RonVitale

Episode 7: "Has Magic Jumped the Shark?" (Part 2)

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Show Notes

--Introduction: Episode 7 of "The Magic Sock" video blog.
--Recap of episode 1 in which the question was asked: Has Magic jumped the shark?
(Have we seen the best Magic cards that will ever be released?)
--Discussion of mechanics and cards from Weatherlight on up to Guildpact.
--Breakdown of power blocks versus subpar sets.
--Review and answering of the question: Has Magic jumped the shark?
--Open call for feedback on whether other players agree or disagree with whether Magic has seen its best days.

Total running time: 21 minutes and 15 seconds.

Creative Commons License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

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Closing:

Magic: The Gathering is trademarked and owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. The Magic Sock is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro in any way. To send feedback, send an e-mail to themagicsock@gmail.com. Audio feedback is welcome but please keep the mp3 file to under 45 seconds and be sure to mention your name and city/state/country.

Busy & Love!

While at work today, my son’s daycare called me to tell me that my son was sick with a fever of a 101.  They told me that I’d need to come pick him up within the hour.  I finished an e-mail I was sending out at work, left and then jumped on the train to get home.  Before I had left work, my boss suggested that I call my son’s doctor and see if I could get him in to see the doctor this afternoon.  I called the doctor’s office and received a message that they were currently at lunch and for me to leave a message.  I left a message and then headed for the train.

When I arrived at the station, waiting for my next train to leave, I had 10 minutes of time so I called my wife (she was up at a convention in New York City today) and gave her the news.  I got off the phone with her and then started reading, thinking I had plenty of time (I had 25 minutes before the “hour” was up for me to pick up my son).  Now I wasn’t worried about being late in picking him up, but I was told that he was out of sorts and wasn’t feeling good at all so I wanted to hurry up and get there to get him home faster.  Unfortunately, I had to wait 10 minutes before the next train left.

About halfway through my wait, I received a call back from my son’s doctor to tell me that I could bring him in at 2pm.  That was 20 minutes away.  I said yes and prayed that the train would leave faster.  Anytime that I’ve gone to the doctor with my son or have heard my wife tell stories about her taking him, she’s complained to be about the long wait.  And I’ve seen the long wait myself so I wanted to get in there as close to 2pm as I could.  I was concerned that if I was over 15 minutes late that they’d bump my son from the schedule and we’d have to wait longer.

The train left 5 minutes later, when I arrived at my stop, I rushed out, and nearly ran to the car (watching my hurt ankle though—it’s still not 100% but that’s another story).  I arrived at my son’s daycare at about 1:50pm.  I picked him up, packed his stuff up, signed the release form saying that he was sick and that I was picking him up, and rushed to the doctor’s.  Whew, I was beat.  I’m coming off of being sick for the last week and my cough is still sticking with me.  Let’s just say that I’ve felt better.  I got to the office at about 2:05pm and—the waiting room was empty except for another stroller.  Seems that I was rushing for nothing: No one else was waiting. 

I got home, gave my son some lunch, and then I kept an eye on him through the course of the afternoon.  A few times I jumped on the computer to check my work e-mail to see what was up with work, but my son was looking for company (I felt bad for him—his cough is pretty bad).  So now I’ve a free moment to relax.  My wife is home from her trip and this is giving me a chance to get caught up (I just finished logging my office computer, catching up on e-mails and some work). I’m hoping to get a chance to rest for the rest of tonight.

But I did want to take a moment to write here today.  Why?  Today is the 11th anniversary that my wife and I went out on our first date.  Yes, our first date was on Valentine’s Day.  It’s a long story, but here’s the skinny on it: A mutual friend wanted us to go out with him to NOT celebrate Valentine’s Day.  The three of us didn’t have dates so we figured that we’d go.  I had just met my wife at a poetry reading at Border’s through our mutual friend.  She had come up to her friend (who I was helping by putting chairs away from the poetry reading at the book store) and started chatting.  I was invited to tag along when they met up on Valentine’s Day to not celebrate the holiday.  I was a bit surprised that my wife to be had invited me along.  On Valentine’s Day, our mutual friend bowed out, saying he couldn’t make it, and I went to meet my wife-to-be.  That night we hung out at the   Ortlieb's jazz club,  listening to the music and talking until they kicked us out.  I had a fantastic time!  Even 11 years later, I remember what a great time I had that night.  Now it’s 2006, I’m rushing around doing this and that, our son was sick today, and I’m trying to get caught up from work, and I’m tired fighting off a cold I’ve had, but it’s all okay.  I remember 11 years ago and just smile.  Yeah, it was that good the day we met and hung out.  No matter how mushy it all sounds, it was great to meet her and hang out with her that day.  It’s been over 4,015 days and I’m just as thankful.  So take heart: Celebrate or don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day.  It’s up to you.  For me, I love the day.  It’s the day that I went out on my first date with my wife.

