Site News: New Blog Address and Affiliation

This is going to be a quick post about some changes coming to Redhawks Gaze.  First off, I have a new site and web address.  I have moved the blog to Wordpress.  In addition, the new way to get to the new site is http://www.redhawks-gaze.com/.  When you go there, you will see some familiar things and a couple of new things that will be happening in the future.

Second, in collaboration with my wife, we have started a group called the Grooms Blogging Group.  What does this mean for the site?  First off, it means you will be seeing me blog more often that I have recently. I will be returning to a once daily blogging.  Second, you will start to see advertisements on the blog.  I would encourage you to click on the links because the more business you give me, the more contest, prizes, etc. I can give to you.  It is a tit for tat situation.  Third, I would encourage you to go to the main website above to see all the new blogs as we introduce them and would encourage you to check them out.  There are going to be blogs about entertainment, politics, etc.

The future is looking great at Redhawks Gaze and I hope everybody will come along for this next phase of the journey.

Redhawks Gaze Season 2 - Electric Bugaloo

Redhawks Gaze 2: Electric Bugaloo

Ok, yes.  It has been a long while.  I haven't forgotten about all of you.  I hope you didn't forget about me.  So you are probably wondering where the hell I have been all of this time.  Well, I have had a lot of exciting life changes going on right now.

First,  I got married.  I have been engaged since December 2010 where I got engaged in Charleston, SC during a snow storm. (Thinking geographically, you should see how unique that really is.)  We originally were going to get married in late 2011 or early 2012.  My second big life event changed that completely.  We found out in May that we are expecting.  This made it where we had to push up the wedding a little so that we can accomodate the new baby on the way.  Plus, she needed healthcare to be able to take care of the baby.  We are going to have an actual wedding for all our friends and family in July, but we had to go ahead and get married.

So, the big question you are probably wondering is what is going to happen to Redhawks Gaze.  First off, I am going to keep blogging.  Will it be as frequent as it once was?  No.  Will it still be as informative as it once was? Yes.  Will is just be WoW?  No. 

Since all of this started happening, I have also formed my own Rift guild on Emberlord-US called (no surprise on the name) Conquest.  You can find the site here. (We are recruiting for all classes, callings, etc. for PvE and PvP.)  Also since I am having a lot of these life changes, I actually have a co-GM by the name of Lilstick.  Do I know what the future holds?  No.  Will I be MMOing forever?  Probably not.

So this brings me to part 2 of this blog post.  How will this site change?  First off, I realized that updating two seperate blogs is next to impossible and I'm not going to even try to.  So, as of this post, Redhawks Ascension will be deleted.  This also means that Redhawks Gaze will now cover both WoW and Rift.  I will make it clear as to which is being covered in the title.  In addition, you will probably see some general gaming post as well to add a little spreading out, especially if it is news related to MMOs.

So, as I mentioned in the title, welcome to Season 2 of Redhawks Gaze.  Hopefully, you will enjoy the new content you will be seeing coming up.

And Now, The End is Near. I Face The Final Curtain.

This post is going on both Redhawks Gaze and Redhawks Ascension.

It is with a heavy heart that I'm reporting that I'm stepping away from blogging.  Main reason that I'm stepping away is that I don't have time to play WoW or Rift anymore. 

My career has taken me in a very different direction than I ever thought.  I know I was a player, but I never thought that Jay-Z would actually listen to my rap single.  He e-mailed me and told me that I spit hot fire and he wants me to make an album.  I'm gonna be recording a new album with his studio, Rock-a-Fella Records.  He has even lined up duos with Beyonce and Rhianna.  I'm super excited to be moving into this new area of my life.  I also have talk show apparences for Conan, The Colbert Report, and co-hosting with Kelly Ripa on Live after Regis leaves.

I want to give out many thanks.  First, I want to say thank you to Conquest for encouraging me to start this blog in the first place.  While I was hoping to achieve the same success as Matticus from World of Matticus, you just can't let go of the rap game.  Also, I want to thank Qieth not for his blogging skills, but helping me with my new rap name, Quick Qieth Quipper.  As the first person to respond on my blog, I'm glad to honor you in this way.  Also, to Lufitoom and Tralina, you are welcome backstage at my rap shows anytime.

