Sidney Blaylock Jr.'s Blog, page 28
April 10, 2019
Goodbye Star Wars: Clone Wars, Hello Farscape
So, I’ve been away from the blog for a while due to school and reading for the tests for this semester. I’ve been consuming media on the weekends, but I just haven’t really had a chance to blog about it. There have been several major video game news items that I’ve wanted to blog about (& with luck, I still will), but basically, today I wanted to talk about the “streaming future” and the way it will work in the future.
Goodbye Star Wars: Clone Wars
After trying to get through the series when it was first released and not being able to due to the erratic nature of its broadcast schedule originally, I tried to get through it on Netflix when it first appeared. There was an episode that I couldn’t get through–the one where Padme and Annakin have to use Padme’s former boyfriend to get information on the Separatists–and so I dropped it. This was when Star Wars: Clone Wars (SWCW) had first entered the Netflix catalogue. I recently (this year) finally got past that odiuous episode and was making my way through the series when I got the notice that SWCW would be leaving the service on April 7th. As I was in the midst of studying for tests, there wasn’t really anything I could do about it–no major binges or anything like that–so I was only able to get to Season 3 (first episode) before the show was pulled. Now, it isn’t gone forever–more than likely this show is going to appear on Disney’s new “Streaming” service.
Obviously, I don’t really like this. To the best of my knowledge, Disney’s new service will not be “free.” If it costs money, then I have to decide whether I need Disney’s service over Netflix’s service, or whether I can afford (notice I didn’t use the word need as I don’t need either service, but I want them for entertainment). I don’t really like this idea of starting new services when there are already market leaders in the market. I’ll explain why in a moment. For the moment, the point is moot as Disney’s service hasn’t actually premiered.
Hello Farscape
Farscape is a early to mid 90s Sci-Fi show that, like Babylon 5 (B5), I saw a few episodes when it first premiered. Afterwards, it was one of the first shows on streaming. I managed to see approx. the first 2 seasons before it went away (again, much like SWCW where it went away before I could finish it). I’m starting over again. It has been long enough that I really don’t remember the characters or the relationships well enough to try to pick up where I left off. I will try to finish this series this time around (again, like B5), and if I do so, I will post a review of the series on the blog.
Streaming: Hello and Goodbye
So the thing about streaming is that it is almost a lot like broadcast network: you are at the whim of the providers and licensors as to what you can watch when. It takes away choice. The providers go out and acquire the content and you watch it. However, not all providers have all the content, meaning subscriptions to multiple providers to get a good coverage of old and new content. Now, content provider sees these subscription fees as way of guaranteeing revenue (hence, CBS All Access, Disney’s upcoming streaming service, and the myriad of others who want in on the act, like NBC Sports). However, the market cannot and will not support all these services, so just like all other markets, most will fail until an oligopoly has been established of the main players (usually 2-3, sometimes more, but rarely) and equilibrium will be established. There will always be smaller players (a fair amount), but in the end, there will only be a few major players. The problem is that everyone, no matter how late they are to the party (I’m looking at you Apple) wants to be a part of the oligopoly. And while the consumer may ultimately win through competition, we’re about to enter a phase where the consumer will be the ultimate loser since the only way to get all the content will be to buy as many services as one can afford–not great on the consumer’s bottom line.
Until the shakeup happens and content providers stop there own services and partner with larger companies, the consumer loses. And will this happen? I point you to the immenient shutdown management platforms like VUDU and the like. They wanted to be a place where you dumped all movies that you purchased so as to diffuse the power and domination they felt Apple had in the marketplace. Now they are going away and Apple still maintains its dominance in purchased content, but has seceded its in content to the “streaming” platforms.
My point is that capitalism is NOT always good for the consumer, especially whenever there is market upheaval. The market doesn’t always work in the consumer’s favor and we need to stop gushing over capitalism as if it is a “perfect” system. Like all human inventions and endeavors, it has its flaws, and the fact that I no longer have access to watch a show through no action of my own that I hadn’t finished highlights just one of the many flaws in the system.
