Still Here! Updates, etc.

Realized that it's been over a week since my last post, so I figured I should bring you folks up to date on a few things happening in this neck of the woods:

NaNoWriMo - Started the month out with a bang, writing like a fiend!  It's much easier to do, I've discovered, when you have a clear goal (1600 words a day) and fellow writers aiming for the same goal with whom to compare notes, celebrate milestones, and cheer each other on past the hurdles.  It's been neat watching my short story grow and take shape, and getting to know the characters who populate the story better.  I have most of the novel outlined now; at this point, I am putting flesh on the bones.  Should be easy, right?  Nope - I hit a wall this weekend and must admit to letting a couple days pass without writing a word.  I'll be back at it tonight, though.  My local writers' group meets tomorrow night, so I better have something to show them!  (Right guys?)

NW4NW & 6WS - The Monday New Wave for the New Week posts and weekly Six Word Sunday entries are on indefinite hiatus.  I don't know whether that's a concern or not: the poll I ran here in October about continuing NW4NW sent me a decidedly mixed message.  The votes that came in were 100% in favor of continuing NW4NW; however, despite there being an audience that includes 234 who follow on Facebook and 933 who follow on Twitter, only 4 (4!) of you voted.   So, for now, I've decided both series of posts are getting a rest.  I am still open to your thoughts and opinions (hell, I'm practically begging for them!), so please post either in the comments field below, or on either the Facebook or Twitter pages.

What's The Name of That Song? - Still have yet to discover the title and artist for the remaining mystery song posted here a month ago today. Please take a moment to listen - someone out there has to know who and what this is!  It's still driving me crazy, and - no promises - but there just may be a reward in it for you:


mystery song #1
Recent Discoveries - A couple of nifty websites and a truly awesome band have landed on my radar screen in the past few weeks, and, as always, when I find the neat stuff I share it with you!  The two websites are actually Tumblr blogs, and have been added to the blogroll on the lefthand side of the screen here (keep scrolling down; you'll find it! And while you're there, check out some of the other sites I have linked there).

First is Things Could Be Worse, a wonderful collection of dryly yet wickedly funny drawings by Benjamin Dewey, referred to as the "Tragedy Series."  Almost like a virtual set of trading cards, these one-panel webcomics are brilliant visualizations of Dewey's warped reminders that, no matter how bad your day is going, someone else somewhere at some point in time has had it worse.  One of my faves:

Those of you who follow my posts about my challenges with Social Anxiety will join me in celebrating the second site, Social Anxiety Things.  Most of the entries are simply that: brief descriptions of those moments all of us who battle Social Anxiety Disorder know all too well.  For those who live it every day, it's a bit of the constant reassurance we need that we really are not alone; for those who are fortunate not to suffer such anxieties, the site offers a bit of a window into the worlds of those who do, which may help you better understand friends or family who experience it.  The site takes submissions from readers, so scattered among the regular items you will occasionally find folks sharing stories of both anxiety attacks and successful "wins" when they overcame the hurdles anxiety threw into their paths.  The occasional video shows up as well, and suggestions for coping skills are offered.  Together, these varied entries make up a reassuring and wonderful site, and I for one am glad it exists!  As an example, here's a recent Social Anxiety Thing that I certainly relate to:

And now, my "band of the moment": My friend JK introduced me to Austin, TX's punk/metal/awesome duo One-Eyed Doll about a week ago, and they are all I have been listening to since!  I have become utterly smitten with singer/guitarist/driving force Kimberly Freeman, who, together with drummer "Junior" (Jason Rufuss Sewell, who also does most of the production work), is putting out some truly original, highly enjoyable, often hysterical and always intelligent material which ranges from death metal screaming to pretty pop balladry to children's-song chanting and back again, often within the same song.  Not ones to sing about the mundane, One-Eyed Doll tackle lyrical subjects like the difficulties serial killers have in making friends ("Be My Friend"), the troubles with dating the undead ("You're A Vampire"), the joy of video game victory ("Battle On"), and the sheer delight of being insane ("Committed").   As luck would have it, One-Eyed Doll will actually be playing near here (The Crocodile Rock Cafe in Allentown, PA, to be exact) on November 25th.  We will be there, and you'll be treated to another road story afterwords!  Meantime, here's One-Eyed Doll's fantastic "You're A Vampire":



OK, that should about catch you up from my world.  More neat stuff coming up in the near future!