LAUNCH

Welcome, readers old and new. I've finally entered the Sphere as it were (though I still don't really like the word "blog"), to build a permanent home for my movie reviews which you may or may not have read (and may or may not trust, but here we are). Two years ago I graduated from NYU with a Cinema Studies degree, and I just missed writing papers so much that I thought I should start writing at least a few sentences in response to each new movie I watch. The ebb and flow comes and goes, as any creative type well knows, but at least I know I'm getting my practice. I was asked to contribute a few things to the Nashville Scene for the Nashvlle Film Festival, and I smuggled my way onto the press list by writing for my friend Todd's site, Nashville Independent. I discovered GreenCine, some of my contemporaries started blogs, and I realized that it'd be nice to have somewhere else to direct people other than my Myspace blog. That brings us to now.

I've had various sites in the past, updating people on what I think they should read, hear, and see, being still attached to my middle school reputation of having the most cassingles and putting aside my homework once a week, on Tuesday nights with my mom, to see a new movie. In high school my mix tapes were up there, but in the age of pods and playlists, pop culture moves faster than it ever did back then. This is my contining effort to stay caught up, so that the threshold of becoming a grownup-- stuck to the music and movies of your youth-- can be pushed further and further in front of me. So that's where I'm at.

A few notes, administrative memos, items of housekeeping:

- I started this blog as a more appropriate, semi-professional home for my reviews of new movies. But if and when I'm inspired to post about other stuff, I will. I'm convinced that any one person can only thoroughly follow two out of these three enterprises: Music, Movies, and Sports. This theory works with just about everyone I know. So while there's a good chance that you'll hear about music I'm liking, it's quite unlikely that this blog will help you with your fantasy football or college basketball predix.

- I am, as they say, a "comment whore." And aren't we all? So when you read something I've posted, click that link and hit me with something in return. I would love for this site to harvest a small community of dialogues and conversations, so reply with your thoughts on whatever's being addressed, or launch off onto something else. Not just for me, but for everyone else reading. Let's talk.

- If you're reading this you might be a good friend of mine, or you may have never met me. So to give you some context, I'll periodically clue you in on my favorite movies of all time. Maybe I will occasionally post a paragraph about one of these classics, perhaps I'll just give you my list off the bat. But I'll most definitely post topical Top Fives every now and then. Let me know what Top Five you'd like me write about.

- For your boredom, I've compiled some exits to the right-- other sites I read, a bunch of great undiscovered bands, and so forth. You'll also find my famous rolling Top Ten movie list, which will be updated in real-time throughout the year (it's on moratorium from November to January, so you can lose sleep in your suspense for my annual list).

- Bookmark me and tell one person you know about me too. It means a lot that so many of you are checking in to see what I'm thinking, even after I recommended to you LAST DAYS, GERRY, and a bunch of other really long, really slow movies, and tried to convince you that John Mayer is a genius.

Off we go, starting with my Holiday Movie Preview below. Thanks for reading.