Again, I quote Maureen Johnson’s Manifesto: Make stuff for the internet that matters to you, even if it seems stupid. Do it because it’s good and feels important. Put up more cat pictures. Make more songs. Show your doodles. Give things away and take things that are free. Look at what other people are doing, not to compete, imitate, or compare . . . but because you enjoy looking at the things other people make.

On Monday I went to the thrift store with elfstar18.  She asked me what I’d been doing this summer.  (She’s been working, going to school, deconstructing and reconstructing clothes, and dressing up pretty for a con, among other things.)  I was stumped.  I feel like I’ve been doing a lot but it feels now like not as much - making cupcakes, crocheting hats, playing Dungeons and Dragons, straightening up my home office, decluttering…  For some reason I didn’t think to say any of that and instead said “I’ve been watching a lot of web series, you know…  I’m telling myself it’s research."  Because I do want to write, produce, and direct a web series, ever.  And I feel like the pacing in a web series is fairly unique.  After reading Maureen’s manifesto and the comments, it occurred to me that I’d been learning a lot from free content people were just giving away on the internet.  So I thought I’d share with you some of what that content is.

1. Smoothie Handbook I’ve been having a smoothie for breakfast every day for weeks now.  It’s excellent - I get in two or three servings of fruit first thing in my day, it feels kind of like drinking a milkshake, and they’re so sweet that I’ve found myself searching out other sugary treats much less often than I used to do.  (Fruit Smoothie > Snickers bar, if we’re talking about nutritional value.)  Most recently, the smoothies have been from recipes provided by DaNae Johnson in a free ebook she gives away on her Smoothie Handbook website.  The site also has a lot of information about what smoothies need to work and the benefits of particular smoothie ingredients, as well as advice on buying the best blender and vegetable gardening tips.

2. In my quest to learn more about how a web series should look, I went to The Streamys website and started to check out their 2009 nominees.  Some of you are probably familiar with Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog and The Guild, but I was amazed by the variety and quality of production that is out there.  I just want to throw out names and descriptions for a few I’ve really enjoyed:

After Judgement is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi about the people who are left behind once rapture happens. It has great acting, excellent production values, and most importantly excellent writing. I watched a promo for it and immediately wanted to know more about that world.

Backyard FX provides instruction videos on how to achieve professional looking effects with a budget of $50 or less.  I had a lot of fun watching How to Build a Jet Pack.

3. Because I do want to be a writer-director-producer on any web series I might create, I decided Felicia Day, who is exactly that for The Guild, would be a good source of inspiration.  I went to her website looking to see if she had done any how-tos and found an excellent post about the resources she uses for writing.  Thanks to her recommendations I’ve got 3 used books coming my way and the intention of working harder at being a writer.

4. Felicia (I feel like we’re on a first name basis, even though we’ve never met or even communicated really) reminded me about some productivity blogs I used to read regularly, and I’ve been spending a lot of time reading Zen Habits, which is Leo Babauta’s blog.  Leo writes not only about productivity but also about simplifying your life and there is an amazing amount of content there.  You could probably spend the rest of your life just reading his blog posts.  And that doesn’t even include his books, some of which he’s put in “beta” form on the internet.

5. For almost two years, my dishwasher has spewed crap onto my “clean” dishes, which means that at least 50% of our dishes have to be re-rinsed by hand.  Yesterday when unloading the dishwasher I noticed there was some standing water in the bottom of it, so I went online and found this how to video for unclogging the dishwasher drain, provided by Tim Gipson, a home repair specialist.  This is what he does for a living, and he’s giving it away on the internet.  Which is good for me because he lives in Tennessee and it would take a long time for him to get here to help me out.  So, thanks, Tim.  I think my dishwasher might actually wash dishes now.

How many times a day do you benefit from content people have provided free on the internet?

Hi there.  Via Gwenda, I found my way to Maureen's manifesto.  Do read the post itself but I quote the most important part below.

