Malex's Blog - The Blogging of the Doomed

Exciting Milestone!

Malex — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:05:26 +0000

Hey all, it's taken about three years, but I am pleased to finally report that the code for the new site is complete! Here are some highlights of what you can expect from the new site when it goes live:

By the way

Malex — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:42:27 +0000

As we go into the Spring hiatus, I'm hoping to blog most of what I do on here. It's not going to be long or complicated, and I won't be posting these updates to the front page. You'll have to actually check my blog or recent posts to see them. (Unless it's a major announcement, of course, then I'll post it to the front page.)

Anyway, this day has been full of stuff so far. Mostly, I got my desktop compy up and running again. His name is Elbmin, and he has a dual-core processor now. Say hi to the good Malex Medianites, Elbmin! (He's shy.)

Also, I bought a new pen to replace my favorite pen. It was my very favorite pen, and I bought a brand-new pen exactly like it.

The new site is still coming along very, very well. You guys are going to freak out when you see it. (For better or for worse...)

ttyl!

--Alex

Gah!~

Malex — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:04:56 +0000

My computer at the apartment doubles as a backup server for the MMN. To that end, it has a large-ish RAID5 set for storing all the data we produce.

That is the good news. The bad news is that I have a failed drive and I urgently need to rebuild the RAID set, scrapping whatever silly plans for productive work I had this evening.

Blargh.

--Alex

Spring Hiatus!

Malex — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:37:11 +0000

Hey all! Just a quick note to remind you all that the Spring Hiatus is now upon us. Malex Minute and Contradictionary are now both suspended until the Summer.

But not to fret! We're already quite busy over here making great new stuff and getting ready for the Summer Launch Party! There will be a lot of activity as we gear up for the summer, so stay tuned!

As we move into a whole quarter of irregular updates, be sure to subscribe to our mailling list and/or follow us on Twitter to make sure you don't miss a thing!

Thanks, and have a great day!

--Alex Markley

Going Dark

Malex — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:44:24 +0000

Hey all, not to alarm you, but if all goes according to plan, MalexMedia.Net® will be going offline for a little while next month. (That would be March. (In case you were wondering.))

I'm not sure when yet, or exactly for how long, but this downtime will be necessary for us to move everything to the new servers and start all of the transitioning we're planning on doing during the Spring hiatus.

I'll announce more when I know more. For now, have a great day!

ttyl!

--Alex

Filming Stuff

Malex — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:50:52 +0000

When one is producing a video show, one is invariably forced to adopt a process which involves producing video of one sort or another. Upon this much, I expect, we can all agree. The large questions come into play when one is considering the quantity, the quality, and the… nature, of the video one wishes to produce.

In the past two days, I have been experimenting with the “pain = quality” method. And, if my wheezing, trembling shell of a body is any indication, we have achieved a high standard of quality indeed.

In the past two days I have impacted a wider variety of objects, at substantially higher velocities, than I had done over the entire prior year. Since my lifestyle does not generally revolve around impacting objects at high rates of speed, I grant that this is not necessarily a high claim. However, the results on the film are evidence enough of the passion with which I am pursuing my craft.

You will be forced to see, with your eyes, when the work is complete. And you will laugh. Just remember that even after your cheap, hollow laughter fades, my injuries will remain.

ttyl!

--Alex

Summer Launch Party

Malex — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:40:31 +0000

Hey everybody! Read my other blog entry first! In that blog entry, I mention a MASSIVE party that I'd like to throw. This is the blog entry where we talk about that party.

Read this! You won't regret it!

Malex — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:04:18 +0000

Hey all! It's been a while (Ten weeks, three days, twenty-two hours, twenty-seven minutes, and forty-four seconds, to be precise.) since my last blog entry, and it's been almost a month since the turn of the year, so I figure it's high time for a blog entry updating you on current statusy things.

