Hello, you are a whiner

[cleolinda]

Okay, I have a completely random, wank thought-provoking question to ask, in terms of random feedback. You know, the kind of feedback that you get after something's finished, not when you're actually still in revision mode. Actually, let me back up and ask a preliminary question: those of y'all who write, am I totally crazy for thinking there's a point when criticism just isn't helpful anymore? Constructive criticism is fantastic, and even if it hurts your feelings you don't like it or it doesn't seem helpful, you can still learn from it, or at least file it away under Complaints Registered. But to me, there's a point where the thing is done, and... it's just done. There's no going back. When I post a "Fifteen Minutes," barring some kind of major mistake or accidental omission, I generally consider it done. When someone publishes a book, it's done. All the criticism in the world isn't going to allow you to change it. You may mentally revise it for years and wish you could make changes, but basically? Nothing you can do about it. So to me, there's pre-release constructive criticism, and there's post-release literary (or "literary," if the parody thing in question... isn't) criticism. It's observational criticism, rather than constructive. I mean, yes, I can still learn for the future from it, but "This sucks," as vague as it is, might actually indicate that I need to change something before I release a work into the wild; after I release it, "This sucks" can't really help me.

So: 1) Am I crazy for thinking of it this way? 2) Am I being really unreasonable for thinking that leaving, in essence, "This sucks" as feedback is kind of unnecessary when a piece is finished and done? I guess what I'm thinking is... if you don't like something, go tell someone else you didn't like it, but don't tell me? Are you so dissatisfied with your (free, in this case) entertainment that you have to inform me? You couldn't just walk on by? Were you afraid that I was feeling too good about myself, or something? Or is it important to let people register their dissatisfaction, rather than just going, "Well, it's awful quiet out here, that must mean something"?

(Disclaimer: I actually thought that parts of the Cloverfield piece were weak, but kept moving rather than obsess about it, because there were parts that I felt really did work. I don't need rainbow pony hugs or anything. I am really truly trying to figure out if I have a spoiled, irrational mindset about criticism here. I'm actually kind of expecting y'all to tell me that I do, because it might help me suck it up.)

Linkspam!

From Smadronia, another way to help someone that doesn't involve money: "A girl in Texas needs blood and platelet transfusions for the next 9 months, and her insurance won't cover all of it. If you donate blood, you can specify she gets credited for it, which will allow her to get more transfusions. It's something like every 2 pints donated in her name will get her a pint of blood." More info here.

From agentsculder: "Attention Rebellious Jezebels!" Awesome.

SAG Awards: My live blogging, let me show you it; Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild Award Winners (while we're here: Sean Young drama at the DGAs); Oscar odds, post-SAG Awards; SAG Awards: The best and worst moments; The Hater: SAG Awards Superlatives; Good and bad SAG fashion at Jezebel; 2008 SAG Award Red Carpet Pics; Viggo Mortensen's ensemble, which actually seems to be a dark blue (and red) in daylight, with bonus Javier Bardem; Post-SAG Awards photos; Josh Brolin was kind of a douche last night, which was even more striking after Daniel Day-Lewis Dedicated His SAG Award to Heath Ledger (video).

Speaking of which, only non-sensationalist, movie-related Heath Ledger links: Christopher Nolan has a beautiful piece in Newsweek that killed me in the last paragraph; Did Heath Ledger finish vocals on 'Dark Knight'? (signs still seem to point to yes); Heath Ledger Talks Joker Role Prior to Death; existing Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus set pics (warning: there's a second set that are, in retrospect, upsetting. If it helps any, these are apparently from his first scene in the movie), plus a script review that may give you some idea of what it's about; Heath Ledger's Final Portrait (literally, a painted portrait); "Golden Years" clip from A Knight's Tale.

Sundance winners announced.

"Anonymous" still attacking the Church of Scientology. Specifically, from solle: "Anonymous are thousands of people that have collectively managed to uncover and distribute half a decade worth of lies and secrets in less than a week. This is already much bigger than the discovery of the Xenu story ten years ago, and it's still growing." Examples: "They've stolen basically every important Scientology document, book, DVD, tape and secret file and put it online"; "They've found the full 45 min. Tom Cruise video"; "the 'Jesus was a pedophile' level has been put online," and so very, very much more. Meanwhile: The Ultimate Tom Cruise Scientology Parody Video Roundup, which may have something to do with Tom Cruise's sober appearance at the SAGs; Scientologists Haven't Even Thought About Suing Gawker (read this in an O RLY? tone); Fight Scientology Without Breaking the Law, Jerks.

