Countdown Continues…and Ends! “Captain Marvel” — Episode #1: Not Perfect but Hey, it’s a Start

September 15, 2019 by leeeide-, posted in Uncategorized

SC: “I actually have heard of the Scree (extraterrestrial race opposing the main character in the movie) from playing a game on my phone.” LE: “And then of course there is North Scree and South Scree.”

You know, like North Korea and South Korea? Okay, trust me, my jokes get better as we do more episodes. You gotta start somewhere, right? I mean do you think Quentin Tarantino was always a brilliant if controversial director and producer? There was time when he didn’t know a subplot from an ascot. But look at him now.

Anyhow, we released the first episode of our “The Movie Review Show” on March 16, 2019. It was Stephen’s idea for us to don our Wal-Mart ware for the 1st episode to show viewers we’re just a couple of regular working stiffs who happen to really, really love and watch a lot of movies.

Historic 1st Episode of THE MOVIE REVIEW SHOW Starring Stephen L. Craig & Lee A. Eide

In retrospect, I think my introduction of the show’s format, although fine and accurate as far as it goes, is incomplete. I explain that Stephen and I go to our local movie theater, Red Wing Cinema 8, watch a newly-released movie and then review it. That’s all true except that we have two additional segments after the review: 1) Stephen’s Recommendations and my Lee’s Jokes of the Week. So I will suggest we add that to the show’s introduction so new viewers will know immediately that we’re more than a straight movie review show.

Like Life in general, the show is a work in progress. You try to do things one way and if it seems to be working, you keep doing it that way. If it doesn’t work, then you try a different method. It’s like a giant labortory: experiment, analyze and act accordingly.

Back to our first review: After explaining format of our show, including our ratings system (10-kernel of popcorn rating system with one kernel being the worst and ten kernels the best), we showed the movie’s trailer and then launched into our review. Neither of us knew a ton about the Captain Marvel character (yeah, yeah, maybe we should have done some research before seeing and reviewing the movie) so in a way that was good. We went into it with a fresh perspective. I commented that I had some reservations about Captain Marvel being a woman because, you know, to me ‘captain’ conjures up the image of a man but I said after seeing the new version the character that I had no problem with a female Captain Marvel.

Wallpaper review from https://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=974062

In essence, she’s one kick-ass, super-powerful, take-no-prisoners superhero who happens to be female. Guys, if you like strong women, this is the new superhero for you!

The film’s opening was fantastic: the Marvel logo and a homage to Stan Lee got things rolling. We commented on the grunge-centric soundtrack: we loved it, especially No Doubt’s “Just A Girl” and Kurt Cobain’s “Come As You Are”! For me, music is an essential element in life and although a killer soundtrack isn’t required for all movies, if it’s appropriate and blends in with the on-screen action, it definitely enhances the movie experience.

Credit: https://wallpapersafari.com/w/RGpMbQ

The appearance of a Blockbuster Video store is a sure-fire sign that the movie takes place in the 90’s. To be more precise, it takes place in 1995. The time period is important as the movie symbolizes the spirit of mid-90s when anti-establishment rock songs, especially feminist anthems and girl power tunes were extremely popular and reflective of that era. That’s to say, the 1995 backdrop serves a narrative purpose that goes beyond simply allowing Captain Marvel to take children of the ’90s on a jaunt down memory lane or have Carol wear a Nine Inch Nails T-shirt. It was sort of nostalgic trip for me. My wife Amy, may she RIP, and I used to live in a Burnsville townhouse located about a mile from a Blockbuster store although that was in the early 2000’s. Ah yes, the good old days, sort of.

We agreed the movie didn’t feel like a typical superhero for the first 45 minutes or so. It felt more like sci-fi as most of the action takes place in outer space. And I point out even after the action switches to Earth there are Star Wars-ish sequences like when they buzz through the canyon in the high-tech aircraft and barely avoid sure death numerous times much like Han Solo and Chewbacca in the asteroids belt.

Taken from http://www.awesomewallpapersblog.com

We were also impressed with the f/x, in particular the capitol city of Scree and the various spaceships. It was impressive and distinctive, not carbon copies of Star Trek or Star Wars franchises.

