RIP, Mr. Jackson, Ms. Fawcett...

There's really nothing I can say that hasn't already been said, so I'll instead direct you over to some posts at the All Movie Blog that were written by my friend Cammila Albertson. I don't know who will be covering obit duties over on the All Music Blog, but you can check them out tomorrow for a more extensive post about Michael Jackson. They have their work cut out for them - I don't think anyone over there thought they'd be tasked with writing this one.

Strange, strange day. And a tremendously sad one.

In Memoriam: Michael Jackson

In Memoriam: Farrah Fawcett

Tehran Calling - Mayday, Mayday

I will be the first to admit that I don't know the whole story of what's going on in Iran. I know there were elections, I know the results were disputed, I know some are saying the elections were rigged, and now it seems that the country is falling apart. You won't see much coverage on mainstream news sites, apparently - but there is a great aggregate post over at LiveJournal's "ontd_political" that includes coverage from The Huffington Post, as well as Twitters from eyewitnesses. More than anything, it would appear that the Iranians, and especially young Iranians, want the world to listen to their concerns that the election was stolen/rigged by the existing regime. The regime has responded with a brutal crackdown that includes beatings, intimidation, and the shutdown of cell phone service. Social networking sites have apparently been blocked, and foreign reporters are being told to leave or cease their broadcasts. It doesn't appear that things are going to get better for Iranian citizens any time soon.

I wish there was more I could do or say at this point, but I'm truly at a loss for words. I just hope that the reporters covering these events are able to get back home safely, and I also hope that no more protesters are injured or killed at the hands of their government. I don't know what those of us outside Iran can do, or even if we can do anything. Hopefully we'll learn more tomorrow.

If you know more about what's going on, how to help, or just want to talk about the situation, please feel free to comment.

They Tell Me I Have a Website

I've batted around the idea of getting a website for a while, but I never followed through with it. I was always worried about the cost, about how to design it, who would host it and all that. However, it looks like things may have changed.

Carl over at Geek Assault has offered to host my site, and several of my friends have also volunteered to design one for me. What's more, Carl has also offered to host a site for Big Mean Flash Gamer - no bad thing, especially if it leads to more opportunities for him.

So to sum up: a website is in the works, thanks to some great people who think that a site would be a great idea for me and mine. Watch this space for further developments, as well as new content. It's about time I started updating this thing on a semi-regular basis at least.

Current projects: New Website, freelance articles for The Gazette.

You Said to Go Back to the Beginning!

Had a loooong talk with Big Mean Flash Gamer about the whole job situation...thing. There's really nothing else to call it at this point - it's a big, ugly thing that sits in the middle of the room, leering and taunting us. Or maybe it's just me. As per usual, my love has done an excellent job of shaking off this disappointment and going on with his life while I spent the day having little fantasies about being rich enough to buy up the company that pulled the rug out from under him, firing all the decision-makers and installing him as head of the whole shebang. Hey, a girl can dream.

Anyway, the discussion turned at one point to Rich Dad, Poor Dad, the book I'm currently plowing through about finances, investing, and why no one should ever buy anything on credit, ever. There are several things I like about the book, but there are two things that I found most fascinating:

1) Intellectual property rights are an asset - that is, they can be like stocks if treated properly. Intellectual property is like a stock in the sense that you have ownership over an intangible (i.e. an idea), but that intangible will provide you with continuous revenue of managed correctly.

2) You're never just selling one thing. I'm a writer, but I don't just sell my writing - depending on the job, I sell emotions (advertising/marketing), illusions (advertising/marketing/PR), knowledge (arts/entertainment reviews, factual articles) and experiences (concert reviews, essays, crappy fiction). Learn how to market that, and you can drum up some decent business for yourself. Or so the logic goes.

That's how we got on the subject of websites. I've wanted to do a website for BMFG for a while so he'd have a place to showcase his reviews, videos, read-only PDFs of his scripts, an online resume and links to his LinkedIn, Twitter and so on. It isn't lack of desire that kept me from doing it, but rather a lack of time and knowledge. (And patience, yes. I've been told that I'm pretty good at page layout, but most graphics/page layout programs and I don't get along. Add to that the additional aggravation of coding everything in HTML and you've got a very stressed woman on your hands.) I mentioned the idea of a website to him and was pretty surprised to hear how enthusiastic he was about the prospect. He and his friend Mark had taken web design classes in college, and he seems eager to use this knowledge. He said that he would be happy to make me a website as well, but this presents a bit of a problem: as of now, there's nothing to put on it.

That's not to say that my writing isn't online in some capacity - heaven knows I did plenty during my tenure with AMG - but unlike people like The Rotund (who has a book out now - rock on, dude!) I don't have a set subject or area of expertise. I'm a writing mutt by experience and necessity; I started my career at a trade magazine company where I wrote about construction equipment and underground infrastructure, wrote freelance music and entertainment stories for an alt-weekly and then moved on to covering music. I didn't do much writing after being laid off, due to a crisis of confidence and some family tragedies, but I think I'm ready to get back to the swing of it. Which sounds good, until I realize that I have no idea what the hell to write about these days. I'm facing a quandary - if I even want to hope for a dream career, I need to get myself in gear and land some high-profile gigs, such as the aforementioned Rotund. (She has a column in The Guardian, which is something I envy to no end.) At the same time, I have no idea where to start or what to say. Sad but true. I also don't know if my words alone are going to compel anyone to visit my as-of-now hypothetical website, especially since the web is so thoroughly driven by multimedia these days. I'd take some pictures, if I wasn't such a crap photographer, but I lack the equipment to make things like films. I'll leave that to , since he does a great job anyway.

