As I started writing for other publications including The Cap Times, Dane101.com and Muck Tech, I focused less on this site.  Still, it’s found new life with some of my more personal stuff, and I still enjoy popping articles I have no other place for here.  Thus, while this website will soon no longer be updated, that does not mean its content will die.

In a move to consolidate some of my webpages and – more importantly – make it easier for people to find my work, this blog will be moving to my main website The-Dean.com.  I am working on a new design for that site based on WordPress, and plan to import all the articles here as part of its relaunch.  Anything new will only appear on that website, not here. Thus, if you enjoy reading this site, you have been warned.

I will post again when the redesign to The-Dean is live.

Masthead issues. Am I the only one that looks at this picture and thinks the sections are from two different publications? Both come from the Sunday WISJ.  Not sure if one is a new design and the other old, but it looks extremely unprofessional. Seriously, I would love to know what is going on with this.

One sports section. Ever since I started reading the WISJ, they’ve had a 2-part sports section. It’s not like the second section actually added anything – it was only 4 pages – thus I questioned its existence.  I was happy to find a single (thick) sports section in this weeks paper.  Finally, thank you WISJ.

Cartoons for old people. The comic section of a newspaper is a time machine that transports readers back to the 1980’s.  I remember Rex Morgan M.D., Hagar the Horrible, and Garfield in the paper when I was a kid.  Blondie launched in 1930 – before either of my parents were born.  The Family Circus hasn’t been funny since 1992 (unless you read The Nietzsche Family Circus, which is wonderful).

Anything bug you about your local newspaper? Sound off in the comments.

Then I started reading Christopher Buckley’s ‘Boomsday.’ It’s amazing how a bad book can stop you cold from a great reading streak.

I had read Buckley’s ‘Supreme Courtship’ the month before and enjoyed it.  Thus I was excited to check out this book.  Still, something about it made it impossible for me to read more than a chapter in a sitting.  Maybe it was tired characters.  Maybe a bit of an unrealistic plot.  Every part of me wanted to continue through it, but it took close to two months to complete.

So where do I sit now in September on my two books a month goal? Thanks to the summer surge I am only a book behind.  My current reading list is mostly technical books, which I vowed not to add to this list.  Thus the fall run should be interesting.

1. Here is New York – E.B. White
2. Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion – Gary Vaynerchuk
3. When You Are Engulfed in Flames – David Sedaris
4. Then We Came To an End – Joshua Ferris
5. Twinkie, Deconstructed – Steve Ettlinger
6. Where Have You Gone ’82 Brewers – Tom Haudricourt
7. Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren’t Scary… – Edited by Ted Thompson
8. America, The Book – John Stewart
9. God bless you, Mr. Rosewater – Kurt Vonnegut
10. God bless you, Dr. Kevorkian – Kurt Vonnegut
11. Rework – David Heinemeier
12. God is Dead – Ron Currie, Jr.
13. Supreme Courtship – Christopher Buckley
14. How Soccer Explains the World – Franklin Foer
15. You Suck, A Love Story – Christopher Moore
16. Boomsday – Christopher Buckley
17. xxx – yyy (name withheld for my protection)

When I wasn’t playing Munchkin in the Marriot bar or having a couple drinks with presenters, I managed to catch some of the sessions. Here are my notes on 3.5.

The creating successful original characters for comics session was led by a 17-year old named Jei. Our presenter informed us she started drawing cartoons and creating characters at the ripe old age of 12. Still, at half my age she has quadruple my drawing talent. Jei presented rules about creating original characters, including everything you add to a character tells their story, do your background research, and put your character in different circumstances and see how they would react. However, the most important words of wisdom from Jei – “present you character, not yourself as a character.” While it’s okay to use your life experiences in creating a character and their background, do not make them you.

