Blog training

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Three Appetizers for Thought

• The only real knight ever was Don Quixote
• Music is the most advanced language ever
• A little thing is a little thing but faithfulness in little things is a damn difficult big thing

For 9 more gems visit the Blog of Dysfunction

Welcome to Postmodern Times

As luck has it, today is 07/07/07 or 7-7-7, depending on how you like your numbers. And what a lucky day it is, depending on how you like our latest video Postmodern Times.

CREDITS:

Cast (in order of appearance)
Janaka Rishi Maxwell
Krishna and Balarama Rodriguez
Krishna Dhama Rico
Jishnu and Krishangi Allin
Poppy
Radha Kunda Allard

Cinematography and
Assistant Director
Manu Kaseder

Original Score
Kevin MacLeod

Dog Wrangler
Devaki Solomon

Maritime Services
Dude Overboard!

Catering
Amaradha Saona
Devaki Solomon
Lokasaksini Chapaprieta

Special Thanks
Tosan Krishna Allin
Laksmi Nrsimha Pugliese
Lokasaksini Chapaprieta
Rodriguez Family
Gaura Shakti Allin
Kesisudana Allard

Written, Directed,
and Edited by
Jeeves McAtman
Tom Spence

Filmed on Location
in Florida at the
Santa Fe River and
San Felasco Hammock

DISCLAIMERS:

No animals or actors
were harmed in the
production of this movie,
and only two hats were lost.

Any resemblance
to actual persons or
electronic devices
is purely coincidental.

Jeev Jago Studios
&
Pop Goes the
Gita Productions

MMVII

MORE DISCLAIMERS:

For educational purposes only. Unix is a registered trademark of AT&T. Do not fold, spindle or mutilate. Contents may settle during shipment. Batteries not included. Use only as directed. No other warranty expressed or implied. May be too intense for some viewers. Breaking seal constitutes acceptance of agreement. This software is not designed or intended for use or resale as on-line control equipment in hazardous environments requiring fail-safe performance, such as in the operation of nuclear facilities, aircraft navigation or communication systems, air traffic control, direct life support machines, or weapons systems, in which the failure of the software could lead directly to death, personal injury, or severe physical or environmental damage ("high risk activities"). Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Some assembly required. List each check separately by bank number. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Postage will be paid by addressee. Subject to CAB approval. This is not an offer to sell securities. Apply only to affected area. Do not stamp. Use other side for additional listings. For recreational use only. Do not disturb. If condition persists, consult your physician. No user-serviceable parts inside. Freshest if eaten before date on carton. Subject to change without notice. Times approximate. No postage necessary if mailed in the United States. Simulated picture. Please remain seated until the ride has come to a complete stop. For off-road use only. As seen on TV. Contraindicated in individuals who have a hypersensitivity to sulfonamide preparations or to any of the ingredients of the preparation. One size fits all. Many suitcases look alike. Contains a substantial amount of non-tobacco ingredients. Colors may, in time, fade. We have sent the forms which seem right for you. Slippery when wet. For office use only. Not affiliated with the American Red Cross. Drop in any mailbox. Edited for television. Keep cool; process promptly. Post office will not deliver without postage. List was current at time of printing. Return to sender, no forwarding order on file, unable to forward. Not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect, error or failure to perform. At participating locations only. Not the Beatles. Penalty for private use. Do not use if solution is discolored. Substantial penalty for early withdrawal. Do not write below this line. Falling rock. Lost ticket pays maximum rate. Your canceled check is your receipt. Place stamp here. Avoid contact with skin. Sanitized for your protection. Be sure each item is properly endorsed. Sign here without admitting guilt. Slightly higher west of the Mississippi. Employees and their families are not eligible. Beware of dog. Contestants have been briefed on some questions before the show. Limited time offer, call now to ensure prompt delivery. Must be present to win. 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Package sold by weight, not volume. Your mileage may vary. Illustrations are slightly enlarged to show detail. Do not remove this disclaimer under penalty of law. Hand wash only, tumble dry on low heat. No substitutions allowed. For a limited time only. Void where prohibited, taxed, or otherwise restricted. Reader assumes full responsibility. Quantities are limited while supplies last. If any defects are discovered, do not attempt to fix them yourself, but return to an authorized service center. Read at your own risk. May cause drowsiness. Keep away from sunlight. Keep away from pets and small children. Limit one per family, please. No money down. Need not be present to win. Instructions included. Action figures sold separately. No preservatives added. Safety goggles required during use. Sealed for your protection, do not use if safety seal is broken. Not liable for damages arising from use or misuse. For external use only. 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Disclaimer does not cover misuse, accident, lightning, flood, tornado, tsunami, volcanic eruption, earthquake, hurricanes and other Acts of God, neglect, damage from improper or unauthorized use, incorrect line voltage, broken antenna or marred cabinet, missing or altered serial numbers, electromagnetic radiation from nuclear blasts, sonic boom vibrations, customer adjustments that are not covered in this list, and incidents owing to an airplane crash, ship sinking or taking on water, motor vehicle crashing, dropping the item, falling rocks, leaky roof, broken glass, mud slides, forest fire, or projectile (which can include, but not be limited to, arrows, bullets, shot, BB's, shrapnel, lasers, napalm, torpedoes, or emissions of X-rays, Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays, knives, stones, etc.). Other restrictions may apply. Professional driver on closed course. This supersedes all previous notices.

