I’ve never read Harry Potter. You can change that.

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Caleb J. Ross in Video | Leave a comment

Click the image above to watch the video

So, you say you love Harry Potter and that everyone should read it? Now is your chance to put your money where you mouth is.

Every year I help raise money for a foundation called The March of Dimes. My child, who you can see hilariously featured a few videos from my daily vlog channel (linked above) was born about 5 weeks early, and so benefited greatly from the research and advances in care for premature infants, which is what March of Dimes does.

Normally, I just beg friends and susceptible strangers for donations. This year I wanted to do something different.

For every 2 dollars I receive in donations, I will read 1 page of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. At the end of each week, I will tally the donations, read the appropriate number of pages, and then record a video where I will offer my thoughts on the book so far.

If I don’t receive enough donations for The March of Dimes to read all 309-ish pages (that’s about $618, depending on the edition I read) then I won’t finish the book…ever. I’m not kidding. So, it’s in your hands Potter fans.

To donate, simply go to http://cjrlit.com/potterbaby, all lowercase to donate. Any amount of money helps.

Also, if you put your youtube channel name in the message box when you donate then I will mention you and your channel in my final Thank You video after APRIL 28th.

The deadline for donations is APRIL 28th!

Please, share this video. It’s the only donation drive of its kind that I’m aware of.

Donate now by clicking here

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Pablo D’Stair’s 2007 book about a cat is being reissued

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Caleb J. Ross in Other Writers | 1 Comment

I’m always eager to promote Pablo D’Stair’s work. It’s my kind of stuff. So of course I’m going to let everyone know that his novel, Candour, is being re-released with a fancy new cover from Goodloe Byron.

About Candour:

An unnamed man suddenly begins succumbing to the horrors of a nightmarish disease. Secluding himself in his apartment rooms, his only companion is his cat, Alastair Cello, who he determines to keep unaware of his impending death.

BUY IT HERE – a hardcopy straight from the printer is 47% off list price ($4.24, down from $10) by entering the following DISCOUNT CODE: SSZ8VB6L

re-release-candour-front

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LIVE stream of the ManArchy Loves Perfect Edge Books and Lazy Fascist Press reading in Boston, MA

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Caleb J. Ross in Events, Video | Leave a comment

Watch the ManArchy Loves Perfect Edge Books and Lazy Fascist Press reading from the International Poster Gallery LIVE right here on March 7th, from 6-8pm (EST).

NOTE: If the video below shows an error, or looks to be not working, please have patience. I have scheduled this post to go live at 6:00 EST, but the reading may not start exactly on time.

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Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling 2 – Fun for the writer does not equate fun for the audience

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Caleb J. Ross in Mind Effed, Video | Leave a comment

Click the image above to watch the video

Yes, I am going to make a video for each of the Pixar’s 22 Rules for Storytelling. Be sure to subscribe to this channel to not miss any of the forthcoming videos. I plan to release one/week.

Rule #2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

Simply put, you are not your audience. Yes, you are a member of your audience, but an audience of one does not a paycheck make. As a storyteller, you’ve got to 1) know your audience and 2) be willing to make that audience happy. Even if that means making poop jokes for 3 minutes, which is what I do in this video, as much as it disgusts me.

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I’ll be in Boston on March 7th, 2013 at the International Poster Gallery

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Caleb J. Ross in Events, Manarchy Magazine | 1 Comment

Myself, along with Phil Jourdan, Michael Paul Gonzalez, Ben Loory, Cameron Pierce, and Kirsten Pierce will be reading at the famous International Poster Gallery on March 7th. You should be there. Seriously. I anticipate it will be quite the event. Read all about it at the Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/340073609438138/

Even cooler, you can embed the live stream on your blog or website. In fact, I would love you if you did. Simply paste either of the follow two code options to your website (it’s exactly the same as embedding any other YouTube video). Note that until the event goes live 6:00 EST on March 7th the video will probably give you an error or something. But once I click the broadcast button, the world will rejoice.

iFrame:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a4F7ngMBDhk?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Old embed code:

<object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a4F7ngMBDhk?hl=en_US&amp;version=3&amp;rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a4F7ngMBDhk?hl=en_US&amp;version=3&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

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I’ve never read Harry Potter. You can change that.