The internet is made of people. People matter. This includes you. Stop trying to sell everything about yourself to everyone. Don’t just hammer away and repeat and talk at people—talk TO people. It’s organic. Make stuff for the internet that matters to you, even if it seems stupid. Do it because it’s good and feels important. Put up more cat pictures. Make more songs. Show your doodles. Give things away and take things that are free. Look at what other people are doing, not to compete, imitate, or compare . . . but because you enjoy looking at the things other people make. Don’t shove yourself into that tiny, airless box called a brand—tiny, airless boxes are for trinkets and dead people.

In the comments, kathleen duey said: I learned how to de-seed pomegranites on YouTube today. Thanks, guy from Arizona who put it up. I have wrestled with pomegranites all my life and now I won’t. I really, really appreciate it.

And that got me thinking about the “mission” of lectitans.  I started this as a way to share my feelings about books I read.  I have lots of blogs other places - kimberlyhirsh.com is my online business card as it were and I use that as a blog on occasion, kibathediva.net has been most recently a craft blog which I’m not calling a lifestyle blog and focusing on the “new domesticity,” mimula is about my adventures in theatre, both as performer and audience member (performer most recently), and then Whedoncraft (not udpated for nearly a year - I need to get on that, seriously) is for pointing readers to things other people make when they’re inspired by Joss Whedon.

I have a lot of times when I get overwhelmed thinking about updating one or the other of these, or I think of something but am not sure where to put it.  I think I’ve found a new grounding, sort of.  Work/school stuff will go at kimberlyhirsh.com; kibathediva.net will be all about anything I produce (cupcakes, hats, a web series?), and lectitans will be about what media I consume.

The subtitle for lectitans is “reading eagerly and often,” but we use “read” to mean things other than books.  So I’ll be going with that interpretation of the word.  My next post will be all about what I’ve been reading lately.  I want to thank the people who put free things on the internet, where I can then learn from them.

So there’s no way I’m getting time logged in for the 48 hour book challenge proper, but I’ve been longing for a break from myself (I was sick for a week and felt guilty about not doing housework the whole time).  I’m going to try doing my own 48 hour book challenge from 10 am Wednesday to 10 am Friday.  We’ll see how it goes.

My sister and husband are living with a broken air conditioner right now, and with temperatures poised to be in the 90s and up, and the inside of their home tending to be hotter than outdoors, I'm going to be hosting them for much of the next few days.  I like them very much, and so I'd like to be a good host, which probably means spending time with them, as opposed to ignoring them while I read books, so while I'll officially sign on tomorrow morning when I get up, I don't anticipate getting many hours of reading done.

Which do you prefer? Short stories? Or full-length novels? I like both, but which I’m inclined to read depends on my mood.  I generally gravitate towards novels - because they take less time, if you can believe it.  By that, I mean that they’re usually divided into chapters, and in my experience, a short story is longer than a chapter of a novel.  So if I’m riding the bus and want to read, I’m more likely to finish a chapter than a whole short story.  But each has its place, and I think some of the best writing has been done in short stories.  Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor spring to mind, but there are many others as well.

What about you?

For the past couple of years, MotherReader's 48 hour book challenge has signified the start of summer for me.  Now that I'm back in academia instead of K-12, I actually feel as though a third of my summer has passed me by.  This is the start of the rest of the summer, this time.  It runs from 7 am Friday to 7 am Monday, and you choose a 48 hour block within that window of time to do your reading.  I'll be running 7 am Saturday to 7 am Monday.  What will I be reading?

By Richard Peck: Are You in the House Alone?, Father Figure, Ghosts I Have Been, Remembering the Good Times By Patricia McCormack: Cut, Sold By Jacqueline Wilson: The Illustrated Mum By Robin McKinley: The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown By Gail Carson Levine: The Two Princesses of Bamarre By Azar Nafisi: Reading Lolita in Tehran By Holly Black: Ironside By Christopher Golden: The Ferryman By Herbie Brennan: Faerie Wars By Meg Rosoff: How I Live Now By Susan Beth Pfeffer: Life As We Knew It By Catherine Gilbert Murdock: Dairy Queen, The Off-Season By Sarah Miller: Miss Spitfire: Reaching Hellen Keller By Laurie Halse Anderson: Fever 1793 By Shannon Hale: Book of a Thousand Days By Kirby Larson: Hattie Big Sky By Russell Freedman: The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marion Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights By Maya Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Do I expect to read all 24 of those in that time?  No, but it’s always good to have some extra books lying around in case you’re not in the right headspace for one of the ones you pick up.

