Another long wait between posts. I apologize but I have good reasons, really. Good raisins, too.

I was at WWDC all last week (see photos here), which ran the gamut of emotional and physical responses: excitement, frustration, confusion and exhaustion. It was a good conference as far as I could tell (I attended quite a few sessions but much of my day was spent in meetings), but the best times were outside of the conference, spent with all of the many great friends I have back in my hometown.

I will be posting an article about WWDC over in the Norton blogsite and you probably either already know what happened there or just don't care. Suffice to say that the iPhone is rapidly becoming a legitimate technology platform and I think it's appropriate to say that the transition that this iPhone is a part of (if not helping define) is a big one. It will be very interesting to see what features we assume from technology in the next five years.

- I am a guest host on this week's iFanboy podcast. It was a lot of fun, and one of those items I was very happy to check off in my "life's to do list". I had started listening to the podcast several years ago and always thought it would be fun to be on the show, and now I can say, it was an absolute blast to do it. It was a real pleasure and the feedback has been very positive so far. It's a lot of prep work, getting ready for the show, I had to get a headset to use with Skype (for sound quality) and set up my desk so I could easily access the books we were discussing, my notes, water, coffee, chat windows...it was like doing a radio show, which, of course, makes sense. The thing about the show is that it's usually pretty entertaining even if you don't know anything about comics, since there are aspects to the conversation that everyone can relate to (characters, stories, art, etc). This was another "live" event that I really couldn't truly prep for (not unlike the stuff I had to do in Vegas), so I am relieved it went well.

It also underscores my belief that you truly achieve any goal you have if you make a consistent effort to achieve said goal. Now, sure, I didn't write out "Be on iFanboy" one day, but I did want to get more involved, to the point that getting on the show would definitely become an option. And, now, it's happened. Of course, now I am writing a weekly article for them, which I did not plan at all--but it got me a chance to be on the show. And, again, while I could control some aspects toward this goal (enthusiastic participation, making sure to keep in touch, etc, etc), the TIMING was not in my control at all. If I had any expectation of "being on the podcast by xx years," none of this would have happened. I know, I sound like a broken record, but life is all about living the moment and not trying to fulfill expectations (yours or others).

- Speaking of real time activities, I gotta admit that writing regularly is quite a challenge. I had a crazy time last week when I had both an article for iFanboy, a new story summary, the first 10 pages of my screenplay and my inciting incident due on Tuesday. Now, of course, I am to fault completely--I procrastinated like crazy, but that's how I am used to dealing with writing deadlines: I get the topics/scenes/sections figured out in my head, and then I sit down and write it out. That's how I got through college--all of my papers were first drafts, technically--and it worked out fine. And life is not all that different now, come to think of it. When I was in college I had homework and papers due all the time, but was in rehearsals until 11 almost every night of the week, so doing it my head was my only recourse, really.

Maybe it is more difficult because I don't have that crazy structure that made me so nuts back then. Whatever--I did all the work that I needed to do, and so far, so good. What is...stressful? interesting? just...different? about writing NOW is that there is nothing for me to refer to--everything I am writing is from my own head. I am being asked to take a topic, aim my brain at it, and then transform that chaos into text and pictures. Which is a challenge, let me tell you! It's a great challenge, but I can see why "real" writers make a schedule--if I had any kind of discipline, I would be getting up at 6am each morning and just get it done before I went to work. I might have to do just that, actually--the screenplay is going to be at least 100 more pages, right? It took me over an hour to get the first 10 done...that's at least 10 more hours...yikes...scary.

But it's all new--all of this is new, and I haven't been challenged like this in awhile. I am definitely growing creatively, which feels really good.

- I made quite a few Father's Day calls yesterday. It was nice. It's really quite an experience to watch my oldest friends become parents. Trips me out like crazy.

- We won't talk about acting right now. Nothing to talk about.

- Saw some great old cars at The Grove a few weeks ago. Check the photos here.

Have a good week!

Tags: wwdc, san francisco, comics, ifanboy

Hey there!

Just wanted to let you know that my first article for iFanboy.com is up. I gotta say, I was really nervous about the whole thing. I mean, I was really, really flattered to be asked but honestly, I had no idea what I was going to talk about, week after week. (I still don't, really.) But it's a great opportunity and I'll just continue to write as long as they'll have me.

Of course, now I just have to get my Norton blog updated...I think I will probably do a series of entries during WWDC up in San Francisco, which should be a fun time. I will be twittering any fun stuff during the Keynote, so swing by a few times next week to see if I have any cool news from the show.

Other than that, things are fine. I had a really good on camera class on Monday; it was nice to get a chance to rehearse a few times and do a few takes for the scene, rather than just the one take that we tend to do in my "normal" class (though that is tremendously useful, arguably more useful to be better at that single take, when it comes to getting an actual job). I had to book out for next week which is always a bit frustrating, but honestly, there is just not a lot of work out there right now, at least for me, I guess.

On the political side, I am super stoked on Obama's speech last night. I was listening to his speech last night on the way home and it was truly inspiring to hear the crowd go absolutely bonkers. I haven't heard applause and cheering like that for a politician like that in a very long time...if ever, to be honest. It's gonna be fun to watch.

All right--I gotta run.

(ps - I’m using Rapidweaver 4.0 for the site now, and it’s a really great improvement. There’s a lot of delay when I type, which is annoying but that’ll get fixed.)

Tags: ifanboy, comics