LAMB Report #13

The LAMB is bursting at the seams with activity - so much so that I had to inform a bunch of LAMBs-in-waiting that their wait might be a bit longer than the "3-21 days" I normally promise to get profiles up. Here's what we've been up to:

LIONs for LAMBs
Ends 2/21! Get your votes in now or forever hold your peace! For those that had trouble remembering which poll they were voting in the last few times ;) , I'll reiterate: this is the one where you pick your best of 2009: Best/Worst Movies, Casts, Posters, Scenes, and more. Vote here!

LAMB Oscar Pool
It has begun! Show off your prognostication skills, earn bragging rights, and oh yeah - win some damn fine prizes, including but not limited to: a $25 AMC gift card, TDB Oscar schwag, a bloggy t-shirt, and if someone can manage to beat host Mikey Filmmaker's record of 22 picks, a $100 in Fandango bucks! Better yet - it's open to LAMBs and non-LAMBs alike, so spread the word! Details and submissions are here.

The LAMB Devours the Oscars
We're about halfway through the massive event (the 16th of 33 posts goes up today), and it's been pretty awesome thus far. If you're new or have forgotten, here's the quick skinny: for the past two years, we've had an event where a different LAMB wrote up an analysis of each award that the Academy would be handing out. There are 24 categories, but this year the field has been expanded in honor of the Academy's expansion to 10 Best Picture nominees. If we split the category into 10, with one writer per film, that makes 10 Best Picture articles + 23 others. 33 Articles. 33 Days, starting on the day of the nominations and ending on the day before the show.

(By the way, if you're one of the few who've yet to send me your assigned article, please do so ASAP. Thanks.)

Are you a Fan of the LAMB?
The LAMB was previously on Facebook, but it was in one of those icky "Groups" that no one seems hip to anymore. So it's picked up and left for some shiny new digs - a Fan Page. Go there and get all Robert DeNiro (or Patton Oswalt, if that's more your cup of tea) on the LAMB. Maybe make friends with some of your fellow LAMBs while you're at it.

As usual, there's a bunch of other stuff going on at the LAMB:

* Pitch the LAMB
* LAMB Casting: Doubt
* Stump the LAMBs: Up In the Air
* Trailer Talk Thursday
* LAMBScores
* The LAMBcast
* LAMBTrax
* Plugs/PR

LAMB Report #12

It's that time of year when there's a lot going on at the LAMB - well, I guess there's always a lot, there's just even more now. Here are the highlights:

LAMB Top 10s
The poll for Foreign Films is up, but is very sad at the moment - it only has 6 votes. 12 days left: go here to submit your picks. Voting ends 1/24.

The LAMB Devours the Oscars!! (Sign-up time!)
It's almost here! If you weren't a member, here's the quick skinny: for the past two years, we've had an event where a different LAMB wrote up an analysis of each award that the Academy would be handing out. I got commitments from everyone, took volunteers for the "lesser" categories and randomly assigned the major ones. What we ended up with was a diverse, excellently-written daily series timed to lead up and stop on the day prior to the Oscars. It was linked to IMDb's Hit List and was generally an all-around hit for all involved, I dare say.

If you're interested in taking part this year, please respond to this to me via email (blogcabins@yahoo.com). Serious interest only, please, as we can't have empty days. There are but 24 categories at the Academy Awards, so it'll be first come, first served for starters. However, since the LAMB keeps growing yet the number of awards stays the same, I've come up with a brilliant (if I do say so myself) way to grow the event:

The nominations are handed out on February 2nd (3 weeks from today). The awards show is on March 7th. Typically, LAMB Devours the Oscars ends on the day before the show. The span of time from February 2nd to March 6th is 33 days. There are 24 categories, but everyone wants Best Picture. This year the field has been re-expanded to 10 films. If we split the category into 10, with one writer per film, that makes 10 Best Picture articles + 23 others. 33 Articles. 33 Days, starting on the day of the nominations and ending on the day before the show.

If you believe you will be able to have something written up immediately (on February 2nd), please let me know as I will need an article for that day (I might even ensure that you get one of the majors). Also, if you have interest in a category outside of the majors (for these purposes, I consider the majors to be all Acting awards, as well as those for Best Director, Picture, both Screenplay awards, Foreign Language Film and Documentary Feature), let me know as well, and there's a good chance you'll get it. More details to come as we near the starting date.

LIONs for LAMBs
I'm pushing this back just a bit to coincide better with the Oscars event. Expect it to begin shortly after the Foreign Films poll ends.

LAMB Oscar Pool
Will being shortly after the nominations have been announced.

Quick reminders about some of the LAMB's recurring features:

* The LAMBs in the Director's Chair #5, spotlighting Clint Eastwood, is set to begin next Monday, January 18th. All of the latest news can be found here.

