I checked the numbers at the end of the month. For August we had 268 page loads (probably almost 100 of them were from Theresa and myself). We had a total of 1 click on an ad.
My goal for this month is to double the number of page loads and hope that even more people click the ads to generate more revenue.
I was talking to a friend of mine about marketing. These are the following “facts” about marketing. It takes a lot of work, it costs a lot of money, and sex sells. I don’t like any of those. So, I decided to do a flip of what Penny Arcade does (since that was our inspiration for this site). They have a huge following and so they have a big convention every year. I want a huge following, so I’m going to start throwing a convention every year. Assuming we can find funding, I plan on getting a bunch of cool people, a band, a convention center, and lots of fun things to do. Assuming, we don’t get a lot of funding, I’ll find someone with a basement and do what I can. I have decided, I will match the money we get from clicks on the ads. And to start us off right, I have clicked the ad myself.
I have also created a new email account for this site (since I don’t know how to access the email Robert created). If you are interested in more information and updates about the convention, drop me a line there. This way, I can put together a mailing list. The email is jaredforpresident@gmail.com
The rough ideas I have right now are that I would hold it in March (which gives me time to plan it). Preregistration will cost $25 and the price will go up at the door. Dealer booths will cost $250 and come with 2 passes. A few attractions will cost a little extra. I know a guy in Todesbonded and will ask him about booking the band to do a concert. I want to get Alex Archer (or actually a couple of the writers that use that pseudonym) to do a panel. I will also try to get a big name chess player (Irena Krush, Susan Polgar, or Gata Kamsky) to come down. And I have a few more pages of notes. But, it’s time for me to go to my regular job.
So this past weekend was supposed to be my ten year reunion. After months of saving up the money to make the trip down state and sending the check and finding lodging and sitters and taking the day off of my new job, they canceled. Turns out all the people that voted and gave opinions and all never sent in the deposit checks so we could pay for the place. Out of a class of almost 200 people only 22 sent in the money and said they were going. Guess noone wanted to see anyone from high school. So instead of the reunion I still went down and saw my ex-mother-in-law and took Tempe to Fort Rickey petting zoo. If you are every in Rome, NY you should go there. It was pretty neat they have all sorts of exotic animals I would never have thought of like an Emu and Wallaby and Ring-tailed Lemurs and a Timber wolf. Most of the animals they actually let you feed and pet. Tempe kept trying to feed the animals on piece of the feed at a time instead of just putting it in her hand and holding it out. She kept getting mad because they wouldn’t take it like that. Then we got to the Wallaby and it was asleep so she kept yelling at it and patting the ground next to her, “Sit, Now, here, sit!” Of course it didn’t wake up and listen.
The next thing that happened to me since the last post is that I got a new job at the Hospital as a cleaner in the office building. I swear it is the most boring job I have ever had. They give me 3 hours to clean a building that nothing happens in. The basics like garbage, toilets and moping take maybe 1 1/2 hours. So I have to find something to clean for the rest of the time. I think it is hilarious that I hate cleaning my house and will put it off as long as possible and would rather pay someone else to do it and they are having me clean. I’m just happy that I’m not in the actually hospital. There’s something fun about being there by yourself and not having a bunch of people bugging you. Plus I’m not home for Tempe’s bedtime anymore and now her daddy has to do the bedtime. He seems to be figuring it out that it’s not that easy and maybe it is actually work. Taking bets on how long it will take until he’s complaining about it. Any takers?
Last week I feed the sister missionaries and during dinner we ended up talking about movies. Specifically about movies that they had missed or would miss during their missions. Sister Kohler said that the first movie she was going to see when she got home will be The Last Airbender. I then expressed my disappointment in her choice. There were so many other, better movies that she had/will miss. She has only been on her mission for a few months, so she was home when Alice and Iron Man 2 came out. However, she said that she did not see Iron Man 2. The only other film out so far that I would recommend she see, and probably before bothering with The Last Airbender is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I went and saw that myself last week. It was a very entertaining movie. It did not have much in the way of depth, but was very funny and had lots of good visual effects. Having seen it, now I will need to go and get the books it was based on. So for Sister Kohler, I recommend seeing Iron Man 2 (since she hasn’t seen it), Alice (if she hasn’t seen it), and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I have the list of movies coming out and I’m sure many of them will be worth watching before The Last Airbender, too.
