For those of you who have signed into your account, you may have noticed a new messaging service. It’s our own internal communication system, and with it, I’ll be sharing all kinds of updates, as well as sending your secret codes for achievement via this service. So stay tuned, and if you have any questions, email me! All you need to do is check your inbox, and the rest should be easy.
Category Archives: Status Updates
New Format, New Design
After announcing that I was delaying the book, I recognized my failure in opening the lines of communication with the people who matter most in this whole project: the fans. What better way to do this than through a personal website? To be fair, I wasn’t looking forward to the thought of needing to redesign my site, especially after the hurtful loss of my art-book. Still, as my producer recently told me, the only way to slay the demons of self doubt is to get right back in the saddle (as soon as you stop using so many sloppy metaphors, of course).
“So where should I start?” I wondered. “Why not take an old design I really liked that never worked for TGA, tweak it until it looks different enough so no one notices, and get the most done with minimal effort?” I was even able to ‘pass the programming buck’ to a good friend, avoiding countless hours struggling to make my design work properly.
I’ve finally accepted that leaving atheism scene did not mean I’ve lost my appetite for attention-seeking. In a sense, I now feel as though without the constraints of representing ‘atheism’ in any way, shape or form, I can finally indulge in some glorious self-aggrandizing behavior without needing to worry about how it might make ‘atheism’ look bad.
Of course all of this is pretty vague, and as usual I often promise more than I can deliver. But I hope you’ve appreciated my honesty in owning up to my failures, and you still enjoy it when I try to impress the shit out of you.
Achievements: What the Hell are Those?
Hey Gang,
If you’ve been visiting the site out of curiosity, you may have noticed these ‘achievements’ on the side bar, and wondered what they are all about. Well, a little while back some of ‘The 300’ had teased at the idea of implementing a badge system, so I went ahead and installed one, and filled it up with a ton of fun categories. Many of these are unlocked via secret codes that will be sent you via email, Skype, or messenger, depending on your preferred method of communication. When you enter these codes, you’ll unlock special achievement and ‘karma’ points (not what I wanted to call them, but you work with what you have). Some of these achievements include ‘Devil’s Advocate‘ (for arguing against the prevailing opinion in a forum) , ‘Angry Monkey‘ (for having a tirade against religion), and ‘Pimp my File‘ (for filling out your profile including a funny bio). There will even be some achievements that are time sensitive, or can only be unlocked by listening to the podcast.
As time goes on, more and more of these achievements will show up, evolving as the group does. I hope you find these as fun as I do!
Book progressing along nicely.
Reply
I can’t believe it. I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. To be sure, there is still tons of work left to do, but for the first time, I feel like I can actually get through writing Bible Stories and not go insane. Keep in mind that I’m rewriting the Bible, which is not exactly the most entertaining book in the world, and it’s my job to make it something worth reading…no easy task.
I’ve started working on the second draft, although I haven’t finished every single chapter quite yet (I’m not sure if some of them will be included, like Chronicles or Psalms). Almost all of my time is being absorbed by the project, so I haven’t had time to devote to anything else. I hope all of you are excited and looking forward to my first book, and that you’ll enjoy it. With all the work I’m putting into this damn thing, you better like it!
Exciting changes afoot
Hey gang. Now, I know some of you may be wondering what the heck we’re going to do with me hanging up my podcast hat, but this new change isn’t retiring The Good Atheist: just my role as primary content producer. In a sense, I want to separate what I do professionally for money from the ‘activist’ side of what I do. The reason is that I think the work/pressure of keeping things rolling was just too much, and I’ve been finding myself with itchy legs for a little while. When I started TGA in April of 2007, the idea had been to simply attract an audience to sell a book I hoped to one day write. It was a simple idea with many strange, fascinating, and unique life experiences. Through it all, I learned it’s my passion which makes me the human being I am. My interests are huge and varied, and I want to share them all. The difference now is I want to make real money with these other loves, without losing my passion. But slowly, I’m figuring it all out.
