4.19.2005

Blurkers unite!

Back in November, Robot Johnny talked about a form of blog-visitor, affectionately named, the blurker. Johnny read about this quiet and timid creature from James, who, in turn, read about it from Christine. (Nice how we're all connected, isn't it?) Anyway, if you're curious about this strange entity:

Blurker (BLUR-kur): n. 1. One who reads many blogs but leaves no evidence of themselves such as comments behind; a silent observer of blogs. 2. One who reads many blogs but has no blog of their own; a blog-watcher or blog voyeur.

A week in November was deemed Blurker Amnesty Week, where blurkers were given the chance to finally speak out and let their voice be known without any discouragement. What a great idea. Considering that I see many many visitors check out this blog but only a handful actually reply via comments or email, I'm giving all you silent partners of The Ward-O-Matic full amnesty and a chance to finally post who you are (you don't have to give out your real name, of course) and post a link to your blog or site, if you have one or not! If you're a constant reader of the Ward-O-Matic, you'll know that this is a big big deal, as I have an issue with self-promotion as it usually disrupts the flow of conversation.

But HERE! and NOW! is your chance to let yourself be known! I'm letting go of the shackles finally, (well, for this post, anyway) as I want everybody to have a chance to be heard! I'd love to see where all my readers are from, as I'm completely amazed by the immediate community that is created by blogs and the internet. Who knows, maybe for some, this could be a chance to network. You never know!

Hello? Is anybody out there? Would love to hear from you!

UPDATE:
Here's what you do: just click on the "comments" link below and then click on "Post a Comment," where you're taken to a new page with a window to enter your quaint comment. If you're a registered Blogger, you know the drill. But if not -- not to worry! You do not have to register with Blogger in order to post a comment anymore, as they've made it ultra-easy now. You can click on "other" to enter your unique name and a website, if you have one. That's it! You can also post a link inside the comment window, too, as Blogger supports "a href" tags. You can post as "anonymous," if you'd like, but where's the fun in that? Plus, checking out all the names is part of the fun.

32 comments:

  1. Frankly Ward, this whole thing sounds like a desperate plea for attention! Ha! No, no, I just can't WAIT to see what kind of hapless creatures stumble unwittingly into your murky little internet tarpit (Insert Phillis Diller laugh here)
    Seriously though, good stuff lately. What did you paint that silent auction piece on? (my first guess would be "cardboard," but that's only because I know you too well-

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Robert for making others feel real comfortable about posting now. Just kidding-- the auction painting was done with gouache and cut paper on watercolor paper.

    And who are you, again?

    ReplyDelete
  3. A blurker, eh? I like it and I am more than pleased to step up and declare, I love your blog! I don't know how I found you - must have been the lure of the murky tarpit :) I've been blurking now for about a month.

    I find your creativity and perspective to be refreshing and engaging AND I really like Ava Thursdays. I am Canadian (hence the 'eh') and I live just outside Toronto.

    Now, smiles to you, as I return to the shadow home of hapless creatures.

    BTW, thanks shining one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm a regular blurker here, although I do participate on various other blogs I visit.

    My own blog is focussed on low-budget film visual effects. Professionally, I work on big-budget films, doing the visual effects, but at a relatively low level. In my spare time, I run the VFX on much smaller budget films. One day, I hope for these two paths to merge (and I don't mean being the tea-boy on a low-budget film...)

    I've been reading this blog since someone at work e-mailed around a link to the (fantastic) Polar Express post(s) - they got me hooked, and I've been keeping up with it ever since.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Linked in through the write-ups on Polar Express a while back, this site is in my NetNewsWire subscription list. I comment on tons of stuff, but haven't commented here yet. Until now.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello my name is Eric and I'm a blurker. I've been commenting for 1 day now and I'm going to try to stay on the wagon. Thanks for providing this support group, but I'm still not certain what this site has to do with Blurkers Anonymous. Great artwork though

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey, Ward.

