As strange as it may seem, there are actually people out there on the internets—most of whom I don’t work with—who read the drivel I occasionally post to this blog. There are very few among those sorry souls who have actually announced the fact, however, and I think having such poor taste deserves some public ridicule: so thanks, Paul! If this sort of thing keeps up I’ll have to change my theatre bio from writes an unpopular weblog
to writes an only slightly unpopular weblog
.
Seriously, Paul Gorbould’s gor[b] has been on my own blogroll indirectly for quite a while now, via Planet CBC. (Here’s a piece that I think will give a good idea of why I read gor[b]: Paul’s remembrance of Lister Sinclair.) It’s kind of strange to know that someone at my favourite Canadian institution is actually reading what I write, not just about it but everything else.
I dunno… the CBC isn’t the den of popular culture you make it out to be… Even if everyone there read it, you still could end being a Canadian celebrity. You know, like Don McKeller – it’s like being in witness protection, but better because you’re hiding in the movies.
Okay, if Strombo read this I’d say you’d have to claim you are popular.
Seriously, I guess there is hope for us newly blogofied ones. Maybe one day I can claim that somone I’ve never met reads what I right! That would be awesome and you’re there already!
If I discovered that George S. reads this then (after recovering from my heart attack) I could claim someone I don’t watch or read reads my blog. 🙂
Don’t you be slagging on Don McKellar… he’s a fine writer/director who’s been responsible for some of the best films I’ve seen. And anyone who can make an over-the-top asshat* director character like Darren Nichols sympathetic is an amazing actor.
As for the CBC, well, I beg to differ. Three hours of tonight’s PVR schedule was CBC programming—Rick Mercer, Little Mosque on the Prairie (not bad, not great, but I’ll let it get its sea legs), Intelligence and The National (the other two hours were House, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert)—and on my walks to and from work I also listened to an As It Happens podcast and three or four items from Quirks & Quarks.
Please don’t think I’m saying anything bad about Don McKeller – he’s great. I think he is highly underrated but that’s because “success” is tied with “money”. I just used him as an example of Canadian celebrity – someone who is excellent at all he does, but insists on living in Canada where most people wouldn’t recognize him. It’s like what Krusty said: “What good is respect without the moolah to back it up.” Perfectly summarizes what makes celebrities important in the US. Seems like in Canada, you can be well respected, but that should be enough in itself – don’t get too full of yourself. So Canadians would want to see your new movie, but not what shampoo you use.
Hey, thanks for the shoutout (or call out, or public shaming…) Peter!
“Slightly unpopular” has a nice ring to it… I’d put that in my bio – though since mine already has a nod to Douglas Adams, I’d rephrase it as “mostly unpopular” 🙂