When do you all finish up with your finals? I will be done by the 11th and in town by the 13th or 14th, I am thinking. I will probably bring the Brendan with me at some point in May, so if any of you have yet to have an official encounter, we can plan something. Maybe a city day.
Also, my dilemma is over. My indecision is gone. I will be returning to Chicago for the summer, as I have received a really nice, solid job offer (something I was unable to find in Milwaukee). It's official.
But I don't think I'll be able to sublet my apartment because I made this decision too late, so it will still be available for visitations, summerfest purposes, etc. I think that will be nice because the only things you can really do in Milwaukee are eat and drink... and a lot of us are turning 21 this summer (or are already 21), soooooo that might be a lot of fun.
Finally, I figured it was time to divulge a well-kept secret. Not really, this isn't even a secret probably: I think My Little Pony is so cute. Season 2 just ended, and I watched it all. The animation is just really cute, and it is not bad for a children's show. It restores my faith in cartoons, to be honest. It makes me smile. I even like the songs.
But I do not like to talk too much about it because I am not a huge fan of the community members sometimes. I do like some of the shitty pony music they make, though. It is so catchy. Here is an example:
Haven't posted in a while. Don't have much to say, really. I have one more full week of classes before finals, and then freedom--well, freedom of a sort. I'm still trying to figure out my summer plans--working, and all that business, as I have to get ready to move into my off-campus apartment with my roomies come August. So that'll hopefully be fun!
The only interesting things I've done in the past week or so is throw caution to the wind and write a paper on BioShock. I was terrified when I handed it in, but we'll see how that goes, haha.
I'm in a bit of a weird mood at present--I want to write something, anything, but I seem to be permanently stuck in the plotting/scheming stage, and no matter how badly I'd like to move on and actually start writing...I can't.
It kind of sucks.
Maybe some new reading material and music can help; both have certainly helped me before. But I'm starting to think this is one of those cases where I need a change of scenery. Sitting in my dorm, all I can think about is all the things I ought to be doing, and not doing any of it because my laptop broke and my netbook can't handle much and the stupid computers in the lounges here on campus haven't been updated to include the versions of the programs I need in order to do half of the crap I have to do anyway.
So I play Kingdom Hearts instead.
Blargh.
Any reading and/or music suggestions? I bought a new book the other day that is quite lovely, but maybe having a nice stack of new things to read once I'm out of the dorms will get me out of the constant state of doing nothing I'm finding myself in.
Occasionally my mom and I will delve into the past and listen to the stuff we listened to in the 90s. Alice in Chains (original line up) was one of our favorite bands.
Hey, so I'm back to deviate again--though since a lot of us are more or less involved/invested in the Writing and Publishing world to begin with, this stuff isn't *too* off-topic. I hope.
So a few days ago Macmillan's CEO posted a message on Tor.com, and I put it in the back of my mind to consider and deliberate over later. Then I got super distracted with school things and replaying Kingdom Hearts until this morning, when Amazon and Tor posted on Facebook and their blog, respectively, that the new JK Rowling book was to be released in late September of this year.
So that was exciting for about five seconds.
And the reason my excitement took a downhill turn is this:
JK Rowling's book costs twenty dollars. As an EBOOK.
The hardcover version is about thirty something dollars--that's five bucks more than most hardcover Stephen King books go for. And while five bucks really isn't THAT much when you think about it--thirty bucks for a friggin' book is nonetheless ridiculous. (Hell, I won't pay in the 20-25 dollar range for a book unless it is a hardcover and/or special edition of a book or series that I love from the bottom of my heart).
That the hardcover version is 30 bucks is ridiculous. But that ebook price? Have they lost their damn minds?
I mentioned this to a few of you via text already, and Jose mentioned to me that the price wasn't that shocking. I knew more or less that other ebook vendors charge more than Amazon typically does, but I wasn't aware the gap was that friggin' big (and to be honest I'm still not--I have yet to check how much ebooks go for through Barnes and Noble, and theirs is the only other market I see in the bigger picture of competition, though I know that there are others). Point in fact, Amazon's Kindle store is selling JK's newest at 20 bucks for the ebook, too.
So all this bullshit brought me back to my consideration over Macmillan's current predicament with the DOJ and that whole collusion problem.
Apparently the Department of Justice has gone after some publishing companies for changing to the agency model, which influences the prices of their ebooks. The DOJ accused them of collusion, and according to Macmillan's CEO, the other companies have agreed to settle while Macmillan, claiming against the collusion accusation, has decided to duke it out in court. Here's the CEO's message regarding the matter:
The part of the issue I'm most interested in though is the pricing of ebooks in general. Personally I think they should NEVER cost as much as a physical book--and why the hell should they? They're digital. You produce them once--and that's it! All downloads from there! There is no cost of reproduction after the initial production. They simply don't carry the same amount of value that a physical copy does--physical copies that can be autographed, easily loaned out, and resold. I mean, you can cuddle with your Kindle or Nook or whatever--but in your heart you'll know it just ain't the same.
