Regarding guest blogging
by javabeans
You’ve probably noticed that there have been a number of guest posts cropping up, from the year-end review series to the recaps of dramas like City Hall, IRIS, and Smile. The latest to join me is waterleaf, who wrote the post below and has graciously volunteered to keep writing from time to time. I’ve been getting more questions about guest blogging, so I thought I’d address it here.
I love featuring a range of opinions, especially when they’re different from my own, which is why I find guest posts so valuable. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have passionate and articulate people not only reading this site but also feeling motivated enough to contribute their time writing for it. I know how much work it takes and I’m humbled by people like Samsooki, thunderbolt, Dahee Fanel, hjkomo, dw4p, soyjoy, kaedejun and smallfish putting so much effort into reviews and recaps.
On the other hand, I remain committed to writing most of the content on this site myself. When the site started growing, I had to make a decision whether I wanted to expand or stay small. The idea of being a comprehensive drama hub has its appeal, but I chose to keep things small but manageable, rather than spreading things thin for the sake of covering more. But guest blogging allows for a happy medium where additional shows can be highlighted, and that makes me happy.
If you’re interested in guest reviewing, hit me up and we’ll talk. A few prerequisites: (1) I don’t care about quantity or speed; I care about the quality of the writing and ability to take a drama and discuss it in an entertaining way. (2) Please be passionate and motivated; if I assign recaps, you will burn out. Hence, I don’t assign. (3) Please be fairly certain you can complete the drama. I promise I will never nag you for recaps and if you must drop it, there will be no hard feelings or guilt-tripping. (It should be fun, not a burden!) But when I make a decision to recap, I also want to be reasonably certain I will finish, as a courtesy.
What do you think?
Tags: bloggy
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1 belleza
January 25, 2010 at 9:20 AM
Please request Samsooki to give us moar of his impassioned and tragically misguided advocacy for actors/shows. Team MOB needs to sacrifice more actors. ;)
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2 b020
January 25, 2010 at 9:25 AM
Javabeans - as long as the quality remains in tact, I think its a great idea. I worry about too much enthusiasim shading the actual analysis part, but as long as the recap is top notch, as yours have set the bar, I will look forward to the guest bloggers.
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3 djeedjes
January 25, 2010 at 9:26 AM
i think it's great!
I love your writing Javabeans, but the guest bloggers are also all good.
I hope you'll do most of the contents like now, since well, this is YOUR blog anyway. If I want to read more news, I can always look from other site, but here, I can find high quality writings, and fun, smart discussion. I like that this site has minimal spam and useless comments. The community is just awesome.
I wish I can write better, so that I can contribute....but I already happy now as a reader!! ;)
Anyway, LOVE your blog, and hope Dramabeans will last for very very very...... long time!
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4 mimi
January 25, 2010 at 9:27 AM
Sort of off topic but with the recaps, if it becomes a little lagged maybe the person writing it can combine 2 episodes and write one recap to lighten the load and to keep it up to speed. For instance, with Smile You I haven't seen a recap in a while and we're currently at ep. 35.
Just a suggestion. : )
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5 Ana
January 25, 2010 at 9:35 AM
@ JB - Variety is the spice of life.:-) You have impeccable taste and you do pick out the best guest bloggers to add more to this blog.I've never gotten bored here at dramabeans because there is always something interesting to read and I always leave the site with something new to think about.
@ belleza - Wish one of your commentaries come up as a guest post too.:-)
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6 hjkomo
January 25, 2010 at 9:36 AM
sounds good to me :D
and if anyone complains, they must complete a mandatory recap of at least 2 episodes of a drama as penance ;)
Team MOB, FTW!!! :P
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7 Saris
January 25, 2010 at 9:38 AM
It sounds like a great idea! The people who have recapped and blogged for you have done an amazing job! :)
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8 Lisa
January 25, 2010 at 9:44 AM
More recaps are a good thing, yes.
