That Old Familiarity Feeling
Sunday 30 May 2010 at 01:17 am
About a month back, I saw Laurie Lindeen outside of First Avenue. Naturally, I wanted to tell her what a great show she'd just put on so I said, "Hey, Laurie." Naturally, she turned around and looked for someone she knew, saw no one, and turned to go. Naturally, I waved and said, "That was me." It gets interesting from there because she went into this sort of mode with which I've become familiar. It's the mode you go into when someone's recognized you and they may or may not care that you've recognized them back. So, to be safe, you treat them like they're an old friend even though you're not sure who they are. Perhaps that's what it is to extend the benefit of the doubt? I don't know, but I know it when I see it. I think it's a sort of built-in reaction to greetings from unfamiliar people. Perhaps it's your subconscious overcompensating for your conscious mind's being momentarily frozen like a deer in headlights. You fall immediately into warm-and-approachable mode while your mind races to figure out if that mode is actually such a good idea and, because you're already there, it'd better be.
Couple of years ago that would have bothered me, and I'd probably have called her all kinds of fake for feigning recognition just to make me feel better, but I've been in that spot once or twice myself (also, Warren Ellis did it to me so convincingly once that I walked away from the exchange actually believing that we'd been personally acquainted for years and I just didn't remember it, which was kind of cool) and I've learned that it is probably the most professional way you can handle that. It's certainly better than a blank, expectant stare or any number of other reactions.
It's become a bit of a habit. Sometimes it's almost a reflex. It was earlier today when I ran into MPR's Jeff Horwich in casual clothes. I've only ever seen him in a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt before, so when this dude in shorts and shades was leaning against a picnic table and saying, "Hey, Rob," I sort of went into the mode before his face had even sunk in. I realized it was him almost immediately. I emphasis the word almost, because in that instant where my brain associated his face and name with each other in a previously unimagined context, he followed up his greeting with, "I'm Jeff Horwich." Which, of course, I knew. But I needed another fraction of a second or so to put it into words. It was a bit embarrassing, actually, but we had a good talk and I got to meet his dog Buzz.
The moral of the story, you ask? If you run into me on the street and commence with the greetings, give me about a half-second of awkward silence while I look at you so that I don't seem like I've forgotten you. If, after that half-second, I can't say your name or at least something interesting about where we met or the last time we talked, then by all means give me a hint. But if we can avoid giving hints, I'd much rather give you the satisfaction of knowing that I do, in fact, know you.
And as for the Laurie Lindeen story, she finally did ask if we'd met before because she couldn't shake the feeling that we had. So I told her, "We're Facebook friends." Naturally.
Sunday 30 May 2010 at 01:17 am
About a month back, I saw Laurie Lindeen outside of First Avenue. Naturally, I wanted to tell her what a great show she'd just put on so I said, "Hey, Laurie." Naturally, she turned around and looked for someone she knew, saw no one, and turned to go. Naturally, I waved and said, "That was me." It gets interesting from there because she went into this sort of mode with which I've become familiar. It's the mode you go into when someone's recognized you and they may or may not care that you've recognized them back. So, to be safe, you treat them like they're an old friend even though you're not sure who they are. Perhaps that's what it is to extend the benefit of the doubt? I don't know, but I know it when I see it. I think it's a sort of built-in reaction to greetings from unfamiliar people. Perhaps it's your subconscious overcompensating for your conscious mind's being momentarily frozen like a deer in headlights. You fall immediately into warm-and-approachable mode while your mind races to figure out if that mode is actually such a good idea and, because you're already there, it'd better be.
Couple of years ago that would have bothered me, and I'd probably have called her all kinds of fake for feigning recognition just to make me feel better, but I've been in that spot once or twice myself (also, Warren Ellis did it to me so convincingly once that I walked away from the exchange actually believing that we'd been personally acquainted for years and I just didn't remember it, which was kind of cool) and I've learned that it is probably the most professional way you can handle that. It's certainly better than a blank, expectant stare or any number of other reactions.
