Lately there hasn't been a lot of action at the blogs I regularly visit. My friend and fellow blogger Bill noticed this as well and wrote his own piece on a funk he's been in with regards to writing a full blown piece for his own blog, The Kind of Face You Hate. There are times when I think I might as well throw in the towel myself as I wonder what in the hell is there left to write about. But then I remember how much I've learned about movies since I started blogging. Before starting up Cinema Styles I was the guy who had all the info on movies if you needed it. After blogging for a year or two I felt like a rank amateur, but an eager one ready and willing to learn more every day from my fellow cinephiles online. Here's why cinephilia matters to me:
*I learned there's so much more to Tarkovsky than Solaris.
*I discovered Pinky Violence whereas I never knew it even existed before.
*I learned there's so much more to Godard than Breathless.
*I discovered there's a whole niche for Thai horror films.
*I learned there's so much more to Truffaut than The 400 Blows.
*I actually got to read a review for The Fireman's Ball (d. Milos Forman, 1967).
*I learned there's so much more to Dreyer than The Passion of Joan of Arc.
*I discovered a whole new world of Polish film posters.
*I learned there's so much more to Lang than M.
*I have engaged in vehement disagreements over what I previously thought were well established and accepted historical judgments.
*I learned there's so much more to Kurosawa than The Seven Samurai.
*I discovered other people hated CGI as much as I did and that yet others loved it and both sides had passionate arguments to make.
*I learned there's so much more to Bresson than Au hasard Balthazar.
*I discovered that not only wasn't I the only one who had seen and loved Michael Powell's The Edge of the World but that many others had long since "discovered" him beyond The Red Shoes.
*I learned there's so much more to Fellini than 8 1/2.
*I discovered that my belief that I was one of the few people out there who loved classic film from the thirties over most other film was not only wrong, but horribly, painfully and laughably wrong.
*I learned there's so much more to Renoir than La Règle du Jeu.
*I discovered other people have favorite bit players and character actors and the fact that I knew the work of Gail Patrick turned out to be not that impressive.
*I learned there's so much more to Eisenstein than Battleship Potemkin.
*I discovered that there is a whole microverse of aficionados of film out there who can agree half the time, disagree the other half and still acknowledge the love of cinema that nests in every argument and every consensus. And without that, without getting involved in blogging, I'd still be talking to people who think the nineties represents the golden age of cinema.
So there's a quick twenty from me but believe me I could provide dozens more. I've always sworn off memes around here but I'd like to know what my fellow bloggers think matters about cinephilia as well, if they like of course. That means Bill, Marilyn, Arbogast, Fox, Peter, Flickhead, Kimberly, Rick, Pat Piper, Pat (Not Piper), Campaspe, Nathaniel, Brian, Neil, Dennis, Jim, Ryan, Ed, Krauthammer, and ... ah hell, that list is already out of control and there are still so many more I'd like to link to. I'm sure someone has asked this question before so I apologize if this whole exercise is redundant but I can't keep up with every blog. Also, as I've broken the rules on these things myself constantly I wouldn't dream of applying any for anyone else. A list, a paragraph, a thought or two. However you want to do it. Just a little bit of what you think is important about studying film, loving film and discussing it with like minds. Basically, what have you learned? I know I've learned more than I ever did from decades of reading film books. How about you?
85 comments:
Oh, this is a meme? Okay, good, that means I'll A) have something to write about later, and B) have time to think about it first.
And good Lord, if you view yourself as a rank amateur, what does that make me?? I must be really green...raw green! Bad raw green!
Name that TV show!
Name that TV show!
Shining Time Station?
Okay, maybe we're not rank amateurs but once I got into blogging I realized I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did. So it's a good raw green.
Shining Time Station is incorrect. I'm not going to give you the answer, though, because I'm hoping this place gets busy today, and someone will know it. I bet.
And to be fair, the actual quote is, "You're green, kid. Raw green. Bad raw green."