As for Sister Baxter, she’s been out longer and will be going home sooner, so my list for her will be movies that have already come and gone. I will keep the same three I mentioned above and add Sherlock Holmes which came out last Christmas, if I recall correctly. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any other movies that were that great. Does anyone else have any suggestions?
Hi everyone my name is Theresa and I will be your new contributor to this site. To tell you a little about myself I am 28 years old and live in a very small town in New York close to the Canadian border. I have a little girl who will be 2 in September and is just entering the terrible twos. My boyfriend and I have been together for 5 years. We have a cat, Isis, who is completely insane and has started to bring home mice; a dog, Kia, who is 7. We adopted her last year. She is a little baby; and an iguana, Izzy who we caught when we lived in Key West. I like to read and my favorite authors are James Mitchener and Kathy Reichs. My life revolves around my house which we are fixing up and my daughter and hopefully a job which I am waiting to start. I’ve never written on a blog before so hopefully you will enjoy what I have to say. I want to also let you know that any questions just ask and I will answer them for you. While Jared posts more about Sci-fi, chess, and Video games I think I will post more about the mundane, trivial, and boring aspects of being a mom. (Now somehow I have to find a way for it to be interesting enough for people to want to read!) Now I know that there are a million and one blogs about this exact subject, but none of them have a cast of characters like mine. Now to introduce them to you:
Theresa: That’s me. Please see above.
Ken: The boyfriend and baby’s daddy. He is a tattoo artist, construction worker, auto mechanic and gardener. In and out of work.
Temperance: The almost 2 years old baby. She thinks she is in charge of the world and who’s favorite two words are where and outside. She also hates to sleep.
Kia: the dog.
Isis: The crazy cat. I mean it she is psycho.
Peanut: Tempe’s best friend. She is four.
Amanda: Peanut’s mom and my best friend.
Little Kenny: Ken’s friend who is staying the summer.
There are many more, but these are the main players.
Well, I guess that is it for today. The next post will be the beginning of my adventures. Until next time……
I was going by a game store earlier this week and I decided to stop in. I checked on the release date of Guild Wars 2 and they said it’s planned for November 2 of this year. Hopefully it won’t be pushed back any more.
The game is supposed to take place 250 after the first game. The world has changed significantly in that time. Unlike the original Guild Wars, you can play as different races: human, charr, norn, asura, and sylvari, a new race that grew in the Maguuma Jungle.
The graphics in the videos are great. The cities look much more realistic. I am anxiously awaiting the game.
I have read a few articles about the game. Guildwars2.com has a lot of interesting information about the game. They have pages on a couple of the different classes that will be in the game, including Warrior, Elementalist, and Ranger. They also have ingame clips of some of their attacks.
Ten Ton Hammer has a nice article about the Norn. In Eyes of the North, they were a fiercely independent race. They had no armies or government. Everything was about the hunt. They only united to take on the destroyer. After the end of the game, the Norn break up again and go their own ways. Then the dragon Jormag (who you can see under the ice of Drakkar Lake in GW) rises and sends its minions against the Norn. The Norn lose again and again because they refuse to work together. They eventually flee to the dwarven fortresses to rebuild.
I could keep going on about the game, but I think that’s enough for now.
On a different note, I had found one person interested in writing for the site, but I haven’t heard from him since. However, my sister Theresa has said that she wants to start writing here. I have set her up, so we might see something from her in the near future.
Concerning the poll, there have been only 5 votes so far. I will hold out for a few more.
Okay, I have uploaded the first three chapters with the new revisions.
Also, I just realized that I completely forgot about my dearest Melissa when I created the poll for my last post. I’ve known her since high school. She was one of my sisters best friends. And she proposed to me shortly after we graduated. But I turned her down because she was about to ship out with the navy. If I have a wife, I want to at least be able to kiss her once a month or two. I have made the correction, so you can now vote for her, too.
I have also added a “none of the above” option, too.
Man, I am not doing so well. I had promised three posts a week, but I have only been posting two a week so far. This week I am going to double my effort and do four posts.
Before I get started on today’s post, please don’t bother looking at the story page. I am in the middle of a major edit. I have created a new character, which caused a rewrite of a couple chapters. Then, over the weekend, someone took a look at my working copy and pointed out a few hundred weak spots that I am touching up.
Since I haven’t done anything with my romantic life in years, I decided that it might be interesting to turn it into a choose your own adventure. I give you guys a list of options and you decide what I should do and I will try to do it. I have made a list of females that I find interesting.
First is Alex. She recently returned to the area from college. She was the one who was editing my story. However, after going to a church conference together this weekend, I’m not sure if she likes me. However, she seems to like my story.
