January 2012
13 posts
Episode 30 - Setting and achieving short-term...
In this episode, writer Wendy Coneybeer, sales guy Matt Fox and Rebecca Joy’s friend Life Navigation Coach Crystal sat down to talk how to best accomplish short-term goals. These goals, defined by us as anything due in less than a month that requires 1-2 days work, tend to stack up quickly, but less in importance as they are put off. So how do you best differentiate these from other tasks...
Next meeting set for Wednesday, January 25, at...
Are you ready? We’re ready. So come join a bunch of storytellers at this week’s StorytellersAZ. We’ll be discussing how to make mundane topics or task less boring and the order of storytelling (linear, non-linear). There may also be treats, but we’re not sure if our baker will be in attendance. We’ll also discuss our ground rules for the February competition, as...
Two bad-ass bikes for sale
Cralgslist post: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/bik/2812475915.htmlWe have two bikes that are far too bad ass to be sitting in our closet. The larger one, built for someone up to 5’10”, is a 7-speed street bike that thinks it’s a mountain bike. It’s been used sparingly by a Tough-Mudder completing, 100k Tweeting, name-on-tshirt-wearing badass who just doesn’t ride...
Snow in Eastern Washington!
That’s not even a lot of snow.Got another two-three inches last night then a little freezing rain. Check out the weird drifts. IMGP0534 IMGP0535 IMGP0536 IMGP0537 IMGP0538 IMGP0539 See the full gallery on Posterous Posted via email from My Kick Ass Life | Comment »
AZ Winter
After seeing snow pictures from my siblings the past few days, I figured it was time to reveal what we’re going through in AZ.We’re suffering here, too. In this picture, you can see a few brown spots. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable those are after walking in lush green grass? Especially winter grass, which doesn’t seem as soft. FLOODING! No joke, this stuff is...
Tough Mudder AZ Start Times & Reminders (see #5)
Wonder if #5 is an AZ-only thing?WHY WOULD THEY HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE THAT? “So I’ll run a few miles, shoot off my gat, bring out the 30 aught 6 for some long-range shootin’ and then hunker down with my bow and arrow.” AZ Mudders, It’s almost time for Tough Mudder Arizona; put down your protein shake, and get ready for your Dos Equis. A few final reminders: 1. If you...
Episode 29 - The one about nothing
I’d like to say our group sat around and were as entertaining as Seinfeld, but we mostly sat around and rambled on about nothing in particular. This is one of those times that should prompt me to write out an outline ahead of time so we don’t waste our time, and any listeners, talking about stuff that doesn’t matter. But either way, this episode is about absolutely nothing. You...
Short- and long-term planning on Wednesday,...
Have you missed each other? Time to get back to full strength after a busy holiday season. Thanks to Wendy’s idea, we’ll be discussing short- and long-term planning and goal setting, along with the creation of a tracking system for us to keep each other accountable. Join us this Wednesday, January 11 from 7 to 9 pm at Gangplank. Should we livestream? Posted via email ...
Tough Mudder training
(This is my debut appearance on mykickasslife.me. While I didn’t shoot anything nor did I jump over a small root, I think I did okay)This is the training I did today, with three other guys and two girls. The pool was take-your-breath-away cold and almost made us cramp. The wheel barrel and the bear crawls were both about 40 yards.I alternated between second and third place most of the time,...
Seriously?
(I have no idea what he’s referring to) Seriously? The Jersey Turnpike? How come no one stopped me?! See the full gallery on Posterous Posted via email from My Kick Ass Life | Comment »
Wipeout
Is it me or does it look like he just fell over? I think he just fell over. Dirt bike riding seems really hard if it’s so easy to bite it.I highsided on this one. It didn’t hurt thanks to landing in the soft sand. I kind of just tucked and rolled out of it. I was surprised that this was my only fall. I got excited because I knew this would eventually happen and it finally did....
Bryan's Big Air
Watch out guys, we’re dealing with a badass here.I know it doesn’t look like much, but its the most air I’ve gotten underneath my tires. Felt like a lot more while on the bike. The bike is not made to jump so I really didn’t want to push it or me too hard. Check out my sweet editing skills. Bryan’s Air1.m4v Watch on Posterous Posted via email from...
Beverly Sand Dunes
Only my brother would send a series of pictures of JUST HIS BIKE and be super proud about it. Should I send him pictures of my shoes after long runs or my laptop after a great blog post? Wait…I think I already do that.Headed out to the sand dunes yesterday. Started riding at 8 and got done at 11. It was fun. I had the whole place to myself until 10 when five guys came in. I fell once,...
