I had a big change in my life this past week as I left my full time job to work on my website (ComicBastards.com) and to work on my own writing as well. It's been an experience and right now I'm just trying to find a balance to everything. I'm very much a routine person. I need some sort of routine otherwise I just do nothing and everything all at once and that doesn't really work out too well. Needless to say this week has been anything but routine.
My wife doesn't work Sunday/Monday and so that instantly has changed how I work on my site since Monday is usually a pretty big day for us. This left me thinking that Tuesday was actually Monday so that'll definitely be an adjustment in the future. I'm not scared so far although I did have a minor freakout yesterday in which I realized that my only outlet will be talking to my wife and friends who I see only once a week if that. Not that I can't talk to my wife on end, but she gets tired of hearing about comic books and my strange humor... I'm one of those annoying people that has a MST3000 style of joke for every TV show and she's the type that hates me because I won't shut up during her TV show.
Yesterday I also sold my car. It was broken so it wasn't a terrible loss and I knew that it was going to cost serious money to get it running again. This year already it had cost me about 600 bucks to keep it registered and repaired enough to pass a smog test. Sucks that I only got to drive it for two weeks before it took a huge dump on me. For the past month or so my wife and I were just car pooling to work which wasn't a big deal at all. Even still I'm a bit sad. I told my wife the other day how it was that I got the car and it made me a bit sad and felt like a loss of freedom. Even sadder the car was basically paid off by my mom with the money that my Grandmother left upon her passing. I always contributed the car to her and so it's a strange long running chapter of my life that is finally closed.
I'm a bit worried about my old job too. I did really enjoy the job, but at some point I knew I needed to leave in order for myself to grow and for them as well. It's a small company and they become too reliant upon people in certain positions and stop developing because of it. Hopefully they'll find someone good to replace me, but I'll probably never really hear about it.
My other work related concern is that my comedy style is very much an experience. That is to say most people don't recall what I've said that is funny, just that I made them laugh and it was a good time. I worry that without co-workers and that daily exposure to work that my jokes will become less and less funny. Also I wish I had written down more of my terrible customer experiences there so that I could use it for story material. Oh well I guess I'll have to check in with people once in a while.
I do wonder though... what the fuck am I going to talk about now? I feel like less of a person because I don't work, but that's terrible because I don't just want to 9-5 grind for the rest of my life. I want to wake up and write something of meaning to myself and hope that it entertains or reaches others on some level. I can't feel that way, but it's hard not to this week. It's hard not to when all your friends are so used to talking to you about work and trading stories. I guess I could always say, "My boss is a real dick, he made me wake up at 9 am today!" I'm sure that will get a smirk at the very least right?
It's been an incredibly strange and different week. I have lost all concept of time and find myself really bored at night when I was most used to writing. I can only watch so much TV before I need to read something or walk around and that hasn't been the case for a very long time. The weird thing is that I'm doing a lot of work on the site. I'm trying not to live in it though and slowly build the amount of articles I'm doing each day so that people aren't put off by my constant opinions. I'm still trying to find my balance, but I'm sure I'll get there. I'm excited by that.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
I Hate Your Review
Over the past three years I have become a pretty well established comic book reviewer which makes me biased when I say, "I hate your comic book review." The thing is lately a site called Comic Book Round-Up has been adding my reviews to their general populace. Now this isn't a bad thing at all and I find the site in general interesting as it attempts to give a Meta-critic style of review scores to comic books. If you're unfamiliar with Meta-Critic, it is a site that takes the review scores from other sties and complies them to give Movies, TV Shows, Music and Video Games an average score. It's also greatly fucked with the review industry by placing the scores in highest to lowest format. Meaning if Site A's score is higher than Site B's then A will appear on top. When their are a million sites and outlets reviewing products you want to be on the top as most people give up and never reach the bottom unless spotting a low score.
How do the two events tie in? Well part of making sure you're website is successful, mine being ComicBastards.com is knowing where your hits are coming from. Due to the format of Comic Book Round-Up I occasionally click a the link to see where mine or other contributors on the site's reviews stack up. In doing this though, I open myself up to looking at one of the things I hate the most... other people's reviews.
Part of the reason I willing became a comic book reviewer was because I hated every comic book review I read. If they actually managed to say anything about the book it was usually nothing more than a re-wording of the synopsis from the company's website. What was worse, was the fact that certain websites were basically just dumping grounds for high scores. They literally handed out a 10 if the book shipped on time or so it seemed. Not to toot my own horn, but seeing my review with these type of reviews is sigh inducing.
