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About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
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Blogocentric Formulations
Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
Thanks for stopping by! 
December 31, 2013 at 12:53pm December 31, 2013 at 12:53pm
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Another year has come and gone and, since I don't anticipate finishing any books today, it's time to look at the year in review, at least as it applies to my reading activity. I failed to reach my goal of fifty books (again) this year, but I did listen to and read a huge volume of work including comic books, screenplays, and podcasts. Hitting fifty books in a calendar year is fast becoming my white whale, but I'll continue to make it a goal of mine until I reach it!
But I can't do anything about it this year, so here's the final tally for me in 2013:
FICTION
The 7th Month by Lisa Gardner
14 by Peter Clines
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Atlantis God by David Gibbins
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet
The Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Heat Wave by Richard Castle
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy: Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
NONFICTION
The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived by Dan Karlan, Allan Lazar, Jeremy Salter
Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder by Nicholas Nassim Taleb
The Art of Public Speaking: Lessons from the Greatest Speeches in History by John Hale
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Caveat Emptor: The Secret Life of an American Art Forger by Ken Perenyi
The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I've Ever Had by Tony Danza
More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell & Sean McDowell
This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral - Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking! - in America's Gilded Capital by Mark Leibovich
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
COMICS
Alpha Girl #1-5
Avengers Academy #1-28
Danger Girl #1-7
Danger Girl/G.I. Joe #1-5
Gotham City Sirens #1-7
Grimm Fairy Tales #1-75
Grimm Fairy Tales: Inferno #1-5
Hack/Slash #1-20
The Mighty Avengers #1-8
The Red Ten #1-5
Salem's Daughter #1-5
Ultimate X #1-5
X-23 #1-6
X-Men: Legacy #208-218
X-Men: Psylocke #1-4
PODCASTS
/Film (6 episodes)
Freakonomics Radio (33 episodes)
Grammar Girl (61 episodes)
Hollywood Bound & Down (9 episodes)
How Stuff Works (32 episodes)
Nerdist (17 episodes)
Nerdist Writer's Panel (36 episodes)
The Q&A (4 podcasts)
Scriptnotes (52 episodes)
Slate Culture Gabfest (16 episodes)
Slate Political Gabfest (63 episodes)
Stuff You Missed In History Class (31 episodes)
TED Radio Hour (4 podcasts)
Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (24 episodes)
Welcome to Night Vale (13 episodes)
SCREENPLAYS
11 Produced Movies & TV Pilots
22 Unproduced Scripts
TOTALS: 36 books, 196 comic books, 342 podcasts, and 33 screenplays.
As far as favorites go, there weren't many in the nonfiction category that I absolutely loved. Bossypants was hilarious and The Disappearing Spoon was fascinating, but I think my favorite of the nonfiction would have to be Caveat Emptor. If you're a fan of the TV show "White Collar" like I am, reading about a real-life Neil Caffrey is a real treat. That guy had an amazing life.
In the fiction department, I'm hard-pressed to choose a favorite. The Night Circus was fantastic and probably would have been my pick for the favorite thing I read this year... if it weren't also the year that I read Thirteen Reasons Why and The Fault in Our Stars. Those were two outstanding books, and not just outstanding for YA fiction; outstanding for ANY fiction. John Green is ridiculously talented, and Jay Asher wrote a book that was so compelling I finished it and immediately told my wife, "You have to read this. Like, now." I rarely insist that she read anything, but this was one of the exceptions and she must have agreed with me because she brought it into the classroom and is reading it with her high school English students!
I'm beginning to realize that maybe reading fifty books in a year is too lofty a goal... and might explain why I binge on podcasts, comics, and screenplays toward the end of the year... but I'm stubborn and I refuse to give up on the goal until I reach it (or die trying!). So my goal for 2014 is the same as it was this year... fifty books or bust!
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December 28, 2013 at 10:55pm December 28, 2013 at 10:55pm
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After five years of calling this blog "SoCalScribe's Diatribe," I thought I'd welcome the new year with a bit of a name change. Since 2013 was the year I started using my real name on this site rather than the handle SoCalScribe, I figured I should update my blog accordingly. Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of "j" words to choose from, but I got a little help from Mr. T, who never fails to disappoint.