December 2011
12 posts
Year In Review – I Think I Grew Up →
Episode 27 – Finishing Is Hard
(I giggle every time I read the headline, too.) Here up in this episode Brian LaPan gets his preach on imploring those of us that have started projects, to FINISH THEM. Sarah Marques reveals she’s on a bit of a deadline to get her writing career on a monetized track and hopes to use LaPan’s advice to get that done. Debbie Walker extols the virtues of working for others, namely...
Last Meeting Of The Year
Time to wrap up 2011 with a year-end show featuring the best of our guests and listeners. Nominations will be taken until 8pm Wednesday evening, and we’ll include the best during our recording that evening. Email tyler@gangplankhq.com with your suggestions. We’ll publish that episode the first Wednesday of 2012. Or we could meet and talk about something else. See you Wednesday,...
Hay fire
I was awakened last night at 10:30 by my boss asking me if I wanted some overtime to go fix a stop sign. Being the model employee I am, I accepted. I asked where it was and he said Mattawa. Not only was it near Mattawa, it was way east and south of Mattawa. We’re talking Vernita Bridge deep. A few more miles and I’d be at Hanford. Anyways, he said that there was a hay fire in the...
Episode 26 – Portfolios
As freelancers, or anyone who wants to sell creative services, it’s tough to display your work. Whether you’re a real-estate agent looking to write for magazines and mommy blogs (Elizabeth), a poet looking to ghost write for the first time (Sarah), a full-time writer looking to get published for REAL (Tyler) or a podcast producer (Debbie)), sites like Contently are still immature, but...
The Art of Non-Conformity » Good Writing Tips →
(via Instapaper)
What kind of idiot celebrity writes a newsletter... →
Episode 25 – Contracts – get paid
Besides not getting regular paychecks, freelancers risk not being paid, period. In this episode we talk about the importance of contracts, a few tips on how to make sure you don’t get screwed and how freeing working on retainer can be. And we don’t make fun of anyone in particular all that much! As always, you can subscribe, for FREE, via iTunes. StorytellersAZ is a meetup for anyone...
The Fabulous and The Flops of NFL Week 14 - The... →
(via Instapaper)
Next meeting on Wednesday, December 14
Let’s get our storytelling support on this Wednesday, from 7-9pm at Gangplank. There are rumors of cookies. Preliminary topics are: How to establish and nurture an audience The why behind why we do what we do It’s so much fun to accessorize*! See you Wednesday. *I meant make look cool, obviously. Posted via email from StorytellersAZ | Comment » ...
Celebrity sightings
Oh, I just bumped into Justin in Leavenworth. We’re buds now. Posted via email from My Kick Ass Life | Comment »
Episode 24 – Long form versus short form
Here we talk about what kind of writing we prefer, whether longer projects (most of us are used to blogging, so 2k words was the cutoff for people like me). Most people though long-form writing would go away online. People wouldn’t have time to read it, they said. If you’re good, you’ll last anywhere. The key is to get better. As always, you can subscribe, for FREE, via iTunes....
November 2011
12 posts
Episode 23 – Do the stories we tell shape our...
Now that anyone can record and/or observe events though the lens of a digital recording device, our group wanted to know if these type of experiences were in fact harming both our lives and the stories we tell. It’s impossible to be both an observer AND participant at the same time (at least to do it well). In this episode, we discussed how the stories we tell shape the memory of our...
1000 Downloads
We hit 1000 overall downloads last week. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot compared to most established groups, but I’m very happy with it. Let’s say one half of those are ours and of that remaining half, half of those people listen to it. That’s what, 125 listens? If we made someone’s day, answered a question or just gave a few people some motivation to do...
Thanks to everyone!
[[posterous-content:pid___1]] I look forward to every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month with all of you. Thank you for sharing your time, your experience, and your failures and successes. Thank you for taking a risk and letting me publish your thoughts. Thank you to Debbie for making us all sound a little less weird. And thank you to Gangplank, specifically Jade Meskill and Derek...
Thanks to everyone!
I look forward to every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month with all of you. Thank you for sharing your time, your experience, and your failures and successes. Thank you for taking a risk and letting me publish your thoughts. Thank you to Debbie for making us all sound a little less weird. And thank you to Gangplank, specifically Jade Meskill and Derek Neighbors, for providing the...
Episode 22 – NaNoWriMo Progress, Thoughts and...
There are few greater things for a writer to complete than a novel in the time they set out to do it. Last year, I completed 50k words in one month. This year I modified my goal and didn’t hit it. But plenty of the rest of the group has made fantastic progress on their novels, regardless of what anyone else thought, said or did. Congratulations to them. I bet Elizabeth Newlin loves this...
Episode 21 – Self Promotion and ePublish Unum
Thanks to a little inspiration from Jeff Moriarty and Evo Terra’s ePublish Unum, the group discussed some of the issues that arise with self promotion, self publishing and the huge differences between the traditional models and the yet-to-be completely formed new publishing models. We all know that self promotion is an integral part of any author’s path to success, but most of us have...