You see I treat comic reviews the same way a film or TV review does. My job is to point out what works and doesn't work for that particular issue and either convince you it's worth your money and time or not. I don't simply write a synopsis for the issue, I tell you about it. There are two types of people that read comic reviews and most reviews in general for entertainment.
1) The person that didn't buy it and needs to be convinced either way.
2) The person that did buy it and is looking for reassurance in their own personal opinion.
As a reviewer I need to tell you about the book and give you a hook as I call. The hook is what about the story makes it worth reading. Now sometimes that spoils the book, but most of the time it doesn't. At least not in a true sense of the word. You see, I'm writing for those two groups. The group that read it isn't going to have the book spoiled for them and the group that didn't buy it probably isn't going to unless they know it's worth it. Some creators hate our hooks and our "play by play" style of talking about the book and that's okay. I say if you craft your story well enough then the review will reflect it and my Revival #3 review shows just that.
I hate other people's reviews. I hated seeing a low score for an anthology book created by all women, reviewed by a woman that scored it low just because the stories were short. And had the nerve to state that that was a problem with all anthology books. Anthology books have existed in the comic industry since the beginning of the industry. They're low risk high reward storytelling and for someone to give an anthology a low score because it didn't have enough pages is just ridiculous. If you can't get into a story under 22 pages stretched out for six months that's on you not the creators. Frankly, it's not a critique; It's your personal preference if anything.
How do the two events tie in? Well part of making sure you're website is successful, mine being ComicBastards.com is knowing where your hits are coming from. Due to the format of Comic Book Round-Up I occasionally click a the link to see where mine or other contributors on the site's reviews stack up. In doing this though, I open myself up to looking at one of the things I hate the most... other people's reviews.
Part of the reason I willing became a comic book reviewer was because I hated every comic book review I read. If they actually managed to say anything about the book it was usually nothing more than a re-wording of the synopsis from the company's website. What was worse, was the fact that certain websites were basically just dumping grounds for high scores. They literally handed out a 10 if the book shipped on time or so it seemed. Not to toot my own horn, but seeing my review with these type of reviews is sigh inducing.
You see I treat comic reviews the same way a film or TV review does. My job is to point out what works and doesn't work for that particular issue and either convince you it's worth your money and time or not. I don't simply write a synopsis for the issue, I tell you about it. There are two types of people that read comic reviews and most reviews in general for entertainment.
1) The person that didn't buy it and needs to be convinced either way.
2) The person that did buy it and is looking for reassurance in their own personal opinion.
As a reviewer I need to tell you about the book and give you a hook as I call. The hook is what about the story makes it worth reading. Now sometimes that spoils the book, but most of the time it doesn't. At least not in a true sense of the word. You see, I'm writing for those two groups. The group that read it isn't going to have the book spoiled for them and the group that didn't buy it probably isn't going to unless they know it's worth it. Some creators hate our hooks and our "play by play" style of talking about the book and that's okay. I say if you craft your story well enough then the review will reflect it and my Revival #3 review shows just that.