I guess I’m writing about this, not to gripe or to propose a better system, but in the hopes that by pointing out the flaws, someone (an economist or theorist) many be able to implement ideas that can correct these flaws.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Project Dog (Sci-Fi Short-Story – 1st Draft — Character Draft “Finished”)Current Work-in-Progress: Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – Script, Issue # 2, Currently on Script Page 32)
April 3, 2019
Something Old and Something New
While last weekend wasn’t as restful as I’d hoped–more on that in a different blog post–I did manage to turn a major milestone for myself this semester (although pretty much most of my professors–not all, just most of them–would be pretty unimpressed). For me, however, it represent a sort of moral victory after the absolutely crudey week that had.
Something Old
So, rather than beating around the bush, I just want to let readers of the blog know that I “finished” the short story “Starlight, Starbright,” and sent it off to the first market in its long trek to get published. I was not able to get it finished in time to send to the market that only opens for 1 week every four months (Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores). Small digression here: I really wish they would change that to the entire month as trying to keep track of the one week they are open every quarter is very hard when you have work, school, and all the responsibilities that I do. I’ve had to set a repeating “appointment” on my phone’s calendar just so that I have a hope managing to catch at least one of their open periods throughout the year. Anyway, I had a friend at the Writing Center (thanks Toni!) read over it to for polishing and to catch my biggest writing nemesis: “dropped out words.” Afterwards, I found a market that does Fantasy and Science Fiction (Deep Magic) to start it on its journey. While I won’t necessarily update the blog with every place it goes, I will definitely update you all on where it ultimately winds up–and I’d love for it to be Deep Magic as it seems like a quality market (but that’s not up to me–I only write the piece as best I can and then hope for the best).
Something New
So, I’ve now switched my focus to my new story, Project Dog. I finished writing the character sketch for the main character and I’ve written out the rough draft (most of it–I need to go back and finish the ending). I’ll keep everyone appraised of its progress. I’ve discovered that I simply can’t work on multiple things at a time. I have to finish one or two things and then move on to the next. I’ve toyed with the idea of “long” and “short” projects for a while now and now I feel I just need to commit to it. I just need to work on 1 “short project” (essentially a short story or maybe an academic essay) that is less than 25 total pages. I then have enough brain cells to spare for 1 “long project” (essentially a graphic novel, novel, screenplay, dissertation, etc.) that is over 25 pages in length. No matter how engaging another project may be, I’m simply going to have to limit myself because I just don’t have the time/ability to do more than this. So work will continue on DSRV Outrider until I finish it and send it off and then I can work on something else. I just don’t have time to do more than this, so as long as I get them to be the best I can, I’ll hopefully be satisfied with the quality of the work if not the quantity of production.
Anyway, that’s all I have for now. Have a great day and thanks for reading!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Project Dog (Sci-Fi Short-Story – 1st Draft — Character Draft “Finished”)Current Work-in-Progress: Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – Script, Issue # 2, Currently on Script Page 32)
March 29, 2019
A (Semi) Long Weekend
First of all, thank you to everyone who liked yesterday’s post. I really wasn’t expecting such a positive reaction to a fairly negative–okay, let’s call what it really was–a mini-rant, of a post. I’ve been dissatisfied for a while about the way creative writers are treated at my university and I’ve wanted to speak out, but knowing that several in the graduate school read these posts, I’ve been hesitant to speak out. However, I’ve had such a terrible and eye-opening week at the same time, that for good or ill (probably ill knowing my luck), I refuse to stay silent about it any longer. I’ll call it out periodically, but for now, I’m going to say thank you to everyone who responded and move on to a different topic.
Spring Break (Sort of)
So, my university’s Spring Break has come and gone (and I was sick for every moment of it), but my second job is at an elementary school and they’re on Spring Break this week. While I could have asked off for most of the week, I did not (& I’m glad I didn’t as I needed the diversion of something else to do thanks to the downright crappy week that I’ve had at my university). However, today we’ve finished all our tasks and a new supervisor is coming in on Monday, so we have the day off. Now, normally I would go home on Saturday mornings, but today (hopefully) I plan on leaving early and if so, will do some much needed yardwork on Saturday morning (when I’m normally driving down).