Disabled spy satellite threatens Earth.

What in the holy hell.

Japanese girl's letter returned 15 years later ... by fish.

FBI: Woman sought hit man on Craigslist.

On 'Celebrity Rehab,' Dr. Drew Teaches Jeff Conaway's Girlfriend About Why He Claims To Have Severe Menstrual Cramps. I cannot recommend this show highly enough, mostly because it is terrifying. If you have kids who are old enough to hear about why drugs are bad for you, have them watch at least one episode of this. Have them watch Grease, actually, and then have them watch Jeff Conaway shaking uncontrollably and screaming and vomiting. And you know what the scariest thing is? Dr. Drew is completely calm and deadpan--and utterly professional--the entire time, because he sees this all day, everyday. Conaway's having a seizure and has to be rushed to the hospital? Yup, just another day at Pasadena Recovery.

Stallone: HGH use is 'nothing.'

Cool Person of the Day at Jezebel: "Cook and her sister were huge opera fans who, under the cover of being opera groupies, snuck in and out of Germany before WWII to smuggle the valuables of Jewish families to safety. Later, Cook began writing Mills & Boon novels to fund their activities, and helped 29 people escape the Nazis."

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds announce European tour.

No. Go make IRL friends.

Tell Us How You Really Feel, Ursula K. Le Guin.

Free audio of Neil Gaiman reading his Cthulhu/Sherlock mashup "A Study in Emerald."

JG Ballard explains how he came to write Crash.

Former sanitizer of rental movies is accused of paying teens for sex. Maybe I'm totally lame, but I actually sucked in my breath and said, "Oh...! Oh... snap " out loud. It was just that satisfying to read.

What's the terminal velocity of a Balrog?

Tackling a Character Who’s a Real Character. Wait, Harvey Keitel is playing Jerry Springer?

Full collection of Disney's Year of a Million Dreams ads. The Scarlett Johansson and Rachel Weisz ads win easily.

Cloverfield Drops To Fourth, unsurprisingly; A Monster Hit: Bryan Burk Talks Cloverfield; Should 'Cloverfield' have been on the big screen at all?; Missed Connections - Day after Cloverfield (Humor); What Should Happen in Cloverfield 2: The Reclovening? (note: I have no idea what that thing in the accompanying picture is); Cloverfield as an exercise in emergency preparedness of which there is little, with bonus linkage to Cloverfield in Fifteen Minutes (woohoo!). ("Note: when our protagonists spot the abandoned horse carriage, they should have thought, 'Hurrah! Transportation!' ”)

‘Lost’s’ Ben divulges clues about season 4.

Reepicheep!

"Deathly Hallows" Director Update: Heyman says Del Toro Not Really in the Running.

Del Toro Considering Hobbit Films; New Line, MGM Hope To Appease 'Hobbit' Fans By Throwing Big Bag Of Money At Guillermo Del Toro.

Hornby Confirms 'Quantum of Solace' Scalextric Racing Set. I understood maybe two words in this headline, but something's confirmed, and it sounds awesome. Also: Mathieu Amalric Calls 'Quantum of Solace' "very dark"; Craig Defends New Bond Title; More 'Quantum' Comments From Daniel Craig And Gemma Arterton.

Marion Cotillard to Join Depp and Bale in 'Public Enemies.' It's like they're sitting around going, "Could we make this movie more awesome? You would think not. But you would be wrong."

2 new 'Dark Knight' photos.

'The X-Files' Hits Newfoundland.

New 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army' Art.

New Pics From Will Smith's Hancock [Morning Spoilers].

J.J. Abrams Talks Star Trek Visual Effects and Realism; Marlene Forte Joins Star Trek.

Paul Giamatti Wears Fully-Functional Rocket Belt in "Pretty Bird" [Scary Inventions].

Luc Besson Embarks on an Extraordinary Gallic Adventure.

Cleese To Join 'Day the Earth Stood Still' Remake.

'Harvey Milk' Set Photos.

New Photo From Disney/Pixar's 'Up.'

Sundance Interview: 'Funny Games' Star Michael Pitt; Sundance Interview: 'Funny Games' Star Brady Corbet.

Harvey Weinstein Wants Another Rambo Sequel?

