Cartoon Violence

2008: A New Year

2008-01-01T02:44:00.000-05:00

Resolutions, of course. RESOLUTIONS.

1. First and foremost: THE resolution. 900 words a day, without fail, without passing Go, EVERY DAY, for a year. I know I'm not going to keep this one, but I'm going to try my best. If not 900 then 800, and if not that then something less, and if not that then at least SOMETHING.

2. Spend more time doing the things I want to do with the people I want to do them with.

3. Maintain and grow DeadpanDesigns.com - whether or not it makes Ben and I any money.

4. Watch every pitch of every inning of every Tigers' game. (MUAHAHAHA).

5. Don't die doing anything that I thought beforehand would be cool on videotape.

Finally

2007-12-26T03:13:00.000-05:00

2008 is coming, and we can finally tell ourselves that if we just close our eyes and reach out with our noodly appendages, we might be able to feel the tug of something warmer, something beautiful, off in the distance. Only maybe it's not so far off in the distance, maybe it's closer than we thought, and maybe it's more amazing than we ever thought it would probably be. And, standing there with our eyes closed, perhaps we utter the phrase that sends shivers down any true believer's spine.

"Pitchers and catchers report."

Ahh...doesn't that just feel amazing?

Christmas'd

2007-12-25T03:43:00.001-05:00

Hey, Merry Christmas everyone!

It's about time, my yule log was starting to rot.

........

2007-12-21T03:48:00.000-05:00

Just finished Elantris.

Wow.

I'm reconsidering my novel now. Or even trying to write.

It was that good.

Elantris and Legend and Todd

2007-12-18T02:34:00.000-05:00

Last night I read the first three chapters of a book, online, on the author's website.

The author's name is Brandon Sanderson (click for link), and the book was called Elantris.

Today, I was browsing in Barnes & Noble, and I found it. On the cover is a quote by Orson Scott Card (the very same to whom I'm personally acquainted) that says "Elantris is the finest novel of fantasy to be written in many years."

I would have bought the book without the quote, but let's say it helps. After reading the first three chapters online, I desperately hoped there would be a link telling me to "Go to Chapter 4."

There wasn't. But I was intrigued enough, interested enough in the story and the characters and the storytelling (none of which is perfect, but it's above average - better than most things that get published nowadays) to buy the book today.

That's what I think we need, as readers. Not an excerpt or a synopsis or a rating system - I want to be able to read the first three or four chapters and judge for myself whether the book is my style and to be able to tell if the writer's there for me or him. And there isn't always time (or space) to sit and read the first few chapters of a book whose cover intrigued you...What if we didn't ever see the cover till we knew we wanted the thing? What a wacky world that would be.

-----(I'm going to start doing this to separate my thoughts)---(lalala I am Neil Gaiman.)

Thinking more about I Am Legend (might has well have been titled I, Legend - in the vein of Smith's current holiday movie book-killing trend) I have realized the significance of a somewhat cryptic and weird scene toward the middle of the film. In it, Smith drives past a mannequin - whom we met earlier (Frank, I think) - that has been placed in a very different spot from where he'd previously been (outside a supermarket). Smith thinks he sees the mannequin's head move, and proceeds to run toward it, telling Frank that if he is real, he'd better say so. Frank says nothing, and so Smith pumps his motionless plastic body full of bullets.

Smith then approaches Frank even further, still trying to figure out how he got where he got without Smith's help...and stuff, at that point, (or things) proceeds happening. Trappy stuff. Now, at first I couldn't figure out why the mannequin was there either, and figured (until today) that the reason it was there was because Will Smith was in fact going crazy and had put it there unbeknownst to us in a Tyler Durden Fight Clubby way. However, I now know that my thinking was wrong and that someone (or thing) else moved Frank. And I would have known that had the script continued in that direction and actually played out the ending of the book (which has been around for 53 years...and can be found at any local library) instead of the typical Hollywood happy/religious/bastardizing ending that we were forced to watch. I'll tell you right now that I can (and will, if asked by the Legend people) write a better (and how!) last twenty minutes for them to re-shoot and throw into the Director's Cut. Then they can pretend they did it right the first time.

Actually, I think I'll just pretend that my ending is what I saw, and hey! That's what I'll remember.

----------------

I want to see Sweeney Todd now.

Richard Matheson Rocks

2007-12-17T19:37:00.001-05:00

Too bad Will Smith and Co. butchered his book.

First I, Robot and now this...

