Blog

I discovered a great quote by Leo Tolstoy this week. As most readers will probably know, I am passionate about myth and fascinated by the fact that human beings have (seemingly) always told stories. One question that often arises in discussions about the meaning of a story is this: why didn’t the author write a [...] Read More...

I have been talking with some of the guys at the Emerging Media and Communications (EMAC) program at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) since this past summer, and I am happy to announce that I will be teaching a university course on internet technologies in the spring semester. I’ll post links to my [...] Read More...

I have played around in PhotoShop to edit family photographs before, combining two different takes to make one good one and making various minor tweaks. A client of mine, a professional photographer who teaches photography classes in Dallas, recently published a post on his blog about a recent project of his that required some major [...] Read More...

November is here, and today I changed my Tolkien calendar and my desktop wallpaper. I have the 2009 Tolkien calendar illustrated by Ted Nasmith, with landscapes from the First Age of Middle-earth, and I continue to use a monthly desktop wallpaper from Smashing Magazine. (The scene in the Tolkien calendar depicts the opening of the [...] Read More...

I went to see the new movie Where The Wild Things Are last night. I have loved the book since childhood, and I recently wrote an article about it for my online myth magazine: Imagination in Where The Wild Things Are. I didn’t have very high expectations for the movie, since I could not imagine [...] Read More...

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Olympic Games, particularly the Winter Games. The twenty-first Winter Olympic Games will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia in February 2010. (I grew up in the Northwest United States, an area that I absolutely love; we had thought about going to Vancouver for the Games, but decided [...] Read More...

Every fall, OU (my alma mater) plays UT in football here in Dallas as part of the state fair. My good friends Julie (a fellow OU alum) and Ryan came up from Houston to visit us for the weekend. Though we didn’t go to the game itself, we went down to the fair during it. [...] Read More...

I published the fourteenth issue of my online myth magazine Journey to the Sea this morning. This issue includes an article by my friend Jason on Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Cycle and one by me on the book Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, both typical examples of the kind of modern myth-making we [...] Read More...

My wife and I spent the evening at the Urban Street Bazaar in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas. We bought a few more art prints, these by a local artist named Pamela Michelle: we had seen her work before in a shop in the arts district. My wife also bought a couple of shirts [...] Read More...

I gave a presentation tonight at a meeting of developers and other technical users of WordPress. I talked about one of my favorite WordPress plugins, ProjectManager, showing how use it to give clients a way to edit snippets of content that don’t really make sense as pages or posts. I have created a page on [...] Read More...

My wife and I went to the Cottonwood Art Festival north of Dallas again this fall, and we bought some fantastic art prints. My wife and I have been wanting something from the “Geometrees” series by Lisa Loudermilk for more than a year now, and we decided on one this time that will work nicely [...] Read More...

October is here, and today I changed my Tolkien calendar and my desktop wallpaper. I have the 2009 Tolkien calendar illustrated by Ted Nasmith, with landscapes from the First Age of Middle-earth, and I continue to use a monthly desktop wallpaper from Smashing Magazine. (The scene in the Tolkien calendar comes from one of the [...] Read More...

Free software is great, and I use quite a bit of it. One type of software in particular that is known for having a lot of free options is the text editor. I have tried out so many free text editors, but I have never found one that feels as comfortable to use as one [...] Read More...

I wrote a guest post for WordPress Tavern discussing the benefits of a legacy supported branch for WordPress.org. Members of the WordPress development team have said that providing something like this would be too much work, but I think the benefits are substantial for the WordPress community — especially as that community continues to grow [...] Read More...

Finished Seventh Son http://r2h.me/j2ody (Book 1 in Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series) -- Might be one of the best books I've ever read. Read More...

I had the opportunity to give a presentation at the April meeting of the Dallas/Fort Worth WordPress Meetup group this weekend. Here’s the introduction: In this presentation, Randy Hoyt demonstrates the techniques, page templates, and plugins he uses to power the multiple-author functionality on Journey to the Sea, the online myth magazine he edits in WordPress. [...] Read More...

I do contract web development work for Blockbuster. After having a conversation a few weeks ago with some of my colleagues there, they invited me to contribute a post on non-linear movies to the new Blockbuster blog. Read More...

