Optigrab Crosses 1,000 Articles!

Joaquin Phoenix in I'm Still Here

Yesterday, this very blog Optigrab did something rather impressive. It finally crossed the 1000th article. It has been a long road of trial and error to get here, but more than anything else, I want to cry out "I'm still here." More than anything else, I want to personally take this opportunity to thank everyone for reading this and at least turning it into an impressive folder of work. When looking back at the catalog of effort, I'll admit that I see a lot of mediocre pieces mixed with some clearly experimental material. However, what you the reader have seen alongside me is growth. I don't even know where I could have seen myself when I began writing a little over five years ago. Little did I know that it would get me access to write for websites, attend Sundance, and get me referenced by the New York Times website. I didn't think that I would have a still highly debated article about how The Master ended. To everyone, I cannot thank you enough.

I thought that I would be open with the origin about how this blog came into fruition. It all began back in 2008. I had taken up a great writing job at the Cypress College journalism department's news show called C-Scope (later evolved into the still functioning CCMN). Not even a year out of high school, I was still testing the water of my pop culture feet. My education had yet to introduce me to a lot of the masters and I could care less what cinematography meant. However, as evident by my high school yearbook, I was "the movie guy." Along with slanderous remarks comparing me to Roger Ebert, it was a passion that I approached with vague curiosity. I knew what I liked and as someone who had been writing for 15 years, it was time to mix the two.

Sometime around mid-2009 in the middle of a strange emotional period, I got invited by my aunt to join a writing group. I had felt the need to express myself and wasn't receiving it. So I joined the group with the first name that came to mind: Optigrab, named after one of my favorite films - The Jerk. Along with the original url (tomgoescockeyed.blogspot.com), it wasn't one meant to be taken seriously. In fact, it wasn't initially about pop culture at all. My first few articles were based around writing prompts that I took creative license on. They became nonexistent simply because I deleted them. There's one that still exists called "If I Had A" which is available when you search.

Sometime in the process, I transformed myself into a pop culture blog. In fact, the first available article on this blog, dated June 28, 2009, is titled "Influence and Influenza" and about something rather far fetched by my standards today. I compared the then recent death of Michael Jackson to a cold that I had gotten. In my belief that I had continually insulted him and that caused some sickness, I made this whole piece based around how I should respect the dead so that I wouldn't be sick. It was pretty stupid.  In fact, the early entries were more geared towards music with countdown of Green Day songs and discussing Prince's "Purple Rain" album in baffling hyperbole.

Adam Sandler in Funny People

However, it didn't take long for a pattern to form. My first movie review was for Funny People, which I undoubtedly still like and marks the last good Adam Sandler film. Along with reviews for (500) Days of Summer, District 9, and an early form of a retrospective on Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino, I was setting a template. By December, I had a brief stint with my own review section called "True Blue," which was actually a really dumb joke I used during a review of Avatar that stuck for awhile. I had a "Best of the Decade" list that I forewarned was from a less critical (literally) form of my life. In a sense, the blueprints were there. I just wasn't the greatest writer.

I do condone the idea of anyone starting a writing project. Even if you have no skills, just do it. This very blog is an example of how one can grow. I started off rather hyperbolic while using very dull language. I communicated ideas, originally to almost zero audience, but I soon began to form a style. In fact, within two years, the blog landed me my first writing job for CinemaBeach. It was largely based off of my own pieces, which were initially sparse. Soon I incorporated my weekly writing for Nerd's Eye View, which was my first real exposure to deadlines. Every Wednesday (or as they called it "Willett Wednesday") I would ramble on about relevant pop culture topics. Admittedly, I didn't lose my repelling snark until 2012, but again it was something that came with time. You have to recognize your errors to improve upon them.

Of course, what really helped to boost my article count is the work that I have done with Nerd's Eye View: a podcast that I helped to create that continues to have a rotating cast. I am simply impressed that it's years later and is functioning probably at its best now more than ever. As we are about to approach Episode 200 within the next few weeks, it is fun to look back on the countless episodes. Sadly, there are some dead links in the mix of these posts, but I keep them there as reminders of things that I have done. I am proud of what Nerd's Eye View has become and the fact that there is a whole network now called Benview Network promoting like-minded content just shows how great things turned out.