    I started reading your blog after you posted the link to it on Sphere of Hip-hop. I'm enjoying all the features. Ava Thursdays are great, especially since I have a 5-year-old son who has suddenly discovered he likes to draw.

    peace,

    bvl

    ReplyDelete
  8. Howdy Ward,

    I found you in the normal fashion. Top 10 in the dashboard. And have been coming back ever since. You inspired me to post paintings and artwork of my own son, Caleb, on my blog..

    Ghost Notes

    ReplyDelete
  9. I guess I'm a blurker! Stumbled across this blog a month or so back, and been hooked since! In fact, your blog may be the reason as to why I decided to make one!
    Love your work, your insightful comments, and (of course) the Ava art! Keep it all up.
    Regards,
    -DK

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi!

    I think I stumbled onto the blog during the Polar Express series. I'd just been wondering why there were so many great music blogs and so few drawing blogs, so it was great to find out about you. Drawn! and Ward-o-Matic are now on the short list of sites I check on a daily basis.

    Your blog really communicates the quiet daily pleasure of drawing - so simple and rich. Like everyone else, I love the Ave Thursdays. Everyone draws! It's just that some people stop at a certain age.

    I'll send you a link to my site when I get It set up this summer.

    Looking forward to the 'Incredibles' post,
    Alex

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is great, guys. I'm loving seeing how diverse the crowd is here. Thanks for popping in to say hello. Hope you all stay a while longer.

    As for the Incredibles DVD review: yeep! You're right! I've been meaning to get to that! So sorry. I've also been meaning to write about my third and final installment about the Polar Express (this time in 3-D IMAX). It's just that each of those posts would require so much background investigating and researching. But I promised I'd do them, so don't you worry.

    I also plan on getting those interviews with various artists/animators within the field soon, too. Again, it's a lot of work to get them done. And I've got some other surprises for you all coming up soon!

    And yes, I'll post more of my work. Thanks again for sharing, everybody. I find this all very fascinating. Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  12. (http://explodingboy.diaryland.com/forsee.html)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Finally, Ill leave a comment already. I dont remember when and where I came across your blog, but it was a while back. I enjoy your posts. I usually comment on people's blogs, and thought I had before on your's but I haven't. Im a 3d animator in games up in Seattle. Really enjoy what you have to say. Keep it up!

    ~jason

    my blog is newsquirt.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey Ward, I probably found your blog through the Polar Express posts (your right Polar Express kids=creepy.) I enjoy the blog and your and Ava's artwork.

    I'd have commented before, but half of blurking is probably procrastination.

    ReplyDelete
  15. heyup Ward

    came here via no 2 self, and dig your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Well, you know me... I'm no blurker. If I have something to say, I say it dammit! Good on ya mate!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hey Ward. I enjoy reading your blog and came to it by way of the Polar Express posts. Keep up the great work.

    Jason3D
    www.jason3d.com/blog/

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm a blurker! I blurk all the time!

    ReplyDelete
  19. There now, doesn't that feel better?

    I'm glad to see that you all came back for more after the Polar Express posts. Thanks, guys.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Ward,

    I found your site through Drawn. I'm a semi-blurker having a pseudo blog on our website which I don't update enough :( Perhaps I will muster up the will to post an update. I have to get cracking on a new reel so that will justify an update.

    Just want to say your blog, coupled with a few others, is an invaluable tool of exposure. Thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Found your site via Boing Boing link to the Polar Express articles. I've been blurking ever since. No blog of my own, though I enjoy the hell out of yours. I also surf Drawn! quite a bit.

    P.S. Please sketch a blurker that may or may not have anything to do with its definition. It's such a wonderful word, it deserves its own picture for posterity.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi, I'm Tanya, and I found your site through Blogger's Blog of Note. I check it EVERY single day, along with yours, artsmear, and core 77.
    I'm a graphic design student, and it's funny that I'm a blurker, because I hate blurkers on my own blog myself!
    http://kembotxgurl.bloggspot.com
    I must say I think I'm better at designing blogs rather than writing in them. :)
    I'll try to comment more often!

