I lived in South Korea for about five years and I often remarked that both my native Southern portion of the United States and Korea seemed to live by William Faulkner's quote, “In the South, the past's not dead, it's not even past.”
Well, add to that another thing that won't let the past die -- the Internet.
Like a lot of people, I find myself “ego surfing” the Internet every once in a while to see what Google has to say about me. These days, I find myself wincing because someone, somewhere, wants to remind me that I used to write a lot on a something called Usenet.
Although Google actively tries to prevent people from “link bombing” things and people, occasionally a “link bomb” will get through simply because Google's staff can't be everywhere at once. A “Google bomb” or “link bomb” is where Google's results for a subject are hijacked for a specific purpose.
Usenet remains a free flowing and ever changing collection of bulletin boards about every subject imaginable. I wrote entirely too much on Usenet when I was in my early 20s and a lot of it was crap. Someone, somewhere wants me – and everyone else – to know that I once wrote a post to Usenet entitled “Prostitution, Rape, and the Mirage of Free Choice”
It makes me cringe just thinking about it. If you actually read the post, it has nothing to do with the title. The post is stupid, but nothing really all that offensive in the context of how old I was. It was posted in 1997, a year after I left college. I would never write anything like that now, regardless of the title. But I worry that people looking me up on Google for a job or a date may not notice the time stamp and think less of me should we actually meet face-to-face.
This is not something that happens only to accidental “micro-celebrities” such as myself. “Ego surfing” on Google, I think, is something we all have done at one point and some of us may be surprised, as I was, to what we discover about ourselves
Like a lot of people in both the U.S. South and South Korea, I keep trying to find ways to delete the past with no success. I wrote that darn post over 10 years ago and yet Google (the company responsible for the post being embedded on the Net forever) does not really give me any way to easily delete it.
So, I fear I will have to live with it forever. Thankfully, others have begun to notice this problem as well. On a respected technology Website called TechCrunch, Michael Arrington wrote that we should be more forgiving of “youthful indiscretions” such as mine, even though mine wasn't even that bad compared to others.
“Trying to control, or even manage, your online reputation is becoming increasingly difficult. And much like the fight by big labels against the illegal sharing of music, it will soon become pointless to even try,” Arrington wrote. “It’s time we all just give up on the small fights and become more accepting of the indiscretions of our fellow humans. Because the skeletons are coming out of the closet and onto the front porch.”
I wasn't shown smoking a bong as a real celebrities have. He believes, as I do, that we simply have to accept that things we did when we were younger will stay on the Internet in a timeless state. Just think of all those young ladies in college who willingly participated in Girls Gone Wild and other such behavior. Should that really prevent them from having a political career when everyone's youthful indiscretions are similarly just a click away?
The alternative, where everyone has to worry about might pop up about them on the Net simply is untenable, especially for young people. Worrying about such things is something graybeards in their 40s and 50s ponder while drinking soju late at night. Accepting that everyone is young once in their life and thus susceptible to such potentially reputation-hurting on line evidence is something that we all should accept.
We have to accept that no matter how much we may want to delete our on line past, it's still there, it's not even past.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Whenever I hear the term "social media expert..."
...I reach for my gun.
God, I hate that term. I hate it with a passion. I mean, what does that even mean, for Christ's sake. You know how to use Twitter? As I may have mentioned before, Twitter is beginning to grow on me...but it's not the second coming of Jesus. It's just a nice, pithy way of saying what's on your mind right. this. second.
Of course, there is one part of the whole Twitter experience that I'm missing -- the text part.
Given my own experiences with "drunk texting" I don't know if I really want my self connected to the Internet while I'm in the back of a cab trying to remember where I live. That would lead to some really weird Tweets, I fear, and it's best that I don't have that ability.
God, I hate that term. I hate it with a passion. I mean, what does that even mean, for Christ's sake. You know how to use Twitter? As I may have mentioned before, Twitter is beginning to grow on me...but it's not the second coming of Jesus. It's just a nice, pithy way of saying what's on your mind right. this. second.
Of course, there is one part of the whole Twitter experience that I'm missing -- the text part.
Given my own experiences with "drunk texting" I don't know if I really want my self connected to the Internet while I'm in the back of a cab trying to remember where I live. That would lead to some really weird Tweets, I fear, and it's best that I don't have that ability.
Daydreaming About Hollywood
In my fevered creative dreams, Hollywood is a lot like a little piece of Korea known as Haebonchon. HBC, as it's also called, is the main oegugin (foreigner) ghetto in the city and it's a tight knit little community to say the least. Some people love it, some people hate it and I'm somewhere in the middle.
