Donna Summer the Disco Queen: Her “Last Dance”
I know that at this point Donna Summer’s death has spread across the nation. No one expected her to die from lung cancer at the age of 63, especially since she has been performing as recently as 2010. However, growing up with a mother that loved 70′s and 80′s music as much as anyone could, I hold a special place in my heart for her music. She was a talented woman with one hell of a voice. From her disco hits to her more rocktastic numbers, she will be remembered for her powerful vocals and her catchy tunes. She elicited an air of loveliness, class, and down to earth demeanor that only she had the capability of doing, so I leave you with some of her music in memory of her.
True Blood Season 5: Hopes and Thoughts about What is Yet to Be
I usually create one of these posts before the premiere of HBO’s True Blood, and I figure that this year should not be any different than others. I love the Southern Vampire Mysteries and the subsequent television show, which makes me speculate about what might or might not happen. I link you to my “True Blood Post-Mortem of Season 4” to catch you up on my thoughts about the last season. So without further ado, I give you my thoughts and hopes about season 5 (*SPOILERS* from this point on).
1) Tara’s Death– Honestly, Tara has lost favor with me from the first season version of her, and if you’ve kept up with the seasons till now, you know that she filled Eric’s place getting blasted by Debbie Pelt. At the end, Sookie sat holding her dying body and screaming for someone. While they are leading the audience to believe that she’s dead (and personally, it wouldn’t bother me if she was), I don’t think that they’ll actually kill her. I’m more inclined to believe that either shaman Lafayette or one of Sookie’s vampire beaus will save her before she actually fades to black. Do I really care with what happens with her after this? Not really. . .however, I feel that things will still be happening.
2) The Authority coming into the picture– At the end of last season, Nan Flanagan found herself fired for the witch debacle and wanted to enlist Bill and Eric to help her fight against them. However, they killed her and her constituents without a second thought. Still, from the previews and promo videos, it appears that we will meet the Authority in the form of Christopher Meloni, Christopher Heyerdahl, and others. I’m kind of excited to see them since they have been a main focus surrounding the ruling parties of vampires in the series. Vampire hierarchy in novels, television shows, etc. is always something that intrigues me.
3) Werewolf Stuff– As anyone reading this will know, book 5 Dead as a Doornail deals a lot with shapeshifters and werewolves. In my opinion, I think that some of this stuff will come to pass because Alcide is set up to become the new leader of the were pack of Shreveport. I’m a fan of Alcide, but with the emphasis on the vampires, I think that this will become a footnote plot point… yeah…
4) Sam and Luna– This story line should be the most stable in the long run to me. However, I feel like some unpleasantness is going to occur thanks to Marcus’s death… Yeah… I love Janina Gavankar too… So it helps that this story involves her.
5) Eric and Pam’s relationship– From one of the promo videos, I worried about this aspect of the show the most simply because Eric was blaming Pam for unearthing Russell Edgington (which I will get to in a second). Their relationship was on the rocks at the end of the last episode of season 5, but I figured that this would be worked out pretty quickly, yet this turn of events has me thinking that Pam, my favorite character if you don’t know, might die… I’ve said it many times before, but if Pam dies, I will quit watching the show… Yeah.
6) Russell Edgington arises– This might be the favorite thing to happen at the end of the last season. Russell was unearthed, but we don’t know by whom (hence the Pam thing in the promos). With Dennis O’Hare as the delightfully demented vampire of 3000, I’m excited to see him return, which will allow the character to grow yet again. It will be awesome!!!! AWESOME!!!!
7) Off-Bookedness– What excites me and scares me the most about this season deals with the fact that they are going to be almost, if not completely, off book. While it’s been a while since I read the fifth book, I’ve realized since the second season that things are moving away from this canon text. However, I find that this is not necessarily a bad thing. With new thrills and changes around the bend, I like not being able to see what is coming.
