Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Answers to Your Questions Rather than put together a full post this time, I thought I’d use your questions as my guide. Soon I will put some pretty Melbourne pictures up for you guys (as well as a puppy picture or two). Korey: I have the same problem with usernames in some ways. Often I’d like to change mine, but I guess most people now know me by my real name anyway. *shrug* As for journalism, I don’t really think I’ve been a force in this area. And I don’t say that to be humble; I have not been nearly as prolific as many of my colleagues who do such a brilliant job. Still I have had some good experiences with smaller sites like N-Sider, to larger networks like IGN. And there has been a bit of magazine work in there too. I think the main thing – especially if you want to write about games or entertainment – is to a) be fairly expert in your field and b) to really love what you’re doing. Even if you’re an expert, you will always need to do research and work with others who provide research support. But the main reason I talk about loving the work is because there are a million journalists (including specialist journalists) out there and very few full-time positions. If you don’t want to spend much of your time working freelance, you will really have to consider some sort of back-up job. Having said that, it’s a rewarding field and you will have some amazing experiences. Being involved with the media is always interesting, but it’s great to be able to interview notable people and have constant contact with major publishers and such. In recent times I’ve been thinking of making a push to change jobs and go back to journalism full time, but I wouldn’t want to work freelance anymore. I’d really need to have an ongoing role at a publisher to stay in the industry. Meggido: Yeah, I enjoy visiting Sydney but I don’t know if I’d want to live there (unless I could afford to live on the North Shore, but even the top executives in my company can’t afford that! Haha) My uncle used to be fairly senior in the Department of Human Services and one of his friends only recently retired from a senior role at the Department of Justice. So I’ve had quite a bit of exposure to government departments (my current job involves working with federal government departments and agencies, actually). It’s pretty interesting. Minako: True, being in China makes you closer than being in the United States. It wouldn’t be a terribly long flight from somewhere like Hong Kong I wouldn’t think. Australia’s capital cities are all beautiful, although I personally think that Melbourne and Sydney are the most impressive. Still, Brisbane is gorgeous (I love South Bank and the Brisbane River) and I’ve heard that Perth is absolutely incredible (I’ve never been there though, bah!) Then there’s Adelaide (some amazing old sandstone buildings and miles of clean, golden beaches), Hobart, etc. I still haven’t been very far in my own country, I’ve really only been up and down the east coast (and even then, I haven’t been up toward Cape York in Queensland). master hiko: Ahh, a list of questions. Let’s see. 1) I have never met Adam. But if I ever travel to New York (or if he travels to Melbourne), I’m sure we will have lunch or something. I’ve worked with him for many years now and I can’t imagine not working with him on some level. 2) That’s a really long story. It’s probably better left to Otakupedia actually. But in short, I began writing for a site called Absolute Sega which was taken over by theOtaku.com in the year 2000. From there I worked on multiple sites, became Site Director of OB and had various roles within the network. So I’ve had a varied and fun experience here. 3) Presently I work for a major healthcare company. I am specifically involved in finance (which is ironic because I can’t stand math and accounting!) Still it’s a good company to work for and I’m happy with the input I’ve been able to have over the last couple of years. 4) As a career? No. But it’s a job and it pays well, so I’m happy with that. And working with an executive team on such a close level is a very unique and rare opportunity (especially for a company of this size). 5) Last I saw it was something like 88 words per minute. I’m not sure what it would be today. Probably faster than that, if anything. But I’m really not sure. ~_^ Joshboo: Hm, some very interesting questions. What area of OB do you feel is most in need of some love, attention and maybe even a revamp? Without doubt the area that needs most attention is the layout and design. This is something I’m dying to do, but I just don’t have some of the technical skills necessary. If Justin were back on board full-time, you’d be amazed at what I have in store. Do you normally eat Breakfast? It's the most important meal of the day! I have to admit that I don’t eat breakfast nearly as much as I should. I fit it in at times, but often I miss out. Do you believe in any conspiracy theories, or are they a purely American... thing? I don’t really believe in any conspiracy theories, but believe me, there are plenty of people around who believe in ‘em. I can think of a couple of people who have some really crazy theories. My grandparents were an example. They are seventh day adventists, but of a particularly cult-like persuasion. And as such they have all sorts of terrifying theories about how government is watching us all the time, how space flight is actually a myth and the government is lying about it…etc etc. Luckily this way of thinking did not rub off on anyone else in my family. ~_^ What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten? Hm…that’s hard to answer. I think I have pretty bland tastes. The only food that I like that others sometimes have trouble with is spicy food – but I’m not a hardcore spicy food fan. There are plenty of people who could eat things that would probably burn my head off, haha. In some restaurants in Australia you can buy kangaroo and crocodile meat. I’ve never wanted to try either and I don’t think they are terribly popular, although kangaroo is considered a delicacy (and in some places kangaroos are pests to farmers, so eating them seems a good solution at times). From what I’ve heard, kangaroo is a dark meat and has a similar texture and taste to rabbit (another meat I have not tried). Sorry to disappoint with that question, heh. Would it be in poor taste to apply for the Event Master position? Well, I did say that anyone could apply. But there wouldn’t be much point, I mean…you’ve had that position for a while and I got the impression that you sort of moved on from it. I didn’t actually think you’d be interested anymore, especially because of the commitment it requires (and I thought you had very little time these days). Still, you can apply if you want. At the very least I’d like to use that thread to gain more ideas for future events. It’s already proving useful in that sense. Darren: Yes, you should definitely post some pictures of the city. I’d be interested to learn about it. I think it’s pretty incredible that you are part of an orchestral group; I love seeing orchestral performances live. Mind you, I’ve only seen the one so far, but I loved it. And I definitely want to see more in future. As for my music interests, that’s so hard to answer. The truth is that I’m all over the place – I don’t have a favourite group or a favourite genre! If I had to spit out some groups/artists that I like, the ones that first come to mind are: Marilyn Manson, Massive Attack, Goldfrapp, Moloko, Incubus, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Juno Reactor, Leftfield, Vivaldi, Pachelbel, Audioslave, Adam Bartas, etc etc… There are just way too many to name, honestly. Haha It took me a while to get used to some Marilyn Manson tracks (like some of those on the Antichrist Superstar album) because of their harshness. However, my sister’s boyfriend listens to a lot of heavy stuff…and even Manson’s heaviest stuff is quite a lot more rhythmic and melodic than what’s out there. So I actually still think I’m a lightweight in the heavier type of music. And some of it is definitely an acquired taste.

Comments (6)