Friday, February 20, 2009
AMAZING GRACE
All praise to Bizzaro, who found this gem. I dedicate this to Mom.
Monday, December 15, 2008
McCAIN GOT RICK ROLLED
Funny... I didn't see this happen when I watched his acceptance speech.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
BUSINESS ABOUNDS
Wow. Two months. That writing gig I've talked about (see below) has kept me pretty busy.
My name's all over it, so I don't mind telling you what it is now. I am a content provider for Ellusionist, an Internet-based magic training company. I maintain and contribute to the company's blog and write about the products. They make some of the best custom playing cards on the market, so those of you who know me can imagine how much I've been geeking out.
In other news, Duncan, official stepson of the Mailbox, rocks. He made the all-A honor roll and is his classroom's citizen of the month. I am so proud of him I could burst.
And congratulations to my phine phriends Red Pen Inc. and Liphe of Jason, who are phreaking out over the Phillies winning the series in phive. Woot! Now help the Mailbox out and root for the Saints in phootball. WHODAT?!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
NEW WRITING GIG! WOOT!
I wish I could say more. I'll be able to in the future. I landed a pretty sweet writing gig; if I pass a certain audition process, then I'll have a nifty new thing for you to check out. The gig is keeping me pretty busy, so the fiction writing will have to go to the side for a bit.
Man, I wish I could tell y'all what it is.
Oh, since Randy Turner regularly trolls this blog looking for rumors, innuendo and other filth he can spout about The Joplin Globe: I did not quit my job, and my boss knows about this side project. You can quote me, Turner. Even though you don't do quotes.
ANYWAY... Something interesting regarding writing, however: T. Rob, official friend and wedding photographer of the Mailbox, got to speak with Michael Stackpole, sci-fi writer of bajillions of books. Stackpole's advice at a recent seminar: Don't waste time with short fiction anymore, because people are going to the 'Net to read it, not books.
I wonder if magazines count in that. It also makes me wonder what I should do with all these short stories I've written.
While I'm talking about T. Rob, props to him. He said he saw the cover of a Star Wars RPG sourcebook, in which he contributed (I want to say he wrote the thing, but I could be mistaken). Awesome. Dude knows his banthas from his rynoks.
Man, I wish I could tell y'all what it is.
Oh, since Randy Turner regularly trolls this blog looking for rumors, innuendo and other filth he can spout about The Joplin Globe: I did not quit my job, and my boss knows about this side project. You can quote me, Turner. Even though you don't do quotes.
ANYWAY... Something interesting regarding writing, however: T. Rob, official friend and wedding photographer of the Mailbox, got to speak with Michael Stackpole, sci-fi writer of bajillions of books. Stackpole's advice at a recent seminar: Don't waste time with short fiction anymore, because people are going to the 'Net to read it, not books.
I wonder if magazines count in that. It also makes me wonder what I should do with all these short stories I've written.
While I'm talking about T. Rob, props to him. He said he saw the cover of a Star Wars RPG sourcebook, in which he contributed (I want to say he wrote the thing, but I could be mistaken). Awesome. Dude knows his banthas from his rynoks.
Friday, August 01, 2008
I CAN BECAUSE I SAY?
I've been rereading "The Dilbert Future" this morning, revisiting one of the most interesting chapters in the book. Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip, has enjoyed some phenomenal success as a cartoonist. One of the secrets to his success, as he explains in "The Dilbert Future" is the technique of affirmations. Using the technique, he was able to make a killing in the stock market, pass the GMAT and earn an MBA, become a successful syndicated cartoonist, hold the Nos. 1 and 2 spot on the New York Times bestseller list and even dodge cancer.
The technique that Adams said he followed is basically this: Every day he would write, "I, SCOTT ADAMS, WILL GET / DO / ACCOMPLISH WHATEVER" 15 times. According to his instructions in "The Dilbert Future," he would stop if he didn't observe any movement toward the goal for six months. He also said you don't need any faith in the affirmations in order for them to work.
In other words, he tricked himself. Against all the odds and evidence that suggested the contrary, he wrote down goals that flew in the face of sanity. And they came to be.
Affirmations work (in theory) because they bend your brain into accepting an impossibility. The repetition of the idea creates a seed in the subconscious mind, which germinates and, like a weed, grows over other parts of your brain that might hold you back from a goal.
A skeptical, not-very-religious person like me has a lot of problems with affirmations, because it feels like I'm tricking myself. If I write, "I, Joe Hadsall, will write a first novel that will make the New York Times bestseller list," it feels like I'm taking the time to actively delude myself and engage a childish fantasy. I go through the same process when I practice magic. As I practiced the classic pass, I thought that there was no way I would ever master it. I'd think things like, "That break is obvious. There's no way I can hide that card flashing. That noise gives everything away." Yet I still practiced it, thinking all those things I saw would get better. But now, my pass is pretty good. Even though I still see all those things I see in practice, I'm able to use them pretty effectively.
It can't really be that easy, can it? It's really hard for me to believe they can work, but I want them to work. So here goes:
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
I, Joe Hadsall, will have three short stories published in major fiction magazines.
