Sunday, October 18, 2015

It's Over

Hey y'all.  So I've enjoyed writing these blogs.  Too much, in fact.  I keep track of what I write, and my blog wordcount overwhelms the rest.  And it's the least important of my work.  There's so much out there in the world I want to do, including find a new job, learn a new language, and write things that are publishable.  This blog, quite frankly, is more of a self-serving place to vent my observations on things.  While I'm proud of some of the things here, most of it is just kind of there, at best ideas unpolished and not entirely coherent.

It's been a fun exercise, and has stretched me in ways I needed to be stretched.  However, the passion for it is gone, weighed down as I am with real world concerns.  I need to be able to express myself as either a way to gain in life or as a way to communicate with others, not simply put my own opinions out there into the void.  While having a popular blog would have been fun, I never had a consistent enough series of work on this site for people to have anything to expect -- again, it's all been pretty self-indulgent.

In any case, I'm stopping the blog now, with no plans to bring it back. It's just another thing on my plate causing me stress, and I need to simplify.  No nagging inner thoughts about keeping it up.  I like writing here a lot, but it's profitless for a variety of reasons.  Will I write more again later?  Perhaps.  Not sooner than a year, and no guarantees after that.  I don't want this to be a rant-fest, if it does.  I want to have consistent, good content, that's both clear and regularly posted.  Something I have neither the time nor inspiration for at this point.  That, and I'd probably want to put it on a different site. 

So, farewell.  I'm leaving things up, so browse through it, if you like. 

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Nitpickery: MirrorMask

Hey y'all.  So I watched Mirrormask.  It was part of a three-pack including The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, and my friend insisted that I see it.  We were having a discussion about old, classic fantasies, and so Mirrormask.



How is the movie, you ask?  It's a 5 out of ten, average.  It's the most 5 of any 5 I've ever seen.  That is, it's a combination of very good things and very weak things that all balance out in the end.  I do like it, because there's a level of thought in the film that a lot of modern films don't have.  The filmmakers obvious care, and if they care, I care.  All the same, there are several weaknesses in the film that could use work.  It's rather like an old, fancy house.  It's lovely, but we still have to break out the power tools before we can sell the place.

Nitpickery is spoilers. 

Friday, October 2, 2015

Write Club: Things you Don't do When Commenting on a Review

Hey y'all.  So I just watched Mirrormask (review upcoming) and now I'm going through comments of the movie on IMDB.  I have to say, I'm pretty ashamed of the movie's supporters.  They're heaping insult upon insult on anyone who says anything negative about the movie.  They act as though anyone who doesn't like it is an idiot.  One supporter even blindly states that critics "lose their senses" over it.  That's really unfair.  It's one thing to defend a movie you love, but it's quite another to insult someone on a personal level just because they don't share that love.

Holy crap, look at this gem --

"It's a charming movie, and if it upsets you enough that you feel the need to post a negative opinion where others can see it: Seek help."
- Wavelength121

I'm sorry, but critiques don't always come from emotional places.  People naturally feel the need to talk through stuff they see, and a negative reaction to a movie isn't a sign of mental disorder.  Quite in fact, reacting so strongly to a logical critique is a greater sign of emotional weakness.  Not that either position requires psychiatric therapy.

I've seen this in other places as well.  In Amazon's reviews of the movie Clue, commenters got ridiculous on anyone who disliked it.  Not to mention how people react when someone makes a negative comment on youtube about a song.  "If you don't like this band, then why are you listening to this?"  Because they have to hear a song to know if they like it or not, obviously.  Or are only positive comments allowed in this oversensitive world of ours?

So let's go over some rules of etiquette about respecting others and their opinions.