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9 langdon813
January 25, 2010 at 9:57 AM
JB, my first experience with reading your recaps while simultaneously viewing a drama was with Story of a Man. I could never have enjoyed or understood it nearly as well without the recaps. The streaming site I was watching it on at the time wasn't very good; often there were subs missing or even whole scenes. I couldn't have finished it without you, and just look what a great drama I would have missed out on!
My hat is off to anyone willing to undertake this task, especially when you've set the bar so high! Fortunately for us, all of the guest bloggers you mentioned are passionate about the projects they've taken on, and that comes across in their writing.
And that's why so many of us are camped out here 24/7, because we've been spoiled rotten!
:-D
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10 Snikki
January 25, 2010 at 10:14 AM
@belleza and hjkomo
What does MOB stand for? Does it just mean mob as in huge crowd of people or is it an abbreviation?
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11 hjkomo
January 25, 2010 at 10:24 AM
@ Snikki
both ->
Mookie-Ockoala-Belleza
from the battle over
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12 samsooki
January 25, 2010 at 10:31 AM
Snikki:
Apparently Mookie, Ockoala and Belleza (Team MOB) formed an alliance to defeat My Love Patzzi.
I am less than thrilled at their formation and hunting of My Lovely Patzzi at its apparent weak-sauce. (*BUT, 1. it's not weak-sauce. 2. Jang Nara as Yang Song Yi is the cutest thing ever, and My Lovely Patzzi should be required watching as a standard in realistic k-drama creation).
The fact that Team MOB roams the hinterlands of dramabeans, unhindered, is alarming, and I think javabeans should form a separate taskforce to defeat Team MOB.
Team MOB FTL!
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13 ockoala
January 25, 2010 at 10:37 AM
Dude and your allegory of bear poo:
"Mookie, Ockoala and Belleza (Team MOB) " - Team MOB is like the Justice League, we may operate outside the constraints of legal institutions, but we serve the greater good of drama-kind. PATZZI'S existence is a blip on drama-verse and needs to be eliminated.
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14 Ethereal
January 25, 2010 at 10:46 AM
@ mimi
I completely agree! The last recap for Smile, You was for Ep.24. We are currently at Ep.35 with subtitles at viikii. I also think a two episode recap would be more time efficient especially for dramas with almost 50 episodes.
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15 mie
January 25, 2010 at 10:50 AM
Poor samsooki is being attacked from all fronts by all the (female) haters of Patzzi.
I only caught snippets of it when it was airing on the Korean channel in LA, but I always enjoyed it (though I had to miss the last episode due to my roommate's pushy insistence to watch the Bachelor instead). And I think Jang Nara is adorable.
RE: guest blogging
Man, I would love to guest blog for this site someday. <3
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16 really?
January 25, 2010 at 10:52 AM
@4, 14
Don't read this with a bitchy tone because I mean this nicely, but maybe you should try doing the next two recaps on your own time just to see how difficult it is. I think if you tried, you might hopefully refrain from complaining about how the recaps are 10 eppies behind.
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17 samsooki
January 25, 2010 at 10:55 AM
@15, mie -
I would call it playful sniping. :D
There are greater issues at play, with respect to perspectives and how we see the world, unfiltered (me) or filtered through crazy jeans (them)... but on the whole, I am sure that deep down, they all just want to be in a Kim Jae Won / Kim Rae Won hug sandwich and are a little jealous that Jang Nara got it with no effort on her part, just by being herself, be it annoying (as they think, wearing their crazy jeans), or cute, adorable and fun (as I think). :)
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18 Javabeans
January 25, 2010 at 10:55 AM
LOL. Samsooki needs to give this Patzzi/Jang Nara thing a rest! Perhaps he doesn't realize that some women (or people in general) who initially were ambivalent about both were pushed to the other side because they don't respond well to being told they're idiots for thinking Jang Nara is not the bee's knees? Just sayin' dude, at a point your arguments only hurt yourself! ;)
And if My Love Patzzi were required viewing and touted as a kdrama "standard," I think we'd actually LOSE drama fans. (Oh snap.)