So there you have it, some of the things that I’m excited about for season 5. While I know not all of them will come true, here’s hoping that my radar is right on and at least some of this will happen. If not, I may have to hang these posts up… and frankly, I like talking about vampires, the show, and the books too much to do that. 
Creepy Things From Thrift Stores #1
One thing that you might not know about me is that I am an avid thrift store shopper. When I look at Goodwill, Community Thrift stores, etc., I not only look for furniture that I can refurbish or other cool stuff, but additionally, I look for the creepy shit that lines the shelves. The things that look like they might be from horror movies or have the potential to haunt your nightmares. Today, I found two such things.
I can’t really decide what this is. It kind of looks like a monk at prayer. However, I must question why someone in rural Middle Tennessee would need something like this. I don’t know… I find it off-putting.
Creepy ass monkey coconut… I don’t know that i have to go into this too much. However, I usually like the carved coconuts… This one looks like it’s seen better days, but it is also super crude. As a result of this crudeness, it’s quite scary.
Review of Nimbus: A Steampunk Novel (Part One)
I recently had a Twitter conversation with author B. J. Keeton (@professorbeej on twitter. . .you should follow him if you don’t) and expressed 
how hard it is for me to write a review of anything because I feel like I can be a little too critical at times. I also told him that this is the reason why I hadn’t already written a review of his and Austin King’s Nimbus: A Steampunk Novel (Part One), and honestly, this is true. I have started and stopped writing my review several times, and each time, I have thought that I might be being a bit too hypercritical. However, as I have let the thoughts sit, I know that I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading it, and although the first part isn’t perfect, I really enjoyed it. Now, I’m going to tell you why as briefly, succinctly, and honestly as possible.
First the novel’s blurb:
NIMBUS: A STEAMPUNK NOVEL (PART ONE) is the first volume of a serialized steampunk fantasy novel that started as an experiment and came out of the authors’ desire to do something new and interesting with ebook technology, while also dealing with a wide variety of narrative goodies–from airships to demon possession.
The story of NIMBUS: A STEAMPUNK NOVEL follows Jude Finley, a new recruit aboard the Gangly Dirigible, an airship that extracts water from rainclouds. Having only lived above the Skyline for a year, Jude is still getting used to the way things work in the world above the clouds. While working aboard the airship, Jude and his friends uncover a secret which may or may not help them against a growing uprising that could spell doom for everyone on the planet.
Meanwhile, Demetrius Rucca, wheelchair-bound son of a prominent religious leader, begins recruiting followers for his own subversive cause. As allegiances are sworn to him and his followers grow, he begins to discover the new powers that lie within him. This power could be the salvation Demetrius is looking for–or it could be the destruction of the known world. (From Amazon)
About the Authors:
AUSTIN KING has written plays, poems, novels, and short fiction, but he spends most of his time making sure his credentials sound more impressive than they really are.
B.J. KEETON is a writer, blogger, and teacher. When he isn’t trying to think of a way to trick Fox into putting Firefly back on the air, he writes science fiction, watches an obscene amount of genre television, and is always on the lookout for new ways to integrate pop culture into the classroom. He lives in a small town in Tennessee with his wife and a neighborhood of stray cats. You can find more free fiction by B.J. Keeton at www.professorbeej.com. (Amazon as well)
Both of these guys are awesome as well!
The Good
The characters– Both Jude Finley and Demetrius Rucca are fully fleshed out characters that I find to be completely believable. While both characters are interesting in their own right, Jude takes up the mantle of our main hero as he manages his life aboard the Gangly Dirigible and is confronted by increasingly difficult situations up until his cliffhanger. Rucca (as he is referred to throughout the novel) lives the life of a highborn crippled man, and it becomes obvious quickly that this has affected him as he literally takes to the skies to rid himself of his existence. Moreover, each has another hidden layer that surfaces as the story continues. . .
