Please Give Less Generously

Hello, my friends. It's been too long.

And that's the problem. This semester has been a real killer. I stupidly (well, greedily) took on seven courses to teach this term, because I wanted more money. So I am never not behind on grading something, and it sucks ass. I have also been doing the usual magazine writing, with other assignments sprinkled throughout here and there. And I made arrangements to host a visiting filmmaker (Ephraim Asili) and program my annual experimental film show for the Houston Cinema Arts Festival. And elsewhere in my life, Jen and I have been spending a fair amount of time working through legal issues surrounding Matt's name and gender change, getting him appropriate trans healthcare, and we've also been nursing a very sick cat.

So look, I feel like an asshole for taking your money every month, when I can barely find the time to watch a movie a week. I was doing really well with this for awhile, but that has not been the case for some time now. 

I have considered shutting down the Patreon, because I feel so incredibly guilty for taking your pledges and giving you so little in return. But I do think that, once mid-November rolls around and I start end-of-year, end-of-decade cramming, I will be more productive here than I have been in the last four months combined.

So for now, I'm asking you a favor. If you are pledging over a dollar, please take your amount down to the $1 mark. I would feel less like a jerk getting $95 for my sketchy output than the current almost-$300. I greatly appreciate and respect all of you for your interest and belief in my work, and it would mean a lot to me if you'd help me to not feel as though I am (passively) taking advantage of you. I should have made this request weeks ago, but it just felt weird.

Thanks!