The Smiley Smile Message Board

... maybe even cynical, but the day after Melinda goes on the Bloo to defend Brian after many posters said he looked 'bored' during the Kennedy Center telecast (no, he didn't, he looked eaxctly like he does at any such event - like he'd rather be anywhere else), the Bloo suddenly vanishes but for this message:

Wishing everyone very Happy Holidays!

We are currently upgrading the Message Board and will be back up for the New Year!

Thank you all for your support - we'll see you very soon!

Any thoughts on what this upgrade might entail ?

I have no idea Andrew but I found it strange too. I HOPE that they make it similar to most forums where the messages are kept permanently (eg: like this forum), because it sucks when some of Ian's posts, Jon's posts, Mark Linett's posts or indeed your posts are only there for a few days.

Yes, AGD...just went there myself.  Don't tell me they're figuring out how to tighten the filter even more.  Was wondering if she came by unannounced yesterday and poor MDM was left a little flustered  by some of the posts still up?

Quite the debacle yesterday.  Kind of funny how dead it was there last night.   Reminds you of a class of schoolkids  who are sheepishly quiet after the teacher comes back in the room and chews them out for being unruly.    :police:

I remember reading on another board recently (but unfortunately my memory is not helping me out on which one this was) on the current (as in: until a couple of hours ago) messageboard being not that user-friendly as it should be.... so maybe they're going to improve it on that matter.

But my guess is as good as anyone else's...

EDIT: I missed the whole discussion of yesterday/last night, too bad, I'm pretty curious now...

AGD, perfect topic to liven up a usually slow weekend...

We've read in all of the books, over and over, that Brian Wilson is an extremely sensitive person, so much so, that even the slightest criticism can send him into retreat and self-doubt.

Maybe a message board isn't something that Brian and/or Melinda should have on their website.

I missed the controversy...  did anyone save the text so it can be posted here?

Well, the blue board is often quiet at night (particularly a Friday night), after the UK fans (who probably make up the majority of posters) have gone out or are asleep.

Maybe Brian wanted to look at the board and Melinda didn't want him to see those posts. Melinda should understand, though, that many of the blueboard posters are newer fans who may not understand Brian. Also, the KC Honors brought some new people to the blueboard. Some of them were the ones commenting on Brian's appearance.

Oh, well. I hope they change the format of the board.

The gist of it was some morons kept posting how he looked lethargic/tired/didn't even smile at the fans.  I remember the first right after the KCH Wednesday night had the subject line:  What's Wrong With Brian Wilson?  Some even joked he was napping when he was closing his eyes during "Love & Mercy".  The typical  old stereotyped crapola.....

Based on what I've been told (and observed) over the last few years, I have the strongest doubts that Brian so much as looks at the Bloo of his own volition.

The main problem with the Bloo is that a proportion of posters see what they want to see, or manipulate what they see into what they want to see. They expected Brian to be all happy and smiley during the Kennedy Center, and when it was pointed out that he wasn't, went into full defensive mode. As did Melinda, and quite rightly so. It's one thing to say to yourself that Brian wasn't turning cartwheels in the aisles, quite another to post it on his own message board. Brian is NOT comfortable in these situations, but he had to be there, and he did his best. Last year, at the UK Music HOF induction, when he wasn't performing or accepting the nomination, he was totally zoned out (I was maybe 40 feet away, in the mosh pit - a very posh mosh pit I have to say). This behaviour is nothing new.

This is not an issue that is isolated to the blueboard. People on this very board were doing the same. And people on the Shut Down board, too. The blueboard probably has the widest range of fans, from the very newest to the most experienced veterans, so you get a wide range of responses to a major event like this. There were many new names on the blueboard after the KC Honors who were posting specifically because they saw the show and wanted to comment on Brian. Some posted critically, some were concerned, and some were defensive. The same range occurred among the regular blueboaders. There were some who wondered why Brian looked the way he looked, some who said, "He looked great!" and some, like me, who said, "I can't blame him for looking that way. I'd be uncomfortable in front of a camera too."

