A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
I decided that the comics in the daily publication at my university weren't funny, and that I, with my mediocre drawing skills and superior sense of humor, would be just the person to change that. A few silly drawings and a Marquez novel later, an idea for a new, funnier comic was budding in my head. That idea was One Hundred Years of Solipsism.
I eagerly set to work, dutifully recording the adventures of three wacky fictional college students, even making a blog to post my work. And then disaster struck. I came to realize that my mediocre drawing skills made the drawing process go veeerrry, veeerrry slowly. Worse, it was really hard to write genuinely funny cartoons! I soon realized that these facts were not conducive to churning out five quality strips a week. Thus, One Hundred Years of Solipsism quietly ended, and its accompanying blog lay fallow for nearly a year and a half.
And now, on the final day of 2008, I'm resurrecting what I laid aside then. One Hundred Years of Solipsism is back-- not as a regular comic, though I may post some of my goofy drawings, and not as a daily record of my life, though I'll undoubtedly post some choice snippets of my day-to-day activities. Posts that are overly personal, boring, or long-winded will not see the light of day. Expect goofy and possibly thought-provoking stories, even goofier (but probably not thought-provoking) drawings, excellent things one may find on the Internet, and links to everything I've ever written. With luck, future posts will be better written than this one.
In the words of the Saturday night partiers I so frequently hear outside my window at school, WOO HOO!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Column. Opinions Column.
"What we can learn from James Bond." Opinions Column, The Brown Daily Herald, 18 November 2008.
This column was, by far, the most enjoyable to write of anything I did this semester. As some may know, I'm an unabashed fan of the James Bond films, and I was looking for a way to exercise my comprehensive knowledge of the series. People seemed to enjoy it, so I don't think it was too masturbatory. This column really made me want to do more arts-based opinion writing-- I think art is something that really needs to be more common in American editorial pages.
One life lesson -- about relationships-- didn't make it into the final piece. While it would have been nice to include something that at least attempted to talk about James Bond's portrayal of women and relationships, it didn't ring true, and I was out of space anyway. I suppose that could be a whole other thing in itself...
This column was, by far, the most enjoyable to write of anything I did this semester. As some may know, I'm an unabashed fan of the James Bond films, and I was looking for a way to exercise my comprehensive knowledge of the series. People seemed to enjoy it, so I don't think it was too masturbatory. This column really made me want to do more arts-based opinion writing-- I think art is something that really needs to be more common in American editorial pages.
One life lesson -- about relationships-- didn't make it into the final piece. While it would have been nice to include something that at least attempted to talk about James Bond's portrayal of women and relationships, it didn't ring true, and I was out of space anyway. I suppose that could be a whole other thing in itself...
Friday, November 7, 2008
Y'all Come Back Now and Read My Column Again, Ya Hear?
"The unbearable stigma of being 'Dixie.'" Opinions Column, The Brown Daily Herald, 7 November 2008.
Other potential titles for this column included "The unbearable lightness of whistling 'Dixie,'" "The unbearable stigma of whistling 'Dixie,'" "The unbearable lightness of being 'Dixie,'" and "The unbearable lightness of OH MY GOD I am so so sorry, Milan Kundera."
Though I was somewhat nervous about the whiny tone of my argument, so I was floored when I received an overwhelmingly positive response to this column. People were literally stopping me on the street and sending me emails and Facebook messages to thank me for writing about being a Southerner at Brown. It just goes to show that you never know how writing will be received. And that's the durn truth, y'all.
Other potential titles for this column included "The unbearable lightness of whistling 'Dixie,'" "The unbearable stigma of whistling 'Dixie,'" "The unbearable lightness of being 'Dixie,'" and "The unbearable lightness of OH MY GOD I am so so sorry, Milan Kundera."
Though I was somewhat nervous about the whiny tone of my argument, so I was floored when I received an overwhelmingly positive response to this column. People were literally stopping me on the street and sending me emails and Facebook messages to thank me for writing about being a Southerner at Brown. It just goes to show that you never know how writing will be received. And that's the durn truth, y'all.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Learning to Take My Own Advice
"Learning to shut up." Opinions Column, The Brown Daily Herald, 21 October 2008.
Sigh. This is one of my weaker columns, in part because I don't think there was enough material for an 800-word piece, and partly becauseI wrote it while I was still very frustrated with a few moronic fellow students. One thing I've learned is that it's best not not to write opinions columns while tired, frustrated, angry or occupied-- they're rarely as cogent or polished as the pieces I write when I'm in a better mood.
I do believe that I had a valid point in writing this column, situated somewhere in the middle of the piece, but I'll leave you to divine it for yourself. I need to learn how to shut up and let my writing speak for itself.
Sigh. This is one of my weaker columns, in part because I don't think there was enough material for an 800-word piece, and partly becauseI wrote it while I was still very frustrated with a few moronic fellow students. One thing I've learned is that it's best not not to write opinions columns while tired, frustrated, angry or occupied-- they're rarely as cogent or polished as the pieces I write when I'm in a better mood.
I do believe that I had a valid point in writing this column, situated somewhere in the middle of the piece, but I'll leave you to divine it for yourself. I need to learn how to shut up and let my writing speak for itself.
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