Today, I'm happy to announce something that's been in the works for several months now - along with another exciting bit of news.
Those of you that have followed me on Substack, but not received updates for some time now - the URL madshaus.neocities.org will have the answers for you. I am sending this today as a final kiss-off to my Substack, and an invitation to follow my blog for future writing - and ways to support me in the near future.
Today, I'm pleased to announce that anyone who would like to support my work can now do so on Patreon. Going forward, this is my preferred method for payment. You can visit my page by going to Patreon right now and searching 'Madeline Blondeau', or go to my URL (/madshaus.) Between Patreon and the blog, I feel pretty good about the future of doing this on my own to augment my day job.
And if you've been following the blog for these past few months - hello! Thanks for checking in.
So - what's this post about? Let's go over the two orders of business - followed by a solid schedule.
The Summer of Schwarzenegger
This summer, I will watch every Arnold lead role over 3 months and write about it each week. The series will trace Arnold’s beginnings as a bodybuilder with overdubbed lines to one of the undisputed kings of the silver screen. 10 years ago, I did this on my defunct Blogspot. Now, I'll do it on NeoCities and archive each entry for posterity. Like Terminator 2, this will be the definitive Summer of Schwarzenegger that both capitalizes and expands on the original.
Why? I am doing this because the Summer of Schwarzenegger series was fun. Pure and simple. It was the first time I sat down to watch a set of movies and write about all of them. That became the bedrock of something that would grow into my later film writing, which is a personal passion of mine.
All of these posts are now effectively lost. There is no archival, no back-up, no separate documents. My experience of pirating some, streaming some, buying others, and renting still others across several computers and televisions has been erased outright.
These write-ups were not masterpieces. But some of them were quite long. Others housed fairly important memories to me. Most importantly, they were stepping stones to my deeper understanding and appreciation of cinema.
In total, I will assess 35 films and 1 TV series for a combined total of 12 posts a month over 3 months. Cinema Cauldron listeners will be happy to know I plan to record 3 episodes a month over 3 months which will release on the usual suspects (i.e. Apple, Spotify, et al.) The full calendar, which has already been drafted, will be released in the last week of this month.
Game Reviews
The game industry took games writing from me. I'm going to take it back for myself - with a hard limit.
This month, I will begin to work reviews of movie-based tie-in games into this blog. It is an aspect of the medium that sits in a place of derision between both film enthusiasts and gaming fans. What makes a good movie game? A bad one? Which ones did people give too much credit, and which ones deserved more praise?
This will be the guiding ethos behind game reviews on this blog. It undercuts the impulse to 'scoop' buzzy games, but also leaves open the possibility to explore both past, present, and future titles. My scope is broad here - I could discuss The Goonies II for NES one month, then Robocop: Rogue City a few weeks later.
(Pinball tables are also eligible!)
For Cinema Cauldron listeners, this will be nothing new - they may recall my episode on The Matrix Online and Enter The Matrix. However, this does mean I will open up future episodes to more detailed discussions of tie-in games. Stay tuned!
One More Thing...
I have been through a lot since I began writing on the internet. Further, I've been through a lot just in these past five years. There have been many failed attempts, false starts, and fumbled attempts at staking out my identity. Through it all, I've learned a lot about myself and found a spirit to fight for that self amid the day-to-may malaise of contemporary American existence.
I've never been a 'famous' writer. Never 'well-known.' But many people do know me. I always know somebody who knows somebody. I'm adjacent to enough spaces where I have some type of reputation, good or bad. What matters more to me, at this point, is that I know people care about my writing. However few or many is, that's okay with me. Because some of you have commented. Others have DM'd. Still others have sought me out on other platforms. Some of you have written stuff to me, sent it, and told me that I inspired them. It's humbling. Deeply humbling.
I still feel like persona non grata in the games industry, and frankly, I know that I always will. I'm too opinionated, and too honest, to play the game. It never pays to be ahead of the curve, as it were. But I will not go away. I will not stop writing. And I will not stop doing my best to do good work, do well by others, and stand up for what I believe in.
Whether you've followed me since my Amazon days, were an early subscriber to my Blogspot, got into my writing at CGM, sifted through TG for my work, or just heard of me at Paste... thank you. Sincerely. From the bottom of my heart. I will continue to try and do right by you.
See you very soon.
- Madeline Blondeau, May 2025