As I do every year, I have spent quite a bit of time over the last few weeks keeping up with the annual college basketball tournament known as “March Madness”. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma (OU) and have been a huge fan of Sooner athletics for the last ten years. I have [...] Read More...

The American Film Institute promotes education and recognition of excellence in film-making. Two years ago, they started a new annual festival series here in Dallas. We weren’t able to attend any screenings the first two years — our son Garrett was born at the same time as the first one, for example — but I [...] Read More...

For the last few years, I have used one version or another of the Creative MuVo to listen to music, audio books, and podcasts. After some extensive research last fall, I asked for a new MP3 player for Christmas: a red Sansa Clip made by SanDisk. It has a couple of differences that have required [...] Read More...

Through a colleague at work, I found out about a radio show here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area called “Fanboy Radio” devoted to comic books and popular culture. I shared with this colleague a link to the most recent issue of Journey to the Sea, which includes an article on Batman. After some discussions over [...] Read More...

As I mentioned back in November, last year turned out to be a much busier year of building web sites for clients than anticipated (view post). Late in the spring, I realized I needed to take my company name (“Amesbury Web”) and develop a logo, a web site, and content around it. The last step [...] Read More...

One of the most popular web sites on this internet is Flickr, an online photo-sharing site. Since almost all of the photos we take are family photos that we do not want to publish on the internet, I didn’t see the need. A year ago, however, I saw a fun video from The CommonCraft Show [...] Read More...

I graduated from the University of Oklahoma (OU) and have been a huge fan of Sooner football for the last ten years. Last night, the Sooners lost the BCS National Championship Game to the Florida Gators, 24-14. Despite the loss, this was quite an exciting season to be a Sooner fan. I have had a [...] Read More...

I have been using Google’s application called iGoogle as the home page of my browser for a couple of years now. This service provides a single page which you can customize with your email inbox, your RSS feeds, weather, bookmarks, and a whole host of other items. Having all these items on a single page [...] Read More...

This year has turned out to be a much busier year of building web sites freelance for clients than anticipated. At the end of last year I worked on a project with J. Riley Creative, a graphics design agency started by my friend Julie; I unexpectedly had the opportunity to build quite a few more [...] Read More...

I stumbled across on article back in April that discussed changing your desktop wallpaper as a source of creative inspiration. Every month since, that web site has released a selection of desktop wallpapers, and I have changing mine each month to one of these. Read More...

Back in January I tried to make the switch from a Windows computer to an Apple computer by getting a Macbook. However, I ended up resorting to a Windows laptop from Dell -- along with a new Mac Mini for testing the web sites I develop in Safari. Read More...

I have been using multiple computers for a long time now, and I have always had a difficult time keeping files synchronized across them. I’ve started using two new impressive tools that more tightly integrated with my local computer. Read More...

I have recently discovered an amazing free resource that I have been neglecting for years: the library. I used the library at the University of Oklahoma when I attended there years ago, but after graduation I assumed that I would no longer be able to access university libraries and that a public library would not [...] Read More...

A few years ago, Hasbro released a new version of Monopoly called "Monopoly Here & Now", a wonderful version with prices adjusted for inflation and including properties across the United States. I was happy to discover recently that Hasbro recently announced another new version called "Monopoly Here & Now: World Edition", with Montreal chosen as the top property. Read More...

We have spent quite a lot of time over the last two weeks watching the 2008 Summer Olympics. I found it interesting that the time difference was so great — thirteen hours between Beijing and Dallas — that we could watch a lot of the events live in prime time. We stayed up much later [...] Read More...

This past weekend, I traveled to New Britain, Connecticut for Mythcon 39, the annual conference of the Mythopoeic Society. I heard some good papers on mythopoeic literature and attended panels that provoked some good conversation on myth and fantasy. Read More...

Last summer, I re-wrote my "Song of Kaikeyi" poem using the epic meter of Milton. It was accepted for The Mythic Circle, the fiction anthology of the Mythopoeic Society: my first piece of published fiction. Read More...

I have published the second issue of Journey to the Sea. The first article is an extension of my thoughts from last summer on Satan in Paradise Lost, and the second explains the meaning of the name Journey to the Sea. Read More...

