Happy Retro Video Game Day

Posted on March 8, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

I couldn’t pass this holiday up even though I don’t play video games that much.  My daily Pokemon Go outings are pretty much it unless I get the call with my son while home and free to play some classic games.  To be fair, he’s playing a game while we talk as well.

I wish I had more time, but I’m so out of the loop that I wouldn’t even know what to play these days.  The games I played back in the day were the platformers, a few RPGs, and beat ’em ups.  Outside of ‘Goldeneye 007’ on the N64, I didn’t play many FPS . . . Except for Wolfenstein 3D, Metroid Prime, Doom, Quake, and I think a few others that typically made me puke from motion sickness.  Anyway, I might get some time in and tackle classic games from the Switch libraries.  It’s relaxing and fun even if I’m cursing up a storm at the computer.  Trust me, it’s lethargic.

For this holiday, I decided to leave pictures and videos of some of my favorite games, which is only a fraction.  Had to stop myself eventually, so I didn’t add others I played tons of times.  Maybe these are the biggest ones, but it is tough since I went from Atari 2600 to Super NES.  Still got NES time when I visited friends. Feel free to mention your favorite video games in the comments.

Dig Dug (Atari 2600)

Bubble Bobble (NES)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES); The Hated Dam Level

Kirby’s Dreamland (Gameboy)

Mega Man X (SNES)

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES); Had to decide between this and Ocarina of Time, but this was my first one.

Prince of Persia  (PS2) No worthwhile gifs

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS2); One of my favorites, which I can’t play because it isn’t on the Nintendo Switch

Below are going to be videos for a few reasons.  For ‘Super Castlevania’ the ending music and video always make me tear up.  ‘Illusion of Gaia’ is an RPG on the SNES that I feel had one of the greatest soundtracks of my youth.  ‘Chrono Trigger’ was great too, but I didn’t own that one.  Only played it once while IoG was at least twice a year.  Finally, the finale of ‘Super Mario RPG’ is another one that makes me tear up due to the memories.

Yeah.  I need to include my favorite Final Fantasy, which is FFIX.  I haven’t played it since after college since I borrowed it and never bought it.  The game is on the Nintendo Switch, but I know I’d lose myself to it until I beat it again.  Maybe one day.

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Goal Post: Wild, But Productive

Posted on March 7, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

This week was really busy because a lot was going on at work.  Can’t go into those events, but they left me stressed, tired, and suffering from stomach issues.  My son had a busy and crazy week too, so we’re both recovering.  Last weekend was rough for you, which means I have to make this one make up for what happened.  Not that I was responsible, but I don’t want him having two bad weekends in a row.  So, we’re looking at a few Pokemon Go outings and him getting to choose whatever fun stuff we do.

With Darwin & the Joy Path done, I didn’t have any real writing projects.  My schedule and energy didn’t help me with ‘Phi Beta Files’.  I kept forgetting to take it out of my backpack, so I couldn’t put it in view to increase my interest.  Instead, I finished all of the May blog posts and worked on a jigsaw puzzle.  That’s some level of being productive and puts me 3 months ahead.  Gives me time to figure out what to do about June and maybe I’ll tinker with ‘Phi Beta Files’ this weekend.

There might be something coming down the pipeline though.  The artist who do the covers for War of Nytefall reached out to me.  Life got away from me, so it’s been a little over two years.  Going to discuss covers for Tales of the Slumberlord and I even sent over Darwin & the Fate Bracelet for her to read over.  We had an initial idea long ago, so that might happen again.  Weekdays are too busy, so I’m going to reach out over the weekend.  Need to muster up the funds for a cover, which shouldn’t be too hard.  Do I dare to have hope that I’ll publish this year?

One of the mental obstacles is that I know I have no money for promos or time to bounce around the Internet.  Life isn’t going to settle down this year, which means I might end up publishing, posting here, and depend on the kindness of strangers.  I don’t even remember how to promote a book without a budget.  Is that even possible?  Still going to put the book out there, but I don’t know if I should hold out hopes of making much money beyond a few curious checks.

