Cerebrate Good Times

The preceding post is an article I wrote for the e-newsletter sent out by yourldsneighborhood.com. Back when I was on Blogger, I used a separate blog for that, but I'm just combining everything on here. If you don't like that, you're a terrible person.

While I enjoy the features of WordPress, sometimes I think about coming back to Blogger. Does anyone out there have an opinion on that?

I know there are thousands of people out there wondering where I have been. Don't worry, I'm not dead. I actually started a new job a couple of weeks ago, and it's a long commute, which leaves my evenings shorter and reduces the time I have for blogging. Anyway, here are a couple pictures from Halloween. This is supposed to be a monkey, which everyone knows have pineapple rings surrounding their navels. This is a dragon, from How to Train Your Dragon. Getting into character was not an issue. More updates will follow soon.

My friend and coworker (and soon to be famous author) Rob started a new feature on his blog which involves us eating out and reporting on it in a witty manner. You can read the first entry here . And on an unrelated note, I just had to delete 35 spam comments that came in overnight, so I am going to have to make some adjustments to the commenting procedure. I'll keep it as simple as possible, only escalating the procedure when the spambots overwhelm the current settings.

Welcome to the new—and if not improved, then at least quality-consistent— blog. I hope this proves to be the same reliable source of entertainment that the previous blog was. And if not, the fault probably lies with you somehow.

Well, my friends, it's time to close up shop. Our time together here at Blogger is drawing to a close. ...but that's only because I'm moving to a brand-new, shiny, full-fledged website! Sorry if you thought last week's post was referring to anything personal like having another baby or moving or something like that. Rumors of anything interesting happening to me are greatly exaggerated. Anyway, the new site is joelhiller.net . Here's a direct link to the blog . Right now I've just got basic functionality going, but it has imported all my posts and your insightful comments (and the rest; let's face it, the insight filter is curiously lacking). I'll be adding a lot more content in the near future, particularly related to my professional experience. Let me know of anything that doesn't work. Right now it might be a pain to leave comments; I'll probably change that in the near future. See you there (or else)!

Coming soon: Awesomely exciting happenings. Stay tuned. Well, rather than sit staring at this page for days, I guess you could just check back periodically. Or get smart and subscribe to the feed. Whatever.

Coming soon: Awesomely exciting happenings. Stay tuned. Well, rather than sit staring at this page for days, I guess you could just check back periodically. Or get smart and subscribe to the feed. Whatever.

A number of thoughts came together for me this morning, which was rather unexpected given how tired I have felt this week. Anyway, buckle up—we’re in for a bumpy ride today. First, the internet revolutionized (killed and then resurrected) the music industry. Now there need be no corporate middleman between an artist and the fans. Artists can distribute their own music however they wish, for however much or however little they wish. Also, as much as movie piracy has become a problem, people are making their own videos and actually making money from them. Now, our society as a whole moves at unbelievable speed when compared to a few decades ago. Everything has to be done now , and we cram as much into our lives as possible. So I’m wondering if this will ever carry over to the stodgy and steeped-in-tradition publishing industry. Some people have already broken out in new ways, with blogging and web comics, and some have found commercial success. I’m wondering if the medium of the shor...

[Note: I'm moving the advice project to its own blog ; the email address will remain the same.]

Okay, the new blog is up and ready, complete with its first writing sample (but read the introductory post first, at the bottom of the page). If I don't already have your email address, you'll have to give me one to include on the list of people allowed to access the blog. If you're squeamish about posting your e-mail address in the comments, either go create a new account just for this or send it to me via email at jojohoser@gmail.com. As for the rest of you, I'll add the e-mail addresses I already have for you, unless I hear otherwise.

Some people use blogs to record actual to-be-published writing, and I was considering doing the same thing (with fiction , since I have no more interest in writing non-fiction than I do in reading it), since it’s not like I spend all day at work being edited too. But it might be helpful motivation for me to work on my writing more, and I personally believe that my blog readers are among the most exceptionally intelligent people on the planet. As such you might be able to help me make improvements. If I do this it will be an invitation-only blog, so my question is, by a show of hands, how many of you would be interested in adding one more blog to your already bloated reading schedule?

I recently discovered that pretty much everybody had a better-looking blog than I did, so I decided to look around for a new template. Bear with me while I mess with the features and such.