The thing I like about the Bloo is its boundless enthusiasm, but most of the time it's used in the most acritical manner imaginable.  A basic tenet of Blooness is that absolutely everything Brian Wilson has done, does or ever will do it utterly perfect and no-one is allowed to criticize. Reminds me of The Wizard of Oz - "pay no attention to the man behind the screen !"

Agreed. I'd be surprised if Brian goes on the computer at all. But I can envision a scenario, where, out of curiosity (?), Melinda signs on the message board, becomes upset with what she reads, but feels obligated (??) to share the messages with Brian. She seems like the type of person who believes in laying it all out on the table.

I can also mildly envision a scenario where Brian might be "aware" of the message board, and request someone (Melinda ?) to pull it up and read the comments TO HIM. I mean, let's be honest, Brian isn't the busiest guy in the world, and a way of passing the time might be checking out his website.

Regardless, negative comments have no positive effect on Brian. We've been told repeatedly that Brian needs positive reinforcement and encouragement. I'm glad he doesn't read my posts. :police: 

A lot of people on the blueboard are of the persuasion that Brian can do no wrong. But others just don't want to say anything critical about Brian on his own board. They go onto other boards to do that. Hence the blueboard's repution as the land of rainbows and lollipops.

Yes, SJS, according to Melinda, Brian asked her to go onto the board and read him the reactions to the KC Honors show, and when she went on and read some posts to herself, she was appaled and had to sift through to find some positive ones to read to Brian. That's why she had that reaction. I think it's possible that she then asked MDM to wipe all posts from the board and start fresh.

And fruitcakes.  :)

If the people on the blueboard are what you consider loopy, then you have truly led a sheltered life.   :)

Funny how so many people visit the blueboard but only a small percent actually consider themselves blueboarders. Blueboarder? Oh, no. That's all the _other_ people who read the board. I'm not a blueboarder. I just go there to see what people are posting and post a few things myself. ;D

Nothing wrong with criticism, as long as it's tactfully phrased.  Opening the topic with "What's Wrong with..."  can be construed as harsh directed at anyone, never mind a confirmed fragile ego such as Brian's.  Alas, too many just don't think before they speak.  That's probably what set off a lot of the regular Blooeys.

Just seems kind of ironic spelling words like "ball" without substituting a letter with a symbol won't be printed at the BB.  Yet, the whole kerfuffle yesterday didn't even involve "ball", "boot" or the other commonly filtered out words.

Heh heh...And there's plenty of nuts in fruitcakes.  (Nuts...would that clear the Bloo filter?)

I believe Melinda stated that she was "appauled."  Whatever that means.

Hey there,

I think ya might be reading too much into this message board thing.
No conspiracy goin' on...in the course of my biz I just spoke to DeMartin.
They just want to try to make the board a little easier to navigate.

Th...th...that's all folks!


Happy New Year.
 :3d
~ Mark London

Obviously not a Macca fan.

They sure need to do something. The inability to thread messages is very annoying, and is why I stopped going there long ago. Read a message, back out, read the next one, so on....

Actually, you didn't have to back out and read the next one.  There was a link within each message, I don't recall what the wording was, but if you chose that link rather than backing out it put you right back in the board at the thread you just clicked.

Yeah, well, I just spelled the word wrong too, and I'm a writer and editor. Everyone makes typos.

My thought exactly.  Though you'd think she would be.

We're bustin' ass, Amy...she didn't proof-read her post, pure and simple.  No sin...but it leaves you open to gettin' yer ass busted.  Maybe the new board will have a spell-check function.
;-)

Mark - good news.  I"m glad it's nothing sinister, and i'm also VERY glad it will be more easily navigated!  Of course you KNOW that people are going to complain about it...
;-)

I'm guessing she doesn't know how to spell "appalled," and having just typed that, now I'm wondering if I'm correct. But anyway, I know plenty of people who don't have a college degree or do and just can't spell. I guess I just feel like defending her because the poor woman gets busted on everything. I hear Harpo Marx couldn't spell either. Of course, he had a 2nd-grade education...

