Jon’s blog

I am thankful for a supportive, loyal, hilarious family. I am thankful for friends who are themselves unreservedly with me because they know I adore them and accept them and with whom I am myself for the same reason. I am thankful for a wife who loves me when I’m here and when I’m gone and knows there’s really only so much difference between the two.

I am grateful that I live in a country with no end to its beauty, even if the cost is a similar range in its humidity and frigidity. I am grateful to be employed and to enjoy the work I do and more so to co-labour with people of like attitudes and interests.

I owe props to to my immune system and sheer blind luck, to the globe so willing to be trotted, to my death-defying laptop, to quality entertainment, to natural gifts and their giver.

I’m fond of woodsmoke, uncles and aunts and cousins, ghost stories, CAO bella vanillas, chatty waitresses, roadtrip playlists, capacious memory cards, tabby cats, naps, marshmallows, crossword puzzles and the sun.

~J

Today I turn thirty and fly home to Ontario for two weeks of adventure. (Tomorrow, according to wordpress’s server clock.) No post next week as I’ll be roughing it in the Canadian wilderness with the people I most adore. I’m back just in time to post again the week after that, presumably with scads of photos from parties and camping and expos and weddings. More probably those photos will take me a while to process and instead I’ll dole out some U of J prompts or get back on the writing update train. (Because I’m back on the writing at all train. Woo woo!)

~J

Phew. U of J 301 took longer than I expected. The whole thing is up to twelve thousand words. I might indeed make a little chapbook of it, definitely a share-alike PDF.

Now that 301 is posted I can get on with this week’s post. Long weekend. Photos of fireworks and pride parade. Might post em next week. Watched 44 Inch Chest. Delectable. Watched Avatar. Detestable. Sigourney Weaver is the new black (always) but even she couldn’t save it. The Last Smurfurai, anyone? Joke-ahontas. The end.

~J

I’m not quite done the 301 installment of the writing course. I’ll post it later this week once it’s finished. (Rather than stay up all night and be a zombie at work tomorrow. Might still eat a brain though.) Maybe I’ll proof the 101 too while I’m at it, like I should have the first time.

I do have a curious spam comment to share so I can say I posted something on post-Monday:

I laughed like a madman. I have to admire the sidelong invention of it. I wonder how many bloggists out there were weak-willed and Hollywood-trained enough to follow the links. May they save the day and get the penis cream. Naturally, I only use Steve Martin’s All-Natural Penis Beauty Cream.

(Help! I’m currently being held prisoner by Steve Martin and being forced to post testimonials about his penis cream! It’s a solid product that I’d promote anyway, I don’t know why he kidnapped me. He’s coming back now with Trains Planes & Automobiles. Please send help and or popcorn!)

~J

Well. I started a new job today and it went quite well and as a result I shelved the longer but unfinished U of J: 201 post I’d planned for today. That means, you guessed it, it’s time for a visit from the Holiday Animal! This holiday season it comes bearing some pretty keen gifts indeed.

1. Start.io. I’ve never been a homepage kinda guy, more an about:blank kind. This service has very swiftly changed my mind.
2. Teux Deux. Likewise, I’ve never gone in much for to do lists. I keep them and forget. I remember but don’t heed their articles. This service may be changing my mind. It also may not be. A few minor enhancements would change that and they’ve even provided a simple feedback interface so, who knows, maybe they’ll adopt my suggestions.
3. Friend plug, I: A longtime writer buddy of mine is running a kickstarter drive to raise funds for a top quality second edition print run of his self-published novel, A Life Transparent. The goodie bag rewards for donations are copious and generous. If you’re into supporting indie lit, this is about as independent as it gets. Check it out. (Another dear friend put together that book trailer. I’m undecided on the idea of book trailers but no bones about it she did a classy job.)
4. Friend plug, II: Another longtime writer buddy is running a very intriguing essay series on video games as mediums of fictional storytelling. I should say active and interactive storytelling, collaboration between audience and what you might crudely lump together under the title author. I’m quite enjoying it so far. He’s captured a number of ideas I’ve flirted with over the years but have never been able to articulate. For those of you daunted by the word essay, don’t worry, it’s got pictures.
5. Khan Academy. Apparently some guy thinks he can revolutionize education by providing it for free online? Apparently it’s he’s right? It’s heavy on the maths and sciences at present, but the potential is astounding. I’m not sure how similar or dissimilar it is to Open University — I have yet to give that more than a cursory look.
6. Game Seeds. This is too cool. A game about making games. It’s designed with video games in mind but I envision applications well beyond. With a few simple alterations this could easily be a fun, simplifying, routine-breaking way to plot out stories and novels and any other form of narrative. My birthday is totally coming up, hint hint.
7. Last but not least a J Designs plug. I finished this sample a while ago, I just haven’t mentioned it. Bitmap. Cute and fun but also functional, built to showcase features of HTML5. Try the stage select!

Today is my dad’s 67th birthday and yesterday was my baby sister’s first wedding anniversary and next month I turn thirty. I still get schoolchild-giddy over robots, though, so I don’t feel old yet.

~J