Nealiios profile picture

Nealiios

What happens when you can't get your wahine to put some hala-kahiki on your 'I'o pipi i wili 'ia?

About Me


My Life In Bullet Points
* I was born on October 17, 1966 in Sapulpa, Oklahoma at Bartlett Memorial Hospital, giving me a legitimate claim that I was born on Route 66.
* Although I might not look it, I'm part Cherokee. I get it from both sides of my family.
* One of the oddest facts about me is that I was supposed to be born in the second week of August instead of October, meaning my mom carried me for 11 months instead of the usual 9. I attribute this oddity to the fact that the higher you get up the evolutionary ladder, the longer offspring gestate. Coincidence? The jury is still out.
* Both of my parents were schoolteachers. My mother, Betty, taught all the subjects for all the grades at the Salvation Army unwed mother's home in Sand Springs. My father, Henry, was the first vocational director for the Sand Springs School District and built its program.
* I have an older brother named Gene who will soon get his doctorate of communications, and currently teaches at the University of Oklahoma, my old alma mater.
* I love having animals around, but I'm especially fond of dogs.
Argo Says Hi

Add to My Profile | More Videos
And here's Andy, the newest addition to our family!
* During junior high, I got to be very close friends with Matt Harris whose older brother Sam would later become the first winner of Star Search and a big star on Broadway. (Sam's got his own MySpace page here .) Unwilling to be outdone, Matt released his first album, Slighty Elliptical Orbit, on Leon Russell's record label in 2002.
* I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and attended school in the Sand Springs School System. I graduated from Charles Page High School in 1984.
* I play three musical instruments: drums, keyboards, and most recently, acoustic slide guitar...none of them particularly well. This does not stop me from performing for my friends and family, or recording my efforts for the future embarassment of everyone. (My gee-tar and trademark hat pictured below).
* I've sadly only visited Europe once. In 1983, my brother and I went on a trip that took us to England, France, Scotland, and Ireland in 17 days. It was an absolutely insane trip, and I loved every minute of it.
* Between 1984 and 1987, I worked on and off at KTOW, a small country and western radio station in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. During my time there, a buddy and I produced a series of "weird-tales" radio dramas ala Twilight Zone that we called The Uncharted Regions. Episodes included "Shadow of the Bulldog Man", "Silent Night", "Calls Waiting", and "The October Harvest."
* In college I majored in journalism with an emphasis on radio, television and film production. (I minored in classical studies...ie. Greeks and Romans) I graduated from the Unviersity of Oklahoma in December of 1989.
* Since 1990, I've been writing and designing computer games for a variety of companies. Titles you might recognize include "Planet's Edge", "Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra", "Betrayal at Krondor", "Return to Krondor", "Dungeon Siege", "Lords of Everquest" and most recently, "Neopets: Pet Pet Adventures: The Wand of Wishing".
* I met my wife, Jana , in the Night Writer's Chat that regularly met on Friday nights on America Online. (The chat has since moved off AOL and onto the Internet at large). We later married on October 5, 1996 in the Victorian Rose Garden of the Tulsa Historical Society (at the time, located on the grounds of the Gilcrease Museum).
* On October 9th, 1995, I was in a train wreck aboard Amtrak's Sunset Limited, westbound from San Antonio to San Diego. Terrorists calling themselves the Sons of the Gestapo left four notes on the site claiming responsibility. I found two of them. Since that time, I've taped two interviews about the event which appeared in the US, UK and Canada. Both specials, "When Trains Crash: Blood on the Tracks" and "Derail: America's Worst Train Wrecks" periodically resurface on TLC and the Discovery Channel.
The Wreck of the Sunset Limited

Add to My Profile | More Videos
* In 2001 I co-authored a book with my wife Jana called Swords & Circuitry : A Designer's Guide To Computer Role-Playing Games . You can pick up copies at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com
* "In the Name of the King," a movie based very loosely on the story and characters I created for the computer game "Dungeon Siege," premiered on January 11, 2008. If you watch until the very end of the credits, you'll see my name at the top of the "special thank yous" list. I also have my own IMDB page page covering a few of my past games.
* I achieved my true geek credentials in December of 2004 when I was invited in to pitch a slate of episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise." Although the show's cancellation prevented any of the shows I pitched from hitting the screen, I did get a full tour of the Enterprise set and got to sit in the coveted Captain's Chair before the set was struck.
* Last year, Jana and I created a short direct-to-web documentary series to help promote the 2007 Beauty and the Beast convention.

