December, 2007

Uncategorized — 2 Comments
31
Dec 07

Year in Review, Part III

I got to make some friends, which is one of the best things about my year in blogging.

Early on, I met some writers on the blogosphere. Joshua Minton has a literate blog about writing, works of original fiction, and whatever topics comes to mind. Ted‘s provides a take on pop culture, anthropology, and some original writing. Also, he and his partner Rob have edited a collection of essays by gay writers, an update on what Boys Like Us did a decade ago. Check it out. I also met historical writer Haley Walsh on Glee, and she’s strongly interested in creating a writing community. She occasionally post interviews with other writers. For a good part of the year, she had a site devoted to The Skyler Fox Mysteries, her project. However, the site is now defunct, and she is now writing a medieval mystery as Jeri Westerson.

Chris and Brian, as fellow bloggers, have been a big part of my blogging experience this year. I came across Ramblings of a Hopeless Khowaga through Glee, though I can’t remember exactly where and how I came across Urban Bohemian. It might have been through Glee or Chris’s blogroll. I do remember posting pics of the Metro was a key moment in befriending Brian. Blog banter has definitely been fun with them. I’m always happy to give them a shoutout.

There have been a few other people I’ve had correspondence with, such as Danny, whom Chris and I both met during the latter part of the year. I became part of a post card exchange along with fellow adjunct Rob. Last but not least, I can’t forget about the delightfully contrary Murphy.

It’s been a year of topics as well. My favorites were religion (especially the kooky antics of the ex-gays), Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, and Project Runway. Telelvision was a lot of fun, though TV can’t be counted on schedule-wise to maintain a blog. Religion is much more reliable, but unpredictable. The same goes for other current events. I continued some of the If You Want To Go To Grad School series, but up to a point. Sorry, but it will be unfinished for now. Blog banter and rants have been much more fun.

2007 has been interesting. Here’s to 2008 being a better year.

music — 1 Comment
30
Dec 07

It Takes Courage To Enjoy It

A friend of mine sent me an MP3 of Bjork‘s “Arabadrengurinn.” It’s from her first proper album (not to be confused with Debut) and the song sounds like Japanese children’s music on speed. To quote her from “Big Time Sensuality,” it takes courage to enjoy it.

Click and hear it for yourself.

blogging — No Comments
29
Dec 07

Year in Review, Part II

Sorry it’s late. Here is Part II. Part Three is to come before the end of the year.

In the midst of job searches and calling and meeting with various department chairs, I started to blog again in February. I wrote posts about tv shows, religion, and general rants. I posted some personal essays and I even continued the grad school memoirs from time to time. I even posted some photographs from time to time. I came across various blogs, began to correspond with some of them, and I even met a few of the bloggers in person later in the year.

The return to teaching has become a large part of my blog in the latter part of the year. During the summer, I got a job at a language school teaching English to international students. That was a lot of fun, especially one group I worked with. I then took on a summer school course at the urban college. That involved getting up early, prep work, and thinking on my feet. Since I’m not a morning person, I occasionally took marathon naps. In the fall, I taught several courses between two districts. I also made some of my challenges known in my posts. Of all the semesters I taught, it felt like my very first semester as a TA, which was one of my toughest.

blogging — No Comments
28
Dec 07

Year in Review, Part I

This post is very long, so I decided to break it up.

I more or less started blogging regularly at the start of the Year of the Boar. I had previously blogged on and off on Live Journal, but I was never consistent. I would have a burst of posts followed by weeks or months of silence. I started this blog on May 2006, got excited about writing about my awful grad school days, and completely disappeared after the summer. I wouldn’t post for a while until a year ago, when I posted a piece comparing the iPod and the Zune (I still think the Zune sucks!). Then I was silent until February of 2007.

A year and a half ago, I got a job at a badly run non-profit making attempts to rehabilitate itself, its finances, and its image. Running a mailroom wasn’t my first choice of a job, but I took it because it paid better than adjunct teaching. However, it was a nightmare. My predecessor left the department a mess, and my boss alternated between being way too hands off and being a total bundt*. During the month before I got fired, I was made to feel I was completely at fault. However, I heard from an inside source that the organization has gone through several replacements since I left, which shows me how incompetent my former boss was. During the time I worked at the place, I avoided blogging, especially as I would have posted about the stuff going on at the job.

I was fired in the first week of January 2007. I wasn’t crazy about the prospect of returning to adjunct teaching, but I knew it was my best bet. My attempts to apply for editorial, writing, and general white collar jobs for the next few months failed. Unfortunately, the teaching jobs would come about six or seven months later. I lobbied a few English department chairs to keep me in mind when they were filling in gaps for the fall schedule. I also lobbied the hiring professor at the urban college. Thankfully, I never terminated my employment status in that district, which made things easier.

