That’s right, this is the universal truth you can’t argue about.
‘The writer of badenbadenlily.com has written a superior article. I got your point and there is nothing to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not disagree with: Things are always in the last place u put them. I will be back.’
Don’t you just love spam comments sometimes? This one blows off my ego so hard that I almost wanted to approve it. Almost. What really cracks it up is that it was posted to my rant on Stardust Memory, and what really seals the deal is that the spambot even says it’ll be back. Charming fellows, those things.
Anyhow.
It’s to some degree of irony that I fell ill immediately after making my ‘Eating Off The Ground‘ post. 102 degree fever, bedridden all day. Ignorance is always bliss in my opinion, but I never thought ignorance to karma (and then pointing it out) actually changes the outcome of events. Oh well, I at least have to go through this much for the sake of my hobbies. Behold, my optimism!
I’m probably high on Tylenol.
I’m so high right now, you’re hallucinating.
So the point of our return post today is really that I’ve finally updated my ‘About’ page. It still doesn’t have half the info some of your About pages have, but it’s reached my threshold for sharing private information on the interwebs. You can all probably figure out which one is the About page.
No, the point of our post is to talk about ‘Filler posts’.
What ‘filler’ in our subculture means is that the sequence it pertains to deviates from what the maker of that sequence ‘normally’ does. It indicates something not canonical. For example, a Bleach filler involves some characters not of Kubo-origin taking part in some plotline that will never again be mentioned in later episodes. It plays on the characters quirks instead of developing them, and is essentially to fill network time – the dev. team has to uphold their half of the bargain, after all. There’s occupational status involved.
The definition for this changes for the blog filler post – those are when the blogger is at a lack of material to blog about, yet still feels an obligation to make a post. It’s a bit of faux pas I often succumb to. Yet, when you really think about the definition of the ‘filler’ we’re adapting our term from, is our post really corresponding to that? We’ve found something to blog about, right? I suppose in a blog that has a stone-set directive (e.g. ONLY figures, ONLY galgames), then a post about what the blogger had for lunch would be a ‘filler post’. But otherwise, a blog is a self-representation, a notepad for matters relevant to the blogger – can one ever write something on an outlet of self-representation and call it a ‘filler’?
In a way, it makes perfect sense: I review anime, so if one day I write a post about my state of body, then it’s a filler; it’s irrelevant to what I normally write about, it’s a post that expands the site, but doesn’t really contribute to the ultimatum of things. But then, hasn’t it already contributed to the biggest reason one’s doing it, to express themselves?
Can fillers really exist for personal blogs? Doesn’t it not seem right? Is this just an anal bout of existentialism result from an overdose of Tylenol?
The inner reaches of Ningyo’s mind probably looks something like this, the people of his life in the past and present walking by. Of course, this view is always maintained.
In my opinion, there are no fillers when it comes to matters involving myself and my interests. Until there comes a significant other that will bring water and medicine to my bed and whisper sweet words into my ear, my malady’d-world revolves around myself and to me, everything I have to say is as important as the last thing I said.
Ningyo
P.S. Guess wut? This is not a filler post.
P.P.S. I love my blog. It’s one of those places where I can shamelessly tag ‘William Shakespeare’ to everything.
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February 3rd, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Well, you need to look at what fillers mean. It’s not just slow and boring, but it’s stuff that is not “original and authentic”, it is stuff they create to delay.
Now this may delay, but as you wrote, it’s all about what you have to say anyway.
But there can be uninteresting and almost content-free posts, which may be annoying if the blog is otherwise full of content and is what people come to read.
Also, the comment box is too small, too narrow, make it bigger!
February 4th, 2010 at 2:50 am
I take fillers to mean a similar thing, which is anything that deviates from the original canon, theme, or focus. In that case, I think a personal blog could still have fillers. If the personal blog tends to focus on a facet of the writer, for example, how anime relates to his thoughts, then any entry that does not work toward this goal is potentially a filler. Ultimately though, it is entirely dependent on the blogger to judge whether a particular post is filler, because the blogger decides the canonical direction.
February 4th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Your definition of filler applies to some extent, I believe. I think that quality has a lot more to do with filler post than how much it actually deviates from the blog.
You may be lumping “filler” with “off-topic”.
If a blog started doing quality posts that were different from its usual canon frequently enough, then it’s possible to say that the blog has simply changed direction, and not filler.
Filler is essentially “useless stuff” at the basis of it all. It doesn’t add to the overall goal of the blog, or truly provide any value to the reader.
The whole dilemma of “duty” presented by Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei comes to mind with posting for the sake of posting.
Blogs have evolved greatly since its creation. It’s no longer about you personally, even though in principle it still is. We’ve all taken it upon ourselves to act like critics and editors, forcing our opinions into the blogsphere to seek attention. Our blogs are not really about us anymore, but more on what we think about a certain subject. As such, personal life posts have become “filler”.
February 4th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
I love Tylenol as I take 3 – 4 of these to feel better. Kills a headache and makes my head feel wooooderful!
I try not to do a filler blog, but it hits you sometimes when time and space is working against you. I try to add stuff into my blog that interests me and that may actually interest others.
We are who we are unless we are someone else and then it sucks to be me.
February 5th, 2010 at 7:45 am
Radiant’s last point resonates with me. Once you blog anime, and you take on your anime blogger persona, letting who you are in “real life” intrude too much or too often can feel like filler.
On the other hand, some of us let it all hang out and have a ball doing it. I respect them.
February 6th, 2010 at 6:44 am
I can’t see any differences between a post with or without Tylenol from you. That lead me to some deep thoughts…
Anyway, as far as i see on Blog, even those who started with a defined subject (only figure or animes) always do a post that completely deviate from the original goals of his blog.
