Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Fuss

Just finished watching the Golden Globes. It was glitzy, glamorous, yada yada. I watched the red carpet and enjoyed looking at all the pretty people in their pretty pretty clothes. Ryan Seacrest was his normal plastic self, which is just what this sort of occasion calls for. Overall, though, the ceremony left me with a thought that is not by any means original or new, but is certainly important: why all the fuss?

While I understand that a huge amount of time, energy, talent, passion, creativity, and artistry go into making films and television shows, I sometimes wish we could redistribute the amount of media attention and awards ceremonies to other deserving professions. We don't get red carpet galas and primetime telecasts for teachers, doctors, police officers, firefighters, the armed forces, dentists, plumbers, construction workers... the people who educate us, protect us, help us to stay healthy, build our houses and pave our roads. We have all sorts of prestigious awards for the people and things that entertain us (not just TV and movies, but theatre, writing, even video games), but we don't dedicate enough attention and praise to the people and professions that have the biggest effect in our communities and lives.

I'm a storyteller. I get that there is power in stories, that they go beyond mere entertainment value. But I also understand that the things stories are about are just as important - if not more so - than the people who tell them. I just wish we were as enthusiastic about cops as we are about cop dramas, that we'd give as much money to our local glee clubs (and arts education of all forms) as we do buying iTunes recordings from a fake glee club on TV.

In a perfect world, right? But we still live in this one. So, that being said... Seacrest out!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

J.K. Lovecraft

So there's this website where you can insert a few paragraphs of text from something you've written, and it will analyze your writing style and tell you which popular authors you write like.

Being me, I obsessively uploaded a number of different things. I was hoping for a Neil Gaiman to pop up somewhere, but that apparently wasn't in the cards. Instead, the two that showed up the most were these:


I write like
H. P. Lovecraft

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!





I write like
J. K. Rowling

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!




Hey, I'm good with that! :D

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Resolutions

It's the new year, and with a new year comes New Year's Resolutions.

Interestingly, it's not always a good idea to share your resolutions with others. It's been proven to actually make it LESS LIKELY that you will go through with them...



So, keeping that in mind, I'm going to be very vague here when I tell you that I've made 10 smaller resolutions for this year that involve health, travel, creative endeavors, finances and interpersonal relationships. I tried to make them realistic so I'll actually accomplish them. Of last year's goals, I only accomplished about half. One of them ("leave the country") is on my list again this year, and I was delighted to be able to go over to London. I don't mind telling that one, because it's pretty much going to be on my list every year until I die.

Here's another one I don't mind telling you about, because I'm hoping all my friends and family will help by holding me accountable: I'm trying to create something every day for a year. I've actually made a whole other blog where I'll be detailing my progress.

It's here: Good Madness 365

So there you have it. Resolutions. Let's see where we are this time next year.