Scott David Brown's Blog, page 14

The End of The World is Today!

The Mayans predicted that today would be the end of the world! Of course the good news is that these predictions are always proven wrong. We’ve been down this road before, like with the Y2K predictions, and the occasional fundamentalist’s prediction that keeps getting pushed back to a future date, we always find out that these silly predictions don’t come true.

I’m going out on a limb here to say there is nothing to worry about!

This will be the first Christmas that I’m celebreating as an Atheist. It may seem strange for someone who does not have religious faith to be celebrating what is likely the most important Christian holiday. However, the holiday has become bigger than it’s Christain roots. Anyone can celeberate the values of giving in this season. I personally celebrate this holiday as a time for giving and getting joy from seeing the recations of my family when they open the gifts I gave them. I also like the decorations and the music.

So, here is my attempt at a holiday post. Hopefully it turned out alright. I’m recovering from a little cold, thank’s Cold-Eeze, so I’m not at my best today. Anyway, I wish everyone a happy holiday season and I hope you get what you want this year!

Check out Metroid: Other M via Club Nintendo

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If you have a Wii and you have enjoyed the Metroid series, I think Metroid: Other M is worth picking up! I got my copy on amazon.com for under $10: Metroid Other M. It is the attempt to combine the side-scrolling action of the original games with the first person perspective of the Metroid Prime series. I do think at times aiming in third person is a bit difficult, but I think it’s a minor issue. It’s nice to have a third person perspective of Samus and that is the primary viewpoint. When you point the Wii Remote at the TV, you get a first person perspective, though you are stationary in this mode. Overall gameplay is challenging, which is a good thing, and you still have to find hidden items and suit expansions.

My favorite aspect of the game is the graphics and the story. The cut scenes are amazing and Samus has spoken dialogue for the first time. I wasn’t sure at first how I felt about a talking Samus, but now I think it’s a good thing. It helps the flow of the story and in many ways the game feels like I’m in a movie. The voice acting is quite good too. It’s also worth mentioning that the sound track feels like a good fit. So far I’m giving it 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

And for the current price on Amazon, it’s a great deal!

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Self-publish or go Traditional?

I’ve been thinking about what to do with my future novels: should I continue with self-publishing or go back to sending queries to agencies. The downside to self-publishing is that it takes a lot of time and effort. The hardest part of self-publishing is marketing. Most of us do not have the kind of wealth needed to buy advertising on TV or the radio. Even using the internet to advertise, like with Google ad-words, can be expensive over the long hall and it’s questionable how effective online campaigns are. Still, for the self-publisher, getting the word out is key.

With getting an agent, the marketing aspect is out of your hands. That’s nice since you don’t have to deal with the stress or financial commitment that you need with self-publishing. However, it’s much more difficult to get published by a major book publisher. In the past, I have tried both, with limited success. Still, if one wants to be a writer, than one must write! Even if it means I won’t be the next James Patterson, I find that I enjoy writing enough that it doesn’t have to become a career.

Since I’ve been doing well in my graduate classes so far, all A’s after four classes, I’m becoming more confident that psychology is a good path for me. I think I could find myself with a job in psychology that I at least can be content with, if not excited about. I think that’s really important. It’s one thing to work in retail, it’s easy enough to keep and pays something, but it’s another to find a career that pays well and is enjoyable. That’s the tough part. Most of these kind of jobs require a long stent in academia, which might be too hard or boring for some.

Whatever the case, I won’t give up my dream of becoming a successful novelist. Thankfully, this won’t be an expensive dream! That is, unless I decide to invest a lot of money in it. For now, my self-publishing exploits have required a very small investment. I’m looking forward to having my second book in print, instead of strictly e-books. My latest goal is to try and finish my third novel in time for the next Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. I have till the end of January to finish my first draft, though I hope to finish the second draft by then. I’d like to submit it instead of resubmitting Fallen Raven.

In my expereince, self-publishing is fun and I would recommend it to those who want more control over their work. It’s also a good way to get your work out there for others to read, even though you aren’t likely to make much money off of it. Going the more taditional route is probably best, and most affordable, but it does mean you’re counting on a lot of luck. That is why I have done both and will likely try to get an agent for my third novel. I’ve got a good feeling about this one!

Where is Scott David Brown?

[image error]You may not believe me, but I have quite a busy life! Graduate school is tough enough without all these other things going on. Of course, the last month or two has been especially busy. Mainly because of the presidential election. Working for the Democratic Party of Orange County has been a fun learning experience. Now that we have won the election, also increasing control of the senate, it’s time for me to move on.

I’ve also been busy with my Statistics class. For those who have taken such a class before, you know how challenging it can be! Sometimes I think my brain isn’t designed to be efficient with math, but if I take my time I usually get it. My next class should be easier: Ethics, Laws, and Standards of Psychological Practice. I’m looking forward to it.

My final excuse for being busy is my literary career. This past week I’ve been reading my short stories and doing some editing. The second edition of, Little White Lie, has been published. I divided the story into chapters and now it’s easier to read. I’ve also fixed some grammatical errors and changed the ending. I don’t normally change the events or action of the story, but now that I’ve had some distance from the story I feel that the old ending didn’t make sense. It is a rare thing for me to do, I assure you! It’s just $1.00 for the kindle e-book.

My second short story, My Imperfect Life, is also on the way to becoming a kindle book. My editing efforts were light for this story, as there wasn’t really anything that needed to be changed, other than the occasional typo. My Imperfect Life has never been published as a book and since it is about four years old now I felt it was about time! A fun fact: the story was written around the time that President Obama won his first term in office and now it is being published, in book form, shortly after his winning his second term! I didn’t realize it until I was editing the story.

