(Insert Title Here)

There has been another gigantic gap in this glorious blog. Well, trying to control four blog sites at once is a very tiring task. So, I decided to delete two of them: my Xanga site (because I haven't posted since 6/19/2006) and my MySpace (because I found out Rupert Murdoch own it and Tom stopped existing since the Murdoch takeover). So, I've decided to keep this blog mostly because it's new and I think i can tweak it to my liking. For example, actually adding a background to this which will require me to go back to the Fall semester of my sophomore year and reminisce on the fun days of my 7th period Multimedia class. There will be some risks like complete computer destruction, my blog disappearing from existence, or get hackers to control my blog and mess up my name for all eternity. Meh, can't hurt if you don't try.

With that said, I've been having the temptation of building my own computer. I know there are people who already know this. Anyway, I want to start learning how to use Linux. For those who don't know, it is an operating system that gives the user complete freedom of it's uses. It sounds great, but this OS is very hard to figure out, because you have to input all the commands yourself when beginning. There is no easy way to set up. Therefore, I will most likely be dual-booting my new computer. Dual Booting is installing two OSes into the computer and gives the user the choice of choosing which operating system the user would like to choose. It can be a pain in the ass but I can deal with it.

This computer thing isn't for another year or so, mostly because my laptop's still alive and kicking. I'm going to wait until my laptop completely dies itself off (which should be in 1 to 3 years) I thought I was fine having a laptop, but I realized that I would not buy another one unless it perfectly necessary, like having a job that requires me to travel a lot. Anyway, I've decided my next major piece of technology will be a homemade computer.

As it may seem, my internship has long ended. But no worries, I finally got a dead-end job that I like. No, it's not cutting fruit at your local supermarket. It's being a info person at a Barnes and Noble. It's decent and the people are very nice, just very tiring like any job that requires you to stand for 8 hours straight. Of all the questions I would get working at BN, the most frequently asked questions are "Where's the bathroom," and "How do you get downstairs?" It's fairly common mostly because the layout is pretty odd.

I guess I'm one step closer to becoming an editor. I started school this week. I'm finally taking my classes and it's not bad. For once I have teachers who are actually know what they're talking about, not just talking some offending BS. I'm reading a good crap load of stuff but well, I can manage. I have to do some character descriptions and stuff. I'm realizing that it's harder than I thought, mostly because I haven't written any form of fiction or poetry for about a year. I guess I can say I'm losing it, but I don't know. I can write an essay apparently, but this is something totally different. Well, let see what happens. I know that I use the editing skills that I learned during the internship, and support my classmates the best I can. However, I'm feeling I will have to hold back again, well not about the criticizing but about everything else about the class.

I've been listening to some European Music. Well if you can count Russanese (Russian and Japanese) well I've been listen to a lot of Wolfsheim (from Germany) and Origa (from Russia). Well I'll end this with two embedded videos from our good friends at YouTube:

Wolfsheim- Kein Zureuk



Origa- Don't Let Me Go (video is from an Anime call Origins: Spirits of the Past)

The Withdrawal Begins!

After ten years of waiting, hype, and information leaks, the final book of Harry Potter was released last week. I wanted to say a few things about the final book, which is a reaction of me seeing five people in the same car reading the final book last night.

I'm not going to blurb out the ending, but I know there will be a few "WHATs" in the area for a few weeks. Since I know what happens (thanks wikipedia!), it gives me this question. Is J.K Rowling really done with the Wizarding Universe? Will there be spin-offs or even worse, a sequel!? Well more than likely there will be no more books concerning Harry Potter himself. Mostly because the author will run out of ideas. I mostly cannot think of anymore adventures of the boy. Would you let your child read possible HP books like Harry Potter and the Unexplained Pregnancy and Harry Potter and the Mushrooms of Wonder? Don't get me wrong, I liked the series and would recommend them to the youngin's. Hopefully now, they would start reading more Sci-Fi and Fantasy books.

Now I wonder, what will be the next big children's book and how far in the future will that be? Fanatics of HP will continue reading their respectable fanfiction and have their "Harry Potter withdrawal" which was something I found in an article found on AM New York a few days ago. Well if we see a sudden rise in Homosexual HP fanfiction we will all know why.

'Til Next Time.

Manuscripts and The Victims of the Slush Pile

So far, I have read more in the weeks than I had in three years. There are so many different voices and styles. Some good, some bad, and some you wonder why didn't it burst into flames when it was completed.

Yes, i'm talking about manuscripts. The countless amount of trees killed to produce these stacks (or bounded) of paper. Unfortunately, a good 95% of these manuscripts are not good enough to even be looked at. It's even higher to get signed and get a bound galley (test copy of manuscript).

I have to read the infamous slush pile, which is where all the unsolicited manuscripts end up (no agent used or conferences attended). So far I looked at about 150 slush manuscripts/queries and rejected about 147 of those letters. I've considered two to be looked again (or at least glanced at again). Here are the descriptions:

1. This picture book from a Japanese artist. The pictures blew me away, but I have yet to read the actual story. (Apparently, it did get published in Japan. I guess he wants it to be translated.) I took copies of his art for safe keeping.
   
2. This fantasy novel from this 15 year old (or at least what this "reviewer" said). I have to double check that. Anyway, the intern from the previous summer said that she liked it, so it stayed.
   
3. This science fiction novel about a person's life in the world of online role playing games. Which intrigued me to read beyond page 5. I don't know whether the subject of online role playing games is hot at the moment. I play them, but that's it.

Now moving on to the other 147 letters that were rejected. There were many comments that I wanted to personally write in the rejection letters that I sent. Unfortunately, the company prevents me from doing this because they do not want to hurt the person's feeling, or more like they don't want an angry mob outside the building. But here are some of the comments that I would have wrote:

• Did your brain melt when you did this because I know mine did when I read it.
• Please stop sending us more manuscripts because it's just going to contribute to New York City's growing trash problem.
• I would burn your manuscript but that would require time that I've already wasted responding to you.

Well, I wouldn't have really used them, because I need to get some practice on my constructive criticism for my Creative writing class. So, no offensive comments this summer and that's a promise. Fortunately, I get to destroy the dreams of the weak and stupid minded. So everybody wins!

'Til next time.

Internship Days 1,2,4,7,10 and 12 (part 1)

Well, I've started my internship two weeks ago and so far, it's been AWESOME! This is my first job that does not require hard labor. After three jobs, I've realized that moving boxes and mopping floors is not for me so I had to decide what I wanted to do with my life.

I got the idea about possibly pursuing a career in publishing by my best friend. She told me (so did some other people) that my writing is good and I actually knew someone in the publishing business. I wasn't going to do anything else for the summer so I thought why not, and well I now have a cubicle for 10 weeks.

I thought at first that the higher up would treat me like any other intern (like Jabba the Hutt's slave), but that was nowhere near the case. I actually got to read manuscripts. No coffee deliveries, no toilet cleaning (or at least my fellow co-worker told me about the interns in the a fashion company), or even copying. SUPERGASP! Anyway, all I do (or have been doing) is doing reports on the stuff I read: 1-2 page report about the book and my opinion about it. That's it. Well, I've recently been assigned the task of doing the source notes of this biography. It's pretty tedious but it's important because without it, the company can get sued.

Well, that's all I can say about what I'm doing. So, hope you had fun reading this and at least stick through this journey with me.

More to come....whatever.