J.R. Blackwell

Photo Roundup: Engagement and Forbidden November

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:07:16 GMT

Photo Roundup: Philly to Vegas

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:04:29 GMT

Photo Roundup: Water Superspy

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:15:02 GMT

Photo Roundup: Cold Iron, Spacebear, Maternity

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:20:43 GMT

Photo Roundup: Ladies

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:23:49 GMT

Photo Roundup: Wrestlers, Beer and the Theater

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:56:27 GMT

I realize these photo roundups make it seem like my life is a weird strange film full of pinup-girls, warriors, interesting people, weird and wondrous locations and fabulous parties. And I want you to know that this is exactly the case. Sure, I put my pants on the same as everyone else, but my life is pretty special. Why deny it?

Photo Roundup: Graveyard, Ponies, Women of the Empire

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Fri, 18 May 2012 03:02:23 GMT

Recent photos, posted without explanation.

Photo Roundup: Games, Raptors, Fashion

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:31:04 GMT

These photos roughly document where I've been and what I've been doing. I have to say, right now, they are making my life look pretty cool. I am surrounded by fashion and games! Things are just the way I want them.

Photo Roundup

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:40:05 GMT

A roundup of the photos I've been taking over the past few months.

Instead of Words

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:29:57 GMT

So, instead of using words to tell you what I've been up to, I'm just going to post eight photos from all the photoshoots I've been working on. If you want, you can ask me what any of them are about. Or you can go to my website, where I actually update regularly: www.jrblackwell.com Or you can just look at them. Either way, here they are.

Update

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:42:34 GMT

Right, so - UPDATE!

Recently I've been doing most of my blogging and updates over at www.jrblackwell.com, but I figured I'd check back into Livejournal world to let the people who follow this blog in on what's going on. In general, things are going well. Basically life is full of cake. costumes and games.

Shelter in Place reached it's Kickstarter goal - and then some. We raised twice as much money as we needed to finance the print run and now we are in the last 48 hours of the Kickstarter with contributions still coming in. It's very exciting to me that so many people want this game. As a reward to our supporters, I've put together an anthology of zombie fiction called Gimme Shelter. Excerpts can be found here: http://jrblackwell.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/gimme-shelter/

My birthday came and went. I got exactly what I wanted, which was to drink a bottle of wine with my husband and to eat my favorite dinner plus cake. Some dear friends also got me a gift certificate to my favorite online store and I bought a dress that I want to wear every day. I also got a seriously awesome illustration of Dr. Mercury. I bought myself the dress pictured and yesterday it arrived. It is skin tight. I makes me glad that I have been running six times a week because it is very revealing - despite the fact that while I'm in it, you can only see my head and hands. The dress is very, very, dramatic. If the weather is cool enough, I'm going to wear it to New York Comic Con.

I'm going to New York Comic Con! Jared is going to be on a panel there, and I'm going to support him and Steve and have a good time. I've also put together a graphic novel pitch with Natalie, the artist who worked on the Shelter in Place illustrations, and DAMN that lady can draw. Also, I think she may be psychic, because sometimes it feels like she can peer into my head and see what I'm imagining. Of course I want someone to buy our comic pitch right away, but I think I'll be happy just to get some feedback from people on what they think of our pitch and idea and story. Also, it's just crazy fun to collaborate with Natalie.

I'm doing some engagement photoshoots, which is very fun, and lining up some other projects. Keeping busy, doing a lot of writing, a lot of photography, and a lot of working out. So, that's what's going on.

Holy Smokes!

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:53:08 GMT

We reached our goal! Less than two full days and we raised over $2,500 to bring Shelter in Place to print. To have this kind of support from my friends and the gaming community means so much to me. This was must first game, and though I worked with a killer team on it's production, I didn't know if it was something people actually wanted to buy. It's hard to know until you say - hey world, here it is if you want it.

