Category: Creativity

The Baltimore Poe House Plight (tell your friends!)

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Hollywood, LiterarianLeave a comment

I recently had the opportunity to listen to author Orson Scott Card at the 2012 Teen Book Con in Houston, Texas. While the audience streamed into the auditorium before the keynote speech, Mr. Card intimated to the young adult crowd that Nathaniel Hawthorne was quite terrible as a American novelist (regardless of what teachers were teaching them). He further explained that the reason was due to a shortage of great writers in early America, and Americans put Hawthorne on a pedestal because they didn’t have anyone better.

Americans do, however, have Edgar Allan Poe.

According to the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, Edgar was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19th, 1809, the son of two actors. He was briefly left in Baltimore, Maryland with his grandparents, then later taken in by John Allan following the untimely death of Poe’s mother and father in 1811 (this is the origin of Poe’s middle name ‘Allan’). After a childhood traveling to Scotland and London, England, it was 1820 when Edgar returned to America and was enrolled into the Richmond, Virginia school system. Young Edgar was discouraged from publishing his first book of poems while in school, although Poe was described as “a born poet” with “no love of mathematics.”

In 1831, Edgar was dismissed from West Point (for failing to follow orders and being genuinely disenchanted about receiving them) and eventually returned to Baltimore, moving in with his aunt in the Spring of 1833. By this time, Edgar had published three books of poems and numerous others in local periodicals but had received very little money in return. Poe was living poorly when he wrote what is generally accepted as his first tale of horror, an award-winning short story called “Berenice.”

Poe lived and wrote in other places (Philadelphia, for example), but it was in Baltimore that his known career began to emerge and, sadly, where he later died at the age of forty “after he was found in a tavern delirious and in distress, two years after the death of his young wife, Virginia, from tuberculosis.” (NY Times) The Baltimore Poe House was nearly destroyed seventy years ago when homes in the old neighborhood were being renovated, but it has since been declared a national landmark. While it is in no danger of being torn down, it may no longer remain open to the public since the Baltimore housing authority pulled their $85,000 annual operating budget; reserve funds may run out as early as this summer.

Why bring light to this now? The Raven, a film starring John Cusack as Poe himself, opens this weekend (and will likely be completely forgotten about by the time The Avengers comes out the following weekend). Could there be a more perfect time or event to call attention to the creator of the detective fiction genre, American gothic literature, and the namesake for the Edgar Allen Poe Awards of the Mystery Writers of America? I don’t think so.

What can you do about it? Glad you asked:

Any other ideas? Let’s hear ’em!

Couldn’t Be Much Busier or Much Happier Right Now

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Existentialism, LiterarianLeave a comment

A little over a year ago, I pulled up stakes from my Jacksonville, Florida residence and made my new home in Houston, Texas. I arrived on April Fool’s Day 2011, which seemed appropriate since I resigned my previous job on the hope (and sheer will) that I could find another one that was as close to or better than the one I had in Jax. I was setting out on a new adventure into a new land, but I was also scared to death taking so many chances at once.

Within two months, I had that new job (whew!) and I’ll have been at that job for an entire year right around May 25th. That was the same day that, after spending half a day either looking for work, filling out applications, or interviewing, I was spending the other half putting in place the elements to officially launch my writing career. Sure, I’ve been writing critiques for almost fifteen years now, but most of that was honing my written “voice” while learning to break down plots and characters that would fuel my own stories. “The Spooky Chronicles: The Crooked Man” went live on Smashwords that day.

Of course, the real reason for all the life changes was to move in with my girlfriend (who became my fiancée on Christmas Eve of 2011). That’s three fairly significant life changes all for one year’s time, and each one has been hard work but wonderful nonetheless. This year, I launched my third and fourth Spooky Chronicles book, am revamping my MovieCrypt.com movie review website to take it up another notch, started bicycling again, worked my way up into a better paying position at my day job (right back up to about the same as the old job I left), and have been co-planning a wedding. We even found the perfect hotel for our honeymoon already.

Sigh. I don’t think I could be much busier or much happier right now.

Okay, back to work…!

New Creation: All-Cat Version of ‘Return of the Jedi’

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Hollywood, Internet, SatireLeave a comment

Anyone who’s been following me online knows I like to work on various projects, but with the popularity of both Star Wars spoofs and LOL Cats, I realized there’s something I could do to serve both niches. Starting immediately, I’m going to film (on a micro-budget, of course) and all-cat version of the Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Even before you start thinking how insane I must be, check out this test shot of my cat, Cinders, in a make-up test for galactic gangster Jabba the Cat. As you can see, I’m not only completely serious, but this is gonna rawk. See you on the Dark Side, and check back here for more updates!

Is PayPal Censoring eBooks?

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Conspiracies, Creativity, Existentialism, Internet, LiterarianLeave a comment

Suppose for a moment that, instead of a sparkly vampire, a werewolf made love to a human female, in detail and in werewolf form. If you chose to write that scene for your book, you might not be able to use PayPal to collect sales money for it online because it could be considered “bestiality.” If the means with which you are able to collect money for book sales abruptly dictates what you can and can’t write, we’re really talking about censorship.