I hate other people's reviews. I hated seeing a low score for an anthology book created by all women, reviewed by a woman that scored it low just because the stories were short. And had the nerve to state that that was a problem with all anthology books. Anthology books have existed in the comic industry since the beginning of the industry. They're low risk high reward storytelling and for someone to give an anthology a low score because it didn't have enough pages is just ridiculous. If you can't get into a story under 22 pages stretched out for six months that's on you not the creators. Frankly, it's not a critique; It's your personal preference if anything.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Life is not a movie, or a TV show or a cheesy romance novel. Life isn't a song, or a summer or a rainy day. Life is complicated, intellegent, intriguing. Life is this living breathing organism... but mostly it's dying. Each dragging breathe you watch someone else take is their eventual footstep towards the end of the dotted line. Life is not about trying, or how busy you were or everything you've forgotten. Life is not about holding someone's hand, sharing a moment or feeling that cold breeze you've waited all summer for. Life is not intertwined, a straight line or some complex maze. Life get's no trophy, barely a hand shake and little to no thanks. We ask ourselves why are we living, just to be dying. Why do we exist, remember the past and never know the future. Why do we fly kites, share night lights and agree to ridiculous make overs. We seek answers to questions that didn't exist until we thought them, find no gold under the rainbow and stop believing in Santa. We live in fear, in love, in advice, in guilt and never find a cure. But we have luck, we have time, we have hope all we need is the will. We can create, we can lay in a field and watch the clouds go. We can... and that is life.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Everything I Learned From DSW
I have learned that the phrase, "such a tool" is always relevant when referring to a manager... even if you are that manager. That as an associate you can never be thanked enough and as a manger you're never thanked. That working hard will not always get you ahead... in fact you're likely to never get ahead. That the people have always made the job great, not the job. That I am the coolest person I know, because no one else will think you are if you're not. That everyone I've met post high school that's worth a damn, I meet at work... with a few exceptions. That talking shit is always fun but will always get you in trouble. You can find love in the work place, but more often you will find lust. People will be nice, they will also be mean, sad, depressed, hopeful, funny and smart just like you. I've learned that no matter what you will always have an effect on someone's life be it small and fleeting like most things in life. You can not teach all that you know because you learned from many people along the way. That you should never forget where you started or be afraid to go back there. Pride is pointless when swallowed daily. That nine out of ten times the phrase, "no offense" is used incorrectly since the person saying it is not saying anything to offend you, but rather the person they're talking about. Luck is real and so is Love. People from different walks of life can always find something to complain about together. That the sad reality is that without constant effort you will lose track of people. Even though I am happy to be gone, I am also sad to be leaving. That after leaving three stores before, it still isn't any easier to say goodbye. That you will never truly know if you've left your mark on someone because they will more than likely never tell you... but you can hope that you meant something to them even if they forget when they're fifty. That regardless of age, color or national origin everyone deserves a chance, even a second or third but no more than six. That if you don't have a boss that believes in you, you will fail, you will fall, you will not dream. That rules are meant to be bent and broken in the name of customer service, because customer service has no rules. The best customers are the happy ones. Something I just learned to day is that even if you've answered the question a thousand times before it's still the first time for the person asking. This one's all opinion but woman make better store managers than men... or at least I get along better when my store manager's a woman. And lastly that humor can fix any situation, you just have to find the right joke. If you worked with me or for me, then thank you. I may not remember every one of the well over a 100 people I worked with but I will forever remember your faces and I try like hell to remember your name.
Again Thank You,
-Dustin Cabeal
Again Thank You,
-Dustin Cabeal
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Street Fighter IV
I swear to God that if madcatz doesn't start pumping out those fucking fighting joysticks that I'm going to punch every Gamestop employee I ever meet in the face. It is fucking insane that I can't buy a god damn joystick without paying $500 bucks for it. I saw some asshole selling his for 9,000 dollars! I settle for buying a shitty looking hori fighting stick with it's dumb ass button layout and I couldn't even get one of those god damn things! The sad fucking part is that street fighter iv dropped to tenth on xbox live meaning that no one wants to play online until they have a fucking fighting stick. PS I know I'm swearing a lot so shut up if you feel the need to submit pointless comments stating that. This is not a paid news outlet so I can swear and come off like an un-intellegent prick if I want to. Oh and good luck finding sound clips for the fucking game too I know there's some nerd out there with too much time on their hands making a fucking soundboard already would ya!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Zeitgeist Reader Comments
I think that sometimes people don't get to see these so I'm republishing them on their own so that others can read what each of us thinks about Zeitgeist.
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But's it's only a ride....
I imagine that anyone with an open mind and enought gumption to do a little bit of self research would walk away a different person.
It touches on all aspects of fear and con trol - from religion, to nationalism to socailism and all the isms in between.
Big things are happening - the universe is speaking to us and we are starting to listen.
onelove - noble -
i think the only conspiracy theory that perpetuates the land, at least since my inception on this plane, is that of current government and its illusion of capacity and ability. i have yet to witness a true reflection of this institution as a voice for the people.
that is what this film is about; creating that voice, for currently there is only one voice that is heard and it is not ours. a true democracy would not ban a presidential candidate from the presidential debate. a true democracy woould enable any person from the street with no possessions to run for elected council. without millions in personal capital, that is almost impossible in this era. i do not like the word 'impossible.' i do not like the salacious raping of the populace with this false declaration that this country is a democracy, for it is not. but it can be and it should be.
The Revolution is Now. it would be fun to do it without spilling one drop of blood! -
Greetings,
I have written a review and thought-piece of this movie that can be found here: http://www.realitysandwich.com/node/471 -
Hey Zeitgeist is the bomb.
