Author Archive: Eric San Juan

Donald Trump, aka the easy way to lose respect for people you like

August 11, 2016 128 Comments

There is no sense in trying to be diplomatic about this: If you still support Donald Trump for president in August of 2016, I have zero respect for your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. I might like you. I may enjoy being around you. I may even consider you an important part of my life. But failing the Trump Test ensures that I have absolutely zero respect for your views, your (apparantly nonexistent) critical thinking skills, and pretty much anything you have to say about anything more important than your favorite fast food French fries. Yes, I realize that by opening this way anyone who supports or who is thinking about supporting Donald Trump will not only be insulted and offended, and that I may lose the goodwill…
Read more

Politics, Rants

, , , ,

John Oliver, journalism, and why the Newspaper Association of America are morons

August 10, 2016 3 Comments

John Oliver, the Daily Show alum who has since moved to HBO and is winning fans across the ‘Net for his self-deprecating, funny, and sometimes insightful investigative pieces, recently did a segment on journalism in America today. Most of what he discusses is old hat to those who have been in the business for a while — I remember having these discussions with colleagues more than a decade ago and spending many years struggling (and failing) to convince a former employer to move into the 21th Century — but it remains a relevant and worthwhile discussion even today. Hell, even more today than ever. The stories I hear from friends still in the business are enough to make a grown man cry. Things are only made…
Read more

Rants, Videos

, , , , , ,

THIS is how you do a movie trailer – Arrival (2016)

August 9, 2016 5 Comments

How wonderful to not know something exists, stumble across a trailer for that thing you didn’t know existed, and be instantly blown away at a mere minute of mind-blowing speculative fiction goodness. (Yes, I used “blow” twice.) What I mean is, watch this damn trailer: Now THAT is how you do a movie trailer. Simple, sparse, moody, and frickin’ gripping as hell. That’s it. That’s all I need to see. I’m done. I’m in. I’m seeing it. Might even skip the full trailer that are teasing, because I don’t need to see anything else but this. Yes, it appears to be yet another alien invasion story. I don’t care. I love alien invasion stories. And it appears to be a different take on them, so that’s nice….
Read more

Films, Geek Stuff, Videos

How I almost forgot why I write (and how I got back on track)

August 6, 2016 3 Comments

It’s easy to lose sight of why you write. For about two years now, I’ve worked full-time as a freelance writer and social media marketer, penning corporate blogs, articles for SEO specialists, the occasional news story, website copy, and whatever else people will pay me to write. I’ve done freelance work on the side for many years, but that switch in autumn 2014 was a big plunge into icy cold water. It hasn’t always been easy. The money mostly sucks, the workload is hot and cold, the guilt can be crushing, people often don’t want to pay you or they will try to scam you, you have to operate like a small business (which is antithetical to why you write in the first place), and…
Read more

Random Musings, Writing

, , , , , , , ,

Trans-frickin’-formers, more than meets the frickin’ eye. I said, TRANSFORMERS!

August 5, 2016 3 Comments

Most kids in the ’80s had a toy line that was their go-to, the one their parents kept buying for them because parents of the ’80s knew that real parenting involved buying toys. It may have been M.A.S.K. or Thundercats or Masters of the Universe, or if you were a girl Strawberry Shortcake or WWF Wrestling figures. In my case, it was Transformers (even though I liked GI Joe more). So when a friend brought a portion of his huge vintage Transformers collection over for a new episode of Hours in the Attic, I was in nostalgia heaven even as I wondered how he managed to land a wife and if he’d sell me that Soundwave and if my wife would leave me if I…
Read more

Geek Stuff, Videos

, , , ,