    ReplyDelete
  23. de souza-- I'm assuming your site is: http://svhungover.blogspot.com, without that one dot, right? Because the one you list here is kinda odd.

    And Tanya-- I think you added one extra "g" in your address. For all, her blog is here. Nice stuff.

    Bill-- your site just about freaked me out, with those flying animal heads coming out at 'cha. I piddled me chair. Your place looks very similar in style as Primal Screen, where I work. I just got some pics of my workspace and I plan on posting those soon. 'Cause it's all about ME, right? Umm, whatever.

    Thanks for sharing, people.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hey there! I left a comment a long time ago and still read your blog!
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Ok - busted! Greetings from Vancouver, Canada - hi ward - love your blog and love your wife's blog (ha) - I guess because its so intimidating or something to make a comment - I never felt comfortable about it and I was so darn shy to say anything - but now i've practiced enough in just the last week or so - (hula seventy) has made it seem easy. Anyway didn't know there was a word for it. I heard about your site via Loobylu's via the SXSW site. And also saw your illustrations which rock! Now that I have my own (2 week old) blog (that never gets any comments) 'cept from Andrea (thankfully) I realize how nice it would be if visitors would drop a line or two.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Damn, thats a good idea, this call for blurkers! I would steal it except that I might be hunted down like the dog I am.  

    ReplyDelete
  27. I feel like we are all in blurker's anonymous.

    Hi everyone. My name is katie and I am a blurker.

    Everyone, "Hi, Katie."

    anyway... i'm not sure if i actually qualify, seeing as i do post every now and then, although i check your site on a regular basis. i hail from the other side of the country, that is washington state. love the artwork, love how cute ava and her artwork is, and died of cuteness when i saw little gus-gus all rolly polly like in his costume for halloween. i, like a lot of others, came to you via the dashboard during the polar express and have stayed for various reasons... none of which i am at liberty to share because i would hate for you to get a big head.

    anyway, keep up the great work, and keep the art flowing.

    oh, and the "piddled me chair" response to someone's comment almost made me piddle MY chair. loverly.

    p.s. my blog of course, is linked from my profile which, thanks to blogger, is already linked to my name - that is my blogger name.

    cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I guess I am a blurker ^^.

    I found out about your blog through dashboard. I love your illustrations and if you visit my blog (my desperate plea for attention :P) you will realize I am an aspiring animator.

    I recently helped out with the Animation Show 2005. For a Coloradoan who rarely gets to see short animation, the show was a real treat. I'm sorry you didn't like it, but I do have to admit your illustrations for the "Boys Night Out" were really funny ^^.

    Thanks Ward for having such an awesome blog. I love your work and maybe someday perhaps you can have a website with an illustration gallery?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi Ward,
    Sorry, I haven't spoken up before, but you've been doing so well that I just didn't think you needed any feedback from me. I found you through the blogger top ten blogs your last week there, and my first week with my own blog. Now you are among my own personal top ten. I love your work and Ava's, Andrea's site is also delightful. You inspire me to be more artistic. I'll keep checking in and if it will make you feel better I'll comment when I do.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Howdy howdy. I'm only a semi-blurker. I've posted comments a few times here and there (on some other blogs), but mostly just enjoy reading. As with others, I found my way in the door via a link to the Polar Express articles. Might toss my own blog up one of these days...still debating...

    ReplyDelete
  31. If I´m not to late for the blurker thing, here I am. :) I have commented already but I´m sort of new around. I may count as a unusual reader to you, geographically, because I´m reading you from Brasil. So, my blog in portuguese won´t be of much use to you. :)
    But I have a page with my comics, and some of it are in english, so you´re welcome to visit.
    http://www.odyr.tripod.com

    ReplyDelete