I point out the appropriateness off the Scrolls, the primary enemy of Captain Marvel and SHIELD boss Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) being shapeshifters. Beginning in the 90’s, terrorists are at or near the top of the “bad guys” list and of course part of their MO is to pretend to be God-fearing American citizens and then secretly plan and launch terror attacks. So Muslim fantatics are essentially shapeshifters.

And now for the big moment, our scores:

It was not Oscar material but definitely worth seeing for several reasons: stellar f/x, rockin’ soundtrack, topnotch cinematography, solid plot and excellent acting. My primary issue was the implausible (even for a superhero movie) ending. Stephen’s primary issue was the role of the cat that ends up possessing an extremely important artifact.

Here is a link to the episode: https://youtu.be/0Vn2AHrpi3Y

And there you go, ladies and gentlemen, the countdown is complete! Now I will go forward in time and catch up with all of our reviews (we’re up to 14 episodes with #15 fast approaching!). And as we say at the end of every episode, “We’ll be watching…for you.”

Countdown Continues with…”Pet Sematary, Episode #3″ — Remake Improves on the Spooky Original * One Spoiler Alert*

August 23, 2019 by leeeide-, posted in Uncategorized

I thought the review went fine. We had fun and both really liked this remake.

The Movie Review Show starring Stephen Craig and Lee Eide

Stephen Craig: “I loved the ending. It was campy, do you agree?”

Me: “Oh yeah, very…The ending was 3-D: dark, delicious, and ah geez, what was it, oh yeah, delightful!”

And indeed it is. We both loved how the script deviated from the original 1989 movie, which was excellent, by the way, but by having the daughter Rachael die and come back from the dead instead of the younger son, Gage, the tale veers off on a devilishly deviant tangent that ends in a sinister fashion (spoiler withheld).

Link to the review:

https://www.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_xQxJGaLnow

Here are my notes on the movie:

Starring Jason Clarke as Dr. Louis Creed, Jon Lithgow as neighbor Jud Crandall, and Jete’ Laurence as daughter Ellie, this is a spin of the classic “monkey’s paw” yarn that works beautifully. The tale explores the macabre, weighty but fascinating world of the death of loved ones and of our…

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Countdown Continues: Episode #9 — “Toy Story 4”, Insightful Analysis of Latest Installment in TS Franchise; Really Good H2O; & Jokes Involving Woody and Ricky Astley Hit

July 18, 2019 by leeeide-, posted in Uncategorized

We began the show with this teaser: “The movie we’re going to review today centers around the existential crisis of a kitchen utensil.” And we didn’t lie or mislead. One of the new characters in “Toy Story 4” is Forky, an arts and crafts project from kindergarten that Bonny makes. And the coolest thing? The voice of the new character is Tony Hale, who played Buster on “Arrested Development”!

Perhaps the best-written comedy series ever

As for the Pixar Animation Studio-produced film, we both loved it. The animation, as per usual from this company, is top-of-the-line, dare I say PERFECT. Combine that technical prowess with the introduction of new characters such as Duke Caboom voiced by Keanu Reeves, whose catchphrase is “Yes I Canada!”, Ducky and Bunny (voices by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele respectively), and an exciting road-trip plot and you’ve got yourself a wonderful animated kids story that adults will love too.

From our show: Stephen says that the sad thing will be there’s bound to be Forky toys sold in stores with an incredibly high mark-up and I reply, “Yeah, just like beer at a Twins game.”

Stephen: “This was definitely a Woody-and-Bo-Peep movie, not a Buzz Lightyear movie, so if you’re a big Buzz Lightyear fan, this movie isn’t for you.” And I agreed with him. Sure, Buzz is an integral part of the rescue mission but it is the Woody-Bo Peep relationship that takes center stage in the toys character interactions among each other.

I admit it, I didn’t see “Toy Story 3” but that’s not a prerequisite for this film. The stories are mostly independent of one another so not seeing the previous installment is no big deal.

