The 1990s

Blog Post No. 466

For some reason, the nostalgia that overwhelms me in Autumn seemed to hit later this year. Sure, the post about Saturday Mornings was nothing but a huge nostalgia trip (just like what this post is going to be). Usually I get the wistful feeling at the end of August or early September. It could be the changing of the leaves, or the chill in the air (or more likely the anime about arcades in the 90s that I’ve been watching) but today, I was completely swept away in the past. (By the way, when did reminiscing become nostalgia?).

Incremental

Blog Post No. 447

There are a lot of little time sinks in my life and most of them are my own doing. Back when I was in university and had a laptop capable of some decent multi-media, I would often download and watch movies on it. There were many Sundays with a test or paper due on Monday where I would tell myself that I could watch just one movie before I got started. Now that I’m a writer and spend most days sitting at a desk, there are even more distractions at my fingertips. Like Youtube. I’ll watch a video to settle in, but some videos are an hour and some are ten minutes, so maybe a I’ll watch couple. It’s a slippery slope, but nothing seems to steal my time more than incremental games. Simple, browser based games where something counts up and everything gets more complicated the longer you play. Something that you can leave running in the background and check in on once in a while.

Imagined Pasts

Blog Post No. 442

It’s odd to think that in the future, today may be part of the good old days. While I was working on last week’s blog post, I started to think about when I first started this blog, some eight years ago. I had tried and failed to start several blogs and I had some friends in similar boats. Eventually something clicked and this took hold. I had hoped it would be part of a little network of blogs with my friends with guest posts and posts linking across multiple sites, like webrings of the early internet, but it didn’t happen. Even though some of my friends have websites and blogs, I’m the only one who does regular posts.

The Importance of Sleep

Blog No. 253

Back when I was in high school, a good night’s sleep was a solid six hours. If I managed five, I was good to go. Sure, I’d struggle to stay focused, but high school Ben didn’t really care about things like that. To be fair, most of it was probably my fault. Drinking pop too late, watching TV until my parents forced me to bed, listening to loud music all night, leaving important things (like homework) until the last minute (or to be honest, unfinished). And, who knows what else I could have been doing to contribute to the issue. The fact was, though, that I struggled to sleep, and it didn’t seem to be detrimental to anything (except for my attitude if you ask my parents). It was just the way things were and I thought that was part of me forever. (Except for on the weekends and in summer when I’d sleep all day).

The Dying Days of Summer, The Birth of Autumn

Blog No. 197

This morning, while I was driving to work, I noticed a smell, and it wasn’t the sewage treatment plant I pass on the last leg of my journey. I was driving passed a beautiful wooded area (I’m lucky to have several small ones near me) and the air turned crisp. It didn’t last very long. By the time I was pulling into the parking lot (desperately searching for one good song before turning off the car and heading for the building) the sun was chasing the freshness away. We’re reaching an interesting time in our seasons, the transition into my favourite season. The mornings are going to become cooler and more invigorating (for me I suppose if you’re one of those people who can’t get enough blazing heat) but the afternoons still hang on to the summer sizzle. I never know how to dress, but at least I feel more alive for the start of the day.

Novel Update 002

Blog No. 131

I know I’ve said it before, but out of high school I went into electrical engineering. I intended to get a good paying job and spend my free time writing. I had only finished one or two short stories at that time, but I was sure that all I needed to do was secure my future and the rest would fall into place. That didn’t happen and after a year and a half I was struggling to pass most of my classes. I spoke with a few classmates who were in the same boat and looking to jump ship and realized I didn’t have to go down with the ship either. I finished the semester (barely passing) and after a terrifying conversation with my parents, I went over to journalism. That venture also ended in disappointment, but through both failures I learned a lot (and made a few friends that, if I were able to do it differently, I would probably stay the course in fear of losing them). I failed on my first novel too, and like those programs, I learned a lot, even if I didn’t get out of it what I hoped.

The Three Ways to Read

Blog No. 121

When I was a child, my parents read to me nightly. I was surrounded by books, got books as presents, and went to the library regularly. Despite their best efforts, I wasn’t much of a reader. I had to read a book in the summers and school usually had a book report or two that I would muddle through, but it wasn’t until high school that I started to read on my own. It was then that I found the type of books that resonated with me. Sci-Fi, mostly Philip K. Dick and his contemporaries, amazed me. I started devouring books at a speed that, while tame next to avid readers, felt lightning quick, jumping from one book to the next. I fell in love with short storied during that time. The ideas were forefront and I would get hit over the head with them rapidly, three to twenty pages at a time. I entered the first stage of reading and was transported. It was around that time that I started playing with writing my own stories too. 

Planning to Plan

Blog No. 111

The number of this post is a palindrome and I love it. I’m writing this on New Years eve. I have a load of laundry going in the other room, collected from my trip to Toronto for my buddy’s wedding. It was amazing by the way. I am still feeling the effects, but the event was spectacular and I helped make it happen. He (my friend) and his new wife are on a beach some where in Jamaica celebrating. I’m writing a blog post, sending them good wishes, and trying to sort out my impending year.

Rereading Ready Player One

Blog No. 100

Fanfare, celebration, cheers, high-five’s all around! Something amazing has happened and it’s at the top of the post. I have somehow managed to write 100 of these posts, ranging from barely passable to really not bad. I’d even say I had at least a couple goods too. I’m proud of myself and I’m not all that ashamed because it’s a really accomplishment for me. Sticking with this for so long, so regularly – no small feat for someone with my lack of sticktoitiveness. But again, like always, I am off topic right from the start (the way I like it).

Christian is Wrong, I am Right or Bla, Bla, Bla, Comics

Blog No. 79

I should start by saying that I didn’t read comic as a kid. As a teen I read some, but mostly at the suggestion of friends or when one was given to me as a gift. As an adult I have been tentatively wading into the comics water (I’m past my ankles now) learning lots and experiencing some. There is so much past and present, that it’s a difficult thing to commit to without going all in – and I just don’t have that kind of time in between my work and writing. I love the concept, I love the end result (in the comics that have blown me away) and I love the community. I know I will always be an outsider, or at best I may get the edge of my swimsuit wet, but writing a comic is among my long term goals as a writer.