State of the Blog, 2018

One of the obligations I have as a blogger is to report from time to time to you, the readers, on the State of the Blog. Seeing as how this is the first Wednesday of the year, it seems like a good time to meet this obligation.

I'm pleased to report that the State of the Blog is very good. The very first post at It's About TV! (not including the obligatory site construction post) was on April 20, 2011, and was entitled "So What's the Big Deal About Television?" Nearly seven years later, it's a question I'm still trying to answer, and you - the reader - have helped me immensely. From ideas for articles to loans of TV Guides to comments that contained additions, corrections, suggestions, and other tidbits, I consider myself far more knowledgable about classic TV than I was when I started this show.

Your readership keeps It's About TV! alive. In many ways this site represents an experiment, an attempt to see just how much we can learn about ourselves by studying the shows that have been broadcast on television, and the articles written about it. In all honesty, I think it's an experiment that's probably closer to the end than the beginning; after all, there are only a finite number of TV Guides, and an even more finite number that actually serve my purpose. One of Tthese days I'll find that I've said all there is to say about the subject, at least in this venue, and then it will be time to move on. However, since I've already purchased all the issues I'll be using this year, that day remains at least a year or so away.

I'm happy to say that I'll be appearing as a presenter at this year's Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, September 13-15 in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The title of the seminar might be tweaked between now and then, but not the content: TV Guide as a Cultural Time Capsule in America. If you're a regular reader of the blog, I think you'll know what to expect, but it should be fascinating - I can't wait to hear it myself. I wonder what I'm going to say? Anyway, information on this year's convention isn't up yet (it's still the lineup from last year), but I'll let you know when it is, and how you can get your tickets.

One of the things I hope to have with me at the Convention is my latest book, The Electronic Mirror: How Classic Television Helps Us Understand Who We Are and Who We Were (and everything in-between). I'm working feverishly on it as we speak - well, perhaps not feverishly, but as hard as I ever work at anything. I'm not ignoring my non-TV writing, either; in addition to The Collaborator, I'm hoping to see my newest novel, The Car, out in print later this year.  If you notice on occasion that my pieces are a bit shorter than normal, it's probably because I'm working on several things at the same time.

Which brings me to my next point: I certainly would not refuse any help in the form of an occasional guest column. If you have something you'd like to share with the blog community, or if you'd even like to take a shot at a vintage TV Guide you own, I'd love to hear from you. Even one or two guest posts a month could save me as much as four hours, time that can help me complete another chapter of the book. Don't be shy; we're not professional critics here, so if you'd like to help out, now's the time!

I'll also be appearing as a guest on my friend Dan Budnik's Eventually Supertrain podcast. We're going to be reviewing a short-lived detective show of the past, but that's all I'm going to say about it for the time being. Other than that I think you'll have a lot of fun listening to these episodes!

In short, this should be a busy year for me, and for the blog. I am determined, however, to ensure that the State of the Blog remains good for the next year, and that I keep you, the audience, informed, entertained, or at least help you kill a few minutes each week. Because of this blog, I've met some very, very nice people, both in person and via email, and I'm priviledged to include a very dear friend in that count. I owe this blog much, just as I owe all of you much. I hope to continue to make payments on that debt.

So to all of you, I hope your holidays were wonderful and that 2018 is the best year of your life, so far. I intend to do what I can to see to it that it is for me, and for It's About TV. TV