It took me forever to get used to what I refer, politely, as "ghetto politics." Things move really, really fast in HBC. I, being a poor boy from Southside Virginia, had no clue for a long, long time what the heck was going on amongst the "power elite" of this microscopic group of people.
Now, I do, and it blows my mind.
I call it the "Who shot John" effect of human interactions. When you're wrapped up in the HBC mentality, you care who talked to whom and who sat with whom for how long, etc. And don't get me started about what's going on behind closed doors.
Despite all that, I actually really like HBC. It's fun how you have microcelebrities in the hood and how everyone knows everybody, not to mention how you often see the same person six times in one day unless you actively avoid them.
This, in my imagination, is a lot like Hollywood.
I imagine within the confines of Hollywood the same stuff goes on. I imagine it as a high powered ghetto for "creative types" with a lot of money and spare time. And, occasionally, they go nuts in a really public way.
I also like how it's possible that movies are made simply because two people run into each other on the street. How cool is that? I love stories about how someone made it into a movie because of that right-time-right-place situation. Take, for instance, the dude-in-the-suit of Alien. Wikipedia says:
Why don't I move to Hollywood and try my luck? I would, but I don't have the dough right now. So, for the time being, I just go about my business and write and daydream about Alien...
It took me forever to get used to what I refer, politely, as "ghetto politics." Things move really, really fast in HBC. I, being a poor boy from Southside Virginia, had no clue for a long, long time what the heck was going on amongst the "power elite" of this microscopic group of people.
Now, I do, and it blows my mind.
I call it the "Who shot John" effect of human interactions. When you're wrapped up in the HBC mentality, you care who talked to whom and who sat with whom for how long, etc. And don't get me started about what's going on behind closed doors.
Despite all that, I actually really like HBC. It's fun how you have microcelebrities in the hood and how everyone knows everybody, not to mention how you often see the same person six times in one day unless you actively avoid them.
This, in my imagination, is a lot like Hollywood.
I imagine within the confines of Hollywood the same stuff goes on. I imagine it as a high powered ghetto for "creative types" with a lot of money and spare time. And, occasionally, they go nuts in a really public way.
I also like how it's possible that movies are made simply because two people run into each other on the street. How cool is that? I love stories about how someone made it into a movie because of that right-time-right-place situation. Take, for instance, the dude-in-the-suit of Alien. Wikipedia says:
How cool is that? One day, you're sitting in a bar having a drink, the next day, you're inside one of the most horrific monsters in movie history. (It helps to be 7 feet 2 inches tall and thin as a string bean, of course.)
- Bolaji Badejo as The Alien, the titular antagonist of the film. A Nigerian design student, Badejo was discovered in a bar by a member of the casting team, who put him in touch with Ridley Scott.[33][34] Scott believed that Badejo, at 7 feet 2 inches (218 cm) and with a slender frame, could portray the Alien and look as if his arms and legs were too long to be real, creating the illusion that there could not possibly be a human being inside the costume.[14][33][34] Stuntmen Eddie Powell and Roy Scammell also portrayed the Alien in some scenes.[14][35]
Why don't I move to Hollywood and try my luck? I would, but I don't have the dough right now. So, for the time being, I just go about my business and write and daydream about Alien...
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Dig a Pony
I did not grow up wanting to write a movie.
The idea of being a screenwriter (or a short story writer for that matter) was a slow process that took several years. But when it happened, it happened big time. I like something about how a good movie tells a story and how the movies are like our collective dreams.
Without sounding too pretentious, I've always liked to tell stories. Movies are just an extension of that. One thing I've learned about trying to write a movie is how difficult it is. I thought I could just magically go into writing a movie and finish it without any help. Having banged my head against the figurative wall in my head, I realize to tell stories this way I need a collaborator.
I understand why, too. To write a movie, you need someone to bounce ideas of off and get you through tight spots that might come along in the script. I'm writing a science fiction story right now and it's crap...but I am determined to finish it just so I can write a second and third draft that will keep the best parts of that crap. I'm in my "Dig a Pony" phase of writing this story. It's a first for me -- I'm writing crap just to finish rather than just stopping out of frustration.
