Just to darken the page...

Time for an update.
fast forward from 2004 (remember when?) to 2009.
The original piece just didn't rate revival
flatlined, in fact.
Deep-sixed (appropriate gospel dispensed for the mourners)
meanwhile -

This post was about reviewing.
I think I'll add a couple of other reflections to the list. What the heck.
Perspective. That's what comes from bouncing in and out of this site four times over the past seven and a half years. Including long layoffs, where the creative energies went elsewhere.

Before I get to my take on reviewing -

The writing bit - some days, it's tough finding something good to read (I'm picky)....I tend to save up the sure bets, kinda like the dessert after the liver and onions, if you know what I mean.
It's a funny thing. Why is it that a lot of men, when hitting middle age, dispense with fiction and dive into non-fiction only?
Well - fiction is sort of like going to the movies, suspending reality and all that.
Non-fiction is a smorgasbord of fascinating stuff - should one find a good stable of great authors who really know how to write, and write about engaging topics. (my gargantuan library provides me with endless fodder - the browsing as rather good.)
Thing is - after pickling myself in the pros.....I can't really stumble in here believing that I'm looking for the next great novelist...although there's no reason why such an animal might not be found within this jungle.

Funny thing.
This is a medium, after all. No doubt about it.
One thing about mediums - they're designed to be manipulated. Not necessarily smoke and mirrors...but more like getting carried away with form......and forgetting content.
I'll say this just once, as clarification. Initially I was amazed at how much form and design I was stumbling over here....while actually finding precious little to read.
Well.
That's just kinda reminiscent of good old network TV.....I sorta vaguely remember what that was like....

Okay. I'm way too old (and slightly, ever so slightly) wise enough to get caught up in rock-throwing contests. The glass house I inhabit has lots of big clear windows that let in the sunlight, starlight, moonshine and provide a wonderful view....also presenting of course - tantalizing targets for large rocks.

Seems to me (in my dim memory of encounters with bullies of various stripes, sorts, species et al....) that the very worst sort of all was the intellectual bully. That being the sub-species of the bullet-headed Uzi machine-gun mouth, the sabre-razored whit, the cluster-bombastic comeback, etc.
The thing that always fascinated me about people with that sort of weaponry, was what happens when there is no moral imperative to use appropriate firepower to meet the need.
I always appreciated people who knew how to either muzzle their Rottweilers, or properly train them in the first place.

On to reviewing.
I remember the good old days, when jam joints abounded, and musicians of all stripes would get together to rub shoulders, influence each other, share what ever it was that had some value to somebody...and basically just waste a lot of time groovin' on the vibes, so to speak.
Those that wanted to radically alter or improve their chops - usually went elsewhere to dig out the private teachers and tutors. Learning the chops wasn't so much a social thing...as just a whole lot of disciplined gruntwork.

Those with the mettle for it, went there. The rest of us just hacked and chopped and fiddled and twiddled and made a whole lot of joyful noise and whatnot...

Which brings me to my central topic.
After browsing through the heavyweight review forums, reflecting on their credentials, pride and purpose, mission statements, I'm left with a small number of puzzlements.
Feedback is a whole different animal than a taught lesson, of whatever formal persuasion.
(and thank goodness the spirit of that philosophy is quite alive and well, in here!)

Yeah - people will make a fuss over the number of reads they get, the stars they get, the adulation, attention, acknowledgements they believe they deserve..............................
This all just reflects life in the real world - in fact, it's rather comforting to find the same bedlam in here as out there....
No doubt frustration breeds reactionary plotting and scheming, but what really IS the point?
Creation - in all its wondrous acts and forms - is sometimes just a tough nut, you know?
Gettin' it right.
Just like weights on the scale.....if you have this little smidgeon of wrong over here that out-weighs that little lump of right over there.....then some crumby little law of physics (the little twerp) is going to make the scale tip....oops!......that way...


oh yas.....we must improve our grammah, our spellin' and our form and structure....and hopefully after the compulsory exercises, there will be enough left in the tank to actually produce a wee bit of original thought.
(which I have always thought was more or less the point of expending this energy.)

Hmmm. Was I talking about reviewing? I do recall this was supposed to be confessions of a bold reviewer.
Bless me, uncle, for I have.....................................

Reviewing rules: (what works no matter how many wrenches I throw in there)

First, find something to read that engages you.
Read it. Read it again.
How much did it engage? Will wedding bells chime in the future? (at least a second date?)
Chances are, some law of attraction at least takes you past the first line.

If you understand it implicitly (or think you do) - prove that to the writer in your review.
If, on the other hand, you haven't a clue.....ask questions (but only if you really want to know.)

My little secret.
I think of a piece of wrting as an invitation to open up a conversation. Always.
Now, sometimes you might not want to go there....(hey baby! - comes on over here and give us a kiss!)
Yeah.

I dunno - I just like the idea of writers meeting one another through their writing....
Who teaches? Who's taught? Who stumbles into the spotlight and for what reason?
We're all swingin' the ego bat....stirkeouts, home runs.......................

Ain't it just great to be in the game?