Video Games are Real

Category: General News

  • Currently writing Phil Jourdan and Pablo D’Stair

    Currently writing Phil Jourdan and Pablo D’Stair

    I don’t speak enough to my readers. I’ve learned this recently. Much of the content on this blog speaks to other writers (which are generally readers, for sure), but I need to change my game a bit, I think. With that in mind, I want to start writing a bit more about my in-progress projects.

    Pablo D'Stair caught by my camera in Chicago, ILI know, I know, writing about work that isn’t finished comes across as a bit masturbatory. I’ve often been annoyed by such posts. My goal here isn’t to be annoying, though. Rather, I want to give those who are interested a peek into my projects. The primary goal is to get people excited about my work. The secondary goal is to keep my current projects top-of-mind for me so that I keep my fingers to the keyboard as much as possible. Simply put, I’ve been feeling a bit unproductive lately and am looking for a way to stay motivated while possibly at the same time helping keep readers informed.

    So what’s in the hopper now? A collaboration with Pablo D’Stair with the working title of The Bettor Stories. The concept: two people at a bar make a bet: each chooses a victim for the other with the goal to get the victim to commit suicide. Whoever’s victim kills him/herself first wins. We’re in the early stages (I’ve barely started writing) but you can expect some really cool layout effects and perhaps some deep explorations of the difference between suicide and murder. This will be the first fiction collaboration ever between Pablo and myself. Long overdue, if you ask me.

    The idea for the collaboration actually came to me a couple of weeks ago during a bar conversation between myself and author/intelligencio Phil Jourdan. He asked me, hypothetically, when I look back on my life 50 years from now how would I determine whether or not I’ve lived a “good” life. I responded, jokingly, that if I could get someone to commit suicide because of my writing, then I’d have lived a good life. That got my mind spinning. When I approached Pablo with a project idea based on my response, he was cool enough to play along.

    Check back often to stay up to date on my progress.

  • Are you a pervert for seeing abstract and implied vaginas on book covers?

    Are you a pervert for seeing abstract and implied vaginas on book covers?

    Sex sells. We know this. Implied sex also sells, and perhaps even more-so considering the audience for discreet sex is much wider (puritans can’t hate what they can’t define, right?).

    But sometimes I’m not sure if I’m recognizing the marketing money-shot, or if I’m just perverted. Take a look at these possible vaginas and let me know in the comments.

    Do Me: Tales of Sex & Love from Tin House

    No need to question the intent with this one. Bibliophiliacs rejoice.

    Before they Were Giants: First Works from Science Fiction Greats

    It’s generally accepted that science fiction fans, at least traditionally, are sex-starved. If Dungeons & Dragons/Star Wars stereotypes have any root in truth, most sci-fi fans aren’t motivated by sex…unless that sex comes by way of a giant octopus vagina space monster.

    Granta: The Magazine of New Writing. issue #110: Sex

    Another obvious one (what is it with literary magazines and lack-of-subtlety?). At least this one apparently tries to imply a message by visual tension…a purse and a puss? I’d say there’s something about money being involved in sex, somewhere in this issue.

    If you happen to own a mother’s purse candle (which can be purchased here), then I’m afraid your life just got a lot more Oedipal after reading this blog post. This candle store sits not far from where I live. The candle really does smell like a mother’s purse. Needless to say, I’m never reading this issue of Granta.

    The Commoner: a novel by John Burnham Schwartz

    Of all the covers, this one has the potential to be the most unintentional. The view from a womb perspective here probably doesn’t actually exist, the curtains are probably not of the beef variety. In fact, the bold section below (from the Amazon.com synopsis) is the only evidence that leads me to believe that not only womanhood, but the vagina itself, plays an important role in the novel, and therefore makes this cover vaginal.

    It is 1959 when Haruko, a young woman of good family, marries the Crown Prince of Japan, the heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne. She is the first non-aristocratic woman to enter the longest-running, almost hermetically sealed, and mysterious monarchy in the world. Met with cruelty and suspicion by the Empress and her minions, Haruko is controlled at every turn. The only interest the court has in her is her ability to produce an heir.

     Richard Yates by Tao Lin

    Here’s how much of a nerd I am. Until very recently, I looked at this cover and thought only of Rene Magritte’s bowler hat series (see below). I’ve always known that my testosterone and sex drive were both low, so it makes sense that I would see the image of a 1960 Belgium surrealist painting rather than a vagina.

