Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Wherein I talk about the state of things, and what comes next

Blog was tottering toward an identity crisis before I went on my recent Adventure. I had moved out of my seven-movies-a-week phase, had barely a lick of anything to write about, was going to miss the Oscar season (the only aspect of reality on which I feel cognitively qualified to comment) and didn't have the time or wherewithal to steer Blog toward providing insight, amusement or self-satisfaction — the only goals I had for it when I started it three years ago, on the 32nd floor of a 'scraper at 52nd and Broadway. Blog was founded on the principle of No One Cares about the Personal Lives of Errant Websurfers; I commissioned myself to write solely about movies; if I was to talk about my personal life, it would be refracted through movies; in short, this Blog would not be about me; over these same three years I also developed a strange lust for semi-colons, even though Kurt Vonnegut said not to use them, that they are "transvestite hermaphrodites, standing for absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college."

I have been to college, and I regret going. I was too young, too stupid and could've benefited from some real-world experience before hitting the books. Also, Vonnegut is overrated.

Anyway, my point: Blog will continue, but it must evolve. Into what? Maybe something more personal, even though I've put dual restraints on myself by maintaining relative anonymity while still revealing Blog to people I know and love. Censorship on both fronts. Whatever. Blog will continue. Please, if you care to, leave something in the comments: a recommendation, a suggestion, an explanation of why you come here to read, or simply a "hi there how are ya."

Upcoming topics as I get back into the swing of things: a quick recap of the Adventure, thoughts on what it means to live 42 days without Internet and TV and news, an outsider's view of a missed Oscar season, belated reactions to the deaths of Heath Ledger and Roy Scheider, and thoughts on the movies I saw on the ship (which I never would've seen anywhere else).

10 comments:

wharman said...

Vonnegut is not overrated.

Welcome back!

Mike z said...

Everything is overrated. No matter how underrated it is.

ah said...

i reckon i'm here largely because of you, whether that means anything or not. i think in my own adventures abroad, my blog has gotten off base from where i started. it began as a hopeful track for grad school committees (and oh, what a laugh they would have had). i tried too hard discussing films or being quirky where i wasn't quirky, but now that i don't want to continue with school after i graduate, it's just... a place for me to put everything down that i'm willing to let others read. since i still want to be a writer, i just try to write as my mind allows, and attempt creativity and personality in the meantime. and i, too, try infusing it with cinematic analogies and anecdotes when i can (not too often being so cut off and having familial demands for updates). i'll be having a similar crisis when i'm stateside in 30 days. and also, i do admire your cyber-anonymity, because nobody could really figure out who you were if they tried. how fortunate for me was that telluride express shuttle many months ago!
but to answer your question: i liked what you had going, other than i wished you would update 3 or 4 times more often than you were. you've got the writing chops going for you, so it's nice seeing the talent used for fun by somebody good enough to be paid. i say catch up with things you've missed, coast the waves back into a comfort zone that inevitably finds itself, and write often.
funny i'm attempting to shed advice, when i'm in no position. keep an eye out for my own advice requests in the near future.
it's good to have you back! hope you find your groove. it's there. unlike any semicolons in this message, which i tried so hard to avoid.

Middento said...

You were not too stupid then. Perhaps too naive, but not too stupid, as one who saw you there can tell you.

I think you need to write more about semi-colons since I love them so; I also think we should tell Vonnegut (were he alive) to draw more pictures of assholes.

赵晨威 said...

I'ma read whatever you write no matter what the topic, because your words are a valuable insight into the tightly locked mind of a genuinely interesting and mysterious character.

I am far more interested in semicolons and capital letter Adventures than I am in movies and pop-culture, and found this last blog entry more interesting than those prior; a slice of life at the juiciest and most uncertain moments.

J.J. said...

Blog is making a turn in your direction, China Man.

Anonymous said...

ah, capital letter Adventures. now that's a fantastic title, China Man, whoever you are.

Vonnegut is not overrated; he's tiring and boring.

i read Blog because it gives me inspiration for writing my "blog" which could basically now be called "ashes"

i am hopeful that your turnabout with Blog will inspire me to have a turnabout with Life, which needs some figuring, as always, I guess.

i want to call you, but i have lost Voice, which is essential for Phone.

i will see you soon.

i look forward to your capital letter Adventures and think, perhaps, Evolving Blog should get a new title. or, at least, subtitle, for, if you aren't writing on movies anymore, why should you pretend you are?

J.J. said...

A new title, no...but I would like to find a new look for Blog. But I have no idea how to do that. You do, though, don't you Beedow? I really wish your blog would rise from its ashes. You really do have a wonderful voice (speaking, singing AND typing).

Anonymous said...

Let's see--I do come here for the movies. We have similar tastes and it's interested to read your take on things. I have some modest movie-writing aspirations, though I'm inconsistent. I'm in favor of personal blogging too, but I hope you keep writing about movies!

Anonymous said...

middento is right on regarding college-