One of the things that I want to do before I die is write a book.
The thing about books is that they’re really long. And anything that is longer than a blog post is typically too long for me (that’s what she said, of course).
Another problem is that books typically require a plot, and I’m really bad at developing a plot. Or at least a good one.
One of the coolest things about my 4-year-old nephew, which I suppose is something that applies to all children, is his unwavering devotion to the things he loves. Namely, Cars 2 and Thomas the Tank Engine. These are his current favorites. However, it’s likely that he’ll find even more things to play and watch as he gets older. I’m waiting for his Pokemon phase. Most children have that sort of phase, so it will be fun to see him playing all of those old classic games. He could even play this pokemon red emulator. That would be fun for me to watch. Pokemon was such a huge part of so many people’s lives, so it’s amazing that it still interests some of the younger generations too.
Especially Thomas, though. The engines that work and reside at the Island of Sodor are like crack to the kid. He simply can’t get enough.
He owns all of the trains and plays with them constantly, setting up their wooden tracks, but often going “off-road” with them all throughout the living room. There are many, many engines that reside in the Thomas the Tank Engine universe, and as such, he has many, many toys.
They are thirty-dollar pieces of wood with wheels on the bottom and a face painted on the front to complete the anthropomorphic process. Aside from the fact that some are painted different colors, they all look exactly the same. The only way to tell them apart is by turning them over to read the name of the train, which is written on the underside.
Unless, of course, you are my nephew.
Read more
Head on over to The Indie Chicks to read my latest “article” and to join the discussion.
Also, Happy New Year. I’ll have you know that I can already cross one of the things off of my list of resolutions:
Eat a pizza.
Boom.
It’s on, 2013. It’s on.
-Youngman Brown
My life changed quite a bit in 2012.
I remember standing on the deck of my parents’ beach house where I was living at the time, staring off into the distance. The only thing I wanted was to get a better job. One where I earned decent money. One where I could move closer to home, closer to my nephew and niece who were still growing inside each of my sisters’ bellies. One where I could legitimately start my life as a working man, back on the grid.
I got everything I wished for. And more.
A new nephew, a new niece, godfather to both. A new job, a new location. New furniture, some new friends.
My sister texted me to tell me that she watched the movie Safety Not Guaranteed, and that she thought I would like it.
Well, I loved it.
The movie follows three magazine employees who try to interview a man who placed an classified ad to find a companion for time travel. It is funny. It is clever. And it is heartfelt.
It’s a movie full of that guy.
Read more
I love many different kinds of music. You name it and I will probably listen to it (with the exception of country and hardcore/screaming music).
But I don’t really listen to the radio or Pandora. Mostly due to the fear of that Gotye song coming on. But also because I like to discover completely new music.
I think YouTube is a great platform to use, especially if you have kids. There are times where I will go on YouTube with my kids and watch some kids songs that rhyme to help get them tired out before bed. They like to dance to the songs then once they’re snuggled away in bed, I will so sometimes go down a music finding rabbit hole myself.
An increasing number of people have even gone on to enjoy careers in the entertainment industry off the back of a successful YouTube channel. If you are an aspiring artist for instance, YouTube is a wonderful platform to connect with your audience and share your music with the world. In modern times in the music industry, YouTube views are incredibly important. For this reason, some artists even use services like Get Fans to improve their online presence. If you are intrigued to learn more about how Get Fans could expand your YouTube channel, go to https://getfans.io/buy-youtube-views. Whilst YouTube is a great place for new artists to grow their audience, they could also consider taking their music over to social media too. Platforms, like Instagram, are equally as beneficial for artists to get their music out there. If you’re setting up an Instagram account, don’t be discouraged if you don’t get any followers. This can take some time, which is why some people purchase follows online from properly managed instagram accounts that can offer real engagement on your posts. This could kickstart your Instagram account, encouraging other people to follow you and hear your music. Social media has helped some of the biggest artists to get discovered, so it’s important to have multiple platforms, especially YouTube though.
So, that being said, I’ll usually just go on YouTube adventures, wherein one new song leads me to another new song and so on and so forth. In this manner, I could start listening to techno and end up listening to classical a few hours later.
The fine ladies over at The Indie Chicks invited me to write a little somethin’ for them, and that’s what I did today.
So head on over there to read my first piece as an honorary “Indie Dick:”
When Dudes Cry via The Indie Chicks
-Youngman Brown
I started playing poker again.
They cut my days down to three or four days a week at work, so I figured that playing once or twice a week would be a good way to make up for the lost days.
The first time I played, I made just over $500 in four hours. Though it is a small sample size, it is a decent hourly. But I was a bit upset with my performance, because I could have won more. It has been 15 months since I quit playing professionally, and I have lost almost all of my killer instinct. I used to play poker HUDs but I stopped doing that too.
I went to the Cloud Atlas midnight premiere two weeks ago, and then immediately came home and blogged about the movie, like a true nerd. Then I promised to tell you about the premiere itself, but forgot.
