The check-in--add your thoughts!

[newyearsday]

I'm scared to see it too many times. I'm also thinking how great it will be if I ever go a REALLY long time -- six months, a year; you would think that eventually in my life this will be possible -- and it has started to fade in my mind and then I see it again and it will be so fresh it will feel like I'm seeing it for only the third or fourth time!!! (Never my first, though, and I wouldn't WANT it to feel like that, because I missed way too much of the meaning the first couple of times.)

Meanwhile, as for this place, I am sad whenever I think about the built-in obsolesence here. Kirk, I had just been wondering where you'd been lately. And I recall other names I used to see around who now rarely or never show up. I have come to think of you guys as genuine friends, even if my knowledge of you in many cases lacks important components -- appearance, profession, age, even gender -- that I have of my "real life" friends. In fact, it's partly those missing elements that make this such an interesting experience.

So if I lose touch with you guys I will miss you a lot. It's one reason I remain so addicted to these boards, even when I'm not seeing the movie frequently.

Katherine, I agree with you on so many things you said--being afraid to watch too much, missing people who don't post anymore, how much I love people here, and how important this place is to me. I am less addicted now to the boards, for various reasons--my work life and career are things I am really trying to make major changes in, plus there are aspects of the aesthetics of these boards like font size and type, that have always made it a bit harder for me to read and post here as voraciously as I did at IMDb. I need a bigger font, a bolder typeface, a wider space for posting, etc. I hope that some of those things might be possible to change because I really DO want to post and read here much more. (Not that that stopped me from being here yesterday from 9:30 am till about 3 pm! even though it was GORGEOUS outside.)

I also agree that we seem to be going strong now again. Maybe not as strong as we were in say, February or March, but pretty damn good for 5 months out. I love it that h-pie (yay I got to use it!) said in a few years a month will seem like nothing b/c we will have known each other for that long. Imagine us getting to congratulate Becky on graduating from high school, or take  Brandon out for a drink when he turns 21!

And I agree that it's really hard to keep up with it all, Kirk. I try to not take off for more than 36 hours at a time. that seems to be a do-able amount to catch up on things in a rudimentary way. But one thing that has really changed is that I am not staying up till 1 am or 2 am every night anymore (having to get up at 7:30), and this is good. I did that for about 2 or 3 months, and though it was really fun, it was hard on me and caught up to me. So I am replenishing the lost sleep now. Hopefully I will have a job in a few months that will allow me to stay up and then sleep late, b/c a lot of good stuff happens here when the west-coasters get on late at night!

so, thanks everyone who has posted here, it's been really heart warming to see you sharing where you're at, with the DVD, the community, the Calgary dreams.

Love and yeehaws,

Jenny

[Brown Eyes]

I've lost my fears about watching the movie too many times.  I was worried about that for a while too.  But, so far so good.  The movie truly hasn't lost its impact.  I'm hoping that this is a good sign that it will hold up as a "classic"... I mean people don't get tired of reading/seeing Romeo and Juliet over and over again... or watching Casablanca, etc.  BBM just really feels like a classic to me, even if it may be too soon to really tell.

The one thing that I find funny that has changed for me in my many viewings is the pace of BBM seems very different now than it did in the beginning.  Certain things just go by so fast now.  For example... Does anyone remember that funny old thread about "the horse spinning scene" back on imdb?  remember long considered discussions about all sorts of aspects of that scene... the intense look Jack gives Ennis, the way Ennis watches Jack ride away, the various meanings of horse terms like "crow hopping (is that right?)", etc.  And the first time I watched the DVD I just cracked up because the "horse spinning scene" goes by in the blink of an eye.  This sense of the movie's pace doesn't really change the film's impact, it's just noticeably different now.

And, of course I echo what people have said about loving the message board.  I'm sure BetterMost will continue to evolve and take on a life of it's own.  BBM will certainly continue to be a point of reference, a common interest, etc. for people here... But, conversations will probably grow in many unpredictable directions as the months go on.  Once friends are made, it's easy for a good message board to continue on.  At least I hope so in the case of BetterMost!
 

[newyearsday]

Hey Amanda!

I feel similarly about certain scenes going by really quickly, and that's what I don't want to have happen from watchign it too much. I would hope that I am really present for it all instead of having the feeling of having seen things so much that I don't truly 'see' them anymore. So for that reason, I like it that I am taking off from the movie for a few weeks now. When some things are done in my shop that I've been meaning to do for 5 or 6 weeks, and all my archiving and necklace-making are done, then I will truly feel like a free woman again, or a brokie with some time on her hands, at least, and I will enjoy the reward of seeing the movie again. Right now I'd put that event a few weeks off still. Maybe by mid-june, then it'll have been two months since seeing it. Wow, that will be interesting. I'll keep you posted.

[serious crayons]

I've lost my fears about watching the movie too many times.  I was worried about that for a while too.  But, so far so good.  The movie truly hasn't lost its impact.  I'm hoping that this is a good sign that it will hold up as a "classic"... I mean people don't get tired of reading/seeing Romeo and Juliet over and over again... or watching Casablanca, etc.  BBM just really feels like a classic to me, even if it may be too soon to really tell.

Amanda, I don't think it's too soon to tell. I realize the BetterMost community's reaction is not the norm, but I am convinced that Brokeback is  as much a classic as The Godfather, Casablanca, Citizen Kane and whatever other movies one would put in that echelon. (Does anybody here NOT agree with this?)  I don't think the whole world has caught onto that yet -- my husband actually rolled his eyes when I said that, on Oscar night, in my despondency over the outcome -- but I believe that eventually they will. That's one thing I feel pretty sure of.

I'm really encouraged, Amanda, by your saying that the movie hasn't lost its impact for you. I hope it never does for me, either.

And I really hope you're right about this:

BBM will certainly continue to be a point of reference, a common interest, etc. for people here... But, conversations will probably grow in many unpredictable directions as the months go on.  Once friends are made, it's easy for a good message board to continue on.  At least I hope so in the case of BetterMost!

There are so many people here that I have really grown to like and care about. But there were others here whom I once felt that way about ... and now they're gone, or at least rarely seen. Instead of a returned postcard stamped DECEASED, people just fade away and are never heard from again ...

Don't get me wrong -- I am still up for talking about the movie for a long time, still love to pick apart every imaginable nuance, still think about it constantly, am still obsessed and even, to some extent, still devastated. But I also realize that life must eventually go on. At one earlier point, back on imdb, I was reluctant to get very involved here, to make friends, because I knew that if I did it would be even harder to return to my normal life: there would be TWO things to have to quit. And I was right.

I don't want to quit you guys! And I'm not just talking about the you guys who might read this and recognize that you are among my you guys, but I'm also referring to the other you guys with whom I don't necessarily have a constant back-and-forth dialogue here, but whom I also feel I know, in a way, and really, really like! I would mention names but I'm afraid I'd forget some and regret it later. If you're reading this, just assume I'm talking about YOU. If nothing else, this board is a testament to the human capacity to connect with people once you know a few random things about them.

Anyway, I wish there was a way we could stay in contact. I really enjoy knowing you, to the extent that I do. I'm haunted by the idea that someday I'll be standing in a grocery-store line with one of you and NEITHER OF US WILL KNOW IT.