My Interests

Film Development, Anthropology, Astronomy, Classical History, Medieval History, American Civil War History, Game Design, Folklore, Blues, Rock, Classical, Jazz, Gothic Suspense, Graveyards, Ghosts, Dinosaurs, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, screenwriting, classic movies, arts & crafts movement, Oklahoma, California, The Grand Californian Hotel, italian cooking, the United Kingdom, British comedies, cryptology, forensic science, Egyptology, Semiotics, Puzzles, Computer Games, history of science

I'd like to meet:

PEOPLE STILL ALIVE: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Al Gore, Aaron Sorkin , Janeane Garofalo, Neil Armstrong, Paul McCartney, Jeff Greenfield , Ted Koppel , Walter Kronkite, Christiane Amanpour , Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sarah Brightman, The Bangles, Eddie Izzard , Margret Cho , Stephen Spielberg, Jean-Michel Jarre , Russell T. Davies, Olivia Newton John, Dan Ackroyd, Billie Piper, Jack Black, Mike Meyers, M. Night Shyamalan, Ken Burns, Robin Williams, Tom Baker, Chris Carter, David Duchovny, Nicholas Meyer, Ronald D. Moore, Michelle Branch, Grace Park, Sarah McLachlan, Katherine Zeta Jones, Tom Hanks, Peter Gabriel, Stephen Hawking, James Burke , Nick Park, Meg Ryan, Kate Hudson, Amanda Bynes, Tim Burton

PEOPLE NO LONGER (PHYSICALLY) WITH US: Carl Sagan, John Lennon, George Harrison, Muddy Waters, Jimi Hendrix, Ingrid Bergman, J.R.R. Tolkien, H.G. Wells, C.S. Lewis, John Holliman , Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings, Rod Serling, Vincent Price, John Belushi, Gene Roddenberry, Henry II (King of England), Richard I (King of England) Katherine of Aragon, William Cornelious Hallford (my great grandfather), Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Richard Burton (the actor), Richard Burton (the explorer), William Shakespeare, Martin Luther King Jr., Shelby Foote, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, John F. Kennedy, Jesus, Mohammed, Siddhartha, Christopher Columbus

Music:


Movies:

Like the books and music, I have so many movies that I've loved that it would impossible to list them all. Here's a quick run-down, in absolutely no order at all.Lawrence of Arabia Casablanca 7 Remains of the Day Robot Carnival Raiders of the Lost Art Real Genius Flirting Bridget Jones' Diary Animal House Time Bandits The Thing Maltese Falcon O Brother, Where Art Thou? Citizen Kane The African Queen The Great Escape The Guns of Navarrone The Phantom of the Opera (w/Lon Chaney) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Mindwalk St. Elmo's Fire Arsenic and Old Lace 1941 Real Genius Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country Star Trek: First Contact 2010 Hotel Rwanda Ghandi Out of Africa Galaxy Quest The Ring Wargames Blue Thunder Die Hard Hackers Henry V Dead Again Rebecca Psycho (original) North by Northwest Rear Window Jurassic Park I & II The Lord of the Rings Do the Right Thing Star Wars, Episodes 4-6 Quatermass and the Pit War of the Worlds (the original one) Forbidden Planet The Day the Earth Stood Still Blues Brothers An American Werewolf in London Terminator I & II Gargoyles (made for TV movie) Ghostbusters Crowhaven Farm (made for TV movie) Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (made for TV movie) Better off Dead Chariots of Fire One Crazy Summer Monty Python and the Holy Grail Monty Python and the Meaning of Life Master and Commander Batman Batman Begins Alien Aliens The Nightmare Before Christmas Office Space Gettysburg The Mummy (original and remake) The Werewolf Dracula (original Universal version) Frankenstein (original Universal version) Maverick Manhunter Apollo 13 Time After Time Signs The Sixth Sense Field of Dreams October Sky Dead Poet's Society Hope and Glory Wizards Top Secret Airplane I & II Silverado Unforgiven Young Frankenstein Almost Famous Gallipoli Breaker Morant The Children's Hour Slender Thread Empire of the Sun Silent Running Sneakers The Usual Suspects Contact Frequency Cat People (original version) The Natural The Grudge Highlander Paint Your Wagon Sommersby Somewhere In Time Howards End Excalibur The Lathe of Heaven (made for PBS version)

Television:

SERIES:Star Trek: New Voyages, The Tudors, Jericho, Lost, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Battlestar Galactica, West Wing, Rome, Monk, Carnivale, Deadwood, X-Files, Millenium, Star Trek, Stargate Atlantis, CSI, Doctor Who, Nova, Red Dwarf, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Moonlighting, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Twilight Zone, Sex and the City, News Radio, WKRP in Cincinnati, Northern Exposure, MASH, The Night Stalker, Home Movies, Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, Sealab 2021, Actor's Studio, Ghosthunters

CHANNELS I WATCH THE MOST:SciFi, Discovery, The Learning Channel, History, Science, Spike, G4, BBC America, HBO.