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19 hjkomo
January 25, 2010 at 11:02 AM
Samsooki...unfiltered? not crazy jeans? o_O
buahahaha... *on floor laughing*
LIG!
:P
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20 samsooki
January 25, 2010 at 11:18 AM
@16, really -
You know, this is a topic that I find really interesting, and I hope that this will be taken with broad lattitude.
I will speak only from my own experience.
1. Recapping is both fun and work for me. The fun comes from every part of it. Watching the raws, re-watching with subs, if any, or doing my own translation, discussing it with knowledgeable people, reading what other people have to say, thinking about it, then writing and screen capping. Putting it altogether in a single post, with all the HTML coding and everything else, and making each recap coherent and clear, is less fun, but I like the design / layout challenges as well.
2. For City Hall, I used a style of recap that I thought fit with the story. So, there was a bit of melo-drama in the writing, and I tried to be transparent with how I felt. This made the recaps a lot of fun, but it also meant that I had to spend a lot of time doing more than just saying what happened and then taking a few screen caps.
3. For Chuno, I'm going with a more bang-bang style, trying to keep it tighter and more on the action. This makes the recaps shorter and less opinionated. But the actual process itself is taking just as long (or longer), because i'm recapping without subs and so translating and understanding takes a while. It might take me a couple of viewings before I start to get it, and then there are the dictionaries on my lap so that I don't miss stuff.
Overall, for me (and not for anyone else), a single recap can take anywhere from 5 hours to about 14 hours, depending on a lot of factors, including difficulty of understanding, how many screen caps to take, how interested I was in the episode, etc.
So yes, it can take a while, and yes, it makes for a lot of sacrifice when you have other obligations at work or at home or both.
But....
I think that there is something to be said for consistency and for pushing through the inertia. See, for example, the break I had to take with respect to the City Hall recaps. I'm not pointing any fingers at myself, but honestly, I am still responsible for having taken the break, and I should be held accountable for that. I had a good reason, but there is always going to be a reason not to recap. And regardless of the reason, I let people down by not sticking to it. And for that, I do feel responsibility.
The one thing that blows my mind about javabeans is how consistent she is about the recaps that she does, and with everything else.
So it works both ways.
I do it for fun, and I hope that people are understanding that I am not perfect and I do have a lot of things on my plate. And I would hope that people would understand that I am working as quickly as I can to finish things that I have committed to doing.
But I also realize that once I've committed to it, I should stick with it, if only because there is a principle involved. Not because I owe the readers, but because once you've started something, you really should do what you can to finish.
***
It's a balancing act to be sure.
Even if I see things from the perspective of a recapper, I also see things from the perspective of a k-drama fan, because that's how I started, just being a fan of javabeans.
:D
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21 kaedejun
January 25, 2010 at 11:25 AM
hear hear samsooki!!!
i'm just glad for the opportunity to contribute in a small way to a site i love and follow constantly!!
woot woot!
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22 hjkomo
January 25, 2010 at 11:25 AM
"5 to 14 hours"
pfft...some people are faster than others... ;)
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23 samsooki
January 25, 2010 at 11:28 AM
@18, javabeans -
hehe. I might have to introduce new characters in my repertoire of children's stories revolving around my bear hero - the too intelligent mountain lionesses....named.... umm, jaraboons, dakee manel and hjkion, along with their pals, belleta & moopie the cynical magpies....
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24 hjkomo
January 25, 2010 at 11:41 AM
@ Samsooki
you forgot obtoala...
and THE DEAD HORSE
:P
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25 diane
January 25, 2010 at 11:42 AM
I think it's a great idea.
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26 samsooki
January 25, 2010 at 11:44 AM
Oh right, how could I forget obtoala, the mild mannered koala bear, tricked into hanging out with belleta and moopie, the cynical magpies? Or Minkdangon213, the very lovely and even-keeled cougar who supports our bear hero from time to time?
