Could it be? Surely, no. Is The Powerstrip dead?Powerstrips -- real ones -- are fickle machines, and frequently fizzle out unless you spend the big buckeroos, and even then they can be temperamental. I often learned this the hard way in my A/V apprenticeship under the elder Joseph Lanthier, whose remarkably hand-on, holistic tutelage taught me to always, always, double and triple check yer power sources, especially if the gig is professional. You can have the most sophisticated sound set-up on earth, with limited edition, Wagernarian-grade German speakers baffled at precisely the right angles to produce uncanny surround in an amphitheatre, with all the spidery wires and tubes hidden out of sight as they web their way towards the engineer's top-o-the-line Mackie mixer, and all the lavalieres lovingly clipped at just the appropriate height to snag all the glorious cadence of a performer's diction, etc, etc, etc. If you ain't got power, you got nothin'.
It's not so much that I don't have power -- it's more that I'm applying it elsewhere. Writing for Slant Magazine and Bright Lights Film Journal offers me far better exposure, though I do wish that those pubs facilitated the same two-way conversation as a blog. Plus, blogging has a tendency to depress me because I feel the need to divulge far more biographical information than is necessary -- I feel like the Powerstrip has been tainted from the start by a tendentious self-deprecating tone, something I didn't view as a bad thing necessarily until a post by Glenn Kenny rightfully dissed some younger film writers for diluting their critical prowess with too much bitching. I have a right to bitch, of course, but I do think that mixing business with misery is a task best left to shitty, consumptive novelists.
That having been said, I'm letting this site lie dormant while I start up a new blog using Tumblr -- chosen for its emphasis on media over text, something I'd like to explore since I'm writing more than enough for various other outlets as it is. Because I've received a handful of backlinks from very gracious folks over the months, I will keep the blog here as a kind of archive, but after a subsequent missive regarding my new home there will be no more new posts.
I'd like to thank my small batch of readers for a great year. Without hurting feelings, I must shout out most loudly to my good pals Deedee and Who Am Us Anyway, who have kept me going through the darkest moments of 2009 with their unfettered support, and I could equally praise Sam Juliano, Movie Man Joel Bocko, Tony Dayoub, Jamie Uhler, Ed Howard, Kevin Olson, and Tony D'Ambra for great contributions (among others I'm sure I've forgotten).
And now, on to bigger and better things.
And oh, I *am* going to return to "Decisions at Sundown" soon, I SWEAR.
16 comments:
Blogging is a tough business and burnout is frequent. Happens to me all the time. Good luck with the new endeavor and let us know where to find you.
Thanks, Mike! Actually you're probably going to be very interested in my first piece of "media" business over at the new blog, which I plan to get to shortly. Thanks for the support.
Hi! Joseph "Jon" Lanthier,
This may not be original what I’ am about to say, but...say it is not so! ... at least you, have two others outlets (which I do read whenever possible…) to turn to...as you close the door (I really hope temporary) on the Powerstrip.
Jon, remember you can always put pen to paper (Oh! wait, I mean tap out pieces on the key board) for me in between "gigs.”
I’ am really going to miss you, here at the Powerstrip, because it reminds me of a place of "refuge” when I wanted to get far away from the madding crowd.
Well, Jon I'am quite sure that you will return to "strip" inbetween writing gigs...Oh! Well, take care...
...as usual.
DeeDee ;-D
I am admittedly deeply saddened by this post Jon, but I know your work with SLANT will continue, and I am anticipating that movies and music will be a large part of your new showcase. I will of course check for your next announcement, and still have you on e mail and at the Western blog.
Jon, generous of you to mention moi, but I have perhaps been more of a 'pita' than anything else, and it must be said I have not visited for a while. This is not a reflection on you or the Powerstrip, but my love-hate affair with blogging. I wax and wane.
Blogging is really something for the "oblivious", those for whom writing is not a struggle for self-expression, who can suffer the slings and arrows of the commentariat...
I think in the light of your valedictory, you have done the right thing.
Keep well.
Hey boss -- looking forward to your next adventures! Thanks for all the great posts & pls. stay in touch!
I look forward to whatever you end up doing. Blogging can be a tough enterprise becauase trhere's no monetary gain, and sometimes, even if it's not true, it just seems like people aren't responding to what you're saying. I say be selfish, Jon!
I am free of work and school for about a month starting in December, and I too plan on returning to Decisions with some new material (more positive than the last one I did I promise, hehe).
Thanks for the shout-out...yours has always been one of my favorite blogs (Simpson's AND The State...I thought I was alone, hehe), and you were an early supporter and comment-contributor to my blog...so thanks for that, buddy. Good luck with Bright Lights and Slant...some of the best film discourse is happening there.
Thanks for what you've done here so far, Jon. But no goodbyes. I'll just join you at the new blog.
And I'll soon return to Decisions at Sundown as well.