There was mention of dedicating the movie to the memory of Don Rickles, the iconic stand-up comedian and voice of Mr. Potato Head. No disrespect to the dearly departed but I have to say sometimes Rickles went overboard in his comedy act. On the other hand, you have to admire his honesty and courage to say what he thought about anyone he happened to be shining the spotlight on.

Also be sure to check out the Rich Little’s roast of Rickles on the “Dean Martin Celebrity Roast “. https://youtu.be/3IKgXFEHYbY

STEPHEN’S RECOMMENDATION

I have drank Fiji and it is really good. It’s somewhat more expensive than the average bottled water but if higher purity and better taste are important to you, this is the product for you.

LEE’S JOKES OF THE WEEK

I told eight, yes, that’s right EIGHT “TS4”-related jokes. I won’t list them all here but here is a sample:

What did Woody say when he entered the showroom of a certain German car dealership? Answer: “Audi, Pardner.”
What kind of beer do the cast members of TOY STORY drink? Answer: Buzz Lite.
Ricky Astley wanted to borrow some of my Pixar Animation DVD’s. I told him, “You can have almost any of them except ‘I’m Never Gonna Give You Up’ https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ

Okay, that’s all for this blog post. Thanks for reading and if you like our show, please subscribe to our show on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC64prJQVS4j6WrOIQhJhNwQ

Episode #10 — “Spider-Man: Far From Home” & Our Favorite Movie (1 Each) of All Time

July 16, 2019 by leeeide-, posted in Uncategorized

We hit double digits with this bad boy! That’s right, “The Movie Review Show” turned ten with this show. We’d originally planned to have a special guest on the show like we did when David Rasumussen was on episode #5 when we reviewed the epic “Avengers: Endgame” https://youtu.be/4wVuueh3Vfk but after we discovered the person couldn’t make it, we decided to change the format of the show. Instead of Stephen’s Recommendation and my Jokes of the Week, Stephen and I each revealed our favorite movie of all time, regardless of genre.

First “Spider-Man: Far From Home”. https://youtu.be/Nt9L1jCKGnE

We both really, really liked this film. I gave it almost a perfect score and Stephen wasn’t far behind. I mean, what’s not to like? The F/X, like you’d expect from Marvel Studios, is exquisite. The cinematography is awe-inspiring as we hit Venice, Austrian Alps, Prague, London, and New York City. The cast is excellent. From titular Spider-Man/Peter Parker played by Tom Holland and Nick Fury played by Samuel L. Jackson to Mysterio by Jake Gyllenhaal and a fine supporting cast led by Zendaya, Jacob Batalon and Jon Favreau as Peter Parker’s love interest, Peter Parker’s best friend and Peter Parker’s assistant, respectively, the acting is topnotch. For details, watch our show on YouTube. The plot, like “Avengers: Endgame” begins slowly as it sets up the story lines and action that follow, but once the first elemental creature appears on screen, look out. It’s action and eye candy galore!

Our only issue with the plot is the thinly-disguised “Night Monkey” costume he uses in Europe. Other than the darker color, he still looks like Spider-Man and he acts (i.e. – shoots webs, swings around, etc.) like the arachnid-inspired superhero so that came off as kind of lame. Not a huge deal but still, it was a mark against the movie.

Now onto our favorite movies of all time! First Stephen Craig chose “Joe Versus the Volcano” https://youtu.be/cmQDIne3CLo.

Joe Versus the Volcano – 1990 Movie Poster

It received mixed reviews from the critics. Among the film’s fans was Roger Ebert, who officially gave it 3.5/4.0 but later on publicly wondered why he didn’t give it a perfect 4.0. Stephen loved it so much because of the fabulous love story and the way the story worked on multiple levels. The main character symbolizes the average Joe, and hence his name Joe. In one scene the Tom Hanks-portrayed character has a defect in one of his shoes and declares “I’m trying to save my sole”, which also could apply to him trying to save his soul. There are metaphors for heaven as well.

Quotes from the movie that Stephen read:

#1: Patricia: My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement.

