Happy 2009! A few days ago, I started the second blog that I'd alluded to previously. It's called Hired Minds, and it's about consultants, contractors, temps, and other "hired guns" that companies hire to help them with their business needs. You can check it out here.
It's not a replacement for this blog by any means; I'm still going to post here when I have something to post, though I expect that I will be posting more often at Hired Minds for a little while.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Thursday, December 18, 2008
What I'm Reading
Here's what I'm reading right now, for those who are interested:
Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan. This is a Future Noir story in the mold of Blade Runner or Neuromancer, which for me is a very good thing. It makes use of the classic SF "one weird idea" approach where there is one unusual concept, social institution, or technology that plays a major role in the story (even if the book isn't about it per se). Here, the idea is sleeving, or moving one's consciousness between physical bodies in order to travel between planets or even live forever. The implications of this technology are quite important to the novel, but I won't give them away here. Overall, I'm pleased with this book and will probably want to read the rest of the series (this is the first book of a trilogy), though it seems like it will end up being about 100-150 pages longer than it needs to be.
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. I've been working on this beast of a novel for a very long time -- over ten years, as a matter of fact. I read it for a while and then leave it for something else; I enjoy it a lot when I'm in the mood for Hugo's obsessive detail and narrative meanderings, but sometimes (okay, most of the time) I want something more to the point. Plus, I'm already quite familiar with the story, having seen the stage play once, the musical twice, and listended to the original cast recording I don't know how many times. I'm not reading this one to learn what happens; I'm reading this one for the language. I'm quite a ways through, so my goal is to finish it by the end of January.
Successful Writing at Work (Concise Edition), Philip C. Kolin. This was the textbook for my class that ended two weeks ago. We didn't get through all of it in the seven weeks of the course, so I'm finishing it now. It's pretty good as books on writing go; even though it's the "Concise Edition", it still manages to cover topics in sufficient depth. It makes me wonder what the "Verbose Edition" is like.
Once I finish these, there's a lot more on deck, including The Last of the Mohicans, The Elements of Technical Writing, and Naomi Novik's Temeraire series.
Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan. This is a Future Noir story in the mold of Blade Runner or Neuromancer, which for me is a very good thing. It makes use of the classic SF "one weird idea" approach where there is one unusual concept, social institution, or technology that plays a major role in the story (even if the book isn't about it per se). Here, the idea is sleeving, or moving one's consciousness between physical bodies in order to travel between planets or even live forever. The implications of this technology are quite important to the novel, but I won't give them away here. Overall, I'm pleased with this book and will probably want to read the rest of the series (this is the first book of a trilogy), though it seems like it will end up being about 100-150 pages longer than it needs to be.
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. I've been working on this beast of a novel for a very long time -- over ten years, as a matter of fact. I read it for a while and then leave it for something else; I enjoy it a lot when I'm in the mood for Hugo's obsessive detail and narrative meanderings, but sometimes (okay, most of the time) I want something more to the point. Plus, I'm already quite familiar with the story, having seen the stage play once, the musical twice, and listended to the original cast recording I don't know how many times. I'm not reading this one to learn what happens; I'm reading this one for the language. I'm quite a ways through, so my goal is to finish it by the end of January.
Successful Writing at Work (Concise Edition), Philip C. Kolin. This was the textbook for my class that ended two weeks ago. We didn't get through all of it in the seven weeks of the course, so I'm finishing it now. It's pretty good as books on writing go; even though it's the "Concise Edition", it still manages to cover topics in sufficient depth. It makes me wonder what the "Verbose Edition" is like.
Once I finish these, there's a lot more on deck, including The Last of the Mohicans, The Elements of Technical Writing, and Naomi Novik's Temeraire series.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
November? What November?
Obviously, I didn't update this blog in November, as I was very busy. The class I was taking, Business Writing and Editing, took up a lot of my spare time outside of work. It's finished now, though, so I will have some extra time again. Plus, I had the usual Thanksgiving family obligations, as well as some high school debate judging that I do on some Saturdays in the fall. Oh, and I turned 30 at the end of October.
Things should be slower now, though. I won't have class again until mid-January (I'm taking Writing for the Web and Science Writing next semester), so that will allow much more time for writing and posting.
Things should be slower now, though. I won't have class again until mid-January (I'm taking Writing for the Web and Science Writing next semester), so that will allow much more time for writing and posting.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Just A Geek Review
At long last, I am finally going to talk about Just A Geek, which I finished earlier this month.
The book is a memoir, of sorts, written by Wil Wheaton. Yep, that would be the Wil Wheaton of Stand By Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation fame. In case you're wondering what happened to him, this book is a great place to start. Although it mostly covers his life and experiences earlier in this decade, he does go into what he did in the 90's (after TNG) as well.