Now I need to think about what to do next. We wan to give some kind of reward to people who contribute if we reach even higher than our first goal, but I want to make sure that reward is going to be something that our fans will be excited about and appreciate. I'm sure we can come up with something good. I am so happy right now!

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:13:29 GMT

The Shelter in Place Kickstarter is now online! We are live and taking orders! As I write this, we have already gotten halfway to our goal of $2,500 - which is very exciting, considering that we've only been up for about four hours. I am thrilled. THRILLED. Dancing around the room thrilled.

We kind of went a little crazy on the rewards side of things. When I look at Kickstarters - and I love Kickstarters - I've written about my love of them before, and I love them - one of the things I look at, after looking at the project to see if it's something I like, are the rewards.

I'm a sucker for cool rewards. The rewards for Shleter in Place include the book and PDF of the game - of course, but also a bonus "time traveler" character, t-shirts, posters, plushies of Fred (our little zombie mascot), photoshoot, and the offer to come to your town and run the game. Lots of rewards. I already sold out of two reward levels!*

Shelter in Place is a live action one-shot game of zombie horror with pre-generated characters. It's easy to learn and play. All the rules to play the game are on your character sheet. I designed it so that new players could easily jump in. For all my LARPer peeps out there - I wanted to make a gateway LARP - something you could run for new people so that they could get the idea of what a LARP is without having to read an entire book - an entry level LARP, if you will.

You can get your copy of Shelter in Place, or check out the other rewards here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1034531507/shelter-in-place-a-live-game-of-zombie-horror

*The shotguns and the full prop set. Sorry to anyone who wanted these!

Lots Going On

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:56:54 GMT

There are a lot of things happening for me right now. It's one of those hinge-point moments in life, where things take a turn for the different. There is so much going on right now that it's tough to cover it all in one post. But here it goes.

WEBSITE

I've updated my website so that the content is still easy to find, but reflects all the projects I'm involved with. I wanted to make sure that information about hiring me for photography projects was easy to find, as I've really been persuing that recently. I've been blogging pretty regularly over there, as it's nice to get my content in a central location. I'm still on twitter and Google+ and Tumblr, but it's good to have a location that has all the information about me and my projects in one place.

PHOTOGRAPHY SHOOTS

This summer I did some underwater modeling for my friend Rae Winters, which was a blast. It was really fun doing stuff with Jennifer Rodgers. I've been editing a ton of photos from my PinUp Party and I still have a lot more to edit. It is never-ending with that shoot. I took some photos for my friend Chris's lovecraft show, which was great. It's nice to see my photos get out there in the world. I never get tired of working with actors. Actors are great fun.

WEDDING STUFF

I've started to investigate what to do in order to pick up some more weddings. I've discovered, after doing lots of weddings that I really enjoy them and I want to do more. They combine a lot of the things I like about photography - portraits, dress up, a sense of occasion, and telling stories with photographs. I have a wedding coming up later this month and several engagement sessions, which is exciting because when I finish those, I am going to put together a big wedding portfolio that I can take to wedding expos. I know there are photographers who don't like shooting weddings, which I understand, becuase they are exhausting and time consuming but for me, they are also this wonderful look into a love story, and I'm a big fan of love stories.

SHELTER IN PLACE

Next week, I'm planning the Kickstarter launch of Shelter in Place. Towards that I've been setting up the reward levels, video and text to go along with the release of the book and the project. I asked my friend Leah if she could make plushies for the project, and she has put together the most adorable little zombies. Each one of them is going to be totally unique. As such, there are limited in number, but I think that makes them more special.

I have the two here in my possession, and I hope run around with them and take some pictures of them in appropriately apocalyptic settings. That's them riding ponies on the left. Too cute.

I was interviewed about Shelter in Place for the Voice of the Revolution and This Just In from GenCon, which was fun. It's always a delight to talk about things I love - gaming, writing, zombies, etc.

WRITING

I have a game idea that I'd like to get out as a draft before November, and I have a one shot LARP idea I'd love to put together for a Con. I also need to edit the novel, which needs a SERIOUS edit, and figure out what to do about Dr. Mercury.