Also, I'm kind of stymied regarding what to talk about at the moment, because if this is a meme I don't want to waste all my A material on your sorry ass. Er, I mean...
I'm hoping this place gets busy today, and someone will know it.
Somehow I doubt it. Everyone is abandoning us Bill but maybe. I actually have to leave now to go to the doctor because I just got squeezed into to the schedule at the last minute and since I've been sick for a week I don't want to miss the opportunity. Sorry to disappear on my own blog for the next hour or so but what can you do? When you feel like you're about to die you take what help you can get.
I was through letting my 20 short years of movie watching stop me from blogging anymore. There's nothing wrong with the blog growing as you do--- and that's what I hope. So what, if we're amateurs? Have you seen the shape that mainstream film criticism is in? I'll take being an amateur any day.
And as I said on Bill's blog yesterday, I'm in writer's block constantly interrupted by soporadic postings. I was working on something yesterday for today, but I can probably get this meme up and posted. I'll probably brain-storm while I'm not paying attention in class!
Thanks for mentioning me. I think that your list about what you learned points out the value of being a cinephile who takes the time to write about film, which is to point out that there is more to film than what plays at the multiplex or is covered by mainstream publications. Reading some of the others mentioned has directed me to check out films I might not have before as well as looking at familiar films in a different way. Additionally, I have been in contact with cinephiles and even filmmakers from around the world. In the meantime, I am keeping busy with enough posts so that I can go see a movie next week that I never thought was getting US distribution, much less play in Denver, Tony Manero.
I've heard about Tony Manero. It's supposed to be really...something.
I've learned so much from writing about film, and from reading all the other blogs I read, that my list would be tremendous. I think it's true that one doesn't really understand a film until one has tried to grapple with it in writing, tried to unravel its meanings and images into words. It's true for me, anyway. So blogging, and film writing in general, is a learning process more than anything.
Anyway, hope you feel better soon, Greg!
So well put, Ed, blogging about film, my greatest passion, has been a learning experience first and foremost. Not just learning about myself, because the more you write the more finely the line between your taste and distaste becomes drawn, but learning about (and from) like-minded people. I can't honestly say I expected to make any friends from starting a blog, and that's been perhaps the most rewarding part.
Peter, Ed, Ryan, Bill - I'm back from the doctor now. Thanks for your comments.
Like Peter said, I've had contact with cinephiles and even filmmakers that I never would have had without blogging. I have to remind myself of that when I feel like I've run out of steam. And I definitely agree with Ed and Ryan about understanding a film better by writing about it. My thoughts on every film watched for TOERIFC so far have been greatly expanded after each discussion, seeing what others think and attempting to put my own ideas and thoughts into words.
Greg, thanx for mentioning me. Despite your tragic ignorance of J. Lee Thompson's aesthetic and the subtextual elements underlining his oeuvre, you're a pretty cool guy to have around at parties.
One definite reason why bloggers aren't posting as frequently as they were: summer's upon us. It's the same drop-off every year.
But the doves, Ray, the doves!
I suppose summer can do that. For me it's been more of an "eh" feeling brought on mainly by outside circumstances that have nothing to do with movies and everything to do with the world sucking really badly. I'm confident that all will be well soon though.
Just a thought here...
Talk of running out of steam (both here and on Bill's blog and Rick's blog) makes me wonder if you guys would ever be up for combining efforts on a blog? Maybe a merger of sorts. It could even be more of a web site, with reviews, articles, interviews etc.
I haven't run out of steam, my readers have. Still posting at a brisk clip, but my numbers are down.
Fox, I still post every day to every other day and with other blogs to keep me busy I wouldn't really be up for that but not because I wouldn't like to with you guys. I just think it's easier to work within your own template so to speak.
I haven't run out of steam, my readers have. Still posting at a brisk clip, but my numbers are down.
Maybe that's what I mean. My posting quantity hasn't changed at all but it feels pretty dead right now for whatever reason. Maybe Flickhead's right, maybe it's just the onset of summer.