It's a Long, Hard Road

My voice is still not 100%.  I had hoped to start recording the next episode of The Magic Sock, but I think it’ll make more sense if I wait until my voice sounds more normal.  Listening to someone who’s sick talk for 20 minutes wouldn’t be much fun.  I’ve performed my research and am ready to go.  Well, at least I’m prepared in all ways except with my speaking voice.  I hope to record the show within the next week (if all goes according to plan).

In other news, I received some good news about an article that I wrote today—it’s to be published.  I’m happy about the news, but must share some news with aspiring writers out there: I wrote the article back in September 2005.  In January 2006, I contacted the editor and asked if he had made a decision on the article.  He wrote back and asked for me to resend the article.  I did so and then I waited another month before I contacted the editor again for an update.  I received the good news today.  I like to share these type of stories with fellow writers for two reasons: 1. I want to show the reality of writing.  It’s not all pomp and circumstance.  Case in point: My wife and I were watching “The L Word” last night and one of the main characters (Jenny) had an editor fly across country to tell her in person about the acceptance of her story as well as dropping a huge advance in her lap.  When I saw that scene, I nearly died laughing.  A writer had to come up with that: Who else would have such a daydream?  Now let me get back to my point: Editors are busy people.  They are working long hours, juggling many projects, and sometimes (as one editor told me recently) they are responsible for more than one magazine.  That’s a lot of work.  The reality of writing is this: Normally, you’ll send a manuscript out in the mail and it’ll disappear into the void of nothingness.  Don’t be surprised if you don’t hear anything for up to three months.  If I don’t have a response by that time, then I contact the editor with a friendly: “Could you please send me an update?”  And I use the word send.  Typically, editors don’t like to be called on the phone.  But that’s not necessarily the law either: An editor told me last month that he didn’t mind my calling.  Still, I try to play this one out cautiously.  I definitely don’t wish to bother an editor by being seen as a nag.  Back to point #1: Send your piece out and work on another manuscript.  Most of the time, you’ll not hear back for months or you’ll need to follow-up on your own.  It’s very rare that I receive a rejection (or acceptance) back quickly.  Most of the time I’m waiting for months.

Point #2: Have more than 1 egg in your basket.  Don’t just write one story, send it out, and then wait.  While you’re waiting, you’re wasting time.  Send the piece out and then work on your next story.  Of course, I’m breaking this rule myself at the moment.  I do have a few pieces out in the mail, but I am not working on a new piece.  Instead I’ve been taking my free time to do the video blog podcast.  Why?  I seem to think that teaching myself all of this technology is going to open doors for me in the future.  I don’t quite know what I mean by that, but I know that this technology is on the cutting edge (I don’t know many who are putting out video podcasts, using RSS feeds, getting the video up online, and then having a site run the podcasts as an article).  The fact that I know how to create all of this from scratch and to do all the work involved (Web hosting, creating the XML file, keeping track of my RSS feed stats, creating the video, compressing the video, etc.) is rather important to me.  I really enjoy experimenting with all of this technology.  But back to point #2: The more manuscripts you have out in the mail, the better chance you have of receiving an acceptance.  The problem with this is that it’s better if you do your research and that takes time and money.  I’ve been a subscriber to the magazines that I’ve been published in (not that I’ve received a lot of acceptances, mind you), but the research that I perform in reading what the magazine publishes becomes invaluable when I’m looking for a market for a new story or article.

And now the facts: In 2005, I had a good many stories, articles, and my novel out to various publishers.  Through the course of the entire year, I had only 2 non-fiction tech sales, 1 extremely short science fiction piece sold to an online Website, and 2 pieces to a travel Website that published my article but went out of business (I wasn’t paid for my work).  I’ve written about the hardship of the writing life before and if you don’t love it, then I suggest that you simply don’t do it.  Do something else you love instead.  Am I telling you not to write?  No, but if you’re looking to make a lot of money, buy a lottery ticket instead.  That might be a bit harsh of me, but the writing life can be difficult.  Of course, my skills may not be the greatest and if you think you’re the best writer since Shakespeare, then go ahead and make it work for you.

In my life though, I’m just telling you the truth of what happens to me.  I’m not depressed by any of this, heck, an acceptance is an acceptance!  I’m extremely pleased.  I’m not complaining about that or the amount of time it takes.  I’m just saying that writing a piece and getting it published are two entirely different things.  It’s easy enough to write something, but I’ve found getting a piece published and getting paid for the work isn’t easy.

Good luck!

