Well guys...

...yeah, I think I'm done here.  Please follow me on Twitter and/or friend me on Facebook if you haven't already.  Thank you for your patronage.  And (one last time)...

If you [were] amazed at the quality of posts on this site (I know I [was]), please consider making a small donation to the Buy Ben Books, Music, CDs & Movies Fund.

I do have an Amazon.com Wish List, you know (look, there it is over on the left).

Again, I thank you.

We've lost our lease! Everything must go!

...I'm thinking of declaring this blog "closed."  Since I've been on Facebook and now Twitter, the number of postings here has gone way down--since October I've done less than 10, and this will be my first and probably only entry for the entire month of January..

The reason for that is simply that on "social media," you (or at least I) get more response.  Even if it's only a "Like" a "retweet" or "follow," you get more interaction, even reinforcement.  And honestly, that's one of the things I'm most looking for online--not the feeling that I'm just sending things out into the ether to sink like stones.

This seems to have become merely a place to display my Wish List, link to Sinfest, and note when people mysteriously find the blog by searching my name.

So why am I telling you all this?  At the risk of feeling too abject, I'm telling you all this to ask:  Does anyone really care?  Seriously--is anybody still reading this anymore--more to the point, anyone who isn't friends with me on Facebook and/or following me on Twitter, and would not care to do either?

Because I'm small-r-romantic enough to think that the idea of online communication is communication.  And  I honestly don't know if I'm communicating with anybody anymore here.

This is a very serious request for feedback.  Please let me know if you want this blog to continue--or even if you just want to know where to find me on Facebook or Twitter (to which the answer will be, follow the links in the first paragraph of this entry).

My fate is in your hands--or at least, how I spend a few hours each evening.  Look forward to hearing from you.

Bad luck.

Oh, hells' bells.  I just heard, via News From Mark Evanier, that smart guy Peter David has suffered a stroke.  David's "stuff" (that's what he calls himself, "writer of stuff") has included some of my favorite books and comics over the years, and his column for the Comics Buyers' Guide was a must-read.

I also posted fairly regularly on his America Online message board, back when there were such things, and he once flattered me by asking me if he could quote an idle remark I made there, in said column.

As Mark says, this is one of those moments when all one can do is wish him a speedy recovery, which I certainly do.

I'll never forget you, Patricia McPherson

Patricia McPherson Pictures

You knew what culture we live in when you chose not to put on underwear, Mrs. Hathaway (Updated with addition)

Update:  Apparently no, no I am not.

Okay, I've been sitting on this one for a day or two, but I have to ask: Am I the only one whose heart is not all-aflutter at Anne Hathaway's saying

"I'm sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies sexuality of unwilling participants,"

and/or who thinks Hathaway's "wardrobe malfunction" was a deliberate publicity stunt (for Les Misérables)?

I may be wrong. I frequently am. But just let me put this in your head: It wouldn't be the first time she's used her body to sell a film. Remember Love & Drugs? Yeah, neither does anybody else.

But that entire advertising campaign, with Hathaway's active and enthusiastic cooperation, broke down to "See Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal (for those so inclined) take off all their clothes and have hot steamy sex."

So, I may be wrong. I frequently am. But...

Guess what, kids!

...that's right!  It's time to play...

Who's Searching for me Now?

Someone in Newnan, Georgia found this blog early this morning (my time) by "bing-ing" "ben varkentine." To the best of my knowledge I do not know anyone in Newnan, Georgia. I don't even know anything about it.

Oh yeah...

...it's that time again, folks.  "That time" being the second of my twice-yearly metaphorical awkward clearing of the throat and nudge of the head towards my Amazon.com wish list.  You'll find it to your right.  Thank you as always for your consideration.

PS:  Oh, again, as with the birthday subtle hint, of course the items/downloads need not only be purchased from Amazon.