Matthew // Normal Happenings4 Comments

Nice Job Badges for September 14; and, A Guide to Making the Most Boring Game Show Ever

It’s been about three weeks since the last set of Nice Job Badges, but all the same I’ve missed giving them out tremendously. I am veritably “stoked” to continue this optimistic tradition.

But first, let me take a…
You thought I was going to say selfie didn’t you?

But first, let me take a moment to give you a guide to creating the most boring game show ever, inspired by my very own super specific question of yore.

I’ve put a lot of thought into this, and the trick is to torment your audience with boredom. It’s easy to make an entertaining game show with all the suspense, hype, and flashiness thereunto pertaining. It’s also easy to venture into the realm of fascinating, where watching a show is a cathartic experience worthy of throwing one’s focus into.

So on the compass of interesting, you have entertaining to the north and fascinating to the south. To the west you have frustrating, where a show is so hard to watch due to incompetence it becomes painful. To the east you have inaccessible, where a show is so outlandish people are not going to want to tune in. To make a truly boring game show, you must have everything in prefect balance. Continue reading “Nice Job Badges for September 14; and, A Guide to Making the Most Boring Game Show Ever” →

Matthew // Normal Happenings4 Comments

Nice Job Badges for August 17; or, Mild Concerns about Perpetual Hiccups

Let’s talk for a second about hiccuping. On Wednesday night I had what Nikki referred to as my “one hiccup of the year.” Nikki gets the hiccups all the time, but I only periodically have one massive hiccup, and even then it’s usually very rare.

I haven’t had proper hiccups since I was about 12 years old. This leads me to having a slight paranoia that I’m somehow due for hiccups — that one day I’m going to wake up with the hiccups and they are never going to go away. That I may spend the rest of my life unpredictably hiccuping during job interviews and speeches, and I will never be able to go to sleep again.

Anyway, for irrational glimpses like this into the strange mind of Matt, you should probably follow along on Twitter. It is, if you pardon the pun, a “happening” place right now. I never thought I’d catch Twitter-itus, but my gosh it’s fun. Once they expanded the character limit and added the ability to chain together Tweets, I could finally interact properly with the rest of the community.

So yeah, Normal Happenings Twitter — I’ll meet you there. Continue reading “Nice Job Badges for August 17; or, Mild Concerns about Perpetual Hiccups” →

Matthew // Normal Happenings4 Comments

Nice Job Badges | August 3

“You know what I’m really looking forward to?
August.
I just love August.”
– said no one ever. 

Happy August everyone, the absolute most boring month of the year.

Hey, boring can be a good thing! It helps you appreciate everyday life. If everyday was a spectacle, that itself would become a source of stress and would decrease the quality of life.

Monthly musings aside, on Wednesday I plan to release a very important update on Normal Happenings. Don’t worry, it’s a really good thing that can only make this halcyon blog even better! Until then, though, I will leave you in a state of eager anticipation.

I have to say, I’ve been very impressed with people’s blogging skills lately. There was a time back in June when I feel like there was a bit of a slow spell, but for now I’m having trouble picking just five entries for Nice Job badges. But alas, it must be done.

It’s Nice Job Badge time! These are five blog links from this week that deserve a high-five and a “nice job!”

THINGS:

  • If someone makes an amazing post one week, then makes another the next, I will feature them two weeks in a row.
  • I will not typically feature the same blogger twice on one list, unless I’m really blown away.
  • The posts will all loosely be from the current seven day period.
  • They are in no particular order because they’re all great.
  • Hey, you should totally put the badge on your recognized piece with a pingback to this post!

Continue reading “Nice Job Badges | August 3” →

Matthew // Normal Happenings6 Comments

Nice Job Badges | July 27

The time has come once again to tell people what a NICE JOB they are doing!

My apologies for not doing them last week, but considering how surprisingly popular sign-ups for The Games That Define Us is, I didn’t dare do anything to mess with success! Amazingly, thanks to you all, the 30-slot main series is full, and three out of the five available DLC slots are locked in. If you want to be one of the last two bloggers to be involved in this epic collab, you should probably go sign up like five minutes ago.

