Saturday, April 23, 2011

Since April 23, 2005...

...that's how long I've been blogging here about film, television, toys, and nostalgia.

I'm at just approaching the 2,000th post now, which is hard to believe.  It's funny to think about, but this blog has taken me through the birth and ending of my own independent web-series (The House Between [2007-2009]) and other career and personal milestones as well.  In fact, the blog is older even than my four-year old son, Joel. 

The template here has changed a couple of times over the years, but even with small cosmetic alterations, the blog has been a constant part of my daily life for a long time.  I like it that way.  My blog gets me up in the morning and gets me writing. 

Most of all, I'm thankful for all the professional and personal friendships I've made through this writing venue...something that doesn't necessarily happen through solitary book writing, or occasional media appearances. 

And I remain committed to writing here. You'll probably have to drag me away from the keyboard when I'm 103, I wager.

Anyway, a day of "reflection" here on Reflections on Film/TV.  Every year at this time, I like to go back and re-post my very first "blog" entry, from April 23, 2005, just for posterity.  Kind of a tradition:

Hello everybody, welcome to my blog. And to start us off, I quote the illustrious Admiral James Stockdale: "Who am I? Why am I here?"

Good questions...

My name is John Muir. and I'm a published author who writes under the name John Kenneth Muir, not because I'm pretentious or anything (though I am...) but because - for some reason - there are a lot of writers out there named John Muir.

Specifically, there's the great American naturalist from the last century, and also a fellow who writes about fixing Volkswagens. Others too, I think. In the age of the Internet, I realized I had to distinguish myself a little for Google, Yahoo, Lycos, Ask Jeeves and other search engines, so for the record, I'm the John Muir (the John Kenneth Muir...) who writes about film and television for a living.

And I know nothing about Volkswagens, so don't ask...

To let you know a little bit about my work, I'm the author of fifteen published books and several articles and short stories. I live in Monroe, North Carolina and work out of my home office penning books on film and television.

You may (or may not...) know some of my titles. From Applause Theatre and Cinema Books I've written: An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith (2002), The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi (2004), and Best in Show: the Films of Christopher Guest and Company (2004).

McFarland, a publisher here in North Carolina, has published eleven of my books, including award winners Terror Television (A Booklist Editor's Choice, 2001), Horror Films of the 1970s (A Booklist Editor's Choice, 2002 and ALA "Best of the Best" Reference Book '03), and 2004's The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television.

I've written about prominent horror directors (Wes Craven: The Art of Horror [1998], The Films of John Carpenter [2000], Eaten Alive at a Chainsaw Massacre: The Films of Tobe Hooper [2003]) and several TV series studies, including Exploring Space:1999 (1997), An Analytical Guide to TV's Battlestar Galactica (1998), A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television (1999), A History an Analysis of Blake's 7 (2000), and An Analytical Guide to TV's One Step Beyond (2001).

I've also written an original (licensed novel) based on the TV series Space:1999 called The Forsaken, from Powys Media, and freelanced for magazines including Cinescape, Filmfax, Rerun, Collectors News, and The Official Farscape Magazine. On the web, my home page is here, and I'm the regular media columnist for the web-zine Far Sector, which features original fiction and great editorials and opinion columns. My column this month "It Boldly Went," discusses the need in our society for a show like Star Trek, and the cancellation of Enterprise. So that's my cv, and that's the experience I bring to the table.

That answers the first question, who am I?. The second question, why am I here? involves pop culture, film and TV. I hope I can utilize this space to discuss, debate and ponder trends in movies and TV programs. I'm open to all subjects - fantasy, horror, science fiction, Bollywood, musicals, you name it. Basically, I just hope to create an ongoing journal about contemporary and classic entertainment...

14 comments:

  1. Congratulations!, John.

    And keep up the good work. I'm sure we'll be around when you'll be 103, but don't count on us to drag you away from anything. Not me, anyways :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy anniversary, JKM!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy Anniversary, John! And, may you keep informing, entertaining, quizzing, and promoting for many years to come.
    Best of all possible Destinies,

    Howard

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats on the significant milestone. You keep crankin' 'em out and we'll keep readin' 'em.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congratulations, my good friend. Even though I wasn't there at the beginning, I plan on sticking with it for as long as I'm on this mortal coil. Your blog has become one of my must reads, John. You keep writing the blog and I'll continue to be absorbed in it. Thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gosh, so cool. Happy Birthday [so to speak]! Here's to many more. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Claudiu, Fang, Howard, J.D., Le0pard13, SFF:

    I want to thank you all for such lovely anniversary wishes today. I am very appreciative of such wonderful friends and colleagues. Without you, this would be a very lonely blog, that's for certain.

    You all are seriously the best and I wholeheartedly appreciate the good wishes on the blog's sixth anniversary.

    Enjoy the holiday!

    best wishes, always,
    John

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous8:10 PM

    Warmest congratulations. Your small corner of cyberspace is a must-visit each morning in the hopes of learning something new in the scifi genre or seeing a snippet on my all-time favorite Space:1999.

    ~~Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  9. Congrats on 6 years. May you blog well into a dystopian future where we live on a planet ruled by apes, or are overrun by giant cockroaches.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Meredith and Jdigriz,

    Thank you both for the anniversary wishes. Much appreciated!

    Meredith: It's wonderful to have another true Space:1999 fan in these parts! It's still my favorite sci-fi show.

    jdigriz: I think I should use your comment as a blog advert -- "blogging into a dystopian future (where we live on a planet ruled by apes, or are overrun by giant cockroaches...). I love that. It should be my motto, seriously! :)

    best,
    JKM

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous9:56 AM

    And a (slightly belated) Happy Anniversary of another year's blogging. Thanks for all the fun, the insight, the the thoughtful analysis, and the clogging of my Netflix queue.

    I very much look forward to whatever is in store in the future. (*cough*differentdestinations*cough)

    All the best to you and yours as the next year rolls through.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi woodchuckgod,

    Thank you for the anniversary wishes, my friend. I get a kick out of knowing I'm clogging your Netflix queue.

    And my goodness, I really do need to blog "different destinations," a truly amazing Farscape episode. I've got to work that in soon...

    All my best,
    John

    ReplyDelete
  13. Happy belated milestone congratulations! Your insights are always eagerly awaited by your many fans!

    Get going on the next 2,000 posts, now! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Lisa,

    Thank you for the congratulations on the blog anniversary. Thank you for the kind words, and rest assured, I'm working on those next 2,000 posts... :)

    best,
    JKM

    ReplyDelete

My Father's Journal: "Apologia"

Apologia By Ken Muir   I am a person of my age, of my time in history.    Born into an America that was on the verge of winning the greatest...