They (whomever they are) may have wanted to choose a slow time of the year to make changes they've wanted to all along.  Perhaps Melinda appearing was a way to give a personal touch before they went dark for a bit.  Really, if they just wanted to get rid of offensive posts, they could have just done it in a few hours (or even minutes) during overnight hours, and it could be back up today.  I don' t see a vast Brian Wilson mafia conspiracy behind it.  If the board does come back in as crappy a format as ever, then maybe I'll agree.  I don't know why they ever had that format in the first place, though maybe it was a hangover from the old Pet Sounds board, back when there were probably still people using DOS-based systems.  It don't think it was a good advertisement for DeMartin's web design skills to have that format being used, but maybe he had his reasons.

When the blueboard opened i thought it would be like this board or BBB or shut down..WELL..Not so... I asked some questions about bootlegged songs etc etc..And i got an aggressive response from Melinda.. So aggressive that i thought the FBI was comin to my house..She took my knowledge to mean I was a bootlegger..When i tried to explain i got more attitude... the BW blue board was up less than a week..Since that time in 2000 i rarely go to that site accept for info + buy something.. Im still lookin over my shoulder for the FBI..Her responses to me  shamed me on that board....And im not a bootlegger.. Unless U count trading for cdr"s..JEEZ.,...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ironic, when you consider that if someone handed Brian a 3 CD set of Four Freshman vocal sessions (as well as Spector studio sessions), he would flip out and relish in them. Melinda just sees the business as a businesswoman, as opposed to a fan. I would guess that she's never collected a Beatle boot or any boot for that matter. A poster many years ago made that Four Freshman comment and it's always stayed with me.

As far as being appauled, I'm glad she didn't read our thread where many of us amateur psychologists diagnose Brian!

When was the last time Brian actually posted on that board? That used to be the only reason I went there, to read Brian's posts. It seemed to be a board full of newbies, and a group of people who viewed it as a chat room, and would even post "signing off until tomorrow messages."

It will have been brought to her attention.  8)

Looks like the whole site is borked. Clicking on most links just redirects to the parent page. Maybe it's not a redesign of the message board, but a redesign of the entire site? Maybe it was hacked?

Exactly! Some of the most regular "blueboarders" (by definition, like it or not) spend a lot of time bagging "blueboarders" (the "others") on various other message boards!

there are varying degrees of fruitcakedness!!  ;D ;)  -  alot of people would (and do) suggest we are all nuts.

Rick, you being Australian means that you would be a Macadamia Nut - (God I hope I have spelt Macadamia right or I'm going to get slagged by the spelling police...)

I'm appauled. It should be Macca-damia nut.

:lol

LOL!!!!  And end of discussion!!!
:-)

The links all work for me...

What's the worst insult you can hurl at a BB/BW fan?

"You, you, you Blueboarder!!!!!!"

I hate how that has become a dergoatory statement by some.

I hate how it's deservedly become a derogatory statement  by some.  There's some quality posts there, but you have to *really* look hard.

I don't think it's deserevd at all.

There had been a discussion regarding the Kennedy Honors and some people started to take a poll as to who should've been the singers, etc. Then they started picking BW apart, IMHO, about him "falling asleep" during parts of the songs, his stoic look, how he wasn't smiling, etc. Melinda putting her hand on his shoulder, etc. It was getting very hurtful to Brian if you ask me and that was around noon yesterday. Melinda came on the board and posted a long letter saying that Brian had asked her to get on there and see how the fans reacted to the Honors show. She was very hurt about what was being said, and I certainly don't blame her. She said she could only read the good comments to Brian and was not happy about how the fans were acting. She answered some posts for awhile and was gone. I checked back later last night and things were quiet. This morning the board was down. I assume she told them to shut it down to let things cool off. I hope alot of people on that board are eating their words. How they could say the things they did about Brian is totally beyond me.
Donna (former Blueboard participant)

I like Brian's music. He is very talented and unique. I could go on forever about the beauty of his music. Couldn't you? :rock

A day after the Kennedy Center Awards, there was a Congratulations-message on the BW.com startpage with a special photo gallery. Taken down within a few hours.

