INTERNET UNIVERSITY    


I recently purchased a new Mac computer for writing and video editing.  Is it possible to be in love with your computer?  If not, then I'm definitely infatuated.  We bonded as soon as I lifted that new computer, monitor and slim keyboard out of that pretty white Apple box.  


It was like Christmas in September! 


All the hard work is over -- the connecting of cables, installing the software and disconnecting my poor old HP Desktop that I banged on mercilessly for five years (it contacted a nasty virus this summer and never fully recovered I'm sad to report).  We had to have the old reliable lady fully erased.  She's since been donated and has found a new home.  


After getting my new computer running, I completely updated my iPod and looked into what's going on out there in the iTunes world for writers.  Wow, a lot.  There are some amazing podcasts for screenwriters (I recommend all the Creative Screenwriting Magazine podcasts, On the Page podcast, Meet the Filmmakers podcasts (these are Apple's in-store interviews done here in New York with folks like Francis Ford Coppola, Spike Lee, Sam Mendes and many others).  Today my iPod is chuck full of fresh interviews (Oh, and I also recommend Times Talks.  It's a great podcast featuring top artists of every walk interviewed by editors from the The New York Times.  The interviews with Tom Cruise, Jane Fonda and Annie Lennox were absolute gems).  


This is all for free!  It's amazing how much helpful media is out there for us writers to consume at no charge.  We can learn a great deal through the Internet now, even from YouTube (no, not about skateboarding squirrels, but those how-to videos that experts post on any subject, even writing).  


Of course, the problem I have is finding the time to listen or watch all these podcasts, plus read magazines, read the news online and see the latest movies or TV shows.  I get most of my reading and listening done on the subway commuting back and forth from Queens into Manhattan, or standing in line at the movie theater or at the post office or working out.  


Consuming free media is a lot like doing research for my projects -- it's important to do, but it's more important to get your work done for the day and not use it to simply procrastinate.    

Today, I wrote my ten pages so now I get to go play with my new Mac (toy) for a while and then maybe watch Charlie Rose that I recorded on DVR (see what I mean, it never ends!).  


Until next time.