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27 ockoala
January 25, 2010 at 11:48 AM
shhh, hjkomo, I was all secretly giddy at being left out of the Axis of Evil who are secretly righteous, so that I can be a covert agent, and you alerted the bear poo to my presence. Oh well, he does have semi-perceptive vision, when he elects to see straight or through fog-colored Jang Nara-lenses.
Since the misnomer was coined by my hjkomo, I hope it wasn't an obvious and blatant attempt to call me an obtuse koala. ;-)
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28 ar
January 25, 2010 at 11:51 AM
I think it's awesome that you have guest writers who do quality blog posts/recaps and present different interests and povs!
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29 langdon813
January 25, 2010 at 11:56 AM
"The very lovely and even-keeled cougar"?
Hee! That right there will earn you a lifetime supply of Almond Joys! I might even provide you with a bunny or two from time to time for your...uh, calls of nature needs. :-)
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30 hjkomo
January 25, 2010 at 12:08 PM
@
obtoalaockoalaof course not!!!
Remember, it's the rule of opposites...just like Samsooki sees things through unfiltered lenses ;)
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31 ockoala
January 25, 2010 at 12:13 PM
I keeding with y'all, we tease when we love.
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32 pabo ceo reom
January 25, 2010 at 12:17 PM
Dude JB, I think you're right! The more samsooki yaps about Jang Nara/Patzzi, the more I grow in resentment! LOL. ;)
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33 snow
January 25, 2010 at 12:29 PM
if javabeans has no problems with guest blogging, i have no problems with it either :D
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34 lovesdramas
January 25, 2010 at 12:29 PM
I really have no complaints here! I love the content and the writing and whatever speed it comes at, hasn't taken away from the quality. I know these things are very time consuming and hard to keep up. I do think it's so amazing that JB is so quick at everything.
I can't guest blog myself since I'm not a good writer and not knowledgeable enough on this but I do love the fact that you love giving other opinions different from yours a chance.
JB - I also like that you aren't spreading yourself too thin - and you focus on the ones that you have a reason to write about. I like the commitment to quality. Looking forward to hearing from other readers on their take.
ps Dahee - I love your passionate reviews =)
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35 Javabeans
January 25, 2010 at 12:30 PM
Back to being serious (what? i can't do that?), re: Samsooki's point about timeliness:
That's the balance I fight with, because I absolutely agree with the point of feeling responsible for finishing what I've started. Or not taking too long to get back to something I've pushed aside. Sol Pharmacy is a big source of guilt for me at the moment, but I can't help it because it's just not my priority.
On the other hand, as someone who's just begun her fourth (fourth!?) year of blogging on this site, lemme tell ya that there's no faster way to burn out than to let those external factors push you so that you're cutting into your sleep time to get something done faster faster faster. Or declining a social activity because that's the night the big finale airs. Even when I moved from LA to another city, I was aware of timing it to avoid missing big drama episodes. And when that happens, I give myself a big smack on the head and say, "What the heck are you doing?" Then I step back and make myself go play, go shopping, go hang out with friends. Because the moment this blog becomes work, or drives my life, is the moment I've effed up my priorities.
It's incredibly fun and rewarding, but it's also really easy to fall prey to that pressure. And I know that it must be just as demanding for people who are perfectionists with super-high standards, as I suspect Samsooki and hjkomo both are. So as the blog admin, I try to emphasize as much as possible to do this on your own time, your natural schedule, let your enthusiasm carry you but NEVER the demands, pleas, or expectations of others.
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36 su-pah
January 25, 2010 at 12:36 PM
Dae Samsooki!
No one knocks the Patzzi, or she'll.. she'll gurn at you with that mighty-cute face and you'll combust into flames! Flames of unadulterated jealousy.
She got the K! R! W! in the end complete with his patented hug, she won, losers!
I think it's awesome that there are a number of contributing recappers here, variety being the spice of life and all. Especially loved all the year-end reviews and obviously the continuous recaps.
Small request: Samsooki, please recap My Love Patzzi here on Dramabeans! Please-please!?!
'Cos old is gold aight?