#2: Joe Banks to Angelica Graynamore: Listen to me. If you have a choice between killing yourself and doing something you’re scared of doing, why not take the leap and do the thing you’re scared of doing?

And for my own favorite of all time, I give you “American Beauty”! https://youtu.be/3ycmmJ6rxA8

Correction: In the show I said the movie won two Oscars but it actually won five Oscars.

American Beauty – After telling wife the vintage Firebird in their driveway is his, Lester declares, “I rule!”

Lester Burnham Fantasizing About Daughter’s Friend Angela

Again Roger Ebert surfaces in our movie-review world. He gave the film a 100 while writing for the Chicago Sun-Tribune as did two other major movie reviewers. It got an 86 on Metacritic. Perhaps the thing I like most about the movie is that it makes you think about really big, important, and interesting topics: 1) Nature of God; 2) Human beings’ connection to God; 3) Existence and nature of life after death; 4) Disparity between our outer and inner realities; 5) Truth: how can we find and remember it.

Kevin Spacey plays an unhappy, dysfunctional, 42-year-old man whose personal relationships and career leave him dead inside. At the beginning of the movie, he declares he will die within six months and that he doesn’t, at this point, know that, but in some ways he’s dead already. The movie is about showing not only how Lester ends up dying but also how he truly discovers how to be alive right up until he’s murdered.

My two quotes were:

1) Lester: You know those posters that say ‘today is the first day of the rest of your life’? Well that’s true for every day except one. The day you die.

2) Lester (right before he’s shot in the back of the head by the secretly gay next-door neighbor nicknamed The Colonel): I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn’t a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time… For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars… And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined our street… Or my grandmother’s hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper… And the first time I saw my cousin Tony’s brand new Firebird… And Janie… And Janie… And… Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me… but it’s hard to stay mad, when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst… And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life… You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry… you will someday.

In both movies there’s an undercurrent of magic running through the main character. In both films the director is straining to show the audience just what a truly amazing, astounding and awe-inspiring world we live in. The key is the individual must be be like the mythic hero figure and leave their old, boring, and unfulfilling life behind and be brave enough to embark on a dangerous but exciting journey into another world.

Bill Moyers interviews author, editor and teacher Joseph Campbell on the PBS
series, The Power of Myth.

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell

Intro to THE MOVIE REVIEW SHOW on YouTube (starring Stephen Craig & Lee Eide)

June 23, 2019 by leeeide-, posted in Uncategorized

Good day, everyone, especially hardcore movie fans who’re seeking honest, insightful and frequently humorous reviews of the latest movies.

We started the show mainly because we love to not only watch movies but also analyze movies. Specifically, we look at:

A) how well they’re constructed, B) how well they’re executed, C) how good the end result is.

NOTE: There is another show with the exact title on YouTube. To ensure you find our show, go here to obtain URL’s for every episode: https://www.facebook.com/The-Movie-Review-Show-769005923456512/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARAYrNESUk6rIR1qnwQAi828CKhnJzTkWXEJmfebXmtOJ0lXAX6odk5nZfx57YjbuX6IKk-THMuoQOWV

And now here is a copy of our show’s press release:

“The Movie Review Show” hosted by Stephen L. Craig & Lee A. Eide

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact Info:

Lee A. Eide, leeeide@outlook.com, Phone: 651-212-3041

Stephen L. Craig, Mrgame777@hotmail.com, Phone: 651-347-0702

Link to introductory video:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+movie+review+show+on+youtube+starring+lee+eide&view=detail&mid=E98FFEDBE4DB5D57FC25E98FFEDBE4DB5D57FC25&FORM=VIRE

A Movie Review Show that Soars Above Just Reviewing Movies

Red Wing, MN – June 7, 2019: Stephen L. Craig and Lee A. Eide, two movie fanatics from Red Wing, MN, have launched a weekly series on YouTube that is more than the title implies.

The two movie buffs review newly-released movies and then add two features not found in similar shows:

1) Stephen’s Weekly Recommendation – the brother of well-known entertainer Deborah S. Craig, best known for her role on “The Blacklist”, starring as Marcy Park in the long-running Broadway musical The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and creator of web cult hit Yoga For Black People (over a million hits), Stephen recommends a product, service or content not usually related to movies. Examples: “Seinfeld” and Nintendo Switch plus two men’s fragrances.

