Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

And just as fascinating and compelling, (as long as you are interested in the publishing industry anyway,) Anna Louise (who works for Tor) has a really informative essay about some of the numbers involved in selling a book.

P.S.

Plus, I like her, because once upon a time she did me a huge favor regarding Nina Kimberly the Merciless, the closest I've come so far to actually getting the thing published.

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Dean Esmay pointed me to a really amazing, compelling essay. Read this, and trust me, you owe it to yourself to read it all the way to the end.

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Hey everybody!

Just made up a new 1-minute promo for Nina Kimberly the Merciless!

Check it out:



Or download it direct!

Nina Kimberly the Merciless 1-minute Promo (mp3)

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Check out (via Dean's World) this video.

Nothing fancy, just a kid playing a rockin' electric guitar arrangement of Canon in D Major by Pachelbel, but dang... it sure is sweet.

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I posted yesterday about the guy who is looking for science to explain the miracles of the Bible. I find it interesting to think about that sort of thing.

Another fascinating, and perhaps unanswerable, question is whether or not free will is real or an illusion.

Well, Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert), asserts the latter on his blog, and there is some amazing discussion there.

I found that post, however, when it was linked by a post on Dean's World, and in the comments of that post, I read this comment, which really summed up my own feelings on the subject almost perfectly.

Deep, eh?

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Okay, so there's this guy, who thinks that Jesus didn't really walk on water, but that he was actually walking on a floating piece of ice.

Jesus may have walked on ice, scientists speculate

The scientists note that Galilee has warm, salty springs along the western shore, an area Jesus frequented. The water above the springs does not convect when it is cold. If air temperatures fell below freezing, ice could have formed thick enough to support human weight. From a distance, the scientists suggested, a person on the ice might appear to be walking on water.

hmm...

This is an odd story. I mean, right on the face of it, it assumes that everything about the Biblical account is 100% true, except that the witnesses were simply too dumb to tell the difference between someone walking on water and someone just standing on a floating piece of ice. That seems an odd perspective to take. That's like saying that the pillar of fire witnessed by the Isrealites in their wandering in the desert was actually a natural gas geyser that had been ignited by a bolt of lightning, and that it appeared to move around due to unusual air currents.

Now, I do find it interesting to speculate on ways that miraculous things could have been caused by natural processes, (which, by the way, does not necessarily mean that they aren't miracles in my opinion,) but this one just seems kind of silly. I mean, maybe Jesus did attend the wedding and did appear to turn water into wine, but all that really happened was that there were some grapes that had fallen into the well and began to ferment and nobody noticed because they ususually use a different well and decided to open this one up just for the wedding party because they had all the extra people there.

I am a Christian, and that's based on faith and some personal experiences that I've had. I also tend to be a skeptical person towards supposed "miracles". Especially those modern ones like the virgin Mary appearing on a grilled cheese sandwich and so on. To some extent, my faith and my skepticism could be seen as contradictory, and you know what, I'm comfortable with that. I don't know what really happened back then. To be sure, walking on water or turning water to wine or whatever are not things that happen very often. If I heard someone claiming to have seen that happen today, I would be really skeptical. Because I believe in the divinity of Christ, I grant stories about him some extra leeway.

Still, it seems to me that if you are inclined to be skeptical and not grant him that leeway, going all the way to the point where Jesus and the deciples were all there in the boat and that everything else in the story happened just the way it says in the Bible, but that he wasn't really walking on water, but just ice, and that they couldn't tell the difference? Doesn't it seem more likely that someone would have just made it up altogether before they would have made a mistake like that? Doesn't assuming that all the miracles were really just optical illusions or tricks speak pretty poorly of the intelligence of the people back then? I mean, to me, the way that story reads in the Bible, the ice is not a satisfactory explanation.

Okay, so I just thought that was a little weird.

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It's a serious question here, not a sarcastic one, or one that's only a superficial attempt to get you to listen. (Though it could be that, too, if you want.)

I spotted this over at podcastingnews.com, and it states that while 25% of polled online consumers were "interested" in podcasts, only 1% actually listen to them.

Now, obviously (to anyone who's known me for a while, online or off,) I'm a believer in podcasting. Even podcasting my fantasy novel: Nina Kimberly the Merciless. I worked really hard writing that novel. I wouldn't be podcasting it for free if I didn't believe that it was going to pay off by helping me to build an audience and attract attention to my writing career. I'm an avid podcast listener too, with dozens of shows that I listen to regularly.

