NikBv's Xanga

nanowrimo

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:29:16 GMT

edit. preliminary participant list added at bottom

So November is quickly approaching, and we all know what that means. Nanowrimo! That's right, it's national novel writing month. Basically, for all those people who feel like they have a great idea for a novel that they hope to write "someday," this event provides the impetus to actually put those plans into action.

Over the course of the month, participants are encouraged to write 50,000 words, or the sum of a short novel. This is a simple first draft, and one that can be edited significantly after the month is over, but quality isn't really the point here, quantity is. Once that quantity is there, quality can be added later. The point is to start and finish a project of this size, to show the participant their capabilities, and give them the push many of us need to get started.

I first became aware of this when I posted a pulse saying pretty much the exact thing nanowrimo is designed for; I had a novel idea I wanted to eventually write, someday. Chow introduced me to the idea, and I was struck by its simple but valuable structure. Sure, I'm probably going to be extremely busy this November, but Kafka wrote his novels after the end of a full work day as an insurance salesman!

A large part of the success of nanowrimo participants (who get nothing but satisfaction and a newly written novel for their efforts) is support; other participants encourage their fellows by discussing their work, techniques, plans, etc. The nanowrimo website has a lot of ways to get into contact with local and nonlocal participants, but I thought it'd be great to have some kind of xangan nanowrimo group. I know a bunch of you are already planning on participating, but I've not as of yet heard of any real plans to bring xangans together to discuss their efforts, so I thought I'd do that here!

If you want to participate, or are already planning to, let me know! I'll edit this post to list all the xangans who speak up, and then we can all talk to each other over the course of the month. Check out the website here for further details, come up with an idea, and then rec this entry and tell your friends about nanowrimo, so you'll have as much support as possible! As they said in that Mad Men episode (which I've just started watching, by the way), I bet every desk in the place has the first ten pages of a novel in a bottom drawer somewhere. Isn't it time we finished them?

Participant List:

(*note: in most cases, the nanowrimo website username appears second, after the xanga user name; e.g. XANGA - NANOWRIMO)

aibelfaeire - aibelfaeire

mooncatblue - mooncatblue

scribblemuffin - scribblemuffin

chow

dirtbubble - dirtbubble

roadkill_spatula

nikbv - nikbv

On Comments

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:56:50 GMT

So I recently noticed than an increasing number of news sites seem to be removing comments for many if not all of their "posts." Here at Xanga, comments are considered the highest measure of an article's worth (over article views, total page views, re-tweets, etc). However, other blogging services, like wordpress, don't have that same focus, and yet manage to provide some form of feedback or encouragement to the writer.

I understand that Xanga is a community, and that many here enjoy commenting others as a way to keep in touch. However, I think there's also a lot of pressure. Some don't mind leaving behind an asinine "great post" or "hah" comment, but others won't spend much time on a post if they think they can't comment on it, especially because people sometimes get upset about non-commenting lurkers.

I like receiving comments, sure, but I also read plenty of posts I think are just fabulous which I don't comment on. Sometimes, I just don't have anything to say, and sometimes I just don't feel like putting forth the effort.

Do you think that using the comment as the metric for success is an amateurish style? Does an entry with comments turned off (on xanga) or with no space for leaving comments (on other sites) entice or annoy you? Would you be more or less likely to read a post if you couldn't comment or read the comments of others?

I've a problem...

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:15:02 GMT

...maybe you can help me with. My record player (phonograph) no longer auto-returns. There's no visible damage, and it works just fine otherwise, except now, obviously, I have to manually turn it off after the record finishes. Which is really annoying. Any thoughts?

(and yes, some of you might suggest I just get myself an mp3 player, but I already have one. The hard-drive had to be replaced a few months ago, the battery life-span is down to about an hour, and the interface buttons are on the fritz. It's a year and a half old, and the record player is maybe 30 years old.)

Are you a snuggie fan?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:23:36 GMT

Oh, those Canadian advertisers. That doesn't seem very polite, you know!

Time to Come Clean

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:31:36 GMT

I think we’ve known each other long enough now that I can come clean on something – I don’t like being clean. To me, hygiene is a waste of time. Sure, every day I frantically scrub myself down before I leave in the morning. Fine, I brush my teeth after meals, wash my hands before them, and clean everything in-between on a fairly regular basis, but the point here is I don’t like to.

Maybe so, but I don't have to like it.

To me, hygiene is a terrific hassle. For some reason, I never got that habit-making gene (even doing something every day for three weeks does nothing to me – damn you, Oprah!) and every time I shower it’s a conscious struggle. Brushing teeth is the same. Annoying, time consuming, and just plain uncomfortable. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be cold, sopping wet, and late for work. It bothers me. (And things may be different for you tropical Xangans, but it’s cold here pretty much all the time.)

