aaronjedwards.com » Site news, etcetera

Icky design of this site!!!!

Aaron — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:28:56 +0000

Hey all, quick note. I’m having to revert to a default theme right now. My (previously) current theme was deleting spaces after punctuation marks, making some articles simply unreadable. Until I figure out what is going on (or find a theme I like), I shall be using a default, icky design theme. Sorry.

Edit: Found the issue, but messed up all my settings in the process – thus the crappy design continues. Might work on it a little later. For now, deal with it.

The decision is yours, what should I write?

Aaron — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 01:40:00 +0000

Dear readers,

This year my New Year’s Resolution is to write more. It’s a common resolution for me, but a worthwhile resolution none the less. You all may have noticed that this blog has been scarcely updated over the last six months. The simple excuses are that I don’t have enough time and energy, but truth be told: I should make the time, and the energy is never there – that’s part of writing. That’s part of creating something out of nothing. One may even say that writing is sort of an alchemy or akin to molecular fission in that respect, but I digress.

One step I’m taking this year is to give myself assignments. The first assignment is to pick a topic in my drafts folder, and fully expound upon said draft – for better or for worst. Till death do us part. As long as we both – I digress again.

But why, dear readers, am I telling you this? Well, what better way to choose which draft to finish than to have you, my faithful and loyal readers choose the subject!

Below are the candidates, along with a breif description. So….have at it! Tell me what I should write about. Vote by leaving a comment -voting closes January 1st!

Stumptown’s slipping down the toilet - This article will discuss the decline of Stumptown Coffe Roaster’s quality.
5 condiments I can’t live without – Self explanatory.
Dang Darned Dead Writers – mostly a rant about liking writers who will never write again.
Top ten original Weird Al songs – a top ten list discussing songs fully written by Weird Al (as opposed to his parody songs).
Oh, those musical episodes – A post discussing some of my favorite “musical episodes” of various television series
5 Sitcoms canceled way too early – A post discussing a few sitcoms that I would have loved if they hadn’t been canceled so early.
Over the Rhine is my KISS – A post comparing my fandom for Over the Rhine to the fandom some people have for the band KISS.

I hate it when that happens!

Aaron — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 03:18:22 +0000

So, some of you may have seen a half written article about video games. This was nothing more than a draft, and was never meant to be seen in it’s current state. It’s got bad grammar, missing points, and needs a ton of editing.

So what happened? Well, a month or so ago, I started writing it, and instead of save draft, I hit publish. So….being the optimist that I am, I unpublished it by putting a publishing date, thinking I would have this story finished by the time it went live. And then I forgot I started writing this! Yep!

So….maybe my next post will be a bit more polished. Until then, here’s a picture of a cute Cheetah:

Awwww, hey there guy! You want to play? I think you do! Can I take you home?

So, I’ve been busy

Aaron — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:53:10 +0000

And there’s not a whole lot of new content right now. BUT….there is news. I just opened up a new geek poetry website. I might concentrate on that site for a while, and come back here as my my mood changes. But fear not, fellow readers, I am not leaving you. Aaronjedwards.com will not die anytime soon.

For now, please enjoy Geeky Poetry!

My picks for the 2010 Acadamy Awards

Aaron — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:49:28 +0000

Its that time again! Time to settle back with a bag of popcorn, mock celebrities and their hideous clothes, and boo because (insert piece of trash movie here) won (insert undeserved award here). Its almost time to roll the dice – hoping your favorite movies, actors, directors, editors, sound people, camera people key grips and caterers get the credit they deserve! So, without any further delay, without any further adieu, without any further…..uh, I lost my place! Oh, here it is (schadenfreude) – I give you my picks for the 2010 academy awards!

Best Picture: An Education

I almost missed this film entirely, and it would have been my loss. My favorite thing about “An Education” is the fact that the writers sincerely put up both sides of the argument facing the film’s protagonist, Jenny. The film shows Jenny’s struggles with both the pros and cons of going to Oxford after she graduates, or marrying Jack. The audience is left guessing which the best choice is for Jenny, and hoping she makes the right choice. Will it win? No. Avatar will most likely sweep the Oscars this year. Even though its plot is paper-thin.

Actor in a leading roll: George Clooney – Up in the Air

I will be honest: I choose George Clooney as my best actor pick not because he did such a wonderful job, but because I had no real opinions of the other actors and their performances. However, I must comment that George Clooney did a wonderful job as Ryan Bingham, the man with no goods. I hated him, pitied him, and even loved him at times. George Clooney brought to life a character that could have been very two-dimensional. Will he win? Hard to say actually, I heard Morgan Freeman did a wonderful job in Invictus.

Actress in a leading roll: Carey Mulligan – An Education

I if it were up to me, I would give “An Education” almost every award it is up for! Carey Mulligan really was convincing as Jenny, and deserves the Oscar. I don’t believe I have cared so much about a character since Amélie. Will she win? Perhaps, though from what I hear, Gabourey Sidibe did a great job in “Precious.”

