Comments on: Circling the Branch of Discourse http://bitter-lemons.com/2008/12/circling-the-branch-of-discourse/ Bringing the Los Angeles Theatre Community closer together. Whether It likes it or not. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:28:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Colin Mitchell http://bitter-lemons.com/2008/12/circling-the-branch-of-discourse/comment-page-1/#comment-806 Colin Mitchell Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:13:51 +0000 http://bitter-lemons.com/?p=101#comment-806 Unmirkin! Ding! I get it! Brilliant! As a playwright myself, and a great fan of all things phonetic-dialect (Mark Twain is a fave) - that is a beaut. And agreed and fair enough per your argument that COM is not and should not be judged by a standard it does not claim to meet. And finally, yes, LA is my turf and I accept the challenge to maintain, preserve and enhance its quality of theatre willingly and diligently. Peace be upon you. Unmirkin! Ding! I get it! Brilliant! As a playwright myself, and a great fan of all things phonetic-dialect (Mark Twain is a fave) – that is a beaut.

And agreed and fair enough per your argument that COM is not and should not be judged by a standard it does not claim to meet.

And finally, yes, LA is my turf and I accept the challenge to maintain, preserve and enhance its quality of theatre willingly and diligently.

Peace be upon you.

]]> By: Travis Bedard http://bitter-lemons.com/2008/12/circling-the-branch-of-discourse/comment-page-1/#comment-805 Travis Bedard Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:13:01 +0000 http://bitter-lemons.com/?p=101#comment-805 Oh Colin, I ALWAYS pull my punches! I'm noted for it. I don't know you or SLM or your work well enough to really rip into you. That'll change ;) You weren't bitching, but SLM was, sorry for the confusion about that. My circling the branch (aside from general cowardice) is due to the fact that neither you or SLM (or Tony Adams in Chicago-land) are wrong in your general thesis. We ABSOLUTELY need to hold our critics accountable (I have a much longer post coming up VERY shortly on just that issue). My poorly delineated argument is that the specific criticism of Critic-O-Meter isn't germane to that issue. They have decided to, along with their much longer individual blog posting and freelance writing and play/opera crafting, to create a largely uncurated aggregation site. That of course doesn't fill the need for holding the gatekeepers accountable, but that isn't their mission statement. Someone who feels the call to critique the critics (which aside from cyclical Isherwood bashing obviously isn't many people) will have to take up the banner and start their own project. The linking of C-O-M with accountability is fallacious. It's like asking me to write a smarter American musical... it's not going to happen no matter how necessary I think it is. SIDEBAR: Even if Isaac and Rob DID take up the birch switch (or a belt!) and take the Establishment back to the woodshed it won't change the perception of LA's theatre scene. Only you and your tribe can do that. SIDEBAR 2!: Trying saying unMurkin in your worst George Bush impersonation. Nothing cool or hip involved... I'm pretty bad at both, just shorthand for the Us/Them that has had me in a bad mood this decade. -lunch- Oh Colin, I ALWAYS pull my punches! I’m noted for it. I don’t know you or SLM or your work well enough to really rip into you. That’ll change ;)

You weren’t bitching, but SLM was, sorry for the confusion about that.

My circling the branch (aside from general cowardice) is due to the fact that neither you or SLM (or Tony Adams in Chicago-land) are wrong in your general thesis. We ABSOLUTELY need to hold our critics accountable (I have a much longer post coming up VERY shortly on just that issue). My poorly delineated argument is that the specific criticism of Critic-O-Meter isn’t germane to that issue.

They have decided to, along with their much longer individual blog posting and freelance writing and play/opera crafting, to create a largely uncurated aggregation site. That of course doesn’t fill the need for holding the gatekeepers accountable, but that isn’t their mission statement. Someone who feels the call to critique the critics (which aside from cyclical Isherwood bashing obviously isn’t many people) will have to take up the banner and start their own project. The linking of C-O-M with accountability is fallacious. It’s like asking me to write a smarter American musical… it’s not going to happen no matter how necessary I think it is.

SIDEBAR: Even if Isaac and Rob DID take up the birch switch (or a belt!) and take the Establishment back to the woodshed it won’t change the perception of LA’s theatre scene. Only you and your tribe can do that.

SIDEBAR 2!: Trying saying unMurkin in your worst George Bush impersonation. Nothing cool or hip involved… I’m pretty bad at both, just shorthand for the Us/Them that has had me in a bad mood this decade.

-lunch-

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