Taking a Break and Planning My Future
So, while I will (hopefully) get a little rest, I would like to also take a moment and decide on my future with the program. I’m 3 years into a 4 year program, so it seems a waste to throw those three years away, but I’m so unhappy right now, it isn’t even funny. I plan on playing a game or two, but mostly I plan on putting on some music and doing some much needed creative writing. After that, I’ll probably cruise the internet and see what my options are in terms of the schools, jobs, and the like. I have a teaching license that doesn’t expire until 2022, but I don’t really enjoy teaching at the K-12 level. So, realistically, I’ve thrown away 5 years of my life getting a degree (Master’s of Education) for a teaching job that I don’t really like (K-12 education). I really enjoy teaching college students, but I don’t enjoy all the extroverted “B.S.” that goes along with getting the degree to allow me to do that and advance. So this weekend is going to be a lot about figuring out what are my options. I’m also hoping to catch up on some movies that I’ve been meaning to watch on Netflix, so hopefully there will be new content on media (Sci-Fi/Fantasy) soon.
Anyway, thank you all for listening and have a great weekend!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Project Dog (Sci-Fi Short-Story – 1st Draft — Character Draft “Finished”)Current Work-in-Progress: Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – Script, Issue # 2, Currently on Script Page 32)
March 28, 2019
The Big Squeeze
One of the most frustrating things about graduate school (well, there are many which I’ll probably do individual posts about for the next month or so) is the fact that it is my writing time that gets squeezed in the process of “becoming more educated.” I’m not very appreciative of the fact that, as writer, my time for writing every week gets slowly wittled away as I have to complete more and more assignments which touch on, ironically, writing and the theories and applications of the writing process. My Master’s Degree is in both Rhetoric and Writing and my Bachelor’s Degree was in English: American Language and Literature (with a Concentration in Writing), which just means that I took extra Writing courses on top of the required literature courses. Writing is instrumental to pretty much everything that I am and/or do as an individual and citizen.
We Want You To Write–Just Not What You Want To Write
One of my greatest sources of frustration with the educational process in general, and the way Rhetoric and Writing is treated in particular, is the fact that we privilege the teaching of writing as something that is both special and magical in terms of allowing students to find their own voices/means of expression, but also a craft and requires work through revisions, and yet, the program I’m in does not actively privilege my creative writing endeavors. Only a handful of people in my “community” know that I “Dragonhawk” was accepted for publication and not a ONE of them is a professor. Not to appear boastful or braggadocios, but this is a success that pretty much all my professors of writing should be happy about. I’m able, at a high level, to use the techniques that we teach our students (inspiration, brainstorming, drafting, revision, consideration of audience, and perseverance to see it through to publication) to create and shepherd a work to fruition.
No Conferences = No Credentials
No, I’m not talking about the conferences professors hold with their students. I’m talking about conferences that academics attend to present papers and the like. That’s really the only true measure of graduate student’s success. How many conferences did you attend? How many papers have you presented at a conferences. I both understand and am appalled at the process at the same time. Conferences, let’s be honest, are built for the extroverts who love being with other people. Sure, if you’re an introvert, you can (sorta’) get by just attending panels for the ideas and information. But, to use an old analogy–there’s as much noise (socializing) that occurs at a conference as there is signal (information/ideas). Conferences, while stimulating and fun, are not the end all and be all of an academic’s existence–which is what they are at the moment that I write this.
