All posts for Uncategorized / General in 2015
From The Top Down Dept. 2015-12-30 22:00:00
"I did it, why can't you?" dissected.
Rough Unwanted Diamonds Dept. 2015-12-23 15:00:00
On the act of feeding your head.
Wake Up, Force! Dept. 2015-12-20 15:00:00
It's 1977 all over again, sort of.
I'm (Sort Of) A Believer Dept. 2015-12-09 15:00:00
Me and my, uh, belief system, whatever you wanna call it.
Treknology Dept. 2015-12-08 15:00:00
Why 'Trek' continues to matter, or not matter.
Unindifferent Dept. 2015-11-24 15:00:00
It's not that I don't care about the state of the world; it's that I'm not your soapboxer.
I'll Tell Me What To Do Dept. 2015-11-21 15:00:00
"What kind of story should I write?" How about one that's, you know, yours?
This Thing You're Not Dept. 2015-11-16 15:00:00
It's tempting to blame someone else for your creative failure, and also wrong.
Fraternité Dept. 2015-11-15 03:00:00
Let's not be the things we claim to hate.
The Switch Is Still Stuck Dept. 2015-10-16 22:00:00
Migration issues continue.
It's Just This Little Chromium Switch Here Dept. 2015-10-15 13:20:48
Still migrating servers.
You Got To Move It, Move It Dept. 2015-10-14 16:51:10
It's blog server upgrade time!
Hunting High And Low Dept. 2015-09-26 17:00:00
Different art, different critical standards? Maybe not.
Someone Who Cares Dept. 2015-09-18 02:00:00
Here’s a Quarter | Whatever ... after a certain point, it may become obvious that some people just want to complain, or to be angry, or to be an asshole, or whatever, and that nothing a reasonable person can do...
Crowded Garage Dept. 2015-09-11 14:00:00
There's less room than ever for a big movie to fail.
The Smartest Guys In The Medium Dept. 2015-09-10 14:00:00
"...the doctrine that the genius must be in advance of his time is almost wholly false and vicious..."
Breaking The Roaring Silence Dept. 2015-09-08 15:00:00
I disappear, I reappear.
Politaesthetics Dept. 2015-09-03 14:00:00
Why "I don't care who wrote it, I only care if it's good" is disingenuous apoliticism.
Gleeful Disdain Dept. 2015-08-24 22:30:00
Me and my big mouth, revisited.
Put Away Childish Things And All That Dept. 2015-08-24 14:00:00
Comics are just for kids. Right?
iScribble Dept. 2015-08-22 14:00:00
Close one book, open another. Me at work on my next project.
Another Piece Of MeTal Dept. 2015-08-20 16:00:00
A report on the fruits of my labors in the code mines. (Programming-centric.)
Open And Shut Case Dept. 2015-08-19 14:00:00
As of late I've been reading Sir Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies, and with only slightly less enthusiasm than a man fresh from three weeks in the desert reserves for the first water spigot he finds. Like...
Busyness Dept. 2015-08-15 17:00:00
Not much time for blogging -- bunch of real-life things got in the way, and I ended up not doing book edits for a couple of days in a row. For me this constitutes a major failing of mettle, so...
Nothing Special Dept. 2015-08-10 13:00:00
"When any image is possible, no image is all that impressive anymore."
The Un-Educator Dept. 2015-08-05 17:00:00
Why "teaching" creativity may be a misnomer at best and a waste at worst.
Big Market, Soft Corners Dept. 2015-08-04 15:15:00
How best-sellerdom made fantasy "as bland as everything else in entertainment"
After The Party Dept. 2015-07-29 14:00:00
Home again, home again, jiggity jig. More about the post-vacation me.
Unthink For Yourself Dept. 2015-07-14 14:00:00
Sure, maybe Zen is "irrational", but who's complaining?
Big Ticket Dept. 2015-07-10 15:00:00
On taking superhero movies seriously (because billion-dollar box office isn't serious enough, I guess).
Roughly Re-Drafted Dept. 2015-07-07 17:00:00
Rewriting an outline: Head, met wall.
The Long Form Pt. 2 Dept. 2015-07-03 17:00:00
On writing long vs. writing short: Picking the subject matter.
The Long Form Pt. 1 Dept. 2015-06-30 14:00:00
On writing long vs. writing short: why do it?
That's Entertain(t)ment! Dept. 2015-06-29 14:00:00
"Entertainment" isn't a cover for dispensing lies and misinformation.
