Is Anybody Out There?

Every once in a while I wonder how many people actually read this blog. If you're currently reading, that's me in the (admittedly somewhat creepy) picture looking at you through the window of my computer screen. Thank you for being here!

I mean, I know for sure at least some people read it. One reader brought a printout of this post to the Volume One Relaunch Party back in April 2013. And my speaking engagement for The Green Apple Project in Lewiston, Idaho in 2017 was a direct result of one of their board members coming across my blog.

Besides that, Blogger tells me that I've had hundreds of thousands of total views over the blog's lifetime since it started in 2012 (of which only about a thousand or so are me), and my per-post view count spiked up pretty significantly after I announced that I'm neurodivergent this past May.

Still though, despite all that, to this day the blog only has a total of 27 comments spread across 711 posts. Eleven of those comments are from for-sure real people (seven from the same one), five are from me, and eight are obvious spam. That leaves only three comments that may possibly be from other readers that I don't already know.

I mean, I get it, believe me. I'm not a big commenter myself. For example, I've been an avid reader of the Seattle Mariners-related blog Lookout Landing since the early aughts, but yet I think I've only commented...maybe twice? Three times? That's right, I'm a lurker of the highest order. So maybe my blog simply attracts readers of a similar nature (great minds think alike)? Or maybe my posts just aren't the kind that really invite discourse? Or maybe...

A good amount of those thousands of views that Blogger tells me I'm getting are (gasp) bots?

I'm hoping not. So this week, if you would be kind enough to humor me with an experiment: if you are a real reader, please leave a comment on this post. It can be as simple as "Hello" or "Yes, I'm real" or as detailed and opinionated as "Brian, that picture of your eye is SUPER CREEPY I HATE IT NEVER DO THAT AGAIN." Either way, I promise I will reply!

Movie Roundup: Autistic Representation(?) Edition

I recently came across this article on Autastic.com (a neurodivergent-led website for adult-identified autistic BIPOC, good stuff, check it out) that lists movies and TV shows featuring characters who are autistic or coded as such, and are women and/or minorities. Now, I pride myself on my familiarity with autistic representation in popular media, so imagine my surprise when, after going through the list, I realized I had seen only seven out of the 36 films and shows they mentioned! After that, my completist tendencies kicked in and said, "Challenge accepted" (I love checking things off lists), and I proceeded to sit down and binge-watch. Here's my progress thus far:

Chocolate

A Thai movie about an autistic girl who uses her exceptional martial arts skills to collect money owed to her dying mother from various gangs, this was obviously a low-budget, independent production (nothing wrong with that) that had, in my opinion, some awkward pacing but absolutely incredible fight scenes. Which, really, is kind of the point of a movie like this. I tried to find out if the star is actually autistic, but wasn't able to. My guess is not, but let me know if you know for sure.

Temple Grandin

This is a biopic about Temple Grandin (you know who she is, right?) that is based on a couple of her memoirs, including the fantastic Thinking in Pictures. Claire Danes, who I am quite sure is not autistic, portrays Temple, but apparently they met and Temple approved, so I assume we're all good there. Speaking of meeting Temple, did I mention that I met her some years ago at an autism conference in Portland? She autographed my copy of Thinking in Pictures, and I even gave her a copy of Joel Suzuki, Volume One and asked for her advice on how to promote my book. Her reply was something along the lines of, "Don't just focus exclusively on the autism part of it." Noted!

Jane Wants a Boyfriend

A sweet little rom-com about an autistic young woman who, well, wants a boyfriend (as they say in show biz, it does what it says on the tin) but is smothered by her well-meaning, overprotective older sister. As a fan of rom-coms, I liked this one, even though the actress playing Jane isn't actually autistic (but she is one-quarter Japanese, which I never would have guessed), and I found myself at certain points saying out loud to my TV, "you know, you don't necessarily have to set up autistic people with other autistic people." At least Kerry Magro was a consultant on the film.

Loop

This is a short film from Pixar about a couple of kids, one of whom is a non-verbal autistic girl named Renee, who go paddling at summer camp. Renee is performed by an actor named Madison Bandy, who is actually non-verbal and autistic, which makes this film the only one in this roundup with a confirmed autistic actor (hence, the "?" in the title of the post). The film also apparently used consultants from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

The Accountant 2

This one wasn't in the Autastic article, but I'm including it here because I just so happened to watch it before I saw the list and figured I might as well lump it in. I had a lot of the same thoughts about it as I did the original, which I wrote about in this blog post from 2016. And yes, there are flaws. But overall, I found it pretty entertaining, even though having some actually autistic actors would have been nice (although I suspect that there are a lot more autistic actors working in Hollywood than are letting on).

Speaking of which, if you want to see a film with an actual autistic actor playing an autistic lead character along with other autistic actors (some of whom are playing neurotypical characters!), check out a little something called Hold My Beer on YouTube...

Benefit Show For Autism Empowerment

Believe it or not, Second Player Score is occasionally a band! And we will attempt to prove it by playing our first show since last November (man, does time fly) at Ole's Outpost in beautiful east Vancouver, WA this Saturday.

We'll be opening the night at 6:30pm, followed by our friends Flying Whammy. And best of all, the event is a benefit for Autism Empowerment!

So if you're in the area, head on down to 11202 NE Fourth Plain Blvd to enjoy some great beer and rocking tunes while supporting an amazing cause. Hope to see you there!

Third AE-NCC Workshop!