I attended a session called “Remember geeking out in the 90’s,” which billed itself in the note as a general discussion of what was “cool” a decade ago. This informal session lived up to the billing, with attendees reminiscing about learning how to use the Internet, the birth of MMO’s, Sliders, Doom, The Tick, Anime on VHS, Atari Jaguar, Quantum Leap, the Nintendo Power Glove, Zina: Warrior Princess, Gargoyles, Final Fantasy 6 & 7, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (with Vanilla Ice singing the theme song). “Some of the most popular stuff in the 2000’s we got a taste of in the 90’s,” explained one participant, pointing to shows like South Park, Futurama and Family Guy.

A panel on games publishing and one on writing conveyed the same overarching themes but for different audiences. Don’t quit your day job right away. Find the right publisher for what you create. Get opinions on your product from people other than friends and family. Determine the true costs – including your time for everything you create.

The writing panel added the difference between work for hire (writing in world someone else created – aka Disney, Marvel, etc.) and spec work (original worlds and ideas). Writer Matt Forbeck – who has penned over a dozen novels – has his first spec novel coming out this winter. Most panelists agreed creating your own idea is better and more rewarding, but the instant money that comes with work for hire can be hard to turn down. Still, the best piece of advice came from writer Aaron Pavao: “Writing is a muscle that should be worked every day.”

The panels at Geek.Kon 2010 were strong, and there is a lot of room to grow. What did you enjoy or would you like to see in 2011?

The offer was extended again this year, and initially I said no.  I have taken on a larger photo project in 2010 – a photo a day for the year.  A day where I just shoot everything I do just seemed like overkill.  Still, I found myself snapping a ton of pictures one day, and decided to give it a go.

So here is my entry for 2010, much different from last year.  To see how others spent their day, head to this Peanut Blossom post.

Then again, if I were where I wanted to be, I would have already read 24 books this year.

One internal debate is if I should count programming books and such towards my goal.  I’m currently making my way through a book on Ruby, and leaning towards not counting it, despite the fact it takes up more of my time.  Still, the goal was to read books that actually interested me, so I will likely avoid adding these to the list.

Since I’m moving soon, I decided it was time to update this list while I still have the books handy.  I still feel like I am forgetting one, but I can always add it later.

Since my last update, my reading list has taken a turn for the worse.  I’ve started multiple books that I have only managed a couple chapters before moving on to something new.  Spook Country by William Gibson (mentioned in a previous post) was one such book.  After starting a few of these books, I realized I had to finish something.  That is the only reason I made it through Twinkie, Deconstructed and the “Award-winning” Then We Came To an End.  The first interesting, but had a hard time holding my attention, while the second was pointless.  After those my selection improved with America, The Book and the short stories combined in Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs… With the start of the baseball season, Where Have You Gone ’82 Brewers was also required reading.

So here is the current list for those following along at home, and for my own reference.

1. Here is New York – E.B. White
2. Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion – Gary Vaynerchuk
3. When You Are Engulfed in Flames – David Sedaris
4. Then We Came To an End – Joshua Ferris
5. Twinkie, Deconstructed – Steve Ettlinger
6. Where Have You Gone ’82 Brewers – Tom Haudricourt
7. Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren’t Scary… – Edited by Ted Thompson
8. America, The Book – John Stewart
9. (Currently Reading) Women – Charles Bukowski

Someone needs to step up and fill the 5-hole. I’ve always been a Jim Edmonds fan (except when he was beating the Brewers), but his best years are behind him.  Someone needs to step up early in the season to give Prince Fielder some protection in the lineup.  If no one does by the All-Star Break, fielder will never see a pitch to hit when the game is close. Corey Hart and Casey McGehee, I’m looking at you.

Both the Brewers and Twins will benefit from the Carlos Gomez for J.J. Hardy trade. Gomez had an incredible first game with the Brewers, going 4-5, with a solo home run and 2 runs.  Minnesota doesn’t play until later tonight, but I think the change of scenery will benefit former Brewer Hardy as well.

Defense – it’s good, the Brewers should try it. The Brewers had 2 errors and looked and looked slightly pitiful at times while on the field.  That might be acceptable if rookies were starting in key positions, but alas this is a veteran group.  Most were by two players – Greg Zaun and Casey McGehee.  Step it up guys.

