Musings from the basement...

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…
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Random Musings, Writing

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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…
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Geek Stuff, Videos

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Interactive Content Services, a jackass company for jackasses staffed by jackasses

August 4, 2016 13 Comments

Recently saw a help wanted ad seeking an online reporter, a part-time telecommute position involving doing stuff I’ve done for, oh, the last 15 years or so. Perfect. More work is always (okay, usually) good. I could slot that work into my freelance schedule, add a little income, and stay sane in the process. I applied, providing many writing samples when I did, as requested. This is the response I got, in full, from jobs@contentservices.co: Dear Eric, Thank you for your interest in the company and for sending me your samples. You have been identified as a possible reporter candidate for our group of legal journalism websites and newspapers. As stated in the job posting, the average pay for these types of stories is $24 each. However,…
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Rants, Writing

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The Atari 2600, Axis & Allies, classic board games, and other Youtube shenanigans

June 18, 2016 0 Comments

I’ve been lax in posting recent Hours in the Attic videos because Reasons, so I figured the best way to alleviate my guilt would be to post several at once. Two are board game-related, which is always fun because board games rock, and the third is a bit of Atari 2600 nostalgia. So that’s swell. Check them out while I get back to pretending I’m a writer (and don’t forget to subscribe):   This next one, I don’t know how Tig managed to salvage it, because I was just rambling without direction or focus. That’s what years worth of loving this game will do to you, I guess. Axis & Allies isn’t the deepest war game out there, but for me it’s the most fun. I still…
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Geek Stuff, Videos, Works by Eric

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“Why don’t Muslims protest against ISIS?” and other idiotic questions

June 17, 2016 4 Comments

It’s exceedingly rare that I stray into politics here, or on any public forum, for that matter — you know what they say about sleeping with dogs — but a few comments I’ve seen online the last few days have caused my knee to jerk. Need to get this out of my system. In the wake of the horrific attack in Orlando, Florida, the conversation looks much the same as it does every time there is a mass shooting. The same debate about guns. The same debate about rights. The same endless talking in circles. The same reductive, mindless repetition of the same thoughtless, meme-driven arguments by people on all sides. It’s incredibly tiresome, especially when the ground is stained with the blood of innocent…
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Politics, Rants

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