I have no idea if my readers are down, because I almost never check that, and if I did I'd just get depressed because they're probably never that high (I need to take down that Followers thing, too, because every-goddamn-person is outpacing me by, like, a lot), so I know that in my case the steam being run out of is all my own. Or words to that effect.
I don't know if summer has anything to do with it in my case. I've just lacked inspiration. I've been lazy in a lot of different ways, lately, not just blog-wise.
Greg & Marilyn-
I think also it takes "recruitment" of new readers. I know that sounds funny, but people can fall off so easily since there are a bazillion bloggers.
Fox, I tried assembling a website comprised of film bloggers... it's not easy!
I think it is the summer falloff. I've gotten new readers from a variety of places.
Flickhead-
I can understand the headache. I mean, I imagine it would be hard to drw people away from their own blogs unless you can pay them. Maybe we need to find some really rich person somewhere to fund a site for all of us. Like a sugar daddy or sugar momma that has a thing for film bloggers, or something.
Bill, I removed my sitemeter a couple of weeks ago and haven't looked back. You have benchmarks you look for with hits per day until it gets to a point where it feels like it's finally peaked. That's where I was after a couple of years of blogging. I frankly didn't see that the numbers were going to get much higher at this point and I was sick of checking them out every hour needlessly.
The only thing that I did like about sitemeter was what Marilyn mentioned, which is knowing where your readers come from. I think I'll set up Google analytics for that because that only records by the day, not the minute or hour, so there's not as much neurotic checking.
Fox, when I was trying to interest bloggers to contribute articles and reviews for a joint website, I could get review copies of DVDs and books from several distributors and publishers, which seemed to satisfy the writers in lieu of cash. (And the distributors and publishers saw it as a good promotional outlet.) But now with so much writing on the web, my sources for free copies are few and far between. At one point I could get any new book I wanted from Alfred A. Knopf or Random House; today, nothing. They won't even reply to my emails.
I admit I feel a bit of pressure to keep my numbers up, but I've had some outliers, like The Dot and the Line, that make me hope I can keep over 40,000 a month. I don't think with my regular fare, that's sustainable, though.
Flickhead, it's true, there are soooo damn many bloggers now. Seriously, when I started it seemed like there were 100 or so film blogs at the most and of those about 75 percent were just commercial, here's the latest buzz type blogs. Now personal movie blogs are everywhere. It's great to have so many options but sometimes I feel like Robin Williams in the cereal aisle in Moscow on the Hudson.
Marilyn, being linked on a big site is good for the numbers that's for sure. Coudal.com, which I never even knew of before, is a top 5k technorati site that puts up a link to my Frames of Reference post (not the YouTube link but the one directly uploaded to Blogger on Cinema Styles) about once every three months. I don't know why they do but I'm not complaining.
I don't even know where half of my followers have come from. I guess they're just people who saw the site, saw something they liked, and decided they'd like updates from my corner of the web. It's an unexpected thing, one that makes me happy, seeing as I don't really self-advertise too terribly much (I put links to my reviews on IMDB's external reviews page and that's about it).
I tried installing a tracker, but couldn't figure it out. Greg knows of my long, troubled history with html-coding. Anyone care to explain it to me?
Ryan, the easiest is Sitemeter. You just put in your web address and it gives you a code to put in. You go to the "Add Gadget" area in your "Layout" screen, choose "Add HTML Code" and copy and paste the Sitemeter code into it. You can make it so it's public or private.
You lost me.
I'll find you again. Leave a trail of bread crumbs for me.
Hey guys, sorry I've been gone so long, but I was busy writing my own post about this shit!! BA-ZOW!!!!!!!
ZING!!!
once I got into blogging I realized I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did.
Tell me about it! That may be the title of my post.
I'd love to be posting more now, but work/business trips and other way-less-fun stuff are getting in my way. But participaiting in mems and blogathons actually helps me to get something done - I need externally-created assingments to stay busy. So thanks for giving me something else interesting to write about.
