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I’m on quite a few ping lists. I’ve only asked to be added to two or three of them; the rest have harvested me, presumably because I’ve weighed in enough on the topic at hand to catch the eye of the Keeper of the List. I choose to regard this as a compliment.

So if you run a list and I’m on it, keep me there even if I’ve been inactive for awhile. I wouldn’t have commented on your thread to begin with if I didn’t have at least a passing interest in the general subject area. The ping list gives me a heads-up. Given the risk of missing an interesting thread entirely (high) or coming across it too late to add much of substance (also high), I appreciate the early notice. I know how to skip a thread if I’m not interested at the moment, so I don’t see any downside.

I started a movie ping list late last year and run it on the lines I’ve just described. A few people have asked to be added. A few have asked to be removed, which is fine, and they’re welcome back anytime. Mostly I harvest names of people whose comments have caught my eye due to frequency, passion or expertise. I urge you to take this as a compliment, but freepmail me if you want off.:)

Movie threads are pretty common. Most of them are not started by me. Most of them involve venting about some Hollywood outrage, which is shooting fish in a barrel. My hope is to develop a list where people get in the habit of recommending the good stuff they’ve seen. Good films are still being made, but they can be hard to find because most of the hype is reserved for the big franchise films, and because the streamers have such a blizzard of cookie-cutter “new this week” offerings that the good films get lost in the mix.

So I’m always looking for solid recommendations, especially culturally or politically conservative films. If you want to join, let me know.

P.S. I’ve also made a New Year’s resolution not to bellyache too much about a film unless I’ve actually seen it. Since I will read a few reviews, follow a recommendation, and watch a trailer, I don’t end up watching many bad films — and when I do, it’s usually deliberate, for purposes of opposition research. It’s amazing how this simplifies the question.