The third workshop of Autism Empowerment's Neurodivergent Creators Collective (AE-NCC) is this Saturday!

And the instructor will be...yours truly! I'll be giving a high-level overview of what goes into writing and publishing your own book, based on my experiences with the Joel Suzuki series. I'll be covering topics like:

- Do you need previous writing experience or credentials?

- What are some good resources to help you get started?

- Are you a Plotter or a Pantser?

- How to set goals, overcome writer's block, and stay on track

- Options for publishing your book

And much more!

If you're in the Vancouver/Portland area, please join us at Stephen's Place, 501 SE Ellsworth Rd, Vancouver, WA, from 2:00pm - 3:00pm Pacific Time. It's free, but space is limited, so prior registration is recommended (you can sign up here). If you can't be there in person, it will be simulcast via Zoom; you can get the link via the same registration page. It will also be recorded and available to watch later.

Hope to see you there!

Overcoming Writer's Block

One of the tips I like to give about overcoming writer's block is this: just write ANYTHING. There's a scientific term called "activation energy" that basically refers to the amount of energy needed to start a chemical reaction, which is usually a larger amount that it takes to maintain said reaction. Think of it like starting your car (this may or may not be an accurate description of activation energy; I'm a writer, not a scientist). The idea is that getting started is the hard part. After that, it's easier to keep going.

So in the context of writing novels, this means having your characters doing any sort of random, silly activities, even if it makes no sense to your overall story. Like, say you last left off with your protagonist having narrowly escaped from a treacherous dungeon with a number of serious injuries and no healing potions or spells, but you're not quite sure where to go from here (even though you have an outline - you do have one, right? - sometimes you find yourself having to fill in gaps along the way). Instead of banging your head against the keyboard several times before giving up for the day, simply switch gears and do something like this (paragraph breaks and lack of indentations are for blog format purposes):

Joel looked up to see an outstretched hand near his face. He realized he was lying prone on a hard, flat surface. He craned his neck a little further and saw that the hand belonged to Felicity.

"C'mon, dude, get up," she said.

"Um...what happened?"

"What do you mean, 'what happened'?"

Joel took Felicity's hand, and she helped him up. "The last thing I knew, I had escaped from the Caves of Wrath," he said. "But now, I'm..." He glanced around. To his left was a GameStop store. To his right, a Hot Topic. The distinctive smells of Cinnabon and Hot Dog on a Stick wafted through the air. "...at the mall?"

"Of course you're at the mall," Felicity said. "Where else would you be?"

"Um...outside the Caves of Wrath?"

Felicity shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about, dude." She sniffed. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I..." Joel inspected himself. He remembered having multiple lacerations on his arms and torso, and his standard Spectraland-issue vest had been torn to shreds. But now, he was wearing an intact T-shirt (short sleeved, green, with the Hyrule logo from The Legend of Zelda emblazoned on it), and his wounds were gone. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Good," Felicity said. "Well, let's get going."

"Where?" Joel asked.

"To Mount Doom."

"What?"

"I'm kidding," Felicity said. "To the shoe store. Remember? We're here to get you a new pair of Chucks."

"We are?"

"Hmm." Felicity narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Joel wasn't sure, but he decided not to pursue the matter any further. "Um...yeah," he said. "Yeah, I am. Let's go."

** Back to Blog Post **

See how that works? I just started writing anything - in this case, Joel and Felicity shopping for shoes at the mall - and ended up with 271 words, which is a little over one page and could very well have met my word count quota for the day (my most common previous quotas for the Joel Suzuki series were 400 or 500 words, but 250 was still considered not bad). And I could have easily kept going.

Besides getting you into a writing mode, there's an extra bonus to this exercise, which is that sometimes you may actually end up with something useable! Maybe not at this point in your manuscript, or even for this particular book, but possibly in the future (this has happened to me on multiple occasions).

So the next time you encounter a blank page and feel stuck, give this idea a shot. At the very least, you'll make progress toward what Ray Bradbury said were (and I paraphrase) "the million bad words that every writer has to get out."

Happy writing!

Start Writing Your Book With...Math??

This week, in an exclusive special article just for you blog readers, I'm going to share some specific details about how I wrote the Joel Suzuki series!

And it all starts with...math.

Not because I'm Asian, mind you - I actually didn't like math as a subject in school. I think it might have more to do with my neurology.

But anyway, after Volume Two (that book and Volume One had their own somewhat messy origin stories) I had not only finalized my characters, themes, and worldbuilding, but I'd also arrived at a system for starting a book that I applied to the rest of the series.

It goes something like this: I'm a plotter, not a pantser, which means I outline my books before I start writing them, as opposed to authors who just dive in and see where the story takes them (looking at you, Stephen King. I have no idea how you do it). So when building my outline, I begin with a target word count, and then I break it down from there, using a structure that combines concepts from both Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell and Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder.

So, say you want to make your book 75,000 words, or roughly 300 pages (assuming that a page is around 250 words, which is pretty standard). You then want break it up into Acts, which, because each Act should land at a particular point, leads you to this outline (this is an actual example from an early outline for Volume Three):

Act I: pages 1-60

Act IIa: pages 60-150

Act IIb: pages 150-225

Act III: page 225-300

Then, decide how long you want each chapter to be. I like my chapters to be around ten pages each, or 2500 words. So based on the above outline, I now have this structure:

Act I: Chapters 1 through 6

Act IIa: Chapters 7 through 15

Act IIb: Chapters 16 through 22

Act III: Chapters 23 through 30 (I know, the math isn't perfect)

Then you want to break that down further into Story Beats. I won't get into that here, but you can learn all about them from the two resources I mentioned earlier (the Save the Cat! franchise even has this handy free tool on their website that will do the Acts & Beats math for you).

