One of my favorite movies is Hancock which came out in 2008. It's about a Black superhero who gets drunk a lot, and causes a lot of damage to the city of Los Angeles when he's doing heroic acts, like in the opening he stops criminals. But also does a LOT of damage while doing it.
What makes the story interesting to me, besides the character John Hancock having my initials, is that his superpowers in the movie are kind of a static thing until the end. But his life experience varies greatly based on his interactions with other people.
So originally he's clearly poor. Lives in a trailer, and is hounded by the press, and the city which keeps serving him with citations for the damage he does, even though he's doing it stopping criminals.
Some public relations guy, after he saves him, leads him on what is commonly called the path to redemption and he becomes a celebrity.
The point then of the movie is that his superpowers are irrelevant. What really matters is how people perceive him.
That movie could have been great but the public relations guy was really irritating. And it had this awful scene where Hancock paints a heart on the moon! Just wrecked the movie. Ending was cool though as Hancock flies down with an eagle next to him. Or was it a hawk? I need to watch it again.
Gave me chills.
James Harris
Friday, July 31, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
A tweet on writing
Today was fascinated by what I think is a cool accident as noticed one of those Twitter trending things on writing, and after a while of pondering came up with something of my own to add. Turns out it came out to exactly 140 characters too! And here's my tweet:
And the challenge I thought was to put ten things into a single tweet! But when I was typing it up, got to the end, wondering if last would fit, and it fit, yup, perfectly!
So here are the ten things NOT to say to a writer written out:
1. Don't.
2. Just write.
3. Figure it out.
4. Try harder.
5. What's a block?
6. Finish now.
7. Be creative.
8. Think.
9. Cry.
10. What's wrong?
Sound legit? Or was I reaching too much to find things that would fit?
But here's the thing: why would anyone come up with such a trending topic, and why do most people NOT pay attention to that ten things part? And why ten things? Why not just say things?
That's how most people seemed to be tweeting it.
Wonder, how many people decided to show ten things like I did, and does it really matter or do I have too much time on my hands?
Things to ponder.
James Harris
#TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter Don't. Just write. Figure it out. Try harder. What's a block? Finish now. Be creative. Think. Cry. What's wrong?
— James Harris (@jstevh) July 28, 2015
(Yes, you can click on the hashtag in the tweet.)And the challenge I thought was to put ten things into a single tweet! But when I was typing it up, got to the end, wondering if last would fit, and it fit, yup, perfectly!
So here are the ten things NOT to say to a writer written out:
1. Don't.
2. Just write.
3. Figure it out.
4. Try harder.
5. What's a block?
6. Finish now.
7. Be creative.
8. Think.
9. Cry.
10. What's wrong?
Sound legit? Or was I reaching too much to find things that would fit?
But here's the thing: why would anyone come up with such a trending topic, and why do most people NOT pay attention to that ten things part? And why ten things? Why not just say things?
That's how most people seemed to be tweeting it.
Wonder, how many people decided to show ten things like I did, and does it really matter or do I have too much time on my hands?
Things to ponder.
James Harris
Monday, July 27, 2015
Thoughts on Google+
Finally really like Google+ and Google just announced a needed change where forced integration with YouTube is being removed, which has elicited more speculation about its future.
But now it's finally starting to look like something I like as I can collect my postings in a way that makes sense to me, lets me keep up with them better, and maybe can help others who are interested.
Like here's my open source collection: Open source related including mine
There I talk about, yup, you guessed it! Open source including mine, but I think mostly mine. Only have 3 posts there though. Hmmm...maybe shouldn't put that one up? Why not.
For people into looking at my photos: Some of my photos
There are a decent number of posts there I guess, with yup, photos in them. And I can pull from wherever, so there are ones from my 500px account as well as ones directly posted. Could also pull in from Instagram if I wished. So can be a collection of photos from lots of places that I wish to present there for whatever reason.
And here's one focused on space: Space things I think are interesting
I have 12 collections and don't worry will not put up the other 9 here. You can check out my Google+ profile, if you wish to see the rest. A link is on the blog somewhere or other.
In the years I've been on Google+ I haven't been as excited about what I can do with it as I am now. Just really wanting these new changes to enhance that feeling.
Change does not necessarily mean something is wrong. Change can mean that lessons learned through years and hundreds of millions of users, like me, doing things are being brought to bear by one of the most innovative companies we know.
James Harris
But now it's finally starting to look like something I like as I can collect my postings in a way that makes sense to me, lets me keep up with them better, and maybe can help others who are interested.
Like here's my open source collection: Open source related including mine
There I talk about, yup, you guessed it! Open source including mine, but I think mostly mine. Only have 3 posts there though. Hmmm...maybe shouldn't put that one up? Why not.
For people into looking at my photos: Some of my photos
There are a decent number of posts there I guess, with yup, photos in them. And I can pull from wherever, so there are ones from my 500px account as well as ones directly posted. Could also pull in from Instagram if I wished. So can be a collection of photos from lots of places that I wish to present there for whatever reason.