I"m really NOT trying to be argumentative here, but i'm sure it was very easy for people to report what they saw.  I did not read any of the posts that were apparently so very offensive...so i can't comment on them specifically.  But i watched 4/5 of the show [missed Scorsese], and commented to myself the entire time that Brian looked like he was miserable...like he would rather have been ANYWHERE else...that he was not enjoying himself...it was clear to anybody who watched that he wasn't enjoying the experience very much.  As for Melinda's hand on his shoulder, it certainly appeared to me as if she was trying to calm him - which tells me that SHE realized how unhappy/uncomfortable he was.  I was very, very grateful for Diana Ross, who was genuinely friendly and supportive of Brian.  She went up a great deal in my estimation.

Bottom line is this: When you are a public figure, people are going to talk about you, and you are not going to like everything they say.  It's part of the territory.  And i don't think Melinda has figured that out yet.

That's cool.  I'm sure lots of regulars feel the same way.  But you need to understand that there are others who feel differently, and could explain very clearly why they feel that way.

Agreed, but the bigger problem is that a large number of Blooies still don't, after all this time, have the first idea what Brian is really like day-to-day, or the nature of his problems. They expect him to react like a normal person in any given situation. Now how dumb is that ?

You need good timin'. It takes good timin'...

NOW is the time to shut the board down for enhancements/improvements? In the last week or so, Brian released a Christmas message to his fans, a heartfelt musical tribute (and one his best performances in years) to his brother Carl, Brian appears on a national TV special, fans are probably listening to the Beach Boys' and Brian's Christmas albums, Michael Meros passes away, it's the 24th anniversary of Dennis' passing, and there are rumors circulating about the release of POB.

So, somebody says/decides, "Hey, now's a good time to shut down the message board". Only in the world of Brian Wilson...

As I stated in an above post, maybe having a message board isn't the best thing for Brian - or Melinda. But, remember, it was Melinda who, after marrying Brian and in effect was running his career, said (and I'm paraphrasing), "Brian has to decide if he wants to have a career and be in the music business. He can't just record an album every ten years or so and just throw it out there". Or something like that.

You can't have it both ways. Personally, knowing that Brian might actually read the posts on his message board, I could never go on there, because my opinions might offend him. And I don't want to offend him. So, I choose to post on message boards that I am fairly certain he or Melinda don't frequent. There, I can voice an opinion - sometimes critical - and not hurt anyones' feelings.

Edit: Why was this thread moved to The Sandbox?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but thinking back, I don't remember many regular/long-time "blueys" responsible for posting most of the really ruder comments that happened after the KCH.  There were a few new names. Who knows, maybe one or two weren't even fans -- just yahoos stirring the pot who wouldn't be embarassed by Melinda's scolding.

As you say, AGD, in this day and age, I don't know how even a newbie fan can be unaware of his health issues.  Doesn't that pretty much start at Chapter 1 of any bio?  Or maybe, just like some other afflictions, you need to experience it first-hand to respect it.  (My late brother was bipolar, so in an oblique way I can understand Brian's reactions.)   :(

I agreed with Andrew, Susan, et al., but I think that most of the folks on the Bloo have to realize that because they are hoping that Brian WILL get on the board and read their comments, they have to be cautious in what they say. If they don't want to hurt Brian's feelings, they shouldn't post offensive remarks. The man is sensitive and any fan knows that.

I'm sure none of them would say anything hurtful to Brian's face, but yet they beg him to read the posts. I don't get it.  I totally agree with Sheriff John Stone on his remarks.

Thanks for letting me on THIS board!!! BTW I did NOT post anything bad on the bloo. I told them they were acting like a bunch of old ladies bitchin' about the damnest things.

Donna (ex bloo)

From early December - I remember that, Jasper.  That was cool while it lasted. My guess is someone (dare I say even Brian or Melinda?) was uncomfortable with a TLOS track being used as background music long before the official CD is released.  Hence, the short shelf life on that.

You know, I really think that most blueboarders are more tactful than they're given credit for. If I want to criticize Brian, I take it to another board. Period. Because while I know that while Brian isn't perfect and that this can be discussed, I also realize that the blueboard is Brian's "home" on the Web, and it's not polite to say certain things about a person in that person's home.