After that, you'll want to write short summaries of each chapter. There's always a chance that things will change as you write - Joel and Felicity would often take matters into their own hands once I got into the weeds with them - but it's good to have a general idea of what should be happening and where you want to go. Think of it as a travel itinerary that leaves room for on-the-fly detours and alternative plans (which, if you've ever traveled, you know there almost always are).

If you're starting out with your first book (or a new book, not a continuation of a series), you'll want to establish things like character, arc, theme, and worldbuilding before you do this. But once you do that, it's time to crunch some numbers! Personally, I found this method to be very helpful in getting started and staying on track, as opposed to just opening a blank page and trying to spit out words (again, Stephen King, you are amazing).

Hope you found that helpful, aspiring authors!

Zythos: The Legend of H.M.B.

Remember back in February, when I said that the tie-in video game for Hold My Beer had arrived? Well, since then, I've been kinda-sorta working on developing the larger Zelda-style game that I talked about in that post.

And yes, that's a hand-drawn map (on graph paper!) of the village of Vanwa, where the game is supposed to start out. Old school, woohoo!

I've been slowly learning about how to develop entire RPGs, and let me tell you, it's not easy. Not that I thought it would be, but man, there is a LOT that goes into it. I mean, there's a lot that goes into writing a novel, or making a film, or recording an album, but making a video game of this scope basically requires you to do all three things, plus more. Much, much more. It's like the final boss level of creativity.

Obviously, I'm still just in the beginning stages, but so far, I've scripted the game up until the "inciting incident" point, where the player will choose whether to accept the mission presented to them or not (actually, spoiler alert: they don't have a choice).

I've also started messing around with RPG Maker MV, just as a way for me to get acquainted with gameplay logic. After just a few hours of going through the tutorial, my already-high admiration for people who can create assets, write code, etc. from scratch has multiplied a hundredfold (and trust me, I won't be doing any of the actual art or coding on the final game. I'm just a humble writer).

Oh, and I think I've settled on a name for the game. Instead of the original idea of Hold My Beer: The Adventure Game, it will instead be called Zythos: The Legend of H.M.B., which I think is a much more video-gamey-sounding title. Would you agree?

("Zythos" is the Greek word for beer and also the name of the kingdom in the game, like "Hyrule.")

We're still working on securing funds for not only the game, but Hold My Beer, the episodic series. In the meantime, you can play the original keg-washing minigame here, and watch the original short film here. Cheers!

Volumes Ten And Eleven Status Update

Whoa...a Joel Suzuki series update? Are you kidding me?

Well, sort of. I haven't actually started writing Volumes Ten and Eleven yet, mind you, but I think I may have at least arrived at what kind of stories I want them to be.

Let's back up for a minute. If you've been following along, then you know that while the main story arc of the series ended with Volume Seven, I've had this idea to write four additional volumes ever since I changed the name of the series from the Spectraland Saga to the Joel Suzuki series back in 2017 (details are in this previous blog post). Why four? Because while each of the volumes in the main series corresponds to a particular color on the visible light spectrum (red, orange, yellow, etc.), there are four additional colors outside the visible spectrum, which are infrared, ultraviolet, black (the absence of light), and white (the sum of all colors). Plus, seven plus four equals eleven, and you can't have a book series that is based on rock music and not "go to eleven."

I've always sort of intended Volumes Eight (the "infrared book") and Nine (the "ultraviolet" book) to be short story anthologies about events that take place before or around the time of Volume One (the red book, hence, "infrared") and during or after the time of Volume Seven (the violet book, hence, "ultraviolet"). You can read prior blog posts about them here and here. But up until now, I've been undecided about what Volumes Ten and Eleven would be about. One idea I had was a duology about Joel and Felicity taking on an ultrapowerful adversary in a super-high-stakes adventure, but then I thought, well, (spoiler alert!) I've already kind of done that. Then I thought about doing a "Cursed Child" sort of thing, where the kids of the main characters in the original series get their own story. But that just didn't feel right.

So, I stopped thinking about it for while, especially since the entirety of 2024 and the beginning of this year was spent focusing on a little short film project you may have heard about. Then recently, my thoughts have been slowly drifting back to Joel and company, and I had this epiphany: what if, instead of a high-stakes adventure, I went the complete opposite way, and made the final (for real, this time) two volumes character-driven, almost literary fiction-like stories about Joel's ordinary, day-to-day life? Genre-wise, it could be like a memoir (which I've been reading a lot of lately), or "cozy fiction," or even a style of Japanese novels in which nothing really happens. I mean, I've read and seen a lot of posts and memes where people say they would watch a movie about the Skywalker family set in an alternate universe where Anakin never turned to the dark side and they just go about their happy, normal lives (as normal as life can get in a galaxy far, far away). Heck, I would watch that!

Anyway, we shall see if that idea holds. Even if it does, I probably won't start writing anytime soon, even though I do already have tentative subtitles for each volume (which I won't disclose just yet). But who knows. Stay tuned!

Second AE-NCC Workshop!

The second workshop of Autism Empowerment's Neurodivergent Creators Collective (AE-NCC) is this Sunday!

Program Co-lead and professional actor Gwyn LaRee will be introducing the most common voice over opportunities, and then AE's Executive Director Karen Krejcha will talk about what a podcast is and why you should consider taking part in one.

