The Jimquisition's New Groove, And Other Updates (Patreon)
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Hello, you friendly little bottom burps! In keeping with my desire to provide more updates, here I am providing more updates. Can I stop this one from becoming a bloody novella this time? Maybe?
Anyway, The Jimquisition tried a slightly different thing this week, tackling four different subjects instead of going all-in on one topic for twenty minutes. I was incredibly happy with how it turned out, and thrilled that it went over so well once it was published. With the show being literally ten years old, it's sure as shit a good time to give the whole thing a bit of a shake. Overdue, some would say - and have!
I gave it a go after we published A Completely Normal One and noticed how much people liked the style of it. Frankly, I expected way more of a backlash to that video, and was very pleasantly surprised. An episode with such an "unfocused" script and far wider subject matter is something I've historically not had much success getting away with in the past. I don't know if lately it's been a combination of my audience changing, my writing improving, or both, or neither.
In any case, the fact it danced from Gengar vore to YouTube moderation to The Division to an open rant about America's political mess is what got me onto thinking I could just do lots of things in a single video, and it's such an obvious thing in hindsight.
I think the result was a quicker, punchier, and more energetic script. With far fewer minutes to work with, the effect on the writing is one of near-instant tightening (creative restriction as an exercise is underrated), as well as a decreased tendency to over-explain or repeat a point. And with more variety per episode, a viewer might no longer feel let down if they looked forward to Monday morning and found a video tackling something they had no interest in.
As we do it more, I intend to really take advantage of how flexible the show can be. I can tackle subjects that might not ordinarily have enough meat to justify a full video, but fits perfectly in a more anthological episode. I can do a lot more throwaway, lighthearted, and/or palette cleansing material without it taking Monday away from serious shit.
Most interestingly, there is no reason I can't hand over a section to a guest speaker. I have some ideas. (Note: not currently taking suggestions)
Admittedly, it gives the show a vague Last Week Tonight feel, but I'm pretty okay with that. It's a solid dependable format, and like with that show, I'm not bound by a structure that suggests every episode has to retain the same number and length of segments, that it has to be the exact same formula every time. It doesn't, and it won't be.
It will be just as likely you can see both more and fewer topics come up in a video. I still intend to do entire episodes on one subject, so don't worry there. There are plenty of stories that will facilitate the need for a full-length feature. There's at least two videos about YouTube itself that I'd like to do this year, and I'll be surprised if "AAA" companies can make it through 2021 without giving me multiple full episodes of material - why would they break the habit of a lifetime?
There ya go! While I have you, here's some recent things I've done outside of Jimquisition that you might be interested in:
Boston's Favorite Son is still going, and we've been doing more lately. It's a really upsetting "comedy" podcast. If you've not heard it, keep things that way.
I was recently on Cultaholic's Straight to Hell series, consigning various wrestling things to Room 101. I laid into WWE, talked about various tropes, and had a great time talking with Ross. Just remember, I have NEVER been on Cultaholic before now! Definitely not. #WreSterling
I provided commentary for Wrestler's Lab's latest show, calling the MV Young vs. Big Callux match. The full thing is on IWTV, which you can do a subscribing to if you love indie wrestling. Indie wrestling is very good!
Still streaming! Had a very exhausting and tough week last week, so I didn't. I hope to stream today, in fact, at 2pm EST. Might do some Monster Hunter, and I've never played it in a video, never reviewed it, never done a Jimpressions, nothing. That might be a giggle!
Also, uh, showing a little personal life progress on Instagram lately. Still not sure when such progress will be reflected on The Jimquisition, but things are moving.
On that last note, a few quick answers for the questions my transition has commonly spurred:
My pronouns are they/them. I am still nonbinary.
Officially I still go by Jim Sterling, and personally I have been trying James Stephanie Sterling. My wrestling alter ego is Commander Sterling - it is not, as a few detractors seem to believe, a name I use for anything other than indie supervillainy. Oh, and while we're here, Sterdust hasn't been a thing since 2018!
I will still be performing in professional wrestling, yes. I have a full-on match definitely on the cards when Ryse is back to normal operation, and have continued serving that company as both Executive Commander and Champion Regent.
To stan for them again, my favorite wrestler, Still Life With Apricots & Pears, has been a big inspiration to me, both in terms of transition and professional wrestling achievements. Getting to do ring announcements for both them and Molly McCoy was a tremendous joy for me last year. Wrestling up here in the Northeast is... well, it's much more my speed compared to wrestling in the Deep South.
At some point I probably should do a full ol' update on the transition stuff, but I've been a lot more comfortable doing it as a "rollout" rather than I think I would've by making a big ironclad coming out announcement. Anyway, that's it I think.
Christ... went on way too long again.