Wow, 18 times. I overachieved, without copy-pasting. This is fairly ironic, considering the post below.
Labels: WRITING
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
MAILBOX DESTINED FOR FIERY ABYSS
Just in case y'all didn't know, I'm going to hell. So said a candidate for U.S. Senate in Oklahoma.
I interviewed Dennis Lopez, R-Thackerville, Okla., about his quest for a seat on the U.S. Senate. His run ended Tuesday night, when he came in fourth place among Republicans, with about 2.75 percent of the vote. I interviewed him a few weeks ago for our election coverage. When I asked him on what issues he would be running, he asked if I was a Christian.
"Excuse me?" I said.
"Are you a Christian?" he said. "Because if you're a Christian, you'd know what those issues are."
The interview did not go well. He continually asked about my soul, and whether I was saved. I told him the status of my soul didn't matter, because the voters of Oklahoma weren't interested in that. He said he was. I told him about my mom, who was a pastor with the United Methodist Church, and who has already done considerable work helping me understand God. He suggested that she might be mistaken on some things.
Eventually, those "Christian issues" came out. His intelligent, well-spoken thoughts about energy (we need to diversify, can't rely on just oil, we need to develop alternative energy sources, etc.) were drowned out by platforms of declaring homosexuality illegal, getting evolution out of classrooms and banning abortions. The conversation ended with him warning me that unless I was saved, I was destined for the fiery pits.
"At least the music is good down there," I said.
"That's a lie," he said.
I give Lopez a lot of credit. You'd think that a guy running for one of the highest offices in the land against an established incumbent would be a political machine. Instead, he spent a majority of the interview worried about whether I was going to heaven. In other words, he stayed true to his beliefs, and did what he thought he should, not what was the best for him. He didn't tell me to "go to hell," like he was ticked off. He didn't talk to me like I was an inarticulate heathen, or a college student walking between classes who has stopped to listen to a street preacher. He was genuinely worried about me. He sounded like he was going to pray for me.
Religiously, I'm a cross between an agnostic and a Methodist -- and what good Methodist doesn't have a strong agnostic side? I have felt the emotional rush from being "saved." I'm not so big on organized religions, however. I believe that no person on Earth can come between one and God. But my biggest struggle is with believing -- just believing. I've always been a skeptic at heart. My views on things change regularly, especially when presented with new information. I'm a trust-yet-verify kind of guy. A part of me wishes I could just believe without getting facts and truth. But I can't. That's not the way God made me, I would argue.
It's very easy of me to be jaded and skeptical about the actions of a loud minority of Christians -- especially when it comes to efforts of trying to control thought (i.e. the theory of intelligent design). It would be easy for me to dismiss Lopez as a wacko, religious Bible-thumper. But I can't believe that. Though I found his anti-homosexual, on-the-verge-of-fascism views repugnant, I can't shake how he sounded genuinely concerned about me and what would happen to my soul. Not everyone is willing to do what he did.
FINALLY! PICTURES!
Sweet mercy! Or, as Miley Cyrus would say, sweet niblets! Whatever those are. ANYWAY... we have wedding pictures! TLP, official wife of the Mailbox, and the Mailbox invite you to check them out at our wedding blog: Bwessed Awangements. Yeah, I'm pretty good-lookin'. And she's gorgeous.
Friday, July 25, 2008
NEW COHORTS
Additions to the Cohorts are:
~ After being in the Joplin media for more than two years, I have learned that everyone has a story about this guy, and everyone has a story about one of the guys behind Idiocracy Now!, namely John Hacker. About those stories you hear: They are all accurate, and hilarious. For those who don't know, the face on Hacker's blog belongs to MSSU faculty advisor T.R. Hanrahan (fan of AN Ohio State University), who slaughters, maims and rips Hacker new ones on his blog rather regularly, whenever T.R. feels like writing something. Hacker takes his role as whipping boy gracefully, so it's good to see some retribution. Get 'em, Hacker!
~ Photoshop Disasters has become a guilty pleasure. I found the link from the Grammarphile, chief typist of Red Pen, Inc. and official friend of the Mailbox, to whom I used to send all kinds of typos -- so much so that she thought southwest Missouri was the bad grammar capital of the world. (Sorry, G-phile, I's been lazy lately.) ANYWAY... the PsD site should be required viewing for any teenaged girl who believes that fashion magazines present an iota of reality.
~ Joplin Daily Photo (which has nothing to do with the defunct publication) provides a daily glimpse at our beloved JoMo. At least it does when it is regularly updated. But one of the team members behind it is Nate, official friend of the Mailbox. He recommended two of the outstanding teens serving on the Globe's Youth Editorial Board.
~ One of the things I miss about working in the Springfield Metro is the large amount of blogs kept by people in the media -- especially our TV personalities. Granted, because of Joplin's market size, Joplin is a great place to start a career in TV, which means there's a fair amount of movement. But there are plenty of TV reporters I've met who are smart, savvy and oughtta be writing on the Web. I'm lookin' at you, Iris Hermasillo and Gretchen Bolander. C'mon -- if Brad Douglas is brave enough to maintain this awesome Spider Man site, then you have no excuse.
~ While I'm thinking about local TV stations, props to KODE's Good Morning Four States, which has the cojones to publish its bloopers on its site. Funny stuff.
~ Down in Vibes, I'm adding Hydrovibe, a band that is growing on me quickly. The first I heard of them was some snarky newsroom comments about how the band with a song on the Saw 3 soundtrack was coming to Joplin. ("You mean THAT BAND? I listen to the Saw 3 soundtrack ALL THE TIME!" Those kinda snarky comments.) Because they were a rock band, I volunteered to interview them. And I'm glad I did. Here's the story from Friday's Globe.
Hydrovibe was already signed to a big label, but decided to do things their own way and go the indie route. But the indie scene is, for the most part, a mishmash of dissonant, scrambled, flighty artists who obviously are not destined for the big-time, yet the fans think that big-time equals selling out, so their bad music is placed on a pedestal. Not the case with Hydrovibe: I'm hooked on its five-song EP, "Killer Inside."
It's a band with solid bass and drums, intricate guitar work on top of solid power chords, surprising chord progressions and a surprisingly abrasive yet addictive lead voice. Heather St. Marie sounds like she could scream death metal for hours and not need lemon and horehound tea afterward. She reminds me of a female Lajon Witherspoon, lead singer of Sevendust. Note to Walls of Jericho: St. Marie shows how to sing rough and raw without resorting to Cookie-Monster vocals. ANYWAY... the lyrics she sings are relevant to guys and girls, unlike those other girl-fronted bands. All I'm sayin'. They are in Joplin on Monday, and I can't wait to see the show. Their CD should be out in September, and I can't wait to get it.
Their logo has a fleur de lis, as well. They had me there, truth be told.
~ After being in the Joplin media for more than two years, I have learned that everyone has a story about this guy, and everyone has a story about one of the guys behind Idiocracy Now!, namely John Hacker. About those stories you hear: They are all accurate, and hilarious. For those who don't know, the face on Hacker's blog belongs to MSSU faculty advisor T.R. Hanrahan (fan of AN Ohio State University), who slaughters, maims and rips Hacker new ones on his blog rather regularly, whenever T.R. feels like writing something. Hacker takes his role as whipping boy gracefully, so it's good to see some retribution. Get 'em, Hacker!
~ Photoshop Disasters has become a guilty pleasure. I found the link from the Grammarphile, chief typist of Red Pen, Inc. and official friend of the Mailbox, to whom I used to send all kinds of typos -- so much so that she thought southwest Missouri was the bad grammar capital of the world. (Sorry, G-phile, I's been lazy lately.) ANYWAY... the PsD site should be required viewing for any teenaged girl who believes that fashion magazines present an iota of reality.
~ Joplin Daily Photo (which has nothing to do with the defunct publication) provides a daily glimpse at our beloved JoMo. At least it does when it is regularly updated. But one of the team members behind it is Nate, official friend of the Mailbox. He recommended two of the outstanding teens serving on the Globe's Youth Editorial Board.
~ One of the things I miss about working in the Springfield Metro is the large amount of blogs kept by people in the media -- especially our TV personalities. Granted, because of Joplin's market size, Joplin is a great place to start a career in TV, which means there's a fair amount of movement. But there are plenty of TV reporters I've met who are smart, savvy and oughtta be writing on the Web. I'm lookin' at you, Iris Hermasillo and Gretchen Bolander. C'mon -- if Brad Douglas is brave enough to maintain this awesome Spider Man site, then you have no excuse.
~ While I'm thinking about local TV stations, props to KODE's Good Morning Four States, which has the cojones to publish its bloopers on its site. Funny stuff.
~ Down in Vibes, I'm adding Hydrovibe, a band that is growing on me quickly. The first I heard of them was some snarky newsroom comments about how the band with a song on the Saw 3 soundtrack was coming to Joplin. ("You mean THAT BAND? I listen to the Saw 3 soundtrack ALL THE TIME!" Those kinda snarky comments.) Because they were a rock band, I volunteered to interview them. And I'm glad I did. Here's the story from Friday's Globe.
Hydrovibe was already signed to a big label, but decided to do things their own way and go the indie route. But the indie scene is, for the most part, a mishmash of dissonant, scrambled, flighty artists who obviously are not destined for the big-time, yet the fans think that big-time equals selling out, so their bad music is placed on a pedestal. Not the case with Hydrovibe: I'm hooked on its five-song EP, "Killer Inside."
It's a band with solid bass and drums, intricate guitar work on top of solid power chords, surprising chord progressions and a surprisingly abrasive yet addictive lead voice. Heather St. Marie sounds like she could scream death metal for hours and not need lemon and horehound tea afterward. She reminds me of a female Lajon Witherspoon, lead singer of Sevendust. Note to Walls of Jericho: St. Marie shows how to sing rough and raw without resorting to Cookie-Monster vocals. ANYWAY... the lyrics she sings are relevant to guys and girls, unlike those other girl-fronted bands. All I'm sayin'. They are in Joplin on Monday, and I can't wait to see the show. Their CD should be out in September, and I can't wait to get it.
Their logo has a fleur de lis, as well. They had me there, truth be told.
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