Value ALL Academic Expression
The main reason why this blog has been spotty this semester and that I’ve had very little time to concentrate on anything writing related, is because I’ve been fully committed to writing, reading, and working for class and for both of my jobs. I’m not really happy as the results for all my hard-work have not materialized the manner that I would have expected after giving so much of myself–and foregoing so much of my creative output in order to do all of this work. I think that if I felt that I could talk to (and get praise from) my professors for the creative work that I have done (and am doing), this would go a LONG way to assuaging the dissatisfaction I feel in that others are being treated better because they are playing the “academic” game, whereas others, who are not, seemed to be “looked down on” (and I’m not okay with this. I’m using the exact same techniques in my own writing life that are good practices (using brainstorming methods to come up with ideas, engaging with the material, drafting–including multiple drafts, getting feedback on my writing, incorporating feedback through revisions, and persevering through multiple rejections until I find a market who is willing to accept the story). The fact that I’m made to feel that my writing endeavors are not worthy in lieu of someone else who simply attends a conference is very distressing to me as a writer.
Hopefully, after this (very) disspiriting semester is over, I can get back to writing (and enjoying the things that I write) more frequently. Right now, I can say that irregularity of the blog is simply a symptom of a larger set of issues and hopefully, regularity will return when I can address the larger problem of being made to feel that my worth as a creative writer is less than someone who just enjoys playing the “academic game.”
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Project Dog (Sci-Fi Short-Story – 1st Draft — Character Draft “Finished”)Current Work-in-Progress: Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – Script, Issue # 2, Currently on Script Page 32)
March 25, 2019
Preliminary Exams
(While this is from the UC Davis Grad School website, it is the closest thing that I could find that simply and accurately explains the process — just change Qualifying Exam to Preliminary Exam and you’ll have a pretty good idea of both where I am in the program and what is still left to be done.)
It seems as if I’m always apologizing for stepping away from the blog for various reasons (illness and the like). For the past two weeks, I’ve been in “crunch” mode for reading trying to prepare for my Preliminary Exams. So, what are preliminary exams? Well, they work differently at different schools, but essentially they are the “final exams” that one takes before moving on to the dissertation phase of graduate work.
PhD Student
So a PhD student is much the same as any other Master’s level student as we attend the same classes. The primary difference is the amount of work we have to produce for those classes. Generally speaking (with some few exceptions), PhD students are required to produce longer works and provide more in-depth analysis for scholarly materials. There are other things that we are supposed to do that is more than a Master’s student might have to be responsible for, but in general, we simply produce more volume and are required to use more sources and go into a topic in far greater depth. At the end (or close to the end) of one’s classes, there is some sort of “gateway” (usually in the form of some sort of test) that one has to pass. For me, this is the Preliminary Exam.
PhD Candidate
Once one passes the Preliminary Exam (again, this specific to my program, although it can be somewhat generalized to other programs), one moves from being a “student” to a “candidate.” This means that one either has passed all of the preliminary stages (or in my case, will soon pass) all remaining requirements. For me, I have a couple of more electives that I need to take as I am finishing the last of my “required” courses this semester. My next major responsibilities will be coming up with a Research Proposal/Prospectus for what I want to do my dissertation on and putting together a committee to direct my dissertation. I’m planning on locking this down over the summer.
ABD
ABD = All But Dissertation. Unlike the previous two headings which are official, there’s a third, unofficial heading. When one has completed everything (classes, submitting dissertation proposal, putting together committee, etc.) and all one has left is the actual writing of the dissertation, we informally call that person ABD (All But Dissertation). While technically still a PhD Candidate, ABD just communicates the fact that the dissertation is the last remaining hurdle to complete before that person can graduate.
Right now, I am still waiting to hear back my results from my two Preliminary Exams. I’m hoping to move from the first stage (PhD student) to the second stage (PhD Candidate). If successful, I will use the summer to put together a strong research proposal/prospectus and will try to have a committee in place before the middle of the Fall semester (Sept./Oct. 2019), so that I can spend the rest of the year and the first part of 2020 writing the dissertation.
I know that’s probably WAY more than you wanted to know about my school life, but I hope that it, in some small way, explains why the blog has had to take a backseat for the past two/three weeks due to these Preliminary exams and illness. Well, that’s all I have for right now. Have a good day!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Project Dog (Sci-Fi Short-Story – 1st Draft — Character Draft “Finished”)Current Work-in-Progress: Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – Script, Issue # 2, Currently on Script Page 32)
March 19, 2019
Finished 3rd Draft of “Starlight, Starbright”!