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37 jeankaycee
January 25, 2010 at 12:45 PM
hats off to you javabeans and to all you guest bloggers! (Samsooki, thunderbolt, Dahee Fanel, hjkomo, dw4p, soyjoy, kaedejun and smallfish)
i really enjoy reading all your blogs/recaps here in drama beans. all of you are great in different ways!!!! your recapping techniques differs from what is the drama all about and what is the phase of the story. i love how you, guys are so passionate about the kdramas that your recapping because as a result you have a very well thought, articulate well discussed kdrama recap!
sometimes even you have different opinions regarding kdramas (ehem... my love patzzi.) you guys still knows how for present your views without slashing each other throats! also, its understable that sometimes recaps becomes delayed because of other important things that needed to be done.
Reading different opinions/recaps from you guys, can really help us kdrama fans to broaden our horizons in kdrama watching.
(Especial Mention! LOL)
@jb-you are like a captain of a ship, but what makes you different is that you area great captain! you make sure that the ship sail in its right course! also, hope you continue to recap wish upon a star, that drama are starting to grow on me! thank you!
@samsooki - i like the way you recap city hall! good job!
Well, i do hope that all of you javabeans and all guest bloggers keep up the good work! Looking forward for more recaps/blogs from all of you!
Till next time!!!
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38 Snikki
January 25, 2010 at 12:50 PM
@hjkomo and samsooki
Thanks for the explanation! But maybe I shouldn't have asked...eep!
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39 samsooki
January 25, 2010 at 1:08 PM
@36,
err...... As a rule, recapping requests (to start a new series, an old series, or to continue one that has been started) are problematic at best... even well-intentioned and friendly requests.
Even if the request is made just for fun, a request to recap puts recappers in a difficult position of either taking on the burden (in addition to the workload that they already have) or rejecting it (which makes them feel bad for saying no).
To be honest, I don't have that much free time, and I am always struggling to manage competing interests for my time. And the same goes for other guest recappers.
For example, most recappers you see on dramabeans are also translators for WITHS2. Taking a look at the list of guest dramabeans recappers and most of them are also fansubbers for k-dramas, including thunderbolt, Dahee Fanel, hjkomo, dw4p, and soyjoy. Javabeans is also a WITHS2 translator. And I've worked with both WITHS2 and BON fansubbing groups, and I am trying to get back into it after a few months of struggling to balance life, k-dramas, fansubbing and recapping.
And as much work as it is to do recaps, the pressure to create timely subs is much greater. For example, if you take a look at the number of things that dw4p and soyjoy have done, just from a WITHS2 translating perspective, over the same period of time that they've done recaps for dramabeans, and you would be amazed that they aren't hooked up to ventilators and have a few humdifiers trying to keep them alive. The same goes for thundie, who solo'ed the editing for Queen Seondeok subs for many many months and managed to run her own blog, and do other things at the same time, like guest blog, make reviews, etc. As if running her own blog wasn't difficult enough!
So, to answer your question -
If I had unlimited time, and if I were single and not married with a child, if I didn't have a full time job as an attorney, if I didn't have other things going on related to k-dramas like fansubbing and translating, and if I didn't have friends and family also to spend time with, and if I didn't really need sleep... then, yes, I'd consider recapping My Love Patzzi, along with many of my other favorites, including my favorite drama of all time, MNIKSS, which hasn't been recapped as far as I can see by anyone. That's not to say that I won't recap MLP or MNIKSS or any other drama, but I can't say yes or no to anything else right now.
And also, I'm a bit uncomfortable getting requests for recapping, even if I had a mind to recap something, because I really just want to do the things that I want to do, and not what people ask me to do - then things become a burden rather than just for fun. So, there's no good way to answer it other than, "I'll get back to you?"
(I hope you understand - i am totally being honest and I mean no disrespect and I am not saying this with any amount of attitude)
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40 Javabeans
January 25, 2010 at 1:24 PM
^ Thanks for clarifying your stance. Just to offer my own opinion, I don't mind requests. Worst case scenario, I don't do it. As long as requests don't turn into demands, I'm fine with them. For instance, I'd written off Last Scandal but I'd read some enthusiastic comments on this site and gave it a try, and was happy about that choice. On the other hand, some people get a little overzealous with the asking and, um, when that gets obnoxious it actually turns me OFF the drama.
