Last night, after a week of this... or maybe it’s been even longer now. I lose my sense of time pretty often when I get into something... my creative energy ran out and I was just staring, thinking about what else I could still do with the almanac.
The site is starting to look nice, especially now that I put images on it... good question how long that’ll last. But something about it still isn’t right. Somehow it doesn’t communicate what I want it to. But what do I even want?
It’s not easy to make a living from creating. So I won’t lie and say sure, I have no financial expectations. But what do I want to achieve with this little website?
Earlier I started a Sci-fi Slop channel. Slop channel, because I didn’t really have a vision of what I wanted to create, or why. It was just a feeling in me... a feeling I find hard to put into words. I’m a man, so being able to put this into words is especially hard... plus I’m wired some other way too... but more on that maybe later.
What was this feeling? I’d probably describe it as liberation. After the daily scare-stories and failures, I simply managed to find an old sci-fi film, one that reminded me there was life before the flood of slop. There was a time when someone pictured an entire world and dared to dream. There was a time when a group of people could come together and work toward a common goal.
But that enthusiasm faded fast, which I couldn’t really understand. I only need one sci-fi film for this. So why can’t I bring myself to watch Star Wars for the tenth time? Because I have no reason to. Why would I watch Species? I’m not in a horror mood. Why would I watch anything that isn’t a blockbuster? Or anything that doesn’t star my favorite childhood actors?
The answer is simple... I have no reason to. There’s no excuse worth pulling them out for. I’ve already seen it, or the film is so old that why bother.
That’s when I had this “brilliant” idea, what if I tied the films to historical events. And what if each film only appeared once? It’s still an open question whether it’s even doable. Will I find 366 sci-fi films, will I find 366 events? And is there any connection at all between the two sets?
So what the hell do I want to achieve with this site? This site wants to be a hub. I know my own attention is short enough that if I don’t get an answer in 2 minutes... I move on to the next site. No wonder, really, since I work in IT. When a bug or a challenge came in, I had to figure out fast what I was even dealing with and how to even start. And these days the search algorithms definitely won’t give you that information back, they’ll give you some slop that has nothing to do with the problem you actually searched for... let alone the solution.
This site wants to answer one question: “Sci-fi tonight?” This happened today, this is the film I recommend, here’s why. If you want to know more, read about it on my Substack. Or watch the video, if you’re too tired to read. And here are the links if the film interests you. If you like what I’m saying, share it. If you’d like to support me... I still have to figure out how. For me sci-fi is a refuge. I hope it pulls you out of the weekdays too.
Alright... that’s the website. But what is the Substack for, then? This is a completely new platform for me. I could have set up a fully standalone blog, or an email service. But building a community isn’t the easiest. Will it even work? I’m not even sure of that yet.
But this is the platform where I plan to share the longer-form content for now. The extra events, the ones the once-only rule doesn’t apply to. Hey... I might not have picked the best one, so it’s fine if there’s an alternative. :D
What else might end up here are the so-called behind the scenes thoughts. Challenges, stories. Or should this go on Patreon? There are so many platforms it’s hard to keep up. Oh right, I have a Patreon too... content on it? Nothing yet. I haven’t really been able to make time for it. And producing three separate kinds of content is exhausting. Writing... maybe that’s simpler.
I feel like I’m running out of words, and in the dark corners of my brain clouds are already gathering over the next things to do. So I think I’ve bored you enough for today.
Go watch a sci-fi. The almanac might help you find one. :D