Like Tony, I feel guilty reading your shout-out as my visits have been so sporadic...not just to your blog but to pretty much every blog this year. With my new blogging activity, however, I hope to also renew my visits to other sites, actually setting aside time to do so during the busy week as I think it's a worthy endeavor, both for my own enjoyment, and for maintaining all the great contacts I've established throughout the blogosphere.
As for Tony's and yours and other comments about blogging, I've found it best to take the approach you allude to in your piece - a "divide and conquer" mentality, in which different blogs and outlets serve different purposes. The reason I've been able to put up so many posts at The Sun's Not Yellow is that, for the first time, I am taking the more "oblivious" approach in which I write what's on my mind (not so much biographical, but in response to whatever I'm experiencing at the moment) without fretting too much over it. I've actually been pretty pleased with the result so far - I don't think it's "inferior" product just different, observations and comments rather than full-fledged essays (which I'm hoping to indulge in on The Dancing Image, now that it's been cleared of ephemera). Blah blah blah...anyway, best of luck with your elsewhere writing (which I've been meaning to get in touch with you about) and your media-centric blog, which also reflects an approach I've been considering for a while now (also to be found, hopefully in coming months, on The Dancing Image).
Best of luck in all.
With your permission, I'll check over your new blog as soon as you announce it ;P
Thanks very much to all. As Tony (Dayoub) rightfully pointed out, however, this is CERTAINLY not good bye -- actually I'm shifting my approach so that I can hopefully blog MORE, and in a more rewarding fashion. But, as MM astutely describes, this requires dividing and conquering, and perhaps also as Tony (D'Ambra) claims, an "oblivious" mindset -- though to me much of the joy of blogging is in the resulting conversation. My sense is simply that for the time being, The Powerstrip is not the most expedient format for my filmcrit goals.
Deedee, you are more than welcome at my new blog (along with everyone else) when the maddening crowd gets to be too much. I'll be posting the new link sometime this week almost definitely.
Well, Jon I’ am quite sure that you will return to [the Power] "Strip" in between writing gigs...Oh! Well, take care...
...as usual.
Oops...I’ am so sorry about that last comment?!?
Tony said, "Blogging is really something for the "oblivious,” those for whom writing is not a struggle for self-expression, who can suffer the slings and arrows of the commentariat..."
Jon, I have to admit that I agree with Tony D'Ambra, comment I’ am not a writer.
Therefore, I must admit to being a "little selfish" (maybe more than a little) sometimes and whenever, you as writers' get discourage, tired, etc, etc, etc... I sometime think I wonder what is wrong with him or her?!?...
...let me write for my blog for a month this month and see if I can...Oops! I forgot author Eric Beetner, may write for me this month.
Jon, all kidding aside, I’ am really "very sensitive" to all the slings and arrows that [some] writers, must go through as they struggle to bang out words on the board daily.
(Not only for their blogs, but books, (novels) magazine articles, short stories, etc, etc, etc...)
...Jon said, “I’ll be posting the new link sometime this week almost definitely.”
By the way, is this the secret project?
So once again,
Take care!
DeeDee ;-D
Thanks very much for the very kind words, Deedee. I would only say that anytime anyone aspires to greatness -- of ANY variety -- they must be prepared to prove their worth in a backwards, guilty-until-evidence-arises-to-the-contrary system. This might be a bromidic observation, but it is still, alas, the only path to success, and I hardly view myself as above criticism (not that any of the comments here were suggesting that I think this of myself). I'm a critic, after all! So I really appreciate the sympathy for those slings and arrows, which I confess I am sensitive to, but I also recognize them as essential for growth. I would only ask that the archers aiming at my work as a bullseye attempt to arc their weaponry in as constructive a manner as possible.
Not that any of this is really relevant, however, to my shutting down the Powerstrip.
By the way, is this the secret project?
lol lol lol
No, it's not. HA! The "secret project" (which is encompassing even more work now) will be revealed in January, and I will add that I am not even the organizer of said project (nor is it really a "secret" per se, but treating it as such is too much fun...).
I was about to express my sadness for the 'powering down' of The Powerstrip but as I read you are just changing blogs. I'll just see this as a trade off... as such in the NBA world we'd call this kind of talent moving a 'blockbuster' type deal.
I assume when the new blog is up and linked here we've also get a new email to reach you or will you still be using the one with 'aspiring sellout' tag?
Thanks, good luck, and I can't wait for your new blogging/writing endeavors...
I'm quite moved by all the comments here...
Right you are, Jamie, it's simply a change of pace and format to make my blogging a little less (if you'll pardon the expression) masturbatory. Not sure if it counts as a "blockbuster," but I appreciate the thought... ;)
Actually, my email will stay the same. In fact, my new url is going to be practically the same as the current one, with one slight change that will likely confuse everybody (including me).
All these passionate comments are further testament to the popularity and deep respect you have always commanded. At the end of the day you will still be here with different ornamentation, but with the same acerbic brilliance that has long been your glorious defining trait.
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