Per Sitemeter, my numbers are actually up a bit since the "Dancer in the Dark" discussion, but then, they weren't very high to begin with. I've decided I'll just keep writing what I like to write and putting it out there and just be happy with whoever comes to read it. For now, anyway.
OK, so I've been thinking of starting up my blog again basically since I stopped writing things, this may just be the initiative I need to get going.
Pat - It has taken me three years to build my numbers to what they are now (pretty healthy). I didn't set out to be popular, and by other blog standards, I'm not. But I have a much bigger readership than I ever thought possible when I first started. If you build it RIGHT, they will come.
I'm almost always guilty of reading and not commenting. I think that comes from my own misgivings about what I could possibly offer to a discussion when you and Ed and Bill and many of the others I read (especially those you linked to) already state everything so eloquently. I always feel like there's nothing more I could add, and as a someone who has their own blog, sure comments are appreciated, but I want something more substantial than "Hey that was great!". Therefore I don't want to that kind of commenter.
I read your blog everyday, and you know what, you're right about there being sort of wieird lull in comments. I myself don't comment much, but even lately I haven't felt the urge to chime in (which I've tried to rectify the last couple of days)...
Even my meager 4-10 comments (which is outstanding for me, hehe) per post on my blog aint happen'.
Anyway -- this is a great way to spark discussion and I think really a lot of the reasons why I think being a cinephile matters are in line with yours. I'm in a smaller city and my group of friends growing up used to think I was sort of guru because I thought I knew everything there was to know about film. Being a blogger for the last year, and reading all of the damn fine blogs out there, I've realized something: I don't know that much. Which is a good thing; a thing to be celebrated! If we stop learning we stop caring (sorry that's the teacher in me coming out...).
So Kudos to you and to everyone who comments on here, and is linked on your site, because without them I would be a lot more in the dark about film than I am now.
If you build it RIGHT, they will come...
So THAT'S been my problem!
Pat, that's how I feel, just keep doing what you do and if you're good at it (like Marilyn said) people will come. And I'm very happy to have you participate. Thanks!
Krauthammer, anything to get you to update. And stop by more!
Kevin, please comment here as much as you like. I like having multiple comment conversations going on here. I don't blog to hear myself but to engage with everyone else so I always appreciate a good discussion. Hell, I appreciate a good string of random one-liners too.
Bill, make your blog more like an Iowa cornfield. And contact a novelist from the sixties.
I do stop by! I just keep quiet.
Well then speak up more.
And Bill, you might want to also dig up a guy named Moonlight Graham but he's only of use if somebody's choking.
Hey, did you know that Moonlight Graham was a real guy?? And that he really only played one game in the majors? And that Spielberg originally wanted to use M&Ms in E.T. but the company said no, and that's why he went with Reese's Pieces instead??
All true.
And did you know that button behind you causes this floor to open up? And did you further know that George Bailey is dancing right over that crack?
I check the blog every day. I don't comment very often because I don't have a blog of my own and it feels like a breach of etiquette.
And I'm not going to start a blog just to post on other blogs without feeling like an intruder. Pfft. Blog. Ffft.
Jesus, a blog a thon and now a meme?
This place is a mess. You've let it go to hell. Pick up that trash and straighten your hair and tuck in that shirt.
I'll write for you, task master. I'll do it.
But first I have to go to Walt Disney World.
BLH, I admire your principled stand. You are the wind beneath my wings.
Pat, I forgot to mention the Secret Santa concept I have come up with for movie blogs where we all pick a blog and write a special post for it. I'm rolling that one out next week.
Not if I roll it out first.
Did you guys hear that Ryan actually did Greg's little meme? That's what they tell me, anyway.
"Greg's little meme," Ryan? Isn't that, a little bit condescending?
I am back from Virginia, where I didn't have time to do any blogging. I will get back into it, you can't get rid of me that easy.