Wheaton spends much of the book talking about getting out from under the shadow of his past life as a child actor and trying to reestablish a successful acting career, only to be thwarted in doing so. He discusses what it was like to go to audition after audition only to get very little acting work, all the while dealing with not only the stress it was putting on his family life, but his own self-doubt as well. Eventually, he realizes (through his blog) that writing is what he really wants to do with his life, and even more importantly, he discovers that being honest and open with himself and others is the key to finding happiness in his life. Don't worry if this sounds either too angsty or saccharine -- there's a lot of humor in this book as well, and it certainly had its laugh-out-loud moments for my wife and I (she read it too).
I thought that this book was very inspirational and I could identify with some of what Wil faced -- in particular, the self-doubt and the expectation one puts on oneself to appear successful to others. I also thought the parts where Wheaton learned what he really wanted to do with his life, as opposed to what he thought he wanted to do, were quite thought-provoking too. Many people face these issues in their lives, not just those in creative fields.
I don't have any major criticisms of this book. Probably the only one I have is that there seemed to be a heavy reliance on posts from his blog in some sections. I didn't mind them being included, since they were especially effective in showing the disparity between what he felt and thought in reality and the persona he presented to the world. However, at times it seemed repetitious, since they had been published elsewhere, and I would have liked to have seen more of his non-previously published writing. That said, it's a minor criticism, and overall I thought the book was excellent.
I definitely recommend the book to anyone who's a Star Trek fan, or a geek in general, but I think a lot of other peope would like it too.
The book is a memoir, of sorts, written by Wil Wheaton. Yep, that would be the Wil Wheaton of Stand By Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation fame. In case you're wondering what happened to him, this book is a great place to start. Although it mostly covers his life and experiences earlier in this decade, he does go into what he did in the 90's (after TNG) as well.
Wheaton spends much of the book talking about getting out from under the shadow of his past life as a child actor and trying to reestablish a successful acting career, only to be thwarted in doing so. He discusses what it was like to go to audition after audition only to get very little acting work, all the while dealing with not only the stress it was putting on his family life, but his own self-doubt as well. Eventually, he realizes (through his blog) that writing is what he really wants to do with his life, and even more importantly, he discovers that being honest and open with himself and others is the key to finding happiness in his life. Don't worry if this sounds either too angsty or saccharine -- there's a lot of humor in this book as well, and it certainly had its laugh-out-loud moments for my wife and I (she read it too).
I thought that this book was very inspirational and I could identify with some of what Wil faced -- in particular, the self-doubt and the expectation one puts on oneself to appear successful to others. I also thought the parts where Wheaton learned what he really wanted to do with his life, as opposed to what he thought he wanted to do, were quite thought-provoking too. Many people face these issues in their lives, not just those in creative fields.
I don't have any major criticisms of this book. Probably the only one I have is that there seemed to be a heavy reliance on posts from his blog in some sections. I didn't mind them being included, since they were especially effective in showing the disparity between what he felt and thought in reality and the persona he presented to the world. However, at times it seemed repetitious, since they had been published elsewhere, and I would have liked to have seen more of his non-previously published writing. That said, it's a minor criticism, and overall I thought the book was excellent.
I definitely recommend the book to anyone who's a Star Trek fan, or a geek in general, but I think a lot of other peope would like it too.
Back
Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks, but I am back. In the past two weeks, I've gone to the wedding of two of my friends (and all of the related events that accompany it -- bachelor/ette party, rehearsal dinner, gift opening, etc.), finished one online class and started another, and went to Las Vegas for a couple of days with my wife, who attended an HR conference. Oh yeah -- I also managed to work 64 hours in those two weeks as well. So, I've been too busy to blog, I'm afraid, but now that time has come to an end.
Incidentally, I got an idea for an additional blog I'm thinking of starting soon. It's regarding different subject matter than Writer of Fortune, but if I go ahead with it, I will post an announcement here as well.
Incidentally, I got an idea for an additional blog I'm thinking of starting soon. It's regarding different subject matter than Writer of Fortune, but if I go ahead with it, I will post an announcement here as well.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
See You in a Couple Weeks
I have a lot going on in the next couple of weeks, so this will probably be the last post until towards the end of the month. Yes, I still owe you that review -- don't think I've forgotten about that! But since I have a final project for my technical writing class to finish, a wedding and its associated festivities next weekend, and then a trip to Las Vegas for a few days, not to mention work and other social obligations, this blog will unfortunately be static for a while until my schedule is less crazy. See you in a couple weeks!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Checking In Again
Just a quick note to let you know that I haven't forgotten about the blog, and will try to post something early this week, but I make no guarantees. This would be easier if I could figure out how to use Blogger on my smartphone, too.
I finished Just a Geek this morning, and I can't wait to post a review of it. It's very relevant to not just anyone who wants to write for a living, but everyone who is struggling to make it in their field and is burdened by self-doubt. It's not a book on writing per se, but since writing is such a key part of Wil Wheaton's personal journey as described in the book, I certainly think it's worth picking up.
I finished Just a Geek this morning, and I can't wait to post a review of it. It's very relevant to not just anyone who wants to write for a living, but everyone who is struggling to make it in their field and is burdened by self-doubt. It's not a book on writing per se, but since writing is such a key part of Wil Wheaton's personal journey as described in the book, I certainly think it's worth picking up.
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