Eric Anam's Open Salon Blog

The Future of Digital Books is Here

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:07:54 -0400

Compared to today's computer technology, electronic devices of the late 80's to mid 90's tech revolution resemble products from the Flintstone era. Cell phones alone give that impression. And the desire for more power in devices smaller than laptops is fueling a growing market. Increases in microprocessor speed coupled with reductions in size and power requirements position tablets on the leading edge of the current tech explosion. Understanding changing technology is only part of the struggle. The greater challenge may be envisioning new uses for that technology.

It's unfortunate the leaders of Borders couldn't figure out how to incorporate these advances. CEO Mike Edwards' letter to the employees made it clear the leadership there considered the "rapidly changing book industry" and "eReader revolution" external forces. I don't understand that thinking when your company sells books. Surely considering how the customer wants to purchase and receive your product is intrinsic to one's business surviving.

The lessons are clear. If you write or publish you need to capitalize on the technology available. The truly prescient are already imagining what's next. That description fits software developer Mike Matas. Mike demos an electronic version of Our Choice, Al Gore's sequel to An Inconvenient Truth in the video below. It shows a few of the ways digital books are evolving. There are many more possibilities. It's up to us to figure them out.

Time for a Change

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 14:07:47 -0400

This is a short post to announce a few changes in my blogging and writing. (No, I'm not flouncing!) Although I've blogged and written for years, I've recently begun to focus almost exclusively on my fiction. Writing for a commercial audience and publishing are new to me. Consequently, I'm steeping myself in the culture and tech of both disciplines. Some of my posts here and most of my posts at Eric-Blues will reflect this new focus. I'm glad I've met so many good writers and open minds here. I hope you will follow and share in the journey.

Three Departures, My Spring of Goodbyes

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:06:06 -0400

Having to say goodbye to people you're just getting to know is painful. The already steamy days of spring promise a torturous summer in the south. Bidding farewell to friends will make it even longer.

First is a South African couple I met through shared friends. In a baffling display of bureaucratic stupidity the government has refused to renew their visa. Knowing that America is losing an artist and a well-credentialed teacher only rubs salt into the wound. I thought about blogging their plight, but haven't out of respect for their privacy. Besides, I am epically frustrated with proposed immigration policies that forgo investing in the country's intellectual infrastructure to reward millions of undocumented immigrants who flaunt the law. My duly noted anger is ineffectual in solving the problem but at least my friends have made it safely home.

Next is an amazingly warm and funny guy I met at a charades party. Here's a tip for aspiring charades professionals. You want someone with a Master of Library and Information Science degree for a teammate. It's like playing Battleship with a transparent board that allows you to see where your enemy's ships are! He's moving away but has a promising job and the love of friends and family waiting for him.

Finally, the mother of a dear friend passed away. It evoked memories of a similar time in my life three years ago. Hamlet described death as the undiscovered country, but I think that honor belongs to grief. Death, at least in the corporeal sense happens only once. Every grief is like a new frontier. Suffering the loss of someone so close really is like waking up in a foreign land. The language is different, the ground unyielding, the horizon unsteady. No familiar currency has value in the somber land of sadness. But beauty can be found in even the most extreme climates. Even the frozen tundra gives way to new life. And so it is with grief.

All three departures have begun. The inevitable goodbyes finish unfolding over the next few days. The number of people affected seems grossly disproportionate to the number of people leaving. It's going to be a long summer.

Back In Black: Brown Skin, White Music

Thu, 19 May 2011 13:05:57 -0400

When I think of today's pop culture, it's often with disgust. Now that I'm older and wiser, I can't pretend I don't believe we're on the eve of destruction. There was a time when I embraced the current culture. But even then, it wasn't always my culture that I embraced.