Talking Across the World

Feedback that I had sent to the Cinecastshow podcast was read in episode #75 of Cinecast. Very cool. Why? I like the fact that podcasting is still so new that you can send feedback to a podcast and they’ll read your e-mail or play your audio feedback on a show. Considering that there are thousands of listeners to that podcast, having your feedback read in an episode allows you to indirectly partake in an intellectual debate about movies. I really enjoy that. I know I sound old when I say that, but I love the internet. I just didn’t have the ability to do any of this when I was growing up. However, I do remember that ever since I was around 15 years old, I loved learning about how to contact people from other parts of the world. I’ve had a love affair with communicating with people for over 20 years now.

First I started by having a pen pal in France. I signed up for a pen pal through my French class and I was put in touch with a lovely French girl. She and I corresponded for several years and at about 17 years old I took the plunge: I asked her for her phone number and called her. From what I remember, I had imagined that I would call her on the phone that we’d fall in love and we’d marry and be happy forever and a day. Here’s what really happened: I became very nervous about calling but I finally did do it. My imagination about what would actually happen was a pure fantasy. Although she and I were good friends, through letters, our correspondence was maybe once a month (it took about 5-7 days for a letter to arrive to Europe). I thought that picking the phone up and calling would slice through any barriers imaginable and I would fall in love with her. I just knew it. I just knew that through communicating that we’d be able to work it all out. (Of course, being a lost case in my young teenage years, I didn’t take into consideration that maybe she didn’t have such dreams or feelings about it. I didn’t think about that.) I called Anne-Sophie on the phone and in my head kept saying: “J’aimerai parler avec Anne-Sophie s’il vous plait.” Of course, I hadn’t learned the subjective tense at that time (I think I was 15 or 16 years old when I made this call.) I dialed the numbers (learning how to dial an international call was a tall order—no one in my family had done it) and waited as the odd ring filled my ear. I waited and my heart was pounding, I could feel the sweat building up, and I heard someone pick up the phone on the other end! The other end: Someone in France had picked up the phone and said, “Hullo?” It’s was a boy’s voice. I took my practiced line that was swimming around in my head and said, “J’aimerai parler avec Anne-Sophie s’il vous plait.” There was a dead silence. A type of silence in which he realized that I had just butchered his language and had no idea how to speak the French language as a native. The boy said something fast in French. I have no idea what he said. I waited for a moment and went on: “Excusez-moi. Je ne comprends pas.” Yeah, I didn’t understand anything at that point.

We went back and forth for a few minutes and I spoke slowly with my hacked up French. He switched to English and between the two of us I figured out that he was Anne-Sophie’s cousin and that she wasn’t home. I was able to tell him that I was Ron from America and asked him to tell her that I called. And that’s all I remember. I can’t remember if she ever called back. I can’t remember if I ever called her back. Soon after that our correspondence faded away. I don’t think my inflated dreams were shot to hell and I just didn’t want to face the reality that my French sucked and that I had no chance of ever meeting her and of her falling in love with me. I used to have a picture of her. She was attractive, very French, and had long brown/blondish hair. Ah, infatuation. You have to love growing up!

Later on in life I had a much more successful experience with calling France again. This time I had heard (through a friend or a magazine) that first run Magic: The Gathering cards were going to be printed in France. I called a company up, gave him my credit card number, and was able to order a bunch of cards. I think I was 24 years old at the time. I also took the opportunity to contact a friend of mine who lived in Germany, asking her to buy me some German Magic cards. And, my most impressive purchase yet, I was able to contact a person in Japan through a Magic: The Gathering newsgroup and wired him money to send me a box of first run Japanese cards. I sold the cards (except for a few) to make my money back, but I did keep (and still have) a black bordered Sengir Vampire in Japanese. Of course, to those of you who don’t care about Magic: The Gathering none of this is very impressive. But to me, I was able to communicate with someone from across the world and do a business transaction. He did not rip me off and he held true to his part of the deal. Remember, this was during a time right at the birth of the internet.

Later I signed up to use MOTL (Magic Online Trading League) and proceeded to trade with people from all around the world. I’ve traded cards with people from South America, Asia, Europe, and throughout North America.

But I think back before I knew about Magic: The Gathering and the internet, to a time when I only had a Commodore 64. I believe this was around 1986 or 1987. I had been interested in Amnesty International and I read about a request to send a Telex to China concerning that government hold a political prisoner. I remember spending the money to send the Telex and that I had used my computer to do it. I did not know if the Telex was ever received by the Chinese government but I remember how cool I thought it was that I could send a complaint thousands of miles away to voice my opinion about freedom.

The internet has grown since then and now we shop online, trade stuff, write, video blog, listen to TV shows, music—all sorts of stuff. Communication via the internet is taken for granted. But each time I hear someone respond to a post of mine in a forum or read an e-mail of mine on a podcast, I remember all those times from back in the ‘80s when all of this was novel. And in only 20 years, I’m so impressed with how far we’ve come (and in how much I’ve learned). So if you’ve not done it yet, send some feedback to a podcast you’ve listened to (or at least listen to a podcast!) or right something in the forums. Celebrate your freedom and enjoy.