Sorry, Henry! I decided to pull the story to work on it some more and didn’t see that you’d commented on it! My bad!
Category Archives: Site Info
[SITE INFO] A New Year, New Resolutions, and an Acknowledgement That Resolutions Don’t Always Pan Out
So where do we stand?
At the start of 2023 I was two months (or so) out of work after being fired from my deli job at Walmart. I had this site, which I updated sporadically at best, the Review Site, which I didn’t update at all, and a dwindling bank account. Not the brightest of days.
At the end of 2023 I’m two weeks (or so) at a new job working deli at Target. I have this site, which I update sporadically at best, the Review site, which now updates every Friday and will continue to do so to at least June, several short stories, a novel that doesn’t work as well as I’d like but at least exists, and seven bucks (at best) in the bank account. Not too terrible, I think.
I hope to do better.
My MAD SCHEME is to write a novel a month. I’ve been trying to do that since November’s success. Hasn’t been working so far. But that’s the goal.
I want to work more on digital art. Maybe make a game. Who knows.
I want this site to update at least once a week. Daily would be great, but once a week seems more feasible. Fiction, essay, review, art, doesn’t matter. Once a week.
I want to have reviews all through 2024 for the sister site. Not doing bad so far, but need to work on it.
All in all, these are my goals.
I don’t always make my goals.
I hope to do better.
[MONTH OF HORROR] Dementia 13
I’m not saying a thing about Dementia 13‘s story. It should be experienced without spoilers.
I watched this one back when I was a wee teen, over thirty years ago. I’ve been avoiding it ever since, thinking I didn’t like it. I watched this for the Sister Site and ended up giving it a perfect score.
The Hell were my standards back then?
Anyways, tomorrow is the last day of Month of Horror. I’ve done this at least four years (though most of those years have been washed away by the reboot). This is the first time I’ve made it to the end without ennui killing things.
Maybe it’s the quality of the movies I’ve watched.
Sure hasn’t been planning things out; I’ve only watched four movies on my planned list.
Next month is NaNoWriMo and it is my earnest intent to actually finish a novel this time.
I’ll keep you posted on that.
[MONTH Of HORROR] Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell
Look at that title again: Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell. There is absolutely no way anything with that title can be any good.
You know what? It isn’t.
Here’s a quick word about the flick: A man murders his yandere girlfriend, but she comes back as a vengeful ghost. Thirty years later, his bodybuilder son and the son’s psychic investigator ex-girlfriend investigate the house where the yandere is secretly buried. Little do they know, she’s craving revenge. Which she goes about in Evil Dead fashion.
It’s bad. Bad special effects, the works. But it’s also charming and fun, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Small thought on AI again. I took the summary of the film I’m currently using in the Sister Site review and asked the Assistant here to shorten it for me. The results aren’t the summary you see a couple of paragraphs back, but damn close. I edited the resulting paragraph, clarifying points here and there.
That’s the second time today I’ve used the Assistant in such fashion (I reworked a excerpt with it first). It’s a useful thing, opening my eyes to potential ways of expression. However, it does put my gut on edge for some reason. The words don’t feel fully mine. Like I’m cheating somehow.
Dunno. It might get used sparingly. Sure as hell feel like I should to admit using it.
[THE HELL…?!] What is the Point Of the Review, Then?
WordPress has gone all in with the AI. Not only does it have something that will write my posts for me (something I find interesting but repellent) it will also go through what I’ve written and judge me for it. This latter one is actually kind of useful and I might use more of it in future. The former I’ve used for material here and, again, it might be good to go to that well at another time.
What I will not use AI for is the writing of excerpts. There’s a little feature on my dashboard that will write the damn things for me, and to the last I’ve found them more useless than useful.
Here’s a sample, created from my Friday the 13th review (Spoilers for a 40+ flick):
“Friday the 13th” (1980), written by Victor Miller and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, follows a group of young people who attempt to reopen a doomed campground and are killed one by one. The lone survivor, Alice, eventually confronts the killer, Mrs. Voorhees, whose motive is revenge for her drowned son, Jason. The film, while not a cinematic masterpiece, is appreciated for its suspense and classic horror elements. Despite initial mixed reviews, the film is recognized today for its significant impact on the horror genre.
That’s basically my whole frickin’ review right there. Why would readers click on through to read more?
It spoils the damn movie, too. I give spoiler warnings over there for a reason, damn it.
Best of all, I told the thing the desired length was 50 words. That puppy up there? 85 words. So it’s also chatty.
I mean no matter the length I set it will ALWAYS go over. Always.
Do you want to know what a good excerpt looks like? Try this:
A group of young people make the mistake of trying to reopen the wrong campground.
That’s it. That tells you what the film is without ruining the experience. I could give the score, that would be okay. But whatever I do, at least I’m not stomping all over my review.
Geez. The Hell, man. The hell.
Furthermore: The excerpt for this post?