If you are in the Vancouver/Portland area, please join us at Stephen's Place, 501 SE Ellsworth Rd, Vancouver, WA, from 2:30-3:30pm Pacific Time. It's free, but space is limited, so prior registration is recommended (you can sign up here). If you can't be there in person, it will be simulcast (I've always wanted to use that word) via Zoom; you can get the link via the same registration page. It will also be recorded and available to watch later.

Hope to see you there!

Hanging With The Autograph King

On Monday, I spent an afternoon doing a crawl of some cool retail establishments in Portland with Shamim Dana, aka The Autograph King.

Don't know who Shamim is? Well, you will soon. He's set to be the subject of a documentary called The Autograph King, which profiles his story of having been born with multiple intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism and cerebral palsy, and going on to live a fun and fulfilling life through the joy of pop culture fandom and helping others.

We met at the Autism Society of Oregon's 23rd Annual Walk in April, and since then, we've become good friends as well as partners in crime trying to get the Hold My Beer franchise produced. Through his passion of collecting autographs from celebrities, he's built an extensive network of show business contacts, some of whom just might be able to help us take the SPS-Verse to the next level.

The documentary, which was directed by Scott Zakarin (whose credits include Comic Book: The Movie, Mind Meld, Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters and Marvels, and the cult classic Creating Rem Lezar), is scheduled to come out in late 2025 or early 2026, but you can learn more about it and Shamim in the upcoming Summer 2025 issue of Spectrum Life Magazine, where he will be featured in an interview conducted by yours truly.

As for the places we visited, they include Video Game Wizards, Variety Records, and Movie Madness (pictured below), a very cool video rental shop and museum that even has its own miniplex theater.

If you're a fan of vintage video games, music, or movies, I recommend checking these places out!

Please also consider checking out:

Joel Suzuki - my young adult sci-fi/fantasy novel series about an autistic teenage guitarist who follows his dreams to a faraway land, only to find himself battling an unexpected enemy in a desperate attempt to save not one, but two worlds from total destruction. The first book is available for just $1.99 in Kindle format on Amazon here!

Hold My Beer - my short film about an autistic young adult who, after receiving a tough-love ultimatum from his parents, discovers a passion for craft beer and embarks on a mission to open his own brewpub. Watch it for free on YouTube here!

Doctor Whaaat??

I know this is late, because the finale of Doctor Who's so-called "Season Two" aired last Saturday, but...what the heck??

(Warning: in case you don't already know what happened - which seems unlikely given that it's all over the internet - major spoilers to follow.)

(photo credit: BBC/Disney)

So yeah, that happened. I have to say, I - and a ton of other folks, apparently; good job in preventing leaks, BBC - was totally caught off guard. When Ncuti Gatwa said "I like this face," I was like, "Wait, um, what? No way!" I was expecting a fake-out regeneration like Peter Capaldi's Doctor did once, but, well, nope. Mr. Gatwa is done with the show after just two seasons, which feel like they went by really quickly.

And then. And then!

We'll see if Billie Piper really is the Sixteenth Doctor (you can find tons of speculation about it elsewhere online). Personally, I'm guessing that she won't be, or she'll be some kind of interim/uncounted Doctor like the War Doctor, or the Fugitive Doctor, etc. Either way, after that happened, I was like - okay, Billie Piper is awesome and all, but if they were going to make a former companion the new Doctor or Doctor-adjacent, they should have gone with Karen Gillan, because not only is she already in Disney's payroll records, but then she could've said, "Finally ginger!" (you fellow Doctor Who nerds know what I'm talking about.)

Oh well...

AAPI Heritage Month Celebration

If you're in the Vancouver/Portland area tomorrow, consider checking out Clark College's inaugural Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month Celebration!

Presented by the Clark College Korean Culture Club, the event will feature performances, a self-defense seminar, food and craft vendors, and...yes, yours truly.

From 5pm-6pm, I'll be giving a 20-minute-ish speech, followed by a screening of the Japanese-subtitled version of Hold My Beer. The entire event runs from 3pm-9pm and is free to attend (you'll have to pay for food and crafts, but if you're a Clark College student or faculty member, you'll get 15% off select vendors with your school ID).

Here are the full details:

Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration

Presented by Clark College Korean Culture Club

May 30, 2025

Clark College, Gaiser Student Center

1933 Fort Vancouver Way

Vancouver, WA 98663

3pm-9pm

Hope to see you there!

First AE-NCC Workshop!

The inaugural workshop of Autism Empowerment's Neurodivergent Creators Collective (AE-NCC) is this Saturday!

Program co-lead Gwyn LaRee and I will be presenting an introduction to filmmaking in which Gwyn will go over how films are made (as a professional actor, she has actual Hollywood experience), and then I will talk about Hold My Beer and how we did what usually takes a medium-size city's worth of people to do with just a relative handful of volunteer and tragicomically underpaid cast and crew members.

If you are in the Vancouver/Portland area, please join us in person at Stephen's Place (an assisted living facility that is gracious enough to allow us to use part of their space), 501 SE Ellsworth Rd, Vancouver WA, from 2:00-3:00pm Pacific Time. It's free (and I have been told there will be snacks)! You can RSVP in advance here.

If you're not in the area and/or can't/don't want to (I understand, trust me) attend in person, you can also join us virtually at this Zoom link. You will be on your own for snacks, however.

Hope to see you then!

Post #700!

This is blog post #700!