All joking aside, what do you guys think? Are the big publishing companies right for what they're trying to do, or should they stop being such big babies and learn to adjust their marketing model for a digital product, and stop treating said product like a tangible set of goods? I'm not saying what Amazon is doing is necessarily right--they ARE undercutting the set price, and they are gaining a monopoly in the ebook industry by doing so--at least, it certainly seems that way. But on the other hand, I'd argue that Amazon's prices are generally fairly reasonable for what they're selling. 5-10 bucks for an average ebook sounds reasonable to me. 15-25 bucks does not, especially if you can't even inhale the new-book smell and sleep with them next to your head all night. Not...not that I do that. Often.
I know I don't have all the facts at the moment, so if any of you know more about this topic, please share!
Uhh, music, music...Any Once Upon a Time fans on here? Here's two music vids Jen showed me a week or so ago (potential spoilers!).
First one is RumBelle, and features some footage from other things Robert Carlyle and Emilie de Ravin have been in, like LOST, and whatnot. Second one is OUAT in general:
I don't know if you guys read the news paper, but some scary things are happening here.
As of 4AM Eastern Standard Time this morning, there have been 62 bomb threats at University of Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh is less than a mile away from CMU.
EDIT: The total count of bomb threats is now at 67. It's now at 78. 85.
And last night one of the buildings evacuated was a block away from where I live. The threats keep getting closer and closer.
The threats started back in February, but the threats have escalated in the past few weeks.
If you don't know, the Western Psych shooting was when a man went into the hospital near Pitts campus and started shooting.
As of yet, there have been no actual bombs. And as far as I know, no one has been injured.
But they cannot catch this person or persons. The threats get sent in through email and all attempts to trace it back to the source have failed because it gets lost or something. I don't know. Even the FBI is all like "fuck idk"
I don't understand. But I can't even imagine how terrifying it is must be to be a Pitt Student.
It's not that I haven't been reading every single post on this website eagerly, I have. I just haven't been commenting or posting because I wasn't really sure what I wanted to talk about. Despite the fact that that really hasn't changed, I guess I can talk about...summer plans?
This is the first year that I haven't known exactly what I'm doing for the summer (seeing as how I totally quit that darn pool job...FINALLY). Don't get me wrong, money is nice and all, but I think I'm getting a little old to show up to work with no pants and not be, like, sliding up and down a pole or something. I will miss the no shirt, no shoes, no pants, no problem job though. A little.
So I've been forced to range pretty wide for jobs, including Alaska (horse guide, zip line instructor, and dog musher being the positions applied for), New York City (publishing internships...Penguin started recruiting this week!), and good ole Chicago, where a friend wants me to move in to an apartment with her. All this is cool, but I would like to know like...NOW what I'm doing for the summer. The suspense is killing me. KILLING ME. On top of that, I have a lot of work to get done, and way too many end of the semester projects that I've been putting off. Yikes!
What are everyone else's plans for the summer, anything exciting? concrete? hopeful? Let me know!
In the meantime, listen to this catchy little ditty about how much I REALLY JUST WANT TO GO OUTSIDE. The video is actual footage from the church that later became the cult that drank all that poisoned koolaid. The band superimposed themselves on the footage...ah! Still a very catchy song though :D
Man I can never think of a story long enough to make into a post.
I just never do interesting things for extended periods of time. Except go to China I guess, but whatever man. What happens in Shanghai stays in Shanghai.
Anyway, I think I mmmiiiiiight be staying up north for the summer. It is just way easier to find shitty summer jobs on campus. I hope no one is too crushed by this, and you are all welcome to come and visit whenever. We can play more tactical laser tag. It is pretty bitching.
As for music:
I just finished playing Skyward Sword the other week.
I loved the game. It was beautiful.
I know they shoved motion controls down your throat, but I liked them. It felt pretty natural to be moving how I was moving.
I know the graphics were worse than they were in Twilight Princess. That was disappointing, but I liked the art style. I thought the character's faces were the most expressive they've ever been.
I just thought it was too easy. There. I said it. They held your hand through the whole damn game. It blew. Sometimes I just want to figure things out for myself! And the fairy-esque guide, Fi, was a steaming pile of shit.
Also, I thought the ending was dumb. The final boss battle was like..... the easiest fight in the whole game. Like seriously. Super dumb.
But it held a lot of value to me, because Zelda is one of the franchises I have followed from the very beginning. It gave me lots of feelings, this game.
By the way... who else is totally grossed out by the Oocca now?!