Maybe we need a bit of a change or a need to tell your readers something more personal.
Deciding to give some personal information to readers you don’t you anything about is somewhat voyeurism and it’s exciting :p
As long a filler is fun and interesting too read i push you to do one once in a while :)
Oh and if Tylenol can make me hallucinating about half-naked nurses with a cute and sexy panties, i want some.
February 6th, 2010 at 8:04 am
To me, filler post is the post that lacks substance. It’s okay to deviate from your regular subject as long as there’s something solid in the post.
@Katsura chan – Tylenol can destroy your liver and when your liver is destroyed, you can experience hallucination/delirium/confusion ;)
February 6th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Decidly a lot of people are sick…
I think your medecine is making you even more thoughtful. LoooL
But still it’s a very deductive post.
For me there’s no real filler post because as long as it’s on a personal blog you can post anything you want even if it has nothing to do with the main blog theme.
Treat and rest well ;)
February 6th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
@Guy
Are you happy now Guy? Huh? HUH?
J/K. I thought the box was too small and narrow as well, but I never proactively sought to change that. You convinced me it was about time. That’s about the general summary as to the nature of filler posts, yeah. It the end, what we have to say is what dictates whether the post is interesting or not. A filler post could be interesting, a non-filler could be content-free. True, true.
@Yi
Bloggers decide the canon – that’s very true. That’s exactly what had me going in circles; the blogger decides the canon, yet can write posts that differ from the canon? The blogger writes the post, but decides its deviation that should be labeled as such?
That’s why I said it seemed sort of wrong – he/she decides, after all.
@radiant
Yes, I may be doing that. Yours is a good take on the science behind it all.
Which Zetsubou-sensei episode was that? There are simply too many topics they covered, and I don’t recall one about duty, but I’m sure they said something all-too-clever about that as well. I suppose fillers for blogging really are loosely defined – And it’s easy to create something that falls into the category of something loosely defined, which is thus inversely hard to get rid of. It all makes sense now. A bit.
@bluedrakon
I love it too. Really relieves the headaches and fevers awesomely quickly.
Especially when you make rice out of it by pouring all the grains into the cooker and adding the correct amount of water.
That last part was a joke. Yes, I’ve noticed time’s a big problem for blogging too. It’s one of the more time consuming pastimes, so we often have to juggle it with lengthy bouts of work. Ah well, keeps things brisk/interesting.
Your last statement is so deep I sunk immediately, but I definitely agree that being oneself is wholly important.
@2DT
Those bloggers are amazing in their own right. But that’s the thing; those people wouldn’t call any of their posts fillers. Nobody would think of their posts as fillers if they never explicitly use the word themselves – I feel there’s a bit of ‘Sapir-Whorf-ness’ in that. Pardon the term.
@Katsura-chan
Thanks :) That’s true. One of the reasons we blog is to alleviate boredom, It makes sense for bloggers to want to deviate, do something new and keep themselves interested.
I wouldn’t call seeing what people make of your net persona voyeurism, that’s honest enough curiosity.
You’re right, ultimately what really matters in a blog is that the post is interesting and people will like reading it, regardless of whether or not it’s a ‘filler’.
And that’s the thing – once you know the way of the Ningyo, you don’t need chemicals to hallucinate ;)
@Canne
Right. What’s really important in the end is that the post is interesting to the readers.
And that’s a useful tidbit on Tylenol. Will have to keep that in mind. I guess that’s why my parents called me immediately when they found out and stressed that I eat something before taking it…
@Lylibellule
Ahaha, I suppose that’s true too, when sick comes to pathologies, it’s pretty subjective as to which of us are ‘sick’ and which of us aren’t.
You’re the only one who seems to agree with me that there simply can’t be filler posts, hehe. Still, I understand where everyone’s coming from – the line’s a bit blurred, but there can exist posts that lack material/are off-topic.
February 10th, 2010 at 2:35 am
Filler posts, eh? For me if I don’t have anything to post about, I won’t do anything, so sometimes there’d be over a week’s gap and even though I feel like writing something, I won’t do it just for the hell of it. My blog’s kinda weird that it changes subjects at will. Though I rarely talk about my personal life, they sneak in there because I felt like I need to talk about it and write it down. Which is what I wrote in the header, that it’s an ever rapid changing state of blog. I never did put just one focus in it. One day I would review an anime, later on I’d talk about a hike, and then the comics show up. Obviously it shows that I really have no goals, lol.
But what I would consider as a filler topic that is quite popular on blogs are anniversaries, or I-got-this-amount-of-hits, or anything to that matter and then just leave it at that with a picture of the stats. I’d say, “good for you for getting those many hits or how long you’re going”, but for me it’s like an opportunity lost. I would create things to celebrate that milestone! If I’m going on a hiatus, I’d go with a bang!
February 10th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
@rob
As amorphous as lightning, huh? Romantic ^^
As a blog, I think an occasional reference to the blogger’s personal life is inevitable. Real life stories can be interspersed within posts tastefully to make interesting posts as well, of course.
Yes, I think those are the most common ‘filler posts’ of all, the milestone post. There really isn’t much more to say besides ‘congratulations’ when somebody does it. I wouldn’t call such posts faux pas, but you’re right; one should do something along with the simply talking about the milestone.
I wanna go out with a bang no matter what I’m doing :D
February 11th, 2010 at 5:40 am
‘The writer of badenbadenlily.com has written a superior article. I got your point and there is nothing to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not disagree with: Things are always in the last place u put them. I will be back.’
This can’t be spam… It’s too good to be.