Animation Art

Lori Lancaster | September 29, 2005
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | September 29, 2005
No on animation, yes on TC being quiet lately. I miss talking about Society Zone stuff, which everybody became nervous about discussing ages ago and now is all but dead with Anna and a few others gone. The only times lately that I've really felt good participating in TC is when we talked about sex offender registries, and the legal excuse of being drunk at the time, and Pat Robertson calling for assassination, and the future of the Supreme Court. These are not just matters that interest me, but also matters that should elicit good responses (they used to), and the ones on which I can learn the most by reading other authors' comments. Bitching about goos and cheering our favorite canceled TV shows are fun and all, but I guess I miss the weightier discussions. :-\

Amy Austin | September 29, 2005
Yes, I was afraid this would happen when Anna left... but you have to be prepared for disagreement on these "weightier discussions" -- and I think that's obviously the really hard part here and a point that her exodus seems to have driven home well.

Then again, maybe it was exactly her "contentious nature" that got people talking and coming back. (I have no idea how many of those who stay quiet are still actually reading/"lurking" nearby.)* It's no big secret that some people really just like a good cyber-spat with virtual strangers... don't know why, and it may not be a secret, but it does seem a little dirty. I guess it can feel liberating to say things online to someone that is of no "real" consequence in your life (but I know that some people here are real-life friends, even if only previously!) -- and since there's also plenty time to compose yourself, the lowered risk for "losing face" in an argument is not as daunting (although, I don't necessarily believe that when written words are retained for much longer and able to be re-read long after the fact... something that always makes me more than a little uncomfortable when posting online and especially in the heat of disagreement).

Maybe every forum *needs* someone like Anna to keep them talking... of course, this probably works much better when that person knows and understands their role as such and doesn't take themselves so seriously as to get drawn into the heat -- but I suppose that would take someone willing to be spurious and/or disingenuous at times (which I certainly don't think Anna ever was), and this makes me think of people like Howard Stern and his ilk, who have no desire for anything but the upper hand and making people look like fools, no matter how cool they may appear. I guess it's just really hard to be genuinely expressive and not be defensive about it... although I do think that there are some folks here who are great at it but don't tend to say very much very often (*and continuing from comment above about "lurking": it seems like Steve Dunn has been gone forever -- is he still in Europe? And I know Steve West is still playing the goo game -- is he still reading here, too? Why is Mike Eberhart so quiet lately... I haven't even seen him on the goo for a while! Of all the most non-rufflable folks around here, only Mike Cote and John Gunter seem to come out of hiding often enough to count as "discussion"! Is it just me, or is Kris Weberg here much less since Anna left, too? And why are Lori, Jackie, and I the only females who ever seem to have anything to say, even if only trivial? I hate to think that it's our fault that any good discussion seems to be lacking! And speaking of "trivial"... even Dave Mitzman only seems to pop in long enough for the occasional lame "snap" comment on the Ho! Is all of this really because Anna is gone??? I thought that some of these people would have more to say without her here!!!)

Hmm... for me, this is one of those moments where I feel like I may already have said too much and start to feel a little "naked" -- why I try to not fill any void left by Anna... and there obviously is one. So... what now?

Amy Austin | September 29, 2005
Wait... I see Mike Eberhart's name on the updates! Yay!!

Lori Lancaster | September 29, 2005
[hidden by request]

Dave Stoppenhagen | September 29, 2005
I knew I felt your dark presence active Lori....

Anyhow I'm insanely busy at work anymore and lurk when I can, that and I'm genuinely an asshole and trying to be nice for once, so I keep my evil rhetoric to myself.

Amy Austin | September 29, 2005
Aw, I'm sorry, Lori... it wasn't like that at all -- would it help if I told you that I once considered animation cells, but decided that they are just too expensive? Not like Barbie (;-D)... whom I haven't been able to bring myself to purchase since my house was robbed. In fact, I've deliberated off and on over the last couple of years about whether to keep or sell my collection, which consists mostly of pristine childhood dolls (sans the box, to my dismay), along with the boxed gals I've purchased in adulthood. I just don't have the passion for her that I used to... but I am very sentimentally attached, because my Meemaw bought most of them for me. I've asked her, and of course, she says to sell them if I want -- they are mine to do with as I please -- but I can't deny that the thought just pains me to no end. So, in their suitcase they sit, waiting for a time that they can be appreciated as they used to be...

Good to see you "in the light", Dave... ;-D

Dave Stoppenhagen | September 29, 2005
Yeah you should see my desktop background

Scott Hardie | October 16, 2005
For my part, the-subject-I-shall-not-discuss is taking up most of my time. I read TC daily but I'm not good lately at writing to it. Did you notice it took me two and a half weeks just to say that? Without the daily output of goos I'll see if I can keep up. Thank you, Lori, for picking up my slack lately.

Amy Austin | October 16, 2005
Speaking of said unspeakable subject, Scott... I meant to congratulate you on your recent reason of absence. I understand that it comes with a price (time), but I hope that the payoffs are well worth it for you. (If I'm stepping over a line here that I should have mentioned privately, please forgive and let me know -- I will even remove the post if you want.)

Jackie Mason | October 16, 2005
[hidden by request]