“The Acme Employee Handbook” is set for online
release this month! I should have a solid date to announce soon, and will post
a link here. Hard copies of the book will be available in May after an official
launch party in Australia. Since I’ve spend the last several months focused on
the lonely, Sisyphean
pursuit of finishing a novel, it feels good to have an actual “product” to
release; something to show for myself besides a big fat mess of a book that won’t
see the light of day for a long time to come.
After a few failed attempts over the years to get
into Minecraft, I had pretty much given up on it. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t
vibe with all the cubey-ness. And I certainly didn’t have the patience for the
endless grind of digging up terrain with pixelated axes. But recently, Mr.
Typist, a long-time fan of the game, built himself a really cool-looking house
with a waterfall and glowy cubes and guest rooms and a chicken ranch. Inspired,
I started the game up again and got to work building myself a little waterfront
abode with deck and a boat launch. And this time, it was a whole different
experience. I’m finding it to be incredibly Zen-like. All the repetitive,
mindless activity and the soothing predictability of it calms my overwrought
brain, and the simplicity of the grid crafting system is a great antidote to
living in a vastly over-complicated world.
While performing the hard labor of building my
house, I had to have something to listen to. I’ve been pathetically out the
loop on new music for years now, and wanting to catch up on what the kids are
listening to today, I started a new Pandora station. After a few hours, I
was so disgusted I deleted it. I am utterly appalled at the massive
proliferation of whiny, sad-boy bands. How
long has this been going on? Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good, solidly
depressing song. But what’s happening with these so-called indy boy bands is maddening.
I’m talking about front men who can barely muster the strength to breathe, much
less actually sing. It’s as though putting any effort whatsoever into carrying
a tune has become totally unhip. They all have the same, helpless, warbely,
high-pitched whimper, they strum their guitars with the listlessness of a
valium addict, and the lyrics; my god the lyrics! Indy boy-bands, snap out of
it! If your girlfriend broke up with you, the appropriate response in a song is
rage, baby, not sniveling about how
you probably deserved it and how dead you feel inside. I don’t want to hear
about how you feel like an utter failure, how the clouds reflected in your
latte are especially gray today, and how you’re convinced that nothing is ever
going to work out. Of course nothing
is going to work out if that’s your attitude, Emo-boys! You can’t carry on with
this breathy whimpering forever. Pop yourself some anti-depressants and get in
touch with your inner 80’s metal band. You’ll feel better, trust me. Rock it
out. Swagger a little. You’re young men. You’re supposed to be brimming with
rage and testosterone, not sniveling into your craft beer over some chick you’re
not going to remember in a few months. Here’s a little sample to get you
started.
--Kristen McHenry
1 comment:
ROBLOX is empowered by a growing player base of over 300,000 creators who produce an infinite variety of highly immersive experiences.
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