In the 12+ years since post #1 debuted back on July 12, 2012, this humble little blog has amassed a grand total of 206,552 views, all thanks to you, loyal readers (although I will admit that probably around a thousand or so of those views are from me, when I had to look up stuff for reference or I was just reading my own blog for fun).

It's been an amazing journey of random thoughts, shameless self-promotion, cat pictures, and much more. A big THANK YOU to all of you out there, whether you've been here since the beginning, or you just discovered this small corner of the internet last week, or somewhere in between. I'm so grateful that you're here.

Looking forward to the next 700!

Tying Up A Loose End

Some of you may remember this blog post from December 2022 when I announced that someone (not me, I swear) had created a page for the Joel Suzuki series on the TV Tropes wiki. I was, and am, honored and flattered by the inclusion of my humble set of novels in a database that consists largely of much bigger names in the world of fiction. And so, to whoever created the page, if you are out there reading this, I just want to say: thank you! I'm really grateful for your interest.

And also, I have one small request: do you think you could add Volume Seven?

I know that at the time the wiki page was made, Joel Suzuki, Volume Seven: Vision of the Virtuoso, had not been released yet. It came out the following year, in 2023. So it's been almost a couple of years now, and I, being a somewhat obsessive completionist*, have been occasionally checking back every so often to see if the final volume has been added.

* Which, now that I think about it, might be a sign of my neurodivergence? When I read books, I cannot stop until I reach the end of a chapter. I am mostly incapable of leaving a movie or TV show half-watched in my various streaming queues for too long. Joel is this way, as well.

Page creator, I will even send you a free electronic copy of Volume Seven, if that will help! Just email me at joelsuzukiseries@gmail.com. Please?

It's Official: I'm Neurodivergent!

If you read this previous post from last month, then you know that I had started on a journey of discovering if I, myself, am neurodivergent.

Well, the results are in!

Yup, that's right.

I'm really glad that the process of producing Hold My Beer not only resulted in a vehicle to showcase autistic and neurodivergent creators, but also in the revelation that I, myself, am a member of that group!

And probably the best part of all this is that my son, when I informed him of my assessment, said this:

"Welcome."

Big Weekend Ahead!

Lots of good stuff going on this weekend! First, Saturday 4/26 will feature the virtual launch info session for Autism Empowerment's Neurodivergent Creators Collective (AE-NCC), which I wrote about in last week's blog post. It'll start at 2pm Pacific Time, and you can join via this Zoom link.

Then, on the morning of Sunday 4/27, we have the:

I will be there along with a few other representatives of Autism Empowerment from 8am-12pm, talking about all the cool stuff our organization is doing, like the aforementioned AE-NCC, Spectrum Life Magazine, Hold My Beer, and more. It will be at Oaks Park, 7805 SE Oaks Park Way, Portland OR 97202. Parking is $4, but entry to the park itself is free.

Then, after a nap, we will be holding a Supporter's Night fundraiser for Autism Empowerment at Lone Wolf Watering Hole in downtown Portland from 5pm-7pm! The event, which is co-sponsored by Takara Sushi (see this previous blog post) will feature music by DJ Jordan Nguyen as well as a showing of Hold My Beer (complete with a short speech and Q&A session by yours truly).

Admission is free and open to all (minors are not allowed inside the premises while alcoholic beverages are being consumed, but they can sit in an outside area next to the waterfront). Craft beer, cider, wine, and, of course, sushi will be available for sale. Lone Wolf Watering Hole is located at 3870 S River Pkwy, Portland OR 97239.

Hope to see you at one or all of these great events!

Calling All Neurodivergent Creators!

If you're a neurodivergent creator, I have great news! Autism Empowerment is rolling out a new program called the Neurodivergent Creators Collective (aka the "AE-NCC," because we love a good acronym), which will aim to provide workshops, mentorships, and opportunities for aspiring adults and older teens who are interested in creative and artistic fields like acting, screenwriting, filmmaking, podcasting, music, video game development, and more.

Sessions will be both in-person and online, so anyone can attend whether you're in the Vancouver, WA area or somewhere else around the world. Plus, you have the opportunity to help shape the future of the program by telling us what you're interested in learning more about! For more details and to fill out an interest survey, check out the program's official webpage here. And mark your calendars for our virtual launch information session on Saturday, April 26, at 2pm Pacific Time (the Zoom link is on the webpage).

Hope to see you there!

Anime Roundup

Well, hey, look, it's time for another Anime Roundup! And it's only been eight weeks since the last one!

(Warning: may contain spoilers)

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

I love this show. I love the premise, which is basically: after the Demon King is defeated and the day is saved, now what?* Especially if you're an overpowered elven mage with a lifespan that can last thousands of years. And so, the story follows Frieren, the aforementioned elven mage, as she navigates what is essentially post-retirement for adventurers: searching for novelty spells, doing cleanup and maintenance work on statues and leftover monsters, taking on an apprentice, traveling to a resting place for souls to pay respects to her former party member who passed away, and eventually undergoing an exam for first-class-mage certification (which she only needs as a formality, as she's already way more powerful than any other mage in the entire world, with one exception).

There are occasional moments of suspense and conflict, but all of them (except for one big-boss-battle near the end) are swiftly resolved by Frieren's overwhelming magical abilities, and the majority of the show consists of her reminiscing about the past and doing everyday things with her apprentice Fern and eventually a warrior named Stark. And I love it. It shouldn't work, but it does. I also love that Frieren presents as autistic (there is some debate about this on the internet, but I totally think she does), and I love how, despite her immense power, she still gets stuck in mimics (in D&D terms, these are monsters that look like treasure chests). During the second mage exam, I think - spoiler alert - they should have tried defeating her replica by simply bringing one of the mimics they found earlier into the final chamber.

