Random Things: CassaStorm, Autumn Weather, Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Colds, And Your Favorite Networking Platform

It's been a very long time since I did a post consisting of a random assortment of things I thought were blog-worthy. Since I'm attempting to get out of a slump, I thought I'd resurrect that old format just to get some words flowing. Here we go! (I know it's a bit long, but you can always skip to the categories you're interested in or ignore me entirely or take a snack break while you read this or whatever.)

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CassaStorm:

First, the news. Alex J. Cavanaugh's new book CassaStorm was released this week on the 17th, sequel to CassaStar and CassaFire, and has since reached the top 100 Space Opera books on Amazon. Huge congratulations, Alex!

Commanding the Cassan base on Tgren, Byron thought he’d put the days of battle behind him. As a galaxy-wide war encroaches upon the desert planet, Byron’s ideal life is threatened and he’s caught between the Tgrens and the Cassans.
     After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family. The declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, threatening to destroy the boy’s mind.
     Meanwhile the ancient alien ship is transmitting a code that might signal the end of all life in the galaxy. And the mysterious probe that almost destroyed Tgren twenty years ago could return. As his world begins to crumble, Byron suspects a connection. The storm is about to break, and Byron is caught in the middle…

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Autumn Weather: 

Now that fall is almost officially here (well, at least in this part of the world) I've fallen in love again with the cool temperatures, brilliant blue skies, changing leaves, and the sharp, fresh smell of the air. I adore this time of year, particularly right now, which is just before the nights get so cold you turn into an ice block when getting up in the morning.

via Pixabay.

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail:

Up until two weeks ago, I'd never actually watched anything involving Monty Python (it took me only slightly less time to realize Monty Python was, in fact, more than one person). I'd seen references to Monty Python and the Holy Grail both knowingly and unknowingly, so when I noticed the library had the Holy Grail I snagged it.

Most of my response for the duration of the film was "Ah, so that's what the 'it's just a flesh wound'/Knights who say Nii/killer rabbits/airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow/knights with coconuts for horses" scene comes from!" because I'd absorbed those through the internet. Particularly the killer rabbits bit; I was especially confused before about what the heck was going on in that scene. LOL.

It's quite funny, at any rate. I'd recommend it, if you don't mind British humor.

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Colds:

I have a cold. Apparently a lot of people are getting sick right now, and I really, really sympathize with them because needing to blow your nose every half minute and having a sore throat isn't fun. Also having your brain start physically feeling like the mushy, heavy, oversensitive thing that it is; I'm getting headaches now and again, which has never really happened before, that I can think of. Sigh. Maybe I'll make soup later or something. (And keep watching copious amounts of Whose Line Is It Anyway?)

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via Pixabay.

Favorite Networking Platform:

I'm curious. Obviously, if you're reading this now and have any intention of commenting on it, you're somewhat invested in Blogger as an internet platform--but if you had to choose, which would be your favorite? Not necessarily in a "if you could only use one for the rest of your internet life" sort of way, just as a "which has the best features/layout/people in your opinion" type of query. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.

I like Blogger/Wordpress as blog hosts since they have a pretty open and welcoming atmosphere, at least from what I've experienced, and they give you the ability to post a huge range of content. But I'm not sure about many of the other "social networking" platforms (except for Tumblr, which is opinionated, fast-moving, and extremely image-based), so I want to know what you guys think. Preferences? Dislikes? Things you'd change about a platform you use?

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Read CassaStorm yet? Enjoying or disliking your weather? Watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail? (And if you have, any recommendations on what to watch next?) Have a cold? Don't have a cold? What do you think of networking platforms and their differences?

And if you've made it to the end of this post, here, have some virtual cookies and/or hugs. (Though seeing as I have a cold, maybe not a hug . . . how about a warm cup of tea?)


-----The Golden Eagle

A To Z Challenge: Technology And The Next Big Thing (That Could Invade Your Privacy To Extremes)

Technology is science applied to real-life problems. Physics equations and observations are all well and good--but technology allows the enormous range of scientific fields to play a very large part in people's everyday lives. The term technology has various uses: It can refer to a specific subset of machines (such as space technology) and it can refer to the total knowledge and capability of a society.

To be honest, the second part of this post (the "recent developments" section) came to me before the introduction. Google Glass is a piece of technology I've been wanting to post about for a while and the A to Z Challenge seemed like an ideal spot, seeing as I've already proposed some controversial subjects in previous posts.

Antonio Zugaldia, CC-BY-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Google Glass is a pair of glasses with the capabilities of a smartphone. You give it orders to give you directions, send messages, take photographs and videos, etc., and all while wearing the device as feedback appears in a small screen on one side of the eyeglass frame. While some people (me included) don't like the idea of having multimedia so close to one's actual eyeball, the privacy concerns have to be the most argued-over bit (though there are also concerns about distracted driving and so on).

The problem? There is no way for someone else to tell if a person wearing the glasses is recording--which could mean your face is unwittingly being uploaded to Google's servers and could be played back by the person who recorded the footage, or, perhaps, by governments; facial recognition software could be applied to identify crowds of people just because someone walked through a busy location with Google Glass recording. There aren't any limits to when someone can record, either; imagine all the moments most people would absolutely not want saved for another person to see.

Google Glass is scheduled to arrive some time in 2014, according to the Executive Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt.

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Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/technology
http://techland.time.com/2013/04/23/three-questions-i-hope-google-answers-before-google-glass-is-released/
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-google-glass-2014-eric-schmidt-20130423,0,3402891.story
http://www.google.com/glass/start/

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Will you be wearing the new Google Glasses once they're released? If you run across someone wearing them, will you be worried?


-----The Golden Eagle

Is Social Media Turning Us Into Narcissists?

I was researching narcissism for a school essay recently and came across several articles about the so-called rise of narcissism due to social media.

I can see why it would be true. Twitter feeds, Facebook timelines, blog posts are all created with the expectation someone out there is going to read them and be interested in what that person has to say; that someone is going to like their photograph or want to know about their personal life. There are billions of voices on the web by now, and most of them feel entitled to some kind of attention. Narcissism is something everyone carries around with them in real life too, of course (you have to have some level of self-esteem and self-interest), but the internet allows for it in different, possibly more insidious ways.

The place where I notice the promotional kind of attention-seeking the most is in book promotions, probably because I follow so many blogs of authors. It's not exclusive to writers, but you can't move around in the blogosphere without bumping into a blog tour or book or cover release. Essentially, a lot of people are calling out "I am awesome!" or "I have something great to sell!". I don't think this is bad, particularly if someone's self-publishing or with a small press, as s/he has to contribute a significant amount of marketing.

That kind of thing does, however, raise some questions: How many promotional profiles built for the sole purpose of selling a product are actually tapping into an individual's narcissism and how many are normal people who just have something they want to share? How many people become more narcissistic over time because of social media? How many people are really all "Me, me, me!" and how many really care about the people they follow and interact with online?

Personally, I'd like to say I'm not more of a narcissist since I started blogging. I'd like to say my almost-three-years of blog posts haven't gone to my head, or that I'm unaffected by the fact people actually read the stuff I throw onto the web, or that I am still surprised when someone leaves a comment.

But I can't say I'm surprised when I receive comments anymore (though I'm still very thankful for them) because I know I have readers, and when real life conversation turns to the web and what people are doing on it, sometimes I feel like pointing out that hey, I have a site with more than 1000 followers and am kind of "established" in this corner of the web (though I never actually have said that). In short, I am proud of this blog. I like posting. I enjoy focusing on my own opinions, which is the whole reason I started The Eagle's Aerial Perspective.


What do you think? Do you believe narcissism is going up because of the internet? Do you see narcissistic traits in social media? Do you think the focused way social networking sites like Facebook and blogs promote the individual is a good or a bad thing?


-----The Golden Eagle

Blogfest: Did I Notice Your Book?

The Did I Notice Your Book Blogfest is hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh and Ciara Knight, and is all about spreading the word about books.

Post about a book you've noticed. You can choose a book that you've read, something you saw on a blog or social media site, Goodreads, or a sales website. Anything that caught your eye because of a great cover, blurb or reviews, but DON'T tell the author that their book has been noticed. Instead, shout out on social media sites, and encourage others to do the same, until the author finds his/her book.

Leave a blog comment at Ninja Captain Alex's BLOG or Ciara Knight's BLOG when the author finds their book.

Only two rules:

1. You can't post about your own book.
2. The book shouldn't be on the New York Times or USA Today bestseller list. 

This is your chance to shout out about a book that might not have been noticed by others.

I had a hard time deciding which book to post about for this. I follow hundreds of authors, many of whom have published their work, and they're all impressive. However, as I had to narrow it down to something, here's what I went with:

Year Zero by Rob Reid.

An alien advance party was suddenly nosing around my planet.
Worse, they were lawyering up. . . .

In the hilarious tradition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Rob Reid takes you on a headlong journey through the outer reaches of the universe—and the inner workings of our absurdly dysfunctional music industry.

Low-level entertainment lawyer Nick Carter thinks it’s a prank, not an alien encounter, when a redheaded mullah and a curvaceous nun show up at his office. But Frampton and Carly are highly advanced (if bumbling) extraterrestrials. And boy, do they have news.

The entire cosmos, they tell him, has been hopelessly hooked on humanity’s music ever since "Year Zero" (1977 to us), when American pop songs first reached alien ears. This addiction has driven a vast intergalactic society to commit the biggest copyright violation since the Big Bang. The resulting fines and penalties have bankrupted the whole universe. We humans suddenly own everything—and the aliens are not amused.

Nick Carter has just been tapped to clean up this mess before things get ugly, and he’s an unlikely galaxy-hopping hero: He’s scared of heights. He’s also about to be fired. And he happens to have the same name as a Backstreet Boy. But he does know a thing or two about copyright law. And he’s packing a couple of other pencil-pushing superpowers that could come in handy.

