www.HORBAWRONG.com (creativity's hub)
 

It's a theme that I've been writing about in YouTube Rejects (I finish cutting the last episode TODAY!!!) and certainly I theme that I effectively dedicate this blog to.

Creativity.  The act of creating.  Writing.  Videos.  Music.  Art.  YouTube.

Lately, however, I have been fortunate to really understand and embrace the other aspect of creativity ... and that is community.  When people talk about YouTube, nine out of ten times they're talking about the YouTube community.  And as I stated in an earlier post, I truly believe that the community exists (or at least SHOULD exist) to support the creative works.

But let's remove YouTube from the equation.  I do that everyday.  Yes, YouTube is one of the cornerstones of my online activities, but this website and blog IS NOT YouTube.  Over on the right I've put a new set of links to some of my favorite personal blogs and sites.  For people like Obsquatch and Heather, they put as much of themselves into their writing (or more) as they do in their videos.  Their personal blogs ARE NOT YouTube.

But they are, fundamentally, cornerstones of this community.  Maybe not the YouTube community at large, but MY community and MY circle ... and the ideas and concepts they encompass are the ideas and concepts that are the cornerstone of said YouTube community.

I bring all of this up because Middlebrook posted a surprisingly heartfelt plea to the people within our YouTube circle.  What happened?  Where are you?  Are you so bereft of ideas that you're incapable of posting a video every now and then?  (only he said that last part WAY nicer ... like I said, it was heartfelt.)

This is why we need the community (yeah, even you, Obs): it represents the audience.  But it's an audience of peers ... creative minds who are also producing innovative (or at least interesting content).  And most importantly:

Creativity feeds on creativity.

I know every time I see a good movie, I leave the theater thinking, "Damn, how can I make something like that?"  Some of the most touching and poignant moments in The Beanie Boy Show or Talking Heads (and the literal drive to make these internet shows in the first place) has come from a perpetual love for some truly amazing television shows from Sports Night to Boston Legal all the way to Psych.  And I end up sitting down at my computer thinking, "Damn, how can I make something like that?"

When I finally saw WALL-E (which should have won Best Picture ... or at least been nominated ... it should have also won best screenplay) I walked away thinking about Charlie Chaplin films and how the greatest cinematic moments are achieved with no words at all ... and how could I come up with a way to write a silent film screenplay for modern times?  The answer, although I've never actually attempted the projected, was a simple love story set on against the background of an alien invasion wherein the alien's first wave of attack is unleashing a virus that renders humans incapable of speech.  Suddenly, our main characters literally have no words to express their love for each other on their way to certain death.

Creativity feeds creativity.

If the beast in your mind isn't being fed by the people in your circle or your community or your youtube subscriptions ... ask yourself this: are you doing anything to feed their beasts?

 


Comments

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 6:17:54 pm

Surprisingly? Behind this beard lays a heart of Gold

 

krumbi

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 6:19:12 pm

I believe it, sir ... you just don't show it often in your videos.

 

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 2:05:46 am

I'll show you feedin' the beast...

There is a blatant difference between the viewers of a YouTube video with a title like "Sexual Positions" or with a thumbnail picture of our lovely and intelligent friend with her thin, ladylike fingers wrapped, ever so gently, around her mammalian protrusions, asking us... Nay, Taunting us! Begging us to watch! I want to kiss you always! *cough cough* Sorry, I got a little sidetracked there. What was I saying? Yes, there is a difference between the audience of YouTube and that of a blog (I fucking hate the word blaaaaahg). Mostly because I believe that YouTubers, on the whole, are dumb. And by dumb, I mean masters of idiocy. Brainless lumps of lol-putty and shit-stained anonymous hate spewers, all of whom are more than deserving of an ice pick to the forehead, but I remain unconvinced that it will either help or hinder them. I think that being a YouTube idiot is easy. I think that YouTube, by nature, makes being an idiot member of a false community as easy as clicking a star, or a thumbs up, or thumbs down, or writing a comment like, "Fuck you, stuipt cunt. I fuck you in you ear!!!! XD". YouTube is a breeding ground for stupid, and stupid breeds fast. Don't get me wrong here. There are smart people, but they are hard to find. You've found a bunch, but I'll get to that later. YouTube makes it easy for idiots to come together. On the other hand, I think that writing is hard to do. Creating complex characters out of thin air is hard to do. Telling a story of pain and redemption, or of trust and trust dishonored, or of love lost and love gained, or of growing up, or growing old, or growing numb; these are hard things to do. You, Krumbine, are good at it. Point and case is the jogging story, which I love. I will always love reading that story. I will always love reading. I will always love writing. And right now, I love making videos. I will never get the attention that I get from doing videos, focused on my writing. I'm more than happy with that. I don't think that I want people like Napalm reading my stuff, and I don't think he'd like it, cause he's a YouTube idiot. I think that you've done an amazing job introducing me to people on YouTube who actually have brains, which means that you have appealed to and began to create a community on YouTube. But I think it is one that I am not fully convinced loves you as much as you love it. The fascinating idea of being part of a community has given you a boner, and it doesn't matter what slobbering, puss filled, naked monstrosity of a community looms infront of you; you wanna fuck it, hard. I, again, am happier with my own little corner, with my picture of a swamp on my wall, alone, than I would be having sex with a dripping bucket of slime. I might seem hypocritical right now, as I am posting videos with reckless abandon, but you should understand that I realize that this reckless abandon might be a "phase" and I have started taking small blue pills three times a day in effort to curb my YouTubeism. I also understand that it might now be too late to stop, so pass the lube ol' buddy, I want a shot at this odorous, slime-spewing, writhing, putrid, unholy beast. I'm ready to feed it, hard.

