Life in Pixels

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  • Anton Ego on Critics

    I always admire these words from one of Pixar Animation Studio’s finest films, the charming Ratatouille. It’s said by the critic Anton Ego:

    “In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgement. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defence of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau’s, who is, in this critic’s opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau’s soon, hungry for more.” – Anton Ego, Ratatouille (2007).

  • What’s This RSS Thing Anyway?

    I’m sure you’ve seen the “radio wave” orange icon on numerous sites before; there’s one at the top of this blog as well, followed by the letters “RSS”. But what exactly is this thing, and why should you even care about it anyway?

    RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” (no, seriously) and it’s at the heart of blogging and blogs. In fact, I consider it the beauty of blogs over old, “Web 1.0” static sites.

    Using RSS, you can read your favourite blogs from wherever you are using a good RSS reader app. You can also have all your blogs within one repository, and access posts in a similar fashion to email. A popular RSS reader is the one by Google: Google Reader. Using this, you can read your blogs side-by-side, and keep up-to-date with the latest posts across blogs.

    You can add my blog to your RSS reader by accessing my “RSS feed”. Each blog has its own RSS feed, a URL that allows you to access the blog’s posts and display them within your reader. My blog’s feed it: http://feeds.feedburner.com/LifeInPixels. By adding it to your feed reader, you can get my latest posts in an “inbox” along with your other favourite blogs, and never miss a beat in keeping up with your world.

    If you’re a BlackBerry user (as I know many of my friends are), then check out BlackBerry’s native RSS app, called “BlackBerry News Feeds” [App World link]. This app isn’t linked to Google Reader, but rather to your BlackBerry ID. I use it extensively to read my various tech, architecture and writing blogs.

    Another popular RSS reader is NetNewsWire for Mac. Windows users can check out FeedDemon.

    Try RSS, and you’ll be amazed how much more information you can devour in a short space of time. Any questions about it? Feel free to drop a line in the comments and I’ll try my best to answer it.

  • Check Out This Blog

    My good friend and fellow blogger, Bryan Smith, just launched his new blog, amusingly titled The Blog at the End of the Universe (a play on the classic Douglas Adams sci-fi novels The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). He says he’ll be posting his thoughts, from world politics to technology, and most things in-between. Please visit his site, and give him your readerly support as he re-starts his blogging adventure. His URL: www.42mhz.wordpress.com. Enjoy!

  • Writing in 2012? Here’s 6 Resources for You

    As a writer myself, I’m always up for any new tips or resources that can help me manage this most abstract and difficult of arts. Being a writer or blogger can be quite a lonely business, but don’t despair – there’s a community of scriveners out there who are willing to share their knowledge, help and resources with you. Like what I’m going to do in this small post.

    I’ve been blogging for about five years now, and in that time, I’ve picked up some great websites and tools that make writing more fun than it already is. Below is a list of websites and software that can help you on your writing journey, whether it’s as small as minimalist blogging, or as grand as a novel.

    • Scrivener (App). This is a superb application for writing anything from a short story to an epic novel. It adapts to the way you work, and I swear by it whenever I need to write anything longer than a short story – sometimes, I even use it to write short stories. It has a brilliant fullscreen, distraction-free mode, and it helps you prepare your manuscript for publishers by providing the necessary formatting options upon export. It allows you to arrange complex works such as novels in scenes and chapters, so that you have everything organized, and can choose which part of your novel to work on at any time. The statistics tools are also quite cool, and you can set both project and session targets to keep yourself focused. A billion times better than old Mircosoft Word, Scrivener is the writing tool that was designed for writers, by writers. Price: R386,46 for Mac OS X (Windows version R343,52).
    • WriteRoom is a simple text editor for Mac OS X, with focus on distraction-free writing. It costs $9,99 but is quite nifty when it comes to writing in style and being efficient. Check it out.
    • WriteToDone is a great website with tips on writing. Visit them and subscribe to their RSS feed for inspiring and informative posts and guest posts on the various aspects of being a writer.
    • Writer’s Digest is the writer’s counterpart to the famous Reader’s Digest. It offers a plethora of advice for everything to do with writing, and it has some interesting and fun activities for strengthening your writing prowess.
    • Story Engineering by Larry Brooks is a great book for aspiring fiction writers. Larry introduces the concept of the “6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing”, breaking down the concept of the “story” into six areas, and informing you on how to approach these sectors, and make then work together to create a seamless whole – the novel. I’m currently reading it, and will post my thoughts on it soon, here on Life in Pixels.
    • ProBlogger.net is run by Darren Rowse, a legendary blogger who managed to quit his day job as his blog became so successful and was able to generate a significant cashflow. Over at ProBlogger.net, Darren and his guest writers post invaluable tips and insights on the world of blogging. A must for anyone looking to make it as a blogger.

    This list is by no means comprehensive, and if you know of something that will help fellow writers, please feel free to share them in the comments below. I hope this list can be of some assistance to you. Happy writing!

  • So, I Got Hacked the Other Day…

    On Friday, the second-to-last day of 2011, I discovered that this blog, Life in Pixels, got hacked. This was the first time in my five years of blogging that this happened to me.

    I’ve always kept my WordPress installation updated to the latest version, and constantly update all plugins and themes that power this blog. Yet I was compromised. I still don’t know exactly how this happened; it could’ve been through the database that keeps this blog in sync.

    So, after the initial shock when I discovered the issue, I managed to calm my nerves (and temper), and contact my hosting provider. We managed to re-set my site to a backup, and this brings me to the main point of this post:

    As we enter this new year, I implore all my blogging friends out there to make sure that your blogs are secure. Make sure you have steel-strong passwords, security walls if possible, and, most importantly: backup your blog regularly.

    After what happened to my beloved blog, I’ve made a pact with myself to download a local backup of my blog at least once a month. So, just in case this happens again, I feel safe in purging my site, and easily re-uploading it.

    I do apologize to any of my readers who tried to access this blog over the past few days, and discovered rather inappropriate content displayed. I will aim to keep this blog as secure as possible. Thanks for the support you guys have given me over the past few years, and I’m excited to continue publishing quality content on Life in Pixels in 2012. Live Long and Prosper.