March Updates - OwnTags.com +

Huge news to tell you about: I've just released OwnTags.comBETA, a site where you can register a "tag" for just $1, that is any word of your choice, and advertise your site under that word forever. That's $1 for a lifetime of promotion. This is the cheapest advertising on the internet – you want to get in on this, because it may not be just $1 forever.
Disclaimer: This site is still in early banner - the search bar, and both the [back] and [next] buttons do not yet work. Users can still access all pages via the A-Z#& links on the main page and successive pages.
Who can benefit from registering a tag on OwnTags.com? Everyone can! Your business, charity, non-profit, personal website, fansite, clan page, MySpace, Facebook page – anything and everything! Resgister your name, just to say that you did. When someone searches for your name, be the one they find! Anyone can afford a one-time fee of $1.

OwnTags.com

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In writing news, I've released a new song on The Stratum! "As We Walk On By" is a British rock / dance tune inspired by the love of my life, and written in the style of artists like "The Killers".

I've also begun work on two new stories - one of which is a sequel to a much-praised 2008 story that got a lot of feedback on Faithwriters. Which story is it? Don't make me re-educate you.

MNL Sites Index

When I created my first index of sites, called "The Works of Michael N Lovdal", I had a few pages of writing, a couple fansites, and a few reviews. Today I am proud to announce the well-overdue MNL Sites Index, located at the very address that my old "The Works" page used to be. In fact, if you dig around well enough, you might even find it still collecting dust in the archives.

There are currently 42 linked sites, including both sites that I run, contribute to, or have profiles on.

Why make such an extensive index? Other than the "cool-factor" of seeing the bulk of your online presence displayed before you, I also created this index to find my sites more easily (as it's hard to keep track of 42 sites), and to raise them all up in search rankings on Google.

As always, if you would like to cross-advertise your website, blog, or profile, i'm always looking for affiliates to advertise with.

Remix Update

The first part of this new remix is now in progress! All future writing related posts will be on The Stratum, my new author's blog. Further updates will continue to be posted here at The Truthy Report until further notice.

This new blog will feature exclusive material not found anywhere else, including songs that no one else has ever seen, and even short stories!

It also marks the next step in my progress as a writer, into a more professional artist. If you have any suggestions, let's hear about them at my new writing e-mail address!

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4 of my minor blogs just bit the bullet: WiiCandy, The Tea Journal, CS3Data and TruthyTalk had a combined following smaller than O.J. Simpson's IQ.

In other news, i'm also now using tags, or "labels" as blogspot calls them, so you can check out posts by topic. Sweet, eh?

Indentity Remix

After three years of blogging about everything from life to politics, and now my personal writing, a fundamental shift is occurring. It has been both my pleasure and my pain to maintain an online presence as both a Graphic Designer and a Writer, not to mention more personal projects and such. Especially now that I have also begun to break into the internet gaming industry, my online identity has become a complex jumble of semi-related websites, blogs, profiles, et all.

To clarify my online image for potential employers, publishers, and casual readers, I am now in the process of separating, renaming, reorganizing, and creating new superior methods to get myself "out there" where my work will be seen and heard.

Specifically, what does that mean for the TruthyReport? We'll see. After three years of history, I'm reluctant to part with it, but we'll see.

In Other News...

What happens when you really want to write a story, but your mind just can't think more than a line at a time? You write an entirely different kind of story.

"In Other News..." is an experimentally formatted series of e-mail and IM exchanges that tell a story. Loosely derived from works like C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters," this story is really a one-of-a-kind for me. I hope you enjoy it! If you don't quite get the ending, don't feel bad – read it carefully. There's no mistake.

In Other News...

Christmas Thoughts

"Merry Birthday, Jesus"
A poem by: Michael N Lovdal

Merry Christmas
Christ from Mary
Christ from God
God to man
Then God again
Again we merry
Merry on Christmas
Gifts from God
Gifts to man

Happy Birthday
Jesus Christ
Christ from heaven
Christ to earth
Born on earth
Under heaven
Usher in heaven
Usher in man

Man in heaven
Man with God
God in man
God of heaven
Ever together
Ever new
Salvation
Joy
Merry Christmas to you

© 2008 Michael N Lovdal.

Michael N Lovdal Short Story Anthology 2008

Twelve months and fourteen stories later, my first-ever short story anthology is now being cyber-published on WeBook.com. The stories are being added at a rate of about one per day (currently at five), and will end when I post the fourteenth story. All these stories have been available to you for quite some time on FaithWriters.com, however they most inconventiently require that you log in in order to read them. the MNL SSA 2008 is the second of my WeBooks, the first of course being the Classica Chronicles, which is still in progress.

Would you prefer to read my stories on Faithwriters.com or WebBook.com? You can let me know by commenting on this post, or e-mailing me at cmikeff(@)gmail.com (without the parentheses).

If the MNL SSA 2008 is popular enough, it may be potentially published in the future, either through WeBook or another online publisher. Details will follow.

No Bandwidth for You...

The Truthy Report has now ditched the 'Bandwidth Test' tool from the sidebar, as it looked really ugly, and generally wasn't used very much.