The people posting that Brian looked terrible or whatever they said were NEW names-- at least, I didn't recognize them. These were not blueboarders before that day. They probably just looked for Brian's Web site after the KC Honors, found it, and decided to comment, possibly not realizing that Brian's family reads the board. We have to remember that for most new Brian fans, the blueboard is the first stop on the Internet. So it gets people who are maybe less familiar with Brian than more seasoned fans. They're more prone to see things in black/white, good/bad terms, and they're less prone to see Brian with a critical eye. Therefore, they gush, even when maybe a performance wasn't so great, whereas the more seasoned fans may say nothing and take their criticism to another board. And this happens on a lot of fan boards. Not just the blueboard (ever seen McCartney's board?).

I agree it probably was the fact that people saw the KCH show and sought out info on the search engines, and were led to Brian's site.  They registered for the board and let their opinions be known.  I didn't read the posts, just Melinda's reaction.  I wonder how these newly-interested fans felt reading Melinda's response?  She attacked them, rather than informing them, which she could have tried to do in a subtle and tactful way that wouldn't be harmful to her husband.  Many people don't know Brian's health history.  He does look different than other people.  He doesn't look as well as some people who have suffered from similar conditions, including Roky Erickson.  Roky at least can look geniunely happy at times in public settings.   Brian never does; when he does smile, it always looks forced.  I don't know how you can explain that to people, because I'm sure it's complicated, and there are times when Brian is just as happy as any other person, I'm sure.  It just doesn't always show.  I actually almost cried when I saw that tribute, partly because of how Brian looked.  I was fully prepared for him to look that way, too, and he really didn't look all that bad, but it still made me sad.  Melinda should realize there are probably members of the public who maybe were insensitive in their posts, but still have a lot of compassion for and even worry about her husband.  She had a tendency to be way too thin-skinned, take things more personally than Brian himself does, and not be very helpful to the cause.  Her post about Mike Love and the Beach Boys was another example of that; even if she feels that way, I'm sure even their attorneys would probably advise her to say as little as possible about some of those things.  I'm glad she's a good, loyal wife and companion to Brian.  But as a PR person, she might be better off not posting on that board.  Either don't post, don't read it if it hurts that much, or just get rid the board entirely. 

Well put, fm.

As much as it hurts to say this, I agree with both of you gents.
If Melinda toned down the bitchiness, I think she would have a LOT more support outside the Blue Board.

I don't think she thought about what we were just discussing-- that there might be new fans who aren't familiar with Brian and his situation. Instead, she just scolded the board. She should have put more thought into it.

On the other hand, she is his wife and therefore is naturally protective of him. If anyone can be expected to be biased, it's her.

Still - anyone who posts on message boards with any kind of regularity knows that posts can take on a life of their own, and once they're out there, they generally can't be retrieved - ESPECIALLY on THAT board, the way it was configured at the time she posted!  Rule #1 of posting is to take a deep breath and make SURE you want to post before hitting "post."  That's just common sense, as well as board etiquette, and i don't know if she remembered that rule.

But it's gone now, and i'm not trying to trash her. 

Because the discussion fits better in this section of the board, it's not really a "general on topic" discussion regarding the Beach Boys, but a discussion on messageboards.

I'm a huge fan of brian's and I always tell it like I see it. Brian is a celeb and with the fame comes the good and bad, he is used to it by now. He's a grown man and can handle what he reads about himself. His wife seems to be very caring toward his feeling but he's not a child and don't need to be treated like one.When a person is protected from reality, they never know what's really going on around them. I'm sure brian know he has meny fans and thats all he cares about. We all take the good with the bad, It's the way life is for everyone, nomatter what we been through or what meds we take.

I agree with the oft suggested idea that brianwilson.com should not have a message board. It has always attracted loonies, groupies and fanbois. Brian has certainly been around show biz long enough to expect anything and everything. He should have a thick enough skin by now, even for him. Melinda is probably the impetus for the message board to begin with, and she seems too thin skinned to deal with it. People will type things into a keyboard they would never say to another person face to face, because they have no feeling that they are dealing with another real person, only words on a screen.