Soon he’s on the run from a sinister parrot and a highly combustible vacuum cleaner. With Carly and Frampton as his guides, Nick now has forty-eight hours to save humanity, while hopefully wowing the hot girl who lives down the hall from him.

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What book(s) have you noticed recently and/or are on your TBR? If you're participating in the Did I Notice Your Book Blogfest, which book did you choose? Heard of Year Zero before?


-----The Golden Eagle

Guest Post by Angela Ackerman: What To Do . . . If You Believe Social Media Isn't For You

Hello, blogosphere. Today I have Angela Ackerman from The Bookshelf Muse (and co-author of The Emotional Thesaurus) here to talk about social networking. Take it away, Angela!

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Everywhere you look there are blog posts, webinars, online courses and websites all shouting the same message: Join Social Media! Engage! Connect! Network! Build Your Audience! Everyone says that in this new world of publishing, authors have to navigate the social waters to be successful. Is this true?
   Unless you happen to be a celebrity or are gifted with a giant promotional push from a publisher...then yes.
   And herein lies the problem. Many writers are introverts. They like having the computer screen between them and the world, thank you very much. They don’t want to get involved in every newfangled social media platform, or blog with no idea what to say, or try to find an 'in' on a site when it seems like everyone knows each other already.
   When it’s been decades since you’ve hadto walk the playground and make friends, the idea of entering a giant onlinecocktail party can be hive inducing. So what is a writer to do when they feel they are not suited for social networking or are simply terrified by the idea of it?

Stay In Your Comfort Zone
If the idea of social networking is overwhelming, pick something contained and more likely to be in your comfort zone. Writing Forums are much less intimidating than the biggies of socialization like Twitter, Google+ or Facebook. In a forum, rather than being bombarded by hundreds of people, interaction is more intimate. Joining conversations in a forum will put you together with only a few people at once, and the topic is focused. You can learn, share and make friends at a slower pace. Some incredibly friendly writing forums are The Critique Circle, My Writer’s Circle, and if you write for Children or Young Adults, Verla Kay’s Blueboard.

Become a Lurker
Rather than be pressured into jumping into the fray, do some lurking. Visit writing blogs (I have a great list here) and blogs on topics that tie into your books. Read the comments so you can understand how people engage. Check out how other writers interact on Twitter by searching up some hashtags like #writersroad #amwriting or #writechat. See what they share and click on some profiles to find people who interest you. Run searches for your interests. If you like cycling, you’re not alone. If your book is for dragon lovers, search for Dragons and you’re sure to find fans. Hang out on Google+ and run a search for writing or writers. Or again, choose a keyword that ties into your book. Put a few people that have interesting profiles in a circle--remember, you can follow them without engaging if you chose to. Or, if you have a Face Book account, check out a few groups! Writer’s Support 4U is one of the most active and friendly ones, but there are many others.

Dip Your Toe In...On A Trial Basis
If you did some lurking and found a social networking medium that seemed like it could be within your comfort zone, then step in, slowly. Reach out and share a bit--it can be things that inspire you, what you find funny or something about writing if you want to connect with other writers. Friend or follow a few people and comment on what they share. If you’re looking to connect with your direct novel audience, then share content that you know they will enjoy that ties right in with your books. Soon, conversations will start and you’ll be off to the races. If you find you enjoy it, great! And if not, then you can walk away, wiser for trying.
There’s a new place for all artisic types that I really would like to give a shout out to, and that is WANA Tribe. This new space is not only for writers, but all Creatives. The mission is collaboration and knowledge sharing and is part of WANA International, the brainchild of Kristen Lamb and Ingrid Schaffenburg.
   Social Networking can seem intimidating at first. Some worry it will chew up all their writing time and that they need to be everywhere to be successful--Twitter, Blogs, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and more. Know right out the gate that it is much better for you to choose one or two of these and do them well than scatter yourself across all networks! And if you do find you enjoy it and are worried about your writing time, just remember YOU are in control. Engage as much or as little as time allows. Writing always must come first!

Are you leery of Social Networking, trying to decide whether (and how) to jump in? Or have you decided to give it a try? I would love to hear your experiences, good or bad, and whether social networking has changed things for you as a writer or author!


About Angela:

Angela Ackerman is a Canadian who writes on the darker side of Middle Grade and Young Adult. A strong believer in writers helping writers, she blogs at the award winning resource, The Bookshelf Muse and is co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression. Angela is represented by Jill Corcoran of The Herman Agency.  

   The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression is a writer’s best friend, helping to navigate the challenging terrain of showing character emotion. This brainstorming tool explores seventy-five emotions and provides a large selection of body language, internal sensations, actions and thoughts associated with each. Written in an easy-to-navigate list format, readers can draw inspiration from character cues that range in intensity to match any emotional moment. 

-----The Golden Eagle