If you really want a concise test of how fast your internet speed is, check out BandwidthPlace.com.

Amazon.ca Listings

A new semester is fast approaching - do you have all of your textbooks yet? Check out "thelockeshop" at Amazon.ca to see what I've listed in textbooks, CDs, movies, games, and more!

Warned

Christmas break is here, and I've already had a chance to write another story! "Warned" is the parable of a man who is giving a terrible warning of things to come.

You can check out "Warned" at my Faithwriters.com profile.

Talking Truthy

I absolutely LOVE answering people's questions. I'm not sure why, but I do. Anyway, I've created a new blog (accessible via the nav bar on the right, as always) called TruthyTalk. The name is of course based on The Truthy Report, and focuses on the concept of Q&A. You ask questions about anything, and I answer them. Whether your dog died and you need some consolation, or you're having a weird computer problem, I'd be happy to answer you or direct you to somewhere that can.
Ask your question @ TruthyTalk!

MNL on FriendFeed

Wanna stay caught up with the many updates that occur on my sites & portfolios? Now you can check out my FriendFeed, a simple list of updates as they occur.

FriendFeed currently informs you about updates to: all my blogs (including this one!), flikr, and YouTube.

It does not yet inform you about any of my writing pages or profiles, my graphic design portfolio, or my game updates. I'm looking into adding these in the future.

October Updates!

My lack of posts on here recently can be directly credited to my workload at university. It's been pretty crazy, and it's already time to submit final project proposals. (Oh my!) However, there are several updates to let you know about:

ZionData
My personal devotional & Christian learning blog just saw a lengthy post on what God's been teaching me lately.

The Tea Journal
My latest blog is off to a quiet start with a nice entry about my latest favorite tea, and a little personal backstory for you. It'll be heartwarming. :-)

Faithwriters.com
Three of my stories have exceeded 100 views! Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading my work – I love seeing that view-count go up!

[Untitled Website]
Work is now underway on a massive secret project website. More details will follow, but for now, i'll just let you wonder what I'm up to.

WiiCandy
Looking to make a few bucks from Google ads, I put up this visual blog profiling all things Nintendo! If you have any images or videos to submit, please let me know! This blog is not something I'm investing any time in, I just wanna cut a few bucks off of my university costs.

CS3Data
My Photoshop blog isn't seeing many updated anymore, as my class has moved on to projects as opposed to learning, per se. The future of this blog is up in the air at this point.

Minions of Battle
MOB is still very much in development. We've just finished with pre-hire procedures and are preparing to make another hire in the programming department. God-willing, we won't have to wait too much longer to have some visuals for you.

Speak to Me

Have you ever sat there, wondering if there was an angel watching over you? If you believe that there is, does he hear everything that you say? My latest story gently raises the question, will angels speak to us?
This story also addresses the difficult issue of God's apparent verbal silence.

Check out "Speak to Me," available at Faithwriters.com.

God bless!

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A little note on angels and gender: If you'll notice, I asked if "he" hears everything that you say. Why? Because of all the angels mentioned in the Bible, only two are spoken of by name, and both of them were "male," at least in the sense that they are referred to in the masculine. Do they have male genitalia and reproduce sexually? I would think not, being non-physical. You can think of "male" angels in the same way that you think of a "male" God. God the Father, and God the Son... even the Holy Spirit is referred to as "he," even though he lacks the physical signs of manhood (or any physical form whatever).

The "controversial" (*gasp*) survey

[01] Do you have the guts to answer these Q's and re post as The Controversial Survey?
I couldn't resist :-)

[02] Would you do meth if it was legalized?
Would you stick your finger in a power socket if it didn't have a cover? ie. "No".

[03] Abortion: for or against it?
As a former fetus, i'm against abortion. We don't like being poked, prodded, or pulled, and certainly not poisoned. Why do all bad things start with "p"?

[04] Do you think the world would fall with a female president?
The world is already fallen - false premise. Second, the anti-Christ will almost certainly be a man, so I think we can safely say that a woman can ruin the world, but not cause to fall. Men already took care of that nicely.

[05] Do you believe in the death penalty?
That sounds funny, like you're not sure whether or not it exists. Yes, I do, for extreme cases beyond a shadow of a doubt. Repeat rapists? Pedophiliac rapists? Homicidal dictators from Iraq? Yeah, i'm good with that.

[06] Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
Heck no. Prohibition for the world! If you ban the soft stuff, the harder stuff is that much less cool. Imagine – the world's anti-drug police start busting people for millions of dollars of cigarettes confiscated. How nice a world would that be? Judging by the survey, it sounds to me like the author was kinda focused on the whole drug use thing.

[07] Are you for or against premarital sex?
Against – it's a simple formula: m + f = b. If you don't want 'b', don't add m + f. God says don't do it, which should be reason enough, but from a social standpoint it's the suicide of society to have a generation of broken families.

[08] Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
There's no such thing. No matter what the bleeding hearts call it, it isn't marriage. As for same-sex civil unions, no, I don't think they should be legalized. Gay people have the EXACT same rights that the rest of us do. We are 100% equal in the eyes of the law – we all have the right to marry someone of the opposite gender, gay or straight. Isn't that comforting?