I also love how the show says that magic is a function of imagination and visualization. Did I mention that I love this show? The first 28-episode season ended perfectly, but - spoiler alert - an end card said that the journey will continue, and sure enough, I've heard there will be a new season coming in January 2026. Yatta (yay!)

* This is similar to I'm Quitting Heroing, but the execution is much different.

Sakamoto Days

The greatest hit man on the planet retires from the underworld to spend time with his family and run a mom-and-pop store (while gaining weight from eating too much instant ramen), but is still able to bust out his old skills when his past tries to catch up with him. What a fun premise! Just like with Frieren, I enjoy seeing these overpowered characters at the pinnacle of their professions totally dismantle their opponents without breaking a sweat, or batting an eye, or whatever cliche you want to use there. Do I really have to wait until July for the next season, Netflix? (Netflix: yes, Brian. Yes, you do.)

Mashle: Magic and Muscles

In a world (yes, you have to say it in that voice) where mostly everyone has some level of magical power, a boy with no magic whatsoever has to enroll in a magic school and become a top student in order to maintain his peaceful life with his adoptive father. It's a good thing, thanks to a life of intensive training and workouts, that he has enough physical strength to essentially mimic magical abilities (e.g., he flies a broom by paddling his legs really hard). It's kind of like Black Clover-meets-One Punch Man-meets Harry Potter, the latter of which this show is either really influenced by, or trying to parody, or both (probably both).

Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.

In a world (yes, you have to say it in that voice) where "magical girl" is a real and respected profession and magical girl companies abound, a recent college grad goes job hunting and has no luck until she's hired by a magical girl startup firm. It's a fun and lighthearted take on the magical girl subgenre that subverts it in a 180-degree-different way than Madoka Magica, which I talked about in this prior Anime Roundup post (and continues to traumatize me to this very day). Looking forward to Season 2!

Look Back

Speaking of trauma...oof. This is a one-hour film (not a series) that follows the lives of two artists who meet as elementary school students and go on to become best friends and mangaka (manga creators). It's a beautiful, bittersweet story with a slight sci-fi element and a (mild spoiler alert) gut punch twist that will leave you scarred. Drop everything you're doing and watch this amazing film right now. I'll be here.

Did you watch it? Good. You're welcome.

Until next time!

Takara Sushi Fundraiser

If you're a sushi lover (like yours truly), I have great news! This month, the awesome and generous folks at Takara Sushi in Portland are donating 20% of their sales every Wednesday to Autism Empowerment!

I've had their sushi, and trust me, it's terrific. Also, the restaurant itself is a beautiful space right on the bank of the Willamette River. It's perfect for group outings, family dinners, date nights, or even solo dining! 

The first Wednesday of April has already come and gone, but you still have four more chances (the 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th) to experience a delicious lunch or dinner while supporting a great cause during Autism Acceptance Month. Takara Sushi is located at 1264 NW Naito Pkwy, Portland, OR, 97209.

Hope to see you there!

Mmm, sushi...

Battle Ground Film House

For those of you in the Vancouver/Portland area, I will be the featured guest speaker tonight at the bimonthly (every other month) meeting of the Battle Ground Film House group!

I'll be talking about - what else? - Hold My Beer, along with how I went from writing novels and playing music to making films in the first place.

The Battle Ground Film House is a free, open-to-everyone collective of independent filmmakers and anyone else with an interest in the film industry. There's a virtual component of it on Facebook, and also these in-person gatherings where you can meet and connect with others face-to-face. I've attended every one since they first started last May, and I can attest that they are well worth it. I've met a lot of awesome people who have since become great friends.

The meeting goes from 6:30pm until about 8pm, and is at the SixEight Church, 606 NE 1st Street, Battle Ground, WA 98604. Hope to see you there!

4-D, The Card Game: Status Update

You thought I forgot about the 4-D card game, didn't you?

Well, I didn't. The test deck is right there, on the table where I keep my wallet and car keys, reminding me of its existence every time I leave the house.

"Brian! Briiiiiiaaaaan! Produce me! Produce me now! You know you want to!"

Ahem. Anyway, in case YOU forgot about the 4-D card game, let me back up a bit and refresh your memories.

The game is a simple, War- or Hana Fuda-meets-Pokemon-type of game, with a few embellishments, that is meant to be played without having to think too much (the original inspiration for the game came when I once attempted to play a complex card game while drunk, which did not go very well at all).

The last status update about the game, which was designed to accompany the album of the same name, was back in (checks notes, gasps) holy cow, August of 2021. At the time, I said, "If all goes well, the card game will be released simultaneously with the music album in Summer 2022."

Ha! Ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Obviously, that did not happen.

But, like I said, it's still there, um...patiently awaiting its production.

What's preventing it? Well, the usual suspects: time and money. Or, more accurately, the lack thereof.

The game design itself is ready. And we have all the base concept artwork done. See below for a sample:

Now, we just need to pull it all together.

Maybe, since Hold My Beer is in what is hopefully a short, temporary holding pattern, we can finally give 4-D, the card game, the attention it deserves?

Perhaps. We shall see. Stay tuned!