Image Source: https://creartys.com/artists/view/109/rocketmanSorry for dropping the blog for the past two weeks, but between being sick with the flu (was still fairly sick on last Monday) and then trying to prepare for my test is Rhetoric and Composition on last Friday, I decided that I really needed to read, read, read! I have a test in film for this week, and I’m still reading like there’s no tomorrow, but I will try to be better this week about blogging–I probably won’t have an entry every day, but I’ll do my best.
3rd Draft of “Starlight, Starbright”
So, I finished my “final” draft for “Starlight, Starbright.” This is the story that I revised in January and was originally called “Rocket-Man.” I planned to submit to an anthology, but it has already closed (I think it closed 2/28). I’ll look around to see if there’s another place I can send it next week when I look at my guidelines, but at the moment, I don’t have a specific place to send it.
Weekend Writer
I’m just going to have to be a weekend writer. I’ve spent Saturdays (at first) and now Sunday evenings to do my writing (& submitting). I really should try to get it down to a story a month, but at the moment that is just too much with classwork, house work and trying to rest from the work week on the weekends. I revised my story (basically) a section at a time, which took approximately 5 or 6 Saturdays in total (which is why I’m deep in to March instead of finishing by late February.)
Write One, Plan One
My goal for 2019 is to find a way to “write one, plan one.” I want to be writing a project and planning another one in the “background.” My plan is to work on & finish the graphic novel of DSRV Outrider and send it off to a publisher. I believe that I’ve lost my artist for that project as I haven’t heard from him for over a year and a half, so I should just probably finish it and submit it to one of the few publishers of graphic novels that doesn’t require an artist. I just listened to a podcast of Writing Excuses with Darren Shan (author of the Cirque du Freak novels). While I admire his writing style and prolific nature, I could not pull off trying to write 12+ novels and stories in in one time–which is what he claims works for him. It just would be too hard. I can come up with an amazing amount of ideas, but I need time in order to execute those ideas effectively. Too many projects at one time and my mind basically “freezes” and I can’t do anything effectively.
Any, that’s a quick and dirty explanation of what’s been going on for the past two weeks: illness, studying for tests, and a brief stint at writing are pretty much the extent of my output for the past two weeks. Hopefully, I’ll be better (in all aspects) in fairly short order. 
March 11, 2019
Anatomy of a Week of Illness
Sorry that I haven’t posted during the past week. I managed to get a blog up last week that briefly talked about what was going on and to potentially prepare blog readers that I wouldn’t have a chance to blog regularly.
Sunday Night
I went to church (& felt fine). If I’d felt sick, I wouldn’t have gone as I wouldn’t have wanted to spread illness, but I felt fine. Later, we went out to eat and I felt fine then, as well, but when we came back, I had a sore throat on Sunday night. I never have a sore throat, unless I’m sick, so that was a major sign. I went to bed with a major sore throat and the beginnings of a headache.
Monday
Probably the worst day of the whole week. I had a sore throat, stomach cramps, fatigue, congestion (chest), fever, chills and stayed in the bed pretty much the entire day. I only got up long enough to eat–breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and only because my body made me.
Tuesday – Wednesday
Felt slightly better, but due to congestion that settled in my chest (lungs), I was fatigued and simply couldn’t do anything. I tried very hard to do things–get up, get going, and try to get well as I had an appointment for contacts lens on Wednesday. However, when Wednesday came around, I had to call and reschedule.
Thursday – Friday
I though I would feel better toward the later part of the week, but the congestion in my chest didn’t break up like it normally does, and I found that I couldn’t breathe like normal. My mother said that I should probably go to the doctor, but since the main part of the illness (the fever) was over, I decided not to, but I was extremely fatigued for those two days.