The story– It’s original and unlike anything I’ve ever read before, but moreover, it puts a new spin on the steampunk genre, which can be dry for me at times. From the beginning, the readers are shown the importance of water and how difficult it is to gather in turn through Jude’s story. With Rucca, we are brought into the problems of someone stuck in his own skin, feeling the limitations and hoping to be able to bypass them somehow. And. . .AND it has demon possession which will serve as a huge plot device within the remaining parts. . .I find this to be really awesome.
The Concept of Serialization–They’re releasing the novel in four parts on Amazon, but they’re also releasing it chapter by chapter on Keeton’s blog professorbeej.com. I’ve oftentimes thought of how interesting it would be to read something serially, like the Victorians once did (and others… I know that too). This indulges my fancy and allows me to see how it would function. Also, I think that this is a brilliant way to build suspense, especially with the overall strength of the writing. It makes the overall premise great.
The Not So Good
Imbalance with alternating plots early on– While the writing and the story were really, really strong overall, I found myself at times feeling like the alternating chapters between Jude and Rucca’s points of view were a bit uneven in terms of their overall pacing and interest level. This occurs mainly toward the beginning and slowly begins to work itself out as both plot lines amp up in terms of action. Give it the first few chapters, and I assure you that you will be drawn in (that’s why I make this point).
Awkward phrasing at points– Although this doesn’t happen that often, there were a few times in this section of the novel that I was left scratching my head at the connection of ideas in a sentence or at just the structure of a sentence. For example, at one point there is discussion about a character that has been damaged by the fog: “His fingers, hands, and arms were also damaged. Muscle tissue and, like the spot on his right hand, even bone showed through.” I understand what was meant to be said here within the context of the larger scene; however, it took me reading this passage a few times to get the exact meaning. These types of issues occurred very infrequently, which shows you that the copy editing / proofreading was done with great care and attention to detail.
Overall– 4 of 5 Stars
I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars because it is provocative, the concept is interesting, and the characters, especially the main ones, are well written. I enjoyed it thoroughly and anxiously await the second part to know what happened to both our hero and the budding villain. Honestly, it is pretty fantastic for only 2.99 at the Amazon Kindle Store. Go out and get it today!
A Taste of Night
The end of the world happened March 15, 2042, a rather fitting date considering its reputed historical significance. Late on this day, all the superpowers of the world turned their nuclear arms against each other and fired letting the cards… and bodies fall where they may. What sparked such a response? One can only guess. Maybe someone insulted the American President’s wife? Maybe Spain got tired of trade negotiations with China? Who knows? However, all I can remember is the smell of burning flesh and seeing people I knew and love die painful deaths.
We were in our house when it happened, my wife and I. I sat in the den in my easy chair as I listened to my wife busying herself in the kitchen. It was her night to cook, and I still remember the crunch of the carrots that she chopped to put into the stew she prepared, while she hummed a jaunty tune to herself. As I sat there reading the Times, I remember hearing a pop from somewhere very distant from where we were and thought nothing of it as a result. As I sat in my windowless cave reading my newspaper, I soon felt the house begin to buckle and heard my wife’s humming replaced by a blood-curdling shrieking. I rushed upstairs immediately to see what was the matter expecting that she might have cut herself badly or burned herself on the stove top. Sadly, I was mistaken as she turned to face me, revealing the seared flesh of her face and twin trails of liquid running beneath where her eyes should have been.
I moved closer to investigate and started to weep myself as she continued to scream.
“Oh my fucking bloody hell, what the fuck should I…” I started to question to see what I could do for her. However, the cracking of timber and drywall met my cries as the house collapsed upon my wife and me. And then, all was darkness as I reached and found my beauty in the aftermath.
I held my wife one last time while she slowly sank into shock, and, then, her respiration stopped. Where my beautiful wife had once been, now an eyeless husk remained… An eyeless husk held by myself. I cried tears for her as I lay there in the dark holding what remained… tears of blood, the only kind that a vampire can cry. I held her for several days until the smell of rotting flesh became too much for my heightened senses. I kissed her one last time as I decided to go, leaving her there alone in the darkness and rubble of our former home. The same pile of rubble that I had to push through to escape from the dark and enter the world as we know it now.
