Congratulations to my baby brother on his wedding!
It was a wonderful day which went off perfectly without a hitch. Everything was so beautiful and I think it was the most fun I’ve ever had at a wedding. The families meshed perfectly and everybody got along smashingly.
Unfortunately for Amanda, she married this guy…
…But it wasn’t all bad I suppose.
The kids both had the time of their lives. And yes, this “Ring Bear”…
… is sleeping with his ring bearer’s pillow tonight.
Congratulations again!
The Internet basically only exists to suck time away from us. This is especially true in my case. Some obsessive aspect of my personality really latches on to the Internet and can’t let go. I have to friend every person and read every status, tweet, or blog post of anybody I ever even remotely knew, as well as anybody they recommend, etc. I try to suck it all up and absorb it, but the Internet is endless. There is always one more website to read or blog post to write or link to share on someone’s wall. Slowly but surely, the Internet eats me until there is nothing left.
This is not the first time I have crawled my way out of this black hole. In defense of my sanity, as well as defense of all my other hobbies (including sleep), I’m going to throttle down a little bit. So if I don’t comment on your Facebook as much as I used to, or if I unfollow you on Twitter, Please don’t be offended. It’s not because you are uninteresting. Quite the opposite in fact.
Additionally, I will also be cutting down on my blogging.
On Jan. 3rd 2009, I started posting on my blog 5 days a week. It was a little bit of an experiment to see if I could. At that time I didn’t think it would last very long. It seemed impossible, and I also worried it would hurt the quality of the posts. A little over 4 years later, I am ready to call the experiment quits.
I’ve really enjoyed the challenge and I think that, not only did the quality remain high, but I think it actually improved. Blogging is still something I love, and it really became part of my personality during that time. I’ve received such nice feedback from people, and it’s really kept me in touch with a lot of people that I wouldn’t otherwise had any contact with. Lately, however, it has become too much of a burden. Sara could tell you how much time I spend fretting about things like, “I need another post for this week!” or “Is this really good enough for a post?” or “Why is my traffic going down? Was I boring this week?” or “Make the kids do something funny! I’m short on quotes!” This becomes doubly difficult when something’s going on, like stress at work, or queuing up posts for a multiple week vacation.
Since I receive no tangible benefits from blogging, there’s really no reason to add this kind of stress to my life. I will still continue to blog whenever I feel like it, which will no doubt be multiple times per week (maybe even every day!). However, I will no longer force myself to make an arbitrary post count.
Thanks to you who have enjoyed my blog over the years. I hope you will continue to enjoy it as it enters yet another new chapter.
-The Management
I’m pleased to announce my story “Random Play All and the League of Awesome” will appear in the anthology “Oomph: A little super goes a long way” from Crossed Genres publications.
Oomph is a collection of stories about superheroes. But not just any superheroes:
It’s easy to save the day when you’re invulnerable, can fly, or can punch through steel. But what if you’re just… really calloused? Or can hover for three seconds? Or can only punch through things made of aluminum?
Oomph: A little super goes a long way explores what it takes to be a superhero with just a little bit of power, where heroes and heroines use their small gifts to great advantage. Sometimes, you don’t need a big lever to move the world.
This is exciting for several reasons: first, because I have a lifelong love of trivial superpowers (see The Tick). Second, because it’s exciting to be included in something I’d actually want to read anyway. Third, because it’s quite a bit longer than the other stories I’ve sold. And fourth, because it will mark the first time I’ll be published in an actual dead tree book (although it will also be offered in e-book format).
I don’t know yet when the book will go on sale, but I’ll certainly keep you posted.
Today’s my birthday.
It’s kind of funny how when you get older birthdays are both not a big deal and also a really big deal. I mean, on one hand, you still have to go to work, take care of the kids, clean the house, etc. So it’s not really much different than any other day. On the other hand, it’s the one day of the year where it’s all about you. The older I get, the bigger deal that gets to be.
So feel free to make a really, really big deal about me today!
Ah, once again we find ourselves on that most magical of holidays, Gluttony Day Thanksgiving!
Enjoy your giant meals, your football, and your poker playing (maybe that’s just my family?), and think back to a simpler time, before Native Americans regretted all the help they gave to those first Pilgrims.
Shane Halbach 