Most of all, this blog has taught me the different between relevance and interests. As much as I am not one to talk about summer blockbusters akin to Michael Bay, I have slowly noticed that sometimes it is important to comment on them. I began to form topic posts relevant to recent releases. I even wrote an initial piece on "My Favorite Animated Movies," which is embarrassing now, but lead me to discovering Hayao Miyazaki thanks to a comment. I believe that even if I write something bad, there will be a conversation somewhere in there to help enrich my life. I have discovered so much pop culture because of that and it has helped to transform me into who I am. 

Lena Dunham in Girls

One of the biggest revelations for my writing came when I first typed the words "TV Recap" in the Post title section. April 19, 2012 was the launch of my first recap series. With no experience, I decided to tackle this show blindly. Having become a fan of the Firewall and Iceberg podcast, I felt the need to expand my interests. While I had paid homage to fallen shows that I loved (Infomania being a major influence on my style to the point I named my annual end-of-the-year series "Listmania" vaguely off of it), I hadn't really given much love to modern TV. I'll admit that maybe it came from a hard-on that I had for Judd Apatow's work as a producer, but I wanted to explore Girls with belief that it was on par with Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. To date, no TV Recap series has produced as many page views as Girls, even the complete collection of Breaking Bad recaps. 

So, what was important with Girls and the recaps? Basically, it was the start. I saw my mind starting to look at TV critically. Even if I am embarrassed at my work for season one, or as I dub: the "I don't get relationships" series, there was some poignancy that stuck. I was working out my problems and understanding HBO on better terms. Since then, I expanded my weekly output of TV Recaps, which has included Breaking Bad, Masters of Sex, Bob's Burgers, Louie, and Orange is the New Black as well as TV Rewind series on Freakazoid! and Pinky, Elmyra, & The Brain. I formed a stronger relationship with TV and began to feel entitled to the conversation. I didn't just read the recaps on AV Club, I used them for influence on my own style. Am I the best? No. However, I am a lot better than I was two years ago.

I think that I began to form a specific style and interests. I began to realize that I could function as someone who wrote about an array of topics. While I had done so all along, I hadn't created specific categories for my writing on the subjects that interested me the most: movies, TV, and podcasts. More than the other fields, I have gotten the most personal benefit out of Podcast Portal simply because it has enriched my variety of favorite shows, but it has given me contact with so many great shows including: The Simpsons Show, Fighting in the War Room, and The Carson Podcast. I believe that it is a medium that needs more notice and I unfortunately don't do enough to support it. Then again, I do more than most and embrace the new format .

Phoenix in The Master

As time progressed, I finally had my first "spin-off" as it were. Upon writing massive amounts at Optigrab, there was a strange desire to continue to expand. Thanks largely to my fascination with the 2012 film The Master, I started The Oscar Buzz, which was based largely on The Academy Awards and my desire to prognosticate. Last year, I was three categories shy of a perfect score at the ceremony. I'd say that I've done pretty well. Admittedly, it is hard to continually pump out content, especially during dry seasons, but I found a new audience who was wanting to check out my work. I wrote theory pieces on which films would win and soon I was doing numbers on par and often better than Optigrab. As it stands, it holds my highest viewed article of all-time (a review of Spring Breakers). I also got noticed by The New York Times website for writing up a speculation piece on Saving Mr. Banks.

Even though I have treated The Oscar Buzz with seriousness, I have also used it to hopefully just start film discussion by reviewing films worth checking out. In fact, the conversations raised on The Oscar Buzz outweigh those on Optigrab very often. Maybe it is the professional look, but I am proud to have two viable blogs going, especially as the other one currently sits at 241 posts in just shy of two years. It has also helped me to launch a joint blog with Mike Duddy called Films with Friends, which is more sporadic, but another great forum for film discussion.

To sum up the rest, it has been a wonderful five years writing for Optigrab. It has helped me to get work on other websites, start up my own conversations, and enrich my education of film. Most of all, it has helped me to improve as a writer and find new passion for film. I have seen the lowest grossing film in two separate years because of CinemaBeach, who hired me almost solely on this account. I have gone to Sundance and met Matt Patches. I have written for Readwave and The Focus Pull because of Optigrab. I have become more clear in my writing, which is a phenomenal task.

With the thousandth piece, I feel honored to have achieved this level of output. Was it all good? No. There's a lot of bad formatting that plagues my early work. Even then, I'd like to think that this is a butterfly effect that worked out for the best. Had I not started Optigrab, where would I be? Probably not nearly as proficient as I am today. For that, I am grateful. This blog may not yet make me money, but I continue to do it because I enjoy being part of the conversation. Maybe in the next thousand, I can achieve that level. For now, I have a log of how I have evolved as a writer, and that is enough to make this all worthwhile.