* Are you even aware that the LAMB has its own podcast (The LAMBcast, of course)? And that we've done 10 of them already? Did I just blow your mind? The 9th episode was posted recently, and the 10th, which perfectly coincidentally covers our favorites of 2009, is set to be posted later this week. Do check it out, won't you?

* Got a special event (blog-a-thon, meme, contest, etc.) of your own? Want some additional publicity? Send me your Plugs! Email me via the Contact button above or post it at the LAMB Forums.

LAMB Report #11

Has it really been 9 months since I put out a LAMB Report? Shame on me. Here's what's been happening at your favorite movie blog directory:

New LAMBs
Aside from a weeklong vacation I took in July which prevented me from posting new sites, new LAMBs from around the world (seriously - we've become quite global!) continue to pour in. 367 posted with another 9 currently in the hopper. I don't think we'll make 400 by the time the LAMB's 2nd birthday comes along (10/31/09; send presents accordingly), but certainly by the end of the year. See below for a month-by-month look:


LAMBs in the Director's Chair
The third edition of our latest blog-a-thon event hits the LAMB next week, with the focus this time on Billy Wilder D.J. Heinlen of Matte Havoc has taken over the hosting duties, and has brought enthusiasm with him. If you've written about Wilder or any of his films in the past, present, or future, get it over to D.J. asap. More details can be found here.

The LAMBcast
That's right - the LAMB is attacking you via multiple forms of media these days. The second episode was just posted - listen and subscribe now or we'll hire Nicolas Cage to make prank calls to your house at all times of the day!

Quick reminders about the LAMB's recurring features
* Work 'n' Play (aka Carla of Tricky Movie Trivia) tries to Stump the LAMBs every other Sunday, and the questions are nice and difficult, just how we like 'em.

* The best of the LAMBs is put up Tuesdays and Saturdays (usually) by Blake as a part of LAMB Chops. If you aren't submitting yours, you're missing out on some great publicity, and there's always some good reading to be found.

* Rachel, of the aptly named Rachel's Reel Reviews, took over LAMBScores some time back. There's currently a large list of recently graded films in the left sidebar, including the best LAMBScored film since Slumdog Millionaire - will it too win Best Picture? Stay tuned.

* Want an anonymous, helpful critique of your sites from, you know, other actual movie bloggers? Submit your site as a part of Brutally Blunt Blog Blustering. We've been averaging about a site a week on this feature (#18 was just published), and like the new LAMBs, I've got a bunch in the queue. Get your site on the list by sending me an email with the subject "Bluster Me!" and your site's name. More details here.

* As usual, Plugs are welcome. Got an event, blog-a-thon, meme, or some other special goings-on going on in your corner of the internet? Let me know.

* Finally, don't forget that Lions for LAMBs, our global end-of-year Top 10, and The LAMB Devours the Oscars, our in-depth blog-a-thon (of sorts) analyzing the Academy Awards, are just around the corner. No action needed yet, but be ready, as this ought to be the best year yet, easily.

LAMB Report #10

No time for love, Dr. Jones...

LIONs for LAMBs
The annual countdown of our own top 10 films of the year is on now! But it ends on January 15th, so go here and vote now. If you want to check out last year's edition, click here. There's a scant 44 votes in this year's edition as of right this second - what's the holdup? Remember, if you don't vote, you can't complain when The Dark Knight is voted as the top flick of 2008.

The LAMB Devours the Oscars!! (Sign-up time!)
It's almost time! If you weren't a member, here's the quick skinny: last year, we had an event where a different LAMB wrote up an analysis of each award that the Academy would be handing out. I got commitments from everyone, took volunteers for the "lesser" categories and randomly assigned the major ones. What we ended up with was a diverse, excellently-written daily series timed to lead up and stop on the day prior to the Oscars. It was linked to IMDb's Hit List and was generally an all-around hit for all involved, I dare say.

If you're interested in taking part this year, please respond to this to me via email (blogcabins@yahoo.com). Serious interest only, please, as we can't have empty days. There are but 24 categories at the Academy Awards, so it'll be first come, first served for starters. If you have interest in a category outside of the majors (for these purposes, I consider the majors to be all Acting awards, as well as those for Best Director, Picture, both Screenplay awards, Foreign Language Film and Documentary Feature), let me know as well, and there's a good chance you'll get it. More details as we near the starting date, which ought to be right around the end of January (the Oscars ceremony will be held on February 22nd).

Quick reminders about the LAMB's recurring features
* LAMB MOTM is White Man's Burden. Links due by January 30th at midnight. Send your links to blogcabins@yahoo.com.

