Gosh, it's been a while. Checking in since I'm not quite sleepy enough to collapse, but already too braindead to do anything constructive or even relaxing. Obviously a perfect niche for blogging then. There's your marketing campaign right there.
So, what's new... I guess the main thing is I got published on Pajiba, a site I've been reading daily for... God knows how long. Actually, two of my pieces already went up, and I just submitted the third one, which constitutes a big deal in and of itself. The first two were history articles, i.e. novelty items, since it's a film/tv review site. I was offering an off-kilter distraction and writing with some authority (even if it was but a thin veneer) about stuff most people don't know anything about. The piece I just sent them, however, is a TV review. Actually, it's a review of my favorite TV series , so it's kind of a different ballgame, both stress-wise and since they're actually going to publish something non-historical of mine. And so soon, too.
Seems someone's looking out for me, at least in this regard. I wrote them after they published a short piece on the Hungarian revolution of 1956, figuring that if my favorite site was getting into history, it at least wouldn't hurt to ask if I could contribute. The author took his time responding, but it turns out he's writing a thesis in political studies on post-communist countries, or smth, so my Polish pedigree at least gave my email enough anecdotal value for it to be passed on to the chief editor, who in turn liked my history stuff, and so it happened. A month later I randomly wrote the editor asking if they'd ever pimped Slings and Arrows on the site, since they totally should, and he replied that it's funny I should mention it, as he just finished the 2nd season, is in love with it, and was going to do a write-up, but I could do it instead if I wanted to. Kismet struck yet again.
It's been an interesting experience. I've always dreaded creating things from scratch on a daily basis. I figured translating is the perfect venue for me - it allows for some creativity, but you're always just riffing on a source, you don't have to whip anything out of thin air. Now I know I couldn't do it constantly (and on a deadline), but I also learned that there is something there to be plucked from the ether. And it's a completely different process, which right now feels exhilirating. These ready-made sentences or concepts just pop into my head, completely out of the blue, and I get to move them around, looking for ways to piece them together and make the narrative flow smoothly. And then people actually read it, and some of them like it.
At this point it's basically a dream scenario. I don't get paid shit, but I can write about whatever I want, at the pace I want to write it at, and am pretty much guaranteed it will get published. I can exorcise my historical fetishes without having to force them upon random and often unwilling friends, and just now got to preach about Slings and Arrows to a whole bunch of strangers. I'm still smelling the roses.
That being said, writing about the series was quite difficult, and it was the first time when I had to force myself to even begin. God. "It was the first time..." - and I'm only on my 3rd text. Great. Anyway, it's really hard to do justice to something you like so much, and I'm not exactly thrilled with the end result, but I know it's the best I can do for now. It's possible it would have been a bit easier had I rewatched all 3 seasons, but I've seen them at least 4 times now, so it seemed a bit excessive. And I prefer to think that in this case there's no escaping this feeling of vague disapointment. Nothing I could have written could have lived up to my - completely abstract, of course - vision of the perfect ode to Slings and Arrows.
As for other stuff... Behold my mighty youtube-bending skillz, as I make the song start at a very specific point! (Don't mind the absurd video - couldn't find a different one.)
So, what's new... I guess the main thing is I got published on Pajiba, a site I've been reading daily for... God knows how long. Actually, two of my pieces already went up, and I just submitted the third one, which constitutes a big deal in and of itself. The first two were history articles, i.e. novelty items, since it's a film/tv review site. I was offering an off-kilter distraction and writing with some authority (even if it was but a thin veneer) about stuff most people don't know anything about. The piece I just sent them, however, is a TV review. Actually, it's a review of my favorite TV series , so it's kind of a different ballgame, both stress-wise and since they're actually going to publish something non-historical of mine. And so soon, too.
Seems someone's looking out for me, at least in this regard. I wrote them after they published a short piece on the Hungarian revolution of 1956, figuring that if my favorite site was getting into history, it at least wouldn't hurt to ask if I could contribute. The author took his time responding, but it turns out he's writing a thesis in political studies on post-communist countries, or smth, so my Polish pedigree at least gave my email enough anecdotal value for it to be passed on to the chief editor, who in turn liked my history stuff, and so it happened. A month later I randomly wrote the editor asking if they'd ever pimped Slings and Arrows on the site, since they totally should, and he replied that it's funny I should mention it, as he just finished the 2nd season, is in love with it, and was going to do a write-up, but I could do it instead if I wanted to. Kismet struck yet again.
It's been an interesting experience. I've always dreaded creating things from scratch on a daily basis. I figured translating is the perfect venue for me - it allows for some creativity, but you're always just riffing on a source, you don't have to whip anything out of thin air. Now I know I couldn't do it constantly (and on a deadline), but I also learned that there is something there to be plucked from the ether. And it's a completely different process, which right now feels exhilirating. These ready-made sentences or concepts just pop into my head, completely out of the blue, and I get to move them around, looking for ways to piece them together and make the narrative flow smoothly. And then people actually read it, and some of them like it.
At this point it's basically a dream scenario. I don't get paid shit, but I can write about whatever I want, at the pace I want to write it at, and am pretty much guaranteed it will get published. I can exorcise my historical fetishes without having to force them upon random and often unwilling friends, and just now got to preach about Slings and Arrows to a whole bunch of strangers. I'm still smelling the roses.
That being said, writing about the series was quite difficult, and it was the first time when I had to force myself to even begin. God. "It was the first time..." - and I'm only on my 3rd text. Great. Anyway, it's really hard to do justice to something you like so much, and I'm not exactly thrilled with the end result, but I know it's the best I can do for now. It's possible it would have been a bit easier had I rewatched all 3 seasons, but I've seen them at least 4 times now, so it seemed a bit excessive. And I prefer to think that in this case there's no escaping this feeling of vague disapointment. Nothing I could have written could have lived up to my - completely abstract, of course - vision of the perfect ode to Slings and Arrows.
As for other stuff... Behold my mighty youtube-bending skillz, as I make the song start at a very specific point! (Don't mind the absurd video - couldn't find a different one.)
Probably my favorite lyric of the last few months, Freudian slip and all.
Self-preservation continues to be the name of the game.
Self-preservation continues to be the name of the game.
