October 2017 Blogcation (RAEBNC Halloween Kitties)

It is October, and that means that there is a fifty percent chance that this blog is going to suffer a Blogcation. And the theme of this year's Halloween Kitties is RAEBNC.

What is RAEBNC? Glad you asked.

RAEBNC is a short way of saying, "Read And Enjoyed, But No Comment."

It is something that one would often read in Amateur Press Associations zines. It was used for those times where you read something, enjoyed it, but really could not be bothered to come up with a thoughtful comment.

Kinda like the reaction buttons on Facebook. Or the Love button on Facebook (but with less get-up-and-go).

And there are days when I so want to use RAEBNC on Facebook. But that would involve actually explaining the term...which would be more effort than I would like to make. Still it could be a fun thing to do, especially if I did not have to explain it. Just drop it in multiple discussions.

For instance...

"I am the most powerful magician in the world, chosen by the Secret Chiefs to lead the world into a new age of spiritual freedom!!!" [Pretend that this goes on for another thousand words.]

Just drop RAEBNC in the comment/reply section and move on with your day. What is the worst that can happen? They defriend you? They ban and block you? Sounds like a winning day to me.

So this entire month is going to be devoted to cats in costumes (or not) and strange replies you could just drop into comment sections to amuse yourself. Or me. Or both of us. Long live chaos!

I would comment, but I am too busy cosplaying in this bucket.

Why occult magazines fail (or Why are there not more occult magazines published)

Here is a short laundry list of problems that all occult themed magazines and journals face:  

1) Lack of sales
2) Lack of contributors
3) Baseline operating costs
4) Lack of advertisers
5) Piracy

Basically, an occult themed magazine is a deep money and labor pit which, more times than not, end up costing the publisher far more than what they are getting back. And these problems have been around since at least the 80s small press market. I can't tell you the number of times I had conversations with local zine publishers during my time as an interested observer that boiled down to this laundry list.

Some occult themed small press magazines from the 90s.

Over half of these were published from someone's dining room table.

[Please note that number five only showed up in the last decade, but would have totally existed earlier if the internet would have been a bigger presence in the 80s and 90s.]

RAEBNC

Earlier this month, I had a comment on one of my blog entries saying that she (Kate) wished that she could give it a simple thumbs up like we do on facebook (without having to leave an actual comment).

And I understood exactly what she was saying. There are times I wish that option was available also.

I have a friend whose blog I have quit commenting on because he wants comments, and good comments at that: no repeating what other people have said, constructive and insightful comments. I rarely comment on his blog simply because of time schedules, I am like the twentieth comment (and it is hard work to come up with something that he will tolerate from me). He hates (or maybe loathes) what I am about to suggest to my own readers.

If you want to give me a thumbs up, but do not want to leave a full comment, just say "RAEBNC."

For those people who have never been a member of an amateur press association (APA): RAEBNC is shorthand for "Read and enjoyed, but no comment."

Interestingly enourgh, the same APA that I picked up an appreciation for RAEBNC is the same place that my friend picked his hatred for the term. But in all fairness, we were at different places in our development as writers when we were members of that APA (Phoenix---a science fiction/fantasy APA).

Go ahead and RAEBNC me; I won't be insulted.