CasdraBlog

Part of the concept of this weblog was to do reviews of the books, movies, and video games that I experience. It sounded good in the abstract, but then it came time to actually write one! I just finished “The Weblog Handbook” and I enjoyed it, yet I was filled with dread and unease at the thought of writing a review of it. I tried to step back and think about why I felt this way and I came up with a few observations that I need to take into account. First, I don't enjoy criticizing other people's work, especially when they've done something I can't do. I mean, you never say never, but I find it hard to imagine myself writing a novel, so anyone who has actually got a novel published has a big one up on me! Next, I tend to like just about everything I read and watch. At least I can find something good to take away from it. The combination of these two makes me ill suited to guide someone else's decision - I tend to recommend a lot. Finally, I can't be a lazy about these experiences. If I'm going to write about them I need to be pay attention and really think and try to understand and remember what is happening.

Just like writing these daily entries, I have never attempted to write reviews. Taking my observations into account, my reviews will be about my feelings about the material and why I'm happy that I spent the time to experience it. Or if I'm really not happy about it, i.e. I've wasted my time, that should be easy to talk about.

OK, I've got a couple reviews to work on. Stay Tuned :-)