So, that's what's happening!

LA Banks

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:00:22 GMT

I have little skill with remembering names and faces. Though I try my best, repeating names after I'm told them and creating mnemonic devices in my head to help my memory along, all too frequently the names of people I've met (and liked!) slip through my head like breeze through branches, just rattling me enough to let me remember that once again, I've forgotten something important.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've interacted with LA Banks, and she made such an impression on me from the first moment I met her that I never lost her face or name. I met her first at PhilCon, and her charm, wit and kindness made a heavy imprint on me. I saw in her the kind of author, and the kind of person I'd like to be, a person who lives with grace towards everyone she meets. Though her schedule must have been busy, she took the time to talk to me as a new author, and her encouragement and sweetness is something I shall never forget.

On the last panel we were on together, I introduced her to my parents and she was gracious and kind to them as she was to everyone she met. She was a lady of grace. In a world where there are so many people who tell you whats impossible, she was a voice of encouragement.

LA Banks has passed away after a struggle with cancer, and my heart goes out to her family, friends and fans. She a person who wrote for an under-served audience, a friend to new writers and a pillar in many communities. Today, I am very sad, but I am so grateful that I got to know her, if just a little bit, for just a little while. She was a gift to the world.

Happy Birthday, Jared Axelrod!

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 11:48:36 GMT

To my sweet, charming, handsome, striking, creative, funny, brilliant, fabulous, lovable, fascinating husband: Happy Birthday.

Shelter In Place Cover

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:30:16 GMT

Daniel Solis created this cover for Shelter In Place, the game that I've been working on for the past three years. It's due to come out in the Fall, but there should be some available for sale at GenCon, and I'll be running it at DexCon.

I'm planning a Zombie photoshoot to promote the game, but I'll need a lot of Zombies, makeup artists and other such creative types. Lots to do and miles to go.

Executor

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:57:57 GMT

Other than editing photos of attractive people, I am spending most of my free time working on a Star Wars table-top game. This was inspired by a lot of things, but one of the things that got me rolling was seeing "Inglorious Bastards" which not only is a fantastic film, it got me thinking about war and storytelling.

Then I started to play in a tabletop, which is always inspirational because it gets me thinking what I'd like to do myself. I love a space opera, and the nice thing about Star Wars is that, with rare exceptions, it's such a cultural touchstone that you don't need to explain the world to people - they just sort of know. I can say "Ten years after the fall of the old republic," and wonderfully, most people know what I'm saying, which is fantastic to me because I'm talking about an event that never happened. So instead of world building, I get to dive right into the meat of the game.

And such meat it is.

I like to tell stories about people who are struggling with hierarchies. What I like to examine is what people do when the bad guys aren't always bad, and when the people who are supposed to be on their side are oppressive. What do you do then? Where do you go? How does that change your story?

This game is influenced strongly by Carry, by Nathan Paoletta. Years ago, I played in a game of Carry that Nathan ran, and I really enjoyed the context of war as a background setting. Since I'm a science fiction person, the idea of taking that concept and putting it in a scifi context is really appealing to me.

So the game is going to have these themes of oppression and war, and the characters are going to deal with moral questions of right and wrong. I'm lifting stories from WW II, Vietnam and the Iraq war to fill out the story, but it's also a space adventure, full of blasters and TIE fighters and aliens.

The characters are part of the Empire. They are all Imperial TIE fighter pilots, the best of the best, assigned to the brand new flagship, the Executor. It's an honor to be assigned to the flagship and so the characters are not starting level, but are accomplished individuals, already with a background and a story - a story that is coming together at this point in time, assigned to a new ship, with a secret mission.

Nine Episodes. Six Players. I'm thinking of it like a space Opera Extravaganza with a heart of gold.

What does all this have to do with these cute photos of Kate? Absolutely nothing. Kate's just pretty. And it's her birthday! Happy Birthday Kate! Let's be nerd friends forever.

