A new beginning

It's been some time since I last posted here. I won't bother going into the details of a blogging sabbatical that I didn't intend to take. For one thing, the reasons are mostly mundane.

If anything, this entry is here to inform you that I have not fallen off the face of the earth and that I am still reviewing films, even though most of what I have written has not migrated to the web in recent months. Those backlogged reviews may or may not appear here. It depends if I get around to it.

If there's one thing that 2008 taught film critics, it's that you better be doing it because you love it. Many critics found themselves laid off and nudged (or pushed) into early retirement last year. Considering the financial health of the nation's newspapers, the forecast for this year isn't any brighter for those seeking to making a living writing about the cinema.

To be sure, I have not been affected as the film criticism I do has not been for pay. I've been fortunate to incorporate a movie review program into my job. Film critic duties are not my in the job description, though, which is why I don't really consider myself a professional even though I've been at it since 1997.

Or maybe it's just my weird way of looking at it. After all, in 2008 I did get my first check for writing a 100-word blurb for The Nashville Scene. For all of the words I've written, it was that minor piece that provided a sense of accomplishment and has probably been read by more people than anything else I've done.

Now that a new year is here, it's time to make a fresh start. I'm still digging through awards consideration screeners and finalizing my best and worst of 2008 lists. I hope to begin posting those lists within the next week. I have some other ideas for things I'd like to write about here on a regular basis, but for now I need to hold myself to getting content up consistently instead of promising new features.

The majority of my traffic comes from searches and review aggregate sites. Those visitors will never come across entries like this, so to those who've been stopping by expecting something new, thanks for being patient and maintaining an interest. Things should be picking up here again.

Blogiversary

Can it really be? Today marks the fourth anniversary of this site's creation. See the inauspicious start for yourself.

Since this is something I'm doing in my free time and in association with the TV show, the blog has its ups and downs, inconsistencies of posting that I'd like to improve upon and usually vow to do about this time of year. I have hot streaks, when it seems like the writing comes forth as though all I have to do is connect a USB cable to my brain and press the "publish post" button. I have cold streaks too, most notably when the show's production went on hiatus this summer and fall due to the station's move.

Everyone hates deadlines, but I acknowledge their importance in spurring work. Not having those deadlines, save for the throbbing internal pressure of self-expectations, made it really hard to stay on the task of writing while the show was dormant. We still aren't quite back on a normal schedule but should be soon. That should lead to a pick up in activity, or a flurry of it every two weeks at the minimum.

I have new ideas of what I'd like to do in the coming year. They may require more time than I probably have, but we'll see how it goes. If I can commit myself to a schedule, there's a greater likelihood of it happening. (Witness my weekly blogging about ON THE LOT.) The best I can offer is to say that I'll try.

If you're a regular visitor--and I have no clue who you may be or if you exist--thanks for sticking by this site. I write for myself, but I also write to be read in the hope that I have something to add to the conversation. In my mind film criticism has essentially migrated to the internet. No slag intended of my print brethren, but online is where the the best and most vital work is being done.

Fingers crossed, I'm hoping to finish my write-ups of the year's best and worst before the calendar turns to 2008. Top ten lists, even the reviews themselves, are not carved in stone. They are snapshots of moments in time and the fleeting emotions and observations tied to them. As much as I might want to hold off publishing my lists because I haven't seen this film or that film, in truth there is always one more film. It's that kind of optimism about what unviewed films are out there and still to come that gets this critic through the duds and mediocrities and eager to see what's next.

Resurrection

First off, yes, I know it's been quiet around here. With Now Playing not being in production since late June, it was very easy for me to lapse into non-posting. The station moved this summer and has been working on returning to our ordinary mode of operation. Tentatively, we're planning to record a new show on November 13. So, content I generate for the TV program will naturally find a home here.

The show began in March 1997 and taped every two weeks until June 19 this year. I've been writing movie reviews, good, bad, and otherwise, on a regular basis until this recent extended blip of non-activity. (I'm still seeing the movies, though.) While I wasn't looking to take a break from the writing, it has been nice to enjoy a breather. I've intended to write about some of the films I've seen. My blog dashboard shows draft entries for a couple non-starter reviews, including what I thought was the beginning of an interesting take on the unsuccessful curiosity THE INVASION. Whatever the reason, I couldn't manage to finish anything. Everyone hates the deadline, but without a pressing need to finish the reviews, I lost the motivation to complete pieces.

In the long run, I think the time off will serve me and my readers well. I'm not looking at movies differently, but I do feel somewhat rejuvenated in being loosed from the obligation of writing about them all the time. (I suppose it's ironic, and natural, that this fallow period follows a very productive early part of the year.)

I'm not going to commit yet, but to kickstart my return to maintaining this site on a regular basis, I may participate in National Blog Posting Month (or NaBloPoMo, as all the cool kids call it). Baby steps...

Anyway, thanks to however few of you have been visiting and wondering what in the world was up with the static you got when tuning in here. I didn't fall of the edge of the earth. Rather, I was dangling over it.