* Cinema Fist's own Joseph Campanella emcees our monthly blog-a-thon. LAMBlog-a-thon Vol. 3 runs from January 17-20. Send links to lamblogathon@gmail.com. More details can be found here.

* Dreamrot of $7 Popcorn hosts Trailer Talk every Tuesday (or thereabouts). Best trailer talk on the interwebs.

* Meanwhile, Work 'n' Play (aka Carla of Tricky Movie Trivia) tries to Stump the LAMBs every other Sunday, and the questions are nice and difficult.

* The best of the LAMBs is put up every Wednesday by Caitlin as a part of LAMB Chops. If you aren't submitting yours, you're missing out on some great publicity.

* The best reviewed film of the year (so far) by the LAMBs was just revealed Monday morning in the latest edition of LAMBScores. Can you guess what it is?

Plugs
My apologies to the few that submitted Plugs to me (StinkyLulu, Invasion of the B Movies) some time ago, as your Plugs are outdated now. The lone active one I have is below:

* This is an announcement to let you all know that the previously announced Early Howard Hawks Blog-a-thon is happening now. It will run from today, January 12, until January 23. During this time, my blog Only The Cinema will be exclusively devoted to the films Hawks made up until 1936, and I'll also be soliciting and posting links to writing about these early Hawks films from many other bloggers and critics.Here's the link to the central post which will be continuously updated over the next 2 weeks with new links to reviews and essays:

http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2009/01/early-howard-hawks-blog-thon.html

If you have a post about early Hawks that you'd like to include in the blog-a-thon, just leave a comment on that post or drop me an e-mail letting me know. And if you've been kind enough to help me announce and promote this event over the past month or so, please update all your links to the original announcement to point to the above post instead.

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from everyone. I'm excited about all the great Hawks writing that should come pouring in over the course of the next couple of weeks.

Best,
Ed"

Got a Plug of your own for the next installment? Email me via the Contact button above or post it at the LAMB Forums.

LAMB Report #9

A little of this, a little of that...

Poll results
Wow. Closest poll ever. The question at stake was how long prospective LAMBs should have their sites be active for in order to be eligible to join. 62 votes in, and the top three choices went 33%, 33%, 29%, with "3 months" and "6 months" tying for the top spot. As the shepherd in these here parts, I get to play tie-breaker, even though I already voted. Three months it is. Thanks for voting, everyone.

A new poll has been tossed up as well.

LAMB Leaderboard
I don't know how many of you have noticed, but I've been getting worse and worse when it comes to updating the Leaderboard in a timely manner. In fact, since there's never been any discourse really, I don't know how many of you care about the Leaderboard at all (except Tony Tanti of Watch It, who actively campaigned for the top spot a few months back).

Well, it's time to care. Three things are changing in regards to the board. First, it's going to change to a monthly tally instead of weekly, which ought to help out my updating schedule. Second, it's going to expand to 20 sites, which ought to negate that first thing somewhat. And finally (and this is what ought to appeal the most to you), the monthly leader (the Big LAMB on Campus?) will be eligible to get their Random LAMB banner featured in a new "ad space" directly above where the board currently sits for the entire following month. If they haven't sent one in to me, I'll give them a chance to. If they're not interested, I'll move on down the line.

I should be updating the board for November sometime this week. Keep an eye out, and start working on getting yourself on top for December now!

Plugs
* Steve from Noir of the Week is trying to...well, here's what he said:
"I'm trying to get over 300 RSS subscribers for my blog Noir of the Week by the end of the year. I'm so close now but I need a few more people. Could you post on LAMB asking if people would like to subscribe to my site? The link is here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/filmnoiroftheweek"

* Ed Howard from Only the Cinema says:
"I just want to announce my new blog-a-thon, which will run from
January 12-23, 2009 and will focus on the early films of Howard Hawks.
More details are available here:
http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2008/12/early-hawks-blog-thon-jan-12-23-2009.html
I'm announcing it far in advance to give time for the word to spread
and for those who are interested to get ahold of the films somehow if
they haven't seen them before. If you get a chance, please spread the
word around to your readers and let me know if you have any input,
would like to participate, or know anything I can do to publicize the
blog-a-thon a little more."

* Srikanth of The Seventh Art, meanwhile, is celebrating a birthday...for a month!
"31 Days of Godard... in the birth month of Godard
http://theseventhart.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/31-days-of-godard/"

* The Editor of Noirish City is also celebrating someone for a month. A big, fat, bald dude, in fact:
" In the month of December...I plan to "revisit" the work of director Alfred Hitchcock ....Therefore, I will be featuring another Alfred Hitchcock contest on my blog. If you are interested...please visit my blog in the month of December in order to find out additional information about the "rules and regulation" of the contest. "

* Finally, SizzlingPopcorn.com is having their very own Movie Awards. Click on the image below (after reading it, of course) for more details:























Got a Plug of your own for the next installment? Email me via the Contact button above or post it at the LAMB Forums.

