Errata is a web journal written by Robert Davis who has neither spent a night in a ghost town nor pulled a turnip from the earth. He doesn't even know if turnips grow in the ground. Perhaps on trees, like candy corn. Therefore, Errata is a non-commercial project.

Observation #1: It may be appropriate, when leaving a movie theater, to say "mysterious."

Observation #2: It may be appropriate, when leaving a movie theater, to say "mysterious" at the top of your lungs. Bring your eyebrows together before you say it. Effective!

Observation #3: Same for books. Even at libraries.

There is a prize for people who correctly guess the thing about Metropolis, Nevada.

Except where the text specifically states otherwise, Errata's vagaries are indicated vaguely and its authors are indistinct in the traditional way of the Internet, except where the authors lay claim to their work. In some cases Robert Davis lays claim to work that is not his own but has been abandoned like so many ghost towns. Except where held presently, fistfuls of dirt are suspended via dispersal, or dispersed via suspension (in the air), and thus their dissolution is their transcendence, or their transcendence is their dissolution. And yet our eyes tear, and our vision is impaired, demonstrating for the umpteenth time that one entity's gain is another's fit of sneezes. Except where indicated, storms shall outlive the clay upon which they rain, unless storms are improperly delimited by their clouds, which dissolve, rather than by their inevitable return. Thus the clay loses, unless the clay is said to own the storm, to use it to make itself heavy, to make itself cling to white garments, refuse dispersal, cake upon the facades of abandoned buildings, and sit like Man [sic] upon the earth where it is pelted by a storm that it owns. In which case the clay still loses, if you ask us.

Some of the above is legally binding and should be considered a mental contract between Errata and those upon whom it acts. The bit about the prize should be considered an overstatement insofar as prizes differ from dirt and prize dispersal differs from dirt dispersal. Please recall that ownership is a weight and, therefore, hope that you do not win the prize.

One day Errata or its representatives will call upon you for a favor. It is expected that you will hop-to without delay.

You may contact Robert Davis by email unless it's about the rock that was thrown in anger. The rock is more properly called a clod. Why do you continue to raise the topic?

29 July 2003

Introduction to Errata

When I was in high school I subscribed to The New Yorker because I liked reading Pauline Kael's reviews of movies that never came to my town. I had little interest in the articles about New York society, but Kael's witty reviews were a window to a world of movies that I barely knew existed, and her idiosyncratic, unpredictable reactions to what she had seen taught me that there are no right answers.

I remember the day in my college dorm room when I read the announcement that Kael was retiring from The New Yorker. A replacement for my weekly fix wasn't obvious, so I just hoped that one day I'd live where I could see the movies for myself. Now I do, but I haven't stopped reading about them. Something about discussing a movie with my wife on the way home from the theater or reading thoughtful commentary on the web has become an essential part of my movie going experience.

So this web site is my contribution to the public chatter about the big screen. I realize that the world has no lack of movie talk, but I'm always on the lookout for people who share my interests, challenge my outlook, or bring a knowledge of film history to the table. That's what this site aspires to, even if it only hits one out of three today.

I also listen to a lot of music and see a lot of live shows, and I may comment on them from time to time, but I'm more comfortable writing about movies.

I don't see a need to fit within space constraints, although most of the content on this site is divided among very short pieces, very long pieces, and informal entries like this one. Take your pick, but don't listen to people who say that long articles don't work on the web. Maybe people are more distracted on the web than they are when reading something in print, but they can choose not to be. What's the rush?

Most of these pieces aren't reviews, exactly. I don't usually make recommendations, give star ratings, or decide how "good" or "bad" a movie is. You can find plenty of movie reviews elsewhere. These pieces are something other. Maybe, like me, you'll enjoy reading about movies that you've already seen or that you may never see, just to hear a different perspective.

Of course you may find my perspective to be in error. But error is the oft-forgotten mother of necessity, so don't let it shake you.

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