I started reading "Eating the Dinosaur" by Chuck Klosterman during a power outage this past weekend. It opens with a series of discussions between Klosterman and various (and varying types of) journalists regarding the art and craft of the interview. In one such discussion, British author Chris Heath states the following:
I'm not sure that we aren't seeing the emergence of a society in which almost everyone who isn't famous considers themselves cruelly and unfairly unheard. As though being famous, and the subject of wide attention, is considered to be a fulfilled human being's natural state—and so, as a corollary, the cruelly unheard millions are perpetually primed and fired up to answer any and all questions in order to redress this awful imbalance.
Klosterman deduces that very statement explains the "rise of New Media." Do I believe that I inherently desire to be some entitled, perpetually drunk heiress? No. Do I believe that the internet has opened up an expansive playground in which I, as a unique individual, feel I must be heard?
Yes. Guilty as charged.
As such, this is an attempt to prove that my blogging has not merely been a byproduct of my unemployment. I've been correcting a lot of errs, getting my life back on track. I'm
four months employed, looking at school next Fall, losing weight (19.8
lbs down), and getting my financial weight in check.
Not unlike my diet, so much of my comic book appetite (having primarily being a comic book blog) became full of empty calories. Crossover continuity crushing Avengers vs. X-Men tie-ins. New 52 fluff. I was consuming comics simply to feed my weekly(ish) panels feature and finding myself not enjoying all the satisfying whole food comics.
So like my diet (and by extension, my life) I've cut the crap. I can count my local comic book store (LCBS) pull list on two hands and I'm downloading far fewer titles. That being said, I'm not sure what, if any, form a panels feature will be... featured here. It's kind of played out anyway, right? I mean, they're everywhere (my personal favorites being
here and
here.) So unless I come up with some unique idea, panels will merely play as part of larger reviews and features.
I have no delusions to any overall purpose for almost colossus. We'll see what it slowly evolves into but for now, consider it my expanded Facebook without all the New Media-ness. Much like it began, really. There will be a couple small posts coming tomorrow and we'll see where things go from there.
Peas.