Oh, and Caitlin (aka Queen of the LAMB Chops) was ill, so the Chops should be up later tonight instead of last night. Think healthy thoughts for her, k?

LAMB Report #8

Here we are 10 days from the LAMB's first birthday. Sounds like a perfect time for a new LAMB Report. As usual, if any of you have any ideas on how to make this place better, email 'em to me or post 'em over at the LAMB Forums.

Let's have a look around and see how we're doing...

LAMB Membership
My initial reaction months back when I saw the number of LAMBs jump from 13 to 18 to 24 in February through April was that I would have so many new LAMBs on my hands by now that I would need a team of people to help me weed through them all. That's turned out to not be the case, but that's not a bad thing at all. We're averaging a steady 19 new LAMBs/month since March, and that's including an incomplete October, where we will indeed hit 200 before the LAMBs B-day (10/31). We're sitting at 196 right now, but I have 5 or 6 in the hopper already.

















(click image to enlarge)

Plugs
I just posted this the other day, but if any upcoming special events (blog-a-thons, contests, etc.), shoot me an email or post about it at the Forums.

Recently "Baaah-ed" LAMBs
Yeah, it's a terrible name, but you might be glad to hear that I've added the Blogger feature "Blog List" to the bottom of the right sidebar. Every active (meaning, URL still works) LAMB has been added to the list, so every time you update your site, it will show up on the LAMB. I have it set to display only the most recent 25, but you can click "Show All" to see everyone (or make sure you're on there; if you're not, let me know!). Additionally, this serves as a great tool for seeing who the inactive (no posts in weeks/months) are.

LAMB Top 10s
Here's the number of votes by genre for the Top 10s we've had thus far:
Comedies: 36
Action/Adventure: 30
Horror: 55
Sports movies: 25
Westerns: 34
Musicals: 24
Animated Films: 16
Documentaries (active): 16

Doc voting ends tomorrow, so hurry to the polls! As a bonus, don't forget that I've made the choice of which genre to do next a democratic one, adding a question at the end of the poll for you to tell me what to do next. Majority wins.

Who are LAMB? (part II)
About five months ago, when we had around 100 LAMBs, I asked you all to participate in a little demographic study to see who you all were. The results were interesting; click here if you'd like to see them.

Well, I'd like to take the temperature again. I've set up a new poll, updated with some suggestions from those of you that took the survey last time. I've got it set to run for a month, but please, take a minute or two to go do it now. It's really short, non-invasive, and...well, just too much fun than should be legally allowed. Go take it now!

A LAMB Partnership
You know how, every now and then, you'll receive an email from some small filmmaker asking you to screen their film and give a review for it?

Recently, I got an email from a freelance marketer (and aspiring filmmaker) named Erik Martin. He represents a number of smaller filmmakers and distributors and he found the LAMB online. Wisely, he was thinking that it might be better to work with the LAMB (and shoot one email) rather than shooting off (potentially) hundreds.

I'd been looking for exactly this sort of thing for the LAMB. I'd love for indie filmmakers to come to the LAMB to promote their films; if it can't be a centralized resource, what can?

Long story short (and there were a lot of other ideas thrown around between Erik and myself), Erik has his first "project" for us, and here it is in his words:

"David Weissman, the producer of Kiss of a Spider Woman is available and would be excited to do an interview with the LAMB community. I think it would be best to do the one central interview where everyone can re-post, and then if any bloggers want a follow-up interview I can see if David would be interested in those as well. He'd be great to discuss everything from Saul Bass to Roger Corman, but I think the ordeal of how he produced KISS would be especially interesting to the community.

Here's the trailer for the making of doc on Kiss and David's Bio.

I'd also have review copies (DVD or Blu-Ray) for any blog that wanted to review."

So, what I'm looking for right now is just interest from you. If you have any questions for Mr. Weissman (or can think of any good ones), post them here. If I get a handul more after a few days, I'll send them along to Erik. He'll get the answers, and I'll post the "interview" on the LAMB, which anyone can re-post on their site. Additionally, let me know if you'd like a review copy and I'll send that list on to him as well.

Any questions, let me know...

LAMB Events
Finally, just a hearty thank you (in case I haven't said it enough) to the latest members of the LAMB editorial team, Dreamrot, host of Trailer Talk, and Carla, host of Stump the LAMBs. I know we don't have fancy schmancy graphics for these features yet, but I'm workin' on it (Mrs. Fletch, who serves as the LAMB's creative firm when she's not running her own business, has been pretty busy as of late). Of course, should any of you have ideas for graphics, or - better yet - have the time to create something, let me know.

