Yes, I know--I've been gone a long time.
Much of the time has been spent wondering what I should do with this blog. I considered even abandoning it completely, and probably would have were it not for one thing.
It's attracting the notice of writers such as Dorothy Thompson, who recently showcased this blog in her ongoing feature How To Pump Up Your Blog To Sell More Books. Ms. Thompson made very valuable suggestions, such as adding a site meter to track visits. However, as that requires a monthly fee, I'm going to have to think long and hard before I commit myself to any expenses. I'm already in up to my neck with Netflix as it is.
With this newfound attention, I wondered if I should make this blog more "writerly", writing more standard (that is, brief) animation reviews, or should I continue my commitment to Kevin and provide every single visual detail for his enjoyment? The reviews as they stand now are an editor's nightmare, taking up the equivalent of fifteen single-spaced typed pages. It doesn't exactly show me at my best as a writer, but...
After a good deal of thought, I've decided friendship should win out, and the reviews, for now, will be written as they've always been.
There have been a lot of new developments on the toon front, at least for me. For one, I finally broke down and bought one of Jerry Beck's excellent series of DVDs containing obscure animation. The one I chose, a Terrytoons disk covering the 1940-41 release season, contains a cartoon that, while flawed as most Terrytoons are, merits attention: a Gandy Goose cartoon called THE MAGIC PENCIL. Guess what's going to be the first review for the revived blog?
Tags: note+to+readers, Kevin+Wollenweber, Dorothy+Thompson