It's become a bit of a habit. Sometimes it's almost a reflex. It was earlier today when I ran into MPR's Jeff Horwich in casual clothes. I've only ever seen him in a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt before, so when this dude in shorts and shades was leaning against a picnic table and saying, "Hey, Rob," I sort of went into the mode before his face had even sunk in. I realized it was him almost immediately. I emphasis the word almost, because in that instant where my brain associated his face and name with each other in a previously unimagined context, he followed up his greeting with, "I'm Jeff Horwich." Which, of course, I knew. But I needed another fraction of a second or so to put it into words. It was a bit embarrassing, actually, but we had a good talk and I got to meet his dog Buzz.
The moral of the story, you ask? If you run into me on the street and commence with the greetings, give me about a half-second of awkward silence while I look at you so that I don't seem like I've forgotten you. If, after that half-second, I can't say your name or at least something interesting about where we met or the last time we talked, then by all means give me a hint. But if we can avoid giving hints, I'd much rather give you the satisfaction of knowing that I do, in fact, know you.
And as for the Laurie Lindeen story, she finally did ask if we'd met before because she couldn't shake the feeling that we had. So I told her, "We're Facebook friends." Naturally.
Just One Day Out of Life, It Would Be... It Would Be So Nice.
Saturday 29 May 2010 at 3:23 pm
Going over Fringe Festival stuff with Nancy, then walking the dog, then to a barbecue. Tomorrow will have me back to writing.
Saturday 29 May 2010 at 3:23 pm
Going over Fringe Festival stuff with Nancy, then walking the dog, then to a barbecue. Tomorrow will have me back to writing.
The 7-10 Split
Thursday 27 May 2010 at 12:50 am
Those of you who follow me on facebook will have already seen this announcement, but then those of you who don't won't have. In an effort to free up my time to tackle to important tasks, I've had to drop a couple of projects. First to go was the algebra tutoring which, while rewarding, was a volunteer gig that took too much time and energy away from the freelance work that I do so as to eat and pay for shelter. The next planned cancellation was going to be my 2010 Minnesota Fringe Festival show, which I need not just to write but to market and promote as well. That's a huge time consumer, so it made sense to drop it. Problem is I had a great audience response as a recent guest of the Rockstar Storytellers and, I'm told, I'm actually quite good on stage, so I've now been informed that I should not so much drop this project as enlist the help of willing friends and loved ones on the promotional side of things, which will free me up on the writing side. Also, I'll probably make some money on the show so it's a bad idea to give that up.
That left my freelance workload, my Prom Queen of the Damned serial and my Nightmare Fuel podcast as final contenders for abandonment. I can't stop doing the paying work, so the freelance stays. I am emotionally invested in the other projects, but quitting one of them would disappoint more than quitting the other. Plus, if I stopped doing Prom Queen, I'd have to refund a bunch of people's money. And I may have already spent it...
So Nightmare Fuel is on the shelf, at least until this Fall, while I concentrate on the two bigger projects. I've got a bunch of recordings of a bunch of talented storytellers on my hard drive, though, and that's enough to throw one last installment together. I'll be editing that together and uploading it as soon as I can get an afternoon off to do so, but it will sadly be less of a priority than my remaining projects.
To all of the wonderful writers who have contributed to Nightmare Fuel, and to all of the wonderful listeners who downloaded it, I am grateful. And I look forward to reviving it when time becomes more abundant. Thank you, everyone.
Thursday 27 May 2010 at 12:50 am
Those of you who follow me on facebook will have already seen this announcement, but then those of you who don't won't have. In an effort to free up my time to tackle to important tasks, I've had to drop a couple of projects. First to go was the algebra tutoring which, while rewarding, was a volunteer gig that took too much time and energy away from the freelance work that I do so as to eat and pay for shelter. The next planned cancellation was going to be my 2010 Minnesota Fringe Festival show, which I need not just to write but to market and promote as well. That's a huge time consumer, so it made sense to drop it. Problem is I had a great audience response as a recent guest of the Rockstar Storytellers and, I'm told, I'm actually quite good on stage, so I've now been informed that I should not so much drop this project as enlist the help of willing friends and loved ones on the promotional side of things, which will free me up on the writing side. Also, I'll probably make some money on the show so it's a bad idea to give that up.