Holy Fools Dept. 2015-06-24 15:20:00
I'll tell me what to really think.
Throw The Book At 'Em Dept. 2015-06-23 15:15:00
Another NYC bookstore gone, another desert of the mind expands.
A Little Less Of Me Dept. 2015-06-16 18:00:00
A short silence.
Killing In The Name Of Me Dept. 2015-06-12 14:00:00
Anders Breivik’s Inexplicable Crime - The New Yorker I do not believe that Breivik himself has anything to teach us. I believe that his life is a coincidence of unfortunate circumstances, and what he did was such an anomaly that...
Many Legs And Too Many Brains Dept. 2015-06-11 14:00:00
"...smart people, lacking any sort of compelling real world data, are great at debating and rationalizing bad decisions."
It's Hard To Be Humble When You're Perfect Dept. 2015-06-09 14:00:00
"The real enemy is not ignorance, doubt, or even disbelief. It is false knowledge."
Tiddling About Dept. 2015-06-07 14:00:00
More about the cutting-edge tools of my writerly trade.
Rebel Without A Pause Dept. 2015-06-02 14:00:00
The fellow in the mirror needs your criticism the most.
Angry And Lazy Dept. 2015-06-01 14:00:00
When charges of hypocrisy are laid.
No New York Dept. 2015-05-31 14:00:00
After my previous post about the way the New York that existed for generations is now being erased by easy money, Paul Krugman has some thoughts about the dynamics of how wealth changes neighborhoods in unpredictable, not just undesirable, ways:...
Yeah, But Isn't That Somebody Else's Problem? Dept. 2015-05-30 20:00:00
The real cost of "free" is right under our noses.
Object Lesson Dept. 2015-05-30 14:00:00
Even if you make pop culture, other pop culture is often a lousy creative role model.
No Hex Please, We're Critics Dept. 2015-05-23 14:00:00
On the glories of griping.
Bigger Is Not Better Dept. 2015-05-20 14:00:00
We've got to put a stop to these doorstoppers.
Big Blu Upgrade Dept. 2015-05-17 14:00:00
Oh, no, not another home video format!
Windowbreaker Dept. 2015-05-16 19:00:00
On contagious norms-breaking.
Metalizer Dept. 2015-05-09 23:45:00
On building an escape hatch with software.
The Moral Obligation To Be Creative Dept. 2015-04-28 17:01:46
Do people who complain that there's no media for them have a moral obligation to create it?
I, Groucho Marxist Dept. 2015-04-23 17:00:00
Why I wouldn't belong to any club yadda yadda.
Pick A Side, Any Side Dept. 2015-04-17 16:00:00
Science fiction? Science faction.
Gonehattan Dept. 2015-04-12 15:00:00
Further documentation of vanishing New York. Get out your handkerchiefs.
Power Show Dept. 2015-04-08 20:00:00
More on the one-dimensional (political) man.
Diss Belief Dept. 2015-04-05 16:11:33
Respect ≠ tolerance, and why that's not a bad thing.
Forwards Ever, Backwards Never Dept. 2015-04-04 14:00:00
"... the moral commitment of democracy... is to a process, not a transcendent goal or a fixed, ideal standard."
Left, Right, Left Dept. 2015-04-02 14:00:00
Political polarities, revisited.
To Leap Over The Wall Dept. 2015-03-28 14:00:00
Why "DIY or die" may not cut it anymore.
Of Silos And Vin Diesel Dept. 2015-03-27 14:00:00
Why never to say something can't win Best Picture. Or shouldn't.
Metric System Dept. 2015-03-24 23:00:00
Why numbers make us numb(er).
Next One Is Real Dept. 2015-03-19 20:00:00
You always write the first one to throw it out.
If You're Not Part Of The Solution, You're Part Of The Precipitate Dept. 2015-03-17 23:00:00
I'm trying to solve my problems, not create new ones. Honest.
Glorified Typewriters And Faster Horses Dept. 2015-03-15 14:00:00
It's time we stopped using the computer like a glorified typewriter -- and many other things.
Propagandart Dept. 2015-03-09 14:00:00
All entertainment is art, whether or not we know it, and all art is propaganda. Therefore ...
The Irreplaceables Dept. 2015-03-03 15:00:00
You are, in fact, a special and unique snowflake. And this should terrify you.
