snarks on a plane

[substitute]

Five years of a blog that runs about 70% snark and grump, maybe more. I complain too much on the Internet, and it's bad for my writing. Occasionally I catch myself and write a happy piece about kittens or Chinese dumplings or a really stellar masturbation session. But a gloomy Andy Rooney/James Lileks atmosphere threatens. It's a flaw, and I'm surprised that's not pointed out more.

Most of the time, though, my small and friendly readership either agrees, suggests a different yet sympathetic angle, or clears the buffer and moves on. I don't get a lot of "oh hell no" or "you bastard, you pissed on my dream" reactions.

And then there was that time I dissed the Snakes on a Plane astroturf ad campaign, and found out there are still people who care enough to stand up for Jesus calculated viral marketing!

Comments

[fimmtiu.livejournal.com]

I don't think that complaining, per se, is the objectionable part; I think it's the tone. I, for one, saw it on opening night and had a fun time. I did not enjoy it with "a detached sense of superiority", nor do I think that I am a perpetual 12-year-old gleefully shilling for my corporate masters in a hip, post-modern, ironic fashion. We've known each other a long time; would you really describe me that way? That's the kind of implication that'll get 30+ posts on a thread.

[substitute.livejournal.com]

No. You also haven't been spending the last six months blogging about the movie and making fan graphics about it and talking about how the internet made this movie happen, maaaaan, because the squares were going to ruin the magic but we made sure the true vision and beauty happened, because we're the hip kids. And that's the phenomenon I was talking about.

What quite a few people chose to read was "If you see and enjoy this movie you're an asshole," although I didn't say that.