Next up is Dianna. I really don’t know anything about her. I meet her at the conference. She approached me when I was sitting down during the dance. She’s cute and she gave me her number.
There is Brittney. She’s pretty cool to hang out with. I’ve known her for a few months. When I told her that I want to seduce her, she didn’t seem to hate the idea.
How about we add Summer Glau to the list. She is the actress from Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles and Firefly. I have no idea how to reach her, but it might be fun trying.
And lastly, there is Sister Baxter, one of the sister missionaries in the ward. She’s a missionary, so I don’t think that anything will happen there any time soon.
I realize that I might have been a bit unfair in my previous post. It is easy to find fault with anyone, however congress has done good stuff, too, such as passing the bill to extend some unemployment benefits during this recent economic crisis. And the Wall street bailout (The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008) that ensured wall street tycoons to get their million dollar bonuses, remember wall street bankers are people, too.
I was flipping through channels last night and came across some crazy show. Some catholic guy (I assume he was catholic because he was talking about how great Pope John Paul II was) starting talking about how bad socialism is, so I decided to watch it for a bit. According to this guy, the European Union is going to become the New World Order and usher in Armageddon because they’re socialists. The United States is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, so it should not take care of the citizens because socialism is bad. After a few minutes, I couldn’t take it any more.
Now I’m really wondering, why is socialism so bad? And if it’s so evil, why are Canada and most of Europe followers of the antichrist? So, I went to the source of all wisdom, wikipedia and looked it up. From what I read, socialism is an economic and political system where the businesses and resources are owned by the people, not just by a few. It also abolishes the monetary system and workers are paid, based on merit and the amount of labor, with resources or finished products. I am too much of a capitalist to go for that and I don’t think that the conservatives and ultraconservatives will go for it. However, how does universal health care make the government socialist? Is it just because the government would operate a business? How different is that from the government buying out all the mortgages during the bailout? The government, therefore the people, took over the losses of the big businesses. I guess that the main difference is that the people were not able to share in the profits. I guess that as long as the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor, whatever we do is okay. But if we ever do anything to help out the lower classes of society, then we are evil (according to certain people).
Many European countries and Canada are not true socialist systems, they are Social democracies. While the government runs many industries and provides universal health care and other benefits, however they still use money and there are still privately owned businesses. Are they really evil? I seriously think that the guy I saw last night is off his rockers. I don’t think that the European Union worships the antichrist or anything like that. I just think that their governments care about their citizens.
I am a capitalist, I believe in private ownership of businesses. I also think that if you’re a banker and you mismanage your business, you shouldn’t get the government to give you millions of dollars for your bonuses. If you have private ownership of businesses, you should have private ownership of losses. I also think that the government should take care of its citizens. I support universal health care. And I think I will end my rant here.
I have been talking to a few friends of mine about starting the Analog-Theater party. They have provided me with a few pointer and suggestions. I am working on putting them all together into a more complete and well thought out proposal. I should have a better post about that soon.
I try not to pay too much attention to Washington DC. I hate going there and I get depressed whenever I hear about what’s going on there. However, I’ve decided to rant about some of the latest going ons.
Last year, Obama tried to get Congress to pass a health care bill (HR 3962 The Affordable Health Care for America Act). I know a lot of people (including everyone at Fox) thinks that’s the first step to become socialist. So far, no one has explained to me why that’s bad. Europe seems to be doing okay. However, I have gone years without any sort of health insurance at times in my life. My only option was to just not get sick. A coworker of mine, his health care plan is a bottle of Kahlua and a bottle of Excedrin because he can’t afford to go to the doctors. Many hard working Americans would have loved to have health care. However, Congress kept on adding amendments to the bill until it was thousands of pages long. I remember watching an episode of the Daily Show when someone brought one volume (a large binder) of a hard copy of the bill onto the set. The bill became so complex and had so many amendments and earmarks that no one wanted to vote for it, so it was voted down.
Recently Congress voted down the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009. It was a bill that would help rescue workers who are suffering from ailments caused by their service during on 9/11. At first this bill appeared to be a bipartisan effort. It was sponsored by Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) with 115 co-sponsors including Peter King (R-NY) and 14 other republicans. They brought it to the floor under the suspension of the rules procedure so that no one could add any amendments to the bill. However, instead of requiring a simple majority to pass, it would need a two-thirds majority. Some of the republicans refused to support the bill unless it was changed to prevent any illegal aliens from receiving any benefits. So, if you are an illegal alien working as a rescue worker and there is another emergency like 9/11, don’t do anything because congress hates you and wants you to die. Personally, I hate illegal aliens. But, I think you should get help after you risk your lives. Then we send you back to where ever you came from. The democrats set up this bill under special provisions specifically to avoid having to vote on adding this amendment to the bill so that whatever they voted could not be held against them during reelection.
