Theoretical readers of the Unwind blog,
I apologize for the brevity and sparseness of my posts as of late. I’m afraid this will be another, but hopefully my last of the sort. I’m sure you all understand my plight at this point in the semester.
In the meantime, as I prepare to battle this stack of papers next to me, consider reading something really good. May I suggest Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, or Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago?
I’ll write again soon, I assure you!
See what I did there? Life Dropping? Instead of Link Drop – nevermind. Let’s just move on.
You might remember, folks, that your favorite internet dork got robbed. Sad, yes, but I’ve taken a few valuable life lessons from the whole ordeal, not the least of which is this: I’ve got a lot of stuff. Too much stuff, by my standards, and absolutely no desire to cram it all into my car whenever I bid adieu to Norman.
This leaves me in a dilemma, however. In a perfect world, I’d sell the lot of it, banking massive amounts of money and skipping off into the sunset. In the real world, however, I’m going to have to get creative. The amount of money I’d pull in for most of it wouldn’t really justify the time wasted trying to sell in the first place, and I’d be a complete fool just to throw it away whenever someone out there could probably make use of it.
Enter Freecycle, ladies and gentlemen. You can probably guess what it is.
If you know me at all, you know I’m not a technology snob.
My television is about 18 years old (seriously), I don’t have a Wii, my only iPod is a shuffle (and it was a gift), and I still can’t really comprehend how TiVo works. So it’s understandably not my style to judge people based upon their collection of electronic gizmos.
However.
Hunter has GOT to get a new phone.
When I first met Hunter, I thought it was really becoming that he didn’t fall prey to the technology buzz. He had the same phone he’d had for the past three years, and though it didn’t have a touch-screen or 3Gs or 4 bajillion pointless applications, it made calls and got the job done. And most importantly, it didn’t require him to spend money that we poor college folks simply don’t have.
But eight months later, I’ve changed my tune.
Now don’t misunderstand me; I still find Hunter’s frugality extremely attractive. But there is something inexplicably wrong with his phone now, and it’s causing some very weird conversations to occur between us.
It all started when he sent this text about me finding a home in Tulsa:
I’m going off course this week. Isn’t the first time, but, hey, sometimes you have to be random.
I wanted to talk about Doctor Who, and how he’s back. Thank you! But he’s yet to return to America. Sad day. So I’ll address that topic another day.
I’m going to talk about JJ’s Pizza Stop.
What’s that? I promised more iPad talk?
Nonsense!
We’ll be covering the concept of ‘daily pages’ today, wherein a lucky sort like you hammers out 750 words every single day for the next forever. You don’t have to go that long, realistically, but you’d be all the better writer for it, as the running theory right now suggests – wait for it – the best way to improve your writing is to write.
Revolutionary, I’m sure. But skip through the jump here and see how signing up for a (free!) account with 750words.com benefits people of every stripe, especially those who don’t claim to do this kind of thing for a living.
Greetings, Unwind readers (assuming you exist).
Now that we’re in the last throes of the semester, when every second is critical yet all you want to do is sit around and merely exist, I’m finding myself growing increasingly listless. I’m a much better student amid the misery of winter, when there’s not much else to do but stay indoors and be studious. Now, all I want to do is sit outside and avoid class at all costs, much to the chagrin of my brain. As much as I hate to admit it, T.S. Eliot is probably correct regarding the cruelty of April.
So what does this have to do with you, fair Unwind reader? Probably nothing. But it does make me think of some things to recommend (nay, demand!) now that springtime is upon us.
Ahh, that most formidable of foes, that most predictable of predicaments.
It seems every spring my life becomes plagued by stress; the responsibilities and requirements and tests and to-do-lists become so massive, so undeniably unconquerable, that my very being is taken over by the desire to crawl into a tiny hole and die.
You can relate to my situation, no?
Apple.
So they released this thing the other day, right? The iPad. How dashing. And this new-fangled device, as expected, comes heralded as a game-changer, an expensive company’s expensive answer to the flailing failures of the netbook. I thought the netbook was doin’ just fine, personally, but you know how it goes. When Apple does something, it does it big, and then via a combination of witchcraft and Steve Jobs’ natural charisma, everyone rushes out to buy one.
But not me. Oh, I resisted, even when reviews gushed love and admiration all over the board. I stayed strong even when I laid my unworthy fingers on the sleek lines of the device itself, an instant victim to slick gloss and all promise contained therein. Say what you will, but Apple puts out a fine product, rough on the wallet but oh-so easy on the gray stuff between your ears. They just work, and do it well, and I absolutely do not need one.
That’s a personal problem, admittedly. I lust after technology like no one else I know. But what about you, readers? Do you have one? Does it work splendidly? Do you sing to it at night before succumbing to sleep, lamenting each unconscious hour for keeping you from your new love?
Let me know. Next week I’ll have a bit more to say on the iPad’s future in academic settings, as colleges all across the map are going nuts for this thing.
For this week’s post, I have no criticisms. No words of wisdom, no wonderings, no thoughtfully pondered prose. This week I just have a question for you:
What the deuce does this sign mean??
I’ve seen these things all over Norman, taped to lamp posts and telephone poles for at least a month now. And I just need to know what purpose they could possibly serve.
Is this person just bragging? “Hey losers, I found a black dog!” Or is he sitting at home with said black dog, curious as to why no one has called to retrieve their furry friend? But then, nobody’s that stupid…are they?
Did somebody seriously put up signs in hopes of reconnecting a heartbroken owner with his missing Fido, only to forget to put any, ANY contact information on said signs?
Is there a person that dumb in this world??
I honestly don’t have a clue about this one, folks. Please, speculate away.
Much love.
Click to see a Trailer
Right, as Ryan did a movie, I felt I should do a book.
Not just any book either. But the book that tells the true story of Abraham Lincoln and his hatred toward and determination to kill all vampires (in his spare time). I speak, of course, of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (the same guy who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.)
Grahame-Smith was lucky enough to find Lincoln’s journal entries, charting his exploits as a Hunter. They start when Lincoln is a young chap, no more than 9 or 10, when his mother dies. After he discovers the death of his mother was the result of vampires, Lincoln vows vengeance.
“Henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose…”