Also, I know we have a lot of new faces, so we probably have a lot of folks that aren't aware of our "battle" events that we've had in the past. Nick of R2D2 has been the host for them previously (you can see them here and here), but is busier than a presidential candidate these days with his student-teaching gig (on top of regular school and blogging, along with watching movies, of course). If anyone would like to orchestrate (or even suggest a theme) a new one, head over to the LAMB Forums and start up a discussion. It's definitely time for a new one.

Eek - one more thing. The LAMB MOTM is due soon! Don't forget it.

LAMB Report #7

Can you believe the LAMB is almost 10 months old? I can't - it seems more like two years. That might sound like a negative (as though it's work), but I really don't mean it that way - it really just feels like I've been doing this for awhile. I don't say it enough, but thanks to all of you that have bought into the idea of this little collaborative. As usual, if any of you have any ideas on how to make this place better, email 'em to me or post 'em over at the LAMB Forums.

Let's have a look around and see how we're doing...

LAMB Membership
My unscientific goal for new LAMBs in July was 22 and we finished with 25, so "Yay" there. The goal for August was 24; right now, we're sitting on 17, but I'm sure I'll get at least 3-5 more posted before the end of the month. Still looking to get to 200 by the time the LAMB's first birthday rolls around (10/31).

















Updated LAMB Leaderboard
Minor news here: you might have noticed this already, but I've expanded the LAMB Leaderboard to ten sites instead of five. As the LAMB has grown, it only made sense to do this, and it's a great excuse to give some love to five more sites sending love this way. Congrats to Watch It for making the number 1 spot after conducting a campaign on his site to crack the list. To those of you that haven't sent in a banner, all I can say is that the Leaderboard would look a lot better without those generic LAMBs up there...

Plugs
Again, if you have any upcoming special events (blog-a-thons, contests, etc.), shoot me an email or post about it at the Forums. I've only got two for you right now:

* Blake at Bitchin' Film Reviews will be hosting an event called the Lit Flicks Challenge for the next six months starting September 1st. Here is the link to the challenge rules and instructions: http://bitchinfilmreviews.com/?page_id=93. Check it out if you can; there will be at least one give away a month starting in September.

* Me over at Blog Cabins is hosting The Great Movie Poster Piece Contest. Details here. There is a $25.00 gift card to Applebee's as the main prize, but with more entries come more prizes, so take the test and tell a friend. As an added bonus, I've been told by a number of people that it's hard as hell, which is nice to hear.

Ongoing/Wrapped Features
LAMB Top 10s

Here's the number of votes by genre for the Top 10s we've had thus far:
Comedies: 36
Action/Adventure: 30
Horror: 55
Sports movies: 25
Westerns (active): 13

There's a little over a week left in the Western voting, so get on that. As a bonus, don't forget that I've made the choice of which genre to do next a democratic one, adding a question at the end of the poll for you to tell me what to do next. Majority wins. Right now, the current leader for the next after Westerns is Musicals.

LAMB Action Hero
Wrapped! Congrats to Jess/Lara Croft for beating me (that's two turns in a row as a bridesmaid for me) for winning it all. What's next? You tell me. There have been a couple ideas thrown around already (including some by me), but I'm not totally sold on any of them. Keep in mind, a tweaking of the format could be welcome as well.

Interview With a LAMBpire/It's a Wonderful LAMB/Summer of LAMB
On hiatus; all not forgotten and soon to return.

Stump the LAMBs/Movie of the Month/Invasion of the LAMBs
All alive and kicking.

I'm always trying to think of new events. Got an idea? You know the drill.

The Latest Poll Results
I'm just about typed out, so not much analysis here. I'm surprised at the % of people that "kick it old school" or are unfamiliar with a feed reader. I put every new LAMB into my Google Reader and would be lost without it. Such a time saver, but to each their own.

Also a little shocked at the 19% of folks that have seen 5 or fewer films in the theater thus far this year. I could see 5-10%, but nearly 1/5 seems way high for a collection of movie bloggers. (I understand they cost a lot and many may review DVDs, but 5 movies through 8 months is still a low number.)

Thanks to all for voting. The new poll is up.

LAMB Report #6

It's been awhile. Let's take a look at the LAMB for a status update...

Events
LAMB MOTM - Rachel got this event off to an abiding start with a gaggle of LAMBs taking a look at The Big Lebowski. Read more about it here. July's movie is The Conversation, with entries due by the 30th. Ten of you took part in June - let's double that this month.

LAMB Action Hero - The first 'battle' has been posted by our main man Nick, and it's a doozy: who would you rather have as your roommate, Bruce Wayne or Lara Croft? Voting for this particular battle ends today, but there are plenty more to come.