Another problem that the republicans had with the bill was that it would raise taxes. However, the bill was created in such a way that it would not raise any taxes, it would simply close a loophole in the current tax codes that allow businesses in the US to incorporate in overseas tax havens so that they do not have to pay taxes on income earned in the US. The new taxes it would generate (which these companies should have been paying anyways) would finance the health care. I wonder how many of those congress men have investments in companies like that.
The bill did have one supporter worth mentioning. Check out the video below.
In the end, the bill was not passed. It got a majority, but not a two-thirds majority. However, the House of Representatives was able to pass another bill, allowing people who are going through bankruptcy to keep their guns. You don’t get health care, you lose your house and car, but at least you can shot things. Isn’t America great?
I blame both parties for not passing this bill. Party politics was also part of the problem with the Health Care Act from last year. The democrats tried to get bipartisan support and allowed the republicans to add various amendments to the bill in exchange for votes, which they never got. I think that it’s time for democrats and republicans to go the way of the Dilophosaurus and Brachiosaurus (both are types of dinosaurs if you didn’t know). I’ve looked into third parties before. While I agree with the Green Party and Right to Lifers, they don’t have enough of a platform to pull me towards them. I agree with the Constitutional party’s premise, I do not agree with how they plan on carrying it out or to what extent. I like the reform party’s platform and looked into them further and realized why they aren’t going anywhere. In 2005, there was a dispute among the party leaders. Several committee members called a meeting (in accordance to the parties by-laws). However, the party chairmen and some other committee members did not like this and boycotted the meeting. Since then, the party has split and have been having various court battles.
With the two main parties screwing things up and the various third parties just being screwed up, I am now thinking that we need a new party. And I wasn’t even thinking that when I start this rant. Who is in favor of an Analog-Theater party? I’m think our platform will including Fiscal Responsibility (balancing the budget, reducing wasteful spending, paying off our national debt, eliminating various tax loopholes like the one to do with offshore corporations), energy independence and promoting green energy, and promoting scientific and educational advancements.
Doing a quick search on how to start a political party, I realize that the first thing I will need are a few other people to serve as temporary officers. We will need a more clear and detailed platform. And of course, tons of money. We have some time before the 2011 Virginia State elections, but not a lot. Who wants to help me shake up the government?
It was pointed out to me there there were still a few bugs on the site. Mainly the about page. Robert had created a new about page using the content manager, however, the site still linked to our old page. That has now been fixed. I also cleaned up our subscriber list (the people who can post comments on our posts). I got rid of about 200+ spammers. I avoided removing anyone who I recognized. Please check and make sure that I did not get rid of your log in. Feel free to comment below so that I recognize you.
I am still looking for a new contributor. Hopefully I can find someone soon.
And now, some real content. I recently came across the trailer for a new movie that’s coming out called Sucker Punch. The makers are describing the movie as being “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns”. The special effects look good. I want a B-52 to go dragon hunting now. Here’s the trailer:
And here is another clip I found. It would make an awesome movie, but I don’t think anyone is seriously working on it.
And because good things should come in threes, here’s another video I found. Beware the ninja cat.
Here is the updated list of movies to watch in the theaters:
In the theaters now:
The Last Airbender which is written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. It is a live action movie based on the popular anime “Avatar, The Last Airbender”. Starring Noah Ringer as Aang, the avatar. While the movie is not as good as the anime (movies based on preexisting medias seldom are), it is better than some of Shyamalan’s recent stuff (like The Happening).
Predators, starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne, and Alice Braga as various elite warriors who have been abducted and taken to a game preserve where they are hunted by the titular predators.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, a modern day retelling of the story from Fantasia, which was a retelling of a 1797 poem by Goethe titled Der Zauberlehrling, starring Nicholas Cage as the Sorcerer, Jay Burachel as the apprentice, Teresa Palmer as the female lead, and Monica Bellucci as the Sorceress Veronica, and directed by Jon Turteltaub.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, starring Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim, the guitarist who falls in love with Ramona Flowers played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and ends up having to face all seven of her ex-boyfriends including a set of twins and a girl.
