New Year's Resolutions and McDonald's

Ah, the time for resolutions is upon us...pretty reliably every year I make a resolution involving some sort of working out and something like that. Like a majority of the American populous, by the time February something-or-other has rolled around, I've more than forgotten about my workout commitment; by this point I've started frequenting the drive-thru more than before and am already sleeping through my classes. What can I say? McDonald's is delicious. But for those couple of weeks in January I, like a large portion of the the resolution-creating masses, am dedicated to making this year THE YEAR, the one where I really do it. For those couple weeks, I'm really effective at whatever it is I've set to. And this year I'm going to use that to my advantage.

I once started eating baked chips with my lunch instead of the normal fried ones because they were "healthier." My suitemate, Kit, pointed out that unless I was planning on swapping out for those baked chips on a long-term scale, there was pretty much no point in me even trying them. Changing to baked chips for one day wouldn't have any effect on my overall health or habits. And for a couple weeks or so, I made that switch. Then Cheetos started calling my name, and, well, that was the end of that game. Moral of the story: Don't commit yourself to things you're not that interested in staying committed to. Maybe if I'd combined eating better with a workout plan, or a food journal I'd have actually accomplished something with my chip change. But the swap was just an impulsive idea I came up with when standing in line.

I think there can be a lot of power in the New Year's resolution. The beginning of a new year can be the chance for you to make that critical change you've been looking for, whether it's something like quitting smoking or working out. My recommendations:

1. Resolve to do something important and achievable. Make this the day that you do something positive for yourself, and improve yourself as a whole. At the same time, don't resolve to quit smoking cold turkey if you're going through a pack and a half a day. Be realistic and safe; resolving to cut down your smoking by a cigarette a day or something like that makes much more sense.
   
2. Keep track of your resolution. Get a calendar and check off when you successfully do whatever it is you resolve, whether you run that mile and a half or drive past the Dairy Queen without buying something.
3. Reward yourself for long-term successes. Do something that you enjoy for every couple of weeks that you keep your resolution going. Go out to a nice dinner, buy yourself the game or whatever that you've been thinking about. Give yourself an incentive to keep the trend going.
4. Take yourself seriously. Part of holding to a resolution is understand you've got the potential to do it. There will be difficult parts and times when you don't think you can carry through with it, regardless of what the goal is. That's part of commitment as a whole; staying with anything for a stretch of time will bring on stress and will likely make you want to quit at some point in time. But understand that you've got the potential to carry through it if you really set yourself to it.

My resolution? Write at least once for myself every day. Whether it's this blog or another one, fiction or whatever, I'm going to take time every day to do what's important to me. After all, it's hard to get published when you don't have anything written. ::grins::

Anyway, Happy New Year, Struck Lightning readers. Thanks for sticking around, and I'll see you in 2010.

-Josh

The Economics of Christmas

I wonder how much they're going to say the economy was "stimulated" by holiday spending. I'm not quite sure. But, truth be told, a whole lot less would be spent on the holiday if people would just wait until the day AFTER Christmas. You all know what I'm talking about: holiday price reduction sales. Now maybe you don't know that I'm an anti-holidite, but I consider myself almost legally opposed to holidays. I'm a pessimist, and I won't support the efforts of anyone or anything that tried to force me into "good will" or "cheer." Pish tosh.

Regardless, as I tramped the aisles of Wal-Mart today (three of them, in fact), I was blown away by the number of sales and price reductions. I mean, half off of all candy? Damn right I was all over it. I bought THREE Chocolate Oranges. Damned right, and just in time for my usual "I'm going to work out and lose weight" New Year's resolution. Fan-effin'-tastic. You know, there are some solid days to zero-in on...the Friday after Thanksgiving, the day after Christmas, and seemingly now EVERY weekend in between. As my economic background and empty wallet cry at me, I wonder if I could have done a little better if I'd kicked Christmas back a couple days...

Now, of course, I realize that for some of you the idea of pushing back "Christmas" to the 26th or even the 27th sounds like a blasphemy. But come on, what's the big deal? Unless you're a real big fan of the Winter Solstice, the date's completely arbitrary anyway. Jesus wasn't born on Dec. 25th and Joseph wasn't watching It's a Wonderful Life the night before. And that's all under the assumption that you even care about the religious connotations. Between the nonsense Old Navy commercials and catchy church marquee one-liners, everyone (along with their mothers) seems to want to tell you how/when to spend your Christmas.