Top 10s - aka Our Acronym is Better Than Theirs. Who needs the AFI? We can make our own Top 10 movie lists by genre. 36 people took part in the voting for the Top 10 Comedies, and the voting for Action/Adventures is underway. In case you haven't seen it yet, here's a teaser - comedies 10-6:

10. Airplane!
9. Young Frankenstein
8. Some Like it Hot
7. Annie Hall
6. Shaun of the Dead (actually tied for 5th)

Got to go to the LAMB to see the rest...

LAMBScores - The Happening and The Strangers got 2 LAMB ratings each. Wall*E and Kung Fu Panda got 4 1/2 LAMBs each. Animation>>>Horror? Apparently so. Don't miss out on the free link love - get thee to the LAMB Forums to submit your ratings.

The Latest Poll Results
This would usually get its own post, but considering the topic that was at hand, I thought it more fitting here. I asked you what you wanted out of the LAMB, and I got...mixed results (not surprisingly).

It seemed that for just about every option, the vote was split. Quantity of original content? 7 said more, 8 said less. I guess it'll stay about the same. 6 are interested in a site redesign...7 said not to touch a thing. I think I'll go with some minor design tweaks based on that info. Quantity of posts per day? 2 more, 1 less. Again, staying the same give or take.
And to the lone person that said to stop sending them emails - a) you gotta let me know who you are and b) to you and anyone else that wishes to, there is an "Unsubscribe" option at the bottom of every email I send.

Thanks to all for voting. A new poll will be up shortly.

LAMB Membership
It seems all I had to do last time was rant about not getting enough new LAMBs for the problem to fix itself. Without really doing much of anything, I received an influx of new entries, and I've still got a few pending. I know quantity isn't what it's all about, but I'm holding steady to a one-year anniversary goal of 200 LAMBs. We're on pace for about 190...

LAMB Report #5

It's been awhile. Let's take a look at the LAMB for a status update...

LAMB Membership
Some sad news to report, as the LAMB saw a drop off from April's record high of 24 entries back down to a March-matching total of 18. How to get that back up? Looks like it's networking time...














LAMBScores
After much debate about how to do this best, I decided to run with a process that I think makes it pretty easy for you and for me, and at the same time, encourages activity at the LAMB Forums. See the recent first entry for instructions and a look at it. Let's get some high participation here - I think this feature shows a good representation of the LAMBs' collective thoughts, and besides - it's a free link!

As always, if you have suggestions, let's hear 'em.

LAMB Categories
I've updated the "Join" post for the first time in a while to ask prospective new members to share two additional pieces of information for their profiles. First is which of the following categories do their sites fit under: Reviews, News, Editorials, Humor, Horror, or General. Selecting more than one is fine, and if they have additional categories, they're free to give me those, too.

I ask the same of all you existing LAMBs. I'd like to go back and update all of your profiles with categories, with the intention of adding buttons or links to the sidebar for each category. So, if you will, please shoot me an email with one or more categories for your site(s).

Additionally, I'm asking the newbies for ratings for their sites, using the MPAA as a guideline. So, here's your chance to be your own rating board. Is your site G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17. Let me know.

New Events
The voting's not over yet, but it looks as though the LAMB Movie of the Month feature will end up being called...the LAMB Movie of the Month. Works for me. Thanks to Rachel from Rachel's Reel Reviews for heading up this new feature.

Nick from R2D2 and I have dreamed up a new Sirens-style event that he'll be running. I'm looking forward to it a lot, as I think we all learned much from the last go round. As a bonus, I had Mrs. Fletch work up a doozy of a "logo" for it that just kills me. Coming soon...

Finally, Nick has another top secret feature that he's working on, only it's so top secret that even I don't know when it's starting.

LAMB Report #4

The LAMB celebrated its 85th member just the other day (who was celebrating her one year anniversary coincidentally), so it seems a fine time to check up on some other news:

LAMB Membership
By the time April is over, I will have posted the 86th LAMB, giving us 24 for the month, setting a new record. I'm tempted to put the goals for the coming months even higher, but will hold back for now. Still, we should hit 100 sometime in May, and at the projected rate look to hit 200 at the start of September. (Click to enlarge chart.)

The LAMB Leaderboard
Believe it or not, as competitive as I am, I actually would rather not see Blog Cabins as the top spot in the leaderboard. I wouldn't mind being in the top five, but I'd love to see it get knocked out by the latest site (such as Row Three) or an old favorite with lots of influence (like Final Girl). Better yet, surprise me. Also, the leaderboard looks 60% generic right now, which leads me to...