At 6:32pm on a breezy, frigid Saturday in New York City, my world changed as my human wife died before my eyes. One week later or at least I assume it was about a week at 9:14am, I pierced through the drywall, timber, and bricks that encased me and found myself in a new world.
The sun still shone in the sky, but a thick cloud of dust and particulate debris now covered it, obscuring the full power of its rays. Surrounding what had once been our house, similar monuments of destruction and despair filled the spaces of our neighbors and our friends. What once was a thriving neighborhood was now a ghost town… or rather the ruins of one. Where green had been brown took its place. As life existed before, nothing but death met my sight. All was silent Human life had existed as the dominant species, now only death and the monsters of the world remained. A world that I was a part of and had been for the better part of four hundred years.
On this end day, the human race found itself instantly an endangered species of sorts with small groups living below the surface of the Earth. My kind would have its era upon the earth. . . my kind would reign. I shook myself into motion and walked toward the horizon, hoping that I would find someone. . .something to balm my ills and make me forget that I am Raymond Rothschar, that I once was married, and now I was irrevocably alone. . .
2012 Summer Movies that I Want to See
So as usual, you all probably know by now that I get excited by all nature of movies, television shows, books, etc. This summer is not different because a huge number of movies that I am excited to see. Some of them deal with comic books, others revisiting old television shows, some that just look interesting. Here we go (I’m going to list them in order of release thanks to a little help form IMDB).
1) The Avengers– May 4–The labor of love from Marvel Studios and the culmination of the last three summers. Directed by Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, etc. fame. Starring all the big names from the passed movies except for the substitution of Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk. At 2 hours 23 minutes, it looks to be a pleasant romp that will make any fan boy or girl’s heart warm and fuzzy. I’m excited!
2)Dark Shadows– May 11– A brainchild of Tim Burton and the descendant of the 60s television show. It looks to be interesting to say the least with Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Chloe Grace Moretz, Helena Bonham Carter, Jackie Earl Haley, and more starring. While it looks to be taken a little bit too much for the comedy of it all, hopefully, it will be passable… hopefully.
3) Prometheus– June 8–Another of Ridley Scott’s children. Set in the universe of Alien and starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, and others. It looks to be enjoyable… if see people get inhabited by aliens is your thing…
4) Rock of Ages– June 15– A movie musical with classic 80s rock. It should be awesome! With Tom Cruise (whom I worry about singing), Alec Baldwin, Mary J. Blige, Catherine Zeta Jones, and many more… I love musicals and 80s music… What could go wrong here?
5) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter– June 22– I love vampires… I think that might be enough said here… also, this looks to be fun. With a lot of people I don’t recognize by name alone… still looks fun (names don’t sell movies for me… per say).
6)The Amazing Spider-man–July 6– While Spider-Man has never been my comic book baby (I love the X-Men… what can I say… you probably know this… Also X-Men First Class sequel summer 2014. Exciting!!!), I do enjoy the Marvel comic movie franchises… and I’m apt to give this one a chance because of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy… Also, Rhys Ifans as Curt Conners / the Lizard… Needless to say…I’m excited about this one as well…
7) Ted– July 13– About a Teddy Bear that is brought to life by a child’s wish… however, we fast-forward thirty to forty years, and he’s still there. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Seth MacFarlane (as Ted). Looks to be enjoyable… (in my twisted mind at least).
8) The Dark Knight Rises– July 20– The end of the Christopher Nolan Batman franchise. Looks to be an awesome and fitting end to the franchise (here’s hoping they don’t continue it with Joel Schumaucher… Don’t think that they will though because it looks like Batman is going to die). With Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordan-Levitt, Gary Oldman, and many others… Again, it looks to be awesome… Bane!