At the end of the day, this "Christmas" thing is just about what you make it. For me, it's about hanging out with the family for a little bit and eating some food, a sort of Late Winter Thanksgiving. I could care less when it happens, and sometimes I think it'd be better for everyone if we just the gifting part of Christmas. The presents don't hurt sometimes, but I'd rather get gag gifts then go through the awkward "Wow, that was expensive but I don't really like it," or the infamous "Damn, you actually though I'd like this ______." Still, rants like this remind me of one of the best Christmas gifts I ever received: a gift-wrapped photocopy of an essay about happiness. The act of the gift itself, as well as the essay, changed me in ways I can't even describe. And that gift cost her virtually nothing. Unless it's copyrighted, in which case I hope she's already masked her identity, shredded her credit cards, and moved to a non-extradition country. Copyright infringement's a big deal, don'cha know.

So, at the end of the day, what's it matter how this whole "holiday season" is done, particularly Christmas? I know I just talked shit about those churches and commercials telling you what to do, but now I'm gonna eat my words and do it myself. If it makes you feel better, go ahead and do the whole deal on the 25th. Or, save a few bucks by buying your tree the night before and the decorations the day after. Take that extra cash and get brand-name butter for the rolls. At the end of the day, make sure that ALL your holidays, Christmas, New Years, and all the others, are spent the best way you know how to do them. If it's spending time with your family, friends, or even just finding some peace and quiet in a hotel room, make them all count. Find your own happiness, because that's the real reason for the season. It's the reason for every season.

-Josh

Don't Call It A Comeback

Another semester through, and here I am writing in this damned thing again. Why, you might ask? Because I plan on bringing Struck Lightning back next semester.

"But Josh, how many half-assed projects are you going to start up and drop off like two-year olds at the babysitter?" That's an excellent question. One with a decently complicated answer.

I attempted NaNoWriMo, the 50K word writing competition, again this year, but did far worse than last year. 7,000 words. Pathetic. But I actually showed those 7,000 words (or at least a large part of them) to friends, and I feel like that's an accomplishment on its own. Regardless of the fact that my final word count was miserable at best, there's something about taking the effort to show my work that made me take myself more seriously as a writer...and I think other people were able to take my writing more seriously as well.

Time's gone on since November, and now I've come to a bit of a turning point in my life. I've got 3 classes, an internship working for a literary journal, and my creative undergraduate thesis. A lot to handle, but the further I get into the things I care about, the more satisfied I am with life. Still, I tend to get excited about things and then burn out. That's gotta stop. I know how to start projects, but now I've gotta learn how to stick with them.

Struck Lightning's starting up as a sign to you all that I'm ready to commit, to you and to my craft. It may just run as a written blog for a bit, but the audio will come back soon. And I'm going to make it the best I can. Hope you're up for the trip.

-Josh

Kanye's Backlash

Hey all, just wanted to make a quick post before I call it quits for the night.

Thankfully, the rest of the world is citing Kanye West as a jackass egotist for last night's stunt with Taylor Swift. For those of you who need a good laugh, check out Colbert's autotuned blast of Kanye. (The first time's the only time the autotune shows up, so if that's all you're looking for, you can cut out after the first one.)

You have no idea how happy I am to see Kanye taking the heat that he is. It almost brings tears to my eyes to finally see a jackass treated like a jackass. Apparently Leno asked him the other night how he thinks his mom would have felt, had she been alive to witness the douchebaggery. Kanye had no real response, saying he needed to take time out to deal with her death. Thanks, media, for giving him the reaming he deserves.

Anyway, that's about it for the night. Look for a new episode of Struck Lightning tomorrow, everyone. Topics of the day: The Fray's concert in Champaign, IL, and Universal Health Care...look for a surprise announcement about the future of SL, too!

-Josh

Kanye's Ridiculousness

Ok, so I just posted a new podcast and found out minutes later about yet another piece of media ridiculousness that has fallen from the miraculously miserable mouth of Kanye West. (In case you don't know the story, check it out: Kanye decides to voice his opinion on Taylor Swift's reception of the award for Best Female Music Video) You know, it seems like every time a piece of his ignorance finally trickles its way out of the limelight, he goes and takes another verbal s*** on his audience and fans. And I'm not sure what bothers me more: the fact that people put up with his BS because he's a celebrity, or that there are people out there that support his BS claims.

We see it in the news every day now: Hollywood singer/actor is given an exceptionally minimal sentence for committing a horrendous crime. T.I. gets 1 year for carrying automatic weapons in his car. Chris Brown gets 5 years of probation for beating Rihanna to a pulp. Michael Vick gets his job back, but has to work for the ASPCA for running an illegal dog fighting ring and torturing/savagely killing animals. Now I'm a black man just like all of the aforementioned, but let me get caught hitting a woman or carrying AKs in the back of my car, and you know when you'll next hear from me? I don't know either, but it sure as hell wouldn't be any time soon.