Rise and Shine

Eat This, Mystery Man!

OK, so Tom Spence accuses me of ordering him to write for this blog. Then he does so and includes me in the category of the talented. I'm even mentioned in the same sentence as Mozart, one of the greatest musical geniuses the world has even seen or heard. Of course, to put it in context Tom did write, "they are the talented, from Mozart to Jester Jeeves." In other words, if we consider the talent spectrum, Mozart is at one end and Jester Jeeves is at the other. Oh---I get it now, Tom is saying that I am talented, but just barely. Well, with this post, I hope to make him eat those words. I mean just look at the Rise and Shine image above, which by the way is not meant to offend anyone, be they Baptist, Bread Boy, or otherwise. If that's not a stroke of evil genius I don't what is.

Anyway, I don't make this stuff up---I just call 'em like I see 'em. And what I saw was a church signboard around Easter time. As I drove by, the Pillsbury Dough Boy jumped out of that inspirational dimension and into my head. I felt that I owed it to the world to share my vision of doughy divinity. Armed with my meager talent, digital camera, and minuscule Photoshop skills, I crafted this image from my imagined inspiration. Hopefully no Parkview Baptist Church-goers or Pillsbury corporate lawyers are among the millions of Jeev Jago Studios' fans.

Postmodern Progess

After our brush with the vicious Vista memory monopolizer on Tom's laptop we transfered our Vegas video editing to my old but operational desktop running on the comparatively expeditious XP. Frame by digital frame, Postmodern Times is coming together in a way that
can only be described as miraculous---or amazing, anomalous, astonishing, astounding, awesome, extraordinary, fabulous, fantasmo, far out, freakish, gas (?), heavy (?), incredible, inexplicable, magical, marvelous, monstrous, numinous, phenomenal, preternatural, prodigious, spectacular, staggering, strange, stupefying, stupendous, superhuman, superior, supermundane, supernatural, supranatural, thaumaturgic, the utmost, too much, unaccountable, unbelievable, unearthly, unimaginable, unreal, wonderworking, or wondrous.

Well, not really, but Tom and I are very excited about our progress. And now there's even the possibility of premiering Postmodern Times at a summer festival in Florida next month!

I feel like Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky, considered by many to be the most influential composer of 20th century music, tried his hand at the written word at one point in his career. He said, "I experience a sort of terror if I sit down to work and find an infinity of possibilities open to me. No effort is conceivable."

Andy Rooney, who relates this anecdote, tells us that Stravinsky conquered that terror by turning his creative urge to the seven notes of the scale and writing music. "For then I have something solid and concrete," Stravinsky said. "I am saved from the anguish of unconditional liberty."

Rooney, himself, turns not to the piano, but to the essay form. He says, "The essay offers a writer a great deal of freedom but falls short of offering the 'unconditional liberty' that stopped Stravinsky. The essay provides a writer boundaries within which he can go to work. Confinement is conducive to creativity."

I, as a Renaissance man of mystery, dabble in both the literary and the musical, but I drown in the terror of perfection paralysis. And I find little solace in the solid and concrete of the seven notes or the boundaries of the essay.