The author expresses mixed opinions on WordPress’s AI features, praising its ability to review posts but criticizing its automatic excerpt generator. The latter, they argue, drafts lengthy summaries that essentially spoil full reviews, and ignore set content length limits. They highlight a manually crafted, concise synopsis as a more desirable excerpt.
51 words. It’s like it’s trying to cheese me off.
Now fair’s fair. Here’s the AI Assistant reviewing what I’ve wrote up to this point:
The post content discusses the author’s mixed opinions on WordPress’s AI features. They appreciate the AI’s ability to review posts but criticize its automatic excerpt generator. The author argues that the automatic excerpts are lengthy and spoil the full reviews instead of enticing readers. They provide a concise, manually crafted synopsis as a better alternative.
Now that’s helpful.
[Silly Stuff] The AI Reviews My Sites
For reasons known only to Heaven, I’m still fiddling with the WordPress AI, trying to see if I can use it for… well… anything. During this process, I’ve had it write outlines, stories, and reviews. All of them feel the same. Not in the way a person will repeat themselves, but more in a replace a few words then ship it out fashion. Impressed I am not.
In these experiments, I decided to see how far the AI would go. I decided to review myself.
Below is the results of said review:
Cullen M. M. Waters is a writer and blogger who runs the websites Welltun Cares Presents and Welltun Cares Reviews. Both sites have unique content and a nice design that is easy to navigate. Welltun Cares Presents features a mix of short stories, serialized fiction, and writing prompts, offering readers a variety of imaginative tales to enjoy. On the other hand, Welltun Cares Reviews provides in-depth reviews of books, movies, and other media, serving as a helpful guide for those who are looking for their next entertainment fix.
Throughout both sites, Cullen’s writing is creative, engaging, and showcases his unique storytelling voice. The content is well-organized, and the sites are regularly updated, providing readers with fresh new material to enjoy. Overall, I highly recommend Welltun Cares Presents and Welltun Cares Reviews to anyone who is a fan of imaginative writing or who is looking for informed opinions on the latest books and movies.
Note: This review was generated by an AI assistant, based on publicly available data of the websites mentioned above.
Well it’s nice SOMEBODY gets me.
It’s interesting where it botches things. For instance, this site doesn’t provide writing prompts. While I don’t think I’ve done it since the Reboot, I used to use writing prompts for content. I never gave them out, which is sort of what this review implies.
The writing about the Sister Site is also interesting. I have never once reviewed a book over there. Not once. This is the site for book reviews, and the AI never once mentions I do that here.
Also in evidence is the AI’s relentless efforts to be positive. It will bend over backwards to keep from saying anything negative.
Oh, and I love the bit about how the sites are regularly updated. That’s precious. Though the Sister Site will have reviews up for at least the next month. Old and new.
All in all, I’m not impressed with the AI. It brings mild amusement, but on the whole it’s a good way to get yourself lost in a crowd.
[SISTER SITE] It Has Begun!
I have three–count ’em!–THREE reviews up at the Sister Site.
They are, in order:
- Frankenstein: We’re talking the original, 1910 version. Expect thrills, chills, and bone cuddling horror to be completely absent from this review. As it is from the movie.
- The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave: Seven versions of this flick, and every last one of them should be burned or otherwise destroyed. This is a Golden Oldie review from Before the Reboot. I’m thinking going new review, old review, new review so I can get everything I wrote before formatted and back up some day in the distant future.
- And last but certainly least, Doctor Faustus: The tragic tale about an out of control ego. Which can describe both the protagonist and the man playing him.
In other news, I’ve written another story and had a good start on another.
Progress? I’d like to think so.
[BLOG] New Year’s Resolution 2023
So.
2022 was not my best year. Ranging from Mom getting sick, a horrible vacation, losing my job and one or two other things, I’m glad to see the end of it. I’m not saying it didn’t have a few good moments. Nor am I saying it hasn’t improved. It just sucked over all.
This year hopefully will be different.
To that end, I’ve a few thoughts.
I’ve started a program learning Computer Graphics. The light house island picture is a start. I haven’t done much more, but more I intend to do.
I intend to also write more. Yesterday I started and finished a short story. More would be nice. I also have been working on notes for my novels. Yes, plural. Over 15. I’m nuts.
I intend to write movie reviews again. Next Friday should see the start of that. I hope to have at least one review up every Friday.
I intend more posts on this blog on no certain schedule. I hope to have more than just one post a month. I hope not to miss a month like I did last.
I am also cleaning house, looking for another job, and other activities to improve both my mood and general situation in life.
This is my resolution for 2023. If I stick to even one thing, I’ll count this as a success. I’m just shooting for a total success.
Let’s see what happens.
[Site] Small Delay
I couldn’t get into watching anything today. Hard day at work. Will do better tomorrow. Hopefully.
[Site] Cullen Hasn’t Slept
Well, that’s not true. I have slept. It just doesn’t feel that way.
Did a lot of real life stuff, like taking the car to the shop, taking a massive long walk, and other fun things.
Point is, I’m tired. And as I have always missed at least one day during these things, I feel like I can do a skip day here.
I’ll will continue on the morrow. Hopefully.