As I write the crappy third of this otherwise really cool story, I feel I can glimpse into the collaborative process involved in writing a script. "If this was the third act of a script, I would have had that idea sooner, maybe, if I had a collaborator." As the author, the story is kind of funny now 'cause it's gone from high brow to action thriller with a lot of "tell not show" in it. But, I'm going to finish it and use the foresight of knowing the ending beforehand (for once) to be able to make the entire story better. (I usually just write a first draft of about 1,000 words and be done with it, no matter what. This one is getting closer to 5,000 words)
One reason I am going to finish the story is I have fallen in love with the characters. I, as the author, want to know more about them. I want to know what makes them tick. If I can create a well-rounded personality that others want to get involved with, then I've done something. The story will hopefully lend itself to becoming a script one day. For once I've create a universe and populated it with people who have conflict in their lives. I can see in my minds eye how the story could be a movie.
The idea of being a screenwriter (or a short story writer for that matter) was a slow process that took several years. But when it happened, it happened big time. I like something about how a good movie tells a story and how the movies are like our collective dreams.
Without sounding too pretentious, I've always liked to tell stories. Movies are just an extension of that. One thing I've learned about trying to write a movie is how difficult it is. I thought I could just magically go into writing a movie and finish it without any help. Having banged my head against the figurative wall in my head, I realize to tell stories this way I need a collaborator.
I understand why, too. To write a movie, you need someone to bounce ideas of off and get you through tight spots that might come along in the script. I'm writing a science fiction story right now and it's crap...but I am determined to finish it just so I can write a second and third draft that will keep the best parts of that crap. I'm in my "Dig a Pony" phase of writing this story. It's a first for me -- I'm writing crap just to finish rather than just stopping out of frustration.
As I write the crappy third of this otherwise really cool story, I feel I can glimpse into the collaborative process involved in writing a script. "If this was the third act of a script, I would have had that idea sooner, maybe, if I had a collaborator." As the author, the story is kind of funny now 'cause it's gone from high brow to action thriller with a lot of "tell not show" in it. But, I'm going to finish it and use the foresight of knowing the ending beforehand (for once) to be able to make the entire story better. (I usually just write a first draft of about 1,000 words and be done with it, no matter what. This one is getting closer to 5,000 words)
One reason I am going to finish the story is I have fallen in love with the characters. I, as the author, want to know more about them. I want to know what makes them tick. If I can create a well-rounded personality that others want to get involved with, then I've done something. The story will hopefully lend itself to becoming a script one day. For once I've create a universe and populated it with people who have conflict in their lives. I can see in my minds eye how the story could be a movie.
Mysteries of the Universe
One thing that boggles my mind is how bloggers hit the jackpot and get book deals or movie deals. I mean, where does that magical pixie dust come from? The classic example is the writer of Juno, who had a shortcut -- blog about being a stripper.
I can't do that, now can I.
So, apparently, all these bloggers who make their Hollywood or publishing dreams a reality have to have a gimmick that usually involves sex. (Do I sound bitter? I hope not. ) I see my own little ember of dreams to be made of hope and talent, not a gimmick. I can't strip. I can't write an anonymous sex diary about my sexcapades on Capitol Hill. I can write, damn it.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, I just blog for very pragmatic reason -- in case someone says, "Oh, so you're a writer, huh? Where can I see some of your stuff." I can show them this, what you're reading right now.
So there. Mystery solved, I guess.
I can't do that, now can I.
So, apparently, all these bloggers who make their Hollywood or publishing dreams a reality have to have a gimmick that usually involves sex. (Do I sound bitter? I hope not. ) I see my own little ember of dreams to be made of hope and talent, not a gimmick. I can't strip. I can't write an anonymous sex diary about my sexcapades on Capitol Hill. I can write, damn it.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, I just blog for very pragmatic reason -- in case someone says, "Oh, so you're a writer, huh? Where can I see some of your stuff." I can show them this, what you're reading right now.
So there. Mystery solved, I guess.
Black Coffee in Bed
For me, one of the more difficult things to determine when it comes to blogging is what to write about in the first place. If Squeeze was writing "Black Coffee in Bed" would the song say something about "the stain on my iPad means nothing to me?" What to share in any medium is the artist's dilemma. You have to stay true to yourself and your art, but you also have to keep some things private where they belong.
With my past experience blogging is bad -- things always start off normal and get all icky and personal before it's over with. The more comfortable you become writing a blog (or anything online) the more something personal might slip out. I am so weary of spilling the beans, I have gone so far as to create a blog written by imaginary people writing about fictionalized events from my "real" private life. I thought the whole idea was great, but I didn't get a book deal from it as I had hoped at the time. (<---joke)
I can remember when I first wrote some HTML (about 1994 I think) and realized that everyone in the whole world could read my little "Hello" given the proper circumstances. It sent a cold chill down my spine -- "This changes everything," I thought to myself. In hindsight, I realize it does and it doesn't. Simply because you can Tweet your sex life or whatever, doesn't mean you should. Your entire life is a long time and I've been around long enough to have inlaws and outlaws whom I'd rather not share certain information with.