In addition, I want to thank all the people from Rift who have come on to support my new blog.  While I'm a little upset that I'm not gonna hit the level cap for a while until I become bigger than Jesus, be assured that anybody who stands in the way will be hitting a very different cap, most likely in the ass.

Finally, I want to thank Charlie Sheen for teaching me the philosophy of winning.  I have tasted the Tigerblood and now I'm succeeding in the rap game.  I hope to be doing some Charlie Sheen with you soon.

So, with a heavy heart, I thank everybody for their support.  Also, pick up my new joint on Rock-a-Fella Records, Q Cubed, coming in July 2011.  Don't hate the player.  Hate the game. (Which if you believe this, you just lost it.) 

Merry Christmas From Redhawk's Gaze

To you and yours, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  May all your presents be epic and your feast be legendary.  To celebrate, my favorite Christmas song of all time. Combining my favorite classic Christmas singer and one of my favorite classic rockers.



Site News and New Header Contest

November was a great month.  My Gamecocks won the SEC East.  I celebrated the 6 month anniversary with my wonderful girlfriend.  And this site has continued to grow.  November was the biggest month on record yet.  It was the first month where I had over 5,000 pageviews for the month, something that was not even done in October when I was on Leet Sauced and Raid Warning.  I am humbled and grateful and thankful for each person who comes daily to read to the ramblings of a WoW player.  When I started it last April, I could have never imagined this blog would have become what it is.  So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.  I will continue to bring you all the pertinent moonkin, druid, and Warcraft information into Cataclysm.

Speaking of Cataclysm, I'm going to be making a little bit of a change.  My night elf druid will be becoming a worgen druid.  What this means is that my banner may become a little outdated after I become a worgen.  Since I have no skill in the arts, I decided it was time for another contest. 

The Redhawk's Gaze New Header Contest 

Rules:  To enter this contest, all you have to do is draw a header for the blog.  It can be anything you want, but it must meet the following 3 requirements.

1) Must have a picture of a worgen moonkin.

2) Must have the title "Redhawk's Gaze" in the picture.

3) Must have a Solar or Lunar Eclipse in it.

From there, it is up to you.  Do you want to have me riding a mount?  Sure.  Do you want Starfall to be hitting around me?  Awesome.  Everything else is up to you.

Once you have completed your entry, I would ask that you e-mail the picture in a normal format (JPEG, GIF, BMP, etc.) to bigdog1862@yahoo.com.  After I have received the entries, I will post my 3 favorite on the site and let the readers vote on the winner.  Now, from the Christmas in July contest, you know that I give out great prizes for the contest and this time is no exception.

Grand Prize: Featured as the header logo on this blog for the entire Cataclysm expansion and a sidebar credit to your site.  Also, you will get two 3 month game cards and two vanity pets (minus Plushies or Mounts) of your choice.

($80 value)

Second Place: One 3 month game card and one vanity pet (minus Plushies or Mounts) of your choice.

($40 value)

Third Place: The Shattering Novel and one vanity pet (minus Plushies or Mounts) of your choice.

($25 value)

 

So to all the artist and designers out there, good luck.  I will be closing entries on January 1st, 2011 so you have a few weeks to work on it.

Happy Thanksgiving From Redhawk's Gaze

Happy Thanksgiving from Redhawk's Gaze.  May your feast be delicious and your after dinner drops be legendary.

October Site News and Heading Towards the Cataclysm

Although it seems like I do this every month, I need to start with a huge thank you to the community who reads my blog.  In the month of October, we got over 3800 visits and almost 5000 page views, easily doubling what was done in September and the monthly average before that.  Since I started looking at data in June 2010, we have had almost 10,000 visits and almost 13,000 page views.  Whether you have been here since the beginning or recently found this site through the Raid Warning round table, Shift Happens, or through the LeetSauced podcast, thank you.