In the meantime, I'm gonna DO your meme, by god, and I won't be hungry again!
Alright Greg...my long winded thoughts are up at my blog. This was a great topic to broach.
"Greg's little meme," Ryan? Isn't that, a little bit condescending?...
Nah, it's totally condescending.
Rick's right, I'm a jerk. I did Greg's GARGANTUAN, LEVIATHAN, HUMONGOUS meme.
Can we stop talking about Greg's huge thing now? It's making me feel funny.
It is pretty big. We're talking about the same thing right? Anyway, I have a new post up now. Let's go there instead.
Wow, I was going to jump in, but if we're going to talk about Greg's thing, I may have to reconsider.
I would echo what Marilyn said wa-a-a-ay back there. I think the blogs that I've discovered that have been worth reading and sticking with are the ones that emerge from the sense of personal discovery that you describe, Greg, not the ones that are out there for networking purposes (and maybe those are fewer now because of Facebook and Twitter-- I don't really know because I stopped searching for new blogs a while ago ) or the ones that are there to provide support for their proprietor's massive ego and/or need to add a little more snark or bile to an Internet landscape that is, well, just so lacking in those elements in general. (That was sarcasm, Mr. Wells.)
I'll take the meme challenge, though, because it's a good one, and a good way to reassess at a time when my own energy is down and I find myself not only not posting as much as I used to, but finding it more of a chore than I used to as well. This worries me, whether it should or not, and I think a little thought on the matter wouldn't hurt.
Thanks for the kick in the pants, Greg. Oh, and Bill, I have some thoughts on a couple more horror films that I wanna throw out there to see if you'll bite, so look for that soon. And R.I.P. David Carradine, who will be eulogized for his work for everyone from Roger Corman to Hal Ashby to Quentin Tarantino, but whose contribution to the legend surrounding Jesse James will be not be forgotten-- he was great as Cole Younger in Walter Hill's The Long Riders.
I find myself not only not posting as much as I used to, but finding it more of a chore than I used to as well. This worries me, whether it should or not, and I think a little thought on the matter wouldn't hurt.
I think it's something all bloggers go through eventually or even repeatedly. The strange thing here is this: I have ideas enough for two or three posts a day but they would be quick items, more like twittering or facebook wall blather, and I just can't bring myself to do that so I post sporadically instead (about every other day, sometimes every day) and beat myself up for not having something better, or at least lengthier, to say.
I look forward to reading your thoughts on why cinephilia matters Dennis so thanks for agreeing to it.
Even though my blog can't begin to compare with you have here Greg and with what Dennis does at his brilliant blog, but I sympathize with both of you. I remember when I started my blog last year, even before I had any readers, I made a deal with myself: no daily posts containing just youtube videos or quick one-liners about movies. I've been fairly successful in doing that, and it's been more rewarding because of it, but it makes it harder to post (or get motivated to post) on a daily basis.
Dennis: kudos on singling out Carradine's performance from one of my favorite western's The Long Riders. This is just sad news if the reports about suicide are true.
Kevin, thanks for the kind words but I can't agree that what you do doesn't compare. And that vow you made is exactly what I think about all the time too. I could post a new photo or video clip every two hours but then I'd feel like I wasn't contributing anything to my own blog, just putting up something someone else did. But then you go crazy trying to think of something meaningful to write and end up doing nothing. Sometimes.
Yeah, Greg, it's a constant struggle. That was the promise I made to myself when I started, too--- to actually think about what I said--- no quick two-line reviews, no movie gossip, no trailers--- none of that. Just me relating my love of film. It's been a struggle but a worthy one, and one made easier by the support of friends.
RIP to David Carradine.
You're too kind Greg! I like what Ryan said: how this community of cinephiles makes it easier to post more substantial material on a semi-daily basis. Sometimes when I'm feeling utterly uninspired I'll just saunter through the archives of some of my favorite daily stops. The amount of awe-inspiring material usually found there is enough to get me out of my slump and thinking about what I want to write about next.