That left my freelance workload, my Prom Queen of the Damned serial and my Nightmare Fuel podcast as final contenders for abandonment. I can't stop doing the paying work, so the freelance stays. I am emotionally invested in the other projects, but quitting one of them would disappoint more than quitting the other. Plus, if I stopped doing Prom Queen, I'd have to refund a bunch of people's money. And I may have already spent it...
So Nightmare Fuel is on the shelf, at least until this Fall, while I concentrate on the two bigger projects. I've got a bunch of recordings of a bunch of talented storytellers on my hard drive, though, and that's enough to throw one last installment together. I'll be editing that together and uploading it as soon as I can get an afternoon off to do so, but it will sadly be less of a priority than my remaining projects.
To all of the wonderful writers who have contributed to Nightmare Fuel, and to all of the wonderful listeners who downloaded it, I am grateful. And I look forward to reviving it when time becomes more abundant. Thank you, everyone.
Social Barrier = Broken
Monday 24 May 2010 at 6:44 pm
I've got a couple of friends who are models. They're very nice folks. They're also very tall, very young, very fit and very beautiful. Not the sort of people you expect to see talking to a doughy little science fiction writer at all, but every so often I run into one of them when I'm out at some other event and I always enjoy the reactions of the onlookers around us when they see us talking. In particular, after a male model friend of mine stopped by to chat and then went on his way, a charming young acquaintance of mine looked at me with wide eyes and asked, "How do you know someone like that?"
I didn't have an answer, as I hadn't really thought of him as all that stunning until someone else was nice enough to point his stunningness... or stunningocity out to me. In answer, though, I met him while writing up a fashion event and we bonded a bit over some sci-fi thing or another. Then he found me a pretty cool coat at Ragstock, which endeared him to me greatly. That's how it works, apparently.
So if you're looking to meet models you just have to start writing about fashion and then wait. Now you know. Your battle's half won.
Monday 24 May 2010 at 6:44 pm
I've got a couple of friends who are models. They're very nice folks. They're also very tall, very young, very fit and very beautiful. Not the sort of people you expect to see talking to a doughy little science fiction writer at all, but every so often I run into one of them when I'm out at some other event and I always enjoy the reactions of the onlookers around us when they see us talking. In particular, after a male model friend of mine stopped by to chat and then went on his way, a charming young acquaintance of mine looked at me with wide eyes and asked, "How do you know someone like that?"
I didn't have an answer, as I hadn't really thought of him as all that stunning until someone else was nice enough to point his stunningness... or stunningocity out to me. In answer, though, I met him while writing up a fashion event and we bonded a bit over some sci-fi thing or another. Then he found me a pretty cool coat at Ragstock, which endeared him to me greatly. That's how it works, apparently.
So if you're looking to meet models you just have to start writing about fashion and then wait. Now you know. Your battle's half won.
I'm Sure They Were Laughing With Me
Monday 24 May 2010 at 1:36 pm
Last night I went on stage as a guest of the Rockstar Storytellers and it was quite a treat. Of note, Joseph Scrimshaw did an autobiographical tale of his childhood love affair with Doctor Who that had both Christian Erickson and myself thinking he could have written our livejournals for us. After that Courtney McLean came out and did a soft, dark and moody piece that was a flooring departure from her usual level of raunch and hilarity, followed by phillip low who likewise toned down his trademark volume and bravado to draw the audience into his world. Allison Broeren had us alternating between laughs and shudders and Allegra Lingo hit us with what might have been the most clever and complex story I've heard from her yet. Dave Mondy had some pretty awesome segues and introductions for us, as well as a couple of short pieces of his own to pass the time.