Saturday – Sunday
Finally, on Friday night, my congestion began to go away, but going along with that was a cough that kept me up most of the night. I was actually able to get up and be a “human being” on Saturday night. However, after about 3 hours of my normal Saturday laundry routine, I was exhausted. Sunday was a little better, as I actually went out for the first time in literally 7 days. Needless to say, I was exhausted after a simple jaunt to the store and to get gas for the car.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Starlight, Starbright (Sci-Fi Short-Story — 2nd Draft — “Opening Incident” (2/5 sections) Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Project Dog (Sci-Fi Short-Story – 1st Draft — Character Draft “Finished”)Current Work-in-Progress: Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – Script, Issue # 2, Currently on Script Page 32)
March 4, 2019
Spring Break = Sick
Sorry that there was no blog entry today–it is Spring Break for me and I’d planned on working on a couple a day and getting caught up. What I hadn’t planned on was getting sick. I had a flu shot, but it feels like I have the flu anyway–chills, body-aches, and weakness (I feel like a 3 day old kitten). My mother has just gone to get me some Chicken Noodle Soup–as I could barely keep my lunch down this afternoon.
Hopefully, I’ll feel better tomorrow.
Sidney
March 1, 2019
The Death of Critical Thinking (or Buy, Buy, Buy!)
Okay, so there’s something that I’ve noticed in the past few weeks that has come to a head with the launch of Anthem–the idea of being a “critical thinking” is under assault like never before. Now, this is nothing new–politicians often want to sway public opinion. This has been the case in western civilization throughout history so there’s nothing new there. However, when I was in school, both in elementary school and high school, we (as students) were taught look at a situation, a work (literary or entertainment-based), a problem–whatever it was, and analyze it critically. The goal may be different–how to navigate an unfamiliar situation, how look at a non-fiction work to for its educational properties, how to decipher what is the better value, and so on. However, tied into the rise of the idea of “alternative facts” and “fake news” is this idea that social media knows all and is the ultimate arbitor of who you should be and what you should be doing, irregardless if it makes sense for your life. And–if you can’t tell–I’m not okay with this.
They’re called “Influencers” for a Reason!
Now, “marketing” has been a major for in American capitalism since their ascendence in the 1950s (see Madmen), but before social media, the focus was on the product and on the competition. How can we make our product better (or more competitive–which isn’t necessarily the same as better)? How can we show that our product is better than our competitor’s product? How can we increase our market share? Now, however, the marketing departments are targeting the consumer. For instance, Mike Ybarra, an executive for Microsoft, took issue with the critical reviews of Anthem. Okay, we get it. You would like Anthem to be this awesome game that you can then use to promote the X-Box “brand.” However, ignoring the flaws in the game and spending money on an experience that you will probably dislike doesn’t do you, the consumer, any good, while it does help the company’s bottom line. I’m so incensed about this because there’s this idea that that reviews are no longer relevant–they’re old, outdated. You should be watching a “streamer” play the game. I’ve heard this at least twice from two different people in the gaming industry.
No, No, and NO! Reviews are part of the critical conversation that is essential to the critical thinking process. The best reviews provide pros, cons, and context to the piece being reviewed. A streamer (or influencer) plays the game and the company relies on peer pressure to influence your purchasing decision. Look at how much fun this person is having–or if it is like Anthem, see how pretty the game is, surely the problems can’t be that bad. Rather than allowing you to make an educated decision as to whether something is valuable and/or useful to you, they’d rather use the pressure of your peers and the appeal of the product to sway your decision. And I’m not a fan.
Toe-May-Toe or Toe-Mah-Toe, it Still Equals Tomato, Except On YouTube.
Think this isn’t truly the case–then take a look at pretty much any comments section of a YouTube video, especially one where the speaker pronounces a word differently than others. Beta is something that is usually (in America) pronounced as (Bay-Ta), but some people pronounce it (Bee-Ta). However, there’s no room for individuality on the Internet–everyone has an opinion. For the Beta video that I’m referring to, pretty much every third commentor was focusing on the speaker’s pronunciation of Beta–not the actual news story that the Beta. Social media relies on the idea that all the “cool” people are doing this, so you should be doing it too. Don’t like that movie, what’s wrong with you, don’t like that game, you’re so square, love that show, everyone knows its crap–why are you even watching it?