It's so refreshing that there are so many quality bloggers around. There are a lot of blogs that provide fresh criticism and thoughtful analysis that it really helps cure the all-too-frequent bouts of writer block I get.
Ryan and Kevin, I agree, browsing the blogs and support of the community and friends helps out considerably. And responding to another blogger's post or expanding on it is also something very helpful for writer's block.
Thanks for inviting me to the party Jonathan but I think I've probably discussed why I do what I do on my own blog on more than one occasion. Cinebeats has an agenda - to showcase the work of directors, actors, etc. that have often gone unnoticed. But I also enjoy writing about a film that I just plain love like Godard's Pierrot le fou.
Dennis summed up a lot of what I've been feeling lately. I've been put off by a lot of the film writing I'm seeing online this year. The combination of the that with being out of work for months and the summer heat making my brain soft (I'm not a summer person - I must suffer from some kind of reverse Seasonal affective disorder) doesn't inspire me to blog much lately. I've never been on any kind of weekly, daily, etc. schedule with my blog. I write when I can find the time and when I'm inspired to, which lately isn't all that often.
I'm afraid I really haven't learned all that much from my fellow bloggers, but I'm super thankful that Peter Nellhaus helped me discover the wonderful world of Hong Kong musicals three years ago! I have been inspired to finally watch a few films that I've avoided or just never had the opportunity to see in the past thanks to their recommendations. A brief exchange we had about The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp inspired me enough to finally make an effort to rent the film for example and I loved it. So I'm happy for that.
I'm mostly thankful for the encouragement about my writing that I've gotten from blogging and that doesn't have all that much to do with Cinephila except that I've found a lot of cinemaniacs to be some of the most generous and friendly people I've had the pleasure to meet online. Writing for zines and various mags over the years didn't get me much feedback except an occasional blurb printed on the back of a comic book. When I see writing a like online I try to comment if time allows because I know positive feedback can be encouraging. But I tend to make time to read and comment on the work of other bloggers who make the time and effort to comment on what I'm doing at Cinebeats. Because a) I'm reminded that they exist when they leave me a comment and b) that give and take is what I think fosters good web relations and good writing.
And now I'm just repeating myself because I've said all these things in the past...
On a side, I'm really upset about Carradine's death. As I've mentioned before at Cinebeats, I grew up watching KUNG FU and the show helped shape my world view when I was a kid. My affection for Carradine and Bruce Lee even led me to study Kung Fu for a few years and I'm very grateful for that. I'm too sad to even write anything about it. 2009 is turning into the year all my childhood heroes died and it SUCKS.
Mine is up: http://ferdyonfilms.com/2009/06/what-ive-learned-as-a-film-blo.php
Thanks Marilyn, I'm on my way.
On a side, I'm really upset about Carradine's death. As I've mentioned before at Cinebeats, I grew up watching KUNG FU and the show helped shape my world view when I was a kid.
Kimberly, I loved watching that show back in the seventies and still have the opening credit sequence memorized frame for frame. As I said in my other comment section, my favorite movie of his was Bound for Glory which I've watched several times.
As to the kind of/sort of/ meme thingy I think your response is more than I could ask for anyway. You said a lot right there. Plus, I didn't really make it very clear what I was going after at all, giving some folks the impression that it was about what you'd learned as a blogger and other folks the impression that it was 20 reasons being a cinephile matters. That was probably intentional somewhere in my mind because I hate the idea of pinning someone down to one exact thing or another. This way, the whole meme is just kind of loosey goosey. I also intentionally left off any part where I insist a participant then tag a specific number of other bloggers, link back to me and so on. I just wanted the reactions of my friends online, not a bunch of links.
Nevertheless, your comment right here is terrific and feels like exactly what I was asking for so thanks for doing that, I appreciate it.