I too was received quite well, which is why I can say now that I've been considering cutting a project out of my itinerary due to time concerns, and that the Fringe Festival was on the short list to be cut. However, after last night, Nancy has informed me that I'm not allowed to cancel that show. It's nice to know she's been won over, as she had previously had some serious questions as to whether or not I could pull it off. (And, to be honest, I've still got some serious questions about whether or not I can pull it off, but if last night's crowd was any indication of the sort of response I can expect, I think it's going to be a pretty big deal.)
I'll let you know when the taped show is going to be broadcast.
Monday 24 May 2010 at 1:36 pm
Last night I went on stage as a guest of the Rockstar Storytellers and it was quite a treat. Of note, Joseph Scrimshaw did an autobiographical tale of his childhood love affair with Doctor Who that had both Christian Erickson and myself thinking he could have written our livejournals for us. After that Courtney McLean came out and did a soft, dark and moody piece that was a flooring departure from her usual level of raunch and hilarity, followed by phillip low who likewise toned down his trademark volume and bravado to draw the audience into his world. Allison Broeren had us alternating between laughs and shudders and Allegra Lingo hit us with what might have been the most clever and complex story I've heard from her yet. Dave Mondy had some pretty awesome segues and introductions for us, as well as a couple of short pieces of his own to pass the time.
I too was received quite well, which is why I can say now that I've been considering cutting a project out of my itinerary due to time concerns, and that the Fringe Festival was on the short list to be cut. However, after last night, Nancy has informed me that I'm not allowed to cancel that show. It's nice to know she's been won over, as she had previously had some serious questions as to whether or not I could pull it off. (And, to be honest, I've still got some serious questions about whether or not I can pull it off, but if last night's crowd was any indication of the sort of response I can expect, I think it's going to be a pretty big deal.)
I'll let you know when the taped show is going to be broadcast.
The A-Game
Sunday 23 May 2010 at 12:04 pm
The Rockstar Storytellers have invited me back for another night of storytelling and, this time, I'm in the most familiar territory. Tonight's show is made up of science fiction and fantasy stories. Being a sci-fi writer, I'd say this sort of thing is right up my alley. I'd also say that I'll have two pieces in the show tonight. One will be a traditional weird skiffy tale of the type I often tell, and the second will be a poem.
Because I wanted to be a slam poet for years before I ever did a reading or a storytelling show, but it never worked out. This was mostly due to the facts that I was a lousy poet and I didn't have the kind of energy and pacing they look for in slam poets. I did get to write a nice poem for l'etoile earlier this year, though, so I've overcome that first obstacle. Tonight we'll see how well I hurdle the second.
Now then, in response to the occasional comments I get about my alleged membership in the Rockstar Storytellers collective: I'm not actually a member of the 12 person group, but I do show up on their stage as a guest once or twice a year. It has been suggested on an occasion or two that I should just join them, and I'd be inclined to agree. Sadly, that isn't how it works. They gotta come to you, not the other way round. I did read an interview about what they look for once and, in all honesty, I'm pretty sure I fall within their criteria. Also, they seem to like me well enough, so who knows? Maybe one day I'll get that call. Until then, I'll join them each and every time they ask because they're great fun and it's an honor to share the stage with such a large and diverse collection of talent.
Also on tonight, Joseph Scrimshaw, Allegra Lingo, Allison Broeren, phillip low and Courtney McLean. We're going to be fixed points in time.
Sunday 23 May 2010 at 12:04 pm
The Rockstar Storytellers have invited me back for another night of storytelling and, this time, I'm in the most familiar territory. Tonight's show is made up of science fiction and fantasy stories. Being a sci-fi writer, I'd say this sort of thing is right up my alley. I'd also say that I'll have two pieces in the show tonight. One will be a traditional weird skiffy tale of the type I often tell, and the second will be a poem.
Because I wanted to be a slam poet for years before I ever did a reading or a storytelling show, but it never worked out. This was mostly due to the facts that I was a lousy poet and I didn't have the kind of energy and pacing they look for in slam poets. I did get to write a nice poem for l'etoile earlier this year, though, so I've overcome that first obstacle. Tonight we'll see how well I hurdle the second.