P.S. I noticed that there seems to be a lot of interest in last week's post about my possibly being neurodivergent. Well, I went for my main assessment yesterday, and I should know the results in around three weeks or so. Rest assured, I'll let you all know what happens!

Um...What If I'M Neurodivergent??

I've begun to wonder recently, "what if I'M autistic/on the spectrum/neurodivergent?"

I mean, it would make sense. Both of my kids have been officially diagnosed. My dad is self-diagnosed and, as detailed in this past blog post, is probably as much of a slam dunk as a self-diagnosed autistic person can be.

I've wondered about this before, but only in passing. But the production of Hold My Beer has really brought it to the forefront.

It kind of started when several of our actors did this interview with The Columbian newspaper back in January. During that interview, Lydia Pearl Pentz, who plays the character Shannon in the film, said (I'm quoting the article), "A lot of people in this industry, especially directors, are people with autism. To be a director you really do have to dive into it so deeply."

I thought, "Wait a minute, does she think I'm autistic?" Because I never said I was. But maybe I presented that way during filming?

I mean, it would make sense. I have sensory issues: I can't stand the feeling of soap between my fingers, so whenever I wash my hands, I have to scrub for two to three minutes until the sensation is gone. I don't like the tags in the collars of T-shirts. Speaking of collars, I can't sleep in a shirt that has a tight collar, or even a "normal" collar, because it makes me feel like I'm choking (my dad is the same way). I don't like the feeling of lotion on my palms, so whenever I apply lotion to my hands (which I have to do during the winter, or my skin will dry out and crack), I put it on the back of my hands and then wipe my palms with tissue.

I have OCD-like tendencies: before I go to bed at night, I have to check the locks on my door by physically touching them several times, even though I can obviously see that they're locked. When I leave the house, I have to stare at the garage door for longer than necessary to be sure that it's closed. I'll double- and triple-check that my car door is closed and locked even though I just set the alarm.

I often repeat things I say out loud back to myself in my head right after I say them, a form of echolalia (a condition in which people repeat vocalizations, sometimes associated with autism) called palilalia.

I get hyper-focused on things that interest me, and I can and will talk about them (very enthusiastically, mind you) for a very long time, even when it's apparent that the listener is getting bored.

I'm very detail-oriented, and I keep multiple spreadsheets of the projects I'm working on; for example, Hold My Beer has over 30 spreadsheets. I even keep a spreadsheet of the episodes of my band's podcast.

I think in pictures, which came in handy while writing the Joel Suzuki series.

So after wondering and thinking about it some more, I asked Karen and John Krejcha, the founders of Autism Empowerment, what they thought. We've known each other for many years, and they said that they've felt for a long time that I might be neurodivergent, but didn't want to say anything because they weren't sure how I would respond!

After that, Karen sent me some online tests. I started by taking something called the Autism Spectrum Quotient test. I scored a 15, which generally means that I'm likely not autistic. I also took the RAADS test, which is designed to assess autistic traits in adults. I scored a 47, which again means that I'm likely not autistic.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'm neurodivergent, and that I've just adopted scripts for social situations and have learned how to mask so well that I appear neurotypical - even to myself.

I mean, it would make sense.

So I took another test that Karen sent me, the CAT-Q (Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire), which measures how much someone masks their autistic traits. A score over 100 indicates that the test-taker probably camouflages to the point where it can influence other test results.

I got a 108. The average score for confirmed autistic males is 109.64.

Well, then!

Based on that result, I decided that I would take the next step and get a formal assessment. Fortunately, I know someone who performs such assessments: Dr. Anson Service, a fellow Autism Empowerment board member (who is neurodivergent himself). I went for my initial intake appointment this past Tuesday and will be doing the formal assessment tests next week.

So we shall see. Whichever way this turns out, it will have been an interesting and enlightening journey of personal self-discovery. Stay tuned!

Checking In With Joel And Felicity

INT. BRIAN'S LIVING ROOM - DAY

A young man and a young woman are here, sitting on a couch and playing Madden NFL 25 on Xbox. This is JOEL and FELICITY. There is a bowl of popcorn and a can of diet cola on a table in front of them. Felicity, playing as the Las Vegas Raiders, tackles the running back of Joel's team, the Seattle Seahawks.

F: Hah! Booyah!

J: Do people still say "booyah"?

F: I just did.

J: Yeah, but...

F: But what?

J: Never mind.

F: Heh. You're sounding more like me every day.

A middle-aged man enters the room. This is BRIAN.

B: Hey, folks.

F: Whoa! It's...it's...what's your name again?
J: It's Brian. Don't you remember him?

F: Dude, I was just kidding.

B: I know, you haven't seen me in a while. I've been busy.

J: Working on that film project?

B: Yeah.

F: What was it called? Something about beer?

B: "Hold My Beer."

F: That's right.

Felicity pauses the game, puts down her controller, and takes a sip of diet cola.

B: Anyway, how are you two doing? How's retirement?

J: We're not retired.

F: We're not old, like you.

B: Oh? Then what have you been up to?

F: Stuff.

J: Mostly playing video games, writing songs, and watching movies.

B: Umm...that sounds kind of like retirement to me.

F: Hey, we deserve a break, after everything we've been through.

B: You mean, the events of Joel Suzuki, Volume Seven: Vision of Virtuoso?

F: The what of what now?

B: Forget it. I'm just glad you're having fun.

J: Thanks. We are.

Felicity tosses some popcorn into her mouth.

F: (chewing) So why are you here? Is that beer film thingy done?

B: Kind of. We held a screening for it in January, and it just went live on YouTube last week.

