Did you ever notice that the people who praise the American Indian for using every bit of the buffalo will whine about what's in a hot dog?
This Thanksgiving, I'm giving thanks to God for giving us Mark Stein and his latest column:World should give thanks for America
His last book was one of my favorite Christmas gifts last year, and I devoured it hungrily. If you haven't read it yet, please please please check it out. Mark is a humorous yet pointed writer, and this volume says volumes.
I wish I could get my phone to talk to my computer. (More on that later in a more boring whiny post.) I've taken some cool camera shots of my trip, but I can't transmit the pictures from my phone to a computer.
As I write this, I'm in the "Theory and Practice of Social Design" lecture by Joshua Porter of Bokardo Design. It's interesting, though I have ample time for the mind to wander so I thought blogging might keep me from daydreaming. I'm also browsing the web and working on a new logo for Scott Beatty's redesigned site. It's an interesting lecture; it's just not relevant to my work for Mayo. Mayo's not a social networking site.
So far, the most interesting part has been a discussion about how Amazon allows user reviews and why they would do that. (People trust other people more than the official line from the manufacturer.) Simply put, Amazon focuses on selling more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff. If you make bad stuff, too bad, it's not Amazon's problem.
Here's a great quote by Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook: "The best check on bad behavior is identity." Dennis Prager had a recent column about the same thing. If you had to identify yourself, would you engage in spamming, junk mail, comment trolling, false product reviews or giving rave reviews of your own work posing as someone else?
OK, back to the lecture. He's talking about the Zune, and why do people give of themselves in a social way by sharing music or sharing reviews. Is it altruism, or self-interest as to how many people read their work? On that note, be sure to write a comment on this post. :-)
As I write this, I'm in the "Theory and Practice of Social Design" lecture by Joshua Porter of Bokardo Design. It's interesting, though I have ample time for the mind to wander so I thought blogging might keep me from daydreaming. I'm also browsing the web and working on a new logo for Scott Beatty's redesigned site. It's an interesting lecture; it's just not relevant to my work for Mayo. Mayo's not a social networking site.
So far, the most interesting part has been a discussion about how Amazon allows user reviews and why they would do that. (People trust other people more than the official line from the manufacturer.) Simply put, Amazon focuses on selling more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff. If you make bad stuff, too bad, it's not Amazon's problem.
Here's a great quote by Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook: "The best check on bad behavior is identity." Dennis Prager had a recent column about the same thing. If you had to identify yourself, would you engage in spamming, junk mail, comment trolling, false product reviews or giving rave reviews of your own work posing as someone else?
OK, back to the lecture. He's talking about the Zune, and why do people give of themselves in a social way by sharing music or sharing reviews. Is it altruism, or self-interest as to how many people read their work? On that note, be sure to write a comment on this post. :-)
Yes, I just said Hi to you in Cameron Moll's CSS Interface's group. Bet you didn't expect this!
If you attended User Interface 12 in Boston (U.I. 12), please reply and drop me a note.
See my post below for the other things I do.
If you attended User Interface 12 in Boston (U.I. 12), please reply and drop me a note.
See my post below for the other things I do.
I'm working on upgrading the blogs at the moment.
Right now, Monitor Duty is giving me a lot of problems, and Powweb can't seem to pin down the source of the problems.
Right now, Monitor Duty is giving me a lot of problems, and Powweb can't seem to pin down the source of the problems.
I'll be at Wizard World Chicago on Saturday, August 11th. I need to find a new artist for Metro Med, plus I'll be feeling out publishers for the book when it is ready. My plans are to wander the hall talking to publishers and reviewing the portfolios of anyone I see carrying one. You have to find me.
Here's the deal: find me. Find me and you'll get a FREE COMIC BOOK!
All you need to do to get the free comic is come up to me and say, loud enough for people around to hear you, "METRO MED IS THE BEST COMIC BOOK I'VE EVER READ!"
("Your comic book is the best comic book I've ever read!" is also acceptable.)
How can you identify me? I'm a chubby guy, buzz cut hair (where I have hair) and I'll be tugging around a blue tote crate. I may have some Metro Med or Fanzing clothing on, but no promises. Check out my picture on my ComicSpace and mentally picture me without the "bad Spock" goatee.
Approach me. Don't be shy! It doesn't matter if I'm eating or even talking on my cell phone. (You MAY want to wait a few minutes if I'm talking to Dan DiDio about doing a book for DC.) Just say the phrase that pays and you'll get a comic book worth up to $6.
One per person/family. Valid as long as supplies last.
If you happen to see the portfolio of a good artist looking for some modestly-paying work, please send them my way. If you are a publisher willing to consider publishing Metro Med, contact me. Thank you!
Michael Hutchison, writer of Metro Med, the hospital for superheroes.
http://www.metromedcomic.com
http://www.toomanylongboxes.com
Here's the deal: find me. Find me and you'll get a FREE COMIC BOOK!
All you need to do to get the free comic is come up to me and say, loud enough for people around to hear you, "METRO MED IS THE BEST COMIC BOOK I'VE EVER READ!"
("Your comic book is the best comic book I've ever read!" is also acceptable.)
How can you identify me? I'm a chubby guy, buzz cut hair (where I have hair) and I'll be tugging around a blue tote crate. I may have some Metro Med or Fanzing clothing on, but no promises. Check out my picture on my ComicSpace and mentally picture me without the "bad Spock" goatee.
Approach me. Don't be shy! It doesn't matter if I'm eating or even talking on my cell phone. (You MAY want to wait a few minutes if I'm talking to Dan DiDio about doing a book for DC.) Just say the phrase that pays and you'll get a comic book worth up to $6.
One per person/family. Valid as long as supplies last.
If you happen to see the portfolio of a good artist looking for some modestly-paying work, please send them my way. If you are a publisher willing to consider publishing Metro Med, contact me. Thank you!
Michael Hutchison, writer of Metro Med, the hospital for superheroes.
http://www.metromedcomic.com
http://www.toomanylongboxes.com
TheHutch.com has been nothing but a placeholder for me for years. I've wanted a blog but never had the time to devote to setting one up. (As it is, this took the better part of a day!)
Some things you may want to check out while I'm getting the site kicked off and tidied up:
Some things you may want to check out while I'm getting the site kicked off and tidied up:
- Metro Med, my comic book. I'm the writer; I'm looking for a new artist. I will be at Wizard World Chicago reviewing portfolios next Saturday.
- Too Many Longboxes, my comic collection for sale on the web.
- Monitor Duty, my newsblog about comic books and geek films.
- I have a message board on this site as well. Just installed this last week, same as this blog.
- My T-shirts and other merchandise, including the Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Comic Books shirt.
