She's ba-ack...

My original idea for this blog lost momentum almost as soon as Ebert himself graciously granted me permission to use his name. "I'd be honored, even when you disagree," he wrote to me in an e-mail I'd originally sent to Scanners blog editor, Jim Emerson. I was beyond ecstatic that my hero had taken the time to write me back.

What happened? Well, I quit my job as an arts calendar editor at Seattle Weekly, and spent three months in Prague reviewing films for the English-language paper there (Thanks to the lovely poet and pie-maker Kate Lebo). So far, it was the ultimate adventure of my life. I saw everything from Sex & The City to monthly installments of the FutureShorts series to East of Eden on a warm June night on the banks of the Vltava, to Paris, I Love You--in French, with Czech subtitles. I was too embarrassed to leave the packed preview, signifying I'd forgotten to ask "Cesky titulky?" Luckily, the message of most of the shorts, like Tom Tykwer's incandescent True, were easy enough to surmise.

I was busy with my assignments and keeping a general Prague blog while there. And, I suppose, with enjoying liters of fresh, cold pilsner while watching Euro Cup matches at enormous beer gardens. Since returning to Seattle in late summer of 2008, I've been consumed with keeping afloat and in the city. It seems like everything has changed, especially in publishing. Now I'm a waitress and a freelance arts writer for the Seattle Times. I also pick up random hospitality gigs, like wearing a tiered cupcake dress for a local gourmet bakery at fancy events and working the door at my DJ friends' monthly dub/techno/house party, TRUST.

I've watched tons of movies in the two years since I've posted here: Tropic Thunder at a desolate drive-in in Auburn, WA. Matthew Barney's Cremaster 3 on one of our first beautiful spring days (you may note the absurdity, if you've seen it). I adored An Education and A Single Man. I let classics on my Ebert list, like Apocalypse Now, languish in their Netflix sleeves for weeks because I wasn't "in the mood," finally returning them unwatched. I cancelled that service in order to hang out with the cute boys at On 15th Video, who are always watching something like Footloose. They call me about being late too. I've refused at least two opportunities to watch Great Movie Citizen Kane.

It's simple. For better or worse, right now I'd much rather be watching True Blood. Has it ever taken anyone longer to release a second season?!

Over the past year, I've been diving deep into HBO and Showtime dramas, after years of not watching TV. When I broke up with the boyfriend who accompanied me to Let the Right One In, who I wanted to be the right one, I watched the whole of Six Feet Under in order to cry about something else. Boy, did that ever work.

I watched three seasons of Big Love while simultaneously reading Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven, and asking a Mormon friend what she thought of both. I was spellbound.

I went crazy for Mad Men, whose stories I find quietly engrossing and subtly devastating. To say nothing of the costume, sound and set design. One day, I watched an MM extras disc, which showed the process of episode development in a writers' room. This is how people write for TV? In a group, around a big table, sharing old magazines, and conversations they remember from childhood?

And that leads us to today! I've been needing a new goal--something to take the place of the "I quit my dream job to work in Europe, and now I'm broke" story. That's getting old. My character has to evolve.

I've learned that she isn't so single-minded. She's secure in her identity as a writer, but she also can't live a hermetic writers' life. She loves waiting on people and hearing their stories, especially ones about how their parents met. She loves watching fights while riding public transit. She still goes to parties full of strangers, and eats dinner alone at pubs, at the counter, where people meet. Now she has business cards and a broken iBook. She writes her first, sputtering attempt at a screenplay on coffeehouse computers. She sometimes pulls all-nighters making or consuming media, but always always drinking wine. Thanks to anxiety medication, she can finally sleep when she wants to. She's thinking about collaborative writing. Grad school.

The personal details seem important to place here. If you're going to re-open a long-dormant blog, why should anyone try keeping up with your lazy ass a second time? Maybe they will, with a good explanation.

***

Roger's been going through a lot more than me. I like his response to Chris Joneses' Esquire article. What a man. That he encouraged my idea is something I'll never forget. People never want to "spoil" a movie for me, but I tell them don't worry about it. I always read Ebert's review of a movie before I see it, and again after. Sharing enthusiasm and cultivating introspection, and standing by the convictions of your opinion, are so valuable in writing and in life...that feels like what I've learned from him (and my editors) so far.

Watching Roger Ebert's Great Movies, now numbering in the hundreds, is probably going to be a lifelong goal. Not something a very social person can accomplish in a year or two. But I vow to keep this blog updated at least weekly on those films, other films and worthy TV. I'll start next with my first SIFF picks of the year.

Thanks for reading. :) R