Perhaps the best course of action at this point is to help him get his website squared away before I worry about my own. It'll at least give me more time to figure out if a website would be a good option for me anyway - after all, I need to determine if there's a market for a writer like me. You know, the odd, yet average, scattered sort.


Music For This Post: Placebo - Running Up That Hill

All Music Guide - My Reviews

1997 - On the Run
27 Dresses (Original Score)
AFI - I Heard a Voice
American Me - Heat
Ashes Divide - Keep Telling Myself It's Alright
Atreyu - Lead Sails Paper Anchor
Black Tide - Light From Above
Blue October - Argue With a Tree
Bullet For My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire
Bury Your Dead - Bury Your Dead
Charlotte Sometimes - Charlotte Sometimes (EP)
Charlotte Sometimes - Waves and the Both of Us
Chris Schlarb - Twilight and Ghost Stories
City and Colour - Bring Me Your Love
Cute is What We Aim For - Rotation
Division Day - Beartrap Island
Edith Piaf - La Vie en Rose 1935 - 1951
Forever the Sickest Kids - Underdog Alma Mater
From Autumn to Ashes - Live at Looney Tunes
From First to Last - From First to Last
Goldfinger - Hello Destiny
Good Riddance - Remain In Memory
Gran Ronde - Secret Rooms
H.I.M. - Digital Versatile Doom
Human Bell - Human Bell
Idlewild - Scottish Fiction
Jet Black Stare - In This Life
Johnny Flynn - A Larum
Low Vs. Diamond - Low Vs. Diamond
Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies - Have Another Ball
Murder By Death - Red of Tooth and Claw
MxPx - The Ultimate Collection
No Use for a Name - The Feel Good Record of the Year
Office - A Night at the Ritz
Pennywise - Reason to Believe
Playradioplay - Texas
Protest the Hero - Fortress
Reggie and the Full Effect - Last Stop: Crappy Town
Simple Kid - 2
The Flaws - Achieving Vagueness
The Rumble Strips - Girls and Weather
The Spiderwick Chronicles - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Theory of a Dead Man - Scars and Souvenirs
Tiger Lou - The Loyal
Tokio Hotel - Scream
Wolftron - Flesh and Fears

All Music Guide - My Biographies

7 Seconds of Love
8otto
Absentee
Acrassicauda
Adrian Crowley
Adrianne
Akissforjersey
Ali Lohan
All the Saints
Amanda Palmer
Amazing Baby
American Me
And the Moneynotes
Ari Shine
At the Spine
Aura
Automatic Music Explosion
Away Station
Backseat Goodbye
Bang Camaro
Bekah Kelso
Blackmarket
Blue Suede Bombers
Charlotte Sometimes
Chip Bailey
Chris Schlarb
Christopher Denny
Cinematic Sunrise
Coffins
Coles Whalen
Concerto for Constantine
Cordova Academy Glee Club
Corrina Repp
Creature Feature
Crystal Antlers
Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards
Dearestazazel
Deborah Bonham
Django Kill!
Dollyrots
Doubtful Guest
Dr. Manhattan
Dreamscapes Project
Eddie Delahunt
eDIT
Egypt Central
El Boxeo
Emily Elbert
Eric Avery
Fredo Viola
Genuine Sun
Girl in a Coma
Glasvegas
Glycerin
Graham Colton
Gran Ronde
Harry and the Potters
hide
Holly Rose
Hot Rocket
Human Bell
Ian Axel
Iglu and Hartly
Ingrid Michaelson
Isobel Heyworth
Ivoryline
Jessie Baylin
Jet Black Stare
Johnny Flynn
Josh Hoge
Juliana Finch
Juniper Lane
Just Off Turner
Kaila
Kamera
Kevin Cronin
Kevin Jonas
Kid iD
Kina Grannis
Klingonz
Krista
Kuk Harrell
Large Mound
Local Division
Lord T and Eloise
Lost State of Franklin
Lostage
Make Model
Marketa Irglova
Maximals
Mayfield
Milton Mapes
Mishka Shubaly
Monobright
My Awesome Compilation
Myriad
Nylon Pink
Ogre You Asshole
Olivia Broadfield
One Way Mirror
Orpheum Bell
Paul Hipp
Polly Paulusma
Rank Deluxe
Red Line Chemistry
Reiko Kudo
Reuben
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Safari So Good
Sandrine
Savvy and Mandy
School Boy Humor
Sea of Japan
Shane Hines
Shannon McArdle
Shannon Walker
Short Attention
Simple Kid
Sink To See
Sister
SJ Tucker
Sophie Monk
Spiral Dance
Stone Gods
Susan Levine
The Cab
The Gay Blades
The Haints
The Last People on Earth
The Late Greats
The Mediam
The Mood
The Moog
The Rushes
The Script
The Swear
The Truth Rockets
The Uglysuit
Thermidor
Thriving Ivory
Tickle Me Pink
Tiger Lou
Two Man Gentlemen Band
Tyler Ramsey
Violens
Voxhall Broadcast
Walter Meego
Waves on Waves
Waz
We Shot the Moon
White Hinterland
Wild Beasts
Wolftron
Year Long Disaster
Your Vegas
Zydepunks