 

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 7:08:01 am

While I understand Ob's point, if you treat youtube with such negativity you will only get negativity in return. I can't get on board with you because it seems unproductive to assume the entire board of youtube is filled with idiots.

 

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 1:26:57 pm

Middlebrook, First off, I am negative as a reaction to what people outside of our circle contribute to this community. From Billy Black, to The Amazing Atheist, from SEXphil, to Blunty3000, from MeanBlackDude, to Fancyrants, negativity is already saturated into the very fiber of what YouTube is. There are hordes of people / idiots who are looking for someone to hate next, and they will follow the breadcrumbs left by the a fore mentioned YouTube icons and, in turn, leave unwarranted verbal / written attacks, sexually abusive comments and even death threats. People get famous on YouTube for spewing bigotry and hate and I think that it's sick. I, too, have been roped into it, and I can only hope for Krumbine's sake that the Fancyrants days are over. As for the positive idiots, they aren't much better. I love me some Vlogbrothers and Gimmeabreakman, but must be restrained from stabbing myself in the face with a fork when I read the comments left by the fans. The "first" thing totally mystifies me, and a comment that consists solely of "lol" and a fucking smiley face made up of a god damn semi-colon and the letter P makes me want to kill cute fuzzy animals. I swear to you that there are people out there that think that the semi-colon only exists as a wink. Trust me, I get it. We are not those people and that is why I am happy to heed your call for more videos, but you should know that someday, just like Heather, we are all going to pop and say, "Yeah, Middlebrook is cool, and Krumbine is an evil genius, but these hordes of brainless fucktards really piss me off and if I have to read another shitty comment that just repeats a line from my video, followed by an acronym that makes life not worth living, followed by some shitty depiction of a person using punctuation, I'm gonna have to start killing babies."

That all being said, I love your work. Keep the good times coming, sunshine. I just got my job back at the greenhouse, so I'll be happier soon, and I'll work on getting a girlfriend, but then you just might never hear from me again.

All of my love,
Obsquatch

 

Krumbine

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 4:54:06 pm

Hey Obs, I'm not gonna reach ur length of verbosity cause I'm thumbing it on an iPod. One of the reasons I love you is because of this: I can't much argue with anything you've written here. Suffice it to say, in regards to all the idiots on YouTube, well, you and I are still there. As for the quality of said idiots....look, I here what you're saying a out the dumb comments, but Napalm still watches the videos. And you pretty much have to be effected in some kind of positive way in order to KEEP watching my videos. Whether or not he expresses that on the comments or not, I honestly don't care.

 

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 3:59:50 am

Here's what I suggest. Let's define the community we want. By that, I mean who should I not be missing. Who do you want me to pay attention to, and who do you think would benefit from getting involved in a community that has me in it? I know who I think you should pay attention to. Middlebrook, I am quickly realizing that the Canadian YouTube mafia is pretty slick. Krumbine, we seem to be attracting an interesting breed of thinkers and artists and I am noticing a lot of common names on lists betwix us. And I know a crap load of writers who are mystified and repulsed yet simultaneously drawn in by YouTubes alure. So, instead of having to sift through idiots, let's attract people who want to contribute. The perfect example for me is www.Ilovethisworld.com Check it out when you find a minute.

 

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:59:47 am

Canadian Youtube Mafia? Thats like the best idea ever..... I am so getting on board with that....

 

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:23:01 am

Why did it take me a day to figure out that this is what you are already doing, Krumbine? It was onw of those moments that starts with a high pitched "ding!" Then "Ah=ha!" Then "oh" Then the sound of a sandwich baggie full of diarrhea hitting the pavement from a third story window. Good god, sometimes I am thick. Oh and you can totally sign me up for a t-shirt.

 

Krumbine

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 9:16:40 am

Alright, so now I am obligated to make this t-shirt. Dammit.

Obs, don't worry ... you can take however long you need, I'll be waiting right here. Interestingly, after all this discussion about Napalm, he (she??) left a horribly inane comment on the vlog I just posted, "I don't get any of this so I'll ignore it."

Once again, I get what you're saying, and it is VERY easy to get wrapped up in the overwhelming idiocy that is on youtube. But it has been my experience, time and again, that even if the retarded youtubers outpace the intelligent, genuinely intrested individuals ten-to-one (probably more) it's still a worthwhile and rewarding experience.

Most importantly, however, is having an idea that needs an audience. And what's great about youtube is that regardless of how intelligent a youtuber may or may not be, they all possess the same quality: they don't know WHAT they want to watch on youtube.

Which is perfect for people like us.

 

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 2:22:32 am

dude boston legal is one of my fav shows ever!

 



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