Just before I left for Origins, the poster you see off to the right was delivered to my home. It’s an artistically-lettered print of a poem by Neil Gaiman, entitled “Before You Read This.”

It’s a wonderful poem, and I deeply appreciated getting it. But there was no note. I had no idea who sent it.

It took a little while, but I found it was my partner in crime, Kris Johnson. I wanted to thank him publicly for being such a swell guy, and for getting me something because, in his words, “I knew you’d like it.”

The great thing about the poem (which will be framed and placed over my desk in my office), is that it invokes more images than it describes. What I mean is, as you read it, it pulls ideas to the forefront of your mind, and so far, I’ve found that it jumpstarts my creative process. Like a meditation.

If you want to have a little fun, follow the link and read the poem from the end to the beginning. To twist things, read some of the stanzas as “Before You Write This.” It takes on whole new meanings.

Buy one for yourself from the talented Todd Klein.

In this episode of of the podcast, I talk a little bit about coming back from Los Angeles, the state of my various projects, and go into some details about the fiun had at Origins 2009 this year. Also, a bonus rant/ramble about why people like me are the Game Vendors’ Worst Nightmare:

Links for this show:

• Pinax
• Origins 2009
• War, Season 5 of Heaven
• Fluxx and Family Fluxx
• Are You The Traitor?
• Necessary Evil
• The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia

Names dropped: Kris Johnson, Jim Van Verth, Mur Lafferty, Ken Newquist, David Moore, Erin Moore, Natalie Metzger, Andy Steigle, John Cmar, Laura Burns

Download the show here.

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On a recent episode of Podioracket, I made the comment that, if all you know about Evo Terra is from his podcast, you really have no idea who you are dealing with. Evo’s a smart guy and has a brilliant way of cutting to the core of an issue which, I must admit, I envy¹. Check out his recent presentation on Big Numbers for Ignite Phoenix. While the ideas he’s discussing are, at their core, simple math, it’s the perspective he brings to the topic that showcases his skill.

1. I am also jealous of his Wikipedia page.  Don’t you judge me.[back]

Mark Jeffrey, author The Pocket and the Pendant and The Two Travelers, is hosting an excellent new vidcast Bibliotech:

About Bibliotech: The Evolution of Digital Publishing: Authors are podcasting MP3 novels. Publishers are inserting real-time ads into ebooks. And readers are discovering and communicating directly with authors on Twitter, Goodreads and other sites. Host Mark Jeffrey (@markjeffrey) interviews authors, technologists and publishing professionals about how digital media is changing their world.

Check out the first episode below, and visit bibliotechshow.com for future episodes.

I’m not sure about you guys, but the world is wearying me more easily these days.

It might be the last two years of absurdly hard work on my part, it might be the move back home. It might be starting a new job.  it might be all of these things, but I feel like it goes deeper than that.

Sleep can recharge the body, but how does one recharge the soul?

That’s where the weariness lies, I think. Life fatigue — the spirit is weak.  The speed at which things happen, the constant barrage of media, of the tasks you MUST do, the sense of false urgency that surrounds us today.

I was out in L.A. when I realized that I spent so much time “reasoning” things out (read: whistling in the dark), trying to control situations around me, that in the end, I felt like it was all slipping through my fingers because you cannot hold on to so much. My wife calls it living in my head. Critical thinking is good, but sometimes it’s better to feel; to drink in life instead of breaking it down so you can digest it.

The soul doesn’t exist to consume the world. It’s meant to experience, revel in, and produce beauty.

I know that all of you reading this are busy people, so I ask you, how do you take care of your soul?