Sound ridiculous? It’s happening right now over at the site that hosts my ebooks, Smashwords.com. As a huge publisher of Indie books that anyone can use to sell their written work online, PayPal has issued an ultimatum for them to remove certain titles or lose their ability to collect payments through their services:

PayPal is asking us to censor legal fiction. Regardless of how one views topics of rape, bestiality and incest, these topics are pervasive in mainstream fiction. We believe this crackdown is really targeting erotica writers. This is unfair, and it marks a slippery slope. We don’t want credit card companies or financial institutions telling our authors what they can write and what readers can read. Fiction is fantasy. It’s not real. It’s legal.

In case you haven’t heard, about two weeks ago, PayPal contacted Smashwords and gave us a surprise ultimatum: Remove all titles containing bestiality, rape or incest, otherwise they threatened to deactivate our PayPal account. We engaged them in discussions and on Monday they gave us a temporary reprieve as we continue to work in good faith to find a suitable solution.

PayPal tells us that their crackdown is necessary so that they can remain in compliance with the requirements of the banks and credit card associations (likely Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, though they didn’t mention them by name).

From a business standpoint, the fear seems to be that anyone who doesn’t like what a credit or debit card service can be used to buy will threaten to stop using their services if that company permits the sale. Really? In America, this is considered a fundamental freedom, to buy whatever you like with the money you earn.

This would be the equivalent of the US government making it a crime to use US currency to purchase Playboy, ruining a legitimate business by making it too risky for the average consumer to engage in. What’s next that you can’t buy because someone else decides “it’s bad for you?” R-rated movies? Red meat? Beverages containing caffeine?

Continue reading “Is PayPal Censoring eBooks?” →

Memo to All Dinosaurs: “Evolve or Die”

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Conspiracies, Creativity, Literarian, Satire, Technology4 Comments

Just saw a post on Facebook and had a moment of clarity. This is what she said:

Just had one of those sad moments. Was talking to one of my old college instructors who I have been friends with since being in their class. Had a disappointing conversation with them. I was basically told I will never become a writer if I self-publish. I know the black mark some of the crap that has come out of self-publish and what it has done to authors and writers. However, I do not feel I am making a mistake and dooming myself to failure by starting that way. I hate that so many people still view Indie and self-publishing in such a negative way and have such a closed mind about it. Makes me want to get published and be successful even more now to prove them wrong!

This is what I replied:

I really hate to say it this way, but when someone old tells you that things will never change, what they’re really saying is that THEY’LL never change. Also, what they’re saying doesn’t make any sense; there are already plenty of success stories in self-publishing. “Never” is very petty word. The next time you see those dinosaurs, gently tell them, “Evolve or die.”

Call Yourself an Old School Gamer, Do You?

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Internet, Roleplaying, Technology2 Comments

Today’s kids have no idea what led up to the immersive computer game experiences they take for granted these days. If it weren’t for the beta toys of my gen, they’d have none of it. The following is a rough sample of some of the earlier tech I’ve worked with before the current stuff.

Back in the early 1980s, I was big on (and committed serious paper route profits to) coin-op games like Asteroids, Zaxxon, Sinistar, Bosconian, and Galaga. I had access to a Trash-80 and PET2000 in Junior High (both with the leaderless cassette drives) and owned the TI-99/4a minus “the expansion box” (aka “the rest of the computer”). For a while I even got to play around with a Timex Sinclair. At the same time at home, I also had a 2600, store-used 5200, Intellivision, and a Colecovision (with the deluxe four-finger controllers).

While reverse engineering programs like “Eliza,” I played a lot of “SpaceWarp” and “Pyramid.” Oh, the hours spent falling into a hole and dying in the dark because you couldn’t find the vending machine in the middle of the labyrinth, drop coins into, and buy fresh batteries for your flashlight. In high school, the computer lab at school had Apple IIs and IIes (and even one IIc). By college, IBM personal computers were getting into computer labs while the Apple Amiga and amber-screen Compaqs came onto the scene.

Since then, I’ve played other people’s console games but was too busy with computer, writing, and other stuff to play many of them (“Konker’s Bad Fur Day” was one of my favorites). Computer games were more accessible and (until the most recent consoles came out) generally had better and more sophisticated game play (Diablo and Diablo II). While WOW just seems like so much of a do-nothing machine that I can’t justify committing serious time to (and I’ve tried it about four times), I’m anxiously awaiting “Diablo III” and fully intend to put life on hold long enough to get some serious demonslaying done!

