Reinvent Yourself: Read "6 Harsh Truths" by David Wong

Subtitle: Failed Artists! Disgruntled Creatives! Depressed Citizens! Anyone!.. who expected MORE from life! PLEASE READ THIS!

David Wong of Cracked.com has written one of the best articles I've ever read!

6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person (by David Wong).

It lays out, in brutally-honest (and brutally-funny) language, what we can do to make our experience on this planet more meaningful. It will especially appeal to people who have lost touch with the dreams and goals of their lives. (I count myself among this group.)

Be warned: there's plenty of vulgarity here.

But there's also plenty of truth.

QUESTION FOR YOU:

Did you enjoy this article as much as I did?

Please let me know in the comments.

GTO

Reinvent Yourself: ORGANIZE (& ELIMINATE) YOUR SPAM

Subtitle: Organize Your Spam Folder (It's Fun!)

Do you get a lot of spam?

MagicJack Plus!
Platinum Credit Card!
Want to Add Inches?
Hey! Remember Me?
Grow More Hair!
Pharmacy Online!
Raspberry Ketones!
Real Email from Mom!
Solar America!
Urgent Deposit!
Free Coffee!
Online Education!
Pimsleur Approach!

Did your brain get woozy looking at this list?

Did you miss the Real Email from Mom? (She wants to know if you'll make it home for Thanksgiving.)

Well, here's a little trick I discovered that made a huge difference when cleaning out my spam folder. I use Yahoo! Mail, but this should work with most mail services - but apparently not Gmail. (Bad, Google!)

Before deleting any spam, organize your spam folder ALPHABETICALLY!

(In Yahoo's case, you do this by clicking on the "From" heading.)

Wow! So much easier on the eyes and brain!

It doesn't feel like you're wading through a jumbled mass of eye pollution, does it?

There's a streamlined feel to the preceedings.

You can see legitimate emails more easily. You can see which spammers are most prolific. You can also see the marketing emails you signed up for, but that are long overdue for unsubscribing. (You bought that car already, so you no longer need your local Ford dealers or Enterprise Rental Cars emailing you on a weekly basis, right?)

Right.

So if this technique helps in your fight against spam, let me know, okay?

GTO

P.S. - You can also organize your Inbox alphabetically.

See all of Mom's emails in a convenient, sequential order!

You sent her a Christmas List in 2009. (Did you remember? Of course you didn't! Time has buried Mom's emails under thousands of other emails, all vying for your attention!)

There are gift items in that long-forgotten Christmas list that you'd still love to receive from Santa! Add these items to 2012's list!  Easy peasy.

By occasionally organizing your Inbox alphabetically, you'll get a better perspective on your life and the people important to you. 

(Just remember to change your Inbox back to its original "organized by date" setting when you're done. It's really the best setting for receiving emails. Just not the best for fighting spam. Or rediscovering older, important emails.) 

Reinvent Yourself: LET ME READ YOUR SCREENPLAYS!

Greetings, friends!

Okay, I admit it. My blog looks a little rough. (I hit the wrong button, answered a question incorrectly and unknowingly erased my original template. The template I've used successfully for 3 years. Argh. Now my ads won't display correctly (or at all) and my blog just looks like it's fallen into a state of disrepair.)

But rest assured, I am here. Slowly patching things together.

Over the next two months, I'm going to try something different with my blog.

I have readers from all over the world... (I know this because I can "see" you in my Google analytics page)... but most of you have remained very quiet as you've perused my blog.

No worries. Really. It's my fault. I accomplished my goal of updating & transcribing an excellent article from Modern Maturity and now there's not much need to keep up with the blog.

(And, yes, perhaps it's time to start a new blog!)

(And, yes, perhaps after this little experiment, I will do just that.)

(And, yes, perhaps this little experiment will power the new blog!)

But, listen, forget all that! Here's the deal.

Thanks to Google AdWords, I've been gifted with $100 of free advertising. So I wanted to take this opportunity to turn the tables on my readers and let you know that:

For the next 2 months, I'm open to reading your original, unpublished screenplays and will provide feedback free of charge to anyone who is willing to share.

(Of course we'll have to work on a proper release form.)

And I definitely prefer to focus on screenplays for now.

I studied the form for years - I've practiced the form for years - and it's the form I'm most comfortable with. And yes, it's true I'm not a professional - but honestly, reading screenplays and giving constructive, useful criticism is something I'm pretty dang good at.

So -

This is the chance to get real feedback on your screenplay for the low, introductory price of FREE.

I ask that you please put your script into standard script format. (I'll find a link that will explain all the proper formatting tomorrow.) If you use a script formatting program, that'd be best. (Right now I can read screenplays in .FDR, DOC, .PDF & probably a few other formats as well.)

Then email me with "Screenplay" in the subject line, or leave a comment here (the preferred method) with your contact information - and I'll be in touch! (My email is mynameisgto@gmail.com).

This is a good time to get feedback on one of your scripts. (Yes, sorry. One script per person please.)

Perhaps you don't have any friends you can talk "shop" with. Or perhaps you need more input than: "That was good, honey!" (with a friendly pat on the head). Maybe you need to know WHY your script was good. (Or maybe why it wasn't good, egad.)

Now, I don't want to crush your dreams of writing for the movies. I just want to give you more feedback than you may have received thus far. But I'm definitely suited to screenwriters who want real, down-to-earth, & HONEST feedback.

We'll figure out a way to discuss your script at some point. Perhaps in a live chatroom. Perhaps via email.

But that's the deal for now.

Okay?

Let me know if you have any questions.

I look forward to getting to know you - and reading some cool stories!

GTO