I know all of this may be vague. I’ve produced a podcast that’s ‘on demand only’ covering some of these basics, but even without going into specifics the podcast is an hour and a half long. As you can imagine, the task of actually laying out my insanely elaborate plan is a task, but I intend on tackling it with as much passion and vigor as anything I’ve done. I trust this prospect excites you, and being a ‘300’ is something that now seems like a more exciting future.
For those of you who want to listen to the podcast, leave a comment or email me at jake@thegoodatheist.net. I’ll be outlining more details in the weeks to come as I iron them out.
Getting my ass kicked in Toronto
I’ve recently arrived in Toronto (I arrived on Sunday night), and on my first day down here, my personal trainer and friend Kui Wu has already put me through the wringer. We began by weighing me (I was around 170 lbs), and then we did some Ju jitsu to warm up. This was followed by some boxing, finally culminating in a short cross fitness routine involving push-ups, sit-ups, and shoulder exercises.
Today wasn’t super hard core, since much of it involved simply going over some fundamentals, but I’m nevertheless still tired. He’s putting me on a 4 times a week routine, so it’ll be interesting to see how well I do with that kind of training regimen.
Otherwise, things are good. The DVD completed, I’ve been focusing my efforts on the book again, which is going well. I’m writing about 1.5-2K words a day, and I’m hoping to increase that to 3K for the next few weeks. I really want to get the first draft completed as soon as possible to allow me a bit of a breather. In any case, despite still feeling sad and a little downtrodden, I’m remaining positive and doing my best to be strong and healthy.
I’ll be posting some ‘before’ pictures shortly, and when the routine is down, I hope to even film some of it for you guys and girls!
Who wants an email address?
One of the features I want to offer to the hard-core fanbase currently known as “the 300” is the ability to send emails using the @thegoodatheist.net address. This will be especially important for members who are volunteering and helping to recruit new hard-cores while we’re busy trying to expand. Obviously I don’t want to overload anyone with a useless email client if they are already happy with theirs, but I thought this might also be a fun way for patrons to feel part of the group. So, anyone who wants to have their own email address, just let me know and I’ll set it up for you pronto!
Any web developers in the house?
I’m no stranger to web development, but considering the tasks ahead of me, I recognize the fact that this site will require the assistance of members in order to work and function a little more effectively. Now, allow me to lay out what I think are some core ideas that will need to be implemented in this site if we’re to succeed:
#1: It’s got to look good. While I can do a basic design for the site, there’s no way in hell I have the time to program it. So while I can handle many of the design elements, the programming will require someone familiar with CSS.
#2: It needs to be practical. I’ve recently added forums, but I know this isn’t the ultimate solution. What would work better? Newsletters? Chat programs? Virtual environments like World of Warcraft?
#3: It needs to be accessible. An inevitable part of this thing is attracting new members to replace people who naturally come and go. Because the group also believes in transparency, how can we incorporate all of these elements into an easy to use site?
#4: It can’t be expensive. While the group has no income source, we will need to keep things cheap. That means using open source technology. What are the most effective in helping to run an organization?
If you have any thoughts, don’t hesitate to share them!
A Status Update
As many of you know, I’ve recently left Calgary after breaking it off with Carisa, and headed for the East Coast. My first destination was Montreal, where I spent the weekend hanging out with old friends, and eating a delicious home-cooked meal from my adoring mother. These familiar comforts have helped improve my mood, and I’ve slowly been able to get back to a work schedule again.
Progress on “The 300” is going well. I’ve already received tons of requests, and we haven’t even been pushing for it that hard. Hell, we don’t even have a proper name, which is why I always need to use those damn quotation marks when I talk about it. Nevertheless, I think the idea is making sense in people’s heads: it could be that finally having a good way to understand the need for their support, and the excitement of being part of a fun group was just the formula I needed to really make this thing work.
Some of The 300 are now helping me finish the DVD, and bouncing off ideas for future projects. I want to hear more of these! It’s exciting (and wonderfully distracting) to listen to all of the ideas people have to improve not only the show, but to make this group thing a lot more enjoyable. That’s what I was hoping would start to happen, and the fact it’s so soon is really exciting.