Books (and a DVD) on screenwriting

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I recently decided to write a screenplay and need some help figuring out the formatting and other technical details. It had been a few months since I had visited my local library, so I decided to drop by and check out a few books and a DVD:

  1. Aristotle’s Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets From the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization
  2. Screenwriting for Dummies
  3. Syd Field’s Screenwriting Workshop
  4. Teach Yourself Screenwriting, Third Edition
  5. Writing a Great Movie: Key Tools for Successful Screenwriting

I just got the books home; I have the books for 3 weeks and the DVD for one week. I’ll try to remember to post again if any of the resources listed above were especially helpful.

If you have any books or videos you’d recommend for an aspiring screenwriter (especially resources that cover technical details like formatting), please leave a comment with your recommendation.

A new low for craigslist job ads: From scams to sleaze

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I recently sent an e-mail to ask for additional details on a local Human Resources Support position advertised through craigslist. Here’s my initial e-mail:

Greetings,

My name is REMOVED and I am writing to request more information about the HR Support position your company advertised on craigslist.

•    What is the name of your company?
•    Where is your company located?
•    What schedule is a HR Support expected to work?

I’ve made it a personal policy to be cautious when applying for jobs listed on craigslist, so any answers you can provide are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
REMOVED

That’s the typical e-mail I send to any craigslist jobs listing poster that may be legit. It’s my safeguard against the multitude of scam posts that earned the posting site its derogatory alias “dregslist.” (Credit for the ingenious nickname goes to my wife.)

When I send that e-mail, I usually expect no response at all or a form letter completely ignoring my question and featuring a link to an online “application” instead. At that point, my suspicions are confirmed, I ignore the reply, and I move on.

This case is a bit different, though.

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craigslist users blast yTen, interview practices

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With unemployment approaching 10% in Missouri, it’s not surprising that craigslist users are starting to get aggravated with “employers” who use craigslist to perpetuate scams. I don’t know if yTen is a scam or not (there were enough red flags when I first checked the web site that I dismissed any present and future yTen postings), but 7 or 8 (I lost count) Springfield area residents were frustrated enough to voice their frustration on the cragislist jobs board.

Some of the posts were already deleted by the time I clicked on the RSS feed headlines, but I’ve re-posted 3 I was able to capture after the break.

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Port forwarding configuration for Borderlands online play

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While hosting public Borderlands games, a few people have told me they’ve had trouble hosting games that other players could join.

I opened the following ports on my router and was able to host public games:

  • 7777 (TCP, UDP)
  • 27900 (UDP)
  • 28900 (TCP)
  • 28902 (TCP, UDP)
  • 28910 (UDP)

Consult your router’s documentation for instructions on opening ports as methods will differ according to router manufacturer and interface.

Please contact before registering an account

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I’ve seen several new account registrations (many with e-mail addresses ending in .ru) with suspicious usernames. I’ve deleted all accounts with usernames I did not recognize (under the assumption that these accounts are created by spambots) in an effort to prevent unsolicited advertisements on the site.

If you are a real life human being and interested in creating an account, please use the Contact page to send me a very brief message to let me know you’re not a spambot. Even something as simple as “Yes, I’m a real human being” will suffice.

This method will still allow users to register new accounts while still keeping our user records clear of spambots. If this method doesn’t pan out, I may look at an alternative approach (though I don’t know what form that approach would take).

Fatal Frame 4 fan translation available, patches game on the fly

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Bummed that Nintendo has no plans to localize Fatal Frame 4 (Japanese title: Zero: Gesshoku no Kamen) for a US or Europe release? Be bummed no longer.

A team of translators and developers have released a fan translation patch that allows English-speaking Wii owners to play Tecmo‘s and Grasshopper Manufacture‘s critically acclaimed horror game in their own language.

What’s particularly impressive about this fan translation is that it can patch a retail copy of the game on the fly, meaning that Wii owners will not need to “softmod” their systems or venture into legal “gray areas” to play the game with English language text.

To play Fatal Frame 4 in English, you’ll need to purchase Zero: Gesshoku no Kamen from Play-Asia or another retailer, download the fan translation patch, and install the patch according to instructions available on the translation developers’ site.

Aside from being great news for English-speaking fans of the Fatal Frame series, this patch opens a host of new possibilities for fan translations. With a 100% legal method of translating in-game Japanese text to English, other popular Japan-only Wii releases could receive their own fan translations.

Kanye West, music videos, and animation

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Regardless of what you think of Kanye West, his character, or his music, it’s clear that his music videos reflect an appreciation of animation: