Posted on February 2, 2016 by Lea S.
Well! Another year has whizzed by with the speed of a well-thrown cream pie, and Silent-ology is now two years old!
Nazimova cutting Silent-ology’s birthday cake. Being Nazimova, she added 26 extra candles for dramatic effect.
It all means a great deal to me, more so than words can ever express, and I’m working hard on making 2016 another year to be proud of!
Although the focus is on 2015 articles and this one’s from 2014, it has consistently gained steam throughout the past year–enough to demand itself a mention! If anyone’s achieved slapstick success with this historically-accurate recipe, do not hesitate to send me the video.
Talk about a post that was a blast to write! Silent fans don’t discuss the “creep factor” of certain old films often enough if you ask me, so I decided to let loose with some of the more blatant examples. As a kid black and white cartoons were a little freaky to me (not anymore, fortunately) so I thank my kind and tender lucky stars that I never saw any of these films at that age.
My very first blogathon ever was a rousing success–in fact, the record for the most Silent-ology traffic in one day goes to day one of this ‘thon! It was a real treat to get to read about Buster all weekend, and I’m sure this year’s event will be equally fun.
The Titanic is always a fascinating subject…but little did I suspect how this article would take off. Then again, how many people knew there was a Titanic film circa 1912?
1. How Do Silent Films Become “Lost”?
For the second year in a row, this is my biggest article and has gotten consistent views in the past 12 months. And again, it wouldn’t be the success it is without the historians who helped me with the info (thank yew kindly!).
And here’s my list of 5 Articles That Got Fewer Views Than I’d Hoped. It’s not that they were ignored–some had a decent number of reads–but they seem to have quietly flown under the radar. Hopefully they’ll get more readers in the future!
This was one of a flurry of posts during my Keystone Month, so it probably snuck by a few people.
Sterling is so little-known and underrated today that this one wasn’t a big surprise. Still, I hope a few more of you will check out this cartoony comedian and that he’ll gain some new fans.
My big Halloween post fell flat–maybe it’s such a familiar film that it actually garnered less interest?
Also an article from Keystone month. Not a blockbuster of a post, plus I couldn’t escape the fact that some of the info was present in other Keystone articles.
Now this was a head-scratcher–it did okay, but wasn’t quite the bonanza I had hoped. I’m very pleased with it, though, and might repost it at a later date.
Some highlights from 2015: I went to Hollywood. For the first time in the my life. Hollywood. HOLLYWOOD!! I also attended my very first silent film festival in San Francisco. It was such a lovely event that I might try to make it this year, too (and go back to Hollywood. Because HOLLYWOOD!!). Silent-ology joined quite a few blogathons, and hosted the first Buster ‘thon. August was Keystone Month, the second themed month I’ve done (and boy did it take a lot of preparatory work–oh, man!). October observed all things creepy and spooky for Halloween. Oh, and Silent-ology has a Tumblr now, for all those extra fun pics that don’t fit anywhere else (and I really oughta update more often–be right back).
This is one of my favorite film essays so far; I feel that it flows smoothly, has the right amount of words, and says exactly what I want it to say. It’s also a darn cool film.
Researching this post was a pleasure, and armed me with lots of obscure trivia to stump my “just humor her” friends!
Favorite “Exploring the Silent Era” Post: 5 Silent Films That Would’ve Terrified Me As A Child.
Again, it was simply a blast to write.
Favorite “Personalities” Post And, Heck, My Favorite Post Of 2015: Sybil Seely, Buster’s Most Charming Leading Lady.
Readers who’ve been with me since 2014 know about my Buster Keaton And The MN State Fair research project (and maybe a few of you new arrivals have given it a read!), and know what a thrill it was to publish my article on it at last. Well, Sybil was my other big project. Digging for info on this much-loved but elusive supporting actress was quite a challenge, but happily it came together at last–Sybil deserved a bit more of the spotlight. Many thanks to the International Buster Keaton Society for all of their assistance and support!
Well, that seems to be it for now! If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to Silent-ology’s 2nd Anniversary dinner party.
Seems like a decent group.
This entry was posted in Milestones and tagged Anniversary, Hurray, silent-ology anniversary by Lea S.. Bookmark the permalink.
Congratulations!! Here’s to many, many more years of silent movie fun from you!!
I’ll get crackin’! 😉 Thanks Aurora!
Congratulations, Lea! I always enjoy reading “Silent-ology” – keep up the fine work!
Congratulations! Long may you blog!
Congratulations!! Your wonderful blog has been invaluable in selling Silent Films to the uninitiated (the piece on One Week gets a regular outing!) and the Buster Blogathon is directly responsible for my little blog existing at all!
I’m so thrilled that some of my writing has been “of service”! Thank you so much!
Hopefully we will! Many thanks!
A great big Happy Anniversary! Among many wonderful articles of the past year, my favorite thing was the Keystone focus in August—that really awakened me to a new love of Mack Sennett’s company’s early work! Congratulations, and I’m looking forward to your future posts!
So, so happy to hear that you’re becoming a Keystone fan!! That’s exactly what I was hoping for with those articles. Thank you so much for reading!
Congratulations! Yours is easily my favorite movie blog on the internet (and elsewhere for that matter!). Your enthusiasm for silents comes through every one of your posts. Thank you for sharing that enthusiasm with the rest of us. Keep up the good (no, great) work!
Congrats Lea, Excellent effort and I look forward to more great things on Silent-ology in 2016.
Happy birthday, Silentology. I love your blog, both your insights and your gentle demeanor. And it is a shame that Ford Sterling post doesn’t get much traffic, as Mr. Sterling is such a hoot!
Congratulations! Here’s to another two years!
Happy anniversary, Lea. Congratulations and thank you for all the interesting posts.