The quality is another concern, but that’s my doubt talking.  I’ve done multiple edits of Books 1-5 when I wasn’t writing.  Still, I have such an issue of confidence and a fear of other people reading the books.  The fear stems from memories of my early days when people would tear it apart under the guise of helping.  Don’t think I can handle a reader giving me a list that basically says ‘change the characters, setting, plot, style, and everything’.  Can’t even tell if I have the same skill in writing too.  Just a general mental mess.

Plus side, is that I have a long time to figure things out.  Getting cover art doesn’t mean I have to publish right away.  I might spend 2-3 months doing teasers and making posts relating to the theme and characters.  That was how I did things in the old days, but I had a much bigger blog audience.  More help, energy, time, and hope as well.  Still, I guess it’s just important to publish at this point.

This coming week is really going to be more of the same.  Clock change means more sunlight, which can up my energy or at least allow me to take outdoor walks.  With May blogging done, I really don’t have much to distract me from ‘Phi Beta Files’.  Just depends on if I can stay awake after I get home and eat.  Well, I have my son for a few days, but the others show some promise.  Surprised I even have time to breathe, shower, and get anything done for myself.

Goals of the week:

  1. Time with son.
  2. ‘Phi Beta Files’ work.
  3. Talk with cover artist.
  4. Work.
  5. Rest because energy is low.
  6. Puzzle time when need a screen break.
  7. Try to boost confidence . . . Not looking good.
  8. Maybe do the Sunday June posts?
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Questions 3: Endings

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Never-ending Story

As we’ve seen, endings can be difficult and many don’t land well.  Many factors can contribute to that like author writing themselves into a bad spot, author forgetting foreshadowing, readers coming up with their own ending first, and readers not wanting the story to end.  Let’s get some opinions though.

  1. What is one way that authors can make a good ending?
  2. What is a way that authors make a bad ending?
  3. What is the best and worst ending you have ever read or watched?
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Poetry Day: The Curse of Poetry 101

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(A poem about poetry and the fighting over norms.  Kind of makes me glad I don’t get into those arguments any more.  It’s also why I didn’t try to make any type of pattern for this one.)

I hear it
I see it
The question
What is a poem?
It is an opening
A call
To shred
And maim
A defenseless expression
Born of heart
And soul

 

Does it truly matter
If we fail
To rhyme the words
When the emotions
Are so strong
Many
Say yes
These are the ones
That wait
In a stationary circle
Drooling
In anticipation
To tear
Into a work of soul
With no remorse
And a hint
Of smarmy pride

 

I tired of this
Long ago
Trying to put
Reason
To my madness
Always
The say ending
I would present
Reading loud
And clear
Only to find
That my words
Were empty
Rotted by my logic
And dependence
On the rules

 

No more
I play by rules
No more
Take your rhymes
Your meters
And choke on them
I let my fingers
Fly without true purpose
Following images
That dance
Behind closed eyes
Dictating
For unknown voices
I am at the whim
Of my imagination
And I feel peace

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Elevator Shaft Death

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

So, I never watched the show above.  The ‘elevator death’ episode came out in March 1991 and I was 10.  I did hear shows having surprise deaths as I grew up and people usually referenced this event.  Not to mention it made a lot of people terrified of stepping onto an elevator too early even if they hadn’t seen the episode.  Guess this is the 1990’s version of ‘Final Destination’ where you get nervous behind a truck hauling logs or really any long pieces of wood.

Anyway, the concept of a shock death of a popular character isn’t new.  Some series even made a bulk of their reputation off suddenly killing off characters, who tended to be the heroes.  Makes sense since eliminating villains at a fast rate could bring the story to a fairly quick finale.  Heroes tend to have a stronger connection to the readers too, so their deaths will hit harder.  That’s the point of this, right?  To create an emotional impact that has the audience thinking and speaking about it long after they walk away.

In more recent years, I think authors have overused this shock death.  They’re very quick to pull the trigger, which results in characters with flimsy connections to the readers being eliminated.  Think of it like picking a fruit off a tree just before it fully ripens.  It might not taste horrible or even truly bad, but you will have missed the best time to eat it.  The reader won’t care as much about what’s happened and may even walk away from the story for a while.  Not so much physically as mentally where they just keep reading along with a weakened sense of attachment.