Will you be joining me in the challenge?

• Michael Trinklein @ Chasing Ray
• Nick Burd @ Fuse Number 8
• Tom Siddell @Wonderland
• Sarah Darer Littman @ A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
• Jessica Leader @ Shaken & Stirred

• Mary Jane Beaufrand @ The Ya, Ya, Yas
• Rita Williams-Garcia @ Fuse Number 8
• Jennifer Hubbard @ Writing & Ruminating
• Charise Mericle Harper @ Shelf Elf
• Holly Schindler @ Little Willow

Here just a few weeks away from the end of the semester, I feel like I've finally gotten into a rhythm where I'm ready to return to the kidlitosphere.  I hope you'll all take me back!  I thought this week was an especially good time for it, due to it being National Library Week, School Library Month, and the Teen Book Drop on Thursday.

While you’re waiting for me to return with real content, please contact your senators to support library funding, participate in Operation TBD, and/or help out with the reservation book wishlists at Guys Lit Wire.

Also, if you’re planning on going to ALA annual I’d love to know! My husband and I will be there at least Friday night through Monday afternoon, and we may end up staying through Tuesday. I’d love to meet up!

GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) is a fully-searchable online archive of video and computer game information.  It is owned by the GameSpot network but independently operated by Allen Tynan, a member of the site since its inception in 1995 and a GameFAQs employee since 2004.  GameFAQs is free but ad-supported.  Strict policies ensure that ads are relevant and appropriate for all audiences.

GameFAQs provides multiple interface options.  For the user who wishes to find information for a specific game quickly, a search box sits immediately below the site’s logo, with a drop-down menu allowing the user to limit the search to a specific platform.   Those who prefer browsing may use the navigation bar labeled “Platforms” which lists all of the video game consoles in the two most recent generations as well as PCs and an “All Systems” option; the site also provides a dropdown menu on the same bar which includes several older platforms.  The user can then further narrow her options by selecting titles beginning with a specific letter of the alphabet or in genres such as “Action,” “Role-Playing,” and “Sports.”

The site’s scope is both broad and deep.  It includes user-submitted FAQs for games as old as the 1972 Magnavox release “Table Tennis” and as new as “Final Fantasy XIII,” with a US release date of March 9, 2010.  The full system list includes over 100 platforms for computer and video games.  The depth of FAQs varies depending on the game.  For the puzzle game “Tetris,” only general FAQs are provided, consisting of information such as game controls, pieces, and general strategies.  For “DragonAge: Origins,” a recent role-playing game, a nearly 40,000 word walkthrough guides the player through each plot element in the game; also available for this game are guides for specific character types, hidden content, the magic system, and item creation.

While GameFAQs is not the only resource of this type, it is unique in its affordability, comprehensiveness and accessibility.  Commercially available guides such as those produced by Prima and Brady Games only address one game at a time and have list prices in the $20 to $30 range.  Gaming magazines like GamePro do not have searchable archives and have cover prices of about $6 per issue.  Other online sources, such as IGN, include only general FAQs.  Unlike these sites, GameFAQs requires that most of its guides be presented in ASCII text format, ensuring accessibility and interoperability.  GameFAQs also includes social aspects such as message boards and a Q&A feature where users can respond to each others’ questions about games.  Both this and the fact that GameFAQs relies entirely on user-contributed content give young adults who join the community the opportunity to write for an authentic audience.

GameFAQs is a valuable resource for all gamers, but may be of particular interest to library youth services departments and middle and high school librarians.  Teachers looking for authentic audiences for student writing can take advantage of the community aspects of the site.  Young adult services librarians will find it useful both for individual patrons and as a support for gaming programming.  With its low cost and wide appeal, this resource is suitable for school, public, and academic libraries.