Anyway, I didn't see anything wrong with Melinda's response in general. I agree wholeheartedly with her about Mike. I think she may have signed on hoping to see all the praise and accolades from the regulars, not realizing that the airing would inspire many new people to register and post, people who either know nothing about Brian, but also people who may have been jealous (Beatle fans are some I can think of.)

"We are currently upgrading the Message Board and will be back up for the New Year!"

"When?" one wonders.

Paul McCartney was offered one in 2003 but didn't go to the ceremony because his daughter to Heather Mills had recently been born. The KC perceived this as a snub and gave it to Paul Simon instead.

Are you sure? The only reason I question this is because the honorees are announced months earlier and given in early December, and a quick Internet search shows that Beatrice McCartney was born on October 30. But maybe he just wanted to spend time with her.

Anyway, I think Paul Simon deserved it more.  >:D

(And I'm a huge Beatles fan.)

...Ah, okay, I found the info. The KC announced that Paul was a recipient in 2002, and then Paul became the first person ever to say he could not attend, citing an "inescapable personal obligation." (It was a wedding.)   He was expected to be named as an honoree again in 2003, but the Kennedy Center issued a statement saying, "Paul McCartney will not be receiving a Kennedy Center Honor." I guess you don't snub the Kennedy Center. I hope McCartney gets the honor (the KC would look pretty stupid to ignore him for much longer), but I'm glad Brian got it before him.

Thanks for the correcvtion. I knew Macca was on tap to get one but didn't.

Interesting...another way the KCH is more prestigious than other awards shows.  That "not here so I/we accept on his behalf" scene will never happen.

Re: the blueboard...

It's back, and badder than ever.


By badder, I obviously mean worse. 

Or should I say, iobviouslymeanworse.   :lol What is that guy's problem?

 :lol  :lol

Whoever he is, I give him kudos for making the Blueboard an even worse place than it was before!

I posted there twice, then realized that board was crap, and never looked back. Looking at the various threads, I don't regret it!  ;D


Edit: "What I Did on My BlueBoard Vacation.....your essay is due now!"

I mean come ON! Don't they have anything else to do? Is writing on the Blueboard their one and only "worthwhile" occupation? It seems like the Blueboard is the LIFE of some people there.  :o

If I was a Blueboarder I'd actually THANK Michael DeMartin for shutting the board down and sparing me a bunch of stupid off-topic discussions ("Who enjoys dish-washing?") and the 456622th "What is your favorite BW song?" topic.  :-\

This has actually had some positive effects: some people have discovered they had a life outside of "lurking aimlessly at the blueboard" (http://www.brianwilson.com/cgi-bin/webforum/viewmessage.cgi?r=1199564702217442172&l=level3)

(and before some blueboarders start telling me that I'm generalizing, I'm not - I've met a few Blueboarders that were normal people. A few others, less so)

This is not going to make me popular, but ...I don't mind the blueboard at all. If each message board is a clique, then the blueboard is the dorky lunchtable--the people with mouthguards and big goofy smiles. I am not really a "weirdo," but I've always gravitated towards them. To me, it's refreshing to see people with such unabashed enthusiasm, and it's nice to read the posts from people who are just discovering BW, as opposed to people who are already cynical and "in the know" (although I enjoy those too). The blueboard is the one board where they don't waste their time ridiculing or dissecting the characters of other message boards, and making assumptions about the private lives of the people who post there. Right now the blueboard has some enthusiastic and touching reviews of the Sydney shows. So yes, I enjoy going there, and I'm not embarrassed to admit it. Don't like a post? Skip it. It doesn't have to be such a big deal. It's just a message board for a pop singer. If people spent this much time and energy critiquing our government, maybe we'd be somewhere.

It takes all kinds in this world...

I actually skip the whole Blueboard. You are right about the posts written by people who have just discovered BW, though!


So true!  :-D

I think this is my first (and last) post on the disappearance of the Blueboard--and so suspicious it was!

And the post says (in regard to Amy's post quoted above): Amen.

I think it would be just great to be able to honestly show disinterest and to zone out at meetings I sometimes have to attend.

Unfortunately, I'm not independently wealthy and must consider that others might think I have the wrong attitude. ;)