J: Congratulations.

B: Thanks. But we're not really done yet. We're trying to get funding to turn it into a series. And also create a real-life pub. And also develop a video game.

F: Geez, ambitious much?

B: Yeah, we really want to turn it into something that will put Vancouver in the spotlight while providing entertainment industry opportunities to people in the autism and neurodivergent communities.

J: That sounds like a good mission.

B: It is. So I just wanted to check in on you two and see if maybe you'd be interested in participating in some fashion.

F: Dude, I'm retired.

B: I thought you said you weren't.

F: Joel said that. I just said that we're not old, like you.

J: She's right.

B: So you're not interested?
F: Eh, check back later.

B: Joel?

J: Um...I'm kind of busy at the moment.

B: Playing Madden?

J: Yeah.

B: Okay, fine.

Felicity picks her controller back up.

F: (to Joel) Ready for more beatdowns?

J: Sure.

Brian starts to leave the room.

B: (under his breath) Maybe I'll have to start working on Joel Suzuki, Volume Eight sooner than I thought.

F: What was that?

B: Nothing.

CUT TO BLACK

Hold My Beer - Worldwide Premiere!

Hold My Beer is now available to watch on YouTube!

It comes in three flavors:

ORIGINAL

ENGLISH CAPTIONED

and

JAPANESE SUBTITLED

Please check it out and, if you enjoy it, consider liking, subscribing, and telling your friends and family! Doing so will show that Hold My Beer has an established audience of viewers who are interested in seeing more, helping our chances of getting it developed into a series.

Mahalo!

Second Player Score: Official Mission

Special announcement! Like a Pokemon, Second Player Score has evolved.

Having started out as a punk rock band, we are now as of this week a holistic arts and entertainment team, and our official mission has become to provide career opportunities within the entertainment and hospitality industries to people from the autism and neurodivergent communities. Same logo, new purpose.

Actually, not so new, when you think about it. We've already been doing it, like with Hold My Beer and our use of neurodivergent talent both in front of and behind the camera. But now, it's codified, and enhanced: not only will we have autistic and neurodivergent people working on our in-house projects (e.g., the SPS-Verse), but eventually we want to provide support to neurodivergent creators who have their OWN projects; i.e., serving as their record label ("Second Player Sounds"), publishing imprint ("Second Player Stories"), film and TV production house ("Second Player Scenes"), video game studio ("Second Player Software"), etc. Related to this will be a new, forthcoming program from Autism Empowerment that I'll be writing more about in a future post.

Exciting times! Stay tuned for updates...

Anime Roundup

We interrupt our wall-to-wall coverage of Hold My Beer-related posts with another Anime Roundup! (warning: mild spoilers)

Chainsaw Man

One part horror, ten parts action, this one is about...well, basically a devil-human hybrid who can turn into a dude with chainsaws for a head and arms. There's a lot more to it than that, but you'll just have to watch it yourself. It does a masterful job of balancing the raucous and gory action sequences with quiet, contemplative moments (like a character silently lighting up and smoking a cigarette for almost two whole minutes of runtime) that, thanks to the juxtaposition, are filled with a sense of dread and foreboding. It reminds me a little of Jujutsu Kaisen (which is produced by the same studio, MAPPA), and even employs a similar "magic trio"-of-protagonists formula (eventually, anyway). It was on my radar for a long time, so I was surprised when I finally got around to watching it only to discover that there's only one 12-episode season out so far. MAPPA, isoide (hurry up) and make more! P.S. - I love, love, love that each episode has a different ending song and visuals, which is what we've planned to do with Glorified when it finally gets made into a show.

Blue Box

A gentle, slice-of-life romantic dramedy about a high school badminton player who has a crush on his slightly older, basketball-playing schoolmate that mostly goes unrequited even as they're living under the same roof (for reasons too complicated to explain here) while, in a classic love-triangle-type of plot, his childhood friend has a mostly unrequited crush on him, Netflix has been slow drip-feeing this to me one episode per week, so I've been watching it for the past nineteen weeks now and there's still a ways to go ("mada mada desu").

I'm Quitting Heroing

This story starts off right after the "usual" ending, with the overpowered hero having triumphed over the evil Demon Queen. But when he finds his efforts unappreciated by the people he's saved, he decides to switch sides and applies for a job with the now-rebuilding demon army. At first, it's a goofball workplace comedy that makes you wonder where, exactly, this is going. But it eventually takes some - spoiler alert - surprising twists and turns that, frankly, become a little dark, before wrapping things up in an ultimately satisfying ending. Or does it? Yes, it does. Or does it??

Murai in Love

A rom-com about a high school student who is in love with his homeroom teacher and cuts/dyes his hair so that he looks exactly like said teacher's favorite video game character in an effort to win her heart (trust me, this is not as creepy as it sounds), this one was a lot of fun, with very Japanese-style deadpan humor and a lot of great voice acting (I lost count of how many times I said to my TV, "this voice actor who plays the homeroom teacher is THE BEST.")

Dandadan

Two high school students! Aliens! Ghosts! Psychic powers! Spiritual possession! A love triangle! A second love triangle! The most unique MacGuffins* I've ever come across! Combine these ingredients with a - spoiler alert - major cliffhanger ending to Season One, and you have the recipe for a show that, like a lot of anime, takes some getting used to, but gets more and more fun as you go along.

* An object, or objects, that the characters are trying to get/find/recover, thus driving the plot. Like the Songshell from Joel Suzuki, Volume One.