Books:

I read a great deal, and my tastes run all over the map. The following list doesn't come anywhere close to being a complete list of my recommended works, but these have all, in their own way, contributed to my own tastes both as a reader and a writer. Most of these authors have created other works that I've loved, but I hope through experiencing these, other doors will open for you as well."Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood "Possession" by A.S. Byatt "Master of the Five Magics" by Lyndon Hardy "Foccault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco "Connections" by James Burke "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien "Dune" by Frank Herbert "The Ballad of Frankie Silver" by Sharyn McCrumb "Necroscope" by Brian Lumley "The Black Company" by Glen Cook "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams "A Memory of Whiteness" by Kim Stanley Robinson "A Morbid Taste For Bones" by Ellis Peters "The Case Files of Lord Darcy" by Randall Garrett "The Lions of Al-Rassan" by Guy Gavriel Kay "The Anubis Gates" by Tim Powers "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams "Silver Pigs" by Lindsey Davis "Crossroad Blues" by Ace Atkins "Instruments of Night" by Thomas H. Cook "Oxrun Station" by Charles Grant "The Guns of the South" by Harry Turtledove "The Shadowy Horses" by Susanna Kearsley "I Don't Know For Sure, But It Seems Like..." by J.L. Hallford "Henry's Hill Stories" by Henry G. Hallford Sr. "Duanne Barry" by Chris Carter "The Civil War" by Ken Burns "The Eight" by Katherine Neville "Twilight Eyes" by Dean Koontz "The Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin "Shopping For Buddhas" by Jeff Greenwald "The Call of Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft "The Crying of Lot 49" by Thomas Pynchon "When You Are Old" by W.B. Yeats "Her Pilgrim Soul and Other Stories" by Alan Brennert "Little, Big" by John Crowley "Waking the Moon" by Elizabeth Hand "Desolation Road" by Ian McDonald "Santiago" by Mike Resnick "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck "Paradise Lost" by John Milton "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare "Enigmas" by Pablo Neruda "Sea-Fever" by John Masefield "Le Morte D'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory "You Darkness That I Come From..." by Rainer Maria Rilke "Mistress of the Empire" by Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts

My Blog

Democratic Math: An Open Letter to Hillary

Dear Hillary, I'm writing you today on behalf of a Democratic party that wants to have a future. Once this election is over and we face challenges in the mid-terms, we want to be able to maintain our ...
Posted by Nealiios on Wed, 07 May 2008 11:40:00 PST

Do Robot Dogs Chase Electric Cats?

Okay, I’m never gonna give up my real, fuzzy face dogs, but this is the coolest thing in robotics I’ve seen in a LONG time. Screw Aibo, I want one of these for Christmas.. http://shock.mil...
Posted by Nealiios on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:27:00 PST

Remembering Joe

Last Thursday, we laid my father-in-law to rest, and I was asked if I'd like to say a few words about him during his memorial service. Since I knew that most people would be talking about Joe's n...
Posted by Nealiios on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 07:22:00 PST

Joseph Ondrechen Sr. 1922 - 2008

It's my very sad duty to announce the death of my father-in-law, Joseph Ondrechen Sr. He passed away yesterday at the age of 85 while at home with his wife Jackie. He grew up during the Great Depress...
Posted by Nealiios on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:40:00 PST

Whats My Century Again?

Today I saw a news article that the pope has cancelled a visit to a university over protests of the pope's position on...Galileo? I mean, aren't we all sort of over the whole Earth going around the su...
Posted by Nealiios on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:59:00 PST

My Name In Lights...

Well folks, it's official. My name has finally appeared on the big screen. Jana and Justin and I all went to "In the Name of the King" last night, and lo and behold, my name floated up the silver scr...
Posted by Nealiios on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 11:55:00 PST

San Diego Siege tonight

Just a reminder, "In the Name of the King" hits screens tonight. Come join Jana and I for the viewing! Dinner at 6:00 at Hennessey's Irish Pub in the gaslamp, then the screening at Horton Plaza at 7:3...
Posted by Nealiios on Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:07:00 PST

"In the Name of the King" Premieres - L.A. and San Diego

Hello all, Just a quick update on the "In the Name of the King" premiere parties we're throwing this weekend. Since I've had friends in both San Diego and L.A. say they'd like to come, we're doin...
Posted by Nealiios on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 03:42:00 PST

Why Game Writers Should Strike Too

Okay, horrifying isn't it? $19.00 DVD, and the writers get 4 cents. If it gets aired on the Internet, they get zero. Now I have a truly tragic figure for you. For every dollar that is earned off the d...
Posted by Nealiios on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:58:00 PST

Two More Halloween Treats For You!

All righty folks, being that Halloween is my favorite day of the year, I feel obligated to hand out more supernatural goodies for you all. Here are two more little spooky gems for your clicking pleasu...
Posted by Nealiios on Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:55:00 PST