A Look Back: First Responses

Not too far on the other side of the horizon, a pleasing and arguably important date for the blog approaches. The end of January, 2009 will mark the first anniversary of Points of Convergence, and watching and planning for that approaching event has gotten me feeling nostalgic. I wasn't quite sure what to do with that feeling until fellow blogger, OneAmongMany, tagged me via Tweet.

Mad Props

After what may very well be the most boring first post in the history of blogdom, PoC got a real start with a quick introduction to yours truly. I was lucky enough to be greeted and welcomed to the blogging world by a few really top notch people. It's those first-supporters of my work that I want to slap with some mad props and thank, today. You are the ones who gave me my first push and helped me to keep going through a busy and stressful year.

1. Sweetflag - My very first commenter, Sweetflag was a visitor from the UK who has since branched out from WoW-blogging to general game and culture blogging, as you can see in his (I'm guessing gender) new blogging location, Construed.


2. Asaradragoness - A frequent return visitor to the site, Asara's always been a supportive voice and an uplifting commenter around PoC. She has a personal / WoW blog that is currently hosting a bunch of pictures of just about the cutest young family in the whole known world. Best wishes to you and yours, Asara!


3. MamaDruid - Here's another friendly face that got her start on my blog early. MamaDruid, beyond being an enthusiastic and friendly supporter of PoC, has one of those blogs that are just the way I like them: covering a great breadth of WoW-related topics with an emphasis on fun things to do and see, interesting experiences, and little in-game adventures and discoveries.
   
   MamaDruid is currently MIA in the blogging world (as you'll see if you click her blog link), but myself and all the Twitteratti are hoping she'll reappear soon and that everything is going well in the mean time. Come back to us, MamaDruid!
   

Honorable Mention

1. Siha - Although she didn't comment on the first commented post in PoC, I wanted to give an honorable mention shout-out to a great blogger and fellow Proudmoore Alliance player, Siha of Banana Shoulders. She introduced herself on my second post, the introduction to my namesake toon, Rhoelyn, and has held a special place in my heart (and my feed reader) because of her great writing, her wonderful guides, and the remote possibility that I might actually run into her in-game.
   
   Somehow, despite a few /who attempts, that has still not actually managed to happen in the past near-year. Of course, she keeps crazy Aussie hours and I keep crazy American hours. We're probably passing on the login screen, each night.
   

Tagged

That's right! It's my turn to pass on the nostalgic feeling to others. You are tagged:

Phaelia <<>> Kestrel <<>> Khol Drake <<>> Hana <<>> Faradhim

Public Service Announcement: Just Say NO!

Dear Khierra,

You don't know me, but I am a hat activist. I scour Azeroth for the Headgear that Should Never Be Seen. Wherever I findi t, I find a cause, and I am compelled to lobby long and hard against its use. Horrible hats are a blight on the eyeballs of Azerothians everywhere!

Yours, dear druid, is one of Them.

Please understand. I sympathize; I know the temptation that a stat-rich new headpiece offers. I spent my own period of weakness beneath the brim of a particularly rancid millinery confection. I don't blame you for the errors of your youth, but I do beg you to see the Light. I don't think I could bear to see another young adventurer fall to the same evil that has claimed so many, including a dear friend of mine.

Be strong, young sister. Hide your helm for the good of all Azeroth (and Outlands).

And remember...

With Best Intentions,
~Rhoelyn of Proudmoore

Slow Down: Genius at Work

(Most awesome graphic EVAR made by Phaelia of Resto4Life, master model-viewer and all around cool tree. <3)

Dear beloved readers,

Please, even if you hate me and want to wring my neck for prolonged negligence, do yourself a favor and go read this post from Euripides of Critical QQ. Genius deserves an audience. (Plus, I'm hoping you'll forgive me for not amusing you if I can at least send you to someone who can.)

I am totally NOT dead. I have been spending the worst, most annoying kind of time on the blog, lately.... the kind you can't see. Bear with me just a few more days.

Oh, and set aside that afternoon coffee before you go visit 'Pides. Your keyboard and monitor will thank you for it later.

Coffee laughsplosions are bad, m'kay,
~Rhoelyn

Cuz, ya know... shift happens.