With that out of the way, it’s Nice Job Badge time! These are five blog links from this week that deserve a high-five and a “nice job!”

THINGS:

  • If someone makes an amazing post one week, then makes another the next, I will feature them two weeks in a row.
  • I will not typically feature the same blogger twice on one list, unless I’m really blown away.
  • The posts will all loosely be from the current seven day period.
  • They are in no particular order because they’re all great.
  • Hey, you should totally put the badge on your recognized piece with a pingback to this post!

Continue reading “Nice Job Badges | July 27” →

Matthew // Normal Happenings7 Comments

Nice Job Badges for July 13 + Hyrule Collab Follow-up

Friday! If you’d like to know my day of the week rankings if they were metaphors for real-life people, here they are:

  1. Saturday
  2. Friday
  3. Sunday
  4. Wednesday
  5. Thursday
  6. Monday
  7. Tuesday

Monday and I get along okay, though I’d never go out to coffee with Monday. But Tuesday is inevitably, necessarily, evil. I’m convinced Tuesday would murder me in my sleep if given the opportunity. But you’re not here to talk about anthropomorphized days of the week! You’re here to talk about the awesome thing that happened a couple days ago. You know, the Zelda thing!

I’m just blown away! Hyrule: See the Sights! Hear the Sounds! has absolutely been a success, garnering lots of great praise in the form of comments and tweets. People seem to really enjoy the art, personal stories, and particularly the music.

I briefly considered “DLC” for the Hyrule post, where people who didn’t know about it could submit stories of their own and I’d make them individual posts in the same style. However, I think I’ll hold off on that in case I ever want to put together a Hyrule: See the Sights, Hear the Sounds Again! Quality over quantity is always the correct course of action.

You should know that I have a nearly completed plan for another interesting collaboration, in the works. I intend to announce full plans for it sometime next week, though I want to give Hyrule contributors first dibs. It took precisely three months (April 11 – July 11) from planning to completion of this one, so I would expect an October release date for the next one. More information to follow.

Anyway, it’s Nice Job Badge time! These are five blog links from this week that deserve a high-five and a “nice job!”

THINGS:

  • If someone makes an amazing post one week, then makes another the next, I will feature them two weeks in a row.
  • I will not typically feature the same blogger twice on one list, unless I’m really blown away.
  • The posts will all loosely be from the current seven day period.
  • They are in no particular order because they’re all great.
  • Hey, you should totally put the badge on your recognized piece with a pingback to this post!

Continue reading “Nice Job Badges for July 13 + Hyrule Collab Follow-up” →

Matthew // Normal Happenings9 Comments

Nice Job Badges! | July 6

Happy Friday, or as my wife so affectionately calls it, Friyay! Let’s get back on track with this week’s Nice Job Badges, of which we have a typically excellent variety.

But first, let me take a selfie… err, moment to talk about this super cool Hyrule Collaboration Blog that’s coming up on Wednesday! Namely, that I’m so happy with all the wonderful contributions I’ve gotten from these amazing bloggers. I’m getting the last batch of contributions over the weekend, and then it’ll be a long few days of intense design and editing.

So, again, Hyrule: See the sights! Hear the Sounds! will be released on Wednesday, July 11 at 10:00 A.M. EST! That’s approximately 3:00 P.M. for my U.K. audience! From more info, you can check out this post. You should also be sure to follow the amazing contributors listed at the end of this post.

Anyway, let’s get on with it — Nice Job Badge time! These are five blog links from this week that deserve a high-five and a “nice job!”

THINGS:

  • If someone makes an amazing post one week, then makes another the next, I will feature them two weeks in a row.
  • I will not typically feature the same blogger twice on one list, unless I’m really blown away.
  • The posts will all loosely be from the current seven day period.
  • They are in no particular order because they’re all great.
  • Hey, you should totally put the badge on your recognized piece with a pingback to this post!

Continue reading “Nice Job Badges! | July 6” →

Matthew // Normal Happenings10 Comments

Nice Job Badges! | June 29

It’s Friday, June–

Wait, it’s not Friday, June 29? What do you mean it’s Monday?