Another mistake that I’ve seen made is that newer characters are eliminated in shocking ways instead of older ones.  This comes from wanting to maintain a high body count reputation, but not being able to kill off central characters.  Reaping heroes shouldn’t come at the cost of the story, so this makes sense.  Yet, you run into a situation where readers don’t bother getting attached to new characters because they fully expect them to die.  Now, you’re back to the unripe fruit situation, but it’s worse because the fruit will never ripen.  (Note: I’m not hungry or eating fruit while writing this. It’s just what popped into my head.)

So, timing and emotion can be everything, especially if the goal is to revitalize the series after a while.  The death of a beloved character is a double-edged sword, but it can erase staleness.  Yes, people who loved the character might send death threats because we live in a time of unhinged anonymity.  Others will be more sensible and consider walking away, but that can be prevented if the character is mourned and their demise means something more than shock value.

This would add a third factor: Aftermath.  If you have a character die and then everyone moves on without a care, you’ve wasted an opportunity.  The death of someone they know can help the other heroes change either for good or bad.  Some may focus on vengeance while others consider giving up out of grief.  The aftermath can last for the rest of the story too if you make sure it doesn’t interfere with the overall story.  For example, the shock death can drive the survivors to push forward or even alter their plan to avoid another disaster.

Personally, I’m very cautious about killing off major characters.  Secondary ones become fair game, but I try not to do real shock deaths.  There’s always a purpose within the story for them to die instead of ‘the world is a dangerous place’.  My reason for this is because I feel that Windemere can be shown as dangerous without a high body count.  People die there, but I’d rather show the danger and how it can be survived even if one doesn’t get out in one piece.  A death also means I have to take time on mourning and grief because I don’t like having people witness such a thing and move on.  Seems callous and cruel, which doesn’t fit any of the stories I’ve written so far.  If it makes sense down the road, I’ll do it, but that hasn’t happened yet.

What do other people think of ‘elevator shaft’ deaths?

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Today, Dawn Pisturino Has Written a Super Review of Eternal Road

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Dawn has written a wonderful Review for Eternal Road – The Final Stop Here is a link to her post https://dawnpisturino.wordpress.com/2026/03/04/book-…

Today, Dawn Pisturino Has Written a Super Review of Eternal Road
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Revisiting Origins: Raksha and Melanie

Posted on March 3, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(These were some minor characters who eventually hung around Baron Kernaghan in Legends of Windemere.  They were never part of the real plan, but they popped up by accident.  I figured I would put them together and they became a way to hint that the main villain possessed some level of humanity.  At least he did at one point in his life.  I don’t even think I had either of these characters speak, but they were oddly fun to put into a scene as noticeable background flavor.)

Cheshire Cat from American McGee's Alice

Cheshire Cat from American McGee’s Alice

I guess I’ll scream SPOILERS here even though these characters are so minor that Sari’s skirts and Nyx’s eyes are more essential to the story.  People might know Raksha from Book 5 and Melanie debuts in Book 6.  That’s all I’m saying before I make the ‘Read More’ break.  Again, these two are extreme background:

Continue reading →

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It Was Only A Dream

Posted on March 2, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

South Park

This is a very common ending that I’m sure all of us have encountered.  After all of the events, the main character wakes up and it’s revealed to have been a dream.  I believe this was the ending for ‘Newhart’ and it also makes me think of ‘Wizard of Oz’.  From what I can tell, there are two uses for this trope:

  1. Having everything be a dream comes as a shock ending. The audience is surprised, but not upset.  At least, that’s how it used to be.  I think this usage doesn’t hit as well due to previous overuse and readers being hunters of foreshadowing.  If you don’t show any signs of it being a dream, they’ll say you made a bad ending.  To be fair, if you have signs and they figure it out, they’ll say you’re predictable.  This is why I want to steer clear of it in my own stories.
  2. A more accepted and useful method is to have it happen in the middle of a series.  This can reset characters and plots back to before the dreaming.  It can help if an author has written themselves into a corner and have a previous event that could explain a coma or any form of unconsciousness.  If it’s planned, an author can experiment with characters to see if anything is worth establishing in the real world.  Either way, you now have a hero remembering a dreamworld and that gives you a subplot for them reacclimating.