My wife and I just returned from a vacation that included three days in Seattle and a week-long cruise to Alaska. My two favorite excursions at the various ports were dog-sledding in Skagway and viewing totem poles in Ketchikan. Read More...

The culmination of a summer filled with promising comic book movies came with the release of The Dark Knight. I saw this movie opening night. Though it was by no means perfect, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Read More...

When I saw the trailer for Hellboy 2 earlier this summer, I was surprised at how good it looked. I had ignored the first Hellboy movie, but after seeing the trailer for the second one I decided to give it a try. Read More...

Halfway through the year, and I have been meeting my goal to spend more time studying myth. I am happy to announce the first issue of my new web site, an online myth magazine, which contains two articles I have written. Read More...

Earlier this month, Mozilla released Firefox 3. I’m already enjoying this new release. Mozilla also launched a new version of their web site, evolving the existing design to incorporate some of the current trends in web design. Read More...

I went to see The Incredible Hulk this weekend. I liked Iron Man a little more, but I definitely thought they were both well done. Read More...

There were a couple of articles in the June 2008 issue of Atlantic Monthly that I thought worth sharing: one on asteroids, two on the internet and the presidential race, and one claiming that college should not be everyone. Read More...

The Dallas Stars, our local NHL hockey team, made a pretty decent run this year in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Over the last month or so, I spent more time watching hockey than I had planned. Read More...

I went to see Iron Man this weekend, after hearing really good things about it. It is an excellent start to a summer that will hopefully be filled with more good comic-book movies. Read More...

We are now mostly finished with some remodeling and redecorating that have kept us busy for the month of April. We took on some big projects, but one of the things I like most is rather small: invisible bookshelves. Read More...

I have been reading Atlantic Monthly for over a year now, and each issue usually has a couple of articles that interest me. They started publishing the articles online this year, which has made it easier for me to share them with others. Read More...

I watched this video a few weeks ago, and it made quite an impression on me. It's scary to think about the incredible power advertising has over us. Read More...

I have spent considerable time over the last month watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, commonly known as "March Madness". The last two games were absolutely thrilling; congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks! Read More...

This weekend I attended WordCamp Dallas, a conference devoted to all things WordPress. The founder of WordPress gave an excellent presentation, and I also especially enjoyed the talk about the video blog GeekBrief.TV. I plan to upgrade to the new version and implement some of the new tips I picked up. Read More...

Geogre MacDonald's Phantastes contains a first-person account of a journey through Fairy Land. MacDonald explores various aspects of writing and reading fantasy throughout the book. Read More...

I have made quite a few changes to my site's structure and content to reflect my updated personal tagline (Randy Hoyt: Myth Enthusiast and Web Developer). I wanted to point one new page in particular -- Myth: A Definition. Read More...

I have launched two client web sites so far this year, using some new techniques and partnering with a new graphics design agency. Read More...

The epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest surviving piece of written literature, explores issues applicable to us today. Stephen Mitchell’s translation captures the literary value of this epic, and his introduction provides excellent analysis. Read More...

In A Short History of Myth, Karen Armstrong analyzes the role of mythology throughout six different historical periods. This book provides an excellent introduction to the study of mythology, especially its psychological and sociological aspects. Read More...

This book by Joseph Campbell about mythology and personal transformation caused me to think long and hard about my own bliss. Read More...

I enjoyed re-reading the Presocratics and Plato. My first reading of the Skeptics and the Neoplatonists was truly fascinating. Read More...

My wife and I watched Holiday Inn downtown tonight. It prompted us to resolve to watch more movies in 2008. Read More...

I bought a new Dell this fall, primarily to get a larger monitor. As I was installing software, I found two new programs that I really enjoy. Read More...

Reading: A report released this month by the N.E.A. shows that Americans spend less time reading and that reading comprehension skills are eroding. Read More...

Losing Weight: I have been eating healthy and exercising to lose weight get in shape. After three months, I'm halfway to my goal. Read More...

Four Loves: I co-taught a series of classes on C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves last month. Preparing was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed the experience. Read More...

Heroes: My wife and I finished watching all the episodes of the first season on DVD this week. We are now caught up and ready for season two. Read More...