Now then, in response to the occasional comments I get about my alleged membership in the Rockstar Storytellers collective: I'm not actually a member of the 12 person group, but I do show up on their stage as a guest once or twice a year. It has been suggested on an occasion or two that I should just join them, and I'd be inclined to agree. Sadly, that isn't how it works. They gotta come to you, not the other way round. I did read an interview about what they look for once and, in all honesty, I'm pretty sure I fall within their criteria. Also, they seem to like me well enough, so who knows? Maybe one day I'll get that call. Until then, I'll join them each and every time they ask because they're great fun and it's an honor to share the stage with such a large and diverse collection of talent.
Also on tonight, Joseph Scrimshaw, Allegra Lingo, Allison Broeren, phillip low and Courtney McLean. We're going to be fixed points in time.
Just Another Sardonic Sunday
Sunday 09 May 2010 at 4:16 pm
Nancy and I went to the Cinco De Mayo festival yesterday. You know what's ironic? The T-Mobile booth offering free long distance calling "to your family back home" while a group of anti-immigration wackos in Emmer shirts mill around right next to them. Honestly, when the Emmer people showed up at the May Day Parade, I assumed they were just clueless 'baggers chasing any and every scent of grass-rootsivism they caught, no matter how faint, with the assumption that there's a pot of sympathetic nutcases at the end of the proverbial rainbow... So I thought they were ignorant for showing up at May Day, but their presence at Cinco was just the equivalent of a child in a soiled diaper walking into the center of the bomb squad and screaming for attention, when what was actually needed was a calm adult who also happens to be a bomb technician.
Also, the Summer of Dapper is on. If any of you run into me in the public and you've got a camera on you, would you help me get in on this?
Sunday 09 May 2010 at 4:16 pm
Nancy and I went to the Cinco De Mayo festival yesterday. You know what's ironic? The T-Mobile booth offering free long distance calling "to your family back home" while a group of anti-immigration wackos in Emmer shirts mill around right next to them. Honestly, when the Emmer people showed up at the May Day Parade, I assumed they were just clueless 'baggers chasing any and every scent of grass-rootsivism they caught, no matter how faint, with the assumption that there's a pot of sympathetic nutcases at the end of the proverbial rainbow... So I thought they were ignorant for showing up at May Day, but their presence at Cinco was just the equivalent of a child in a soiled diaper walking into the center of the bomb squad and screaming for attention, when what was actually needed was a calm adult who also happens to be a bomb technician.
Also, the Summer of Dapper is on. If any of you run into me in the public and you've got a camera on you, would you help me get in on this?
I channeled Piers Anthony this morning.
Friday 07 May 2010 at 01:06 am
At the dog park, while watching Talon run around and act like a 110 pound puppy, another owner turned to me and expressed her concerns over how thin he is. Without missing a beat, I told her, "He gets to eat as much as he wants, but he just stays that way. He must have skinny genes."
I fear that owner may never talk to me again.
Friday 07 May 2010 at 01:06 am
At the dog park, while watching Talon run around and act like a 110 pound puppy, another owner turned to me and expressed her concerns over how thin he is. Without missing a beat, I told her, "He gets to eat as much as he wants, but he just stays that way. He must have skinny genes."
I fear that owner may never talk to me again.
Clash of the Cultures
Thursday 06 May 2010 at 9:55 pm
The warehouse district used to be plagued by hipsters, but no more. From out of nowhere, and practically overnight, Twins fans have stormed the place and shoved those skinny little trendy kids into their own proverbial lockers... labret piercings, esoteric European labels, glacier glasses and all.
I don't know which group will prove more intolerable in the end. I suspect it will be the Twins fans, because hipsters are (as has been mentioned) generally small and harmless. They're few in number and, deep down, they'd rather go home and listen to records than bother you in any meaningful way. If you don't get along with them, they're most likely going to go sit in a small group and talk about how they never thought you were that big a deal anyway. See what I mean? Harmless.
