A break from me starting my interview with Kel and Dancer…

I recently was directed to a post at Pat’s blog and it speaks loudly regarding how busy I have been that I hadn’t seen it until today.

My feeling is that a lot of blogging has become a bit of shadow-posting in terms of relationships we may have with each other. Honestly, I don’t think anybody should care about such relationships, I don’t actively concern myself with such things but let me just clarify my thoughts a bit as it still seems odd for me to see my name in discussions where I’m not virtually present (and a bit flattering - be it positive or negative). You can think of some of the contemporary bloggers as a bit of the ‘old guard’ (for our generation at least, obviously there was a presence before) - we don’t always see eye to eye, hell sometimes we don’t even know if the other drowned in any given month but we each have our own goals and purposes and honestly the presence of one or the other doesn’t diminish what anyone else does. Nobody makes what I do harder, or more difficult indeed in the end it makes for a better product. I have certainly, and liberally, borrowed many ideas - one could look at the latest issue of Heliotrope and see that, and it’s not like I’m unaware that others didn’t see what I was doing at FBS and decided to run with it themselves.

In a separate regard, and to to make a bit of same epic epic-analogy think of Damon (one of the other FBS founders) and myself as Kelvaned and Dancer. We have always had our eyes on …I don’t want to call it the bigger picture, but the landscape we want to find ourselves at. This is no different than anyone else, I think Pat has aspirations to be a writer and his blog has/will aid in that goal. For myself, blogging has always been secondary - the taking of the steps to achieve our goals is my primary concern. Every now and then I will do a review and interview (working on three now) and it seems most people enjoy them, some don’t - well no biggie, I don’t really concern myself with it partly because I got tired of the circus. Perhaps only Pat may be able to relate to the degree that it occurred to me, but while it’s entirely flattering getting every ARC on the planet, mountains and mountains felt like responsibility being pushes into a hobby. I’m not a corporation, I was just a dude reading books and even at that time we had more plans than me reviewing 30 books a year. Then comes the dramas - you have this other side of the genre that are just fucking assholes - there is no getting around it. They may not be personally, but they want to present themselves as such and you don’t, even know it because their method is simply ignoring you. Legacy is a bad word, but mine has never been about reviews or blogging - it’s about FBS, Heliotrope and future plans as a whole. That’s not to say those aren’t worthwhile goals and aspirations - they were just never mine. I think I sometimes come off as disdainful to the newer crop, but that’s not the case because I don’t have the time to be disdainful - I co-own FBS, I read more short stories a year for Heliotrope than anybody could possibly imagine, and I do my own reviews/interviews as well. I assume everybody is doing their own thing and loving it - and if that is the case that’s optimal. I don’t know how to put this I don’t compare and lament over the difference of having different perspectives at say, FBS. We have Matt, Brian, Trin, Lawrence, Val, Amber Roxy, Jeremy, Patrick, Damon, Lifeinmoments, Rune, John Markely, Dragonwomant, John Markley, KCF, Maria, Craig (am I forgetting anyone?). That they are happy doing what they do and are having fun - that’s my only concern. If not, I assume they’d stop. Usually people don’t even tell me when something is going on (sometimes Larry does) and I often kind of grimace a bit when I’m referred to as ‘this type of blogger or reviewer’. I’m more about Jay presents (partly) Fantasybookspot.com, not about The Bodhisattva itself and I judge whatever success that I could partly claim ownership of with FBS. Like I think of FBS stuff and I don’t think of my stuff, I think about Matt D reviews, or Brian’s awesome Mystery article or having people like Trin involved who I knew in forums back in the day. I don’t really get invested in anything else as I have a lot on my ‘SF/F’ hobby plate that just happens to not include getting around every blog, site, book, magazine on the planet. I’m trying to take over the planet, not read about it!

I guess I just don’t care whether or not a Matt Cheney, Niall Harrison, John Clute, Paul Di Filippo, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, (all people’s whose online content I read and admire) don’t respect me, I don’t need to know Jeff VanderMeer approves of me as he introduces me to new comics now like he did (and still does) books. I didn’t need to know if Michael Moorcock has ever heard of me or if Cheryl Morgan knew and cared that I was lovin’ Emerald City. I was fucking geeked the hell out Mike would even communicate with me. I don’t need to know why I didn’t get a copy of City and Coin of Spice even when I coined the term DJ Cat V!

There is a question of relevance brought up that I think has some merit but ultimately if every blog and FBS disappeared - there would be no loss that would shake things up. Ultimately there is no relevance and we can use the example cited. Let’s take Gabe, who tends to fade in and out a bit - his relevance is based on who or what he may have motivated from others (good and bad) so when Pat notes William Lexner, Rob, or Gabe it is not a comment based on relevance because each of them know ultimately we are speaking of people of relevance not creating relevance ourselves and never truly being relevant to begin with. In some way questioning other’s relevance (record for relevance in a paragraph) makes the assumption one has it themselves. I hope I don’t give the impression of being aloof as to put it in perspective, I’m somebody who thinks damn Green Lantern maybe the best SF I read in the last few months as Geoff John’s space opera is making me just a little weak in the knees (with some evidence of moisture).

This is an awfully pitch-patch post and I apologize but my pretentious streak really wants to get online and play some Neverwinter Nights after I send a wave of questions for one of the interviews I’m doing but to clarify myself, and this is a repeat of what I said before: Pat should win the Hugo and I if I was to be completely honest I think a couple years ago I should have got more than 5 points (or what the fuck ever it was - and in truth I didn’t even know about it until months later when someone posted it - and my initial reaction was thinking how far the Hugo had fallen to have the Tomio even mentioned in passing, stepped on, with bubblegum and shit on the heel, and…you get my point). Since Pat brought it up, he’s right, we don’t see eye to eye on some things, which basically makes him just like anyone else (except Gabrielle Anwar - I agree with everything she may say). At any rate, if he does ever win I expect him to get a book deal and let me write the outro (not the intro - I’m better than that).

I say what I say to Damon on his bad days on the net: small potatoes. Do what you do, enjoy what you do - approval stems from self. It’s hard for me to really consider what the tens of thousands of visits at FBS this month thought of us. I have important things to worry about like my BAB progression and whether or not I should dual wield.

I don’t know Larry personally (and he dare say he didn’t like a Jonathan Carroll novel!) but all people (this means you too Cali) who were mentioned in the scripture of the prophet of Bakker have to look at each for other! Let it be, let it be…let it be. I just don’t know when this came about something other than fun.

…and you know what I fly Southwest airlines any chance I get when not walking the Azath.

On a side note, as I mentioned above, I’m working on several interviews if anyone wants an update -something for the Epic Minded.*

* _{Which coincidently is also the title of the New FBS LP featuring DJ Cat V - coming to your radio}