And here's one focused on space: Space things I think are interesting
I have 12 collections and don't worry will not put up the other 9 here. You can check out my Google+ profile, if you wish to see the rest. A link is on the blog somewhere or other.
In the years I've been on Google+ I haven't been as excited about what I can do with it as I am now. Just really wanting these new changes to enhance that feeling.
Change does not necessarily mean something is wrong. Change can mean that lessons learned through years and hundreds of millions of users, like me, doing things are being brought to bear by one of the most innovative companies we know.
James Harris
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Pondering possible advice
Thinking positive can mean having a plan in case things really do work out in a big way, and then people might ask you for advice! So am going to work that out now with what I'd like to think will work indefinitely as I'm not so much into that giving advice thing:
Have a plan.
Set up expectations--then deliver.
And that's it. If others have given same advice, great!!! I don't pretend these are unique to me. In fact I'd be very surprised if they were. Actually I'm sure they're not.
Love short and simple, which I think should make my life easier with advice that could actually work! And posted recently about having a plan, which includes a link to where I talked about setting up expectations on my Google+, and even if no one else cares, I have these as notes to myself.
Can't help but say more about having a plan, as I think to some people the web is a place where you can try things invisibly, where it's actually a place where even your most simple tries can grab attention from around the globe.
But you have to try if you're going to put up things public.
If you're just going to communicate within close community then it's different.
But public on the web is more public than anything that came before in all of human history.
But how do you have a plan? I think there's lots out there on how to plan. How do you set up expectations? Isn't that kind of obvious, if not got nothing else. How do you deliver?
Now that's where the rubber meets the road.
Always working on that question, how do I deliver on expectations I've set up?
James Harris
Have a plan.
Set up expectations--then deliver.
And that's it. If others have given same advice, great!!! I don't pretend these are unique to me. In fact I'd be very surprised if they were. Actually I'm sure they're not.
Love short and simple, which I think should make my life easier with advice that could actually work! And posted recently about having a plan, which includes a link to where I talked about setting up expectations on my Google+, and even if no one else cares, I have these as notes to myself.
Can't help but say more about having a plan, as I think to some people the web is a place where you can try things invisibly, where it's actually a place where even your most simple tries can grab attention from around the globe.
But you have to try if you're going to put up things public.
If you're just going to communicate within close community then it's different.
But public on the web is more public than anything that came before in all of human history.
But how do you have a plan? I think there's lots out there on how to plan. How do you set up expectations? Isn't that kind of obvious, if not got nothing else. How do you deliver?
Now that's where the rubber meets the road.
Always working on that question, how do I deliver on expectations I've set up?
James Harris
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
How having a plan can work
People like to know what they can expect from you. That statement is so generic I feel comfortable putting that out there without figuring it should get me into a lot of arguments, but on the web am fascinated by how often I'm looking at something wondering--what in the whatever is this person trying to do?
I've felt the instinct though--throw something up on the web and see what will happen!
People kind of seem to react to that like they do to throw up in other areas.
I like having a plan, any kind of plan. And got an example.
Years ago back in 2003, found myself feeling a bit glum. I'd figured out my own way to count prime numbers, contacted the two leading mathematicians in that area and got the equivalent of a shrug. One straight out said he didn't find it to be of any interest.
Looking for a pick me up, I concentrated on this little program I'd written to help me study for the Java Certification exam. Yes, I passed barely, but was so long ago it's not that important to the story as I'm talking about over a decade ago.
So I'm like, hey, why don't I expand this test program? But how to share? And talked about it a bit with some other software developers as at that time was a professional, and one of them suggested open source, and I'm like what's open source? And he mentioned SourceForge as a way for me to distribute and I'd never heard of it, but checked it out, and figured it would do. But I needed a name for this program.
Original was called Class Info, and was just a bit of a wrapper on Java Reflections which outputted text. And like I said, I'd just written it to help me study for the Java Certification exam, but now I needed something for production. Pondering a name, I'm like, what's the most generic name I can come up with that has LOTS of competition?
Why? Because it was like a test. I wanted a VERY generic name to see if it could beat the competition, and checked a bit and "class viewer" fit the bill. Even back then before Google was the behemoth it is today I could see that was a very competitive name as it was SO generic, with lots of class viewers around, and it was close enough to what the thing did, so that's what I called it.
Wrote the GUI which is handled by ClassViewer.java, which then called ClassInfo.java which became the helper program managing the data, though it still can operate independently, I think.
Wasn't sure! So I went and checked! And yes it can! It's been a long time since I thought about these things.
So that was the plan.
Needed SOMETHING to help me feel better and not like a total loser when those mathematicians didn't react like I wanted with my prime counting discovery, so deliberately took what was handy, and angled things to give a real test.
Over a decade later it's my least important global thing yet one of my most important checkable things. I use it a lot as a reality check for me and others.
Of all my accomplishments that draw global attention it's the most minor, but it's also one of the easiest for people to check me on things, like looking at things like downloads. And the thing about downloads is that every single one matters. Like with visits you're thinking it could have been an accident, especially if you just see one. But downloads indicate a lot more, even if you just have one. At least someone wants the thing.
Getting from glum to something useful to people around the globe--and picky people too as Java software developers have high requirements--is the best kind of win-win I think.
I felt better and had something concrete which others could find useful. So I took my glum, and turned it into, wish I knew something applicable that rhymed, but maybe better to just say, a nice little concrete application that could be helpful to some people.
It takes a plan. And in this case the plan succeeded.
You should have a plan.
Does it have to be some grand, massive thing? No. It can be something as simple as, I'd like to have a little something to make me feel better.
And having other people along can be just great! But they need to know what to expect.
I talk more about letting people know what to expect on Google+ with a post. which is in a collection I call Some of my social media musings to which I will also try to link. Collections are a way on Google+ to group postings along a theme, which can help you let people know what to expect..
Going to try those linkings to see how well that works.
And yes, you are free to just throw up something on the web, but with a plan, and giving people some expectations then I strongly suggest to you that you're more likely to get something you want happening.
Turns out direction is kind of important with things. Kind of hard to get someplace if you don't head off in a direction, and know when you've arrived. And if you want people helping you along the way? They will probably like to know where you're going, first.
James Harris
I've felt the instinct though--throw something up on the web and see what will happen!
People kind of seem to react to that like they do to throw up in other areas.
I like having a plan, any kind of plan. And got an example.
Years ago back in 2003, found myself feeling a bit glum. I'd figured out my own way to count prime numbers, contacted the two leading mathematicians in that area and got the equivalent of a shrug. One straight out said he didn't find it to be of any interest.
Looking for a pick me up, I concentrated on this little program I'd written to help me study for the Java Certification exam. Yes, I passed barely, but was so long ago it's not that important to the story as I'm talking about over a decade ago.
So I'm like, hey, why don't I expand this test program? But how to share? And talked about it a bit with some other software developers as at that time was a professional, and one of them suggested open source, and I'm like what's open source? And he mentioned SourceForge as a way for me to distribute and I'd never heard of it, but checked it out, and figured it would do. But I needed a name for this program.
Original was called Class Info, and was just a bit of a wrapper on Java Reflections which outputted text. And like I said, I'd just written it to help me study for the Java Certification exam, but now I needed something for production. Pondering a name, I'm like, what's the most generic name I can come up with that has LOTS of competition?
Why? Because it was like a test. I wanted a VERY generic name to see if it could beat the competition, and checked a bit and "class viewer" fit the bill. Even back then before Google was the behemoth it is today I could see that was a very competitive name as it was SO generic, with lots of class viewers around, and it was close enough to what the thing did, so that's what I called it.
Wrote the GUI which is handled by ClassViewer.java, which then called ClassInfo.java which became the helper program managing the data, though it still can operate independently, I think.
Wasn't sure! So I went and checked! And yes it can! It's been a long time since I thought about these things.
So that was the plan.
Needed SOMETHING to help me feel better and not like a total loser when those mathematicians didn't react like I wanted with my prime counting discovery, so deliberately took what was handy, and angled things to give a real test.
Over a decade later it's my least important global thing yet one of my most important checkable things. I use it a lot as a reality check for me and others.
Of all my accomplishments that draw global attention it's the most minor, but it's also one of the easiest for people to check me on things, like looking at things like downloads. And the thing about downloads is that every single one matters. Like with visits you're thinking it could have been an accident, especially if you just see one. But downloads indicate a lot more, even if you just have one. At least someone wants the thing.
Getting from glum to something useful to people around the globe--and picky people too as Java software developers have high requirements--is the best kind of win-win I think.
I felt better and had something concrete which others could find useful. So I took my glum, and turned it into, wish I knew something applicable that rhymed, but maybe better to just say, a nice little concrete application that could be helpful to some people.
It takes a plan. And in this case the plan succeeded.
You should have a plan.
Does it have to be some grand, massive thing? No. It can be something as simple as, I'd like to have a little something to make me feel better.
And having other people along can be just great! But they need to know what to expect.
I talk more about letting people know what to expect on Google+ with a post. which is in a collection I call Some of my social media musings to which I will also try to link. Collections are a way on Google+ to group postings along a theme, which can help you let people know what to expect..
Going to try those linkings to see how well that works.
And yes, you are free to just throw up something on the web, but with a plan, and giving people some expectations then I strongly suggest to you that you're more likely to get something you want happening.
Turns out direction is kind of important with things. Kind of hard to get someplace if you don't head off in a direction, and know when you've arrived. And if you want people helping you along the way? They will probably like to know where you're going, first.
James Harris
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)