There are lots of Twins fans, though. As a group, they tend to be bigger, drunker and far more aggressive. While hipsters move to the city so they can learn how to belong there, Twins fans only visit the city for games. While they're there, they spend a lot of time complaining about how much Minneapolis is unlike their preferred haunts. Here I mean places the likes of Wayzata, Forest Lake, Waconia and Richfield. While these are not inherently horrible places on their own, the sort of mindset that feels the rest of the world should model itself after them is inherently horrible. What's more, it's now roaming in large, drunken packs through the city.
The difference between the city and the outer suburbs may be difficult to explain to those of you who have formed your world views outside of the Minneapolis area, but I'm going to try. The nearest city I can think to compare us to is Chicago where, after a five minute walk in virtually any direction out of urban Chi-town, you find yourself in the land of loud trucks with gun racks on them and drivers who'll run you down as soon as flip you off cause yer dressin' funny. This is definitely not the sort of place an urbanite feels comfortable, but on a typical day the denizens of each slice of the American pie in question draw a line and stay on their respective sides. That won't be happening anymore. The exurbs own our town now, or at least they're convinced they do, and if we don't make nice they'll make us eat dirt and smash our glasses.
So I guess I can understand the resentment on the part of the hipsters who weren't fast enough to get away before the yokel levee broke, but I wish they wouldn't take it out on the wrong targets. Those big, drunk idiots dressed like Joe Mauer that stormed into your favorite bar, got sick on Miller Lite and thought groping your girlfriend's chest was a good icebreaker; those guys are the enemy. G. B. Leighton, who are professional musicians writing songs for money (which is what professional musicians are supposed to do) are not.
Perhaps I'm biased, but I don't care who you are or where you come from. If you are not in the profession of creating art for pay, you do not get to weigh in with your feelings on G. B. Leighton's song. Baristas, paralegals, bike shop techs and Urban Outfitters sales clerks; I mean you. You never once complained about that insipid old "We're Gonna Win Twins" song, so there's no getting into it now just because you feel like G. B. Leighton compromised their integrity by getting pay and exposure.
All that said, I'm ambivalent about professional sports and I shudder at the recurring thought of all those fans squeezing me out of some otherwise comfortable Minneapolis neighborhoods, but I would take a job writing for the Twins in a heartbeat. Because I'm a professional writer, who gets paid to write things for people. (Which also means that, unlike you, I'm entitled to an opinion on this.)
Thursday 06 May 2010 at 9:55 pm
The warehouse district used to be plagued by hipsters, but no more. From out of nowhere, and practically overnight, Twins fans have stormed the place and shoved those skinny little trendy kids into their own proverbial lockers... labret piercings, esoteric European labels, glacier glasses and all.
I don't know which group will prove more intolerable in the end. I suspect it will be the Twins fans, because hipsters are (as has been mentioned) generally small and harmless. They're few in number and, deep down, they'd rather go home and listen to records than bother you in any meaningful way. If you don't get along with them, they're most likely going to go sit in a small group and talk about how they never thought you were that big a deal anyway. See what I mean? Harmless.
There are lots of Twins fans, though. As a group, they tend to be bigger, drunker and far more aggressive. While hipsters move to the city so they can learn how to belong there, Twins fans only visit the city for games. While they're there, they spend a lot of time complaining about how much Minneapolis is unlike their preferred haunts. Here I mean places the likes of Wayzata, Forest Lake, Waconia and Richfield. While these are not inherently horrible places on their own, the sort of mindset that feels the rest of the world should model itself after them is inherently horrible. What's more, it's now roaming in large, drunken packs through the city.
The difference between the city and the outer suburbs may be difficult to explain to those of you who have formed your world views outside of the Minneapolis area, but I'm going to try. The nearest city I can think to compare us to is Chicago where, after a five minute walk in virtually any direction out of urban Chi-town, you find yourself in the land of loud trucks with gun racks on them and drivers who'll run you down as soon as flip you off cause yer dressin' funny. This is definitely not the sort of place an urbanite feels comfortable, but on a typical day the denizens of each slice of the American pie in question draw a line and stay on their respective sides. That won't be happening anymore. The exurbs own our town now, or at least they're convinced they do, and if we don't make nice they'll make us eat dirt and smash our glasses.