Perpetual License Dept. 2015-03-02 15:00:00
Publishing's got a brand new bag of author exploitation.
First You Ignore Them, Then You Quarrel With Them, Then You Laugh At Them, Then You Win Dept. 2015-02-28 15:00:00
We argue not to change the minds of the committed, but for the sake of the uncommitted.
Infamy, Infamy, They All Have It Infamy Dept. 2015-02-25 15:00:00
But of course it's scary to stick your neck out.
My One And Only Dept. 2015-02-23 15:00:00
The original, the original, the original. Three times over.
In All Heaven And Earth, Only I Alone Reserve The Right To Offend Dept. 2015-02-22 15:00:00
Why "I'm an artist" stopped being a defense for the indefensible.
Immovable Type (Dis)continued Dept. 2015-02-19 15:38:08
More on me drilling my own escape tunnel from dead-end software.
No Mind Doesn't Mean Mindless Dept. 2015-02-17 22:00:00
Zen's "no-mind" means humility, not cultivated ignorance.
Radio Shuttered Dept. 2015-02-16 20:35:00
Kiss the Shack goodbye. You won't see its likes again.
Slow Down, You Move Too Fast Dept. 2015-02-15 22:30:00
Speed kills culture, not just individuals.
Noise Filters Dept. 2015-02-13 15:00:00
The uncanny has become the new normal.
Texas Sharpshooting Dept. 2015-02-11 21:00:00
Maybe audiences, authors, and critics should be cultivated together, not separately.
An Open And Shut Case Dept. (Open-Source Software Wonkish) 2015-02-11 15:00:00
When you hear the word "freedom", think about who's speaking.
The Year Of Building Dangerously Dept. 2015-02-08 19:00:00
Looks like I'll have to roll my own blog engine. I know, I'm nuts.
Gendergapped Dept. 2015-02-06 15:00:00
Can gaming's great women characters be written by men? | Polygon ... writers are required to create convincing characters who are different from themselves. But in video games, writers have tended towards idealized versions of themselves. I take this as...
A Silence In The House Dept. 2015-02-05 22:00:00
Good night, little man. You were loved.
Blinded By The Light Dept. 2015-01-25 15:00:00
How not to appropriate history in the name of middlebrow art.
Alan Smithee's Revenge Dept. 2015-01-24 18:00:00
The screwing of screenwriters: they can't even take their names off a production anymore.
Brokedown Castle Dept. 2015-01-23 18:00:00
The peril and pain of DIY blogging.
The Rut And How To Get Out Of It Dept. 2015-01-23 15:00:00
This is either the smartest or stupidest thing I've done in a while. I'm tilting smartest. I went back and re-read many of my posts from the past several months. Stupidest, because it made me nod my head and realize...
Time Has Come Today Dept. 2015-01-22 15:30:00
Breaking news: 'Welcome to the Fold' will not be self-published. At least, not at first.
Factorysimile Dept. 2015-01-22 15:00:00
Why Do All Records Sound the Same? — Cuepoint — Medium Just as a modern politician’s job is to deliver seven second soundbites, [Maroon Five]'s job is to deliver seven second audio clips which will encourage young-ish people with a...
The Imperfect Potato Dept. 2015-01-21 15:00:00
On my misshapen books.
But How Interesting Is Your Pain, Really? Dept. 2015-01-20 15:00:00
Not all forms of suffering make for great drama, let alone great art.
Higher Standardization Dept. 2015-01-14 15:00:00
Why creators ought to hold themselves to a higher standard in terms of what they feed their imaginations.
Freedom Of (Unheard) Speech Dept. 2015-01-13 18:00:00
What's worse, indifference or censorship?
The Perfect Hamburger Dept. 2015-01-10 19:00:00
We shouldn't kid ourselves that consistent mediocrity is a worthy goal.
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Dept. 2015-01-07 21:00:00
Warning: Navel-gazing within!
Marveling At What They've Done Dept. 2015-01-02 20:30:00
No, Marvel really is making the same movie over and over.
Gilliam's Island Dept. 2015-01-02 19:00:00
Terry Gilliam sifts through Hollywood's ashes, comes up broke.
These Rules Were Made For Breaking Dept. 2015-01-01 19:10:00
On breaking the writing rules for good reasons.
It Was A Long Year, It Was A Very Long Year Dept. 2015-01-01 04:00:00
And now, before 2014 is ticked off, a peek back over my shoulder.