Channing Tatum is Duke in G.I. Joe. I can't decide if I'm even less thrilled about this movie than I was about Transformers. Where is my She-Ra movie, I ask you?

Comments

[tropes.livejournal.com]

I feel the same, pretty much. If you like it, I like to know what you liked. If you didn't like it for specific reasons... well, I don't really want to know, but those specific reasons MIGHT be helpful. Maybe. Sorta.

Mostly, though, I do prefer if people keep criticism once something is posted to their damn selves. So, I'm with you.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think specific criticism wouldn't have even bothered me, because I could either think to myself, "Yeah, I kind of felt that way too, and chose to post it anyway," or "I'll remember that for next time."

[reynardine.livejournal.com]

Some people feel the need to criticize regardless of whether it might be helpful or not. Personally, I agree with you. Don't tell me about it. The piece is finished and I've moved on. Reporting to others whether one thinks a work is good or not is an entirely different thing, to my mind.

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

So: 1) Am I crazy for thinking of it this way? 2) Am I being really unreasonable for thinking that leaving, in essence, "This sucks" as feedback is kind of unnecessary when a piece is finished and done?

No, you're not crazy. There comes a point where if you've worked on something for so long, there aren't any major changes you can make to "fix" it. In fact, you'll probably just make it worse.

Free audio of Neil Gaiman reading his Cthulhu/Sherlock mashup "A Study in Emerald."

Oh man, I read that and was so confused. I had to go back and reread it a couple of times (and check up on Wikipedia) to fully understand it.

[silk-noir.livejournal.com]

1) You are not crazy for thinking this way.

2) "This sucks" or other items of that ilk is never about you or your work. It's about the person saying those things.

[last-archangel.livejournal.com]

"A Study In Emerald" is probably one of my least favorite Neil Gaiman shorts, oddly enough. And I love Sherlock Holmes. But I found it seriously disappointing.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Heeeee, your icon.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, isn't Celebrity Rehab awesome? I mean, obviously not in an "awesome" way but in that "Hey, I bet this'll scare someone out of doing drugs!" kind of way. Seriously, Jeff Conaway is just completely messed up, and the morbidly hilarious part is that Daniel Baldwin is, like, rehab's dorky overachieving older sister, where everybody else is off having seizures and vomiting and getting caught with meth or whatever and then Daniel Baldwin shows up all, "EXCUSE me, this is not conducive to my sobriety!"

Er, I may have been deprived of constant original programming for too long.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Baldwin is such a smug whiner, I love it. Because he's right, and... STILL. And I would be seriously concerned that Jeff Conaway will not survive the season, except that--isn't it taped in advance? So if he'd died, we would have heard about it, or they would have canceled the show?

[pygmymetal.livejournal.com]

It's the law of diminishing returns, so no, you are not weird about thinking 'put a fork in it, it's done'.

That's why they ask how you want your steak - rare, medium, or roof slate - everyone has a different definition of done.

It's your work, you're the be-all/end-all of when it's done. :)

[maggiesox.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for linking to the Rebellious Jezebels store, which I run. I'm happy to say that knitmeapony, ginamak and I are looking at a nice hefty check for NARAL.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Aww, yay! And thank agentsculder, she's the one who sent me the link. : )

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

"This sucks" is not criticism, it's someone trying to make themselves feel big via Internet. "This sucks" is what the petulant goth-wanna-be teen mutters to himself in the back of the family truckster when being dragged to Six Flags. "This sucks" applies equally to M15M as it does to entropy as it does to being nailed to a cross. Criticism at least mandates the slightest indication that the respondent has read the material in question. Constructive criticism, even more so. "This sucks" is not worth the time it takes you to read it. That's not irrational, that's just practical conduct in the Internet age. Not all feedback is created equal.

And if they're going to make another Rambo movie (dude, he couldn't even beat Meet the Spartans, a movie I'd rather be set aflame than sit through -- if they really showed the best bits during the commercials I'd rather wait in the car), they've got to get around to She-Ra. Who do you want in the title role? LiLo? Dakota? Gellar-Prinze?

What do I want in the Uberclovening? More Darwins. Four on each coast. One in N'Awlins, because, seriously, the only appropriate reaction is to roll your eyes and just wait it out.

If Dr. Drew and Dr. Phil shook hands, would they cancel each other out in a burst of energy?

Hang in there, C. Fret not the online bastardry.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Who do you want in the title role? LiLo? Dakota? Gellar-Prinze?