(Inspired by “When the MCP Was Just A Chess Program” by Wil Wheaton)

The Hurricane Song

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Satire, WeatherishLeave a comment

(sung to the tune of “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys and with full apologies)

Aruba, jamaica ooo they wanna rake ya
Bermuda, bahamas left us in pajamas
Key largo, montego maybe I will forego
Jamaica

Off the Florida Keys
There’s another hurricane
That’s why we wanna go and get away from it all

Bodies in the sand
Tropical debris slicing up your hand
We’ll be falling in streets
Dodging bullets from all the looting bands
As sand banks overflow

Aruba, jamaica ooo they wanna rake ya
Bermuda, bahamas left us in pajamas
Key largo, montego maybe I will forego

Ooo each archipelago
Storm’ll get there fast
Then it’ll take it slow
That’s why we wanna go
Away from overflow

Season’s at peak, third storm to hit this week

Continue reading “The Hurricane Song” →

Just Who Does Google Think You Are? Find out!

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Creativity, Internet, TechnologyLeave a comment

Google announced new privacy policies effective March 1st, 2012 to “improve your experience across all their services.” To do this, they anticipate who you are based on what you do online. Wanna see exactly what they think?

https://www.google.com/settings/ads/onweb

If you use Google (mail, calendar, search), this should work. It pulls up the cookie that Google uses to customize search results and interprets it for you, including what you like to search for, how old you are, and your gender.

Me? It says I like Science Fiction & Fantasy Films, Internet Clients & Browsers, Computer & Video Games & Online Games, People & Society, and Shopping for Toys (pretty close!) and that I’m male (damn skippy).

However, is also thinks I’m 18-24 years old. Fooled you, Google-bot! Young at heart, I guess.

Theft Vs. Piracy: It’s All About Context

On By Kevin A. RansonIn Conspiracies, Creativity, Existentialism, Hollywood, Internet, TechnologyLeave a comment

Full disclosure: I am NOT advocating theft or piracy, only contrasting the difference and what it really means to the content creators. There! Now I have a clear conscious. Okay, fine, maybe I am advocating, but only a little.

Ahem. Piracy is NOT theft.

There’s a difference. If someone steals you car, it’s gone. If someone steals a copy of your work, you still have your work, right? It’s a copy, and that copy can actually be a benefit (Wait… what?! But the government said…)

Locks keep honest people honest. If you drive past a couch on the street sitting next to some trash cans, it’s fair game. What if it was a car parked there instead of a couch? It’s all about context. A locked sliding glass door isn’t much of a real deterrent (seeing how you can get through it with a rock), but it does communicate a simple social truth: “This person isn’t sharing; it belongs to them.” Will that stop a real thief? Of course not, but it discourages the honest from considering theft.

“But I lost a sale?” Did you, now? What you should have said is “you lost a potential sale,” because that’s all it was. This is the reason marketing and advertising exists: to convince others that something you’re selling is worth buying. If someone steals something (reminder: that you didn’t lose) that they wouldn’t have bought to begin with, what did you actually lose? Nothing. What did you potentially gain? The possibility that, in the future, they may buy you stuff.

Neil Gaiman says, “You can’t look at (piracy) as a lost sale.” Artists are starting to get it (and no longer need to be content with starving); the potential benefits outweigh the negatives. In a video interview, Mr. Gaiman expressed these very notions, a reversal of his previous stance. “It’s people lending books. You can’t look at that as a lost sale. No one that wouldn’t have bought your book is not buying it… what you are doing is advertising.”

Storming the Gatekeepers. Here we come to the real issue: the gatekeepers. For decades, publishing houses and movie studios have had a lock on content creation AND distribution. If it’s helping Independent film makers and authors gain audiences and spur sales, what’s the problem? The loss of both control and exclusivity. These are huge businesses that are going under because they no longer have exclusive access to creation tools and distribution channels (or to push crap on you that you wouldn’t want to see or hear to begin with, but I digress). Computers and the Internet have changed everything, and now they have to compete with cat videos and digital books for eyeballs (and dollars). Some are changing with the times, but some are stubbornly holding out for a legislative miracle, and American consumers are getting wise to it (SOPA and PIPA, anyone?)

If it’s easy to own, it’s easier to buy. The music industry is supposed to be in shambles, but iTunes is making a fortune. When the last time you bought music at a store? How about a whole album? Major book stores are now going out of business (while small book sellers are making a comeback). The last bastion of big media, the film and television industry, sees the writing on the wall. What’s more is that they’ve done a far better job than music and literature at giving consumers what they want. Miss a movie at the theater? No problem. Buy the disc, download on demand, rent a pay-per-view, subscribe to a premium movie channel, or watch it with commercials on broadcast television. Isn’t that enough?

Prosecuting people who download free songs is like putting drug addicts in jail. This doesn’t make sense, folks. It feels like what it is, consumer bullying. Suing someone for millions of dollars for downloading 24 songs would be hilarious if it wasn’t happening (what? Do they need the money?) It’s all about context. People sharing isn’t piracy or theft; it’s advertising, free marketing from your established fans to new ones and potential sales. Even giving digital content away for a limited time can accomplish this, because everyone knows what “for a limited time only” means.

The only ones profiting from piracy prosecution are lawyers, the larval stage of politicians. Need I say more?

Don’t steal. Share. It’s all about context.