Why do I listen to podcasts? Why do I do my own? Well, first of all, the "DIY" (Do It Yourself) nature of the medium makes it possible for almost anyone with internet access to do their own show. Naturally, this results in a lot of crappy shows, or shows that come out with three episodes and then disappear forever. But it also allows for some really unique voices and content that would never have made it through the mainstream media filter.

Then there's the nature of "time-shifted" media. It's the same principle as TiVo or any DVR. VCR's began this trend, but the ease of use in today's devices change the way we consume media. We no longer have to be sitting in front of the TV at 8PM on Sunday to watch the Simpsons. You just tell your DVR that you want to watch the show, it's recorded, and then you watch it whenever you want! Podcasting is the same, only with audio (and some video) content, but completely free and with the DIY stuff to boot.

Anyway, I'm not writing this post to explain what I like about podcasts, but rather to ask the question in the title. That 25% from the story above does not, I suspect, include people who might be interested in podcasting if they knew more about it. For starters: You don't need an iPod to listen to podcasts!!! But the point is, why is there such a gap between people who are interested and people who actually listen?

Obviously people who aren't interested won't listen. But why, if someone is interested, wouldn't they listen? What if you saw some sort of "Basics of Podcasting: How to listen and how to do your own" discussion at your local bookstore or coffeeshop, would you go?

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Frankly my dear, do you think I give a damn?


That is all.

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A Monument to Pro-Life: A statue of a nude Britney Spears giving birth

o_0

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Ooh, this is kind of neat! www.OneWord.com

You click "Go" and it gives you the word of the day and a form in which to write anything and everything you can think of about that word. You have sixty seconds, and then when the time's up, you enter in your name and click post. You can then read all the other entries.

I thought it was pretty fun, and maybe could be useful as a little daily writing exercise, like stretching before you work out.

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Remember that thing I said about work finally moving forward? Well, I head in there to, at long last, start testing and what should happen?

Mechanical failure.

Can't say more really, but man.

Ugh

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Okay, I've posted about Julian Beever before, but he has new ones now, and his stuff is freakin sweet!

Check out one of the best sidewalk-drawings you'll ever see...



He's got more at his website!

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I hope it's real, because I seriously need to catch up on some sleep.

Mike and I recorded a couple of podcasts-worth yesterday, and I'll try to get one of those up tonight, but I just couldn't stay up to do any more of it.

I've been more sleep-deprived than usual all week, but that's okay, because it's Friday, and I have good news to report on a couple of fronts.

1) Nina Kimberly the Merciless, my podcast audiobook is going very well. I'm loving it, and getting some great feedback on it, and it has a couple hundred listeners already! Plus, I've completed chapter 7 and it's now online! Thus meeting my 1 chapter a week target two weeks in a row. Go check it out! It's free to listen!

2) The Podcast Pickle party is tomorrow night! Have you ever thought to yourself, "Gosh, I'm a pretty big geek, but what could I do to become even geekier?" Answer: Attend a virtual party with a bunch of podcasters in a chatroom with a live audio feed. Hooray!

3) At the day job, I've finally gotten some signatures on a couple of documents that I've been waiting to get approved for months now! It's been really frustrating, but now that they are signed, I can actually move forward with my project! Huzzah!

4) I got to go to Kabuki, a neat Japanese restaurant for dinner on Wednesday. One of those places where you sit around the grill and the chef comes out and cooks your food in front of you with all sorts of fancy knife twirling and so on. Plus, yummy. ^_^

5) Umm... It's Friday.

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One of the things I've had on my mind recently is word-of-mouth marketing. More specifically, I've been trying to think of any and every way that I can spread the word about Nina Kimberly. I really think that the Internet is really starting to change the models of how things are advertised and marketed. All the networking and blogs and message boards and so on.

Anyway, many musicians have been putting free mp3's of their songs online for a long time now, simply as a way to get their music to as many different ears as possible, and often with the hope that the person will then order the whole album, or go to see them in concert or whatever. That's kind of what I'm doing with this podcast novel, of course, but that type of marketing is becoming a lot more common, and I think it's fantastic.

For example, Elizabeth Bear () is making the first chapter of her latest (upcoming) novel, Blood & Iron available online, with two additional chapters to come in April and May. Now she's an honest-to-goodness published novelist, and one whom I really enjoy. (Check out my review of her 1st published novel, Hammered.)