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41 su-pah
January 25, 2010 at 1:31 PM
*exhales* wow!!
Samsooki, you are one busy dude, no problemo amigo! I shall be mindful in future before making a request, even if it is partly in jest, hehe. I really don't know how you manage it all. In awe.
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42 Bellamafia
January 25, 2010 at 1:50 PM
Just a little suggestion, how about guess blogging has their own special page?
Aggh.. nevermind.. just woke up and feel like typing... lols..
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43 nabi
January 25, 2010 at 2:21 PM
Good, good. I like how you're managing your blog. It's your blog and you can run it in any way you please ;-]
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44 Silentreader
January 25, 2010 at 3:12 PM
I've been reading this blog for almost 2 years now and I lovvveee everything that Javabeans writes. I feel if there are too many guests start blogging, the site won't be the same anymore. If it were up to me, I prefer 95% of this site remains to be written by java and 5% of the content for the guests.
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45 Molly
January 25, 2010 at 3:19 PM
Lovely clarifications by everyone, and thanks Javabeans for all the hard work you put it. I'm amazed at how the New Year has been going here on Dramabeans! Thank you to all the talented guest bloggers, and I'm grateful for all you do.
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46 ellen
January 25, 2010 at 3:28 PM
Yes! & Thank you! More! Please! I really admire & appreciate the hard on the recaps etc.
I tend to read the recaps first then watch later. If I've watched it I look out for the recap. Recaps doubles the enjoyment of the drama.
Thank you Samsooki for Chuno! I would be lost without your recap of it because at this stage I can only watch it without the sub so I rely on your recap. My appreciation & thank you to your hard work.
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47 mimi
January 25, 2010 at 3:54 PM
To #16 (really?)
If you read my post carefully it would have been clear that I suggested recapping 2-in-1 to HELP because I said it would lighten the load. I have never demanded that a recap be posted but with Smile You - because there are so many episodes - it seemed the writers were being weighted down.
Writing about 2 in 1 recap in my view wouldn't mean doubling the length of the writing. I imagined shortening each actually.
And a final word:
Before you start off stating that what you're about to write is "nice", please refrain from accusing others of "complaining" or using a general attack tone. I can see that you're not one to ever take helpful suggestions as just that.
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48 Javabeans
January 25, 2010 at 3:57 PM
@mimi,
I know you didn't direct your comment to me, but just to comment on your comment, 2-in-1 recapping isn't actually that much of a time saver. At least not in my book. Writing the recap is the fastest part of the process for me; it's watching, screencapping, and formatting that is really time-consuming, and I'd have to watch the same number of episodes regardless.
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49 Jun Wong
January 25, 2010 at 4:53 PM
I am suggesting a Bloggers' details section in the 'navigate' column (on the left of this blog), introduce the main blogger, Javabean, and the other guest bloggers. Not only that, it could provide information of who's doing which current drama recaps, and also their previous works.
Of course, its still up to Javabean's decision, as this could take up time and resources to maintain a new section. And sorry for me being a spoilt brat to ask for more. Way to go, Javabean.
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50 amg01
January 25, 2010 at 5:43 PM
This is the first "Blog" that I consider to be a "part off" :O)
JB Thank you very much for your hard work and for always treating your audience with care and respect. I like the fact that I do not feel that I am being "talk down" by the way you write, on the other hand you and your guest contributors as far as I am concern are a "top notch" kind of guys/girls, different styles, different perspectives, but the thing that binds us all together is the affinity we all here have for that "little thing call K-dramas" we all have laugh, cry, hate, smile, etc...a little bit deeper because all of your hard work... and for that I am thank full... Thank you again and keep up the good work. Salud to you all....... : O )
P.S For the first time I just read the words in your little girl cartoon logo...LOL you are totally cool!!!!
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