During this month, we celebrated the 100th post and the winners of our first contest, Christmas in July.  To those winners, I have been busy and have not been able to get the e-mails out to you but you will have them by the end of the week.

So, now we look on to Cataclysm and what is in store for World of Warcraft.  I will continue blogging through Cataclysm bringing you all the druid and raiding things that occur and beyond.  I also would love to hear topics you would want to hear more about both from raiding and the druid side of things.  I will also be talking a lot about the world events as they start occurring and what you could do to take part in them.  So again, thank  you and I can't wait to hear your suggestions. 

Christmas In July Contest Update and Other Site News

Blizzard decided to give us an October present by giving us the release date for Cataclysm.  This means that we have two thirds of our contest set for the Christmas in July contest.  We still need the date for 4.0 to find out the true winner, but here is what we know so far.

Date the Cataclysm Release Date is announced:  10/4/10
Date 4.0 is released:  ????????
Cataclysm Release Date: 12/7/10

When Blizzard sets a date, it is usually set in stone so I'm not anticipating a change.  Assuming the date is correct, here are the winners for the two of the questions that we have an answer for. (Listing first, second, and third place)

Cataclysm Release Date Announced: 

1. Loganw (guess was 9/23/10) 
2. Daniel (guess was 9/20/10) 
3. Maria (guess was 8/31/10)

Cataclysm Release Date:

1. Alero (guess was 12/1/10)
2. Daniel (guess was 11/30/10)
3. Superia (guess was 11/23/10)

Now if you are wondering why you are not the closest, remember the rules stated the closest without going over wins first place for the question.  Now, we are just waiting for the release of 4.0 to determine the winner.  If it is a three way tie for first place, we will go to who was closest by the number of cumulative days on all three of their guesses.

Also, just a reminder that I will be on the next Raid Warning round table: Shift Happens.  You will find a link on the upper right hand side of the blog.  I would encourage you to go back and listen to the other Raid Warning round tables as well as head over to Epic Advice and ask some balance druid questions you want answered on the podcast.

Finally, thank you for continuing to help grow the site.  We have now reached over 100 posts, have had over 5,000 visits, and am quickly approaching 10,000 page views.  I could never have imagined in the few short months I have been doing this that it would hit this kind of level, so that you for your continued support of this blog as we now move forward to Cataclysm.

Redhawk's Gaze - Coming Soon to a Podcast Near You

In the past week or so, I have had two invitations to come on podcasts.

The first podcast is one I have already been on once and is run by some guild mates of mine, which is Leet Sauced, for a second show.  The first show was great and hopefully will be out soon.  I typically don't get drunk, but after about 4 drinks, I was feeling it by the end of the podcast.  Plus, from my first episode, you will hear the story of the greatest motor vehicle accident of all time.  Not in damage, but what occurred during and after.  Also, check out their first episode with The Bossy Pally. 

The second podcast I have been invited to come on is the next Raid Warning round table, which is Shift Happens:  A Druid Roundtable.  Since I have started listening to Raid Warning, which was around episode 2, and listening to their first roundtable, I was hoping they were going to do a druid roundtable.  I can't wait to sit down with some of the Balance druids that I use as references including Graylo, Lufitoom, and a lot of others (Too many to list here) and talking about the current state and future of the Balance class.  I may also end up on the feral tanking section, but we will have to see for that part.  Also, if you go back to the other roundtables, you can hear my guild mates, The Bossy Pally and Matticus, on their respective roundtables.  (Hopefully, I'm not missing any of my guild mates who have also been on their roundtables.)  I also would encourage you to e-mail questions to raidwarningpodcast@gmail.com or go to Epic Advice and there will be a thread with a place to put questions about druids in general.

So I encourage you to check out both of these podcast out and I'm hoping this will be the first couple in a bunch of podcast that you will hear me on soon.

100th Post Celebration - The Best of Redhawk's Gaze

4/14/10 - The day that I decided to start my own WoW blog.  Who knew in a little over 5 months that I would be sitting here with my 100th blog post.  I didn't even know I had this much to say about the game I love.  I hope in doing this that I have been informative with some humor thrown in and lots of lolcats.