The classic phrase is "Know your audience." Well, right now, my audience is me, but I know that could change quite quickly should I slip up and write something stupid...or write something so good that I build up an audience of loyal readers. (Fat chance on that one. They'd all be people who hate me, probably.)
With my past experience blogging is bad -- things always start off normal and get all icky and personal before it's over with. The more comfortable you become writing a blog (or anything online) the more something personal might slip out. I am so weary of spilling the beans, I have gone so far as to create a blog written by imaginary people writing about fictionalized events from my "real" private life. I thought the whole idea was great, but I didn't get a book deal from it as I had hoped at the time. (<---joke)
I can remember when I first wrote some HTML (about 1994 I think) and realized that everyone in the whole world could read my little "Hello" given the proper circumstances. It sent a cold chill down my spine -- "This changes everything," I thought to myself. In hindsight, I realize it does and it doesn't. Simply because you can Tweet your sex life or whatever, doesn't mean you should. Your entire life is a long time and I've been around long enough to have inlaws and outlaws whom I'd rather not share certain information with.
The classic phrase is "Know your audience." Well, right now, my audience is me, but I know that could change quite quickly should I slip up and write something stupid...or write something so good that I build up an audience of loyal readers. (Fat chance on that one. They'd all be people who hate me, probably.)
I hate blogs
I hate blogs for a lot of reasons, chief amongst them the vast majority of them are simply an excuse for mental masturbation. People whack off mentally, telling of their every bowel movement in exact detail to a handful of people who give a damn. I would rather read something like a print newspaper or magazine that I can hold in my hand -- it takes time and effort to create them. That tends to cull most of the worse writing.
I don't much care for Twitter, either, but it is growing on me. I like how people who otherwise wouldn't participate in the "conversation," as Tina Brown would say, have a place to voice what's on their mind. That, I think, will be the thing people will talk about the most about Twitter going forward. I can see a thousand doctoral thesis written about how "urban" voices are now coming forth in 140 characters. I think it's great and look forward to how it will shake up things. Twitter is a long-over due medium in that respect.
One encouraging sign has been how a lot of people who would otherwise blog now get off using social media sites in excess. This frees us of the argument about "citizen journalists" versus "real" reporters. Being a journalist is a trade, not a profession -- at least that's what they told me in college. As a trade, it can be learned and it's actually not that difficult, really.
What will be interesting to see is how the iPad will change the media universe. In some ways, it's perfect to save newspapers and magazines. In other ways, it's not so great. It's perfect because it's a "lean back" experience. It sucks because Apple will have way too much power over what goes into the iPad version of Wired or what have you.
Anyway, the unconscious mind works in mysterious ways and I've found myself wanting to start a blog simply to have a place online to point to should the occasion arise. So, I'm back to blogging, but it's more just to keep my writing skills in shape. I'm also writing short stories these days and am interested in writing a screenplay.
So, let's begin, shall we?
I don't much care for Twitter, either, but it is growing on me. I like how people who otherwise wouldn't participate in the "conversation," as Tina Brown would say, have a place to voice what's on their mind. That, I think, will be the thing people will talk about the most about Twitter going forward. I can see a thousand doctoral thesis written about how "urban" voices are now coming forth in 140 characters. I think it's great and look forward to how it will shake up things. Twitter is a long-over due medium in that respect.
One encouraging sign has been how a lot of people who would otherwise blog now get off using social media sites in excess. This frees us of the argument about "citizen journalists" versus "real" reporters. Being a journalist is a trade, not a profession -- at least that's what they told me in college. As a trade, it can be learned and it's actually not that difficult, really.
What will be interesting to see is how the iPad will change the media universe. In some ways, it's perfect to save newspapers and magazines. In other ways, it's not so great. It's perfect because it's a "lean back" experience. It sucks because Apple will have way too much power over what goes into the iPad version of Wired or what have you.
Anyway, the unconscious mind works in mysterious ways and I've found myself wanting to start a blog simply to have a place online to point to should the occasion arise. So, I'm back to blogging, but it's more just to keep my writing skills in shape. I'm also writing short stories these days and am interested in writing a screenplay.
So, let's begin, shall we?
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