KEVIN SMITH:THE “EVERY MAN” STORY TELLER Kevin Smith has my dream job. He gets to ramble for hours about movies and his life and gets paid for it. When I do it, people usually look at their phone, roll their eyes, and fake interest. Anyone that knows me would agree that I am a psychotic interrupter. If I have shit to say, I will cut your ass off. Not to be mean. I just grew up in a “seen not heard” environment. There are 4 people I could sit in a room, keep my fucking mouth shut. Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, John Carpenter, and Kevin Smith. I would be locked into their opinions and stories, and just watch the sun go down…and then come up again. When I was introduced to Kevin Smith, I was a few months into working at Tower Records/Video. Stumbled across “Clerks” and became a fan right out of the gate. Most groundbreaking film makers come across with a “genius” image. Usually brought on by the fans. Kevin Smith is not a genius. He is us. Like Stand up comedians…they comment on every day life, society, and the obnoxious flaws we have socially tolerate from other people. They say what we would love to say, and say what we are thinking. That’s Kevin Smith. Kevin is also the master of obscure movie references. I fucking love movie references. Nothing more depressing then when you drop a movie quote or scene, and no one gets it.Kevin did it first. Seth, Rob, Eli, etc. all came later. Love his movies. His movies are small, sincere, crude, filthy, and from the heart. He’s not gunning for an Academy Award, or critical praise. He makes films that he would want to see, and obviously a lot of other people as well. As side splitting funny he is, I’m gonna roll with “Red State” as my favorite. He’s made it clear that he’s funny and loves him some 80’s and comic book movies. “Red State” shows me his Grindhouse side. Shit man…he wrote some killer parts for Leo, Parks and Goodman. That’s my world. I grew up on the video nasties, and the “sleazy” films. He took his talent for dialogue and threw it in a darker world. Killer move. Now let’s get into his Q and A. What started out as Q and A gradually evolves into rambling story telling. First “Evening” he’s popping off answers left and right. By part 2, his stories get longer. By the time he gets to “Too Fat for 40” he has a 3 hour answer for one question. “Silent But Deadly?” Not one fucking question…and I fucking love it. What I loved the most about the first 3, was his sincere reaction to some really odd questions by some really odd people. But it’s his stories that carries the show. I mean shit…how many times do we have to hear a fan offer to give him head? No matter how much he trails off and back peddles, he keeps me tuned in. I’m dropping the phone, rocking some popcorn, and listening to every word he has to say. By the way…you have to check out the commentary on “Roadhouse.” Him and Scott had me dying. Favorite moments: “Fuck you blind man!”…”Is that a Kung fu shirt?” Would these qualify as “Stand up?” Maybe. He’s telling stories, keeping the audience laughing, and has a gift for delivery. He tells stories the way we tell stories. He has the fans that he has, because he invites us into his world. Shares insanely intimate stories. The kind of shit that I would share when I’m drunk, wake up the next morning and go “what the fuck did I say?!” We don’t just see him as an awesome film maker. We see him as a good friend. It’s rare that we feel that we know our favorite film makers as a friend. Usually we just love they’re body of work. The only time we hear anything personal is if it’s a divorce, or an out of control drug addiction. We got to experience his daughter Harley grow up through his stories. From getting a dog when she was little, to tracking her drive up to a Target. Plain and simple. He shares his life with us. We know him, his wife, his close friends, and the people he’s worked with. He’s important to movies, and will over time be remembered as a valuable part of movie history. He has an honest voice, no filter, no MPAA, PC approach to his art “Yes Kevin…it’s art.” He gave us thought provoking, heart felt movies, while giving us the 90’s Cheech and Chong / Bill and Ted (which every decade should have.) Kevin… love the movies, love your stories. Happy as hell that you’re alive, well and healthy. You look great, and you still kick major ass. Thanks for the morbid movie memories…G.R.E.E.N.B.A.N.K.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

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