Sunday, August 10, 2008

Onward and Upward




Well, a friend of mine (and myself) recently had a long discussion regarding writing, how to write, why we don't write, good writers, why we aren't good writers and the overall "craft" as we in the biz call it. Yes, that's right, "the biz." Ok, I'm not a writer, but sometimes I like to play dress up and pretend I am. I put on my cape and soar around my apartment, dreaming of a day when I can throw off these chains of regular work, sit in a upscale apartment, and pontificate on the ills of the world. Wait. I already do that, and with gusto! Hmmm. Ok, I don't get paid for. That's right, people, I'm a fucking volunteer. Dammit. Anywho, me and my friend have committed ourselves to writing more. You may know my friend from his blog, "Making the Mundane Magical" of which, I should have a link to on this site. He is a very good writer and his new site, www.sniction.wordpress.com is coming along very nicely. I suggest everyone take in a few of his stories and drop him a couple of comments. They are well thought out and very engrossing. As for myself, dear reader, and by the way, I am basically ripping off the "dear reader" from Stephen King (he uses "Constant Reader," see I'm original), I too have pushed myself into the fantastic and exciting world of online publishing! Hmmmm. Already doing that with this blog. Ok, well this will be mainly just fiction and not my obsessive and ridiculous ranting. If you have time, or your bored, or you just want to laugh and mock my sincere efforts, mosey on over to my little fiction site, www.noveletics.wordpress.com and enjoy. Or don't. Shit. I don't give a fuck. Onward and upward, dear friends. Onward and upward.

Internets




Hmmm. Been trying to think up a good post for a while. Instead of just sitting on my ass, I decided to post some of my favorite snarky, irreverent, funny, and interesting sites that I check constantly. Considering I eliminated my cable several months ago, I decided to devote my time to the internet. So here you go, cats and kittens, for your viewing and reading pleasure:

Wonkette
www.wonkette.com

This is a Washington political site. Very snarky and very irreverent. Obvious liberal bias, but the headlines and funny and they can keep you up-to-date on who is screwing who in Washington.

Slate
www.slate.com

Online magazine that is loved by NPR and considering I love NPR, it was only natural that I started reading this. Good articles, pretty in depth, and you can always find something interesting and well thought out.

Hulu
www.hulu.com

No cable? No problem. No money? No problem. A natural fit for me. Hulu is like a professional youtube, with tons of archived television series and movies. All for free. You have to tolerate a few ads, but, screw it. Its worth it. Not as many movies as you might hope for, but come on. I live in poverty. I takes whats I cans gets.

McSweeney’s
www.mcsweeneys.net

Extremely funny site. A bit high-brow, but their archives are worth it. You can read it for hours. My suggestion is to search for the Cookie Monster story. You’ll laugh your ass off. McSweeney’s has been around for a while and has a very good presence in print media.

Adult Swim
www.adultswim.com

Tuner’s golden child of comedy. Who could have ever conceived that a viewer driven, extremely insane cartoon channel could produce such great material? I thought all Turner/Time Warner had was TBS and the Braves? Well boy was I wrong. Cartoon Network, with its humble beginnings as Turner’s way of satisfying its required “child programming hours” has hoisted Adult Swim (its night-time incarnation) into an industry standard of comedy. Adult Swim (and viewers like me) resurrected Family Guy and Futurama and have given a shot to dozens of fantastic comedians (Tim and Eric) and elevated crazy animation to the next level. Kudos. I suggest everyone bookmark this one.

Gawker
www.gawker.com

Lots of snark, basically a gossip site. Its good and you can really stay in touch with what is passé, what is now, and what is just ridiculous. Hey, don’t act like you don’t have one of these sites bookmarked! At least I’m not promoting Perez Hilton. Although he is funny too.