So I guess I can understand the resentment on the part of the hipsters who weren't fast enough to get away before the yokel levee broke, but I wish they wouldn't take it out on the wrong targets. Those big, drunk idiots dressed like Joe Mauer that stormed into your favorite bar, got sick on Miller Lite and thought groping your girlfriend's chest was a good icebreaker; those guys are the enemy. G. B. Leighton, who are professional musicians writing songs for money (which is what professional musicians are supposed to do) are not.
Perhaps I'm biased, but I don't care who you are or where you come from. If you are not in the profession of creating art for pay, you do not get to weigh in with your feelings on G. B. Leighton's song. Baristas, paralegals, bike shop techs and Urban Outfitters sales clerks; I mean you. You never once complained about that insipid old "We're Gonna Win Twins" song, so there's no getting into it now just because you feel like G. B. Leighton compromised their integrity by getting pay and exposure.
All that said, I'm ambivalent about professional sports and I shudder at the recurring thought of all those fans squeezing me out of some otherwise comfortable Minneapolis neighborhoods, but I would take a job writing for the Twins in a heartbeat. Because I'm a professional writer, who gets paid to write things for people. (Which also means that, unlike you, I'm entitled to an opinion on this.)
Attention and Praise Are Almost Better Than Pay. Almost.
Monday 03 May 2010 at 6:56 pm
Demand Studios is a sort of giant online talent brokerage for whom I do a lot of freelance work. It's a pretty anonymous process. I get my assignments. I write them. A copy editor checks them over. I get paid. The copy editors are all freelancers as well and, with no protocol in place to identify which of them reviewed a particular piece of writing, I've always just assumed that I was a nameless, faceless drop in big nameless, faceless bucket.
But then there's the fact that I attach a note about my sources and reference links to every article I write, and that I sign my name to the note. After a while, some of the editors started recognizing my work and some even sent nice notes back. These were everything from, "Nice work. Very well done," to, "Nice work. Very well done. Now rewrite it." After a time, they even started to range from, "You always do great work for us," to, "You always do great work for us. Now rewrite it." I have no idea if there are two or 2,000 freelance copy editors reviewing the stuff I do through Demand, but I do take comfort in the fact that they recognize me, that they seem to like me well enough, and that they felt one of my smaller articles on nuclear energy (honestly, it paid next to nothing but it took me less than five minutes to write, so it was like getting paid for doing next to nothing) was worthy of a blog entry on Earth Day Eve.
Monday 03 May 2010 at 6:56 pm
Demand Studios is a sort of giant online talent brokerage for whom I do a lot of freelance work. It's a pretty anonymous process. I get my assignments. I write them. A copy editor checks them over. I get paid. The copy editors are all freelancers as well and, with no protocol in place to identify which of them reviewed a particular piece of writing, I've always just assumed that I was a nameless, faceless drop in big nameless, faceless bucket.
But then there's the fact that I attach a note about my sources and reference links to every article I write, and that I sign my name to the note. After a while, some of the editors started recognizing my work and some even sent nice notes back. These were everything from, "Nice work. Very well done," to, "Nice work. Very well done. Now rewrite it." After a time, they even started to range from, "You always do great work for us," to, "You always do great work for us. Now rewrite it." I have no idea if there are two or 2,000 freelance copy editors reviewing the stuff I do through Demand, but I do take comfort in the fact that they recognize me, that they seem to like me well enough, and that they felt one of my smaller articles on nuclear energy (honestly, it paid next to nothing but it took me less than five minutes to write, so it was like getting paid for doing next to nothing) was worthy of a blog entry on Earth Day Eve.
History Repeats Itself More Gently in the Presence of a Thousand Cameraphones
Monday 03 May 2010 at 6:03 pm
Over at the Daily Koss, there's video of the "Give Back Arizona" guys marching next to the "Emmer" guys. Soon into it, the police show up and tell them to get out of the parade. Now, before you get all oppressed-conservative and start whining at me over my apparent support of the "Give Back Arizona" guys, let me just say that this video doesn't actually paint those guys in a very flattering light. If I was a cop and I saw one group of parade marchers harassing another, I'd go tell 'em to get lost too. So, unless the "Emmer" guys were harassing them as well, the two young guys who I would otherwise have thought were doing a wonderful thing were actually making a pretty big botchery of it.