Animated Film: Up

The choice for best animated film was probably the hardest choice I had to make this Oscar season. I thoroughly enjoyed Coraline, and in truth, if there could be a tie, I would not be opposed to giving the Oscar to both films. Oh, alas, the Oscar cannot be split, so I really had to go with Up. Up was simply written and animated a little better than Coraline. Will it win? I’m guessing yes. Critics seem to love it, and it’s the only animated film nominated for Best Picture.

Art Direction: Avatar

Avatar is just an amazingly beautiful film. I don’t believe I have ever seen a film as captivating and beautiful. Sure, the plot was formulaic, but even the harshest critics have to give James Cameron a nod for creating such a beautiful world. Will it win? Most likely. Avatar is supposed to be the golden child of the Oscars this year.

Directing: Inglorious Basterds

This is another category where I had a hard time choosing just one film. Both James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino deserve the Oscar. It is kind of a pity both films came out the same year. Both directors worked for YEARS on their respected films. Both films are supposedly the magnum opus of each director. In the end, I choose Inglorious Basterds because, quite frankly, I enjoyed the film more than Avatar. Inglorious Basterds is well written, well produced, well acted, well filmed, and well edited. Tarantino simply did a better job than Cameron. Besides, Avatar will get enough Oscars. We can spare to give Quentin the nod he deserves for this film. Will it win? Probably not. As I said earlier, Avatar is supposed to be the golden child of the Oscars this year.

Writing (adaptive screenplay): District 9

Yet another hard choice, this time between District 9, Up in the Air, and An Education (my pick for best picture). In the end, I must say that District 9 is the most challenging script. District 9 could have easily become a shoot ‘em up, aliens invade the Earth type of film. Instead, we get humans acting as humans would act if an alien ship finds itself stranded. We have humans treating the aliens like second-class citizens, not as honored guests who might be able to help us with our own problems. We have aliens acting like any other oppressed culture who want nothing more than to be left alone – a culture that just wants to go home. Will it win? Maybe. I’m guessing either District 9 or Precious wins.

Writing (original Screenplay): Inglorious Basterds

I already said how much I love the writing of this movie. Tarantino’s humor, sense of poetic justice, and just plain bizarre and even warped mind all make an appearance in his writing. Several separate plot lines that seem to have no relevance intertwine flawlessly. And what about that ending? Asides from Hitler and his men getting slaughtered by several separate plots against their lives, the one Nazi escapes to what appears to be a storybook ending. Well, almost….almost. I really hope he likes hats. Will it win? Perhaps. Up might give it a good run though.

So what about the rest of the Oscars? Originally I had picks for almost every category, but sadly friends, I don’t have any more time to spend on this article. So I leave you with a solemn apology. There’s always next year!

Tweet, digg, et al…

Aaron — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:14:14 +0000

A bit of housekeeping here. I’ve recently upgraded to Php V. 5. I don’t foresee any problems, but just a word of warning. IF you find a bug during this time, PLEASE contact me!!! PLEASE PLEASE! PLEASE!!! I’ll be checking in every so often, but the more eyes and ears I have, the better.

So, why am upgrading? First of all, why not? Kind of mad at my hosting service for not telling me this was available sooner, but that’s a different story. The reason I am upgrading is because I am adding the standard digg, facebook, tweet, et al buttons, and the plug in I’m going to use requires that I upgrade. You’ll notice a twitter button already. This is actually temporary, a teaser if you will.

EDIT: The plug in has been activated. Still tweaking, but the buttons work.

In other news, I’m working on two new articles. Now, I just need to find the time to write them! Keep your eyes posted for those.

One last thing: My top 25 albums of the zeros post was linked to largehearted boy. Quite an interesting website focusing on literature, music, and pop culture (so kind of similar to this site). Check it out if you feel like it.

Thanks for reading!

Aaron J. Edwards

Feel like helping out?

Aaron — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:14:04 +0000

The images on this site are all stock images from the wordpress template I’m currently using. They’re not bad images, and quite frankly, I wish I had taken them, but they are still not MY images. This bothers me.

So your mission, if you choose to accept it is to look through my flickr and leave a comment (on this site or on flickr) which images you might like to see on this site! I will have to cut whatever images I use to fit the ratio, so keep that in mind!

Thanks Friends!

A brand new day…

Aaron — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:45:19 +0000

Whoa! What happened to the site man? Its….DIFFERENT! WHAT THE FREAKING HECK?!?!?!?!

Yes, the old page is history and no way to retrieve it! This is the new page. I’ve finally succumbed into using wordpress. So sue me! Hahah.

Anyways, I’ll be importing old articles into this “new” blog sometime soon. Be patient.

Of course, the old content isn’t ALL that’s going to be up here. I’ll be honest, I’m re-launching because I need to start writing again. So look out for that content as well!