May Was Going to be Mamazing

So I pondered throughout the weeks of April. What did I ponder? you may well wonder.

I’d been thinking of nothing less than blogging every day for another whole month! Yeah, I noticed a bunch of y’all doing April A to Z or whatever the fuck it was and I thought that was a cool idea, though I haven’t read most of April’s posts yet (I’m still on February’s). But at T of V we’d rather make up our own shit usually, so I figured I’d steal the month of May.

I would have called it MakeMayMamazing and it would have been. Mamazing, that is. The abbreviated form is MMMMay with each May enunciated with a sensual groan. It would have been superbly sexy. Alas, it never stood a chance of actually happening.

Why? No good reason, I just couldn’t muster up the will. For one thing, I’m moving this weekend—all the way to the other side of Vancouver. (Vancouver in the state of Washington that is, otherwise known as North North Portland.) This move will put me closer to my school, freeways and downtown. It’s a good move. But moving’s a bitch. Heavy furniture’s the least of my problems: I’ve got thousands of books, comics, games, DVDS and all kinds of boxed junk to haul. And then, I get to unpack it all again! So I just figured my first week’s daily posts wouldn’t be very good. This is going to be a busy week.

For a second thing…there is no second thing, really.

But I think we’ll do MakeMayMamazing next year, so I’m throwing it out there. Have I copyrighted the term? Just assume I have. Will I try another month of daily blogging this year before EveryDamnDayDecember comes back around? Maybe. Don’t know yet. We’ll always have December at least, that’s a tradition.

No regular Friday post this week, so sorry. Next Friday I’ll probably put up the one about my deep love for the NBA and the playoffs. I am just not in the mood to edit a long post right now. If you’re lucky, I might even mention that racist guy who owns a team you probably had never heard of before.

I didn’t even know L.A. had two basketball teams!

(Full disclosure: I’m a Lakers fan. L.A. is still a Lakers town, goddammit. Even if they look like they’re not going to be in the playoffs again for a generation…)

Hey, Amazing Spider-Man 2 comes out tonight in the U.S.A.! As of this writing, Thursday evening, midnight showings are a few hours away. No, I don’t do midnight shows any more. The buzz is mixed on this one. I’ll be posting my take on the movie as soon as I see it. Hopefully, there won’t be a goddamn massacre, but America…fuck yeah…

Also, if you’d like you could pop over to Tipsy Lit and vote for my story, The Power Trio. The reader poll goes up on Saturday. Just find my link and vote vote vote! I don’t know if you can vote three times but if you can, go for it!

Tipsy Lit is a blogship captained by Ericka Clay, the sexiest half-faced chick on WordPress. I’d love to get some of their readers ‘cos I am also often tipsy, so it seems like a good fit.

Well, there you go. Think of this post as my tribute to my favorite sitcom Seinfeld. If they can do a show about nothing, I can do a blog about nothing.

See y’all later….

Can’t We All Just Get Sensible?

So this is a quick plug for a website called Sensible Liberty. It’s a political and social issues blog started by a friend of mine from school named Ryan Gilbert, a conservative christian veteran.

The cool part is he asked me to contribute. Even though I am none of those three things.

That’s because Ryan wants this blog to have a variety of voices, which I am all in favor of. Now I’ve only got one article up so far, so if you go to the blog you’ll note a decidedly libertarian bent to the tone of Sensible Liberty. But from what I know about Ryan he is very sincere about having a place where different views can be aired without bile and hyperbole. He wants to run a joint were civil discourse is the order of the day, no matter what we may disagree on. He and I share the belief that, in all the essentials, people are not all that different.

We’re just getting started. I’m trying to get into a rhythm where I can get Ryan an article a week for SL while still devoting time to my own blog. (Not to mention school and work and…oh yeah, that’s it. I almost said “social life”, but school and work are my social life.)

Plus you guys!

**Hugs and stuff**

Okay, now that the hugs are out of the way, one more damn thing. At this moment, T of V has 250 followers. Ten minutes ago, I had 251. Now who the fuck jumped off the bus? Huh? Who just broke up with me? How dare you?!? Why I oughtta—

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**********eh, I don’t know where I was going with that. I’ll just pick up another follower tomorrow. Don’t sweat it. 

Scoot on over to Sensible Liberty using the handy link I’ve placed below this paragraph, check out my article and, even if you’re a liberal, don’t be afraid to poke around a bit. There’s some interesting reading on there. See you later…

Sensible Liberty.com

Let’s Meetup!

So this is for my fellow pacific northwest bloggers.