My Hair Has Reached Critical Mass

2007-12-16T23:49:00.000-05:00

Well. It has. I'm just saying, sometimes it sneaks up on you like that.

I'm talking to a writing friend (who, credible sources say, will soon be a very big fantasy writer in the world of fantasy writing) who is telling me that to bypass all of the red tape and get my novel really looked at, I should be in Denver at the beginning of August next year at a little thing called WorldCon.

Well, I say: Let's do it. It's nice to have a deadline to shoot for.

Booyah.

MUST!!!

2007-12-15T20:10:00.001-05:00

I don't really have much to say this weekend, I'm kind of just blogging now just for the sake of blogging. Just to say I did, I suppose. I listened to MSU beat IPFW on WJR. Enough acronyms for you?

It's interesting, I keep walking around thinking, "Man, what am I going to tell the internet about my day? It's just been boring." I feel very unproductive. I think it's that I'm home and therefore have no reason to work. (EVEN THOUGH I HAVE TO WORK!!! I MUST!!!)

I had a dream that I got word back from the story that I sent out to IGMS, and that they sent me a letter instead of an e-mail, and I hadn't opened it yet but I couldn't figure out why they'd send me a letter just to reject me. Anyway, I'll bet anyone here twenty bucks I got rejected. Which is why I need to be finishing new stories. Hahahaha. I need P.Diddy to hold a gun to my head - "Write or Die." But then, if I need a gun to my head, this isn't what I want to do, is it? (BUT IT IS!!! I JUST NEED TO DO IT!!! I MUST!!!)

Anyway, I'm going to be working on my father's new website, our novel, and whatever short stories I can finish. I'm a boring kid, sorry.

...AAAAAAAAND GOODNIGHT.

2007-12-14T23:31:00.000-05:00

I'm going to bed.

Here's today's post.

I don't know. This'll probably find its way onto Grey's Anatomy eventually...as does everything.
I was impressed.

Home

2007-12-14T01:32:00.000-05:00

Today was harsh. (Thursday today, not Friday today.)

Mainly because today and yesterday weren't ever split.

I laid in bed for like three and a half hours trying to fall asleep (unable to because this headache is NOT going away) not even noticing it's really been three and a half hours, then I look at my phone and it's 5:30 - my exam was scheduled for 7:45.

In the morning.

So finally I'm like, you know what? I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to lay in bed and try to sleep when I know that even if I fall asleep, I'm going to wake up in less than two hours groggy and irritable and I'll probably be late for my exam. So I got up.

I showered (an enjoyable activity always, moreso at five-thirty because you know no one is waiting for you to finish so they can go) and flipped on Sportscenter. At seven I went to eat, and then it was on to my exam.

I said goodbye to my dorm room (not really, that would be weird and a little creepy - Bye dorm room, I lived inside you for three months!) and drove to my exam (I'd packed my van around midnight and parked it at the psych lot).

The exam was a "choose ten of twelve" multiple choice affair. I was done in five minutes, and then I was on the road.

I got home at nine-thirty with a splitting headache and fell into bed. My mom woke me up at four, and then I went with my dad to buy a new laptop for him (DIE, VISTA) and spent the latter part of the night installing crap. Understandably, I did not get today's writing done.

And I just started yesterday. Jeez.

A Post A Day - Nearly Stymied

2007-12-12T23:58:00.000-05:00

I almost missed it. You see, I've been trying my hardest to post every day my thoughts that day, or something I'd found that was interesting.

But it's midnight now, and though this will say that it was written at 11:58, it's technically the 13th. That's ok though.

This is gonna have to count. Oh, and I just started my first day of posting my day's writing online - it's at growingfiction.blogspot.com - or just click the link.

The explanation post is HERE. (I know it's black, just click it anyway.)

How I Got 'How I Got Published'

2007-12-11T19:02:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big proponent of writing books. [EDIT-I like to write books, I just don't like books about writing. My bad.] My general idea is that they all say basically the same thing. They give you, basically, all of the theoretical writing techniques that will help you succeed in writing your short story, your novel, etc. What they DON'T tell you - is how to change your priorities around so that you actually DO WRITE, and when you do write, you actually finish what you're writing.

So, with that said, I bought this book.

I'll tell you how it's different once I've read some of it.

Absolutely Hilarious. And IDrive.