So to celebrate my 100th post, I wanted to go through some of the things that you, the readers, have found most interesting.

Most Viewed Blog Posts
1) Moonkin DPS Rotation - Present and Likely Future
2) To Starfall or Not To Starfall (Actually That Is Not A Question, I'm Going To Use Starfall)
3) My Raiding UI - What You See and What You Don't See
4) Emblem Gear for the New Level 80 Part 1:  The Mage
5) How To Lead a Pug Raid - A Guide

Most Commented on Blog Post (Not Counting the Contest)
1) Signs of a Bad Moonkin Player
2) To Starfall or Not To Starfall (Actually That Is Not A Question, I'm Going To Use Starfall)
3) Sickness and WoW - When to Sign Out for the Night
4) WoW As A Scapegoat
5) Operation Gnomergan: How It Should Have Been Handled 

Finally, I want to throw out some thanks.  First, I want to thank all the people who have been guest bloggers on the site, which would be Samsaric Warrior, Variant Avatar, Lufitoom, Natrii, and Viktory.  I also want to thank all the people who post cat pictures on the internet that I borrow on a routine basis.  Also, for all my cat picture editing, I want to thank Trollcats.com for creating their Trollcat Generator.  I also want to thank every blog or site that links to my site which is too numerous to name, but I know who you are.  I also want to thank the community in general for everything they have done.  Whether interacting through the blog, on Twitter, or on Facebook, it has been incredible.  So thank you very much and I hope to bring you more content as we roll in Cataclysm.  

Site Update and Suggestions for Moonkin Videos

I'm sure if you are a regular visitor to my blog, you probably have noticed a couple of small changes.

First off, this blog is now listed on the Twisted Nether Wiki.  Now, since it is a wiki, anybody can edit the info.  Unlike most people, I'm gonna encourage you to go and update my wiki for me.  I started off but I would love to see what you could come up with.

The second thing is I have moved all of my alts to the Reds Alts section.  This is where you will find the Armory links for all of my alt characters so you can follow them and follow their progress to where they will eventually be level 85.

The final thing is the the thing that I would love to hear the community feedback on.  Beside the WoW Screenshots is the WoW Videos.  I have got the setup to start recording video in WoW but I would love to hear feedback as to what you would like to see.  Would you like to see starter WoW videos on basics of a raiding moonkin?  Would you like to see raids from a moonkin perspective?  Any help from the community would be greatly appreciated.

Also,  you noticed that the Twitter Roundup is gone.  The main reason it is gone is because there is someone out there who is doing a much better job of it than me and I would encourage you to go check them out.  It is Psynister's Notebook and he has a list of pretty much everybody who has a Twitter about WoW.  I would encourage you to go check it out.

Final thing. I tried to get on the PTRs last night but they are crowded to say the least.  I will try to get on the PTRs today so that I can give you some updates from 4.0.1.  Stay tuned because the countdown to Cataclysm is on. 

Site Update - Thanks and Topic Suggestions

Short post today because I have to go to a football game this afternoon and watch my Cocks play. 

First off, I want to thank everybody who has been coming to this site.  In August, we surpassed July in page views, visitors, and absolutely unique visitors.  We have also passed over 5,000 page views since June 1st.  I could not have asked for more from the community and sincerely thank everybody who comes here on a daily basis.

Secondly, I know I have been talking about subjects that I have thought the community found interesting, but I would love to hear some feedback from you.  What topics do you like or would you like to know more about druids or raiding or anything related to WoW?  Any topic would be fair game.  I would love to hear some recommendations from you.

So again, thank you for the success of the site and I look forward to hearing some suggestions for topics you would like covered. 

Site News Update - Guest Bloggers, Contest, and Appreciation

I just want to give a quick update today before I start writing an actual blog for the day.

First off, the Christmas in July contest is closed at this time.  Thank you to everybody who entered.  Now, we just have to wait until Blizzard starts making some announcements to figure out who is going to be our grand prize winner.   Overall, I have to say this has been a very successful contest for a first one and thank you to everybody who entered to win.