2) Lee’s Joke(s) of the Week – Jokes relate to the movie the duo reviews. For example, in episode #3 (www.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_xQxJGaLnow)in which they review “Pet Sematary”, Lee tells two dead-cat jokes plus a regular cat joke.

“We go to so many movies and frequently have very different opinions of them so we thought, ‘Hey, why not start our own show on YouTube’”, says Eide.

The two Wal-Mart cashiers videotape each episode on Craig’s home computer. Some weeks, due to scheduling issues, they cannot do a show, but their goal is to complete one episode per week.

The highlight of their seven-episode run is the 5^th show in which the two plus special guest David Rasmussen give their takes on the epic finale of the Avengers saga. The episode includes a magic trick by Craig and bonus jokes (a total of nine) by Eide.

The show’s tag line is “A show for reel (real) movie fans” and the two end each episode with “And as always, we’ll be watching…for you.”

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Highlights

Episode #1 – CAPTAIN MARVEL

Episode #2 – DUMBO

#1: SC: “I was really looking forward to this movie. You’ve got Tim Burton directing with Danny Devito and Michael Keaton back together again and I thought this was a ‘can’t miss’ movie. But it wasn’t a ‘can’t miss’ movie.” LE: “Yeah, given all the big names involved and the source material you’d think it would be fantastic and it wasn’t. It wasn’t horrible but it could have been so much better.”

#2: SC: “The acting was lackluster. Even Michael Keaton’s acting wasn’t as good as it should have been. I thought Danny Devito did a good job.” LE: “Yeah, he normally plays a bad guy but in this one he plays a good guy and does a great job whereas I thought Michael Keaton (as a villain) was out of his element. I think Christopher Walken or Jack Nicholson would have been a better choice for the villain.”

#3: SC: “The animated original had a lot more love in it.” LE: “Yes, I mean next to Bambi’s mother dying, the separation of Dumbo from his mother is the most famously sad scene in Disney history and this movie didn’t devote enough time and attention to it.”

#4: In re the ‘pink elephants on parade’ scene – SC: “I would have thought do the scene fully or don’t do it all. That’s my opinion.” LE: “Yeah, I mean given his penchant for the macabre, it’s kind of surprising he didn’t do the scene fully…He kind of wussed out.” SC: “When you’re an artist, sometimes you’re going to offend people.” LE: “In the pink elephant scene, if you really want to be edgy, you would have done it more like the original. But he (Timothy Burton) didn’t do it, and I think it’s a bad choice.”

#5: LE: “No spoilers but the ending was was upbeat, spectacular, and visually stunning. You’ll leave the theater very happy.”

#6: LE: “It was an ambitious, visually stunning expansion of the darker, racist movie but lackluster acting and plot issues prevented it from being a 9.5 or 10.”

Episode #3 – PET SEMATARY#1

#1: SC: “Jete Laurence does an outstanding job. People should go to this movie just to see her act.” LE: “She plays a fantastic reanimated, creepy, conniving daughter.”

#2: SC: “John Lithgow does wonderful job as the next-door neighbor. He says the one line, ‘Sometimes dead is better’, perfectly.” LE: “I agree. I also loved Fred Gywnn in the original movie. He did it with more of an Eastern accent: ‘Sometimes…dead is better.’”

#3: SC: “I really, really, really liked the ending.” LE: “Me too. I think by having the older sister being killed instead of the younger son the story veers off in a different, more evil, and interesting direction…The ending is dark, delicious…and delightful.”

Episode #4 – SHAZAM

#1 – SC: “One of the first things Billy Batson does after he gets superpowers is to go buy beer.” LE: “If I suddenly got superpowers at that age I’d do the same thing.”

