Who Says You’re a Writer?
Published June 23rd, 2009 | 
Interesting post on Pinoy Copywriter the other day about the distinction between a professional writer and an amateur.
My feeling on this is that, while the term “amateur” is often used in a derogatory way (often rightfully so) it’s not always the case that a professional writer is the better writer. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I do think that 99 times out of a hundred the amateur writer is an amateur because he’s not good enough to make it as a professional. However, the only real distinction between an amateur and a professional is that a professional gets paid and an amateur does not. It’s not a fair determinate as to whether one has talent or not. First off, some genres pay little or nothing. Take poetry, for example. A gifted poet can write and publish poetry for years without earning a dime. An SEO writer can make possibly make a living writing content for websites. Secondly, some kinds of writing are easier than others.
Is the SEO writer necessarily the better writer because of what they are paid? Hmm? I’ve written pretty much everything, including SEO and SEO requires scarcely any ability at all. Anyone with a basic understanding of composition and an Internet connection can write an SEO article. Many poets I know can write SEO without blinking if they wanted to. Can the SEO writer compose a publishable poem? And I know other writers who are technically professional in that they get paid for many of the things they write who are not — at least in my estimation very good writers. Any fool can call themselves a writer these days and often they do. There may even be more “writers” sucking air on planet Earth right now than lawyers, and that’s saying something. And any writer who has ever been paid for any writing they’ve done can call themselves a professional but not every writer writes well enough to call themselves a good writer or even a competent one regardless of their status. That takes effort and talent and it’s much easier to give yourself the title of “writer” than to do the hard work. ’nuff said.
The Digital Conversion Hits the Sims 3
Published June 23rd, 2009 | Last night, it was raining. I have a dial-up connection at home, and when it rains my Internet service is even worse than usual. I can barely connect if, at all and it’s generally impossible to complete even the smallest task online when this happens.
So, I found myself at loose ends. No money to go anywhere, not able to get online, nothing on television and no good books to read. And, since I haven’t received my latest Netflix offering, there wasn’t even a DVD to watch.
I entertained myself by playing the Sims 3 last night. The patriarch of my active Sims family has the “handy” trait and has maxed-out his tinkering skill, which allows him to make quick repairs to broken appliances and do “upgrades” to them. Anyway, there was an option to “boost channels”. I thought this was funny because it seems even the Sims’ virtual world is affected by the digital conversion. I don’t know if giving sims the upgrade gives them cable or Direct TV, but I remember in Sims 1 there used to be a satellite dish you could add to your Sim family’s home to give them extra channels. There are no DirecTV satellite dishes in S3 unfortunately and no extra channels — I think the upgrade just convinces the Sims that watching DirectTV or cable or whatever is more fun than it actually is. Just like real life! I just thought that was funny. On the other hand, I was desperate for amusement so I may have convinced myself that playing this game last evening was more fun than it actually was.
I Was Lucky
Published June 22nd, 2009 | A couple of years back, after I’d been diagnosed with cancer, I was fortunate to qualify for a state-sponsored medical assistance program. I didn’t have insurance at the time and I was completely broke, so if I hadn’t gotten help, I’d certainly be dead by now. That’s why this whole business about healthcare reform really roasts my chestnuts. Those who oppose reform have never found themselves in my situation. I cannot believe anyone could fully appreciate why healthcare reform is necessary unless they’ve walked a mile in my shoes.
I got lucky, but a lot of people aren’t so lucky. In fact, thousands die each year for want of affordable comprehensive healthcare.