Oh God, none of the above. Maybe someone semi-unknown?

[thansunshine.livejournal.com]

That video scared me. The dancing zebras and deer I can live with, but then the bear and the octopus? DO NOT WANT.

Also, it hasn't been officially announced yet (I don't think it has, anyway), but Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on board for G.I. Joe G.I.J.O.E. (they changed it :|), too. I know him, and he says it's not a rumor, he's definitely doing it.

He hasn't said what role, but he did say: "It's also true that the most illustrious of story-tellers throughout the ages, from Homer to Shakespeare to Chaplin would all be mad jealous of my character's costume."

I'm going to reply to this with the source, and I'm going to keep it screened. I love the place so much, I'd appreciate it if you kept it quiet; I don't want in influx of people there trying to meet Joe.

[thansunshine.livejournal.com]

Dammit. I is fails and can't screen.

If you want the source, I can get it to you some other way. :|

[girlalmighty]

Oh, jeez, someone really felt that was necessary? Man, that's ridiculous. I mean, if I post a first draft of something or even a second or third draft, I'd be more than happy to receive (constructive) criticism, but once it's up, it's up. I mean, if something particularly works, I like hearing it, but I'm pretty much done with the piece, so telling me it was bad doesn't help any. Now, if they want to say, for example, "Well, this bit didn't work for me" or something to that effect, it might actually be useful. Maybe. Possibly. For the future. But mostly? If it's done and you didn't like it, I'm not gonna get much out of your feeling the need to take the time to tell me it sucked, especially if you're not explaining why.

...soooo, no, I don't think you're being spoiled at all.

[clodia-risa.livejournal.com]

I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. I certainly think that a lot of criticism is unwarranted (and stupid) and so agree with you. But I also want to reserve the right to inform an author that what they've written really, truly isn't as good as they might think it is, just because I want them to do better. I think it's a judgment call. Me personally - I would assume that the story (or whatever) just wasn't ringing with me personally, or if it really sucked I would assume that someone that the author is more likely to listen to will tell them. But then I hate hurting people's feelings.

I don't like a carte blanche allowance or disallowance on criticism. But I think that you're definitely entitled to your opinion - and that people should respect that before posting criticism.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think negative responses should be ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN. Just... I hope if you thought something was bad, you'd tell the writer, "I thought that the dialogue was stagey, the plot didn't hold together, and the ending didn't make sense," so at least they'd know WHY you didn't like it. As much as they can't do anything about it now, they can still learn from it. I just don't get a blanket "U SUCK" response. (Which, to be fair, was not the exact gist of the comment. But it was a "This was not good" comment, no elaboration.)

[elisa0984.livejournal.com]

Let's face it, someone who is going to leave that sort of comment has probably tapped all the mental resources they have.

I think there's just something different about this m15m where seeing the actual movie is of utmost importance.

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Let's face it, someone who is going to leave that sort of comment has probably tapped all the mental resources they have.

HA!


I think there's just something different about this m15m where seeing the actual movie is of utmost importance.

I haven't seen the movie, so I found that I couldn't really follow the parody until the mayhem began. From discussion here about the characters in the opening of the film, I bet that's the point -- even in the parody.

[unexpectedgift.livejournal.com]

Okay, as a copy editor and frequent critic, remember this: Criticism is when you identify a problem: constructive criticism also suggests how to fix it. "this sucks" is the lowest form of jibe, really meant as an insult rather than as criticism. It's natural to be annoyed by this sort of thing, especially in a community like LJ--where really, no one is obligated to post anything of any quality.

As for the Disney pictures--RACHEL WEISZ WINS. SO BAD.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I KNOW! SHE SO DOES!

Criticism is when you identify a problem: constructive criticism also suggests how to fix it.

As obvious as that sounds in retrospect, that's a really interesting point. I can't believe I'd never thought of it that way. I mean, I guess it's so hard to wring criticism out of people you ask to read your work that I'd considered simply identifying the problem to be constructive as well. But that also explains why literary criticism isn't constructive criticism: you're not going to tell someone in a book review how they should have done it.

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Critique doesn't mean stating what's bad or that a work/performance is flawed. Critique is an analysis of how a work/performance functions. It might contain clues for improvement in future endeavors. It might reinforce why the piece is effective.

However, stating "This sucks" on the blog of the creator is rude. Yet, when I critique anything in my LJ, I get a lot of "it upsets me to see someone ragging on my most favorite thing/person/Firefox".