Now, this isn't just a plug for an author I like (though it is that, too), but I also just wanted to point it out as an example of a trend that I like in advertising/marketing. Namely, giving something, or a part of something, away for free in the hopes that it will attract an audience. Of course, coupons and such have been around for a long time, but seeing it apply to something like a novel is relatively new. Before, the most you might ever see is a brief excerpt in a magazine or something, which would limit you to people who are reading that magazine. Whereas by putting something online, theoretically you are only limited to people who use the Internet, which is a LOT of people. At which point, the only challenge becomes how to get the word out about your promotion! And a good way to do that, is to take part in social-networking-type things like live-journal. ;)

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Oh, and by the way, that first chapter of Blood and Iron is really good.

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Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

snagged from Ilona!

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Well, apparently, although Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent, Corned Beef on St. Patrick's Day is okay.

Most N.J. Catholics in the clear to eat corned beef on Friday

Mike McClutchy's religion says it's a sin to eat meat on St. Patrick's Day, and the 49-year-old state employee wasn't happy about it.

Then McClutchy found out in church that Newark Archbishop John Myers has granted a special dispensation to allow Catholics to eat meat on Friday, despite it being prohibited during Lent.

You know, I don't have anything against people who are Catholic, but some things about the Catholic faith have always seemed a bit strange to me. I mean, of course tradition and so on is important, as is wisdom passed down over hundreds of years, but some of what they call for just seems really strange to me. For example, the idea that, unless given special dispensation, eating meat on Friday is a mortal sin. In other words, just as serious as, say, murder.

Though I suppose all religions have their quirks that seem odd to people from the outside. I know there are questions that I would have a hard time answering about my own faith, and that ultimately, that's where faith really comes into it.

So, some Catholics have been given permission to have corned beef tomorrow. Though if you are Catholic, I would double-check with your own bishop, because it would sure suck to commit a mortal sin by accident because you didn't realize that you were out-of-bounds.

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...

Um, that's all.


UPDATE!

Gee, do you think it would help if I finally remembered to refill my thyroid medicine after missing three days worth?

Hey everybody!

Sorry for my utter slackerocity here on the blog recently, though actually it's mostly because I've been super-busy with other things.

Anyway, a couple of quick things.

1) I was too busy last night for Mike and I to record the Survivor podcast, though we will do it this weekend, possibly tonight, by Sunday at the latest. Sorry 'bout that, but...

2) I was getting the Sneak Preview of Chapter 1 of Nina Kimberly the Merciless all ready! If you're new or just haven't been paying attention, that's my new podcast audiobook. The first five chapters will be released officially on March 10th, but there's a couple of audio previews you can hear right now if you head over to www.ninakimberly.com. And if you sign up for the email list at that site, you can get access to the Subscriber's Only area of the site, where you can listen to or download the complete chapter 1!

3) I've decided to stop producing my Podcasternews.com shows. This is purely a problem of too many committments on my part and in no way reflects any problem with Podcasternews.com. I still think it's a great service, and I'm really happy about the recent sponsorship deals they've got. I just couldn't get the shows done on time, and so I chose to withdraw them for the network for that reason and no other.

4) But! Mike and I have started a new podcast, and this one is a bit high-concept: Hey, want to watch a movie? Basically, it is podcast movie commentaries. Sometimes the best way to spend an evening is to kick back with a few drinks and a few friends and just watch a movie and talk about it. Well, that's what this podcast is all about. It's designed to be listened to while watching the movie on your own TV. The first show is already up, in which Mike and I watch, and talk about, Disney's The Black Hole. Even though we've only got the one show up so far, the response has been really positive so far. Next episode, Top Gun, with the best Top Gun Drinking Game ever!

That is all... for now.

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Hey everybody!

You guys reading this site ought to know by now that I do a pair of shows over at Podcasternews.com. (If you don't, click the links on the sidebar! Christiana Takes on TV, and Christiana Takes on Science)

Anyway, the site is running a neat promotion right now. Check it out:

We are working hard to get the word out to the masses on the Podcaster News Network and thought we would introduce a publicity promotion. From now till the middle of February we will be watching what listeners and podcasters have to say about PCN via their blog entries. We will take the top five submitted entries and give them some free air time across our family of shows.

So if you like what we are doing at PCN, or you love a specific show or category of the network and you write a web post on it let us know, it could turn into some great publicity for your own site. Drop us a email at feedback “at” podcasternews.com with the URL to the post, and we will add you to the list of sites that we will vote on. If you are a podcaster, and talk about us on your show be sure to send us episode and time hack.

I'm really happy with that site, and there are a lot of great shows there. So check'em out, write a review, and maybe you'll get some nice free advertising!

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