Warped News 07.27.06: The Final Edition
Posted by Cris Murphy on 07.27.2006
After over 2 years, it’s time to say goodbye…
My dear readers:
Instead of giving you one more go-around with Hollywood news, I'd just like to take a few moments of your time to say thanks.
For over 2 years, I've been coming to you every Thursday with the latest and greatest Hollywood news. I've given my opinions, let you vent your opinions, and tried as hard as I could to make you laugh. In most instances, I just made you turgid, and that's ok.
Writing an internet column is not the easiest thing to do. It takes time to find news stories that I want to cover, write my opinions on them, find pictures to go along with them, and format the whole damn thing to suit 411Mania's standards. But, I've never regretted any second I spent writing the Warped News. It's my way of expressing my opinions and stretching myself as a writer.
Along the way, I've been able to make the days of some of you a little brighter. That's what gives me the most satisfaction. I'm a jester. I get my kicks out of making people laugh. And if I did that every so often with my columns, then that was enough for me. I never got paid for anything I've written here at 411, and I'm glad I didn't. My payment was getting noticed on the net, building an audience (not a following), and giving me another reason to tickle the keys of my computer keyboard.
For everyone who has written in, I sincerely appreciate your comments and input. It always helps to get a little direction, and feedback is the best way for me. But I know that most people who have read this column over the last couple of years never wrote in, and I never expected you to. All I hoped for was that you were entertained. If you were at work, hopefully, I made your day a little shorter and less stressful. Most of the time, I just got a kick out of what I had written, and it kept reminding me why I love being a writer.
But after 2 years, I started to see that I was becoming stale. My ever-growing schedule made it hard just to get a bare boned Warped News out each week. I stopped trying new things. I gave in to repetition. I sacrificed quality for quantity. It's something you hope you never see as a writer. Yet, I didn't have time to care. I don't apologize for my opinions, but I do apologize for my laziness in presenting them.
I'm moving to a new city. I'll get to grow in my job because of it, and try new things. I'll have a new life with a new outlook. It's a time in my life where I can change every aspect of me. I can change what I do and how I do it. I've picked up my roots…my habits…my life. And before I re-establish them, I can shake things up and start fresh again. It's a clarity that I guess only comes after living somewhere for a while. Right before things get shaken up, you get a chance to see how entrenched you are in your daily habits, and how that can keep you from where you want to go.
So, I felt that it was time to let go of this column and 411Mania. I have nothing but respect for this website, Ashish, and the other writers here. I've learned a lot from them, and although I'll be gone, I'll still come here every day to read what other people are writing. But, it's time for me to try something new. Whatever that is, I'll have to discover it on my own.
I'll never forget my time here…my readers…my column. Thanks for sharing this journey with me. And if we meet each other again, may we share better times than today.
You didn't think I'd leave without one of these, did you?