Well...let me rise to the defense of the one-liner. I've killed my blog for one reason. I was tired of forcing myself to blather on indefinitely under the mistaken notion that "essay-length" somehow implied seriousness. Frankly, too many blogs have nothing to say but say it and say it and say it and say it again, and you get the idea. I'm a professional editor. A lot of you, and I say this with love, need to prune back the verbiage. It's like hacking through a forest of words for a glimmer of insight. And make no mistake about it: There are a lot of insights on these blogs, and I have also learned a lot about the movies here, much more than I've learned in recent years from MSM. But...but...sometimes, especially on a film everybody knows, the most interesting thing you can do is point out the one offbeat or intriguing observation that strikes you. Greg hates Facebook but the reason I've stayed there is because I like Facebook for that very reason. I say what strikes me in a few words. For example, I recently showed my daughter Chaplin's The Circus. I've seen it a million times. Could have written a million words on it, and the joy of our journey into film together and yada yada. But the thing that grabbed me again was the final scene with the dust rising from the departing circus trucks. Reminded me of a John Ford calvary scene. For me, that was the observation I most wanted to pass on (whether it's original or insightful, I can't really say. Probably neither.). But the brevity of commenting on Facebook fit that perfectly.
So, Greg, join up and you'll find the film "friends", many of them friends of this blog, are on there passing along nuggets of serious and geeky movie love, plus links to longer-form things you'll enjoy.
Essay, schmessay. It's what you have to say, not how many words you say it in.
Hugs, LA
Hey, I just got smacked down by Larry. Anyway, with Facebook, it's more of a despise kind of thing than hate. But a couple of observations:
One, you couldn't say all that on Facebook. Well, you could but it would take up half the wall and no one would read it because they're there just to see the snappy one-liners such as "Tom is - currently drinking half-caf coffee. What's up with that?" In other words, they're not snappy and they infest the "walls" of Facebook. I have three accounts in this house, just not my own and the blather is pointless. To me at least. We clearly disagree on this.
Two, are you, a newspaper man, saying you don't like long form writing? Should we start taking the excess out of movies too until they are all three minutes long and simply deliver the message without all that depth around them? I like depth. I don't like long-windedness and I think that's the difference. Yes, there are a few bloggers that could do some editing, maybe you even think I'm one. But hey, I'll take long form over snappy observation any day of the week. Sorry.
Anyway, take part in this meme! Do it on Facebook, I'll find it.
All I have to say is Larry, if you ever want to edit my blogging efforts that I'm offering up free of charge I'd be more than willing to run them by you before I post them!
I always wish I had an editor to look over any piece I share.
I'm long-winded and my spelling, grammar and punctuation definitely needs work. In my fantasies I'm the Ernest Hemingway of film bloggers.
And Greg, I'm with you on Facebook. It's like Myspace Part 2 for adults and I hate Myspace.
Greg, so thin-skinned! A tap, a gentle tap. I just believe that you can say as much in a few words as you can in many words. I don't believe in dismissing or judging a post by its length or lack of it. That's all I meant to say. See, I could post this on Facebook.
And I'll take part in the meme! Later tonight, I'll post it here, since I don't have a blog...Is there a length? Kidding!
Kimberly, you are one of the few who are with me on Facebook and I welcome your company.
To be less combatative about it let me refine my opinion. I have access to blogs and Facebook. With blogs I get full length reviews. With Facebook I get snappy drive-bys. With blogs I get interaction. With Facebook there are snappy drive-by retorts.
Facebook and blogs both share things like memes but blogs are mercifully free of "What Prince song are you?" or "What Hindu god are you?" quizzes that truly INFEST Facebook. To me Facebook is like a jokey comment section without the initial post to provide some weight. It's just a bunch of empty calories.
Larry, I took no offence you rotten stinking bastard! I just enjoy pointing out what I see are the differences. And Kimberly hates it too so there!
I anxiously await your contribution. Now I'm going to go check out some of your walls, since I have access to them and you all don't know that I do... mwahahahaha!!!