Creative inspiration comes from another dimension. Some seem unable to access it at all---they feel themselves untalented. Others, to different degrees, are given access and the ability to bring back and materialize in our 3D world what they perceive in the realm of inspiration---they are the talented, from Mozart to Jester Jeeves. Still others are given access to perceive, but are cursed by the inability to communicate---they are the frustrated sufferers.

As a certifiable frustrated sufferer, I struggle with what Stravinsky expressed about writing: he could perceive an infinity of possibilities, but felt powerless to express anything in the face of the unlimited. That's me, that's how I feel, that's my struggle, and in spite of all of that, Jester Jeeves has ordered me (yes, ordered me), to pull my weight on this blog.

What to do?

Hey, I just noticed that I've written over 300 words---that must count as a blog entry. It should also count to get Jester Jeeves off my back for at least a week. I've been saved from the anguish of unconditional liberty by the confinement of blogs. Maybe blogging is my thing.

Broadcast News

Give War A Chance viewership reaches critical mass!

Jeev Jago Studios is humbled to report that its premiere YouTube video has been viewed by a significant portion of the earth's human population (0.000003% or about 200 of 6.5 billion people). What to speak of the inestimable number of cats, dogs, ferrets, iguanas, parakeets, hamsters, cockroaches, termites, etc. that have undoubtedly watched along with their human housemates. With an initial success of such magnitude there is only thing for Tom and Jeeves to do: forge ahead with their next magnum opus, Postmodern Times.

Hasta la vista, Vista

And forge ahead they will despite suffering temporary setbacks, unforeseen obstacles, and technical glitches. Just last week Tom admitted to having an illicit affair with an alluring femme fatale, none other than Madame Vista herself. Needless to say, upgrading to a new Microsoft operating system so soon after its release is a dangerous affair indeed. One sure to cause a myriad of distresses, technical as well as emotional. Without getting into all the gory details of how Tom's sordid software infidelity has affected his family, Jeev Jago Studios sadly reports that the editing of Postmodern Times ground to a halt on Friday. But it will take forces much greater than Bill Gates and his sinister software engineers to stop Tom and Jeeves from completing their cyber-creations of enlightening entertainment. Stay tuned . . .

Give War A Chance

As forewarned, here it is: Jeev Jago Studios' first YouTube release! The first of many, we hope.

Give War A Chance was inspired by the President's State of the Union address and the support his troop-surge strategy received from many of his GOP followers. We figured John Lennon must be turning in his grave over the choice of words used by the Bush administration in asking the American public to give his war plan a chance. Generally, our productions will take a more philosophical bend, but sometimes you just have to let your inspiration take you where it will.

Before we sign off, we should give credit where credit is due (or should we say blame where blame is due?): President Bush was impersonated by former town councilman Captain Kinch and the Give War A Chance refrain was performed by the Blind Uncle Tabernacle Choir. The rest of the blame for this production rests with Jeeves McAtman (AKA Jester Jeeves) and the mysterious Tom Spence.

If instant fame and fortune don't corrupt Tom and Jeeves, they will continue producing (in cooperation with Pop Goes the Gita Productions) their next masterpiece Postmodern Times, now in the beginning stages of editing.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia

Paraskavedekatriaphobia. What is it and is the concern justified? (I'm certainly afraid of even trying to pronounce it out loud.)

Well, according to the supreme authority for the 21st Century, Wikipedia, it is the fear of Friday the 13th. Is it something to worry about? Read on and decide for yourself.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th

Consider the following nuggets of Wikipedia wisdom:

Novelist Daniel Handler, also known as Lemony Snicket, released the 13th book of the Series of Unfortunate Events on Friday, October 13, 2006 (BTW, January 13, 2006, and October 13, 2006, were not only Fridays, but the digits in the month, day, and year of each date add up to 13. This last occurred on October 13, 1520, and will next occur on May 13, 2011).

Notable births on Friday the 13th:

El presidente de Cuba, Fidel Castro (el 13 agosto de 1926)

Elaine Benes AKA Julia Louis-Dreyfus (January 13, 1961)

and the scariest of all---

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson (June 13, 1986)

And here's another reason to take Paraskavedekatriaphobia seriously. Friday, April 13, 2007, marked the completion of Jeev Jago Studios' first video "Give War a Chance" (soon to be released on the small screen).