Here's the thing. . .

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:59:09 GMT

. . .I could do this. I could.

I could also go BUG-NUTS. I am a huge fan of those books. Not only do I have the set, I also bought the set for someone else. Huge fangirl. So, obviously I want to enter, but then I think to myself - why just enter when you could go completely over the top? You see, I have more than the ability to take a photo of myself and the books, I have the ENTIRE CAST on hand plus costumes and a set. It's an embarrassment of riches. Here's what's going on here. I could do this, and I could make it completely out of control. Here's how:

My husband looks like this, and sometimes appears to have the head of a wolf. Check.

Beautiful blond man? Check

Fantastic Victorian Outfits. Check Check Check

A Professor? Check

Personal Relationship with a Noted Hatmaker? Check

Insanely attractive friends generally willing to appear on camera? Check

ALSO I HAVE A CASTLE.

It's almost too much. Like, if I take a snapshot, I'm always going to be thinking about how I could have done more. And if I assemble team CONTEST, then I will be making an act of photography folk art the likes of which have never been seen before!

I need to breathe into this bag now.

Bunny is Adorable

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:30:08 GMT

Still editing pin-up photos! I suspect that pinups will be popping up here for the rest of the year - that's how many photos I took in one night. It was lots of fun though, and people have already suggested variations on the whole "having a party and taking pinups" idea which could be fun.

Bunny is adorable, right? So adorable.

Holly

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:07:06 GMT

I'm starting to think that I'll be posting photos from this PinUp Party all year. I'm pretty sure now that it's going to take me the year to get through them all.

In my defense, the night was pretty Epic.

Apparently, I am fucking serious. . .

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:48:45 GMT

. . .about photographing your lovely wedding.

Balticon!

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:39:55 GMT

Ms. Laura Burns and I are creating a slideshow for a panel called "The Truth About Adult Content". Last year, the panel we created the slideshow for was called "The Truth About the Universe". You can view a video of that slideshow here: http://www.jaredaxelrod.com/main/2010/08/17/the-truth-about-the-universe/

The idea behind this panel is that Laura and I create a power-point presentation filled with strange, hilarious and weird words and images, and that the panelists must create a hilarious narrative that collects these things into a presentation - as if they knew what was coming next - which they do not. The panel will address the topic "The Truth About Adult Content" mostly with untruths, fictions and right out lies. The point is to be shatteringly hilarious.

This year, having had one hilarious panel under our belt, I am convinced that it is going to be EVEN better. Jared and I recently went to a Donald Glover concert where he did some stand up and some music - but he kicked everything off with a powerpoint - thus, showing everyone who makes powerpoints for entertainment/humor HOW THAT SHIT IS DONE. Anyway, that has influenced what I've created this year, for the far, far, better. Thanks Donald Who Will Never Read This Because He is a Famous Actor/Musician/Writer Who Has More To Do Than Google Himself and Read Blogs!

Lots of charts to make tonight, because what is a power point without charts?

This time, Dr. John Cmar and Jared Axelrod are going to be joined by the hilarious Christiana Ellis. I am whipping up a monster of a power-point to get the most hilarity out of all these people. I hope that it is hilarious as a stand-alone presentation, but one where they have the space to add to it's hilarity.

It's at 3PM on Sunday at Balticon. If you are going to Balticon, I strongly recommend attending this panel. The whole panel is like an Inside-Joke-Machine. It GENERATES inside jokes, producing them for widespread consumption. So, if you feel like you've often been left outside inside jokes, and you want to get on the inside of that shit, THIS PANEL IS FOR YOU. Last year's panel resulted in the creations of a twitter feed that has over two hundred followers.Last year was very Cat/Spock/Explosion/Jesus oriented. This year seems like its going to be very Hamster/Chart/Swearing/Ponies oriented, though really, before the panel happens, it's hard to tell. Like, last year, Jesus came up A LOT and I had no idea that was going to happen. So who knows?