Others can be swayed by this “death-by-peer” mentality forced on us my the various social media platforms, but I value my critical thinking skills and will continue using them. Corporations–want me to buy your product? Give me a good product at a fair price. If that’s too hard, then no amount “hype” from streamers/influencers is going to sway my opinion. Governments–want me to believe you? Show me, not by your words, but by your actions.
A critical review is a thousand times more useful than social media–and I’ll fight tooth-and-claw for my right to continue to exercise my right to think for myself–as much as corporations and governments may hate it.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Starlight, Starbright (Sci-Fi Short-Story — 2nd Draft — “Opening Incident” (2/5 sections) Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Project Dog (Sci-Fi Short-Story – 1st Draft — Character Draft “Finished”)Current Work-in-Progress: Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – Script, Issue # 2, Currently on Script Page 32)
February 27, 2019
Reading Fast and Slow & Writing Fast and Slow
In some instances, I’m a very fast reader and in other instances, I’m a very slow reader. This also pertains to my writing in many ways to my writing. I’m trying to be more consistent in all areas, but I’ve noticed these two traits for a while.
Reading Fast and Slow
I read fiction much, much faster than I read non-fiction. I read quite a bit of non-fiction, but I don’t read it nearly as fast as I fiction. I think it has to do with the “mental stomp” that I use when I read non-fiction. The term “mental stomp” is from one of my favorite books as a kid, So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane. Nita, the protagonist of the books, uses this “mental stomp” to impress facts upon her mind when she wants to learn something. For me, non-fiction books mean learning, and it is very hard for me to retain information if I just skim the book (which is what a lot of grad students do in order to get through a ton of reading quickly). I can’t do that and its hurting me as I prepare for my upcoming Preliminary Exams. I have to read through the material or else I don’t really retain the information. However, as long as I’m engaged with the book, I can “zoom” through a novel. I routinely read Epic Fantasy (which is sometimes called “Doorstopper Novels” because they are generally so large and heavy that their weight is enough to stop a door from closing). I can routinely read a thousand page novel in under two weeks–and that’s pacing myself. However, I find that my bookshelf is piling up with unread books because of all the reading I have to do for class which leaves little time for reading other works.
Writing Fast and Slow
I tend to be exactly the opposite when writing. I’m a fairly fast writer when I’m writing essays for school, but I tend to be much, much slower, when I’m writing creatively (fiction). I’m not sure why, although I suspect it has something to do with the way my brain processes images. I can “see” the picture of the image in my mind and I’m looking for words to replicate the image that I see. In essays, however, once I have a structure (i.e., thesis and method of explaining that thesis), I “golden.” My mind just fills in the words and sources to explain my ideas. Much like a camera, however, my mind wants to use words to completely capture the scene in my mind for fiction, which often leads me to be far more detailed, in some stories, than I really need to be in most cases. However, even at my fastest, while I’m a touch typist, I still don’t type as fast as I think, so a lot of my issues with writing are the method of input. I don’t really dictate well, and long-hand is great for notes, or jotting down rough drafts where I’m just “sketching out” the action, so the keyboard still remains the best way of writing for me. Even at my best speed, I can only manage about 35-40 words per minute, probably less when you factor in mis-keying and correcting errors, so I probably average about 30 words a minute (which is on the low side for touch typists who can hit anywhere from 50-100 words per minute with training–I think my fingers are too long to be as nimble as they should, but that’s just a supposition on my part).
Anyway, this blog entry was more just establish the fact that sometimes I read really quickly and sometimes I don’t (& why) and sometimes I write really quickly and sometimes I don’t (& why). I hope it was at least a little bit interesting. Have a great day!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Starlight, Starbright (Sci-Fi Short-Story — 2nd Draft — “Opening Incident” (2/5 sections) Current Work-in-Progress–February 2019: Project Dog (Sci-Fi Short-Story – 1st Draft — Character Draft “Finished”)Current Work-in-Progress: Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – Script, Issue # 2, Currently on Script Page 32)
