08.22.09
72_The Writing World: INTERN Rocks Our Questionnaire
_This week on the Writing World, we asked INTERN of The Intern Spills what she thought. Well, not only did she have thoughts for the questions we’d provided her, but she came up with some own questions of her own that she thought were more relevant. Pretty cool, huh?
_As always, feel free to agree/disagree with anything she says and if you guys feel like answering those new questions too, go for it.
Question 1: Who are you? What is your basic experience with writing, the writing world and the publishing world?
INTERN is a manic-depressive tuning fork who can read your thoughts. Just had to make that clear, before we went any further.
Before becoming an editorial intern at a publishing house, INTERN was engaged in the typical Aspiring Writer downward spiral of publishing in literary magazines, sitting on editorial boards for other literary magazines, and dreaming up increasingly baroque self-employment schemes to support her writing habit while avoiding getting a Real Job.
Question 2: Obviously all writers want to get published and make a few dollars, but what do you really hope to accomplish with your writing? Do you want to change the world, or just get the movie deal?
INTERN just wants to have fun.
Question 3: Writers are never solitary creatures, and the internet has (obviously) helped writers get in touch with one another. What are some of the trends that you’ve noticed among writers lately?
Blogging has totally changed the publishing industry. Now, if you want to target a certain literary agent, you really should read their blog. It’s not enough to just look up their listing. Also, there’s way more good advice and educational opportunities online than ever before—just look at Query Shark. That blog is better than any book on query letters you could buy at a store. Of course, more people learning how to write great query letters means that the bar has been raised—too bad for people who haven’t kept up their skillz. Read the rest of this entry »
08.11.09
71_Is Your Life Fucked, or Does It Give You Hope?
FML.
Fuck My Life.
Eff Ehm Ell.
I wouldn’t quote Jewel unless it was really important. In one her songs, she doesn’t yodel, but, in fact, warbles “I might as well watch TV, / ‘cause it’s nice to see people more messed up than me.” If you use ‘TV’ and ‘Internet’ interchangeably, then you have the perfect explanation for the cultural obsession with Fmylife.com. In the event that you’ve been living in a third world country for the last six months, here’s an example.
Today, I got an invitation to my ex-boyfriend’s wedding. We broke up because “he didn’t believe in marriage.” FML
The posts all follow the same “Today, ‘insert anecdote here,’ FML” format, and, for the most part, are moderated by users – meaning you make the decision as to whether or not you agree that someone’s life is fucked’ Way to indulge an unconscious desire for power.
Anyways, it might just be me, but when I’m having a crap day, I don’t necessarily want to hear about how great everyone else’s life is. In fact, sometimes I’d rather boost my mood by hearing about the sorry lives of others, and I can’t be the only one who finds solace in knowing that I’m not the person whose life is totally fucked.
The only thing is, the posts that have the potential to be real mood boosters are probably fabricated. I saw this one the other day:
Today, I proposed to a girl I’d been in love with for 6 years. I filled the balcony of the building where I’d first laid eyes on her with innumerable roses and, under the starlit sky, I did it. She later posted on facebook ‘OMG. This geek I knew from high school did the FUNNIEST thing today’. FML
Seriously? I doubt it.
So when the stories start becoming unbelievable enough that they start to detract from my bad mood, I occasionally turn to givesmehope.com; but I save those stories, the ones that are “like Chicken Soup for the Soul – the 21st Century, Twitter-style version” (their words, not mine), for times when I want to make a good mood even better. Admittedly, this is a selfish thing, but I’m working on appreciating the underdogs more often.
For the times where I’ve looked to stave off cleaning my bathroom out of boredom, I admit that I have checked out mylifeisaverage.com, and for that I am ashamed. I wasted ten minutes of my day, of my life, reading posts that went something like “Today, I opened the fridge. There was nothing I wanted to eat in there. After 15 minutes, I opened it again. There still wasn’t anything I wanted to eat in there. MLIA.”
What seems to be the point of all of these sites is for the general population to have an excuse to talk about themselves, to share their miseries, hopes, and daily existence with the rest of the world. No post goes uncommented, and whether it’s an agreement that your life is fucked or an encouraging word, at least someone’s paying attention to you.
Author’s note: if fmylife.com and givesmehope.com aren’t enough to quench your thirst for delighting in the miseries and successes of others, check out the following:
For those who are in a good mood, who want to relish in other peoples joy and share in the kindness of humanity, visit mylifeisg.com or textsfromlastnight.com
For those looking to make fun of those with a lesser IQ, with loose morals, or people who are just plain stupid, visit whythefuckdoyouhaveakid.com or awkwardfamilyphotos.com
08.02.09
70_Roller Derby: Revisited
_Back in the day, we made our name talking about Roller Derby in Baltimore, the last of the posts being here. In that post, we were a little shocked to find out that actually a lot people know what the sport is.
_So, during our midnight trolling of Hulu.com’s movie trailer site, we were kinda happy to see the trailer for the movie “Whip It,” (link thanks to Hulu).
_But, after a view or two, we kinda got pissed. Here’s why:
_We suppose we’ve worn out all the White vs. Black sports movie success stories that now we have to resort to Mainstream vs. Counter Culture sports stories? And really, does Ellen Page honestly have to represent everything that’s Indie? Whatever happened to Natasha Lyonne? Every time we see Ellen Page on screen we get acid-like flashbacks of the first time we saw “Juno” and almost turned it off because it was so pretentious and not in tune with real life.
_We guess our real problem with this movie is that Roller Derby as we have come to know it is not some sort of uplifting alternative to Squarish-ness, but rather a genuine sport all to its own that deserves its own coverage on some sort of ESPN after-hours channel. We find it a little insulting that they’ve taken a completely legitimate, although mainly local sport and, by the casting of everyone that stared in “Juno”, turned it into the sports inspirational of the season.
_From the preview there’s no indication of the amount of support that local Roller Derby teams receive, there’s only the business-as-usual story arc of a girl who has to Do Something Different so that her Parents Will Understand. There’s no indication that in every major city in America there are tattoo parlors, record stores and who knows what other sort of Indie merchandise retailers which whole-heatedly support Roller Derby that this movie is, more or less, a little too late in terms of “Let’s get the mainstream in on the Indie bandwagon” sorta vibe.
_Anyway. See the film and decide for yourselves, but be cautioned: Ellen Page + Indie Sports + a General Lack of Understanding by Squares =/= Move Magic. If anything, it = Hollywood Buying Into Another Viable Market. But hey, we could be wrong.
_And support your local Roller Derby team.
_EDIT: Apparently Drew Barrymore is directing and starring in this mess. I’m not sure whether that makes it better or worse, but last night my friend showed me a picture where she posed next to Drew? Cool? Maybe if the movie sucks we can get her to write Drew a letter or something.
- Kid