So I think that reviews/critique/analysis once a work is complete might offer useful suggestions when an artist makes choices on another project. Unfortunately, Kenneth Tynan is dead and Robert Hughes isn't so active any more, which leaves Harriet Klausner at Amazon and I don't believe for a cotton-pickin' minute that she reads 87* books a week and still has time to type up nothing but 5-star reviews. Still, I have seen a number of films Roger Ebert gave a thumb-down because he could articulate how the film failed/succeeded and that let me know if I'd be interested. However, I didn't make those films, and if I did I might feel his "This sucks" was pointless for me to hear.

The best advice I've heard on seeking critique as a writer was at MidSouth Con 2000. A panelist said, "Find one person you trust to be brutally honest about your work, and listen to them. Doesn't matter who it is, just that you understand their point of view."

You may have to suck it up, Cleo, and ignore the people who don't like your works and leave that info where you see it. I will say from attending workshops and pitch sessions, it's a lot worse when it's done to your face.


*Number chosen at random for comedic purposes.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Critique doesn't mean stating what's bad or that a work/performance is flawed. Critique is an analysis of how a work/performance functions. It might contain clues for improvement in future endeavors. It might reinforce why the piece is effective.

Yeah, that's something I always stress when I ask for criticism. You know, tell me what I also did right so I don't screw it up by second-guessing myself. And it's why I do it myself when I critique for other people. I always try to couch it in terms of "This didn't really work (for me)," and if you can explain why the other things did work, you may be able to offer clues as to why the workingness broke down here or there.

However, stating "This sucks" on the blog of the creator is rude. Yet, when I critique anything in my LJ, I get a lot of "it upsets me to see someone ragging on my most favorite thing/person/Firefox".

Ironically, I used to get a lot of that when I first started writing parody. The funny thing is, I never get it any more--I don't know if it's because I'm so careful to say "I liked this movie" or what. But I always say that (I mean, if it's true), because I want to get the false assumption that I Am Just Being So Meen Omg out of the way. If you didn't think it was funny, you know, that's fine.

So I think that reviews/critique/analysis once a work is complete might offer useful suggestions when an artist makes choices on another project.

Yeah, I got tons of "The parodies were too long" when book reviews came out. At the same time, it was kind of a damned-if-you-do/don't situation, because I'd purposely gone long so that longtime online readers would feel like they got their money's worth. It was a conscious choice I made, and after the reviews sank in, I realized I'd made the wrong choice. I've worked since then to make these things tighter. (I also got slammed multiple times for my "student" or "internet" sense of humor, at which point I was like, well... yes. I had actually tried to tone a lot of it down, particularly the internet slang, but I kept as much of the "young" (I guess?) tone as I felt I still needed to be... you know, me. And if you don't like the me-ness of it, well, you don't like it, and that's fair. That was something I couldn't really change.

Still, I have seen a number of films Roger Ebert gave a thumb-down because he could articulate how the film failed/succeeded and that let me know if I'd be interested. However, I didn't make those films, and if I did I might feel his "This sucks" was pointless for me to hear.

See, that's why I love Ebert. There are certain kinds of movies that I know--if he didn't like them, there's a good chance I will anyway. And if he did like it, most likely I will too. When you follow a critic's writing for a while, you can get a feel for how his taste compares to yours, which is more valuable than a superficial star rating.

I will say from attending workshops and pitch sessions, it's a lot worse when it's done to your face.

Yeah--workshops, I have definitely been there.

[delle.livejournal.com]

constructive criticism... well, that varies on the author, as to when and where and whether it is acceptable. Me, being poor fanfic writer, I'll take constructive criticism at any time, even if the story is done and I have no intention of reworking anything. It always helps me to know what worked or didn't and for whom.

"this sucks" is not con crit. as others have said, it's useless and all about the poster making themselves feel important, not about helping you the writer. fuck them.

Dr. Drew pissed me off this morning. I don't know if you read or saw it anywhere, but he went on the Today show and basically said all actors are fragile creatures because of some kind of family issues or abuse and that's why Heath Ledger was abusing prescription drugs. ARGH. (First of all, I know lots of actors and theatre people that are Perfectly Normal, thankyouverymuch and secondly, as far as I've heard? There's no proof Heath Ledger was abusing *anything*)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Whaaaat? Dr. Drew, nooooo!

