For five years I turned out this blog, mostly on matters cinematic, on a somewhat regular basis. It wasn't always easy although it was frequently fun. It enabled me to experiment with different registers and tones in my writing, to plug my occasional public appearances, my books and the writings of my friends (including my esteemed and gifted wife) and my politics. Occasionally I would bend the self-imposed rules and comment on matters having nothing to do with the moving image.
For several months now, since October in fact, the blog has been dormant. As I have remarked in this space occasionally, when you are a professional writer -- someone who writes for a living, to pay the bills and feed the cat -- it is a pain in the ass to write for free. Of course, at least in theory, the blog leads to paying gigs or somehow creates other cash-earning opportunities. I have not found that to be the case, although I suppose it did alert some of you to the existence of my books, none of which is remotely about cinema.
After careful consideration, though, I have realized that writing the blog fills a few other needs, almost as important as the gaping holes in my bank account. It allows me to communicate more directly with similar-minded film people, to write on films that have no Jewish content, to write on films that are not necessarily playing in theaters right this instant, not to mention giving me a forum in which to comment on larger issues. When I'm not writing the blog, I have to pass up all of those. Obviously, if a paying gig came along that afforded similar opportunities, this space would suddenly be a blank once more. And if anyone reading this knows of such job, don't hesitate to tell me.
In the meantime, the Tribeca festival has begun once again and you can find my first Jewish Week piece on the event here.
As always, I reserve the right to talk sports, politics, literature or nonsense here. You can expect plenty of the last, I'm sure.
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