2007-12-10T03:45:00.001-05:00

And yesterday, my computer wouldn't start. I thought it was done for good. So I went through, did the recovery console with the startup CD and all that, and it actually worked. It repaired whatever it needed to and that's when I decided, you know? I have way too many important files to be playing Russian Roulette with them. So then I found IDrive.com - it gives you two free Gigabytes of storage straight up - ten extra if you send e-mails to five people you think might want it. So basically twelve Gigs.

I uploaded all my writing stuff and all my comics / t-shirt stuff. Basically all my core files. And, you can set it to upload at preset times, or to upload the files as they're added / changed. Isn't that cool? Freakin' yeah it is.

Sports 4 U.

2007-12-09T19:43:00.000-05:00

Hi. This post marks the post that makes the last post on the CV front page disappear. One that was, disappointingly, still from the END OF THE BASEBALL SEASON.

One of my favorite sayings (untraced at the moment) is this: "There are two seasons. Baseball season and The Void."

We are in the midst of the void right now, however I am enjoying watching the Spartans play, looking forward to our Bowl Game vs. Boston College on the 28th - OH! And there's the Lions.

Who were beating the Dallas Cowboys, a 11-1 team. Until Romo scored with 18 seconds left on the clock. The culprit? Jason Hanson's 35 yard missed field-goal slash brain-fart.

How can anyone complain of a lack of sports excitement with losses like that to enjoy?!

Other People?

2007-12-08T03:20:00.000-05:00

Other people exist. These two brothers decide that for a year, they will only communicate through video blogs. No phone calls, letters, or in-person communication.

This was cool - I happened upon it while I was looking for a video of Jonathan Coulton's "Kenesaw Mountain Landis."

Links Will Save Zelda

2007-12-07T22:14:00.000-05:00

If you noticed, my last lipdub was a Jonathon Coulton song called "Soft Rocked by Me."

Turns out Neil Gaiman likes JoCo too!

Some new blogs I'm reading - Caroline's, a surprisingly smart Spartans Basketball Weblog, Samara's Roar of the Tigers, and of course Jamie's (he's getting his book published. Woo!)

HB!

2007-12-06T23:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my sister, Sara. You are now a quarter of a billion years old. I mean a hundred.

Don't Make Me Title This...

2007-12-05T11:27:00.000-05:00

It's about time I stopped neglecting CV. So, you will see, on an almost daily basis, posts from me here.

This page is loaded every time I open Firefox, so as long as I don't want to be reminded of how much I suck at updating, I'll update it. I mean, not like it's extremely difficult.

Anyway, the big news today is (obviously) the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis trade. Which is good. Miguel Cabrera is like a ten-years younger version of A-Rod, and most likely cheaper. Dontrelle Willis won Rookie of the Year in 2003, the year the Marlins won the World Series - and has had a 22 win season already (he's 24). However, his ERA was huge last year, and yet I hear people arguing that he was victimized by poor defense (which he won't be in Detroit) - he could be awesomely bad, or just awesome.

Anyway, we just got two more all-stars. Cabrera has been to the midsummer classic all four years of his career, and Dontrelle went in 2005.

That gives us...Maggs, Polanco, Sheff, Pudge, Rogers, Verlander, Guillen, Cabrera, Willis (am I missing anyone?) I mean, seriously. Wow.

Of course, we didn't get all this talent for free. We gave up our two top prospects in Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin, along with Mike Rabelo, Dallas Trahern (arguably our most promising minor league SP), Burke Badenhop and Eulogio De La Cruz. Wow. However, if you ignore the last four guys and just take for a moment Miller and Maybin - you have to agree that trading a pitcher like Miller for Willis (the winningest pither under 25 - he has 68) who is already MLB-ready and has proven he can perform well under pressure was a good thing, and the same goes for Maybin. Sure, the kid might be a great in a few years, but why not trade him for a guy who's great NOW?

Exactly.

This leaves Brandon Inge, who would have been our everyday 3rd basemen, on the bench. Or, he's the most expensive super-sub anyone has - the 6 million dollar man. Or, he's traded for some more middle relief.

Hmmm...

That About Sums It Up...

2007-12-04T20:53:00.000-05:00

by John Campbell

WhoCalled.ME?

2007-10-31T17:37:00.000-04:00

So, this number called my phone today, didn't leave a message - and so I did what I usually do when this happens. I went online and looked the number up.

I found this thing called "WhoCalled.US?"

http://whocalled.us/lookup/8775770877

Very interesting. Reading through, it looks like the two domain names I have registered with GoDaddy have linked me to this company call APlus hosting...the general consensus is that our numbers have been sold out.

