Look what I found!
http://kbswasteland.blogspot.com
http://kirkswasteland.blogspot.com
These are the archives of The Wasteland when it first began – there are literally hundreds of posts to go back and read if so inclined. If nothing else it gives a fascinating glance at the state of pop culture in those days. Hats off to Blogger that they never just deleted them! There are a few dead links here and there, but mostly it all still works. It gave me a chuckle anyway to find those again today.
The first time I heard the word blog was probably in late 2003. Whether I had read one and found it appealing that I too could try it, for free, or whether I just stumbled across blogger and had a lightbulb moment, I can’t remember. But I do remember being reasonably excited about the idea of publishing a journal type magazine that documented my thoughts and feelings on all the films, TV shows, music, books, games, art and sporting events I was absorbing every day of my lazy little life. And so I began in 2004 to put it together. Even teaching myself a little bit of html coding to make it look pretty.
It ended up having two iterations, from Nov 2004 to March 2006 and then a brief overhaul and spruce up in 2008 for a few months. I always thought it was a good idea at heart, and always wanted to expand it into a proper all bells and whistles website. Back then there wasn’t a million people doing the same thing and it did have some novelty appeal and a solid following. In the end the frustration of not being able to afford to upgrade, plus the low numbers of folk reading it, due mostly to a lack of tech savvy knowledge and not being able to afford marketing, sadly forced made me quit.
I can’t believe it took me eleven years to bring it back? I mean yes, time flies, but considering I never stopped my passion for absorbing cultural arts it strikes me as especially lazy that I didn’t get around to it. I think the clincher was discovering how easy it had become by 2019 to design and launch a perfectly decent looking and functioning webpage / blog on WordPress. The same problems exist – no money to go pro with it, or even upgrade to take the proxy ads off it; low readership (as yet) due to the flooded market and lack of resources to market it; and how time consuming it can be to maintain it for no pay in the face of all life’s little road bumps.
However, I am pleased to say I feel good about it continuing to grow as I continue to get better at it. There has been a lot of good feedback since January – although the way you have to have a WordPress account to leave a like or a comment really grinds my gears – and even one person engaging with a post makes my day. I hope that very soon I can make the move it has taken 16 years so far to achieve and boost it up from a blog to an actual arts magazine website. I have the two points of difference now that I really believe in – The Decinemal System of scoring movies, and the “12 of the Best” lists that are the most popular posts every time on here. Touch wood I can get it done one day soon.
In the meantime, please continue to read and support it when you can. Have a look and a laugh at the old blogger versions if you have the time – some of the posts have a charming naivety / cringeworthy factor, haha. Don’t forget you can find and join me for updates on:
Instagram @thewasteland.art.blog
Twitter @TheWasteland5
Facebook @kirk.bage.5
Smashbomb @kirkbage
Come and say hello or just to get info on new posts etc. Happy to have you!
Shantih Kx
The Wasteland 