It's not technically winter, but it feels like it. The snow swirls in the headlights, and the mix of salt and spray from fellow travellers need constant applications of washer fluid. Further on no one's left on the road I'm driving. It's dark, it's isolating, cold, and the air from the car's defroster is drying out my eyes.… Continue reading A Canadian highway on a winter night
Author: Mark Ladouceur
Interstellar is worth the price of admission
Interstellar in IMAX was definitely worth the price of admission for me. I can't say too much without spoilers, but the story was the most ambitious space movie I've seen in a good long time. Visually and aurally impressive, Interstellar felt like it succeeded in reaching for something cosmic while tying it to a very… Continue reading Interstellar is worth the price of admission
A Writer’s Guide to Home Ownership
In a word: Don't. In more words: Don't unless you have the time for another hobby. If you're anything other than a full-time writer then home ownership is a time-consuming endeavour. If you start in a new house that still takes your time. There are upgrades, like painting the walls other than builder's beige, put… Continue reading A Writer’s Guide to Home Ownership
Bleak places
This list is prompted by a long road trip I recently took. While driving I endured several of the places listed below. These are the most dehumanizing, soul-crushing, depressing or bleak places that I believe we've created for ourselves in the modern world. Enjoy!Traffic jams - sometimes far removed from recognizable human habitats, highways can be a… Continue reading Bleak places
Actual writing, albeit in someone else’s IP
Finished and posted the fourth chapter in my Mass Effect fan fiction. And even though fan fiction sometimes feels like the writing equivalent of masturbation, at least it's also better than not writing at all. If you're interested in Mass Effect, or fan fiction, the story is posted here: https://www.fanfiction.net/~mrladouceur
Your fallback is a trap
Young artists and anyone getting into a risky career path that doesn't involve sitting in a cube or standing at a factory line is likely told, "have a fallback position/safety net, that you can do if this doesn't work out." It's well meaning advice given by those who care about your future or happiness. It's… Continue reading Your fallback is a trap
New Star Trek
A few years ago, the idea of watching Star Trek fan films would have had me laughing. My first thought would have been of the kids from Galaxy Quest making a film in someone's basement or garage. But then at a 2005 convention in Toronto I got a look at Star Trek: New Voyages' episode… Continue reading New Star Trek
Science Fiction RPGs
In 2012 I supported Pillars of Eternity (Project Eternity then) on Kickstarter. It was pitched as a modernization on the old Baldur's Gate games from the late 1990s and early 2000s. I loved those games. I played the hell out of them for what was probably hundreds of hours. And I'm really looking forward to… Continue reading Science Fiction RPGs
Movies, movies, movies
In just over a week I've seen three movies. And all three have been well worth the price of admission. First up was X-Men: Days of Future Past, the first of two time travel movies I saw. I never read the original comic book version of this story, so I can't comment on its faithfulness,… Continue reading Movies, movies, movies
Temporary dog
For three months we had a visitor in our house; a little 6.5 kilo being that worked his way into the fabric of our family as though he'd always been there, and now he's leaving to go home. He came to us by way of my mother-in-law, who fell ill and couldn't care for him.… Continue reading Temporary dog
Dispatches from Obscurity 