Category: Aspiration

Aspiration by Joe Wilcox
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'Comic-Con Heroes' Weekend Sale

To celebrate the opening of San Diego Comic-Con 2014 pre-registration, I discount my book Comic-Con Heroes: The Fans Who Make the Greatest Show on Earth. Go to Smashwords and use coupon code “SZ79R” to get the book for $1.49 instead of $3.99. The coupon expires tomorrow, so grab the ebook today.

Comic-Con Heroes also is available from other major ebookstores, like Amazon Kindle and Google Play. I offer the deal through Smashwords because the store lets me generate coupon codes and offers readers a wider selection of format options, with ePub and Mobi being the most important.

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Critters by Joe Wilcox
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All This Googlism disturbs Me

Today, Ian Betteridge posts: “One thing that is impossible not to notice on Google+: There’s a very distinct skew towards big Google fans in commenting. It doesn’t matter which tech site’s page you look at, the (in my view, tedious) ‘fanboy’ mentality is hotter here than on any other social network”.

I commented on his post but want to draw more attention to Ian’s observation, to which I concur. I am rethinking my social service presence because of pervasive Googlism. While now immersed in the Google lifestyle, I am not a Google fanboy. But the leanings here are quite strong now, and tipping more all the time. Also, there is increasingly less tolerance for non-Google tech posts and more criticism of those regarding competitors like Apple.

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Living by Joe Wilcox
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I Cut the Cord

The apartment was strangely silent last night and darker than usual. Gone was the flickering light filling the center room as one of us scanned the program guide. A year later than planned, we dismantled the TV shrine and took back the living room from the false idol. Henceforth, we will worship at a different altar. Finally, I cut cable’s cord—IPTV, really, but we all call it the other, eh?

I feel anxiety and elation at the dramatic change, which allowed us to rearrange the furniture such that the living room is more open, more inviting, and more suited to entertaining real people. The television now resides in the bedroom, more for the benefit of my wife’s sleepless nights (the thing is narcotic). We’ll stream from Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Netflix primarily—haha, maybe even iTunes. I had planned Google Play by way of Nexus Q, but the search giant nixes that option.

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Living by Joe Wilcox
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The Roles We Play

I am catching some down time in the Press Room at the San Diego Convention Center. Outside in the hall, Comic-Con rumbles on with a crowd I would estimate to be at least three times the size of Day One. The noise and bustle makes taking good photos or conducting video interviews difficult. So I’m shacked up with my laptop in this quiet place, contemplating what Comic-Con is all about: Role playing.

Many attendees have come here as someone else. For a day, or even a few, they take on another persona. They become someone else—perhaps whom they would rather be, but most certainly not who they are. They can be heroes and even stars, for most anyone well-costumed will be repeatedly stopped for photos. Comic-Con lets them be not just someone else but someone special.

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