As you know, we're taking a break from the Malex Minute and from Contradictionary this spring. As of a week or so ago, writing for Malex Minute Quarter Sixteen was complete. We've already had a bunch of great recording sessions, and the last recording session for Malex Minute Quarter Sixteen is scheduled for next month. Production on Contradictionary is also finishing up, with Peter doing an incredible job balancing all of his miscellaneous responsibilities here with a full time school schedule.

So the hiatus is upon us. But that's not where things end! Keep reading…

Malex Minute Quarter Sixteen!

Malex — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:36:34 +0000

Hey all! I just thought you'd be interested to know that I've finished outlining Malex Minute Quarter Sixteen. This is significant, because not only does Quarter Sixteen represent four full years of weekly Malex Minute production, it is also the last chapter in the story arc which has been going on for over six months now.

We're accelerating the pace of production on Malex Minute Quarter Sixteen as quickly as humanly possible to make way for some other, far more exciting stuff. If all goes according to our fondest wishes, we'll be finished producing Malex Minute Quarter Sixteen by the end of this year! (How exciting is that?!)

Anyway, please continue to stay tuned for an announcement in the next two weeks or so that will affect all listeners of the Malex Minute.

ttyl!

--Alex

Life is a Joy

Malex — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:55:45 +0000

I had a wonderful birthday this past Thursday. Not only did seemingly dozens of my favorite people wish me glad tidings via the telephone and Facebook, but two of my best friends ever just happened to be in town (in Cleveland!) to celebrate my birthday with me! I grew up with these guys, and they're really more like brothers than friends. They're both in the military, and they've been posted far, far away for a long time, so for them to just happen to be in town was a better birthday surprise than I could have ever thought to ask for.

As December approaches, I'm forced to reflect on the close of my first year living alone in Cleveland. For me, this year has marked new heights of independence, new heights of responsibility, new heights of love, new heights of brokenheartedness, and a jumble of other things which will certainly take me decades to get sorted. All in all, despite the extremes, I am still forced to conclude that life is a joy, and something which should never be taken for granted.

I know it doesn't seem like a lot has been going on with the site lately, what with us only having three new comedy features every week and all, but believe you me… stuff is afoot! In fact, I have an announcement I'm going to be making in the next two weeks or so which may not, at first, sound like very good news to all of you people out there. This announcement will affect all fans of the Malex Minute, and everyone who hangs out on the site in general, so you'll want to look out for it in two weeks.

ttyl!

--Alex Markley

Long Days

Malex — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:37:56 +0000

First, I must apologize. Earlier this year I made certain claims of having certain things ready to launch before certain, passed, deadlines. Those certain, passed, deadlines have, in fact, passed, and for that I am sorry.

The fact of the matter is that I have been very busy. And while everybody makes claims of being very busy, I am actually very busy - by any reasonable metric.

For my day job, I am a system administrator (among other things) for a consulting firm. This means that I am a consultant, which means that a baseline of effort for a quiet week hovers around 45 hours. My day job can easily exceed this.

In addition to this, I am involved in running a ministry at church for the Middle School peoples. This is not a negligible effort, as it includes 2.5-3 hours of participation on Tuesday, teaching a 1.5 hour class on Sunday mornings, and at least an hour of preparation for that class some time the previous week.

Whatever scraps of my time are left are usually divided up between leisure for my sanity, chores associated with being alive, and the Malex Media Network.™ This means that I have barely enough time to write a new Malex Minute episode every week, let alone finish the web site or create a new show.

The situation might seem hopeless, but I am experimenting with a solution: The “Everyman” Polyphasic Sleep Cycle. Or, more simply, long days.

As I write this, it is three in the morning on Saturday. I have finished sleeping for the night. I am sitting in Waffle House, and have just finished an early breakfast. I will write for the next four hours or so, followed by a twenty minute nap and breakfast again. I will then handle the rest of the day as it comes.

Unless I oversleep somewhere, I will only end up sleeping a total of four hours today, and I will do the same tomorrow.

