Category Archives: Uncategorized

New Project. Get Involved. Comments

I have more ideas than I have time to develop them. I think that’s a good thing—it’s easier to find time than ideas, right?

Bottom line is, this project is very important to me, and I could use a hand from anyone with passion and a firm grasp of the English language.

Please contact me if you’re interested in the following:

  • New media and experimental storytelling
  • Remixed and creatively derivative art
  • Helping artists and authors find an audience
  • Lessening the enormous power of corporate and commercial interests over what gets published in the US

I’ll respond with the details. I am hesitant to use the word “zine,” but… this might be zine-esque.

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Published:
February 26, 2010 – 11:05 pm
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By J. Mattocks

Egg Creams, French Fries, and Cupcakes Comments

New York has food. I have a biological need to fuel myself by regularly ingesting an assortment of nutrients. It was a perfect arrangement.

So, there are these egg creams. Egg creams are supposed to be some kind of big deal in New York. It seems they possess neither egg nor cream. Instead, they are composed of seltzer water and some type of chocolate syrup. I had my first egg cream during my late night stop at the 24-hour Court Square Diner. It was good and it was different from any fountain beverage I’ve had, but I’m not yet convinced that it lives up to the hype.

Let’s talk about French fries.

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Published:
January 19, 2010 – 12:00 pm
Author:
By J. Mattocks

Perseus Internship – Act I Comments

I started my internship with The Perseus Books Group last Wednesday, the 13th. Right now I’m working with Google Adwords. I didn’t have much practical experience with Adwords prior, so I’ve been learning a lot as I go.

The most exciting project we’re working to promote right now is the Cathy’s Book application for iPod Touch and iPhone. I’m intensely interested in developing storytelling technology, so I flipped my shit when I found out I would be helping to promote something this cutting edge. For those of you not immersed in the world of alternate reality gaming, the Cathy franchise comes from the brains of Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman of I Love Bees fame. In short, these men are Olympic deities of the alternate reality gaming world. Fans of Bungie’s Halo series, take note.

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Published:
January 17, 2010 – 5:00 pm
Author:
By J. Mattocks

Arrival Comments

I’ve arrived. Spent last night in a hostel in Brooklyn. Sleeping in a comfy bed was really great; I got no sleep in my red eye flight from SeaTac.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: everything is huge; everything is open late, so it’s really accommodating for night owls like me; the subways are confusing, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of them.

For my first day in the city, I ate breakfast at a little joint around the corner. Then I did the tourist thing and explored Times Square, Rockefeller Plaza, Grand Central Station. Today my mission was to find a comfortable, quiet, quirky, writing-friendly coffee shop like the ones I frequented back in Bellingham. I’m happy to say I found one. I’m writing this post in the Flying Saucer Cafe, where the baristas are friendly and the atmosphere is peaceful and inviting. I’m a huge fan of the cut-out comics pasted on the supports. Plus Ziggy Stardust is playing right now, so I’m pretty sure I found my new home away from home.

Now to find a bite to eat and then off to Central Park.

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Published:
January 8, 2010 – 4:00 pm
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By J. Mattocks

Moving Anxiety Comments

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Published:
January 3, 2010 – 4:55 am
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By J. Mattocks

Brief Hiatus Comments

My brand new Acer laptop decided to have screen problems. Specifically, the back-lighting unit was faulty, so the screen is blacker than coal. Luckily it’s still under warranty. But it’ll be a couple weeks before I get it back in working condition. Considering all the terrible customer “support” I went through to get that far, plus the fact that I just got the laptop last month after my old one—also an Acer—decided to die of the same malady, I am just a little upset.

All this means I’ll be on a temporary blogging hiatus, probably until I’m settled in to my new home in New York City. City of Tides will be back in early January, and it will be so good. We’ve got fresh content cooking, a new focus I’m extremely excited about, and a couple surprises. Until then, everyone have a great holiday season and a happy winter solstice!

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Published:
December 3, 2009 – 1:34 am
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By J. Mattocks

Distraction-Free Writing With WriteMonkey Comments

I love writing. It sustains me. But no matter how satisfying writing is, Internet access practically guarantees distraction. Oh sure, I could choose not to connect. But Google and Wikipedia are just too useful for grabbing those quick bits of information. But then “I’ll just check my email,” “I’ll just retweet this,” or “I wonder if Nedroid updated yet.” One thing leads to another, and oh wow look, I’ve lost four hours and I seem to have opened thirty Wikipedia tabs on Marvel super heroes. Great.

If only there were a minimalistic text editor for Windows that could keep me focused, but retained the features that are actually important to my productivity.

I’d like to introduce you to WriteMonkey. It’s a scaled-down text editor that runs in full screen mode so you can concentrate on your writing. It’s like a little home office for your operating system.

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Published:
November 28, 2009 – 12:37 am
Author:
By J. Mattocks

Felis catus Comments

I think I’d like to get a cat after I move to NYC. I would name my cat Spot, because Data rules.

I love dogs, but they’re too much work for me right now. They’re like babies that never grow up and move out. Dogs are for when you have families. Cats are like having a really cute friend who always come over to eat your food, use your bathroom, and sleep on your couch. If you’re lucky, there might be cuddling. But don’t get attached. If someone else puts out the tuna, they’re not gonna play favorites. Why should they care about your problems? They have their own lives to worry about. There are things out there they need to try to fit inside and get stuck on top of. I can respect that.

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Published:
November 4, 2009 – 1:08 am
Author:
By J. Mattocks

I Am Not a Novelist Comments

Thanks to my existentialist leanings, I tend to define myself by what I do. Figuring out who I will be in this world means figuring out the actions I wish to take. So who do I choose to be?

It struck me today that I am not interested in being a traditional novelist. I feel like I’ve been struggling with this for years, trying to be something I don’t want to be just because I decided somewhere along the way that novel writing is a more legitimate profession than writing alternative forms of fiction.

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Published:
May 3, 2009 – 5:52 pm
Author:
By J. Mattocks

(Sort-of) Real Super Heroes Comments

I am an overweight child of eleven covered by a thin patina of twenty-somethingness. The slightest abrasion could scrape away the exterior of semi-maturity. So when I was informed that Cincinnati has a growing population of masked heroes, that twenty-somethingness film was washed away in a surge of youthful glee.

You know that noise young women make in anime when they’re really excited? I made that noise.

Upon viewing the above, I was overtaken by a deep sense of purpose. My destiny was revealed to me: I must go to them. I must understand them. Who wants to join me on a road trip to meet these super heroes? This is definitely a documentary film waiting to happen.

Recommended reading: Kick-Ass, a fictional comic book series about real life super heroes.

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Published:
April 30, 2009 – 10:08 pm
Author:
By J. Mattocks