I am not at all blaming those caught in this terrible situation as it’s a systemic problem and demands societal-level solutions, but I’m very mercenary when it comes to employment.

John Scalzi and I share the same mindset: Fuck you, pay me.

Again, it’s not these people’s fault they they are attempting to do something they probably love and are being exploited in the process.

However,  it’d only take me about a year doing that before my FYPM gene kicked in and I boogied on out of there.

It’s why I switched from being a proofreader to going into IT. Yeah, I like IT a lot but I loved proofreading and if that field paid as much as I can make in IT or even near it, I’d still be a proofreader or editor today. I wish in a better world I could’ve kept IT just as a hobby.

But check this out. I charge as much for my hourly rate as I made in an entire day as a proofreader.

That’s right. I can work for an hour now and make as much as my otherwise-great proofreading job.

Fuck you, pay me.

In an economy like ours, that’s the only way to do it. Have to be as mercenary up to the limits of your power as you can be.

Re-watching the first few episodes of Lost, I realize again what makes a good TV show is more even than well-considered dialogue or plot, at least for me: it must spend time with its characters.

Not in the sense of even the direct interactions of the characters, or even the time spent on screen, but how the director holds the shot to reveal crucial information.

Too many directors, perhaps raised on the hyperactive jump-cut MTV video culture, cut the shot much too soon. That rarely happens in Lost. There is always some little flourish or grace note that reveals facets of a character that would be omitted from most TV shows and movies.

Being that it pervades each episode of the show through multiple directors, this must have been a diktat from the producers or show-runners.

And it really works. Lost would not have been really as good or as compelling without this. It’s one of the reasons Lost feels like Lost.

In many parts, it’s more like a play than a movie or show. It has such a different atmosphere for just this reason.