knew I'd have some time to kill. Scanning the shelves of used titles (and trying not to imagine a future where this is no longer a reality) I found myself strangely attracted to Phantasy Star Portable.
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Although I enjoyed a couple of the original PS games back on the Genesis and spent some time with PS Online, I can't really claim to be a huge fan of the series in its various incarnations. The more recent titles have been especially lacking in my opinion, and although Phantasy Star sorta paved the way for online console MMOing, the developers don't really seem able to keep pace with current trends for various reasons.
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At this point you're probably wondering why the hell I was even considering PS Portable, and the answer to that is: I have no idea. It just sounded good.
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Chalk it up to a hormone imbalance, or malnutrition, or some other random thought-altering physiological state. Cosmic rays, perhaps. The lunar cycle? Anyway, I walked out of the store with it and put an hour or two into it.
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I don't have a lot of thoughts on it just yet, although I will say that the character creator system is surprisingly robust. Featuring a lot more options than I would have expected, I spent a good deal of time tweaking my character and if nothing else, I give Sega huge props for A) including the option to create a plus-sized woman, and B) giving this female form a normal weight distribution instead of applying male body shape to a female character model. (Yes, it's true... not every male gamer finds the skinny-minnie Eastern quasi-jailbait archetype attractive.)
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Oh, and the camera control and lock-on system seem to completely blow, although I'm not quite sure I've completely mastered the controls yet.
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Books: Picked up a copy of Joe R. Lansdale’s Lost Echoes. Haven't had a chance to crack it yet, but I'm really, really looking forward to it.
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If you've never read a Lansdale book, you owe it to yourself to check one out. Joe has inspired and influenced me more than any other author, and his books have informed me as to what sort of writing I most enjoy, and what sort I like to write. If I ever turn out a volume that's even a third as good as some of the things that Joe has done, I'll call that a complete success.
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There are certainly many authors that I enjoy, and there are authors that I respect, but although I can appreciate them all, no one even comes close to touching the kind of stuff that Joe crafts. Simple, yet nuanced… straightforward, yet complex… lean, yet full of action and energy. His talent for intertwining humor and horror seems effortless, and his characters pop. The guy is the total package, and although some of his books are better than others, even his worst ones are head and shoulders above what a lot of so-called bestsellers achieve.
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Anyway, like I said... if you're not familiar with Joe's work, then you owe it to yourself to get in touch with some of the best writing that's been happening in the past few decades. The man's a genius.
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