It's good to be in touch with pop culture

For years, I've failed at staying in touch with pop culture, and in fact, I had no real interest in it. I still don't have any genuine interest in pop culture, but it is a great way to oil the writing engine, and in turn, write more marketable pieces than just whatever pops in my head that has nothing to do with what's going on outside of my own world.

I say this now, in particular, because I wrote a piece recently that I published on my own in Intrepid Media's gallery, and ended up landing a feature spot for that piece.

I wrote the piece titled "The Awkward Ref," after watching the new NBC show "The Marriage Ref," and hating it.

The purpose of this post is to spread the word that I have been featured again, and also to talk about the significance of this particular featured piece, which will be smack dab on the homepage of IM through Monday, I believe.

You see, for perhaps the first time in my life as an independent writer I wrote about something so timely, that the piece I wrote was featured on IM on the day that something was set to happen. For me, this is a huge step toward producing things that publications want to publish, which will inevitably broaden my horizons-- that is, if I continue to stay in touch with what's happening in a timely fashion.

Although "The Marriage Ref" was something I came across on TV, I feel that the way I will keep at being up to date is with the help of Twitter.

I've had Twitter for a while, but I hardly ever used it or even signed into the service until I began following the Winter Olympics through NBC's iPhone app. The app included tweets from the Team USA athletes. Seeing as how I was especially interested in Apolo Ohno, I began to follow him on Twitter and quickly became obssessed with Twitter altogether. I tweet constantly now. I went from following just a handful of people, to 59, ranging from friends, to individual celebrities, to the TV show Dexter, to all kinds of news outlets, and the list just keeps on growing.

The way we get information has evolved, and after a long time spent resisting the switch from newspapers and perfume-scented magazines to mysterious tweets that are no more than 150 characters long, I have surrendered. To resist is to remain ignorant, and left behind in a fast-moving world.

Another column

It's not a feature, but I've posted a new column in the gallery at Intrepid Media. It is rather heartfelt and very personal, but I think it recounts something that I'm sure happens to a lot of people, perhaps not everyone.

I usually save such personal pieces, as in personal matters that I don't feel comfortable sharing with everyone, for my personal journal, but I think this particular experience is one I wanted to share and put out there, because I needed to.

Up until I finally sat down and poured my heart out for eyes other than mine, I felt really weighed down by the emotions I was wrestling and struggling with in order to deal with it all. Writing this piece has been incredibly therapeutic, and I feel better now that it's out there than I have felt since what I talk about in the column took place.

My favorite thing about this column is it being a testament to the power of writing as a means of therapy. I really enjoyed writing this one, truly. There is nothing quite like it, I think, to have a vocation or passion that can do that for you when nothing and no one else can.

I do hope you will mosey on over there and take a look at R-E-S-P-E-C-T. You don't know what it means to me.

Thank you for reading my blog, and hopefully, my work over at Intrepid!

Olympians are so much cooler than me!

Ever since Friday night, the night the Winter Olympic games from Vancouver opened officially, I have done nothing productive beyond the things I have to do. It's kind of funny, because I find it ironic that in order to watch an event that is the ultimate tribute to physical excellence and dedication, I am doing nothing but sitting on my bum in front of the TV, feeling like a bit of a loser.

It's funny and it's kind of depressing. It's depressing, because whenever an event of recognition of this magnitude takes place, I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness at the fact that I have never had as much passion for anything as much as the athletes who pay with their sweat, tears, money, physical exertion and entire lives for one thing they love. Not to say that I don't have any passion or passions, I do, but it's not the kind of passion that prompts me to give up, say, my leisure time for it.

Of course, I recognize that not everyone, even the most dedicated of athletes, who practice everyday, can make it to the Olympics, but the point isn't so much the activities which these athletes have dedicated their lives to--I've never had an interest in being an athlete. What I am most affected and awed by is the dedication and total and complete commitment these extraordinary people possess, so much that they become role models and examples.

Imagine the hours upon hours one spends perfecting the same move, over and over again, for years and years. It's hard to keep at something this hard, especially when there is so much at stake, including health. It really makes you wonder how these people do it.

So, for this reason I watch and root for the best and feel awed by the skill and prowess of everyone competing in Vancouver, while reflecting on all the things I've done and do in my life, and thinking that my passions aren't so hot or urgent to give up what these people have given up and continue to give up to get to where they are.

On a lighter, less sentimental note: the Olympics are also inspiring in the sense that I always work out extra hard and feel more pumped up to get fit and do my best at whatever workout I am doing. Now, if I can just peel my eyes away from the TV, I think I will reap the benefits of such a motivational factor!

Long time, no feature!

Well, it doesn't happen as often as I'd like it to these days, but it has happened. A column I wrote after a very long hiatus from column writing has been featured at Intrepidmedia.com.

It is a simple declaration of my official acceptance of e-reading as an option alongside bound-book reading, and the title is oh so very cool: e-reader killed the bound book. Or so it thinks it did. It is the top feature through Monday, so if you want to see it at the top, you should make your way to the site no later than Sunday. Don't fret if you can't though, because you can always find it in the archives.

On a side note that has nothing to do with this bit of news, I wanted to announce a new blog I've started... actually, a blog I started a little while ago, but haven't quite gotten into just yet, but I plan to. It's called books 'n tomes and it's nothing more than me talking about the books I'm reading. I do hope you will add it to the list of blogs you'd visit every once in a while.

As always, thanks for reading!

I'm published!

It is not every day that I can say I have been published. It is also not everyday that I can say I have been published in a book full of great writing by excellent writers who are sure to rock the world with their fantastic writing and views on everything from everyday life to current events. I feel so humbled, yet so proud to be a part of this awesome endeavor.

If you want to read something that makes you feel like somebody out there understands you, or even if you want to read something that lets you see things in a different way in a fun and engaging way, Intrepid Media's 2009 and third volume of great writing collections is it, and it's super easy to get-- just click on the link below and download!