I've been on Facebook for a couple of months now. I don't go to it for film writing. I like to see what people are posting on their blogs, when they put links up, like I do to let people who might not stop by daily decide if they want to check it out.
Facebook also has an IM feature that I've used to have some real-time conversations without having to log into something else like AIM.
Facebook also has people on it who have nothing to do with film whom I wish to stay in touch with. The hubby is posting pictures from years ago that are deteriorating badly, thus cleaning them up, preserving them, and sharing them with family are half a continent away.
I like taking the quizzes because they are fun. I like writing quizzes for others to take because it's fun.
You can convince yourself to love or hate anything, but ultimately, it's what YOU do with it that makes it what it is for you.
Boy, you just had to be the voice of reason didn't you Marilyn? Now I feel bad. See Larry, you can't make me feel bad but Marilyn can.
Marilyn you are, of course, absolutely right. I'm sure I could come up with an equally hateful registry of complaints against blogging if that's what I wanted to do. My experiences with Facebook are those of lurking and the wall stuff just seems to my eyes to be non-engaging like my "half-caff" comment a few comments above. In other words, not directed as dialogue but self-statement, i.e., I am doing -----. Now I am ------. And so on. These odd statements where people find it necessary to log on to Facebook and tell people they just went to the bathroom. I guess that's what puts me off of it.
Myspace has all the features of Facebook as far as I can tell.
I'm just personally not interested in sharing more of myself online with strangers and family/friends than I already am with phone calls, email, my websites, blogs, Flickr and Twitter so there's no appeal for me. If I wasn't already so "connected" maybe I'd find it useful but right now I'm actually trying to make an effort to spend less time online.
I hate - no qualms about using the word - the way Myspace creates a false sense of identity and understanding between complete strangers. Probably because I've seen the ugly side of that site and been witness to some really nasty stuff that has gone on there.
On the other hand, my husband seems to enjoy aspects of Myspace since he's a musician.
My Space is something I've never tried. I don't twitter but I do have a huge Flickr account except I only use it for storage. In three years I've only ever built up like 20 or so contacts. And on YouTube I've managed to get 30 subscribers without doing anything to get them that I know of. For now that's about the limit of online activity. As Larry all too gloatingly knows, I will most likely give in and join Facebook eventually because he will have me convinced that I'm missing out on the greatest conversations about film and like an idiot, I'll believe him.
I just realized I managed to call you Jonathan in my first comment, Greg.
This name changaroo still has me confuzeld! Old habits die hard.
I noticed that too but didn't bring it up. It's bound to happen from time to time. I'm still just so damn happy all the pseudonym stuff is behind me.
Myspace has all the features of Facebook as far as I can tell.
It also has theme music and pink letters on polka-dot backgrounds. MySpace was created to encourage epilepsy!
I'm with Marilyn; in my private life, I use Facebook to see what my friends are up to and I think there's a kind of poetry in the mundane status updates that Greg deems to despise. I really like to know what people are eating and drinking or where they're going that afternoon or what they just watched or what they're going to watch that night. The writer's life is exceedingly lonely and I get a kick out of those brief bursts of contact. I do hide all the quizzes, though. You can hide stuff and people on Facebook so you don't have to see them. If life were only so easy.
MySpace was created to encourage epilepsy!
I must admit, the homogenous look of Facebook is much more appealing.
and I think there's a kind of poetry in the mundane status updates that Greg deems to despise.
I also seem to despise them. It's not that I don't appreciate the idea you just pointed out but I find the status updates are never just that but attempts at humor or snark by the writer and 95 percent of the population just aren't up to the proper level of wit and so I wish they'd just shut the hell up.
You can hide stuff and people on Facebook so you don't have to see them. If life were only so easy.
Life is like that if you resist pleasantries. I ignore people all the time.
"I discovered a whole new world of Polish film posters"
Polish film posters seem much more interesting than Hollywood ones
Oh I agree. I discovered them through Ed Hardy myself.
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