I do think my presentation needs more dinosaurs. I'll have to get on that.

Wait. . . isn't that?

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:59:15 GMT

If I could wrap this weekend up in a phrase, it might be "Wait, isn't that. . ." because that's the phrase I was continually repeating. "Wait, isn't that the same John that edits Craphound?" "Wait, isn't that Jenn's friend?" "Wait, isn't that the folks we met at that party in Delaware?"

In all cases, it was. The very same.

Jared and I went to the Steampunk World's Fair this weekend, where my Mom took a picture of us next to a Tardis. She called it "The Cool Box over there." I kept saying "Mom, it's a TARDIS." and she would say "Yes, the cool box!"

My mother loves steampunk. She made some vendors very happy on Sunday.

But Jared and I had a great weekend bumping into some wonderful people, Tee and Pip and Nikki and Peter and Megan and Steven and PJ - it was a weekend full of friends.

On Saturday, I had a glass of wine, and a rum and coke and then I went into one of the dealers rooms (which was also where the stage was) and there was this guy playing the accordion on stage. Usually when I hear performers my reaction is "that's nice." because I like live music, but it takes a lot for a musician to really interest me. But this guy was an amazing performer - his whole body was into it - he stomped his feet and waved his hands and maybe it was having a drink or two over my usual, but hearing his music I just wanted to clap and clap. Dispite the fact that it was only one person, this man had an epic feel to his music.

He played with such passion his hat kept falling off his head. "Jared," I said, "let's get closer."

He agreed, and we got in closer to the stage. One song after another, and this musician held me rapt. He played like we were the last people at the end of the world, and we ended his set, strangers with our arms around one another, singing a song we had never heard before together. Even before the end of his set, I said "Jared, we HAVE to get this guys CDS." so when he ended his set, I basically rushed to the front of the stage.

Getting closer, his face looked suddenly familiar, like I had seen him before. But I was certain if I had heard his music, I would have remembered him, so that had to be impossible, right?

"Can someone help me carry this stuff?" he said, pointing to his merchandise. I immediately scooped up a box and followed him out into the hall. Closer again, he was looking even more familiar. Then we put down the boxes, we bought two, and I told him how much I enjoyed his work, how we were pulled across the hall by the strength of his performance. As we walked away, the name finally clicked "Jason Webeley - Of course! I've seen his picture!" Sometimes the world feels very small, but small in the way that is it packed to the brim with talented, wonderful people.

Dr. Blackwell is Very Sorry About Teatime

jrblackwell@gmail.com — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:03:44 GMT

"No, no," Dr. Blackwell said, looking sheepish, "it is true, I did SAY that I had a demonstration for you. But, ah, it appears to have run off." She grabbed his arm and looked up into his eyes earnestly. "If you wake up and find that parts of your body have been shaved, you will let me know, won't you?"

"I. . ." he stammered

"It's only that if your hair has been shaved in the pattern of a French hedge-maze, something has gone terribly wrong."

"French?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, "But don't worry yourself if it's English. If it's English, everything's dandy."

http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/

"The skull?" she said, "Yes, I understand it may be unusual to have a skull on one's hat. The thing is, I always travel with fangs somewhere on my person, and today the usual places were occupied, so I was forced to go with the hat."

"I have been informed," said Dr. Blackwell stiffly, "that is is not lady-like to wander around with ones arms exposed and that I have been scandalizing my fellow agents." She held out her arms in front of her, "But you must understand that it is so much easier to remove the fluids I deal with from flesh than fabric! Have some sympathy for my position, Sir, I am so often elbows deep in some kind of pulsating opening, and most creatures prefer the tender feel of flesh."

"Oh," said Dr. Blackwell, "You would like to go out to dinner? I think that's an excellent idea. No sense waiting around here. I will have the lab results ready when you get back.

"Dr. Axelrod and I have been playing Doctor every day at 3:00PM for the past six months. I have won every day. Then again, so has he."</center>