An Introduction

They teach you in school how to write a proper introduction. State your thesis, talk briefly about what you'll discuss, and then restate your thesis and transition into your first point. I'll be honest: I've never been that great at writing introductions or even small talk for that matter. It's even more difficult when I only have a vague idea of what I really want to do with this blog.

But I suppose that's as good a place to start as any.

It's been a while since I've done this whole blogging thing, so I want to put myself on a schedule of sorts, but not one that will make me hate this after only a few weeks. (It has happened before. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. Tears were shed and threats were made against a poor defenseless computer. His name was Ian, and he's all but retired now.)

For now I want to post on Mondays and Thursdays.

Movie Mondays: I'll post a review of a movie, new or old, classic or cult, widely received or hardly seen. I'll give a spoiler free review, and then look more in depth at the movie, talking about the actors, director(s), and the actual production value of the film. I love movies, but I'm also that crazy person sitting in the corner scouring IMDB for factoids. I'm the type who watches all the special features and listens to the director commentaries. I'm going to use this as my medium to quit driving my friends and husband insane, but I also hope it's entertaining and informative.

Thoughts for Thursdays: My version of The Vlogbrothers' Thoughts From Places. I'm better with words on a page than video blogging. I'll blog about observations and other topics I just want to talk about. Sometimes that will include book reviews, music reviews, or even just me rambling on about a specific person or issue. 

Okay, see. I told you I was bad at this. I told you what I want to do... but I haven't told you anything about me. And now the blinking cursor is taunting me. I'd rather talk about movies, books, music... anything but myself honestly. Though I suppose the things I talk about inform partly on myself. Or some other psychological chatter. I'll try to be brief.

I'd happily consider myself a nerd. I have fairly eclectic tastes in books, movies, and music, so you'll likely see a lot of that reflected here. I mean, on a given morning I can go from listening to Metallica's Enter Sandman to the Soundtrack from Disney's Tangled. (And if you tell me you don't sing along with I've Got A Dream, you're a dirty filthy liar.)

I'm very guilty of fangirling, to the point even of flailing, and no fandom or interest I have is exempt from this. I once flailed because I discovered my oven has a timer that counts down to when it's preheated. No joke. My husband laughed at me.

I have a degree in Classics from the University of Missouri in Columbia. (Go Tigers!) I also took minors in History and English. I took classes in Creative Writing, and I would like to consider myself a science fiction/fantasy writer, but it's been a while since I've written anything original. More than once I've wondered if I should have taken the Screenwriting track of classes instead. I've never been a Math and Science person, Humanities and Languages have always clicked more with me for whatever reason, but I do find science fascinating. But start throwing equations at me and I'll happily tell you it's more confusing than Greek to me. And I didn't even take Greek.

I'm a cat person and always have been. My husband and I have two cats, Shyla and Loki. I named the latter, and yes, I did shoot myself in the foot with that one. He lives up to his name every day. Loki is on the left, Shyla is on the right.

I like cold weather and will generally grimace in the direction of anything really warm. The way I see it, you can always put more clothes on, but there are only so many layers you can take off before you get arrested for indecent exposure.

I thoroughly enjoy British television and comedy. I trace my love of the crazy little island to repeated viewings of Mary Poppins as a child.

And now the cursor is taunting me again.

Yeah, that's all I've got for now. "For now" being the key words here. But it's only an introduction. Actual content to follow, I hope. Keep your eyes open on Mondays and Thursday for new posts. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram as @kshartel.

Endings. I'm bad at those too.