Also, the Deadpan Designs page launches today!

The Cleveland Scenario

2007-09-17T20:44:00.000-04:00

Ok, yeah. I forgot (thanks Steve) to mention that the Tigers are 4.5 games back of Cleveland, but that they have a viable chance to sweep them.

If that does indeed happen, the Tigers will only be 1.5 games back of the Tribe, and the Indians are MUCH more fallable than the Yankees...at least at this point.

There will only be 9 games left at that point, but I'll take 1.5 over 4.5 any day.

We'll just have to see.

2.5 Games...How Many is That, Really?

2007-09-17T00:12:00.000-04:00

I'm writing this now basically for my own benefit.

Anyone who reads my blog...ever...knows that I like to riff on the Detroit Tigers, seeing as I watch every game and notice a lot of things. Things I like to make note of for my future self to look back on.

The Tigers are 2.5 games back of the Yankees in the Wild Card.

At this point in the season, there are 12 games left. In two weeks, whatever I write about here will already have happened. The Tigers will have won the amount of games they're going to win, and so will have the Yankees.

Whether or not that means postseasons for either of them is completely out of my hands.

With 12 games left, the Tigers could finish 83-79, 95-67, or somewhere in between there. My guess is the last one. At this point in the season, the Tigers have lost the same amount of games they lost last year (a last year that included a 5 game losing streak to end the season). The Yankees could finish 85-77, 98-64, or somewhere between there. Last year's Yankees won 97 games. This year's Yankees can only lose one more game if they are to match the total number of losses they had last year.

What I wanted to do was look at the remaining schedules for both teams and see what the Tigers would have to do to overtake the infernal Yanks.

Realistically, the Yankees will probably win 8 of their last 13 games. That's a winning percentage of .615, which is basically on point for the way they've been playing in the second half.

Let's assume the [Yanks] are going to lose at least one (they have one more game to play than the Tigers, so let's assume they lose the last game of the season)game. Ok? The Tigers are essentially 2 games back. With this 12 game run, and the Yankees winning 8 of those, the Tigers have to win 10 of 12 to tie. That sounds almost impossible, doesn't it?

Well, yeah. Kinda. But, the Tigers HAVE just won 10 of 12.

Let's say the kitties win 9 of 12? The Yanks have to then go 7 and 6 - Still fairly possible.

Tigers win 8 of 12? Yankees have to have a losing record this last push, and go 6 and 7.

Honestly, I don't see that happening.

HOWEVER.

The Yankees have won 9 of their last 11, and are bound to fall back just a little. They have two series left against the Orioles, against whom they're only 4-8 this year. The other two teams they face, the Blue Jays and Devil Rays, are both basically .500 against the Bombers this season. Statistically, the Yankees are a favorite to come out of the push with a losing record, based on their performance earlier this year.

The Tigers have won 10 of their last 12, and you could assume they're due to fall back to Earth as well. Here's my exception to that. The Yankees have the best record in baseball in the 2007 season's second half. The Tigers are 2 games under .500 since the All-Star break. They've only started playing exceptionally well in the past two or so weeks. If anyone tells you winning streaks can be tiring, they're right - unless you had a block of losing streaks right before one.

The Tigers are tired of losing.

The Tigers lost for 12 straight seasons until last year. They only just guaranteed their second winning season in the past 14 years yesterday, with win 82.

The Tigers are tired of losing.

Every player on our team will play his heart out to get to October, will give his all just for the opportunity to MAYBE have a chance in two weeks. The Yankees have all but considered themselves shoe-ins, and are already looking past the season, past the playoffs, to the World Series (which could bring Roger Clemens' return season to a miracle close).

The Yankees know they can lose a few.

The Tigers know they can't lose any.

It's going to be interesting.

But all I can tell anyone is that the Yankees are going to have to catch the ball before they can run with it.

NaNoWriMo 2007

2007-09-04T02:28:00.000-04:00

Is novel-writing conducive to girl-getting?

We'll see.

This November I'm going to write ANOTHER crappy novel.

The only real reason I'm doing this is because. Well. Because Jamie Ford got his book published. And I'm jealous. And I feel like I'm running out of time.

(I'm 20.) What a dumb way to feel.

Blogging Every Day, Day ?

2007-08-16T14:33:00.000-04:00

I quit.

Blogging Every Day, Day 5

2007-08-12T16:34:00.001-04:00

Ultimate Frisbee at football stadium tonight at midnight. More news at 11. Tomorrow.