So there you have it… My list of the movies that I wish to see… now there might be a few I missed… but don’t we all miss a few things every once in a while. I’m excited for all of them… so yeah…
Origins
Rajhym stood on top of Mt. Vijadt watching the people in the village below scurry about. He had been hiding for the past couple of hours, shirking his duties in the fields to do what he like to do best: people watch. Now, as it began to get dark, he decided to climb down the treacherous path to get home, where warm goat stew and cider would be waiting for him.
The journey down began as always with Rajhym using a small torch to light the precarious trail. It felt much the same under his feet as it had felt many times before, but after walking for at least forty-five minutes, he began to climb the mountain again. This was when he began to worry.
“I have taken a wrong turn,” he thought, “and now, I will surly die from exposure.”
When this crossed his mind, he sat down and started to cry for he had never been lost or alone in his fifteen years, and now, he was truly scared for he knew that Mt. Vijadt turned dangerous after dark and creatures roamed the paths that no one spoke the names of anymore. He remembered four years ago that his father had wandered into the mountains in search of his sister. Neither of them had returned, but he and his mother found a necklace of bloody teeth strung with his sister’s bloodied golden hair… and they knew that their family was dead and that they had suffered. After this, his mother had kept him close at all times… that was until his fourteenth birthday when he had to begin working.
He knew it was a risk to climb the mountain but did it anyway. Now, he wished that he hadn’t.
His tears continued.
“Ah, poor child,” came an ethereal voice just outside the torch’s ring of light. “Why are you sad?”
He wiped his eyes and replied, “I’m lost and find it impossible to find my way in the dark. If I have to stay here, I’m sure to be gotten by a creature of the mountain.”
“There, there,” answered the voice as a feminine arm came into the circle and its hand stroked his face. “I won’t let a creature of the mountain get you.”
As the he felt more at ease, Rajhym noticed the gnarled hand and the fingers that ended in talons. He gasped at the sight and started to run away.
“Now, where are you gong little Rajhym?” cooed the voice as steel-like grip clamped upon his shoulder. “Don’t you want never to be afraid again? Wouldn’t you like to haunt this mountain all of your waking moments, forever?”
“Let go. I need to make it home.” He struggled against the hand, but it was no use.”Help! Help! Help!”
“Poor little vagabond,” whispered the voice covering his mouth with another taloned hand. “I will make you strong. You shall be mine.”
A noxious breath blew across his torch, causing it go out. Rajhym was left in the dark with the creature. Slowly, his eyes adjusted, and he began to make out the outline of what looked like a nude woman with glowing eyes, looking at him hungrily as she continued to grip his arm.
“I shall kiss you and make it all better,” she said. “And none of the others will attempt to take you ever again.”
She stooped down closer and closer toward him until her toothless maw covered his tender face. He felt something like warm flesh in his mouth that he assumed was her tongue, but soon, he realized it was more like liquid energy flowing from her into him. He felt stronger as his limbs started to extend and claws began to grow from the tips of his fingers. Quickly, he felt more powerful than he had ever dreamed of becoming.
“And now it is finished, my child,” she creaked withdrawing from him. “My journey is done, but yours is just beginning.”
“What do you mean?” he questioned, recognizing a deeper, more raspy voice which frightened him.
“You are now one of the Draknar. An ancient race, very powerful of sorcerers that some worship as demons… and to a certain…*Ack, ack*” her coughing interrupted her speech. “…extent we are, I suppose.”
“What is this about your journey being done?” again the deep raspy voice came.
“I have endowed you with the eternal essence, the source of your power. But like a bee sting, once given the stinger must die.”
“So, you’re leaving me?” tears began to fill his eyes again.
“You’ll be okay, my child. But all things must come to an end, Ahsa. . .”
“You create me, and then. . .” the deep, raspy voice trailed off as he noticed the light leaving her eyes. He knelt beside her for a moment before her flesh started to flake away in the breeze.
The last thing to go were the eyes in which he saw his reflection. His eyes glowed with a cold fire from the depths of his now gaunt, cadaverous face. Jagged teeth replaced his once boyish smile. And a desire to inflict pain filled his heart because he lost everything as all Draknar do but gained so much more.
