So… In celebration of this, I thought it would be nice to clock in a few words about CHUD in general and the community in particular. Bear with me. This might be worth your time.
First of all, as far as movie websites go? CHUD is the best there is. Bar none. The quality of the writing, the sense of humor on display, the general attitude… It’s all of a decidedly more sophisticated and interesting variety than what you usually find. And that is not to say they’re above rowdy, tasteless humor from time to time – such as Devin predicting drug addiction and early death for Jaden Smith – but even that is usually handled with pizazz and style, rather than pure vehemence.
I joke from time to time that just about 3 people actually bother reading my blogs. That may be true or not, but I still feel privileged to be a part of this community and the fact that my blogs appear here actually means something to me. I didn’t turn out to be as prolific as I would have liked. Life and work got in the way, as these things tend to.
Just over 30 blogs in one year. Do the math.
Part of it was work and time constraints… The other was that I didn’t want to be boring. I figured, if I’m going to blog here, I should try to offer something a little different than just toss in what I think about some movie. So you’ll notice, as my blogs progressed, they began to be more and more about me and my life here in La Paz. Stuff like my Days of Llojeta series (which will continue – for those who are interested) or my Watchmen “review” that really had very little to do with Watchmen. But I found that was the sort of stuff I really enjoyed putting out there.
Sure, I occasionally would still like to speak my mind about a movie. I was going to do a blog about Angels & Demons. But, after thinking about it, I realized the movie just wasn’t interesting enough for me to bother and I could add no insight that hadn’t already been given by others.
So, basically, as year two comes around, you can expect to see more blogs like my love letter to Within Temptation. As a result, I don’t know how often they can appear. But two or three a month (maybe more if I get really inspired) seems about right. I’ll still clock in about movies from time to time. I plan to do an in-depth review of the Watchmen director’s cut, for instance.
But I think I’ve found my voice and the comments I’ve received from some of you, as well as outsiders that come to read my stuff, would suggest that I should stick to my more idiosyncratic posts anyway. So that’s my ballpark.
And speaking of those comments…
One of the most enjoyable experiences for me in this past year has been mingling on the Message Boards and “meeting” some of you.
I wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms when I first started posting… Someone (take a guess) even quipped: “Why do all these people I never heard of now have Chud blogs?” And I’ve had my run-ins with several of you. I’ve been taken to task for liking Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. And I’ve also been asked to apologize for my positive opinion of The Happening. But, you know what? That’s good. I enjoy a healthy discussion and how can I be opinionated while asking others not to be?
Also, I have rarely felt offended by anyone’s dissent. When I’ve been roasted – and I HAVE been roasted – it’s usually been done in good humor. Like someone posting a gif of a crying infant when I made a comment about Devin’s aforementioned mean-spiritedness regarding Jaden Smith.
Yes, there were times when I felt like I was in high school… Me being The New Guy, with Devin, Dre and some others being The Jocks. It’s all a bit silly. But I do respect those people I’m talking about even when I don’t agree with their opinions nor they with mine. And I’ll even leap to a person’s defense if I see them being called a “cunt” or “butter tits” – because, frankly, that stuff is uncalled for.
So it’s all good is what I’m saying. Go ahead and tell me to fuck off if you think I have it coming. So long as you do it in good spirits, I have no reason to hold it against you. That is to say, I’m not going to put you on IGNORE just because we don’t see eye-to-eye on Death Wish 3 or something. Many of you have very interesting things to say and I want to keep reading.
Now then… The big apology.
I said, when I first started, that I would talk about my own movie and my own music. And I barely lived up to that part of the deal. I did about 3 or 4 blogs about my movie and none whatsoever about my music.
This will change…
If anyone’s interested, Nocturnia got a limited release down here and did… um… it did okay. I’m working on a re-release and DVD for it to finally be available internationally, and I can’t wait until some of you get a chance to see it and tear me a new one on the boards. I would especially like Sam Strange to remember making it.
To make up for the lack of Nocturnia coverage (there will really be very little about that – I’ve moved on to other things) I plan to post a series of blogs taking me through the entire process of the film I’m going to start working on next. It’s at the script stage still. But, once that’s done, you can expect a series of blogs. And these will be consistent.
Anyway… I’m on the point of rambling right now. So I’ll just wrap this up by saying thank you to CHUD. Thanks to Nick and Eileen for giving me the opportunity to shoot the shit in its blog section. And a big shout-out to my peeps in The B Action Thread. I would list all of you, but I think you know who you are, so I don’t need to.
Elsewhere… to Chris Olson, Captain Zahn, Natalia, Tati, Keith F, a VERY special thanks to mcnooj82… To Anderson (when’s Blog Wars Episode II?), coolasquentin (where did you go?), Bobby Bear, Spike Marshall (yes, even you Spike) and of course devincf, Andre Dellamorte and anyone else I’m too stupid to remember off the top of my head – thank you for making the Chud Forums such a stimulating and engaging place to be. I have become a world-class procrastinator thanks to you fine people.
A final shout out to B Action and now I’m out of here…
Seriously, if I didn’t mention Molti, Rene or any of the others, it’s because I expect you to know who you are.
Stay safe people… And here’s to another fine year in your company.
Too schamltzy? Oh well. It had to be done.