So here's hoping that the "Emmer" guys started it, and that the cameras just didn't get there in time to catch that...
That said, it seems like the cop pretty much kept his kid gloves on with these guys. That alone has me marveling over the difference between what happened yesterday and the way they used to deal with young people who said stuff they didn't like. What are now kid gloves would once have been rubber gloves, dipped in pepper gel and pressed against the eyes of an already restrained kid whose only real crime was having gone too long without a shave and a shower.
I know the police actions of the late nineties (which, unarguably, were well within the boundaries of what you'd define as "police riots") sort of blended together in Minneapolis, and I realize it's hard to remember just which beating I saw where, but for some reason I have this vivid impression that the guys from AIM and Earth First! were attacked by the Third Precinct while marching in a Mayday Parade. This would have been '98 or '99. Does anyone else remember that parade, or am I just getting my beatings mixed up?
Monday 03 May 2010 at 6:03 pm
Over at the Daily Koss, there's video of the "Give Back Arizona" guys marching next to the "Emmer" guys. Soon into it, the police show up and tell them to get out of the parade. Now, before you get all oppressed-conservative and start whining at me over my apparent support of the "Give Back Arizona" guys, let me just say that this video doesn't actually paint those guys in a very flattering light. If I was a cop and I saw one group of parade marchers harassing another, I'd go tell 'em to get lost too. So, unless the "Emmer" guys were harassing them as well, the two young guys who I would otherwise have thought were doing a wonderful thing were actually making a pretty big botchery of it.
So here's hoping that the "Emmer" guys started it, and that the cameras just didn't get there in time to catch that...
That said, it seems like the cop pretty much kept his kid gloves on with these guys. That alone has me marveling over the difference between what happened yesterday and the way they used to deal with young people who said stuff they didn't like. What are now kid gloves would once have been rubber gloves, dipped in pepper gel and pressed against the eyes of an already restrained kid whose only real crime was having gone too long without a shave and a shower.
I know the police actions of the late nineties (which, unarguably, were well within the boundaries of what you'd define as "police riots") sort of blended together in Minneapolis, and I realize it's hard to remember just which beating I saw where, but for some reason I have this vivid impression that the guys from AIM and Earth First! were attacked by the Third Precinct while marching in a Mayday Parade. This would have been '98 or '99. Does anyone else remember that parade, or am I just getting my beatings mixed up?
Links
Monday 03 May 2010 at 12:48 pm
Just a couple of links I'm posting for my own reference: Electric Literature and Kickstarter.
Monday 03 May 2010 at 12:48 pm
Just a couple of links I'm posting for my own reference: Electric Literature and Kickstarter.
May Day Parade
Monday 03 May 2010 at 12:16 pm
The May Day Parade in Minneapolis is what you'd see if all of my nightmares got cute and walked down Bloomington Avenue together. I took lots of pictures and posted them to the facebook, which you won't be able to see unless you're a friend of me or of a friend of me. (That's grammatically correct, by the way. Between Prom Queen of the Damned and the sort of health/lifestyle articles I'm writing lately, I don't get much opportunity to do fancy stuff like that anymore. So you're going to have to deal with it here at the blog from time to time.)
Monday 03 May 2010 at 12:16 pm
The May Day Parade in Minneapolis is what you'd see if all of my nightmares got cute and walked down Bloomington Avenue together. I took lots of pictures and posted them to the facebook, which you won't be able to see unless you're a friend of me or of a friend of me. (That's grammatically correct, by the way. Between Prom Queen of the Damned and the sort of health/lifestyle articles I'm writing lately, I don't get much opportunity to do fancy stuff like that anymore. So you're going to have to deal with it here at the blog from time to time.)