Monday night the 17th, there’s a meetup in Portland for WordPress bloggers. And I’m going to be there!

Not as the speaker. Still merely an attendee. If you buy me coffee, I might sign an autograph for you though!

Yeah, ego aside this should be a good meeting. The topic of the night is How to Optimize Your WordPress Site for Content Marketing Conversions. My nipples are already hard.

The tickets are free and I hear that there’s sometimes free food. Or, remember the South Park movie?

{By the way, I know I totally suck at blogging right now. Man of Steel part two is only half done and I’ve got nothing else. I’ve got no explanation except maybe I’m still hungover from EveryDamnDayDecember. It’s a disgrace. But I’ll be back someday full force!}

Anyway, if you’re a WordPresser, and you’re in the Portland area, cruise on over. I’d love to meet you! Follow the link below and down the rabbit hole.

Click this sentence to go to the RSVP page.

WTF WordPress? Damn.

So I thought the fish story went up before my preview post, and somehow it didn’t. WordPress is sometimes a cruel mistress.

Everyone, just pretend you read the damn fish story first and then the preview. Now it makes more sense, yes?

Now that I have you here, though, there’s another item I could have mentioned in previews. I’ve been playing the NBA 2K14 game for PS4, specifically the MyCareer mode and it’s awesome. You create a player, he gets drafted, and you work your way through an NBA career. I’ll probably post about my dude’s stellar career from time to time, too. (Until I get tired of the game, I guess.)

This post is a disgrace. Please don’t like it.

T of V Preview of Coming Attractions

Happy Friday!

So winter quarter has begun at my school. Also, I have a PS4 now. Therefore, my dear readers get this excuse-laden post for why my blogging has slowed down.

It’s not an apology, ‘cos I’ll blog when and what I want to. Just thought I’d let you know a little bit of what’s up.

I put up the first part of the three-part Fish Tale earlier today. Mainly, I did this because I had nothing else good enough. Certainly, I planned to put this story up at some point. I think it’s pretty funny, but a lot of the jokes won’t completely come across because it’s an inside story. In other words, the three characters represent actual beings who exist in the world. It still mostly works on its own as a trippy allegory, so there you go. Parts two and three will go up Monday and Tuesday, I think.

Meanwhile, I’ve been working on an epic Man of Steel post that will attempt to answer most people’s criticisms of the movie. I think it’s a classic, but many don’t. So that post is going to persuade you that the movie is awesome, and a classic. But it’s not ready to go yet. I should have it up next Friday. Spoilers will be prevalent, so see the movie first.

My film is as awesome as I am handsome.

Meanwhile meanwhile, I’m also working on a second post of random facts about myself. I’d like to open it up for questions. If there’s something you’d like to know about moi, please put it in the comments. Won’t promise an answer, but questions will be appreciated. Nothing’s really off limits, but you can expect sarcasm.

Meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile, I have another award post to do. But it’s not for the big one that I really wanted. Should anyone feel moved to do so, just give me the goddamn blog of the year bullshit already! I probably haven’t earned it, but come on! Would it kill you to toss me one? The fuck do you care?

I hereby award every blog on WordPress the Blog of the Year.

See? It’s simple. Now give me one. I’d just do it myself, but that’s onanistic. (Google it.)

I’ve got three courses going at Clark this quarter. Algebra, Web Design and User Experience Design. I’m thinking of blogging the UX class like I did WordPress last quarter. Does that sound like a good idea? Would people prefer I blog about algebra? If so, weirdo, let me know. Web Design is a tech class, but UX has a lot of content that could be of interest to bloggers who would like to maximize their site for usability. So look for that post-series to start in about a week and a half, I think.

Other than that, I’ll just post what I want when I want. There’s no strict theme on T of V. Does anyone think there should be? Are there things you would like me to do more? Or less? Again, I won’t promise anything. But I will listen.

And notice how sneakily I got up two posts in one day? Pretty slick for a blogger who’s slowing down, huh?
Now, ‘scuse me. It’s not that BC and I don’t love you, but

We’d rather be on the PS4…

David Bowie

{Another birthday, another tribute. I think this may qualify as a regular feature now.}

Today is the birthday of the ever-amazing David Bowie who, even at the robust age of 67, absolutely tops the list of dudes I would probably sleep with.

The chameleon, the actor, the consummate re-inventor. But, above all, one of the most electric and talented people in the world. I mean, this guy just steps on a stage and your jaw drops.

If you’re one of those pseudo-fans or critics who’s written Bowie off and claim he hasn’t produced anything great since the goddamn seventies, well, let’s have a quick mock debate.