    Son of Man, Rene Magritte

    Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

    This cover was never actually released. Instead, the 50th anniversary edition was toned down, though quite simply so. In fact, a single 90-degree turn and a hue alteration changed this cover from offensive to universally tame.

    So, what do you think? Am I a pervert? Are you a pervert?

  • F.C.J.R shirt. Wear one and I’ll send you something pretty.

    F.C.J.R shirt. Wear one and I’ll send you something pretty.

    The wonderful Misty Bennett posted an aside over at Facebook that she was designing a t-shirt with the letters F.C.J.R on it, which I can only is an protest statement against Jamaican spy activity: Farewell to Clandestine Jamaican Reconnaissance. What else could it possibly mean?

    Anyone who creates, wears, and snaps a photo of themselves wearing such a t-shirt will receive something cool from me. What exactly that cool thing will be, I don’t know. You can probably expect a book from my book shelf, perhaps one with the naughty bits highlighted, perhaps some naughty bits added. Maybe you’ll get a sack of paper cigar rings. Maybe you’ll get my bathroom garbage. Who knows. Just snap a pic and email me at caleb [at] calebjross.com.

    Just one idea for you
  • Guest Post – The Top 10 WordPress Plug-ins Every Blogger Should Have by Kate Croston

    Guest Post – The Top 10 WordPress Plug-ins Every Blogger Should Have by Kate Croston

    This is a guest post by Kate Croston who is a freelance writer, holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes guest posts for different sites and loves contributing home internet service related topics. Questions or comments can be sent to:  katecroston.croston09 @ gmail.com.

    WordPress is one of the easiest to use and most functional blogging software suites you can find. One of the advantages of using it is the plethora of plug-ins available for it. Here are the top ten plug-ins that no webmaster should be without:

    1. Google Analytics
      This plug-in allows you to embed your Google Analytics code into every page and post you produce. This allows you to track visitors, links in and a variety of other data.
    2. Google XML Sitemaps
      Search engine indexing is a huge part of having a high search engine results rank. This add-on automatically helps you generate and update an XML map that makes indexing more efficient.
    3. Jetpack by WordPress.com
      Jetpack allows you to connect your domain or hosted blog to your WordPress.com account. Doing so gives you access to features that are normally only available on the WordPress domain.
    4. Pinterest Pin It Button
      This up and coming social media site brags a higher on site time that even Facebook. Using the “Pin It” plug-in, people can automatically feature your site on their Pinterest profile wall.
    5. WP-Polls
      If you want to know what people think of your site, one of your best solutions is to add a poll to your website. WP-Polls is a quick and easy to use way to do so, and polls do not have ads embedded in them with this plug-in.
    6. Akismet
      While getting comments is a great part of running a blog, spam comments are annoying. Use Aksimet to automatically filter out spam from your blog’s comments.
    7. Add Link to Facebook
      This plug-in will automatically publish links to any new content on your blog to your Facebook profile. It can also integrate Facebook “likes” and comments to your blog posts.
    8. Twitter Bird on Site
      If you want to add Twitter options to your blog, install this plug-in. It adds a Twitter bird to your site that allows people to follow you.
    9. Sweet Captcha
      This is a Captcha tool that is not nearly as frustrating to use as most other Captcha services. Instead of verifying words or letters, you are asked to select a picture.
    10. WP-Instaroll
      This plug-in allows you to create blog posts from your Instagram photos. The add-on allows you to select images directly from your photo stream.

    If you want to make sure that you have all the tools you need for a successful site, make sure to install these WordPress plug-ins.

  • I did it. I have an official author Facebook page now. Changes coming.

    I did it. I have an official author Facebook page now. Changes coming.

    I did it. I broke down and created an official Caleb J. Ross author page on Facebook. I’ve been averse to doing this for a while, primarily because I want to avoid perceived ego as much as possible (well, as much as a guy with a self-titled website can do), but also because I don’t want to bombard people with duplicate content posts. The logic being that until the official author page gains traction, I would have to post updates to both the author page and my personal page in order to curb anybody missing out on my genius (see, no ego there). Nobody needs double Caleb.