‘Just a dream’ is still a risky endeavor in this day and age.  I can see how it was shocking and popular long ago.  Similar to ‘I am your father’ being said by the villain, this trope was used to the point where it lost its power.  It only works on those who haven’t read or watched many stories that utilize the twist.  So, they are shocked since it’s new to them, but everyone else might just shrug.  This limits your audience to a very narrow population, which can shrink more once they realize you aren’t the first to do it.  So, why would anyone use it again?

The truth is that sometimes the ‘just a dream’ twist simply works for the story.  This can go for any trope since they became that way due to effectiveness.  Even if you remove the shock effect, a character being in a coma and going through a fake adventure can open the door to many things.  I already mentioned them having to acclimate to reality, which can be disorienting.  Another option is the character hating the real world and setting off to see if they can return to the fake one.  This does remove the trope from being a true ending, but more of a catalyst for more.  It can extend the life of a series in this way since you can’t use it at the start.

When you use it is another good point I should touch on.  Having a character start off waking from a vivid dream can be done, but the audience won’t have any interest in any effects.  They won’t understand why the real world is better or worse than the fake one because they don’t know what was ‘lost’.  You lose that investment and replace it with a mystery that can easily fall flat if it doesn’t grab the reader immediately.  This is why ‘just a dream’ can work better as a mid-series twist.  Placed there, you allow the reader to see both worlds and how they merge.  They could even relate to the disorientation of the character since they have to figure out where the dream started.

Another positive for this trope could be seen as rare because it depends entirely on how philosophical the reader is. One can start trigger a discussion about reality and if we are in a dream right now.  Maybe it can be about how people perceive things differently or anything about how we see the world.  After all, the character experienced a dream so real that it was a story worth sharing with the reader.  It was enough for them to also remember after waking, which isn’t always the case with dreams.  They tend to fade away pretty quickly or remain solely as fractured shards.

So, what do other people think of ‘just a dream’?

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‘Strange’ Hibernators of the Animal Kingdom (A Lot of Brumators)

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Months ago, I saw an article about the Arctic Woolly Caterpillar.  This moth larvae lives in extreme cold environments and survive with an interesting method of hibernation.  It puts itself into a state of hypothermia by producing a natural antifreeze and freezing solid for several months.  They thaw for the brief summer to feed and then freeze again until they mature, which takes around 14 years.

This got me wondering about other animals that hibernate in ways that we don’t think about.  Let’s be honest.  Most of us think of bears and groundhogs sleeping through the winter, but there’s more.

Arctic Woolly Caterpillar

Box turtles do something called brumation, which isn’t hibernation.  Still, it’s interesting to learn about.  Brumation is what reptiles and amphibians do.  For box turtles, they burrow into the ground or go under roots to slow their metabolism and heart rate.  They are not in as deep a state as hibernating mammals, so they will wake up occasionally if they need food and water.

Box Turtle

Bumblebees hibernation is also called diapause.  While most of the hive dies off, the new Queen enters a dormant state after mating.  She goes into the dirt, rodent tunnels, or hides in leaf litter.  The last one is dangerous though since us humans tend to clear our lawns of leaves, which kills any insects sleeping within.  Now, the Queen survives off body fat and stays warm by secreting an antifreeze like the woolly caterpillar.

Bumblebee

The Common Poorwill is the only bird that hibernates.  They enter a state called torpor, which is a death-like sleep.  This lowers their metabolism and vitals for even months until the weather warms and food becomes more available.  Before sleeping, they get into rocky spaces where they will be safe.

Common Poorwill

The Fat-Tailed Dwarf Lemur is the only hibernating primate.  During Madagascar’s dry season, they enter a state of torpor for nearly seven months.  Vitals go down and they match the surrounding temperatures while getting nourishment from the fat stored in their tails.  The tails can make up 40% of their weight before hibernating.

Fat-Tailed Dwarf Lemur

Garter Snakes enter brumation like the box turtles.  The difference here is that snakes will hibernate in a massive group.  This helps them stay warm during the cold periods.

Garter Snakes

Snail hibernation is also called estivation.  This can last months and even years.  As many of the previous hibernators, they burrow into the ground before their metabolism and vitals slow down.  The unique addition here is that they seal their shells with a plug of dried mucus called a epiphragm.  Snails will do this for extreme cold and heat too.