#2 – SC: “Okay, which would you rather have, invisibility or the power to fly?” LE: “Okay I have flip flopped on this one. I’d rather have invisibility so I can be that fly on the wall. I figure I can already fly because we have Jetpacks but as far as I know, no one’s invented a way to become invisible. SC: “It’s close but I’ll take flying.” LE: “We can work together. You can have the aerial view while I’m on the ground checking things out.”

#3 — SC: “I give it 8.5 popcorns. How about you, Lee?” LE: “I’m gonna see your 8.5 and raise it to 10!” SC: “Wow, our first perfect score.” LE: “And maybe the last.” Fist bump ensues.

Episode #5 – AVENGERS: ENDGAME

#1 – SC: “Early in the movie there’s a lot of drama but not very much action.” LE: “They had to devise a pretty complex plan (to retrieve the Infinity Stones) so there is a lot of intellectual stuff going on so it’s gonna be slower paced…But it sets up what happens in the 2^nd half of the movie, which is almost non-stop action.”

#2 – SC: “I wrote down in my notes that was more than a movie. It was an experience.” DR: “Yeah, the experience of a lifetime.” LE: “It was like Marvel Comics created a VR ride and it sucked you into their universe.”

#3 – LE: “It definitely didn’t feel like a three-hour movie. I thought the pacing was great. For the finale of a huge franchise like this is you needed all the time to do things right.” DR: “I would love to go back and watch this movie again to see what I missed…because that movie was huge.”

#4 – After looking up Metacritic rating (77): SC: “You know what guys, I’m gonna say this: You guys are wrong!”

Episode #6 – POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU

#1 – SC: “At the beginning, I thought some of the acting was bad.” LE: “In general, I thought the acting was fine..but in the beginning it was, ah, uneven is probably the best way to put it.”

#2 – SC: “I thought as Pikachu Ryan Reynolds did a fantastic job.” LE: “Yeah, a cleaned-up Deadpool persona.” SC: “I loved Mr. Mime.” LE: “My two favorite characters are Torterra and Mr. Mime. Real-life mimes irritate the heck out of me but this one was funny.”

#3 – SC: “The original story of Pikachu is that of Ash and Pikachu. And I thought that story would have been better for newcomers because that way you would have met Pikachu and Ash and then how they met new Pokeman characters along the way. That’s the story everyone knows so I don’t know why they didn’t do that. Instead this a story from the video game “Detective Pikachu”. I don’t know how closely it follows the story but it is based on that game for the Nintendo DS.” LE: “Yeah I think the director Rob (Letterman) really wanted to do a film noir type movie that would appeal more to the adult audience while the main focus of the movie is on the Pokemon characters. In general I think he does a good job of balancing the two.”

#4 – LE: “Awesome F/X, a lot of humor. So basically it’s a very enjoyable movie but it does have issues.

#5 – SC: “It’s the end of the episode which means it’s time for Lee’s Joke of the Week.” LE: “Okay Stephen probably had the funniest thing with the whale vomit but I’ll give it a shot.”

Episode #7 – ALADDIN

#1 – LE: “This movie didn’t need to be remade but Disney knew they could make a lot of money on it. Money talks.”

#2 – SC: “I thought the lighting for the song ‘It’s a Whole New World” was poor. And the places they show aren’t that interesting. In the animated original it shows exotic places like Paris but in this one it shows like shots of the ocean. The whole scene is really dark and boring.” LE: “Apparently Disney’s new world is dark and boring.”

#3 – In re Metacritic rating of 86% and Rotten Tomatoes audience rating of 94%: “I’m not usually a big conspiracy guy but there’s something going on here. I think Disney hired a bunch of reviewers.” SC: “I think the reason it did so well is an enjoyable movie, it is a fun movie. I mean being a reviewer I was pickier someone just watching the movie on average. I thought some of the acting was poor but the average viewer isn’t gonna pay attention to that so that’s why the audience scores are so high.” LE: “I still think there’s something fishy going on.”

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That’s it, ladies and gentlemen, the end of my first blog post on THE MOVIE REVIEW SHOW site. Thanks for reading. And of course, watch our show!

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

June 22, 2019June 22, 2019 by leeeide-, posted in Uncategorized

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.