My high school years were turbulent, but I reckon that's true for most people. Being from a broken home is bad. Living in one as it's breaking is worse. When that home is miles away from nowhere, any form of culture is like a distant town. It's sure nice to visit, but you usually scamper home before dark. But like most military brats with older siblings I was exposed to a variety of cultures at home. From the Bible Belt to Black Power and Hee Haw to Hawaii 5-0. I steeped in it. In grade school before my voice began changing I would sing Earth, Wind & Fire's Reasons in my living room as it spun on 45. I got a guitar for Christmas when I was 13, and played a George Benson tune, Erotic Moods, at my 8th grade talent show. In many ways I was a normal black kid growing up in the south. In other ways, not so much.

I never quite fit the media-blessed image of black culture. I still don't. At the time, my grades were good enough to get me noticed by teachers and labeled by other kids. "White boy" is a moniker I carried throughout high school. If being academically gifted wasn't enough of a giveaway, the fact that most of my friends were white was further proof that I was an interloper. An Oreo. But the deciding factor was the music I listened to.

Almost every kind of music flowed in my household. But during the long nights of my childhood insomnia, my brothers' soul and jazz station would fade to a rock station popular with the local military crowd. Complementing my daily diet of Isley Brothers, Herbie Hancock, and Ramsey Louis was a late night snack of Heart, Foreigner, and Peter Frampton. I was usually the sole audience member to appreciate the sound of Fenders and Gibsons wailing through Marshall stacks. The experience stuck and soon influenced the direction my guitar playing took.

It also influenced my circle of friends at school. Since I played guitar I soon hooked up with a group of metal and rock fans and players. Jimmy Castor and Gil Scott Heron took a backseat to Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne. My guitar-playing chops improved and I became an authentic "head". Mornings, lunches, and breaks were spent smoking Raleighs and discussing muscle cars with the other heads.

None of this behavior improved my standing with the black community (such as it was). But no one should suffer through high school alone. And it wasn't that I was a typical teenage conformist. I enjoyed scholastics, especially English and History. I didn't smoke pot. My drinking was limited to outings with my closest siblings. But for a few years, my musical tastes favored loud, crunchy, and obnoxious.

My guitar sustained me through many more rough patches. After my parents' (first) inevitable separation halfway through high school, my playing improved even more. I still reach for the instrument when I'm down or just need to carve out a safe space. I'm not the metalhead I was in school. I don't want to be. I don't need to be. But for a few hot summers, years before Living Color broke AOR radio's color barrier, I was able to bring a different meaning to "Back in Black".

What Gadget Culture Is Not

Thu, 12 May 2011 00:05:13 -0400

CC Licensed Photo

Off with her head!

Unlike Alice's evil queen, I rarely make impulsive decisions. Even then they are often prefaced by several inciting incidents. A few days ago I made such a decision.

Gizmodo is a familiar name for some of my technically inclined readers. It's generally considered a "technology blog", and several staff members and commenters offer their own descriptions of the website in its "About" video. One describes it as a "blog about gadget culture". Another offers that "if you are into gadgets, you're into a lot of other stuff, and we try to write about all of it".

Earlier this week, Gizmodo made good on their word when they profiled a story about the first suicide from the world's tallest building. They were decent enough to warn readers about the explicit photos. I viewed neither the article or photos. Maybe Gizmodo's gadget people are into that sort of thing. Since I'm not, I unliked them. Poof! Out of my Facebook feed. Several other commenters agreed with me.

Perhaps we're seeing the triumph of reality culture. If so, I vote for the return of that whacky sport that pits Christians against lions. At least there's a chance of a miracle and a choice of contestants to pull for in that game. Man vs. 2717 feet of air is just boring... and rigged to say the least.

The worst part is that much of Gizmodo's blogging is good stuff. But this sort of pop crap has been showing up more often, too often. The overused mantra "know your audience" bears repeating. But as writer/reader dustups go, this is minor. I've moved on to Engadget and sincerely hope its readers aren't into the same stuff that Gizmodo's writers assume their audience is.