by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Some thoughts on NYC media.
Month: January 2019
V-Log: Idle Rambling About Character Development In The ‘Thriller’ I’m Working On
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Just some rambling about the character-driven nature of the thriller I’m working on.
Advice To ‘Sexy Sadie’ — Get Ahead Of The Curve
By Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
I don’t know anything and no one should listen to me. Having said that, for my own benefit, here are some thoughts about the issues facing AOC. It seems to me that given how brutal modern American politics is that it’s inevitable that some Right-wing nimrod is going to try to smoke her out about her romantic status out of spite, if nothing else.
The only reason why I call AOC “Sexy Sadie” is an effort to, in my own little way, goad her into taking an offensive stance against her haters who are going to strike her at her weak spot — her romantic status.
I say this as someone who is extremely empathetic to her political views. I am well aware that at this point even thinking about her romantic status is considered “sexist” by Leftists, but she is quickly becoming as much a celebrity as a political leader and it’s excruciatingly obvious that at some point she’s going to be forced to bank right to the center of the spectrum. As such, at some point moderate house wives in the midwest are going to look at their husbands over the dinner table and say, “Honey, do you know if that Hispanic girl has a boyfriend?”
So, the issue is — while I know her romantic status is besides the point, if she wants to have a decades-long career, she needs to get ahead of the curve and at least have a ready answer to that question other than, “None of your business.”
Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens going forward.
V-Log: The Vision Thing — Serving A Market / Audience Space In #NYC Media Not Being Served Since The Demise of Gawker
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Executive Summary: Since the demise of both The Village Voice and Gawker, a market and audience in New York City is currently being completely unserved.
I do not live in New York City.
Let me repeat — I do not live in New York City.
Having said that, I was recently in the city New Year’s Day and I found myself in a nice dive bar in the East Village, the name of which eludes me. While I was there, I was wasted and I had an “ah-ha” moment — right now, there’s no small gritty publication that covers New York City that is known outside of the city itself or individual neighborhoods that micro publications might cover.
As such, the following is not even a daydream. It’s more of an idle observation about the state of the publishing world in New York City. As of right now, there’s a young, hip audience in New York City (one that frequent sets trends nationally) that is not being served in a manner that is known outside the confines of the city itself.
I’m not saying I’m the person to fix that issue because, well, like I mentioned, I don’t live in the city. What’s more, I don’t have any money and don’t really know anyone in the city. I do, however, have a unique skill set that if I was to magically find myself in the city for, say, six months, I feel could probably endup in something pretty cool happening.
But absolutely no one, but no one, owes me anything, so the following is more about me letting off steam while I develop a novel that any belief that it will cause anyone to help me out. I have a proven track record in strategic thinking when it comes to a publication, in the guise of the late, great ROKon Magazine in Seoul about 10 years ago.
All this verbiage is me simply me realizing that an audience and its associate market is currently not being served in any demonstrable manner. Of course, there are two things that are causing this — one is the Web is mature. Blogs really don’t have the cultural cache that they used to have because of the other big issue — the diffuse nature of social media.
What young people used to find on a site like, say, Gawker, they now find on Twitter or whatever video platform of the moment they might be interested in. So, in a sense, this post is more about me lamenting my lost youth than anything else, I guess.
I would idly note that you might be able to game the system by doing essentially a zine at first that you handed out in front of major publications around the city and then once it got some attention then you could launch it as a Website.
Maybe.
But it’s just fun to think about.
No one owes me — or anyone else — anything. And besides not having any money, not living in the city and not having any contacts in the city, the entire idea of a blog is now kind of passe.
Anyway. Maybe this blog post will inspire someone else to do what I can’t.
Shelton Bumgarner is a writer and photographer living in Richmond, Va. He may be reached at migukin (at) gmail (dot) com.
V-Log: #NYC Tales
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Some idle rambling about New York City.
V-Log: The Trump Endgame — State of Play For Jan. 12, 2019
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Now what.
V-Log: The State Of The ‘Thriller’ I’m Developing As of Jan. 12th, 2019
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Some thoughts.
One Of New York City’s Best Kept Secrets
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
I don’t go to New York City very often. In fact, I go very rarely. I love the city dearly and one of the major problems for a broke-ass writer like me is finding a place to stay (should I feel like spending more than just the day.)
You see, getting there is cheap — I just take the ChinaTown bus overnight and wake up there.
It’s taken me a little bit of time, but I think I may have stumbled across what I’m going to do going forward. I used to live in South Korea and one of the staples of Korean life is the jjimjibang, or sauna. A Korean sauna is kind of like a YMCA if going to the YMCA was a central aspect of American life.
You have your male side and your female side and then you put your sauna issued jammies on and go to the common area. If you don’t have much — if any — luggage on you, then it’s pretty easy to spend $60 for an overnight stay at a jjimjibang and be on your way. You have a locker that fit a bookbag’s worth of clothes, so there’s that.
There are some downsides for the uninitiated — you do have to get naked with (same sex) strangers while you put your jammies on to go the common area, but at $60 a night in the middle of the city, that’s not bad. No sexual activity is permitted and, really, I can honestly say all the times I’ve been there — even late at night — the bare-ass section of it was almost completely devoid of any homoeroticism. Of course, if you’re, like, a twink, YMM.
The one I go to is K Town Sauna. It’s not perfect and it’s kind of small, but it gets the job done. It’s strategically located in NYC’s K Town, which is pretty cool. It closed at some point in the last year, only to re-open, so it might be worth your while to swing by or call to make absolutely sure it’s open.
Shelton Bumgarner is a writer and photographer living in Richmond, Va. He is writing his first novel. He may be reached at migukin (at) gmail (dot) com.
An AOC-Themed Spotify Playlist
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
I had some spare time on my hands.
Enjoy.
V-Log: The False Equivalency of AOC And Sarah Palin
by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Some thoughts.