Coming Soon:
Everyone will be on the screen on August 13th, 2010. Silvester Stallone, the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, and even Charisma Carpenter from Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame all come together in the film The Expendables. The movie is about a team of highly trained mercenaries on a mission in South America and then something goes wrong. Steven Seagal and Kurt Russel both were approached for the film, but turned it down.
September 10, 2010: Milla Jovovich reprises her role as Alice in Resident Evil: Afterlife. Sienna Guillory who played Jill Valentine in the second movie returns in this movie, as does Ali Larter playing Claire Redfield.
November 24th, 2010: Tangled, an animated retelling of Repunzel by Disney. Mandy Moore is the voice of Rapunzel and Zachary Levi voices the rogue Flynn Rider who stumbles upon the tower where Repunzel has been imprisioned. They will be showing this movie in 3D.
January 14th, 2011: The Green Hornet starring Seth Rogen as the titular role. Jay Chou plays his sidekick Kato. And Chirstoph Waltz plays Benjamin Chudnofsky, the film’s villian.
March 25th, 2011: Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, Jamie Chung and Jena Malone star in a film that is being described as “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns”. Sucker Punch tells the story of a girl trying to escape from the pains caused by an abusive step father and an upcoming lobotomy by creating an imaginary world with B-52s and dragons. The film is directed by Zack Snyder, who also did 300 and Watchmen.
As part of the nine movie Avenger’s franchise, Thor will be released May 20th, 2011. Chris Hemsworth (A Perfect Getaway, Star Trek) has been cast as Thor. Tom Hiddleston (The Unrelated) will play Loki. And Natalie Portman will play Jane Foster.
Also on May 20th, 2011 Johnny Depp will be back as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides. Geoffrey Rush is also returning. Rob Marshall has been signed on to direct.
June 17, 2011 Green Lantern, a live action movie about the Green Lantern Hal Jordan. It will be direct by Martin Campbell. Chris Pine (Captain Kirk from the new Star Trek) is playing Hal Jordan and Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Stardust) is playing Sinestro.
July 22, 2011: Captain America: The First Avenger which will take place half in World War 2 and half in modern day. Chris Evans (The Losers, Fantastic Four) will play the role of Steve Rodgers/Captain America. Hugo Weaving is playing his nemesis, the Red Skull. And Tommy Lee Jones will have a bit part as Colonel Chester Phillips, who recruits Rodgers to the Super Soldier program. Nick Fury, Howard Stark (Tony Stark’s father) and Bucky will also be in the movie. Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jurassic Park 3) is directing.
Sometime in 2011, Director Scott Derrickson is planning to film Paradise Lost in 3D. Discussing his interpretation of the story, he sees Satan as an anti-hero and not the villain, and that it shall be a “litmus test” for the audience when they stop sympathizing with the character. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are producing.
Also in 2011, Keanue Reeves will have to work hard to impress us as Spike Spiegel in the live action Cowboy Bebop movie. There is no news yet about who the rest of the cast is, but Sunrise Inc and the creators of Cowboy Bebop are involved in the production, so there is hope that the movie will stay true to the series.
Also sometime in 2011, Ryan Reynolds will reprise his role as Deadpool in the film Deadpool. However, this time Deadpool will be the one we all know and love from the comic books. Rumor has it that he will continue his tradition of breaking the fourth wall.
May 4th, 2012: Avengers with Robert Downy, Jr., Edward Norton, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth.
On June 29th, 2012 we can plan on seeing more of J.J. Abrams alternate Star Trek time line as the crew of the Enterprise launches again on its mission to find hot new aliens for Kirk.
Micheal Bay is planning on a third installment of the Transformers series for July 1st, 2012. Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro and Ramón Rodríguez are signed on to reprise their respective roles, with Peter Cullen also returning as the voice of Optimus Prime. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley will be replacing Megan Fox and will play Sam’s new love interest.
July 3rd, 2012, Director Marc Webb is doing a reboot of the Spiderman series. Tobey Macquire is out, Andrew Garfield (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) is in.
The Bat is back on July 20th, 2012. Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale are doing a third Batman movie. There is no word yet on who the villain will be in this installment.
Now in film making limbo: Grayskull: Masters of the Universe, it was set to be produced by Joel Silver and written by Justin Marks and Evan Daugherty. There have been some changes since Sony has acquired the rights to the movie from Warner Brothers. Mike Finch and Alex Litvak have been hired to write a new script, but there has been no word on any change in director.
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