Sawyer Paul's Blog, page 72
June 23, 2013
Great Bitches of Hollywood 6: Joan Crawford
The great thing about nobody knowing why you're born is that you can lie about your age forever.
When the director of 1950's The Damned Don't Cry admitted to his wife that Joan seduced him (in a private theatre!), she shrugged and said "I guess it’s too much to ask of any man that he turn down the opportunity to sleep with Joan Crawford."
One of her zillion great quotes is: "I need sex for a clear complexion, but I'd rather do it for love." I mean, what?
We celebrate Joan Crawford's brilliance and high-calibre eyebrow intensity with a showing of The Damned Don't Cry and Strait Jacket. The first one is a little lengthy, so we're going to be starting early at 7.
Bring your favourite drinks, we'll provide snacks and a little something called a "Momtini."
May 28, 2013
Point and click – and scream with frustration
If you’re planning to waste most of your web-developing budget on bejewelled animations and elevator music but only spend nickels and dimes on the information-relevant content, please don’t bother having a website to begin with.
On point.
May 27, 2013
1Password is the best
I can't tell you how many times I've been saved by this one app.
Because of 1Password, I can have crazy long passwords that are nigh impossible to crack. I can have different passwords for every single account.
Quick, what's the password to your college email? You know, the annoying one they make you sign up for that doesn't have forwarding to your real email?
Quick, what's the password for that one job site you needed to make an account for because of one application?
Quick, what's the serial number for that app you bought three years ago and you need to reinstall to a new computer?
1Password does all this flawlessly. I was confident to move from an iPhone to Windows Phone because they'd made an app for it (and continue to update it!) On the desktop, 1Password is convenient and necessary. On mobile, it's a godsend. And recently, I was confident to move from Mac to Windows 8 because of them. I used the trial app for a while, but that obviously ran out and I needed to purchase it.
The Windows desktop app for 1Password costs $50, which is expensive but worth it. But, I thought, since I was moving platforms, perhaps they'd give me a discount for moving. I contacted support, and they said they could if I provided some type of proof that I'd purchased the Mac app. I did (I'd purchased it from the Mac App Store), and they sent me a very nice discount.
1Password is a Canadian company too, operating right from the centre of the universe, just like me. I'm incredibly confident that my information is safe, and I think you should use them too.
I don't understand why people follow me on Twitter
I woke up this morning to see that I'd gained two twitter followers. This happens from time to time, but this morning I thought I'd remark on the severe contrast between the two:
The first, @Delegateze, looks like this:
The second, @Bri_Clark, looks like this:
Maybe they're both fans of my work? Maybe they're robots? I have no idea. Maybe they're best friends in the same apartment? I kind of want that to be true.
May 23, 2013
Indesign colour profile question
With InDesign, colour profiles are built using linked images and created vectors, which is counter to how Illustrator and Photoshop work (where you choose a profile and the file sticks with it). This means that an Indesign file can actually (and is designed to handle) files that have both RGB and CMYK profiles. For output, the general practice is to discard one of the profiles, leaving you with either CMYK or RGB. But what happens if you discard both?
I'm honestly curious if anyone has ever output work to a printer with this. I'll update it as I get more information.
May 22, 2013
Holy Roller
Nothing beats a Thao single to lift the spirits.
Amazon sets up system to trade on fan fiction
Amazon must review and accept fanfic works for publication, but once it does, profits from the $0.99-$3.99 price range are split three ways: a 35 percent standard cut to the writer and an unspecified split of royalties to the licensor and Amazon itself. Things like slashfic and crossovers are not permitted under Amazon’s guidelines.
I'm going to go ahead and assume slashfic still won't be.
So if you write something original and sell it with Amazon, you get 70% of the profits. If you write something using someone else's IP and sell it with Amazon, you get 35%. Of course, this opens up a million questions. What is considered fanfic? Is taking one character and using it in your own universe fanfic? What about a reference? What about details?
May 16, 2013
Handsome Boys Comics Hour: a great new podcast
I'd like to announce the newest podcast on the Gredunza Podcast Network: Handsome Boys Comics Hour, hosted by Robert Dorman and Eric Z. Goodnight.
Robert begins their first (excellent) episode explaining why he began a show, and it's so well articulated I want you all to listen to it. To paraphrase: he's interesting in a certain thing, and while there are people out there talking about that thing, there's no one doing it in a way he fully appreciates. Boom. New show. I have no doubt Dorman and Goodnight will talk about comics, pop culture, and a slew of other things in a way you'll appreciate. Subscribe via RSS or iTunes.