Snails

Here is the Wood Frog, which is another animal that does brumation.  The reason I kept another brumator here is because they do something different than the box turtles and garter snakes.  Wood Frogs secrete antifreeze like the bumblebee and caterpillar, so they freeze solid within the leaf litter.  Their heart and breath stop entirely, which means this is cryogenic freezing. The ice forms around their cells without penetration, so they can survive until the rising temperatures thaw them out.

Wood Frog

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Goal Post: Blizzard of ’26 And The Aftermath

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

So, we got hit by a pretty bad storm last weekend.  It started on Sunday, but the worst happened overnight into Monday.  My dad and I were lucky to have gone out to clean the cars and do some shoveling in the evening.  This made the morning easier, but it was still a pain.  The wind made it that we had spots with barely any snow next to drifts that were around 15-18 inches deep.  This meant we got a total of over 20 inches before the storm actually stopped.  Apparently, this one was the worst on record, so take that everyone who goes ‘This is nothing compared to the blizzard of ’78’.

The aftermath resulted in us getting two snow days, which won’t take away from spring break due to the governor declaring a state of emergency.  Thankful for that because it would have been my half that we lost.  The days off also helped us clear more out, especially after the one time the plow came through.  I don’t know what was going on, but the roads are still a mess.  Snow is piled on the corners, which means you can’t see what is coming without sticking your car’s nose into the street.  Some people haven’t cleared their sidewalks and crossing streets is nearly impossible since you have a wall of ice in your way.  Total headache, which is gradually going away.

I had my son for the snow days too, so we got to spend time hanging out.  He’s trying to teach himself some basic coding, which he did while I shoveled, rested from shoveling, and worked on May blog posts.  He’s 16 and wants to do his own stuff at times.  Have to accept that as a parent, but he still enjoys having lunch with me and watching our cartoons at night.  I think this hurts a bit more than it normally would because my brain reminds me that I missed about half of his teenager years due to the 50/50 custody.  Not the best way to look at it, but there’s been a lot of events that he’s had to miss because he wasn’t with me at the time.  So, I give him space and ask that we do some things together.

After finishing Darwin & the Joy Path, I’m trying to focus on ‘Phi Beta Files’ and setting up blog posts.  I’m proud to say I’ve already gotten most of May set up since I’m reposting ‘mental health and writing’ posts.  As for ‘Phi Beta’, I’m struggling with the finale outline.  I have to figure out various pieces first and then set up the 10 short stories.  I keep wanting to start the whole thing with them being sent on a mission that is supposed to get them killed.  They’re still a gang of effective idiots, so I don’t know if I should have them succeed and return to face the real problem at the academy.  Part of me feels like they would leave as soon as they realized they weren’t supposed to survive.  That would get the person who set them up really riled up and possibly have their destructive meltdown (the main plot) be more believable.

On top of this, I’m still trying to figure out what the difference between a witch and a caster is in Windemere.  Both use magic, so why would a witch be different?  I already have song casters, time casters, channelers, wand-only casters, and other subcategories.  I can’t figure out why the ‘Coven of the Gray’ would be unique.  I even considered them being casters who lost their aura, but still have magic.  That makes them undead though and that would be more like a lich . . . Unless . . . I mean, witch and lich rhyme.  I still have no idea what I’m planning.

With it being a full week of school/work, I’m not going to plan much beyond finishing up blog posts and tinkering with outlines. This weekend is the big end of season Pokemon Go event, so I’ll be walking in the park for most of today and a chunk of tomorrow.  The amount I walk around tomorrow depends entirely on how I do today.  Not going to go for the full 8 hours nonstop though.  I’m taking a break at 1 pm to get lunch and then I’ll head back out.  By the evening, I’ll be tired, but I should still be able to tackle ‘Phi Beta Files’ a bit.  Not having a book to write has me feeling lazy in terms of production, but I can’t tackle a project like that yet.  March has too many meetings and appointments, which is causing stress.

So, what are the goals for the week?

  1. Catch all the Pokemon on my list this weekend.
  2. Catch all the Pokemon on my son’s list in case he isn’t allowed to go.
  3. Work on ‘Phi Beta Files’.
  4. Finish May blog posts.
  5. Jigsaw puzzle!
  6. Relax because it’s a long trek towards spring break.
  7. Settle some personal stuff.
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