[9] Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the US?
No, you're correct – many hispanics are illegally moving to the US. lol. The solution: any US company that is caught employing illegals pays a massive fine according to their annual income, and gets a black mark for a year. The money from the fine goes towards busting other businesses. No jobs, no illegal immigration.

[10] A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
How did she get a baby? Her public education system should have told her that abstinence is cooler than preteen motherhood. OR, some son-of-a-gun made that choice for her (see #5 - Do You Believe in the Death Penalty). In any case, punish the perpetrator and not the child. Send to a relative, send for adoption, or raise with help. So many options...

[11] Should the alcohol age be lowered to 18 years old?
19 seems to work pretty well for Canada... it keeps it out of the High Schools. Wait, no, everyone drinks underage. Nevermind. o.O

[12] Should the war in Iraq be called off?
Yes – the insurgents should lay down their arms and give the West a great big group hug! Somebody sing hippie songs! It takes TWO sides to make peace, and only one to continue a war. I'm betting against a general end to combat.

[13] Assisted suicide is illegal: Do you agree?
Yes, it is illegal. Congratulations.

[14] Do you believe in spanking your children?
Absolutely not! I have no children. But if I did, and they needed it, I would spank them. I needed it, i'm sure at least one of mine will.

[15] Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
Most likely... but i'd burn a Karl Marx flag for $0.25. Funny world, ain't it?

[16] Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama?
Well, McCain would save the children and kill the Country. Obama would kill the children and possible save the country, at least financially. Tough call. Can we just change the system so it doesn't encourage power-mongerers and liberals from clamoring for power?

[17] Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
Terrified. Mortified. Stoopified – by... well, no actually. That's the beauty of Democracy – the right to say what you like, as long as it isn't politically or socially incorrect... wait, that's not what I wanted to say...

Zeefourtwo

Normally I give you a little summary of my story, tell you why you might like it, and post a link. Well, that's because i'm normally quite happy with my work. I don't write crap. You might not like it, but at least it's something.
Well, this time, I offer no flowery words to get you to read my latest work. I'm not at all happy with it, and I would just delete it if the thought of killing my own work didn't bother me so much. So, here it is. If you don't like it, please don't tell me, because I don't like it either. I think I took a good idea and completely butchered it beyond salvation. Normally I would try and fix it, but I wouldn't know where to start with this one. If by chance you do like it, I would be very interested to know why, and hopeful that it may be redeemable somehow. Who knows...

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

The Story That Killed a Thousand Men

In ancient Arabia, a furious Sultan scours his palace for a traitor. How tall is this fatal tale?

You can read the entire story here, at FaithWriters.com.

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So, a fun fact for anyone who cares. :-) I'm thinking through a concept that I have for eventually writing my first play. Will it happen? Will it even be worth reading? God alone knows...

Stay tuned.

Jason's Army

My second story of the Fall is complete! "Jason's Army" follows a young victim of extreme bullying as he works to defend himself by forging an army of children.

This was a longer work than most of what I've done recently, mostly because this story simply could not be restrained to less than 750 words (as most of my recent stories have been). "Jason's Army" is available to be viewed at FaithWriters.com. Please leave me feedback if you read this story! I like to connect with my readers. I know there are a few of you out there :-)

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You can now show your support by "Following This Blog" one the right panel on this page!

MNL Stories on FaithWriters.com

I'd just like to remind TruthyReport readers that you can view all of my stories from Summer-Fall 2008 at FaithWriters.com.

I'm very exited to see that several of my stories have been read by more than 50 people so far! They are (in order of popularity):
97 - Lady Spring
81 - Antipode Avenue
78 - Beard Brush
57 - UEF Bismark
55 - The Big Day

Presumably, "Captivo" has also received nearly 100 hits, but FaithWriters does not track readership of contest entries.

Your feedback is always appreciated. I love to receive mail regarding my stories.

TruthyReport 3.0

Version History:

v. 0.1 - basic blog & opinion site.
v. 1.0 - site upgraded with full profile, regular features.
v. 1.5 - blog now follows MNL projects.
v. 1.7 - blog now has regular features & a new layout.
v. 2.0 - blog now focuses primarily on MNL projects - rants are secondary.

What's new in this Version:

v. 3.0:
1. A new layout - archives moved down, mini-profile moved up.
2. New features - "On This Day in History" added for interest sake. There is now a bandwidth speed test at the bottom right, so you can see if your internet connection is as fast as you're paying for!
3. Google AdSense - Every time you click on an ad, it donates $0.10 to The Truthy Report, helping to fund my many MNL projects! For instance, CreationContest.org's costs can be covered if TruthyReport readers click on ads 100 times - that's just ten people clicking ten times each in a month.

Future:

More upgrades are plan for the future, as The Truthy Report continues to adapt and expand!

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ZionData has also been updated with the new layout changes, a link back to The Truthy Report, and Google AdSense.

Also, as more of a footnote to most readers than a major announcement, I have introduced a new blog called CS3Data which will share with readers the many fascinating things that I discover in Adobe CS3 Programs, primarily Adobe Photoshop.