Second, next week, I am hopefully going to be having a guest blogger for the entire week who is going to be doing an interesting series of blog posts about his experience leveling a druid in the game right now.  I have read the first article already and it is going to be highly informative and entertaining. 

Third, I want to thank everybody who made the month of July so successful for this blog.  From June to July, we have easily doubled the number of visits, page views, and absolute unique visitors.  And this is given one day of no analytics and a half day of analytics due to the redesign of the site.  We had over 1200 visits, over 2000 pageviews, and about 950 absolute unique visitors.  So again, thank you, thank you, and thank you again.  Whether you found this site through my Twitter, Google, or WoWCentric, I appreciate it.  And I do haz a happy.  

Welcome to the New Redhawk's Gaze

If you are a long time reader of my blog, I'm sure you have noticed the first of many changes on this site.  The first thing you will have noticed is the new design.  A little darker colors with a starry background to bring more moonkinness out of the site. 

In addition, I'm sure you have noticed a few other changes that have been made.  The first one is I have incorporated Google Conversation Web Elements to give a chat room for the site.  This is a place where you can post WoW questions or just talk to others about anything.  Come in, post your thoughts, and have some fun.  I had someone ask about turn around time for questions.  I will try to get to them daily at least if not more than once a day.

Also, you will notice the new music tab.  While most people give you just a few songs they like, I like to give you whole stations to listen to.  You will notice that I have three stations currently, but will be added to this once I find more stations.  In addition, you will soon find my Last.Fm channel there as well.

Next, you will notice the screenshots section.  While this will mostly be for my screenshots, if you see something interesting in game and you want to send it to me, you can use the Contact button on the end to send me an e-mail. 

Also, you see the WoW blogs and WoW twitter list.  I'm going to be populating those with some of the blogs that I currently read, but if you have a blog or a twitter that you would like to promote, please leave a comment in that section.

The final thing is the contact section.  I'm still open to getting some more RealID friends. (No stalkers please.  Unless women stalkers. Just kidding about the women stalkers too.  My girlfriend would kill me.)  You will also find a list of all my characters if you have any questions in game and want to get in touch with me.

So I hope everybody enjoys the new site and I would love some feedback on things to do or changes to make.  Also, remember to enter our Christmas in July contest.  You have less than a week to enter to win some great prizes.

Site News - New Domain, WoWCentric, and Thanks

I have just a few exciting announcements to tell you about the blog.

First, do you hate having to type out all those extra characters for Blogspot stuff to reach Redhawk's Gaze?  Well, now, you no longer have to.  I now have www.redhawksgaze.com, the direct link to the site for you to use to make it easier to get here.

Second, the blog is going to be listed on WoW Centric, which is going to be an online collection of blogs, comics, and podcast that are all related to WoW.  I am also honored to be under the sections for Druids and Raiding, since I tend to talk about both of these topics regularly on this blog.  The site is currently in beta, but will be coming to you soon.

Third, I want to say a big thank you to everybody who comes and reads this blog.  So far in the month of June, we have had almost 300 unique visits and almost 600 page views and we still have a week to go.  I never would have imagined those statistics in my third month of doing this, so thank you.

Finally, I want to go ahead and let you know about some of the guest post we do have for next week.  The first guest blogger we will have next week is Natrii from Natriicraft, who will be doing a post on designing an effective UI for raiding.  The second guest blogger will be Variant Avatar, who will be discussing DK tanking and the different builds, etc. to be an efffective DK tank.  I am also working with a couple other people to try to have a couple more days of guest bloggers for next week while I'm on vacation and am enjoying the beach.

Redhawk's Gaze is on Facebook

After a great week of raiding with celebrating my 10 man LK kill and a single 10/12 night in 25 man ICC on Thursday, I took a break this weekend playing some on my mage, who is level 73 now, and listening to a band called Family Force Five.

While I have nothing new about moonkins right now (I may have something by the afternoon), I do have an exciting announcement.  Redhawk's Gaze is on Facebook.  Please become a fan of the page and leave any topics that you think should be covered soon in the discussion section.