I tell you, if I could swing it I’d bathe maybe once a month, whether I needed it or not. Luckily for the rest of you, however, I’ve got too much of a social conscience for that to happen. I just can’t let the rest of society suffer so that I might be happy. So, every day I continue to wash, annoying as it might be, all the while wishing I lived in the middle ages. Well, except for that plague stuff.

nikbv photos

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:07:54 GMT

So, since I have nothing particular to say right now, here are some pictures instead! I took these at various places and times. See if you can guess where/when! (And yes, I know it seems like everybody's an amateur photography these days, but I never get to post photos!)

The Allure of the Microblog

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:46:20 GMT

Twitter's all over the news. Everybody thinks it's taken off (or hates it) and with pulses and status updates, soundbite phrases are the bee's knees at the moment (how many of you still use that expression, I ask you?)

So I wonder, does the xanga community have an appetite for this microblogging? Sure, we all know some pulses can be popular, but can one actually gain and sustain high levels of traffic through pulsing or microblogging alone?

Free Traffic!

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:56:19 GMT

God I hate gimmicky titles.

Anyway.

I pulsed the other day that I had deleted a number of old subscriptions of mine. I thought that after 2+ years, it seemed most likely they had left the building. In addition, it seems that only 5-10 of my subscriptions have posted anything in the last week at any given time. Even today, only one or two of my subs have posted something! It isn't enough to even keep me entertained during my coffee breaks!

Thus, I'm looking for new and interesting people to sub to. That's where you come in. If you know somebody who is interesting and entertaining to read, tell me about them, and I'll add them to my sub list. They can be big bloggers, but chances are I already know about them, so it'd be nice to have some smaller ones as well. It's a way for you to be nice to two friends at once!

To get the ball rolling I thought I'd list some bloggers I enjoy reading.
(note: I collected a larger list of people I enjoy, and then randomly selected which few I would list here, so don't worry if you don't see your name, you're still my favourite xangan!)

bricker59 - I'm not sure we've ever spoken, but nevertheless I really think he runs a good blog. His stuff is consistently entertaining, and definitely worth a look. His site is a bit larger, so you probably already know about him, though.

Leonidas - In the past few weeks I think he's come back from a bit of a break on xanga. His posts are not only thoughtful, but also bring together a wide variety of sources on a number of current topics (most of which are American, but if that doesn't bother you...)

eminemsrevenge - a bit edgy, he claims to be something of a pariah. You can decide that for yourself, I suppose, but his blog is interesting and consistent, though also very topically American (I'm beginning to see a pattern in that...). Also, his latest book is downloadable for free! (the link's on his blog for a limited time only - hurry!)

celestialteapot - this guy's previous incarnation (the name of which I can't remember right now), it seems to me, was less standoffish, but had fewer graphics. Of course, I could just be imagining things. Anyway, he has more than just cogent points, but also lots of pretty pictures and charts and things!

KyjotheIII - this isn't his first site, but a lot of his old traditions continue still. Who doesn't love the regularity of a weekly diss list! When he does differ from that regularly scheduled material, it's worth reading.

As I said before, there are many others who I didn't have space to name, as well as a number I didn't list because, despite being quite an interesting read, I figured they were either a) big enough that if you liked them you'd have subscribed to them by now or b) are on some kind of break from blogging.

So let's have it - who do you recommend subbing to? They don't have to be clever or witty, intellectual or even always interesting! Just some of that, some of the time! (because, as another one of my subs said the other day, "Of the Xangans who make a try for satire, humor, irony, or something similar, about 99% of them fail miserably 100% of the time.") Anyway, out with it! Don't be shy.

Rock the Vote

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:46:35 GMT

Make sure to take a look at my time-stamping idea here (link) and vote if you agree. As Dan loved to say, rock the vote.

Last Meal

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:11:15 GMT

The other day I was browsing Wikipedia, reading about some of the most famous mass murderers in history, and it really got me thinking. Just what exactly, would I do? How would I act, were I in that position? That's right - I've been trying to decide what my last meal would be.

There are many different foods I love. Flavours, tastes, textures, it's difficult to pick just one meal with all my favourites, but after some deep reflection, I think I've come up with an answer: Greek.

My last meal would be Greek food, I think. I can picture it now.

Source

A lovely salad, to begin. Fresh oil, thick slices of cucumber, the sharp taste of feta cheese, all those other vegetables (and perhaps even some lettuce though it isn't supposed to be the primary ingredient.) Of course, this'd have to be accompanied by some warm buttered bread, fresh from the oven.

Source

Then, we'd bring the main course. Some might opt for something extravagant - a whole lamb, perhaps, or at least their seasoned innards - but not me. I'd choose the souvlaki. Chicken, maybe, or pork, I don't really mind which. Some delicious flavoured rice, maybe some fresh green beans, perhaps even some potatoes, if we haven't got too much starch already (but who cares about health! I'm dying anyway, right!). And we can't forget some tzatziki on the side for dipping.

Source

Finally, when all the dishes of the main meal are cleared away, we can move on to dessert. There are plenty of options, but what could be better than the perennial favourite, baklava? Dripping with honey, and stuffed full of pastry and nuts; so good it's to die for (this is where I hear the boo, hiss, from the audience for that line!)

Source

After this, I think I could die contented.

What would be your last meal?

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