02.04.06
Posted in Suggestions at 10:16 am by Ode to Joy
If you have anything to say about anything, and an extra $10 a month lying around, there is no excuse not to have your own blog. For those of you that don’t know what a blog is, it’s short for web log, and basically means a website you can manage and add content for with almost no technical skills.
As someone who has built lots of sites from scratch, I was skeptical about the value of using a blogging system, thinking it would limit one’s creativity by limiting control over the site design. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Using a blogging system such as wordpress (what this site uses as well as my site http://www.searchphilosophy.org ), drupal (what i use for http://www.consumity.com and http://www.22pages.com), or one of the many others out there makes the whole process of having personal websites more manageable and frankly a lot more fun.
I find myself writing almost every night now, something that wouldn’t have happened if I had to worry about getting into the html and putting table tags around things to format them well. I just login to one of my various sites, type up my latest idea, and voila, I’m done.
I think that writing is a natural mood elevator. I have found myself having more dreams and a lot more ideas than normal. There is something about activating the speech related areas of the brain that seemingly has a net positive overall life effect.
Here’s how to get started.
1. Figure out something you want to write about. Come on, you have something to say. If nothing else, use it as a forum to keep your friends and family up to date with what is going on in your life.
2. Get a domain name. http://www.whois.sc is a useful site for searching for available domain names. Once you find something you like, register it through http://www.godaddy.com or somesuch registration service. I like godaddy because they have a very usable interface and lots of good add-on products like domain privacy.
3. Get a hosting account with BlueHost.com. They are great. For $6.95 a month you can host up to 6 domains with 10GB of storage space. More importantly they have an installer system called Fantastico that will automatically install just about any of the open source content management systems for you like WordPress, Drupal, PHP-Nuke, etc. You just hit a few buttons and you have a website you can begin using. Their service is great too. I have used other hosting companies and these guys are leaps and bounds above the rest.
4. Install one of the content management systems through Fantastico.
5. Start writing.
6. Email me the url of your blog. (admin@makelifemorefun.com).
7. Keep writing.
8. Market your blog through free methods to get readers. (More on this later.)
Get blogging today. You won’t regret it, I promise.
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01.31.06
Posted in Suggestions at 1:42 am by Ode to Joy
You know when you read a book you really love and you get to a point where you start feeling sad that it is eventually going to end? That’s how I used to feel about comic books in general. I was worried that the form would just get too simple and childish and that I would eventually grow out of them. Luckily comic books have grown up as well, and no matter how discerning or sophisticated you think you are, I guarantee there is at least one book on the market you will love.
If you are totally new to comics, I would suggest you start out with some of the all time greats: Batman Return of the Dark Knight by Frank Miller. The Watchmen by Alan Moore. Some Uncanny X-men (anything between about issue 94 and 240 will do).
If you are familiar with comics, but have been out of the game for a while, definitely head down to your local comic shop. If you are familiar with the Marvel Universe, check out the Ultimates line (a retelling of the Marvel stories updated to a contemporary setting). Grant Morrison is doing amazing work, and I highly recommend the Seven Soldiers maxi-series he is working on (Frankenstein and Klarion the Witch Boy are 2 especially good titles in that series) as well as the work he did on New X-Men.
If you are looking for something more offbeat, check out the Imaginaries, a book about a land populated by retired imaginary characters or Godland (60’s style retro Kirbyesque art mixed with a pomo punk rock indie sensibility).
Words and pictures together. Cavemen were into it. The Egyptians were into it. The Mayans were into it. Who are we to disagree?
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Posted in Suggestions at 1:24 am by Ode to Joy
A critical step to enjoying yourself is to remember the things that you want to do. Too often, the great ideas come when you have no time to do anything except rush to work or finish the laundry or some such drudgery. When your free time comes, you are then tired and uninspired, and can end up spending yet another evening on the couch watching reruns (yet again). However, have no fear! This bleak fate can be avoided. When the muse hits and you feel inspired, record your idea!
I used to be a huge fan of notebooks, always carrying around a pad of paper and a pen to record my inspired thoughts. However, toting around school supplies can get clunky, and it’s not always convenient to stop to write things down (when you are driving for example, or walking somewhere). Digital Voice Recorder to the rescue! I just got a sony digital voice recorder. It’s like one of those old handheld tape recorders except it records everything in a digital format not requiring tape. So now, if the ideas come, I just hit record and voila, history is kept.
After using it for a few days, I am having a total blast with the thing. It’s great just to listen to your crazy ideas at the end of the day. You can also record wierd sounds you hear in the world (great for me as I’m a musician). I highly recommend this toy to anyone with an active imagination.
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Posted in About this Site at 1:08 am by Ode to Joy
The philosophy of this site is pretty simple. Enjoy yourself! This site is intended to share ideas about how to enjoy life and fun things one can do to fill up the time. Deep, eh? 
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