... And I guess I like playing with it when it does. :)

}} Go visit Phaelia to see what I'm talking about. {{

I'm not really the type of person to ask for everyone to vote for me, but I encourage you to put in your vote for whichever new shirt you prefer. There are some great designs in the running.

Ah, and if the naked man-flesh isn't to your taste, I was going to create a naked-girlelf version for the boys if my shirt wins. So, y'know... just keep that in mind. We're not gender-biased here at POC! Much.

:9 Purple man...

Curtain Call: Anna's Friday Five - RP Style

Though you may not know it*, I'm a serious sucker for a bit of Roleplaying. Despite all its well-advertised faults and foibles in the WoW community, it is a great way to add interest and depth to the smallest aspects of the game. Have you ever composed a little diddy while cooking Brilliant Smallfish in Bloodhoof Village? Juggled rings over fire totems for coppers in Stormwind's Trade District? Have you ever toured the Barrens on your brand new, completely runaway lizard mount, screaming curses and pleas to stop the whole way?

I have. No joke. I have screenshots (somewhere). That kind of little foolery and fun makes the 40 points' worth of cooking skillups, practice with new totem hotkeys, and the long run from Ratchet to Thousand Needles an order of magnitude more enjoyable than they could have been. As an added bonus, you never know who'll bite and start playing along, whether you're on a roleplay server or not!

That's why I was so thrilled to read Anna of Too Many Annas' most recent Friday Five post. She's borrowed the famous Friday Five meme** and put a fun, roleplayer's twist on it: she's asking her Friday Five questions to our toon(s) instead of us. Starting out light, it seems like she's going to use it as a way to ease the newcomers into the concept of developing a character for roleplaying. If you ask me, it's also a great way for the non-newcomers to explore their character a bit more, perhaps even flesh out some details they hadn't encountered for themselves, yet.

All I know for sure is that I'm stoked, and the toons in my head are all clamoring for attention. Here's my Friday Five - RP Style. Let's see yours!

1. What is your character’s name?
   

   My name is Rhoelyn. In the lands outside of Teldrassil, I am sometimes given the surname of Silverwing, though I rarely use it for fear that the Sentinels to whom it truly belongs would object. I believe my friend, Axus, chose it in reference to my hair. I would never presume to call him unimaginative, but ... well...
   

2. Why did he/she pick his/her class?
   

   One does not choose to become a priestess of Elune; the Goddess does the choosing, and we who are so blessed answer Her call. I believe I knew this was my path from a very young age. Suffice to say, I cannot remember a time before I knew that I was a healer and lightbringer. Certainly, I would not know how to be anything but a priest. It is my role in the deepest, most intrinsic sense.
   

3. What’s the worst trouble he/she ever got into as a child?
   

   Somehow, though I have ever been the last child to cause trouble, I found myself in it quite often when I was young. I suppose that has something to do with my brother, Rhese, and his unerring ability to convince me to join in whatever adventure he had found for the day. No matter how clearly I saw the danger, I never had the heart to tell him 'no' when he turned that excited smile my way. Not then, and certainly not now.
   
   The worst punishment we ever received, though, was when we decided to follow a friendly furbolg we encountered outside Starfall Village. He told the most amusing stories, and before we realized it, we were standing on the outskirts of Astranaar, waving goodbye as he flew off on a hippogryph. When our keepers finally found us, they were so upset that they refused to let us out of their sight for a solid fortnight. It was very ... stifling.

4. What is his/her favorite thing to eat?
   

   My favorite food? Hm. I do not really have a favorite. I just eat what I need to be well fed. Does the flavor really matter?
   
   ... then again, I did really enjoy that Box of Chocolates from my friend, Rastelli. Do candies count?
   

5. What does he/she have in his/her pockets?
   

   Oh, dear. Are you sure you really want to explore that potentially hazardous topic? I carry so much in my packs that they are near to being classified as disaster areas. Truly.
   
   Imagine a dank, cluttered space bursting with a dozen different types of herbs, potions, cloth, odd dusts, dirt, keepsakes, and even a few pieces of equipment. Now, add quest items - most of them grisly and rotting - a few dormant pets, a pretty dress or two, and one very small purse of Gold.
   