Now I understand that there's a big difference between corruption in the legal system and a dumbass-of-a-rapper getting on stage at a live award show and randomly wrecking stuff. But Kanye's little outbursts aren't anything new; he busted out with all sorts of anger when he found out his performance at the VMAs back in '07 was to be in a hotel suite instead of on the mainstage. There's a mindset in our society that allows these events, so whose fault is it that these outbursts keep happening? Kanye's, or his "adoring fans"?

Don't take this the wrong way, reader; Kanye West is a grown man and should be able to assume responsibility for his decisions and words. But why have we put up with it for so long? Why do we continually buy in to the idiocy that spews from this man's mouth? Sure, he's had some great tracks and good lines, but when it comes to the man behind the artist, the kid's a jackass. And it's sad that we, as a society, not only condone, but promote his outlandish acts by sitting back and enjoying the show.

My thanks goes out to the crowd members who applauded Taylor Swift and booed Kanye after his stunt, as well as those out there in the media who are making their voices heard against Kanye's ignorance. The talented should at least have the decency to respect the others in their field who are also talented and working hard.

-Josh

Almost Time!

So, this blog's been a little...defunct lately. But it's time to get it moving! This'll be a place where I'll talk inbetween episodes. I know you can't get enough of me!

Wednesday's rolled around, and it looks like it's time to prep for another episode. This podcasting thing is complicated...there's blogging, social networking...overall trying to find ways to not sounds like a telemarketer when you try to get people to listen to the thing. It's not like it costs money or anything, but you still feel a little cheap...

Anyway, so the last radio merited a question I'll answer on-air tonight: what other podcasts do I listen to? Well, let me set you up with a few solid ones, just in case you need something to fill the gaping void in your life between episodes of ST:

This American Life: I'm a gigantic NPR fan, and this is one of the best shows they have on the station. It's a weekly compilation of stories from people all around the country based upon a centralized theme. If it's still up, one of my favorite episodes is called "Break-Up". It's kinda gut-wrenching, but it's fantastic, nevertheless. "Got You Pegged" is also a great ep; a really funny story about misjudging people.

Fresh Air: Another NPR show, this one's general news. If you don't listen to public radio, you should...I'm telling you, just listening to it in the car will change your life. Two days and I felt 34% more intelligent. That's over a third more intelligence! ::cheesy cereal-box grin::

@chad_says: A friend of mine who does video blogging on things that cross his mind, as well as posting about writing he's done. Some great stuff in there!

The New Yorker's Fiction Podcast: Well, I gotta keep up on the trends somehow. The New Yorker's fiction editor takes on authors and has them do readings of short stories. I'm a fan.

Anyway, use those to increase the gray matter! See you tonight!

-Josh

New Feature: Poetry and Short Stories

Well, in my quest to customize and tweak the format of Struck Lightning, I've decided to host a poetry and short story segment. This is a great way to get some new ears on your work! Just go on ahead and submit those poems and shorts to strucklightning@gmx.com. I'll take a couple and read them on the next episode!

Hope to hear from you soon; enjoy the storm!

-Josh Boykin, Host of Struck Lightning

The Storm's Begun

Hi all, and welcome to the Struck Lightning blog. This site's dedicated to information about the Struck Lightning podcast and its developer/host, Josh Boykin (me)! Wow, what a debut...all this new technology I've been trying to get familiar with to promote this thing is complicated. But you know, it's worthwhile...and I'm learning a lot, so that's pretty awesome.

So, some of you might be wondering...what's Struck Lightning's purpose (other than to inflate the ego of its host)? Well, I created Struck Lightning for multiple purposes...for one, I've always wanted my own radio show. So I guess this is a great way for me to do that, work on my radio hosting voice... But I've also wanted an outlet to distribute advice through, and I've always wanted to create a method for writers to get more writing experience...hence, the subject matter for Struck Lightning!

For those who haven't listenened yet, there are a few segments: Bit O' News, Bit O' Crap (irrelevant news), iPod Shuffle Experience (where I play a random song from my iTunes), Daisy Chain Story Time (listener submitted serial story, like a daisy chain of authorship!), and Ask Josh (my chance to be Ann Landers (I'm not a doctor or "qualified", so don't sue me. I'm just trying to help!). I'm really hoping that this turns out to be an interesting show!

Anyway, I hope you take the time to listen to the pilot and let me know your thoughts/suggestions. The link for the first ep of the podcast is here. Twitter-ers out there, the Twitter page is linked here. And the email address is strucklightning@gmx.com; let me know what you think!

Thanks for your time, everyone! Enjoy the storm!

-Josh