Pseudo-Fan: Well, we all know Bowie peaked with his Berlin trilogy. I’ll grant you that the Scary Monsters and  Let’s Dance albums have a few great tracks. But it’s all downhill since then. He hasn’t been relevant in decades.

T of V: Fuck you, you’re an asshole.

T of V wins debate!

I’m not trying to brush aside the exceptional quality of Bowie’s so-considered “classic” period of the seventies. Hell that’s my preferred Bowie era, too. But the man has remained an eclectic innovator through all the decades and never repeats himself. That’s a formidable feat. He began brilliantly and remains brilliant today. He’s produced strong work in every decade and I think he’s still at the top of his game as a creator, musician and performer.

Today we celebrate the sensational career of David Bowie, every single bit of it. And he certainly has a few more surprises in him. Through all of his ch-ch-ch-changes, his greatness remains the same.

The Professor

{Yeah, I missed posting on Friday. Deal with it.}

Yesterday was the 122nd birthday of the Professor of my soul, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. J.R.R. to his multitude of friends and admirers.

Professor Tolkien is the writer of The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and tons of supplemental material. The world of Middle-earth is a creation that was much more than a setting for high fantasy. It is a living, breathing world with various races, cultures, and language. Language above all, the glorious languages the professor worked out.

Your books sang to me, professor. You created a living world that was completely immersive and beautiful, even at its darkest. In fact, that was the point. You showed how literally the smallest of us could overcome the most grandiose evil. In the real world, your little nation helped kick Hitler’s fucking ass after all. How wonderful when art informs life!

Professor, your works have created and driven thousands upon thousands (probably millions!) of other creators, inspired us to try to carry on your tradition and make worlds of our own. But you were one of the first, and by far the greatest. Even if we never climb as high as your pinnacle, the striving is most of the point. Your noble characters never gave up, and never failed to do what was needed at the crucial time. We as your followers should take that as an example and always continue to strive. That was your most important legacy and message to us.

T of V salutes Professor Tolkien today and we raise our Green Dragon ales high.

Ollo vae, Val’istar. Guren glassui, lle ume quel. Aa menle nauva calen ar’ta hwesta e’ ale’quenle!

{Don’t pick on my elvish, I took it from a web site.)

Happy Hiddleston New Year

Happy New Year from Treatment of Visions

{Yeah, that drunk Cumberbatch is nowhere to be found today, so Tom Hiddleston stepped in to help me out.}

So just a quick post today to wish everyone a Happy New Year and to thank you. EveryDamnDayDecember was really successful (in my eyes, anyway). I gained a solid amount of new and regular readers and also found hundreds of blogs that I don’t have time to read! Time will be made….

I want to thank those mighty few who also took up the challenge of EvDaDaDec and made it their own:

1. Myas – A Tragic Lady But No TB

2. Lindaghill

3. More At Forty (Five)

4. Container Chronicles

5. THE WRITE PLACE.

6. Chasing Rabbit Holes

Thank you guys! Hope I didn’t leave off anyone…

What’s next for T of V? Funny you should ask. I am no longer going to post every damn day.

What? Noo! Noooo!

I know, I know. But life will spin on, Taylor.

I will post every Friday as usual, and during the week whenever the mood strikes me. I’m sure it will be more than I was doing prior to EvDaDaDec because I’m just in the habit now.

So thanks once again, have a great new year, and I’ll see you Friday….

A Cumberbatch Christmas

I wish you all the joy in the world. Merry Christmas to all our readers.

{What else did you think I would post today?}

Update and Confession

Thought I would post another of my periodic updates and explanations today.

Starting Monday, I think I will have some gos at the Daily Prompt. That’s over at the aptly titled The Daily Post WP blog. We’ve never done those over here at T of V. So I’ll do Daily Prompts for a few days, or less if I can’t stand it.  And that’s not because I have run out of ideas, I assure you. I just want to do something different this week. My posts will be a bit later in the day than I’ve been putting them up, since I now have to wake up and do the writing, but I will still fulfill the terms of EvDaDaDec.

What about Sunday? Well, that’s mainly what I’m here about. Let me come straight to the point: I have a lot of stuff going on this weekend (who doesn’t?), and I don’t think I can get up a good post for tomorrow.

So I’m digging back into the archives and I’m going to repost something that didn’t get viewed much when I first put it up. I feel just as sorry about this as I should.

I’m even going to pull back in my big gun here.

So check in tomorrow for something that will probably be new to you, and I’ll be back live on Monday with the Daily Prompt! Have a great weekend celebrating the holiday of your choice.