Nice place you have here.
This is the bloodless non violent Revolution that will win it all for mankind.
We need a new World Magna Carta.
With the truth in Zeitgeist we can now set at the table with these Elitist and demand our rights to freedom and an end to this eons long tyranny.
This is the best chance for all mankind to join in the most incredible adventure man will ever know, the building up of a whole new way of life.
What I am talking about is the destruction of a world system before it destroys us.
The destruction is coming, whether we stop it or not is the question.
Because of Zeitgeist we now know who has been screwing us all.
In order for this conspiracy to happen just about every aspect of human life had to have been manipulated. We will now have to question just about every aspect of human life to see what is truth and what is a construct.
There are exciting times ahead and I know we will win!
The Revolution is Now.
Tim for Zeitgeist
I have joined a site to get everyone talking about the movie. Read more of my words and add a few of your own at: win.http://11thday.org/
Click the picture and look for Zeitgeist. - I just thought maybe someone else was interested in this, that didn't take the time to actually click the article and see the comments.
- Here's an UPDATE
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If Zeitgeist doesn’t get you off your ass Sept 15 this will!
Pass it on!
________________________________________
This is an excellent companion to Zeitgeist and verifies what Zeitgeist says.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936&q=money+Ch angers&total=155&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1
This will curdle your set! See at least the last half so you get a perspective on today but see the whole thing so you know like me just how long they have been doing this. The churches are money lenders you know from Zeitgeist and these are their minions! See the connection?
This must reach everyone!
We need to especially cover the East, Midwest, and South with this information! Those people are the ones who will most easily be able to go to DC. We need them to especially see the truth. Also we need to change plans for mass demonstrations in home cities and must concentrate our efforts on Washington. Together we succeed and divided we all fall. Don't let them keep us divided
Zeitgeist isn't meant to make everyone happy, that isn't its purpose! Without the religious background you won’t know just who started the whole thing and who has been stealing us all blind all these years and giving little in return. Just why do we have to pay for these preachers and priests? It is time to turn them into helping institutions and not the spiritual conformity teaching institutions we now see. Instead all will convert to helping save this world and teaching people how to break away from their own teachings and see the world and our relation with the universe. They and the money lenders will all change to non profits and the world’s safety net.
Think of it no new taxes and everything taken care of by the Elitists.
It is a wakeup call perhaps for the last time for mankind. This Revolution is of the most damning information ever released getting to the most people possible with the best tool ever made to accomplish this. This is a revolution for the masses done in complete safety for all. All you do is see the movie and understand it and then tell your friends. You then have something in your hands to use to put pressure on them.
I take the template, lightly, of the Magna Carte as what we the people of the world need to a sway the power of these moneychangers these Masons of old that I have found a very long history of indeed. See the historical references of this and much, much more here; http://s8int.com/giants9.html
Google anomalous artifacts and ancient anomalies and read away. The History has also been changed.
I believe it will take something of this magnitude in order to secure the final freedom of mankind to be as an equal to every other sentient being on this planet and as such to be Respected by all others.
I don't know the exopolitics of it but I am sure there are those who do and could lend a major hand to obtain freedom for their children and themselves also.
I would be interested in seeing someone in the know weighing in on this.
Their have been over 50 million views of Zeitgeist. We need to get these 50 million to Washington on Sept. 15th.
In view of the plans for a large military presence being deployed it is clear to me they are taking a last stand attitude. They are expecting the Custer thing all over again.
If that is what they expect then I say why don't we give it to them?
Instead of shooting them we will overwhelm with sheer numbers.
Understand folks, we have them on the ropes. We the people who know the truth are the most powerful weapon for change ever in history. This will probably be the last chance we will have for freedom, for a very long time. After Sept. expect the most comprehensive crackdown on dissidents ever to happen. Everyone will be affected.
If we don't take this opportunity to demand the resignation of the administration and for good measure put the 3 branches of government on notice to shape up or ship out IT IS LOST. When Nancy Pelosi takes over we will have to put as much pressure on to demand she restore all freedoms and rights and cancel the Patriot Act immediately and bring our military children home from around the world. We now have this Black Water Army to contend with and we need our military to protect us from them.
We must also demand the destruction of the Central Banking System and conversion to that of a non profit for the world. They have stolen our money and made us slaves for 10 of thousands or more years so they get the tab to fix things. I believe this is to be their ultimate purpose to mankind.
WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR IMPEACHMENT WE MUST DEMAND RESIGNATION.
This military deployment in DC is with some of the most sophisticated anti personnel devises ever made. They immobilize with microwave transmitters and high frequency sound devices to disable protesters. Apparently they also deploy lasers as a blinding weapon. The Israelis used them lately in Lebanon according to reports.
These are the weapons they will deploy. We must be prepared for this.
The only viable weapon we have is millions of people converging on Washington as they did in Spain after the bombings. They changed the results of the election almost overnight.
This may be our last chance. We dare not fail!
We need at least 20 million people to converge on Washington to make them think twice about pulling something. Now far too many people know just what has been going on and know where to look for it. They must be made so scared to come against us they will have no choice but to attack and lose or give up and join us.
It happened in Russia, Spain, Romania, The Ukraine etc.........
It happened there and it can happen here. Freedom is at hand if we grasp it.
Check my thoughts at http://p071.ezboard.com/Discuss-Zeitgeist/fdrumsofwar86845frm11 and listen for me at www.jefffarias.com/ .
Guess what!
I caught The Veteran Truth seeker in a lie the other night on his show. When I asked him what he meant he tried to goad me. I stayed calm and he hung up on me! The next caller felt his wrath and brother(?) Michael tore him apart like a bully! He them further compounded his stupidity the next night by lambasting the caller at an e-mail he sent asking why he blew up.
Michael Malloy needs to hang it up. He has been a gatekeeper for years for the Elitists in denying their existence time and again. Was he really on our side or just his own? I will never listen to him again. Catch Aug. 30th and 31st at The White Rose society. http://whiterosesociety.org/Malloy.html
Except for Jeff Farias we have no voice on the corporate air. We have only ourselves to trust now.www.jefffarias.com/
The Revolution is Now!
Tim for Zeitgeist
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331 -
For all sceptics out there, here is a bite to be chewing on:
Throughout history the basis of ALL civilian revolution was control of information (aka:knowledge) the very knowledge that seems to be slipping out of our hands, back to the ruling class exclusively. The best of all: with our consent! It is happening throughout the entire "civilized" world. Next time you hear math, English, biology etc sucks just stop for a second and THINK!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Zeitgeist - follow up
Really I just want to point out a page on Zeitgeist the movie.com, the Statement page. It seems to me that a lot of people are hell bent on bringing anything they can down, especially on the internet. Is everything perfect? Is everything always 100% accurate? No. Why though? Because we each write our own truths. That's why I find it funny when the internet says something isn't true, or that it can't find the facts on the internet to back that up or what not... finding facts on the internet is the dumbest thing in the world. By saying that you are saying that you are relying on someone else to have entered the facts 100% accurately and without error onto the internet. Meaning a person created whatever page you are viewing and taking as fact. I've been reading a lot of criticisms about Zeitgeist lately and I would have to say that the same thing with SiCKO is now beginning to happen with this movie. The nitpickers and the point-missers are digging in and do what they do best... changing the subject. I read a review, and you can find it if you search the Zeitgeist comments in the archive, and basically it was saying that Zeitgeist is just trying to make you mad, and with anger we'll get what we want but basically be lured into something worst. Personally I do thing we should be angry, I think will anger, enough people will do something about the shitty state the world is in. Does that mean that everyone should run around with pitchforks and torches? No, anger does not need to dominate the emotions and the solution, but it's a hell of a motivator! I'm glad that people are seeing the movie, I'm glad that I'm helping people see the movie and will continue to do so. But I will never give a lazy answer like I fact checked this movie on the internet... that's not research. Research can not be done on the couch, I'm sorry it just doesn't work that way. One site actually said there were no credits, no there isn't. But there's a lovely Source Page that pretty much tells you everything that would be in the credits. Really the site meant to say, "There's no credit for who made this." Since I don't believe we can grow or solve any problems by suppressing each other's first amendment rights I posted the comment that "inspired" me to remind everyone not to get lost in the argument, not to get lost in the "facts" and the copyright, don't let people change the subject until we've changed the world. Here's a link for my Zeitgeist article so you can check out the comments and read someone else's train of thought on this subject.
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Wow, guess I'll be first. Rosie O'Donnell called this a must-see on her blog, so she of all people has now changed my life. I never gave conspiracy theories credence until this amazing piece of work. I've been up all night and am completely wired from watching it. WHO MADE IT? That is the mystery I'm trying to Google my way out of at present.