The Walking Dead: Post-Mortem Season 2 *Spoilers*
After watching the season 2 finale of The Walking Dead, I come away with many thoughts about what happened and why I like some of it and why other parts irritate me. Overall, I liked season 2, and the finale made the overarching narratives go out with a bang.
1) Zombie blood bath– I think that this might have been the most impressive and exciting part of the season finale because it was the first time a horde of zombies attacked the humans without the humans invading their territory (the tank episode in Atlanta would be an example of territory disruption on the part of Rick and the others). All the characters are able to show their badassness in how they take on the horde as well with many of the more minor characters finally getting some screen time to show their skills (Hershel standing there blasting walkers made it interesting…).
2) Shane’s death via Rick– I’ll be honest that I’ve never like the character of Shane. He was a dick and marched to the beat of a different drum that was going to get the others killed, it was just a matter of time. While I don’t know that Rick stabbing him was an entirely convincing way to waste him albeit a satisfying one, I feel like this broke the character of Rick from the hopeful one of the group and produced a scary individual on the other side… I’m not sure what is going to happen with him, but I know that Shane did have to die… Lori being pissy with Rick after the fact, however, annoyed the hell out of me because she was the one who initiated the whole situation… What did she think would happen?
3) Jenner’s Big Reveal– I’ve been thinking that there was something fishy with the whole Jenner thing at the end of Season 1 and kinda expected something like this to happen. However, I’m not sure of the consequences of telling everyone that they’re infected. Moreover, I don’t think that anyone had the right to attack Rick over his decision not to tell them… Really? Does it matter that they know? Are they all going to “opt out” now? Frankly, I think that for everyone it was an overreaction because nothing changed except for the knowledge that was passed between them, and besides, Rick didn’t know himself until zombie Shane came after him…
4) Can’t they keep Carl in the f*@$ing house or at least watch him– I’m tired of Carl… He’s annoying, and I wouldn’t feel bad if the character happened to get bit by the zombies (maybe they’d get Lori too). However, I’m astonished that no one ever knows where he is in the post-apocalyptic zombie world. We know what happened when Sophia got away from the group (zombiefied). Moreover, they seem to be trying to make him useful in some way in terms of the story, but I’m still not buying that he’s up and about from a gunshot wound that quickly…
5) Michonne– While I’m not very knowledgeable about the comic series, the fact that we get a glimpse of a badass character wielding katanas with zombies on chains behind her makes me excited… it seems that someone has gotten it figured out in the zombie apocalypse and maybe she will help the other survivors…
While these are not all my thoughts about the last episode / season, these are some that still are on my mind and that I hope we are going to get some resolution for (the more open-ended thoughts anyway). What I do hope though is that the zombie-rific action and the human drama (not the whiny kind though… *cough* Lori *cough*) will continue to get better as the series continues and, furthermore, that we will get some more insight into the importance of some character choices as the story continues to unfold.
Commenting on Things: What You Should and Should Not Do
with 2 comments
Recently, I have been perusing the deep, dark recesses of the internet, and I have found that I am constantly irritated by people who find it necessary to comment on any and everything that appears. Whether it be on Amazon product descriptions, comments on people’s’ personal blogs, etc., I find that much of what it found in these handy-dandy commenting areas to be anywhere from completely indecipherable and unhelpful to irreverent and confrontational. I believe comments can be helpful and can offer a lot of insight on a topic that the writer and the readers are adamant about, but frankly, I think that many people either do not know how to comment or just don’t care the image of themselves that they put out on the internet. Hence, I offer some of the most common commenting concerns that I see for anyone who comments on others ideas, writing, etc. and some ways in which to avoid them.