At least the middle is secure (in front of the plate). There was much made about changes to the center of the defense in the offseason.  Would Rickie Weeks be healthy?  Could Alcides Escobar handle the majors?  What about Gomez in center field?  Defensively the Brewers looked spectacular up the middle.  Escobar and Weeks might be the best 2B and SS combo since Robin Yount and Jim Gantner.  Gomez has a rocket arm and great speed in center.

Bring back Damian Miller! Behind the plate in game 1 was another story.  New catcher Greg Zaun is another veteran past his prime.  His roll will be limited due to rookie catcher George Kottaras.  Still, Zaun had multiple errors behind the plate today.  The Brewers were looking for someone cheap who could give them about 90 games – why not Miller?  He’s a fan favorite, from Wisconsin, and will only play for the Brewers.  Also he would have gotten at least one hit (a guy can dream).

Gallardo can be rattled. In the second inning, Zaun let a pitch get away from him, allowing a run to score from second.  Gallardo was visually a bit rattled, and threw the next pitch over the plate.  Ian Stewart belted it out of the park to give Colorado a 2-0 lead.  He’s no Carlos Zambrano, but I hope he can get it in check.

Uecker makes baseball awesome. During the game, Brewers announcer Bob Uecker told the story of how Colorado second baseman Clint Barmes fell down the stairs while carrying a deer into his apartment.

“They never did tell us if the deer was alive,” quipped Uecker.

There are still a lot of question on the season to answer – including the big one, pitching – but hey, that’s what those other 161 games are for.

What are your thoughts/concerns about the Brewers in 2010?

With April being an insane month (most weekends booked and the possibility of a move), I initially decided it might be better to wait for next year to attempt this challenge.  However, when it was announced that I could get a copy of the uber-awesome writing program Scrivener for half off if I completed, my unemployed / frugal side decided to give it a try.

Only one problem…I have never written a script before and have no idea what I’m doing.

So here I am on April 1 thinking this is some kind of joke (it’s not), but giving it a go nonetheless. I know I’ll find tons of inspiration while at the Wisconsin Film Festival later this month.  After writing a 200-page novel, this seems like it should be easy.

I came up with a great idea for my script in the shower the other day (all my best ideas come to me while in the bathroom).  A writer from the east coast decides to spend a summer in Madison, WI to try and finish his latest novel.  Hilarity ensues.  I have a lot more ideas than that, but will save them for the actual screenplay.

If I complete the Frenzy, I would love to eventually try and shoot the film this summer, although that is a whole other area I do not know much about.  Who knows, maybe I will give that a try as well.

And now, for no real reason, techno chicken.

It’s now time for the fun stuff – filling out your brackets.

Like other years, I have created mine on ESPN.com.  Consider this your official invite to join me and likely beat me in their tournament challenge.  Once you create a bracket, add it to group “Badger Badger Badger” – the password for the group is “GoDuke”

So come, create a bracket or two and laugh mercilessly at me when you beat me. I know I will do the same if I beat you.

It’s easy if you want to join the fun.  If you have a way to stream Netflix, simply add these movies to your cue.  At the selected time, start them up and watch them with the rest of us. I’ll be on Twitter (@The_Dean) adding commentary and seeing what you have to say (use #DUFF to join the conversation). Join for some or all of the films.

Here is the list of films and their start times:
**UPDATE** Pushing the Friday films back a half hour so more people can attend.
Friday:
5:00 5:30pm -  Like Killing Flies
6:30 7:00pm -  Cashback
8:15 8:45ish –  **Choose your own adventure here, I have plans**
10:30 11pm – Buy a Ticket, Take the Ride

Saturday:
Noon – In the Realms of the Unreal
2:00pm – Alice
6:30pm – Primer
8:15pm – Duck Season
10:00pm – Beer Wars
11:40pm – Lo

Update: Times changed to accommodate the US Hockey gold medal game.
Sunday:
Noon - Into the Great Silence King of Corn
3:30pm – King Corn
6:00pm – The Puffy Chair
7:45pm – Big Fan