Spring Cleaning.

may 27th, 2014

Finished several big client projects this spring, and have declared an early summer vacation. Concurrently, have been feeling sludgey in body and brain. Too much staring at screens. I've been taking a device or book with me to the bathroom. Even to pee. That's how much I avoid my own undistracted mind.

For the last week I've been testing out some new spring cleaning policies, with varying success:

      •   No Internet in bed
      •   No Internet after 8pm
      •   Meditate every morning for 12 minutes
      •   Write out personal vision statement every morning
      •   Minimum one hr vigorous aerobic exercise, every other day
      •   Eat fruits and vegetables

No Internet in bed policy was violated almost immediately. Internet curfew was more successful. Meditation, vision statement, and aerobic exercise worked much better, and are still in effect as renewed habits. Fruits and vegetables, I usually eat a lot of those. Maybe should re-formulate that guideline as “no processed foods” but ah, that twould mean to deny myself a Snickers® AND a beer after a 55 mile bike ride, and to deny both is too much, too much.

Still unnerved by my dependent relationship with screens and Internet. Next month Vlad and I are going to visit my family in Vermont and his family in Romania, and I'm likely to leave my computer behind for both those trips. Get clean.

Also thinking about doing the Master Cleanse for a week. Did it for a week in 2008 as part of a larger year-long program of celibacy and sobriety. Definitely thinking of it for purposes of weight loss (vanity) and reduced sludginess, but also simply for purpose of disrupting the system. Get comfortable with uncomfortable.

Image of Ganesh courtesy Karen's Whimsy.

Vlad Draw: Bird.

may 18th, 2014

Vlad drew this for me. It's a bird wearing a fez, catching a fish from the river.

Clinton/Cheney - Homoerotic Poetic Fiction

may 9th, 2014

If you missed Litmash on Monday, or were there and wish to re-live, here tis:

You guys, I wanna make people laugh. When clients or bosses interview me and ask what my passions are, how to explain that my passions will never include writing their corporate spam, or coding Facebook games. My passion will never have “Facebook” in its name.

The word “passion” at its root means “pain.” Passion is a well of darkness you repel into, where the choice is creation, or madness. That is passion.

I tell the clients and bosses that I love writing superb, clean code—which is true. But I'm never gonna feel passion about making websites.

On a sexist note, something Nikki said a while ago, which, when I repeat, makes women laugh and men not laugh—she was talking about her co-workers, and how the dudes are funny'ish, but the ladies! The ladies are funny.

Nikki said, “you know, you hear all the time that 'women are funnier than men, men just aren't that funny' ... but I'm starting to think it's true!”

Litmash; Game of Thrones.

may 1st, 2014

Another gray April behind us. Gray May today. Been running again. I'm out of shape. Always, ever forever, learning and re-learning that a fitness level can drop so fast. But then, it can also be built right back up again with just, like, even a little discipline.

Self-promotion.

I made a couple Game of Thrones recaps. Really good to keep the visual storytelling muscles at flex, churn out content like a year ago with BLOGJOB. Still working on the script for a short film later this summer, COVERS THIEF. Put the muscles to real use.

Still don't understand why HBO doesn't make their content available except to cable subscribers and friends of cable subscribers using their HBOGo password. I'd like to believe that research was involved and that HBO has data to support this 1990s-era policy. But based on my limited interactions with the entertainment industry it's more likely that HBO is run by people who are alienated from the current technical and cultural landscape, clinging to anachronistic models. Very frustrating to someone like me who'd prefer to pay in to the system and, at least theoretically, pass along financial support to the creators of shows beloved so.

Ah well.

If you're in town and been wanting to see me slam, come to Litmash on Monday in Chicago! Haymarket Pub, 737 W Randolph (@ Halsted), 8pm, $8. There's a $100 prize to the winner; $50 to the audience favorite. If you come help me win I'll spend it on victory drinks for us.