Random LAMB Banners
I've received nearly 30 of these (and that is great, really), but there are plenty more sites that should be visually represented. If you're a relatively new LAMB, read more about the banners here.

The Sirens of the LAMBs
After 13 years, 8 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 13 hours and 6 minutes, the Sirens event comes to a close soon, as we're just about down to our final pairing. Thanks to all that participated, and an even bigger thanks to Nick of R2D2 for his work in putting together this event.

The LAMMYS
The deadline to vote will be Monday night at midnight Pacific time, and I've decided to start doling out the awards on a periodic (most likely daily) basis starting the following day. That's called a tease, my friends. All of you that have voted already (and those that plan to) are awesome; the rest of you just might find a horse's head in your bed one morning...

Summer of LAMB
The latest event (predicting the summer box office) has an entry deadline of this Friday (May 2) at midnight Pacific time. It's really easy, and you just might win a prize. Details can be found here.

The LAMB Forum
It's lonely. Come visit it. Give it your feedback (and love). But seriously, there's a handful of users constantly pondering (well, maybe not constantly) what the next LAMB event should be and how to make this place better and work harder for all our benefit. We need your help!


Related but separate from that point, I do think about our growing numbers and place in blogville. With upwards of 100 sites (most of whom are still active), we have a growing sphere of influence and power, whether we realize it or not. What we need to figure out, though, is how best to harness that power. I don't know what everyone's traffic is, but I know that collectively, it's probably pretty damn high. Now what to do about it...

LAMB Report #3

Well, the LAMB celebrated its 50th member just the other day, so it seems a fine time to check up on some other news:

LAMB Membership...booming?
The Oscars event certainly brought the LAMB a lot of exposure, and it showed with a strong February that earned us 13 new sites. March may look down on the chart below, with nine new sites (including two that I have yet to post), but the month is only half-over, so it's likely that we'll have our best month yet. I've thrown in some modest goals for the next six months or so, and if they come to fruition, we should be closing in on 200 LAMBs by the time the site's year anniversary comes around at the end of October. Now would be a good time to mention that if you know of any friends' site that aren't members, they should be. Subtle and not-so-subtle recruiting methods are highly encouraged.


The LAMB Leaderboard
Nothing really new to report here, except that the latest "scores" are up, and the top spot might surprise you. My apologies to the top two sites for their truncated names, but it makes the chart look much better.

Monthly Trivia Contest
Starting sometime in April, the LAMB will be hosting a monthly trivia contest (tentatively and terribly titled "LAMBtests" - feel free to suggest a better name). The details are still being worked out, but my plan is for them to be fun yet difficult, with an as-yet-undetermined prize for each month's winner. As for those prizes, I'm looking for help as well. I'd like them to be of some value, but the LAMB isn't exactly a cash cow, so I can't offer prizes similar to the one given out for the Oscar Pool winner. Some ideas I've been rattling around include: a pick of three of my no-longer-wanted/needed VHS movies (not exactly enticing, but there are some good movies here, and I'm sure there are some technophobes that still use VHS...right?) or a pick of some DVDs from my library that, again, are either no longer needed or wanted. If you have any other prize suggestions that are a) creative, b) movie-related, and c) won't break the bank, I'm all ears. Of course, another potential idea would be to charge $1.00 to enter the contest, with funds going towards that and any future contests.

Much more on this later.

Random LAMB Banners
This isn't really news, but thanks to the 13 sites that have sent in their banners. The Gallery page is really starting to fill out, and the more of these I get, the better the LAMB Leaderboard will look. If you have yet to create/send one, go to the Gallery page for more details.

The Sirens of the LAMBs
Much thanks to Nick of R2D2 for his work in putting together this event. It sounds like it's all set to officially launch early this week, and it should be a lot of fun. If you'd like to participate/host a future event like this (or read about other potential events discussed), the LAMB Forum is the place for you.

LAMBScores?
I've had this idea floating in my head for a while now, but I can't think of the best way to execute it, so I'm putting it out there for your thoughts. I'd like a simple, easily categorized way for the LAMBs (and the LAMBs only, I'm afraid) to be able to give their scores/grades/ratings to the new releases of the day (older movies could be looked at later). The trouble is incorporating this into Blogger and my ineptitude as a "programmer."

I'd like it to be as simple as this: I put up a new post for each movie. The post only consists of the title of the movie, the movie's poster and a widget (of sorts) for rating. Now, Daniel G. of Getafilm has a nifty widget from Outbrain on his blog, and I like the widget, but it has its drawbacks (chief of which is that installation of it places it on every post, but also that I couldn't lock it down to just LAMB members doing the grading). A poll from Blogger could be added to each post, but again - no lockdown, and there wouldn't be a way to see the average score, and I think that's an important element.