If you aren’t interested in e-books, My Imperfect Life and Little White Lie will be published in paperback form in a couple of weeks. I’m self publishing them as a collection through create-a-space and I just need to approve the final design. I’ve got a proof copy coming in about a week, but the book should be available for sale just in time for the holiday season! So, if you need an idea for a stocking stuffer or a small gift, the book will be ready in time. The price will probably be $5.00 and the book is about 90 pages (that’s including both short stories).

My sudden interest in my writing career is in part due to my third novel. “Fear,” what I’m calling it for now, will not be the official title. I wanted to try out amazon’s create-a-space program as I am considering self-publishing Fallen Raven in the near future.

I’m happy to be shifting my focus from politics to writing now. Once I finish my third novel, I’ll be looking at finding a commercial publisher. While I like self-publishing, it is difficult to be successful at it since I’m not very good at marketing.

 

Website Update 9/1/2012

Hello friends!

Today’s post is just a quick update about my cafepress shop. If you haven’t heard, cafepress.com lets you sell customized items online. I set it up a long time ago when I still cared about selling merchandise! I had shirts, mugs, stickers, and stuff like that. I currently only use it when I want to make my own bumpersickers or other stuff stuff.

I just checked my shop today and found that my audiobook, My Imperfect life, is no longer available. It’s too bad, since Mark and I went to a lot of trouble putting that thing together! For now, that means you can’t purchase a CD copy of it. However, there is a digital download version! Currently, it is available on cdbaby.com: My Imperfect Life and for only $5.99! Cheaper than Amazon or iTunes. I’m going to look into making a CD copy with cdbaby.com.

You might have noticed my twitter feed is now on my site! I think it’s a nice little addition. Now, for those of you who visit regularly, you might find something new to read! Also, since I got my new laptop, I’m probably going to play around with my webcam, so there might be a new video blog post coming up soon…

Treating Animals Ethically

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Penguins, perhaps my favorite part of my visit to Sea World with my family when I was on vacation this month. It is difficult to explain what it is about these creatures that I find so interesting. Some fun facts: they cannot fly and they are located in the South Pole, mostly Antarctica, not the North Pole.

I like how they waddle. There were cameras under the water allowing you can watch the penguins swimming in the water. The exhibit was nice and it was also very cold, a great break from the hot temperature outside. I find the arctic ecosystem to be fascinating and perhaps I might visit the real Antarctica someday. Maybe.

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Of course, there were sharks, and I had to see them. They aren’t so scary behind the glass!

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The killer whales are incredible creatures. Yes, you can teach them neat tricks, but didn’t care as much about the tricks as I did watching them swim with such grace and fluidity. Ironically, when we returned from Sea World, the South Park episode about the boys freeing a killer-wale and sending him to the moon was on.

While at Sea World, I was reminded about the controversies that the park has had in the past. There are those that believe that zoos and attractions like Sea World are too confining and that animals are better off in their natural habitat. There was a wonderful episode of the Twilight Zone *spoiler alert* that was about some Earth astronauts who landed on a planet, I forget which one, but it might have been Mars. The survivor ends up in a zoo for Earthlings *end spoiler alert.* I thought about what it would be like being in a zoo. I’m not sure I would enjoy it, though it would still be better then being in a prison. Yet, though my habitat would be simulated, I would have a false sense of freedom. I couldn’t leave or do everything I want.

I am not necessarily a fanatic when it comes to animal rights, though I do think we have a responsibility as humans to respect our fellow creatures. Even though we are highly evolved life forms, we are still animals ourselves, and we share similar DNA to many different species (specifically apes, which our DNA are a 98% match). Other creature share commonality with us. For example, rodent brains are very similar to human brains. Therefore, there is some validity to asking whether animals should have more rights then they do now.

I should note that there are many organizations that have ethical standards when it comes to animals. Animal research generally must pass a review board process much like any other project that seeks to test on living beings. Corporations can likely get around this, since they have lots of money. But, credible studies will have had to take into account ethical treatment of animals. While ethical standards will vary, a true scientist respects the participants of a study whether they be animal or man.

The Native American had it right. They respected nature and only killed what they needed for survival. I think that’s a good perspective. I won’t go around telling people to stop eating meat, because it’s wrong to eat animals. I stopped because I felt that cows and chickens are being treated unethically by the major food industries. It also seemed to be natural evolution for me. Frankly meat isn’t that tasty when compared fruits or veggies, in my opinion.

Hopefully what we can agree on is that animals do have a right to life and that conservation is necessary in order to keep the balance of nature. This shouldn’t be a political issue, but a moral issue.

Back To School

It’s offical, I’m a graduate student! I’ll be taking classes at the University of the Rockies  starting May 29th. I’m grateful for this oppourtunity and I plan to continue my education after my masters. Once again I’ll be attending a distance learning progran. This time, from the sister school of Ashford University, where I got my BA in Psychology.

I’m not sure what doctorate program I’ll choose. I’m still focused on studying human sexaulity and currently the Kinsey Institute in Indiana offers a PhD minor in human sexuality that is taken alongside a PhD program at the University of Indiana. Of course, I still could get a doctorate degree in clincial psychology and become licenced in sex therapy. I’ll have to decide if counsling or research should be my focus. I  don’t nessiarily have to choose one or the other, since some psychologists are involved in research as well as having their own practice. I’m also thinking about UCI.

For now, it will be nice going back to acedmia again. I’ve even got a bit of a head start on my school assignments!