tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post1778517785800634793..comments2022-03-24T16:11:50.124-04:00Comments on The Man From Porlock: Roger & RemembranceCraighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-45139883015084416902013-04-06T12:37:56.286-04:002013-04-06T12:37:56.286-04:00Thanks, Jason. I very much liked what you wrote ab...Thanks, Jason. I very much liked what you wrote about knowing more about Roger than you do some of your own relatives. He was that gifted a writer, that forthcoming a person.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-20754557046835258672013-04-06T11:03:10.163-04:002013-04-06T11:03:10.163-04:00"But as I sit here typing these sentences, re..."But as I sit here typing these sentences, reflecting on Roger's life and death, what makes me happiest is the thought that, on at least one occasion, I told a dumb joke that made him laugh."<br /><br />This is a lovely tribute, indeed. And that's a lovely memory to cherish. Very moving. And from all the stories I've read over the years (from Ebert or others) about his love of a good joke, I've got to think that laugh was about the best gift anyone could give him. I mean that.<br /><br />And Steven is right: Many of us first connected because of The House Next Door, and Matt Zoller Seitz deserves a great deal of credit for forging that initial community that made for so many lasting connections, but the person who gave us an appetite for a site like that -- which in its early days was founded in the discussion around the criticism as much as the criticism itself (something that has been sadly lost) -- was Ebert. Period.<br /><br />Heck: I'd never have known the House existed had I not gone to Ebert's site and saw a blog post by Jim at Scanners. So quite literally Roger Ebert was the guy who led me to you guys.<br /><br />I just left a comment at Jim's reflection on Roger seconding the idea that to correspond with a writer is to know him/her. We're an example of that.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-27940096625304081482013-04-06T10:31:26.207-04:002013-04-06T10:31:26.207-04:00I also emailed you the answer to your question. It...I also emailed you the answer to your question. It wasn't David Poland.<br />Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-48595736621955874662013-04-06T10:30:10.126-04:002013-04-06T10:30:10.126-04:00Thanks, Adam. I forgot I had one more interaction ...Thanks, Adam. I forgot I had one more interaction with Roger. It was at the same Ebertfest two years ago. I'd heard that he was working on his memoirs and after one of the panel discussions he attended I told Roger and Chaz separately that there was correspondence from him in the Kael collection where I work. They both seemed interested in the letters for the memoirs - Roger waved my business card and put it in his pocket - but I never heard from them. Oh, well.<br /> Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-35449369566740400972013-04-05T23:53:49.853-04:002013-04-05T23:53:49.853-04:00To add to what Steven said, I would absolutely giv...To add to what Steven said, I would absolutely give Ebert credit for all these connections we've forged. I've only been corresponding with you guys for 3 & 1/2 years now, but I wouldn't have jumped into the film critics' social circles to begin with had I not known Ebert was a big proponent of them.<br /><br />It's good that you got to correspond with him one last time to let him know that all of those Craig Simpsons were you. It sounds like he got a kick out of that. Of your Answer Man exchanges with him, my favorite is when you guys both quoted Claude Rains ("shocked! shocked!") when debating over DiCaprio.<br /><br />I'm trying to figure out which critic it was that bashed his <i>Tree of Life</i> review but nevertheless praised him yesterday. Poland, was it?Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-44434554878082422162013-04-05T23:50:41.128-04:002013-04-05T23:50:41.128-04:00The joke was that the box office failure of the fi...The joke was that the box office failure of the first movie was a perfect example of the free market having spoken.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05571206086671634525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-10743187599925500622013-04-05T19:35:02.811-04:002013-04-05T19:35:02.811-04:00Thanks, Steven. Trying to remember your Atlas Shru...Thanks, Steven. Trying to remember your Atlas Shrugged joke: Was it "Atlas Shrugged II: Shrug Harder?"<br />Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-79558393354330680972013-04-05T14:21:33.793-04:002013-04-05T14:21:33.793-04:00Great tribute to someone I will truly miss. I hone...Great tribute to someone I will truly miss. I honestly feel that all of us who still primarily know each other online would never had forged these connections without him. It's not hard to see that he was clearly an inspiration for all of us to express ourselves the way we do.<br /><br />I was in the odd situation of never having directly communicated with him, except when he followed me on Twitter, linked to various pieces on my blog and then promoted almost all of my video essays, something I proud to known he read and watched. But, coincidentally, even when I moved on from blogging, he still followed me on Twitter and tended to retweet links to articles (mostly political) and some of my jokes apparently went over big with him (a particular dig at the "Atlas Shrugged" film adaptation I'm actually most proud to see amused him). <br /><br />His death hit me hard, but, at the same time, when I'm moving into a different phase of my life creatively, I am still inspired by him. And his support, which many were the recipient of, will continue to inspire others. And if there's anything to come from this, it is to retain his spirit in how we think about and discuss films. For me, Ebert is and will always be Film Criticism. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05571206086671634525noreply@blogger.com