1) Fangirl / Fanboy posts– You’ve all read these types of post. These are the one in which people will blatantly bash someone’s work because they
enjoy the source material that someone is writing on. This is not what bothers me per-say, but I think that if you are going to disagree with someone’s opinion on a subject that you should be able to disagree with them in an intelligent and civil fashion. Be able to critique someone else’s ideas by giving information from the original source material to back up your ideas. For example, don’t just say “OMG you don’t understand Edward and Bella’s relationship. You’re a big do-do head.” First, one should explain the complexity of the subject that the person obviously doesn’t get by giving details about said subject. Second, one should be able to do so without name calling. I mean seriously are people 6? Tip here is to know your shit and be willing to back up your opinion in an intelligent way without just clinging to your love of said topic.
2) The vague comment– Again, we’ve all seen this. This is the post where the person appears to either not know what they’re talking about at all or they haven’t even read the post. For example: “I really appreciate the words you had to say about this.” One, this is not helpful at all. Two, this makes it seem like you’re just trying to promote your own blog or site (as they are generally followed by the most recent blog post). If you can’t find something that you would truly like to comment on (whether you like it or not), then don’t comment… or simply say that you like the blog post and move on (which I’m still not a fan of)… Don’t be vague just to try to sound provocative or to be mysterious… please.
3) The confrontational comment– This is the comment and the commenter that will disagree with you just to do it and try to get a rise out of you. Yet again, I think that we’ve all seen one of these. They attack both the ideas presented (with or without evidence to the contrary) and usually attack the person who created the item in question. Usually, they are inflammatory. For example, “This book would have been better if they had gotten people working in the field to write it. As it stands, it sounds like a group of graduate students wrote it.” While it may appear that this person may not have liked the book, they additionally feel it necessary to attack the credentials of the persons who edited and wrote for the book in question (I’ve actually read reviews similar to all the ones that I’m using for examples… However, none of them are verbatim). This commenting situation can again be rectified by simply expressing reasons as to why they think the book is not up to snuff and also by not attacking the group of people in question, especially without explaining why.
4) Illogical comments– While these comments are usually harder to spot because they may appear to do all the good things that commenters should, they are also quite annoying to find. For example, on a friend’s blog, a guy is arguing that the Schumacher “Phantom of the Opera”
should not be compared to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical because they are in too absolutely different mediums. However, the fact that they are based on the source material of Gaston Leroux and that the movie is directly based upon the musical stage show makes his assertion pretty much invalid. While some (or many most) of the things that he says could be arguably debated if he framed his argument a little differently, the illogic he uses taints the foundation of his claims. What’s more, he’s the confrontational and dick-ish commenter (view the above) that lashes out against my friend even as she tries to deal with him calmly. Here, thinking through the logic and tone of the comments he posted could have made him look like an intelligent individual who wanted to exchange ideas in a civil fashion, but as it stands, he just looks like an asshat. One thing more I will say about this is that persons (including myself at times) may not know that they are being illogical but if their opinions are shown to be falsely based with evidence they should be willing to admit this and move on (believe me, I’ve had to take back things that I’ve said before because I proposed something that was illogical… yeah not proud to admit that myself). However, the tone has a lot to do with this type of commenting…
While I could go on listing egregious commenting annoyances, I think that I will stop where I am and reiterate the suggestions that I’ve been giving throughout for what I think makes a good comment, regardless of the situation.
These are just a few tips I would like to share with the blogosphere to encourage more civility and thoughtfulness before people write. However, I would also like to say that I do not do so to discourage debate and argument with others. I just think that people should do so in such a way that they clearly make known what it is that they want people to know and do so in an informed way. Additionally, I am not saying that if you know the person you are commenting on that you should necessarily follow all these rules because you know the person and know what it is that they are comfortable with. For example, I’m okay with my friends and family saying random things across my blog without really taking it to heart. I’m just tired of reading ill-conceived or non-nonsensical yammering where I expect to see thoughtful or civil idea exchange. Here’s hoping it can be better… yeah…
Written by barryr22
April 9, 2012 at 2:16 am
Posted in Blogging, Entertainment, Technology, writing
Tagged with amazon reviews, angry, blogs, civility, commenting on, confrontational, decorum, hub pages, irritationg, tips