J is for Jealousy and Judgmental

I live in blogger central, it seems like.

Seriously. Every time Disney does so much as a mouse-fart, I know, surely, about 20 folks racing to the parks, midday on a Wednesday, in the rain, going to report about it. They take pictures that are horrid. They write sentences that vaguely resemble English.

And Disney lets them in for free.

THey dance, they sing, they say praises.

One blog, I do actually write for. And the patrons on there repeat the same question, same issues. None of them reading the folks that have gone before and rejecting any wisdom that is spread before them if it doesn’t fit their mode or concept.

How hard is it to do a search? On facebook posts? On a given website?

And all those who are unemployed or are unhappy seem to answer.

So, yes, you’ve reached the topic of the day. Me being judgmental.

It’s just not fair. I’ve studied literature my whole entire existence. One of the first things I downloaded on my iPad was all the free Shakespeare stuff. To read, aloud, for fun.

So, no, I’m not smarter, I’m a complete dork for doing it, but I’m using it to paint that picture. I love writing. I read books about writing. I read books. I read stuff about reading. Even here? I reread and reread everything before posting it.

I love it.

When I first moved here, desperate to meet people of my ilk, I stumbled across the blogging community that floats around Disney, like some kind of bottom feeder, and, for a while there, I saw a connection. But the connection wasn’t with the writing. It was Disney. The entertainment. They were starting blogs to get the free stuff. They were quitting jobs, since they didn’t have to pay for tickets for things.

It hurt my heart.

A lot.

In a way, I was jealous. I send postcards with vigor. I look at my writing as something very important to me, and there they were, those bloggers, forgoing things like adjectives and humanitarian use of grammar.

Not all were bad. I found the ones that had lives beyond the berm tended to post less and about things that meant more to them.

And some? They asked me to write for them. I was looking up to them, the complement obvious, thinking, no, there was no pay, but there was the prestige, the honor…

...and yes, the occasional promotional items. Imagine my jealous as Disney would bring talent for their latest movie and these bloggers would score a press junket to ask a few questions.

I would be in my glory. Me? Asking Jason Bateman about his failed sitcom in the 90s, Kiss Me Quido. Or lobbying questions to Idris about how the attention paid to him is so different from the UK to the USA.

Nope. They asked if they liked Florida.

Did they even LOOK at the press junket?

You’d think I’d turn my head and look to the local papers to find the real scoop.

Who am I kidding? Everyone here likes Fox News. Talk about angry fluff.

Yes. I’m jealous. They’re taking something I’ve built my freetime around and treating it as a means to an end. I would KILL to be paid as a full time writer (let’s be real here, that’s like being a full time artist. And I like to eat!).

In fact, to prove my point, I just bumped over to one of the first blogs I wrote for. I waded through all his advertisers to see his latest reviews. No. I’m not going to name-names, but here’s a review of the horrific ‘Holy Land Experience. I saw sentences like, “My favorite part of the Holy Land Experience was the Church of All Nations. The Church of All Nations is one of the most beautiful theaters I have ever seen and is where TBN broadcasts from when they do their tv productions and concerts. In the theater are the live shows where you can witness the grace and mercy of God in biblical settings in front of your face!”  

No elaboration. Not one color was mentioned. No review of the political stance, and how the ‘attraction’ brings in money to use for private jets, some of the highest paid ministries in the world, and much of the ‘non-profit’ is utilized to pay lobbyists to make sure their wealth is maintained.

Heck, okay, too poltical? Then go a different route-as if you’re reporting for those who might be interested in going to see such a show. Like, WHY is the theater beautiful? Colors? How long was the show? How often is it shown? How did you feel? Was it crowded?

Instead, this paragraph.

I don’t know about you, I have no urge to go. And if I were the Holy Land, I’d probably be a bit insulted with being treated with all the reviewing prowess of a cold fish taco.

But he gets paid to be a utz. Me? Not so much...

So, yeah, I’m being back to being judgmental. Frankly, I feel I have that right. I know for a fact, that when I hang my art on the door of the refrigerator, I’m asking for someone to make a comment. Not a good comment, not a bad comment. And there is a good in what Disney and the theme parks are doing. They’re giving themselves free advertising AND giving their new shows a dry run with a full audience.  Also? For my complaints? I’m sure there’s a few gazillion good authors. I have a few friends who do Escape Rooms (like, seriously, like they need an intervention) and, if it weren’t for the quality of their comments on such a thing, I wouldn’t have tried it on out. Their joy and quality of authorship made me want to try this wonderful experience out. Just good writing that comes from….

….their hearts. And that is evident in the writing. My jealousy and attitude stems from that. LOVE what you do, but share that love. Like Cory Booker said, “Don’t tell me you’re a Christian, SHOW me in your deeds.” That’s so true. In everything. Like, sure, another blogger friend of mine is into nature photography.

I hate the great outdoors.

And it’s in Colorado.

I hate Colorado.

But her love shines through her blog. I smile larger knowing that it’s that wonderment in there.

I started my professional writing career as a critic for a magazine. One of the major complaints?

“WHY DO YOU HATE THE MOVIES?”

No. I don’t hate movies. I love movies. I lust after movies. I learn, live, and breath the movies. And because of that, because I watch one a night, I have the right to look at the art and say what I feel. If they didn’t want my input, they shouldn’t have put it in a theater for the world to see. But, now there’s the tic, I take my INPUT seriously. I could have smashed up some people’s egos if they actually read what I wrote. Just like here.

So, yes, I’m jealous. And it’s causing me to be judgmental. I just want these bloggers to know they’re abusing an art and it’s causing me harm. It should cause them harm. And it makes me mad.

I don't doubt the love these bloggers have the Disney brand. But, it doesn't shine when you don't take the time to spit and polish that love. If you don't show the care, you make it look like you're just in it for yourself.

Rant over. Coffee?