    So, here’s what I propose:

    1. If you are currently a Facebook friend via my personal page, but you ONLY WANT TO RECEIVE AUTHOR TYPE UPDATES, then un-friend my personal page and Like my author page. You can actually do this by clicking this link or you can click “like” in the sidebar box to the right.
    2. If you are currently a Facebook friend via my personal page, and you want to receive BOTH AUTHOR AND PERSONAL TYPE UPDATES, then stay friended AND Like my author page. You can actually do this by clicking this link or you can click “like” in the sidebar box to the right.*
    3. If you are not currently a Facebook friend via my personal page, and you are not currently a fan of my author page, then you are likely responsible for the Holocaust. Sorry.
    *The inevitable question: “If I am a Facebook friend on your personal page and I Like your author page, won’t I be bombarded with duplicate content?” At first, yes. However, I have started a new category on this blog called Un-Writerly. Any blog post with this tag will ONLY be posted to my personal page and WILL NOT be posted to my author page. For example, if all is set up correctly, you are able to view this very blog post ONLY on my personal page. You may still receive a few duplicate status updates, but those should be very minimal.
  • Put this one on your radar. Psychosis, an Anthology

    Put this one on your radar. Psychosis, an Anthology

    This one has been in development for  awhile and is getting closer and closer to seeing print. I hope, anyway. While I wasn’t able to put something together to contribute to the collection (the editor approached me; I originally intended to, but life got crazy so I couldn’t do it…not literally crazy, not crazy enough to be appropriate fodder for this anthology…just metaphorically crazy).

    Add this to your RSS reader and keep an eye out for it. Based on the website, it appears we’ve got writing from the following authors to look forward to: Bryan Howie, Rebecca Jones-Howe, Dakota Taylor, Jessica Taylor, Kenneth Goldman, Liana V., Nicholas Wilczynski, Josef Van L., Richard Thomas, Renee Asher, DWG, Bradley Sands, Rachel Cohen, Sam Jackson, Martin Garrity, Cristiana Zanelli, and Sarah Davenport with Traci Foust, author of Nowhere Near Normal: A Memoir of OCD, writing the introduction. I don’t know most of these authors, but I soon will.

  • Ryan W. Bradley Fails the Internet: The Code for Failure blog tour.

    Ryan W. Bradley Fails the Internet: The Code for Failure blog tour.

    When I told Ryan that for the blog tour stop here I would write a bit about my own strange affection for convenience stores/gas stations he, in more eloquent words, told me I was crazy. Well, perhaps I misrepresented him. His actual words: “I like the nostalgia factor. I like the smell of gas but I’ll tell ya, the nostalgia goes away when you work there.”

    Perhaps so. But if the work experience is anything like that of Code for Failure’s narrator, then I’d say nostalgia is but one type of memory you’ll come away with. This guy gets laid like a disembarking Hawaii tourist.

    The novel is less a single, cohesive story and more a collection of vignettes all related to the narrator’s job as a gas station attendant cum oil changer, or gas station attendant cum to married women and teenage girls, as the case may be.

    Back to my gas stations. Why do I look back so fondly on convenience stores? Growing up in a small town of 3,500-4,000 people, shopping took place between two grocery stores and three gas stations. The gas stations felt consistently new and comforting. Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps the understanding of temporary fuel, of gaining sustenance where I probably shouldn’t. Is this a comment on my fatherless childhood, needing to thrive in less than optimal conditions? Probably not. But I have no better reason.

    When road-tripping (that’s engaging in a long-distance trip in a car, not hotboxing in a vehicle) I actually look forward to the gas station breaks. I’m not at all the sitcom stereotype father, the guy who simply wants to ‘get there’ as fast as possible. I’m the sitcom stereotype kid who wants to break every 100 miles to pee.

    But a kid’s gas station Code for Failure is not.

    You want a gas station experience like one you’ll surely never have? Order Ryan W. Bradley’s Code for Failure, now at Black Coffee Press.

    While you’re at it, check out the rest of the Code for Failure tour:

    Monday March 19
    The Next Big Book Blog
    Tuesday March 20th
    Allison Writes
    Wednesday March 21st
    This Blog Will Change Your Life
    Thursday March 22
    Dead End Follies
    Friday March 23
    Booked In Chico
    Saturday March 24
    Me
    Sunday March 25
    Monkey Bicycle
    Monday March 26
    Hawthorne Scarlet
    Tuesday March 27th
    Ryan W. Bradley