[sound-of-bells.livejournal.com]

People who leave non-constructive criticism drive me INSANE. You're right; there's no point. I love constructive criticism -- I totally, totally love it, even when I don't like to hear it. But... I mean, really. "This sucks"? Is not helping anybody.

I actually really enjoyed Josh Brolin. He made me laugh, which was kind of nice after Daniel Day-Lewis got me all emotional again.

[glass-radical.livejournal.com]

Me too. I read an interview with the guys from No Country and that just seems to be Brolin's personality. "This is Javier's 497th(?) award." I thought that was funny...We can't all be modest and affecting.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

I love the "Terminal Velocity of Balrog" link!

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

I'm not much help on the writing thing, but I am dealing with a similar issue while recording our new CD. At some point you have to let go.

I HATE HATE HATE recording. First of all you go and stand in a hot room and sing the same damned thing over and over again. Then you go back to edit it and listen to all of your mistakes over and over again. My bandmates love seeing the process of finagling things one way or the other - I just want to have a good cry and record everything all over again. Luckily I have learned this about myself, and know when it is time to leave the room and let the others handle my lead track because I can't manage to distance myself from it. And even if I CAN stand to be in the room, at a certain point you just have to say "enough! It's not going to sound any better."

[honorh.livejournal.com]

I go back and forth on the criticism thing. On one hand, it rather irks me when people tell you what you *should've* done. On the other, when someone says, "This element didn't work for me," it can be very helpful in future writing. Take a look at that particular element, decide if it really is a weak point, go on from there. And I've left crit like that myself, when the overall fic is very strong, but there's just one element that threw me off.

Also, when I've been reading a particular author and there's a mistake she just keeps making, I'll often point it out. "I'm enjoying your writing, but if there's one thing I could change, it's how you use ellipses (...). You use so many that they're interrupting the flow of your writing. Try cutting way back on them, and I think you'll find it an improvement."

I understand there are different ways of looking at these things, but we fanficcers are basically all amateurs anyway. If someone wants to offer me advice on how to improve my writing, I'll take it. If someone's going to bitch about my pairing, OTOH, she can just go on to the next story.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I do think that "Well, you should have [blah blah blah]" can come off as very presumptuous or imperious. If I think something didn't work, I try to say, "I don't know that [whatever] worked for me right there--have you thought about [doing whatever]?" Which gives them the option to sort of mentally imagine that change and see if it would work. And sometimes you're talking out of your ass and you're totally wrong. And then sometimes you're wrong, but they've started thinking about other things to try out.

[agentsculder.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting the "Rebellious Jezebels" link!

Also, WHAT IN GOD"S NAME WAS THAT ORANGINA COMMERCIAL? That was just WRONG on multiple levels. I seriously could not believe my eyes.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

No problem!

(I got it off SF, actually--the commercials thread, most likely. SO WRONG.)

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the Christopher Nolan piece. That was great.

As for your thing about criticism, I completely understand. But I think I'm pretty thin-skinned in general, so I may not be the best judge. Seriously, though, there's no reason for "This sucks" on your m15m's. Like you said, it's not like you can change it.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

I don't consider "this sucks" to be a constructive comment at any point, actually. I love constructive criticism and don't care how many years it's been since I've posted/published a story, but to be constructive, criticism has to give you some sort of clue to what the heck it's talking about.

That said, no, I don't think any story is ever "closed" as in not wanting to hear constructive criticism. The fact that something's already been published is beside the point; if I made a mistake before, maybe I'll make it again, and having it pointed out and discussed means I can avoid it in the future, whether it was a concrete mistake like a grammar glitch or a fuzzier mistake like not quite getting my point across.

But mostly I just like talking about writing and will take any opportunity to do so, even if there's no chance of ever actually fixing the specific story under question.

Angie

[megmatthews20.livejournal.com]

I...kinda...liked Daniel's speech...

Er...

I liken the saying 'this sucks' thing to someone leaving a really low score on a vid on youtube, and giving no reason why...I'm glad you think this isn't worthy of your precious time, but you could at least tell me how I might improve in the future...but they can only be bothered long enough to make you feel like crap about it...jerks...

Dunno if it helps, but my sister and I still bust out laughing at the OM NOM NOM NOM part of your M15M...the whole thing pretty much had us in stitches...

Your work makes my laughter possible. :)

cheers

[caerbannog.livejournal.com]

That Orangina commercial scared the crap out of me. OMGWTF? I felt like I was watching porn for furries.

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

You mean it's not?