Calling my blog "SoCalScribe's Diatribe" was always kind of an ironic, tongue-in-cheek decision because I'm pretty sure there are few (if any) actual blog posts that could be characterized as forceful and/or bitter... and similarly, I thought "Jibber-Jabber" - in addition to being an amusing nod to a classic 80s television show - would continue the tradition of being a little ironic. According to Urban Dictionary, "jibber jabber" is defined as "useless words," "nonsense," "gibberish," and, "what really irritates Mr. T." Hopefully my blog is none of those things (especially not something that irritates Mr. T!) and the title will remain tongue-in-cheek and mildly amusing when people see it pop up on their favorites or in my newsfeed.
So yeah, new year, new name for the blog... and hopefully a newfound commitment to blogging more often! I've got some great ideas for "Blog Harbor"  ; hopefully it'll inspire me (and everyone else) to write some great posts in 2014! |
December 4, 2013 at 1:44am December 4, 2013 at 1:44am
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I think this might be the fastest the "NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon" has wrapped up in the five years I've been running it. I usually have to send out at least one or two reminders for sponsors to send in their donations, but this year everyone sent in their donations right away and, as a result of me being stuck at home sick for the past two days, I was actually able to wrap everything up within three days!
Here's a quick summary of how the activity turned out this year:
 2,259,995 collective words written.
5,176,307 Gift Points raised.
The Red Team won for the third consecutive year.
32 of the 57 competing writers crossed the 50,000-word mark.
And thanks to Writing.Com's surprise "Cyber Monday" sale on Merit Badges and Awardicons, I was able to slash the administrative costs of the activity in half, leaving me with a surplus of over 500,000 GPs. I briefly contemplated treating myself to a little shopping spree for some of WdC's new swag... but I decided instead to add a ninth beneficiary to the activity and spread some holiday cheer just a little further.
517,631 Gift Points were donated to each of the following groups:
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"RAOK Upgrade Brigade Group"
"Noticing Newbies Committee"
"Bank for Anniversary Reviews "
"Unofficial Erotica Newsletter Group"
"The Talent Pond"
"The Dark Society"
"Sisco's Good Deed Group"
In addition, since it's the fifth anniversary of the Write-A-Thon, I did a little math to figure out how the activity's fared over the past half-decade that it's been running. I have to admit that I've always had modest hopes for the activity and never really expected much from it, so I was floored to discover that over the past five years, Write-A-Thon authors have written over 19.6 million words and raised over 25.8 million GPs for various groups and activities around Writing.Com. 
I have to admit that last year and especially this year, I've questioned whether or not to run the activity. It's a time-consuming endeavor that is very difficult to run when I'm also trying to write my own NaNo novel. There's a lot of prep work and wrapping up that needs to be done (not to mention the mid-activity updates) which basically eats up my October and first week of December... meaning that it's really a 9-10 week commitment every year. On average, between reminders, responses to questions, sponsor sign-ups, etc., I receive about 200-300 Write-A-Thon-specific emails during that period of time and sent almost as many. And there are definitely times where I wonder if I should just focus on my NaNo novel by itself for once.
But then I get the emails from writers who are excited at having participated in the activity, and there's always at least one or two that tell me they wouldn't have completed their novel if not for the support of their teammates. And the emails from the beneficiary groups always make me smile after I've sent out their donations... and, to be honest, seeing the tally of both cumulative words and Gift Points raised by the Write-A-Thon over the past five years has really astounded me. It's energized me to keep going and I'm really looking forward to hosting it again next year. Who knows, maybe I'll even kick off the activity's sophomore half-decade with a few new twists and surprises!
And even though it's a one-man show in the sense that I do all the organizing and calculations and administration... the activity wouldn't be a success without the countless people who participate and make it possible. The dedicated writers who spend their time pounding away at their keyboards every November to finish novels and post the highest word counts they can... and the generous sponsors who donate their Gift Points in support of those writers. Not to mention the other donors who contribute funds, and additional incentives for the winning team. To everyone who has participated in or supported the Write-A-Thon over the past five years, you have my heartfelt and continued thanks.
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