Monthly Archives: November 2015

Half Way There!

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Yeah, now all of you who grew up in the 80s have a Bon Jovi song stuck in your head. And I’m not at all sorry about that.

If you’re reading this, then we’ve both made it to the 50th installment of this vlog thing that I’ve been doing since September. While it may not make a difference if I make it or not, I have so far… so that reason to celebrate at least a little bit, right?

This daily schedule is still a total bear. If I didn’t lose an hour or so a day to commuting (and those other 8 or so hours to sitting in someone else’s office) this would be a lot easier to pull off. As it is, all it takes is trying to keep up with other things I like (such as my TV shows and YouTube videos and reading) to keep this skating on the razor’s edge of missing a day.

I obviously consume too much to create like this on a daily basis.

I’m still fighting the regular urge to re-shoot, re-edit, and generally tweak things to make them perfect. It’s utterly frustrating, but I’m still winning that fight.

There are still a number of topics I’m shying away from. Ones that I tell stories about in person but just can’t get the flow right when I’m not getting direct feedback. It really makes me realize how much I get from an actual audience… imagining one just doesn’t cut it. (And your post publishing likes and comments, while awesome, certainly don’t help me during production.)

So, 50 down and 50 to go. That’ll bring us straight to the end of the year.

I’m still not sure what else I’ll be doing to close out the year but I do want to know what you have planned.

How are you going to make the last 50 days of your year totally awesome? Let me know in comments somewhere.

But first, watch me flail about a little in today’s vlog.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

[jbutton size=”xxlarge” color=”green” link=”http://durosia.com/vlog-questions” newpage=”yes”]Come Ask a Question Here[/jbutton]

I’m Bad at Vacations

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Seriously. I am bad at vacations.

Mostly because I haven’t had a whole lot of experience. Not for lack of trying, mind you, but circumstances and (bad) habits have more often than not conspired against them actually happening.

Sure, I’ve had a few over the years–a couple of quirky spring break trips in college, one almost cross-country drive was interrupted by a lot of work, Dragon*Con a handful of times–but so few real actual vacations like other people go on.

Watching that Vacation movie over the weekend got me thinking about vacations (and how I’m not really good at them). With the winter holiday season coming up, I’m also reminded that the only trips I do are to visit family (which really doesn’t count as vacation in my book).

So, today in the vlog, I muse a little about vacations and such.

And I want to know about your favorite vacations so far and the dream vacations you really want to do.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

[jbutton size=”xxlarge” color=”green” link=”http://durosia.com/vlog-questions” newpage=”yes”]Come Ask a Question Here[/jbutton]

Continuing After a Vacation

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There are a lot of reboots going on in Hollywood these days.

Dipping into old properties is nothing new–just look at how many versions of Dracula and Frankenstein and Hamlet there are–but it would seem like we’re currently in an upswing. A lot of them aren’t that great, just lame grabs at former glory and attempts to capitalize on nostalgia.

That’s not to say that they aren’t successful… they’re just not all that good often.

So it was no real surprise when it was announced there’d be a new film in the National Lampoon’s Vacation series.

This one’s not a reboot, though. It’s a straight up continuation, picking up a few decades after the last film with Rusty Griswold now the patriarch of his own family. This is the story of his family’s vacation, one that switches up their normal holiday for an attempt to recapture some fun and excitement.

What they get, of course, is a bunch of utter ridiculousness. Like father, like son.

The bulk of what I have to say about the movie itself is in the vlog, check that out.

It’s nice to see a revival of a franchise that doesn’t try to start from scratch. Even better to see one that knows how ridiculous of a thing it’s attempting and addresses it directly. Lots of little homages to the old film, lots of new stuff, too, to keep things fresh.

Of course, a half-naked Chris Hemsworth with a comically large *ahem* “hammer” certainly doesn’t hurt, either.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

[jbutton size=”xxlarge” color=”green” link=”http://durosia.com/vlog-questions” newpage=”yes”]Come Ask a Question Here[/jbutton]

Different Goals, Different Tactics

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When I set out to do this 100 day challenge of producing a vlog a day, the only real goal was to create.

Once upon a time, I had intentions of doing a lot more with both blogs and vlogs. While ramping up for that (aborted) plan, I did a lot of reading and research about how to make those things actually work. And by “work” I mean “make enough money to live off of.”

There are a lot of sometimes conflicting bits of advice out there when it comes to such things. Three or four entire industries focus on different aspects of the problem of profitability. Some eschew the idea of profitability completely and tell you to look elsewhere to make a living (they’re generally wrong… and trying to sell you something else).

Vlogging and blogging are key tools in today’s marketplace. Video content (of all types) is a huge asset to any company or campaign. Heck, television has been big business for well over two generations now… if that doesn’t speak to the power (and profitability) of video content, I don’t know what would. (Maybe the YouTubers pulling in six figures in advertising share?)

I’m not marketing this vlog. It’s nowhere near polished or focused enough to warrant the effort that would need to go into making it an earner in any way.

But if you want the only advice that matters for making something successful, here it is:

  1. Create Awesome Stuff
  2. Talk about the Awesome Stuff you’ve created
  3. Keep other people talking about your Awesome Stuff

It is that simple.

Not that any of that is easy, mind you… but it is that simple.

So, regardless of what you want out of it the first step is always creating something. It likely won’t be awesome at first. That’s okay. Just get used to it. Get into the habit of doing something. Then make it awesome.

And then, eventually, you can maybe make a living doing it.

If that’s what you want.

Listen to me ramble on about such things in today’s vlog.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

[jbutton size=”xxlarge” color=”green” link=”http://durosia.com/vlog-questions” newpage=”yes”]Come Ask a Question Here[/jbutton]

A Fine Time to be A Fan

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It’s been a heck of a week.

Out in the world at large there’ve been some pretty nasty things that have gone on. On a more personal level, technology has been conspiring against me and people I know all week… and the weather has been distinctly unseasonable (especially for those of us from the North).

But, there have also been some really cool things that have gone on. New trailers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Warcraft that you should really check out. Lots of neat scifi and fantasy things on the horizon.

It’s the kind of week where I’m left in awe of what people–including people I know–create on a regular basis. Things that wouldn’t have been possible just a decade or two ago (let alone when I was a kid).

So, in today’s vlog, I kind of ramble a bit about all of that.

Tomorrow, I dive back into the actual blogging world a little when I finally run the first new meeting of the long-dormant DC Bloggers Meetup group. Going to meet a bunch of new, likely young, and spunky writer-types. Should be fun.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

[jbutton size=”xxlarge” color=”green” link=”http://durosia.com/vlog-questions” newpage=”yes”]Come Ask a Question Here[/jbutton]