The overall goal is to start collecting aggregate ratings from the LAMB member sites, which would help to give us a voice in the movie blog community. In time, a nice database of scores would be created. Now, this could be done manually, but I don't think I have the time to do so and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone else. If you have any thoughts on how this might work, you know the drill.

Ferdy on Films Dance Movie Blogathon
Marilyn over at Ferdy on Films is hosting an upcoming blogathon and would like your participation. If you'd like to, or know someone who would, the details can be found here. If you have any questions or would like to RSVP, her email is ferdyonfilms@comcast.net.

tMF Profile Writing Contest
The Movie Fantatic is having a profile writing contest for Emile Hirsch and is giving away 3 DVDs as prizes. For more details, go here.

Finally...a PSA
A number of LAMBs have inquired about the scroll box widget that lists all of the LAMBs for their sites. If you'd like the latest version of it, feel free to email me. Any updates for new LAMBs would have to be made either manually or via my sending you an updated version. This is a really easy thing for me to send and for you to install, so if you're looking to give some link love to all of the LAMBs and don't want your blogroll getting a mile long, it's a great solution.

LAMB Report #2

Thanks for tuning in to The LAMB Broadcasting Corporation - the LBC (not to be confused with any Snoop Dogg organization of the same name).

This week on LBC News, a special report on the trafficking of internet traffic, an expose on torture porn in the San Fernando Valley, and Andy Rooney chimes in with six things that made him angry in the last three minutes (spoiler alert: one of them is an umbrella). But first, these bulletins:

* The LAMB Oscar Pool. Win FABULOUS PRIZES! Think you're a Negrodamus for the new millenia? Try your hand at the LAMB Oscar Pool. Even better - the top scorer will win FABULOUS PRIZES from around the world. Well, that or a movie of your choice from Amazon (up to $19.99, not including tax/shipping). On top of all that, I'm opening up the contest to non-LAMBs as well; that's right, anyone can enter! Feel free to send along the info to friends and family - the more the merrier, right? (Though I will do a special post dedicated to the LAMBs choices.)

To play, simply go here (http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/324566) and make your picks for who you think will win and who you want to win. The winner of the fabulous prize will be the top scorer for the think portion. The deadline to sumbit your entries will be Saturday, February 23rd. - I don't have control over an exact time and am not sure what time Mister Poll will shut it down, so just be sure to have it completed before that day. One entry per person. If there are two entries with the same name, I will accept the first entry (though Mister Poll appears to lock them down by IP). I will coordinate the prize winning via email, so enter a valid email below or perish. If I could think of more legal-type mumbo jumbo, I would put it here; suffice it so say, that nothing is guaranteed and all decisions by me are final.

* The LAMB Forum. If you're a LAMB, but not yet a member (or are a member, but aren't active), it's time to join and particpate over at the LAMB forum. There you will find not only general movie/tv/music/etc talk, but hear about and contribute to the happenings here at the LAMB before they happen. Also, discuss and see traffic for the LAMB and/or your own sites and get/give advice on blogging in general. Thanks go to Jed from the Movie-Fanatic for putting the forum on the back end of his site.

* LAMB entries. I'm glad to see that the IMDb exposure has garnered us quite a few more new LAMBs. We currently have 37, and I still have a few more pending (I like to space them out so no one gets lost in the mix, and also so I don't go long without posting something new). LAMBs by month look like this:

October: 1 (Blog Cabins)
November: 12
December: 9
January: 9
February (to date, including ones not yet posted): 8

I most like the 8 in February, considering the month is not yet half over. Who will be the milestone 50th LAMB? Or 100th?

* Final note: to let all this news settle in, there will be no LAMB Devours the Oscars post for Monday. It will return Tuesday.

LAMB Report #1

Well, The Large Association of Movie Blogs is not even two weeks old, and I couldn't be much prouder of a parent.

Already, there are 11 LAMBs posted, and one more pending, for an average of more than one site a day. I know that doesn't sound like much, but with the existing LAMBs all linking to the site, and with some very special LAMBs writing individual posts about it (gold stars are awarded to Joe at Intermission at Work, * (asterisk) from A Blog About Nowt, and Wayward Jam over at Reel Whore - let me know if I've snubbed you), I think it's a great start.

Hopefully, all of you who've sent in entries so far are seeing an ever-so-slight traffic boost as well; I can't say that Blog Cabins has received all that much, but I also can't say that I expected all that much in the early stages, as I'm pretty familiar with many of you already. Also, I think there are a couple people that still need to put up a link to here on their site, so if you haven't, please do so for all our sakes.

That's about all I've got right now. Thanks again to all who have entered, and please let me know of any ideas or suggestions you might have on how to make this better and/or more effective.

Fletch