My Bachelorette Party
From my sister: So we went to this club for my party and everyone there was super “hip” and way to “cool”. The club had this professional photographer walking about taking pictures of everyone. By the end of the night I found a stick on mustache and proceed to photo bomb tons of peoples pictures!!You should be proud!She is getting married this weekend. I’ve never been...
Next meeting November 16 (special time)
While we may love to talk stories and record podcasts together, heading down to Gangplank the night before Thanksgiving is far more stressful than most of us want to put up with. So let’s meet a week early this month. Same place (Gangplank) and same time (7-9pm). We may have cookies, we may have lemon bars and we may have Joe Manna. See you then! Check us out before then on iTunes. ...
Log ridin'
I have no idea why these grown men are so excited about a log.I hope they see animals next time. ______________________________ See the full gallery on Posterous Posted via email from My Kick Ass Life | Comment »
Episode 20 - NaNoWriMo Initial Impressions
Every November writers from the world over band together with a common goal: to write 50k words during November. Called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it’s less of a competition and more of a collaborative effort to encourage writers to complete 50,000 words in thirty days. Fiction is encourage, editing is frowned upon and merriment is had by all. In this episode we talk about...
StorytellersAZ meeting for 11/9
We’ll be meeting at our regular time this week, from 7-9pm at Gangplank. Topics include our first NaNoWriMo impressions and the responsibility writers/storytellers/anyone who can spin a good yarn have to the world (if any). Here’s my update: 15k words. Sold a house as a favor for a friend. Taught one kid to read, taught another right from wrong. Learned rhythmic gymnastics....
Episode 19 – How do you talk to your audience?
This episode’s topic was suggested by Brian LaPan, who wanted to know if we talked above, to or below our target audiences when telling stories. Many bloggers mix up their approaches, as being too preachy doesn’t work unless you’re a serious subject matter expert. Talking TO your audience is great and allows for a virtual connection between reader and writer. Talking below your...
October 2011
16 posts
First Day Of School at Highline Community College →
Episode 18 – Icons: What are they good for?
In this episode we chatted about icons like Steve Jobs and if they were good for creativity. As most people who idolized never met the man, it’s tough to know what everyone takes from such larger than life figures. As always, you can subscribe to us via iTunes. StorytellersAZ is a meetup for anyone who wants to tell better stories. We get together the second and fourth Wednesday of every...
Initial Occupy Impressions →
Episode 17 - Corey Nagle
Here Tyler Hurst interviews Corey Nagle, who hails from some place called “Oklahoma.” Corey is a writer, asphalt scientist and (almost) barefooter. Get every episode for free from iTunes! from StorytellersAZ http://storytellersaz.libsyn.com/episode-17-corey-nagle Posted via email from StorytellersAZ | Comment »
Episode 16 - Emo or emotional?
Here the gang talks about the benefits of emotion in writing and how much is too much. Get every episode for free from this iTunes link. from StorytellersAZ http://storytellersaz.libsyn.com/episode-16-emo-or-emotional- Posted via email from StorytellersAZ | Comment »
It's PodcampAZ 2011 time! →
Chapter 14 – Fear of starting anew →
Bridal shower
While most of the Hurst men set up hunting camp, the Hurst ladies (save for Sarah, who was likely cheering on the Sounders) went for high tea in a condo above Seattle.Tyler (the guy who writes all of these posts while passing along pictures) relaxed in the blissful 70ish degree weather in AZ. Nice hats, ladies. See the full gallery on Posterous Posted via email from My Kick Ass...
Hunting Camp pics
Just another October, setting up hunting camp. See the full gallery on Posterous Posted via email from My Kick Ass Life | Comment »
Steve Jobs, Imaginator →
Episode 15 - Inspiration
Steve Jobs passed away today. He was one of the greatest innovators of our lifetime, on par with Tesla, Einstein and Edison. His impact on the tech world, and everyone who loves beautifully designed products, will never be forgotten. Steve’s biggest goal was to make a dent in the universe. That’s inspiring. Which is also what this podcast is about, though not so eloquently. You know...
Episode 14 - Get stimulated
Here the group chats about what stimulates and inspires us to get work done. Hopefully we didn’t get too wild, but hey, who cares? If you’d like to be a part of the group, we meet every other Wednesday night at Gangplank from 7-9pm. Our next meeting is October 12, then October 26. Writers, speakers, designers and anyone who tells stories are welcome. Subscribe on iTunes. from...
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Episode 11 - All Your Fears Belong To Us
For all the whining writers do, you’d think publishing meant standing onstage reading your work aloud. Naked. What are you afraid of? Why? And why aren’t you doing anything about it? Subscribe on iTunes: http://j.mp/storytellersaz Posted via email from StorytellersAZ | Comment »