   I pity poor Murky for having to put up with it, but he seems to be quite content to spend his days swimming amongst the detritus.
   

* Or does the comic silliness give it away? :o
** Gasp. Yes, another one! They are rather... viral. ;)

Link Love: Potpourri from the Blogosphere

Rumors of my death have been gr--... well, moderately exaggerated. I apologize for the quiet week. I'm not much of one for a dozen excuses; I've just been very busy and exhausted from a crunch at work and a convergence of many different real-life energy and time sinks. The work crunch will last a while, yet, but I am hoping that this weekend will give me a chance to clear out the rest of the rubble. I'll be back to a quality pair of posts, next week.

For today, however, here are some great places to go and enjoy the content I'm not up to providing:

1. World of Warcrafts at WoW Insider is not exactly a brand new cloumn, but since it was taken over by Shelbi from The Bronze Kettle, it may as well be. The quality of the crafts she has offered up is already leaps and bounds above her predecessor. If you're looking for an afternoon project, a bit of fun to share with the kids, or just a cool distraction to get you out of the game for an hour or two, then you should definitely check out her column and see what you can make. I'm really tempted to make myself some potion candles for my desktop.
   
   
   
2. Maybe gameplay ideas are more your creative flavor for the week? If so, then I think you should go read Siha of Banana Shoulders. She has great advice for those of the paladin ilk, and I really enjoyed her creative method for Farming For Shattered Sun Rep. When all your quests and group runs are exhausted for the day, you can use this method for eeking out a bit more of the SSO love on your way to Exalted. That's the way to think outside the box, Siha!
   
   
3. Roleplay is always fun, and perhaps never more so than when you're A Cheerful Corpse or an Orc with an attitude and a tendency to cross-dress. Both blogs are short, sweet reads that are guaranteed to amuse or make you think twice about some of your character assumptions. I know I'll never look at Jaina Proudmoore the same way, again.
   
   
4. Another fun blog to visit is this newcomer: Warcraft and Other Hooha. I think if you click the link, you'll immediately pick up on why I like to visit so much. Ankhara has some great screenshots displayed, both of the lovely variety and of the funny variety, and I am excited to go investigate a couple of the obscure quests she's highlighted. She's a promising new blogger, and I can't wait to see what else she brings us.
   
   
5. Mama Druid, true to her name, is trying to protect us from our own stupidity.* She has shared a profile of an interesting and moderately frightening new 'type' of player that might be lurking on the other side of the hedge, hungrily eyeballing your guild bank. I highly recommend you read her description and make sure that your guildies know better than to use the /ginvite command like a revolving door.

Oh, and since I will never, ever, ever write a 'oh, lookit mah shiny new loot' post, I think I'll take this small, unobtrusive opportunity to share a squee from last night. After topping off with a Karazhan run, I took Rhoelyn and her entire wad of 154 Badges of Justice to our new friend, Smith Hauthaa**. After much grunting and sweating, some syllables of obscure words of power, and a bit of magical investiture, my dear Shadow Priest was rewarded with the best thing since sliced bread (although I suppose it would be really good at slicing said bread). We're the proud wielder of the Scryer's Blade of Focus. Faces everywhere had better be trembling in fear. :D

* Talk about aiming high, huh? :P
** I'm very proud of my server for being the first to unlock the smith, but this isn't a WoW News blog. If you want to read more about the path through 2.4 content on Proudmoore, then please go visit Siha at Banana Shoulders. :)

Impromptu Link Love - Tankalt!

Hm. It's not Thursday. I hadn't intended to write anything for the blog, today, but when I saw this great tanking post, I found that I just couldn't resist.

Tankalt!, a very new addition to the blogosphere, has a great post enumerating the "5 Ways to Break Your Tank." Rhese has been tanking for all of a few weeks, so I'm a complete tank newb. Even so, I have already seen every annoying, irritating and frustrating point on this list.*

In fact, now that I think about it, I've probably been the guilty non-tank party on a few of these in the past, too. Um... oops.

Your tank will love you if you go, read and take Zagan's advice with you to your next raid or instance. I promise. Now, scamper off and do me proud!

* Sure enough, every time it happened, I thought I'd done something wrong, too. Zagan knows his fellow tanks so well!