Webmaster Jam Session: I attended my first web design conference this weekend. I had a good time and learned quite a bit. Read More...

WordPress: I started working with WordPress 2.x at the beginning of the year. It has become a great tool for managing traditional, non-blog web sites. Read More...

Lord of the Rings on DVD: I finished watching all the special features this week. The amount of effort put into these films truly amazes me! Read More...

Paradise Lost Study: I have been studying this work by John Milton for a few months now, and it has provided much insight into epic poetry. Read More...

Ancient Art: Between traveling to London and New York for work and living in Dallas, I've seen a few incredible exhibits over the past few weeks. Read More...

Castles: We saw many different castles around London during our vacation, including Old Sarum, Dover Castle, and Windsor Castle. Read More...

"Oxbridge": My wife, baby, and I took a vacation to London. We spent one day at Oxford and Cambridge, both connected to my favorite authors. Read More...

Transformers: Like any other '80s kid, I couldn't wait for the Transformers movie. It was an impressive adaptation of an animated series. Read More...

Dancing with the Stars: My grandma is a big fan of the television show. For her birthday, I took her to the tour performance here in Dallas. Read More...

Spacey on Broadway: When I was in New York on business this week, I went to see a play starring Kevin Spacey -- one of my favorite movie actors. Read More...

Players Reject Card Design: A new card face was designed for this year's WSOP, but the players rejected it and the cards had to be replaced. Read More...

I finished C.S. Lewis' Magician's Nephew (volume 6 of his Chronicles of Narnia) this week. Reading this at the same time as Paradise Lost was enlightening. Read More...

I saw this movie on opening day at midnight. I am a fan of good comic to movie adaptions, and I have enjoyed all three in this series. IMDb » Read More...

Classical Music at Rush Hour: The Washington Post detailed what happened when a master violinist played at a Metro Station during rush. Read story » Read More...

New Baby: My wife and I had our first baby, a son named Garrett. He was a healthy 8lbs 3oz in weight and 20 inches long. Read More...

This is a surprisingly interesting article about how an amateur player got the highest Scrabble score to date. Read More » Read More...

This thoughtful article explains why schools should teach strategic computer skills instead of just what can be found in manuals. Read More Read More...

My wife and I watched the Oscars this year at an “Oscar Night America” party in Dallas, sponsored by the Academy. More » Read More...

I use Google Apps to power the email, chat, and calendar at randyhoyt.com. Today the service expands and moves out of beta. Google Blog » Read More...

This brilliant movie, easily my favorite of 2006, reminds me of the importance of fantasy and wonder for children and adults. IMDb » Read More...

Moonlight and Magnolias: We saw this hilarious play, inspired by the Gone With The Wind screenplay, at Dallas Theater Center. Read More...

The Winter Olypmics in Vancouver, B.C., in 2010 are now three years away. My wife and I are hoping to attend. Press Release » Read More...

Jersey Boys: When I was in New York last week for work, I had a chance to see the musical Jersey Boys on Broadway. Read More...

I have spent much of my free time over the last couple of weeks watching the Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. Read More...

I spent last week in Connecticut for work. Read More...

With my job, I have been working on a number of custom enhancements to our software for a single client since the beginning of the summer. For some of the projects I have been a business analyst, and for one project in particular I have been a developer. Training is not typically part of my [...] Read More...

My wife and I went to the Austin/San Antonio area last weekend to spend Easter with her family. Some of the NCAA college basketball tournament games were being held in Austin the same weekend, and we decided to get tickets to the games on Friday night. This round is called the “Sweet Sixteen”, since sixteen [...] Read More...

My wife and I first met at a summer camp, over five years ago now. We made some good friends at camp, and we have all tried to stay in touch over the years. A number of our camp friends now live in Midland and teach at the Midland Classical Academy. (One of our camp [...] Read More...

Read my research paper titled 3M’s Project to Overhaul 3M.com In the summer of 2003, I interned as a business analyst for 3M in the eBusiness group within the information technology department. It was a great opportunity for me to see first-hand how a large company manages [...] Read More...

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Current Books

• Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
• Alvin Maker 3: Prentice Alvin
• The Kalevala

Recent Movies

• Where The Wild Things Are
• Heroes, Volume 4
• Public Enemies
• Away We Go