My great-uncle Frank is full of ideas about what I should do with my life, and when I tell him I’m perfectly happy being a reporter he never seems to believe me. Don’t I aspire to greater things? he asks. In his mind, this means I should teach journalism (he’s a retired educator, and considers teaching the noblest profession in the world), become an editor, or write opinion.

I dismiss these ideas as completely ridiculous. I don’t like editors. The thought of standing in front of a room full of students fills me with dread. And opinion writing? I’ve always viewed opinion writers as raging egomaniacs, afflicted by this weird delusion that their opinions actually matter. Whereas I’m pretty sure my opinions don’t matter, and why anyone besides friends and family would care to hear them is beyond me. Certainly, I have no great insights about the world to share. When I want that, I read a book.

Yet there is a strange allure to writing opinion, mainly because people take it so seriously. The Web is full of people reading and writing opinion; there’s never been a shortage of letters to the editor. I enjoy reading some of this commentary, which at its best is witty, intelligent and makes you think.

And so, when the Gazette launched its blogs a couple of months ago, it occurred to me that this was something I could do. I’m pretty good at writing e-mail, and writing a blog seemed kind of like writing e-mail, except for a wider audience, and with fewer in-jokes and better spelling. The medium was new, and it sort of intrigued me. And I thought maybe I would enjoy writing about things I think are fun, in a fun, casual way, as a fan of the arts and entertainment and sports and literature, rather than a critic.
Because when it comes to arts and entertainment and sports and literature, I prefer being a fan to a critic. That way, I don’t have to go to shows or movies I don’t care about, or read books I don’t want to read, or pay attention to sports I don’t want to pay attention to. So you won’t be hearing much about hockey or the new Janet Jackson album on this blog, but you might hear about the Boston Celtics and the Red Sox, or one of my new favorite local bands, Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned, or the awesomeness of the cult movie “Office Space.” I hasten to add that it’s not that I don’t like hockey — if pressed, I root for the Bruins — but I keep forgetting we have a professional hockey league in this country.

This blog might never have happened if my friends hadn’t encouraged me to do it, although they didn’t always understand that this blog would have certain restrictions, because I’m a news reporter and I’m supposed to be fair and even-handed when I write about the news. In other words, I can’t just rant about the world. One friend said, “But can’t you make fun of [major political figure whose name is redacted for the purposes of this blog]?” “That’s what I’m telling you,” I said, exasperated. “I can’t write about politics in the blog.” “That’s exactly why you should have a blog,” one of my friends said, after I’d delivered a rather lengthy critique on one of my favorite topics, What’s Wrong With Journalism. “Well,” I said, “that’s not the sort of thing I can write about in this blog.” My dad, who is a minister, wanted me to write about religion. “Are you crazy?” I yelled.

I’m not going to write too much about the lengthy process involved in coming up with a name for this blog, although I want to thank everyone who participated in the poll and extend my gratitude to my parents’ friend Eric, who I don’t even know, for recommending the eventual winner. Fossology and Fossopolis had their fans, and I’ve always wanted to turn my name into a noun, but someone whose opinion actually sort of matters said, “You know, I have a problem with made-up words,” and I decided to go with something slightly more accessible. I mean, I didn’t want to alienate all those people who have a problem with made-up words.

Now that I’ve dispensed with introductions, here’s my first entry.

Starting next week I’ll probably be posting on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; I’ll probably make Tuesdays sort of movie-centric, because that’s the day all of the DVDs get released.

Nothing too special came out on DVD this week except “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” the macabre Tim Burton/Johnny Depp spin on the Stephen Sondheim musical. This is definitely worth checking out, but it helps to have a strong stomach. I heard about some unsuspecting people who wandered into this film thinking it would be a fun Johnny Depp flick, but trust me, it’s nothing like “Chocolat” or “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Depp plays a crazed, tormented serial killer, and the end of the movie is about as dark as you get. But it’s extremely well done, the music is good and there’s an undercurrent of morbid humor, which I always appreciate.

Also, if you like jazz (or music in general) you should check out Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble at the Lark Tavern in Albany. This 17-piece big band, which features local jazz luminaries such as saxophonists Brian Patneaude and Lee Russo, plays for free on the first Tuesday of the month; I managed to catch them last night. Because it was crowded, two men I didn’t know were seated at our table, and so I was forced to engage in one of my least favorite activities, Making Small Talk. “Have you seen these guys before?” I asked. “Oh, yes,” one guy said. “This is the best gig in town.” Well, that heightened my anticipation; it was exciting to find myself at the best gig in town. And the band didn’t disappoint. They played a mix of new songs — one entertaining number was written by Pray himself — and older pieces, but what I’ll remember most is how happy these guys were. They looked like they were having a fabulous time up there, and it was impossible not to get caught up in their enthusiasm.