Living the Creative Life

Day 1 - Looking forward to the Olympic Games this winter! Day 2 - Time to buy fresh fruits and veggies! Day 3 - Oh no! Almost out of ice cream! Day 4 - Pumping my own gas still doesn't feel totally normal, but at least I'm getting better at it! Day 5 - Guess what this is. Day 6 - Found an old art journal I never started. Today is as good a day as any to begin, right? Day 7 - Of course since I'd put my earbuds in a place where I wouldn't lose them... I just spent a 1/2 hour trying to find them.

Not since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows have I read a book so hungrily, quickly, all-consumingly. I read this book in one sitting, beginning at 8pm last night and now finishing it at 7:30 this morning as the birds are chirping outside my window. I could barely put this book down long enough to get up to get something to eat every few hours. Yes it was that good. I can't wait to read the sequel. But first... time for some sleep. I'm exhausted but satisfied. This book was quite the adrenaline rush. Marcus is a San Fransisco high school student by day and a hacker by night. Then on one ordinary afternoon, there's a bomb... and Homeland Security arrives to turn his beloved city into a police state. This book is a fascinating look at what happens when those whose job it is to protect us suddenly become our worse nightmare. Sidenote: I have since started the second book and found it deathly boring. Not sure what happened, but I couldn't get past the first chapter o...

Loved this book. I read the first hundred pages in one sitting before I realized the afternoon was gone and it was time for bed. If you've ever read a King novel, you'll know that he has an unpretentious page-turning style, and this book is written the same way. Never has a memoir been so fascinating! If you have any interest in how a writer writes, how he comes up with ideas, etc, you'll definitely want to read this book. Mr. King has given me a lot to think about and aspire to as I hope to someday write novels of my own. This book begins as a memoir of King's life and his early days of writing, and ends with some excellent advice for how to go about writing good books. Some tips that stood out to me: •  Write what you're going to write. Then read it back over and delete out the boring parts. Your first draft should always be written quickly, with abandon, with no regard for spelling or grammar or what makes sense. The second draft, on the other hand, should ...

Technology is amazing, isn't it? Did you know you can now watch the ball drop live over the internet? Granted, it's not time-delayed, like I'm used to on tv, but in a way, this is even better! Happy New Year, everyone!

Speaking of playing less video games ...

I was recently reviewing my GoodReads account and realized I've only finished 22 books this year! Twenty-two!! That's... like... crazy talk. Seriously. When I was 12, I could easily finish 22 books in one month. Granted, my life is busier now and the books I read tend to be longer, but still... If anyone's curious, I read 27 books in 2012, 22 books in 2011, and 13 books in 2010. This is an alarming trend, people! One realization I've been coming to is that I spend far too much time zoning out in front YouTube, television, The Sims, Solitaire... basically anything on my computer or phone that could be considered fun. And while there's nothing wrong with fun, I think perhaps I need to put fun back in it's rightful place. So... I'm going to try an experiment. I'm starting this week, even though it's not the New Year yet, because if I don't start now I never will. This is a modified version of my previous  technology fast , in case you were won...

I was recently asked for a list of my favorite web design tutorials, and... well... I got a little carried away. So, here's my ultimate web design resource list! Merry Christmas! Basic Development Platforms Blogger : This one is free and very versatile, since you have full access to both the HTML structure of the site, as well as the CSS style sheets. They have a WYSIWYG editor, as well as a custom CSS editor, making it extremely easy to customize a basic blog or site very quickly. Wordpress : Though the basic software is free, this one does require you to purchase hosting. I personally find Wordpress cumbersome and annoying to code, but it can be extremely robust and versatile if you know what you're doing. There are many, many free and paid templates to choose from, which can give you a good starting ground for designing a site. (Or if you'd rather design a completely custom site, there are many people who specialize in coding Wordpress sites from scratch, which can b...