All entries written in August, 2010
August 27, 2010 at 11:37 pm · Filed under On SKSG, Personal, Thoughts
Sorry for the lack of a real post today–I’m visiting my parents in New Jersey, which provides an excellent opportunity to test that laptop I bought. For the first time in my life, I can write for real (and update my website) on the road! I’m typing this from my little sister’s bedroom! While she annoys me by shoving gay video game porn in my face! It’s a very interesting experience (working with my travel laptop, not having pornography forced on me) and I’m glad the money I spent on this new computer wasn’t wasted.
Here’s a photo from my cell phone of the computer booting up while I look over the manuscript-in-progress I brought along with me:
August 20, 2010 at 8:30 pm · Filed under On My Influences, Reviews, Thoughts
Now that was a rock concert.
I had my doubts at first–while waiting in a line that went all the way around a city block (!), I had plenty of time to size up the audience, which only reinforced the nagging feeling that I was getting too old for this. I had teenage douchebags to the left of me and adult douchebags, apparently waiting for Jersey Boys to start, on the right, and I felt conspicuous and exposed walking in alone. But then I stamped out a cigarette some jerk threw near the two girls behind me (who were wearing sandals), and they thanked me, which at least made me feel like a good samaritan. I reminded myself that, once inside, no one else was going to give a crap about me. I didn’t need anyone’s permission to be here.
The effects of the evening took a little while to sink in, but all told, it was one of the best concerts I’ve been to. The songs of Something Corporate don’t typically make me feel excited and driven like some of my other favorite music–instead, they makes me calm, clear, and reflective, and the live performance didn’t disappoint. Here’s what they played, in no particular order:
Keep reading….
August 16, 2010 at 10:50 pm · Filed under On SKSG, Thoughts
So something’s been bugging me lately.
My writing directories (as in folders of computerzied files) are getting too huge to easily back up. I find myself having to pick and choose what to copy to my thumbdrives, or to a DVD+R, at any given time. And if I really want to back up everything at once, I have to do it in multiple phases, which takes forever. I know it must seem ridiculous that my writing files exceed the capacity of a DVD–this is due in large part to my artwork folder (which contains book covers, high-quality versions of website images, etc.), but Microsoft Word loves to choke my SKSG folder with hidden, temporary files, so that’s not as small as you’d think, either. And in any case, sometimes it’s hard to remember what I have or haven’t backed up recently–I’d never have to worry if my directories were small enough to back up all together, every time, without it taking like an hour.
So I’ve started contemplating a major directory reorganization, one that would not only allow me to easily target and clear out stuff I never use or look at anymore (e.g. the design for this website circa 2003), but would also make it easy for me to switch between writing on my main computer and that miniature laptop I just bought without getting confused about which draft of something is the most current. Basically, each story would get its own folder, and every draft would be named not by the story’s title, but by the draft’s date, in the highly-sortable format I once used to update The Trio of Triumph. For example, a draft dated today would be named 20100816.doc; you’d only know which story it was a draft of based on which folder it was in. This is more or less already how I handle stories on the verge of publication (it’s how I finished up books one through three of SKSG, in fact), so I know that it’s useful, and would be even more so if I codified the process a bit more.
Keep reading….
August 13, 2010 at 9:01 am · Filed under On My Influences, Personal, Reviews, Thoughts
Writing in General - This site isn’t set up for me to talk about much aside from School Kids SG, but I’ve actually had a ton of creative energy lately, and I’ve been pouring it into a variety of different projects, SKSG included. It’s almost like I can’t control what happens on any given night–like the stories want to be written, and they’re jockeying with each other for a better position in line. It’s so gratifying to see those stacks of paper getting ever taller…sometimes, I toy with the notion that it would be nicer if I decided what type of energy flowed through me at any given time, but that’s the businessman’s approach to writing, and no matter how much time I spend in New York City I will always have the soul of an artist. If that’s not too arrogant of a thing to say.
For those who are interested in the writing and publishing process, here’s a bit of breaking insight: I’ve started using manual duplex printing to put two-sided pages on three-hole paper, which I then put into binders for the editing phase. It’s convenient and it saves a ton of money (also space, which is no small concern for those of us who live in small apartments).
SKSG Specifically - I’m slowly sprucing up the Facebook page–keep an eye on it. There’s going to be a major advertising push this summer and fall, so that I can get more people into the first three books before I move further along with book four. Anyone who has friends they think might be into my stuff, please spread the word! And thanks very much to those who have already done so (you know who you are).
Scott Pilgrim - Well, let’s see, I posted about receiving the first volume of Scott Pilgrim on…July 29th? It is now August 13th and I’ve read five out of six. The fifth in a single sitting–I can’t remember the last time I did that. I mean, it helps that comic books move faster than pure prose, but I seriously have not been able to put this story down, and that’s not something I say often. When I was younger (i.e., up to and including my last year of college), I would deliberately go slow when reading books or playing video games, to savor the experience, but I don’t think I could slow down here if I tried. Looks like I might be done in time to catch the movie in theaters after all!
Rock Show - I’m seeing Something Corporate tonight! A show where I will probably be the only man in the audience! Eh-heh. Nevertheless, this might be my only chance ever to see them live, so there’s no way I can pass it up. I’ll post a report here at some point, I’m sure!
August 11, 2010 at 6:48 pm · Filed under Announcements
Wooo! At long last, Microsoft loves can rejoice! I mean, don’t get me wrong–this site still looks way better in Firefox, but none of the remaining IE quirks (mostly spacing or alignment-related) should get in the way of the content. Let me know if I’m wrong!
August 6, 2010 at 9:00 am · Filed under Announcements
There’s not going to be a formal post today–instead, check around the site all weekend for updates to critical sections, including the Cast page, Episode Guide, and World of Woodvale. Some things are up already! I’ll be posting a ton of new content as I complete the overhaul of the site and prepare it to help me sell some serious books (hint, hint). See how many new things you can find!
August 1, 2010 at 9:37 pm · Filed under Announcements
Hooray! I’m pretty pleased with how it’s coming together, but I’m not ready to call it 100% done yet. For example, I won’t know for a couple of days how it looks in resolutions higher or lower than 1024×768, and there are some elements (like the announcements and the official episode guide) that I’m still working on. Expect the full shape of things to settle over the course of this week. And, as always, if you see anything out of the ordinary (old layout breaking back in, error messages in German), just let me know.
For the first time, I have a layout that’s mostly-compatible with IE! Microsoft lovers, rejoice!
Edit: Er, okay, now Microsoft lovers can rejoice. The right-hand sidebar is no longer stretching itself out to infinity at high resolutions. Whew!
Another Edit: All right, so apparently I don’t know when Microsoft lovers can rejoice. This hyper-expanding sidebar (a feature only visible in IE, as far as I know) is proving awfully stubborn. I’ll update again when I’m sure it’s fixed–until then, use Firefox or, I guess, shrink your window? A-heh. Incidentally, if anyone uses Chrome or Opera or another third-party browser, please do chime in with how the site looks to you. I’m not afraid to value the opinions of others!