As a side-note, I find that Waffle House is substantially busier than I would have initially expected. It is full of mildly-rowdy, costumed folk. Of course it is the evening of the Friday before Halloween, and the bars have all just closed. Having just woken up, I would venture to call this “Saturday,” not “Friday Night,” but I would wager that this entire room full of people would disagree... But that is alright; my computer clock agrees with me, and that is all that matters.

I will now proceed with finishing up the next batch of Malex Minute episodes. Feel free to archive the resulting, sleep-deprivation-induced drivel. I'm sure the scientific establishment of future generations will be very intrigued.

And I'll have to post another blog entry updating you all on my progress with this new sleep cycle later. So far it's been great fun, but I'm guessing I'll be approaching zombiehood sooner than later. We'll see.

ttyl!

--Alex

He Gives and Takes Away

Malex — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:30:36 +0000

I made a big deal out of praising God publicly for my joy - shouting from this digital age's equivalant of a rooftop of the goodness of God in giving me what I thought I wanted.

What I didn't realize at the time was how short a time it was going to last. In six months, it was gone. But does that change my position? Does it change my attitude of praise?

Of course I am crushed. But this broken, bleeding heart will still praise the Lord. These shattered bones will still kneel at and cling to his feet.

God is still good. God is still love. Though it may be a bitter pill, I will remain thankful to him. He could remove everything I cherish from me and I would still remain indebted to him.

So if I made a big deal out of praising God for giving, I will make an even bigger deal about praising him for taking away. My main purpose here is to glorify and enjoy God! Not the gifts that he gives! If he strips away the things that distract me from him - gadgets, television, food, love, family, and even my very flesh - shouldn't I be grateful for his intervention to bring me closer to himself? His goodness shines through even in the starkest of misfortunes. If I didn't see or testify to that truth, I would need to seriously rethink my faith.

So I praise God that he has set me aside for himself. And when you're going through your next firy trial, you should too.

ttyl

--Alex

Alex's Priorities Are Probably Wrong

Malex — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:07:24 +0000

I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine on Thursday, and he pointed out a few apparent flaws in my reasoning.

First, you should know that I've been sleeping on an army cot for years now, instead of a real bed. I don't say this to complain, just as a statement. Second, I purchased a queen-sized mattress for a Bucking Sailboat stunt the other week. I thought it would be nice to have a modicum of protection when falling from great heights, and also thought it would be nice to have something other than my couch to offer guests.

My friend, concerned I may have hit my head in a recent fall, asked if I had started sleeping on the mattress now that I had it.

"No," I informed him, "the mattress is propped up against the dining room wall. I'm still sleeping on my cot."

Confused, he inquired as to the reason for this.

"Well," I pondered, "I suppose that's because it's been very hot lately, and the mattress won't fit in the room with the window air conditioner."

Like a hunter after his prey, my friend chased my line of reasoning. "Why don't you just move the air conditioner, Alex?"

Cornered, I had to confess, "The air conditioner really isn't for me. It's to keep my computer cool."

My friend nodded gravely. "So you bought a brand new mattress just for a stunt? And you run an air conditioner chiefly for your computer?"

"Yes, that's it," I confirmed. "Really, when you get right down to it, my comfort never comes first."

"Alex," my friend began gently, "that's stupid."

Perhaps my reasoning is flawed… But it makes so much sense to me! What do you think?

ttyl

--Alex

Hilarious Pic

Malex — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:05:05 +0000

A friend ran across this, and I found it to be absolutely hilarious.

Enjoy!

--Alex

On With the Show

Malex — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:13:21 +0000

So, I don't normally like sharing details about upcoming releases, but I'm so excited about this one I can hardly contain myself!

Filming commenced on Thursday, for a few hours in the evening, followed by a full day of filming on Saturday.

So far our shenanigans have involved falling off a building, getting beat in the face with a stick, witty repartee, silly accents, boats, trains, banshees, and the police. (No, I am not making any of this up.)

It will, of course, be a couple of months before all this magic makes its way to your screen, but we are shooting for a mid-fall launch. And yes, this is the same show hinted at previously - finally out of development and into production.

I'll have more for you, including a trailer, soon.

ttyl!

--Alex