Archive for November, 2005

Date: November 30th, 2005
Cate: Environment/Geography, New York/San Francisco, Travel

Rockefeller Tree Lighting

A friend was going to the Rockefeller tree lighting and asked me to come along. Why not, I figure. I’m in New York, this is a New York thing, sure, lets check it out.

Once I got there I remembered: David, you are a Jew, you hate Christmas. I was pretty bahumbugged out the rest of the performance.

Goyim people amaze me. They sat and watched Sheryl Crow, Rod Stewart, the Goo Goo Dolls and other over-the-hill acts for over two hours to see a freak’n tree light up. I managed to have fun watching the news tickers whiz by around Radio City Music Hall.

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Date: November 29th, 2005
Cate: Books, Current Affairs/Politics, Games, New York/San Francisco, Straight Geek
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National Novel Writing Month

Last year I wanted to do a story on Buy Nothing Day. This year I made sure to pitch it early so I could do the story.

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I also remember last year wanting to cover National Novel Writing Month. This is a community/art project with about 42,000 participants. It basically dares you to write a 175 page novel in one month.

I think this could be a fun story. You know, talk to someone who did it last year, figure out why they want to do it again. Get a feel for the stress they are under and talk to the organizers etc. etc. Hey, I don’t think it will win me a Pulitzer or anything, but it would be a fun piece that would hopefully introduce people to something they weren’t aware of before.

But alas….Once again, I am too late. National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as hardcore enthusiasts call it, is in November. Since it’s the 30th today I don’t think I’ll get the story out in time.

Oh well, maybe next year. In the meantime, it isn’t a novel, but I do have a coffee table book that I am working on. Details to come.

Date: November 29th, 2005
Cate: Journalism Practice

The Pain of Waiting

I do a lot of waiting while I’m freelancing.

I send out an email, wait for the response……. (the dots represent my endless waiting)

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I call someone up, wait for their callback.

I send in a story, wait for it to go up.

I wonder how much more I could get done if I didn’t have to wait for other people? Better question, I wonder how much more money I could make if I didn’t wait for other people?

The trick is learning to juggle multiple projects at a time, that way the checks are always rolling in.

Luckily I have a part time gig at Columbia Journalism Review, to keep me going during slow times.

What I really need to do is diversify the publications I write for (I really just wanted to use the word diversify).

I just sent a pitch to LA Times Magazine and Business 2.0. Problem is, in addition to more waiting, I have no connections to these publications. But at least for LA Times Magazine I had an actual email exchange (eight of them) which means I know the pitch was read.

The real art is finding ways to feel productive while waiting as a freelancer.

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Date: November 28th, 2005
Cate: Uncategorized
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Beta Blog

So I now have a few posts up. I’m feeling pretty good about it, but I think it should be known that this is a test. I want as much feedback as possible. Consider this a Beta Blog. I’ll try not to keep it at that status for too long, but I want to make it known that anything and everything about this blog is open to criticism at this stage. I’ve already had some good feedback from Indie Rock Bakery editors (thank you), and I’m down for more.

For a quick overview of what I mean when I say this blog is in Beta, check out this WSJ article.

Date: November 27th, 2005
Cate: Environment/Geography, Games, Travel
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Scumbag Thanksgiving

Having no family in New York and most friends traveling back to their respective homes, me and my roommate decided to take a trip on Thanksgiving. We hopped on a $30 bus and in 2.5 hours we were in Atlantic City.

Thanksgiving

The night had highs and lows. Somehow I won $400 on video poker. I mean seriously, who wins in video poker? But by binging on alcohol, expensive food and more gambling I managed to blow through most of it.

Point is, I started to wonder why these people were at a Casino on Thanksgiving?

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