Monday, September 19, 2011

About Fever Dream

Scapa, for those unfamiliar with it, is a single malt scotch from a small Orkney Island distillery. It is not one of your rough, big-boned single malts. Oh my goodness, no. 

It is all heather and honey. It comes at you, with gentle kisses and soft curves. 'More of me,' it whispers as you drink it. 'Have more of me. I would never hurt you.'

Scapa lies.

I'd been entertaining thoughts of doing another post along the lines of  Vox Populi as a commentary on the CCP/CSM drama occupying the Eve blogosphere in early September. After my dalliance with lady Scapa, I passed by a copy of the Iliad lying out on my desk on my way to bed. And it occurred to me that the Iliad, one of humanity's oldest literary works, opens with a seminal moment in the history of rage-quitting.  "Heh," thought I, blurrily. "Crazy Achaeans."

And I slipped below the wine-dark waves of sleep that night, muzzily pondering the parallels between Ilium and New Eden. 

Old muse visited while I slept and woke me early. Really, painfully early; having conspired with lady Scapa to fill my head with thoughts of sharp-tined pitchforks and proud-eyed spymasters. I typed it out through the ragged morning lady Scapa had left behind. Cleaned the post up over coffee as the haze lifted, and then sent it out, hoping a few folk would get a laugh out of it.

Imagine my surprise. 

In a single day Fever Dream garnered more hits than the cumulative hits for any single post at Fiddler's Edge. Since then it's continued to pull in readers, which is very gratifying. Writing something with 'legs' is always a pleasure in the blogopshere, where content tends to wander off into the never-never of the archives soon after it's released.

I was especially delighted with the number of readers who picked up on the Iliad reference right away. Eve players continue to show themselves to be a special breed of MMO gamer. For those who've never taken that story for a turn around the block, I recommend the Fagles translation which is eminently readable and easy to find.

Thanks to all of you who enjoyed the Fever Dream, to those who passed it on, and those who left kind words behind.


(PS - For those waiting on the promised piece about low/null security space, it's on the front burner.)

4 comments:

  1. Hmmm. I like a single malt, I'll have to track down some of this Scapa, see if it improves my writing.

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  2. Mord, where are you? CCP Drama is being poured out like the Seven Bowls of God's Wrath, and we are missing your honey coated voice!

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  3. Wait, I thought there would be no nerf to supers...they were part of CCPs master business plan.

    Gee, are you off eating humble pie?

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  4. @Steve - You'll note that supercap balancing was only announced five days after Hilmar's letter - about the time the master business plan kinda sorta rattled off the rails.

    God I'm good.

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