Fine, point taken, but you try reading every blog post in your WordPress reader during a week that involved both moving and a 1,200 mile (1,930 km) road trip! Essentially, it has been the busiest week ever. Therefore, I’ll be posting the new section of Dysontopia tomorrow instead of today.

Anyway, despite it being a Monday, it’s time for Nice Job Badges! These are five blog links this week that deserve a high-five and a “nice job!”

THINGS:

  • If someone makes an amazing post one week, then makes another the next, I will feature them two weeks in a row.
  • I will not typically feature the same blogger twice on one list, unless I’m really blown away.
  • The posts will all loosely be from the current seven day period.
  • They are in no particular order because they’re all great.
  • Hey, you should totally put the badge on your recognized piece with a pingback to this post!

Continue reading “Nice Job Badges! | June 29” →

Matthew // Normal Happenings7 Comments

Nice Job Badges! | June 22

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for Nice Job Badges! After a two-week hiatus, this feature is back and here to stay! It just needed a few tweaks, because I figure if people are going to start putting these on their posts, they need to look suitably sleek. That’s why I’ve employed bartered with superhero graphic designer Megan @ A Geeky Gal to make a set of Nice Job Badges that look like, well, actual badges! And they are gorgeous. Seriously though, she’s talented — go over there and get her to make you stuff!

As usual, each Friday I’ll pick out five new blog posts posted within the span of that week!

CHANGES:

  • Five new, distinct designs!
  • Out with the colors. Black matches everything.
  • I’m no longer issuing a top gold badge. It’s stressful enough picking just five posts.
  • I follow a few Blogger blogs. I may start awarding badges to other platforms besides WordPress.

THINGS:

  • If someone makes an amazing post one week, then makes another the next, I will feature them two weeks in a row.
  • I will not typically feature the same blogger twice on one list, unless I’m really blown away.
  • The posts will all loosely be from the current seven day period.
  • They are in no particular order because they’re all great.
  • Hey, you could totally put the badge on your recognized piece with a pingback to this post!

Continue reading “Nice Job Badges! | June 22” →

Matthew // Normal Happenings7 Comments

Nice Job Badges! | Week of June 1

It’s time to hand out this week’s highly caffeinated set of Nice Job badges! Every blogger deserves recognition for the time and effort they put into their craft. These bloggers just deserve it a little more, that’s all.

Each Friday I’ll pick out five new blog posts posted within the span of that week! Here’s some things:

THINGS:

  • If someone makes an amazing post one week, then makes another the next, I will feature them two times in a row.
  • However, I will not (typically) feature the same blogger twice on one list, unless I’m really blown away. If so, I may give six badges that week.
  • The posts will all be from the current seven day period, though posts made on Thursdays or Fridays may overlap with the next week.
  • They must be on WordPress or Jetpack-enabled platforms. I’m sorry Blogger bloggers.
  • It’s perfectly fine to put the badge on your recognized piece with a pingback to this post!
  • Now featuring a weird assortment of colors!
  • They are in no particular order because they’re all great.

Continue reading “Nice Job Badges! | Week of June 1” →

Matthew // Normal Happenings9 Comments

Nice Job Badges! | Week of May 25

It’s time to hand out this week’s colorful new set of Nice Job badges! Every blogger deserves recognition for the time and effort they put into their craft. These bloggers just deserve it a little more, that’s all.

Each Friday I’ll pick out five new blog posts posted within the span of that week! Here’s some things:

THINGS:

  • If someone makes an amazing post one week, then makes another the next, I will feature them two times in a row.
  • However, I will not (typically) feature the same blogger twice on one list, unless I’m really blown away. If so, I may give six badges that week.
  • The posts will all be from the current seven day period, though posts made on Thursdays or Fridays may overlap with the next week.
  • They must be on WordPress or Jetpack-enabled platforms. I’m sorry Blogger bloggers.
  • It’s perfectly fine to put the badge on your recognized piece with a pingback to this post!
  • Now featuring a weird assortment of colors!
  • They are in no particular order because they’re all great.

Continue reading “Nice Job Badges! | Week of May 25” →