In the late summer, I attempted to get closure on the whole bad boss situation with an open letter.

Year in Review, Part II will be posted on Saturday.

*This isn’t too hard to guess.

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25
Dec 07

No More Santa

Ever faced the moral dilemma of telling your kids there is no Santa? You shouldn’t have even led them to believe the fat man in the red suit lives in the North Pole and goes on a frantic global mission to deliver presents to middle class white kids.

Here’s a brief short film by Psychic Bunny about how one man decides to tell his daughter the truth about Santa Claus. No, it’s not right, but funny nontheless. Enjoy the Christmas satire.

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24
Dec 07

Happy Christmas

I hope all of you are well, safe, and festive.

Merry Christmas from ShindoTV.

fashion — No Comments
22
Dec 07

Duct Tape Couture

This chick goes Project Runway with duct tape and creates a purse. Definitely a different take on the gift of duct tape.

blogging / shindotv — No Comments
21
Dec 07

The Year in Meme

I got this idea from Danny (who in turn got it from someone else who got it from someone else, and so on, and so on). From what I understand, I take the first sentence of the first entry of each month, and it gives a year in review.

January
Note: No posts written in January, but I wrote one on New Year’s Eve, 2006.

February
When the Star Trek shows were on, I could enjoy drama and non-reality.

March
I’m not sure what to make of this episode.

April
I just read Urban Bohemian’s blog entry about not being able to take photographs on the Metro.

May
As part of the countdown to Bjork‘s new release, here’s a vid she did ten plus years back, part of the Spike Jonze portfolio:

June
It’s an annual tradition. I, along with my friends Sharon and her boyfriend Brian (not to be confused with Brian), do time at the Rock and Roll Marathon Health Expo.

July
I dropped a few links this week, but I think I made the right decision concerning this one.

August
For any readers in the NYC area:

September
When I took a creative writing class a long time ago at a local community college (I don’t teach there), the professor would occasionally say things like “I’m not that kind of whore” or “I’m not a professor, I’m a prostitute.”

October
Welcome to the Pet Peeve Edition on ShindoTV. Here are some of mine.

November
Fred Phelps and the church he sired (literally) are slapped with an $11 million verdict for picketing a soldier’s funeral.

December
I can’t believe that 2007 is almost over.

In all, that is the first sentence edition of the ShindoTV year in review. While it doesn’t say a whole lot about my blog, the lines do make for an interesting juxtaposition. I’ll do more of a year in review later, but this has been quite an experiment.

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21
Dec 07

Facts are stubborn things

Today’s gift of duct tape goes out to Mitt Romney, who can’t get a single fact straight.

He needs a double wrap to keep himself from saying more far fetched things.

blogging / fashion / television — No Comments
21
Dec 07

Waiting for the new Project Runway episode

There’s no new Project Runway this week, but here’s my ramblings on the season so far.

Steven would have been a candidate for the gift of duct tape if he wasn’t auf’d last week. His attempts to reprise Santino’s Tim Gunn impersonation antics were just lame. Though I initially felt sorry for him, his constant bemoanings about the wedding dress and his lack of professionalism towards his client are definite turnoffs.

Kevin – thank God the resident straight guy’s shut up about his earlier announcements of his straightness. I hope this annoying habit doesn’t get resurrected as he will be a candidate for the gift of duct tape. He has talent and skill, so he might stick around for fashion week.

Bjork Lady – it definitely takes courage to wear some of her outfits, especially her polymorphously perverse dress after she reveals she spit on it. It’s great that she can stitch in time (though she should have taken time to learn how to use a sewing machine like she did with doing yoga in a small space). Thankfully, she has the decency to not call her garments couture, unlike some minor league American designers who abuse the word.

Chris March will most likely stick around for a few episodes to provide a Ricky Gervais-like energy to the show. He should go over the top and produce something very drag queeny. Then, bitchy reference queen Michael Kors and ice queen Nina Garcia will blast him for doing something within his forte.

Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. Feel the crease and make sure you avoid future collaborations with Victorya.

One person I’d love to see on an episode of Project Runway: Alek Wek. Have the designers make a handbag for her collection, a dress to go with one of her bags, or a dress for her to wear are some challenges I could think of.

An ideal guest judge would be Anna Wintour, but I can only imagine what a nightmare that would be. THE editor of Vogue and Nina Garcia in the same room? It sounds like a recipe for disaster, as Wintour would certainly be a bigger fish in Garcia’s small pond.

I miss the Tim Gunn podcasts that would come the day after the episode. One of those post-viewing pleasures was to listen to Gunn dish the dirt on the contestants in his articulate and urbane tone. There’s none for season 4, but you can still catch the ones for Seasons 2 and three. A consolation prize that Bravo offers a is “blog” with Tim Gunn’s commentary, especially on the last episode.

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