Continuing the spotlight on our talented (multi-talented!) bloggers here at Weblogs, Inc., today's interview profiles Cinematical dynamo Karina Longworth.

What excites you about blogging?

I like being able to publish instantly, before I've had the chance to second guess; I like the idea of causing a little bit of trouble, of starting fights; I like the idea of being a bit of a brat.

On my second glass of wine I have a tendency to start contextualizing what I do for a living within the context of punk rock; people used to just let that slide by, but now that blogging has become so huge, they usually call me on it. I still believe that blogging can, should and at its best, does function as the gnat on the shoulder of mainstream media. Post AOL, of course, that gets a little muddled for us; but I think I'm actually *more* excited about the idea of practicing some kind of quiet subversion within the corporate context. I liken it to strolling into Ann Taylor with the Nation of Ulysses blasting on my iPod.

What was your first blog, and what did you learn from it?

I was a late adopter - I didn't start my first blog until right after Blogger sold to Google. I had just finished college, and had prompty moved back home to sift through my early-20s crisis; blogging seemed like a good way to both write every day and have a way of communicating with the world outside of my father's guest bedroom. I suppose, right away, I learned one or two things about the consequences of self-indulgence, although it may have taken awhile for those lessons to stick. It took me a long time to "get it"; I stupidly thought that I could keep an online diary and write incredibly personal things and no one would read it, and when I figured out that wasn't the case, I reacted sort of badly. WIN is actually sort of blogging 2.0 for me; I kind of let my personal blog slowly die out a couple of months before I joined the team.

When did you join Weblogs, Inc., and how did you get involved?

I joined in January 2004, pre-Cinematical, to write for the old Indie Film and Documentary Film blogs. A friend of mine who was writing both of those blogs needed help and suggested me to Jason and Judith; right after Cinematical launched in March, he left WIN and I assumed the movie blog throne. Which was scary - at the time, I was in grad school, and I was working in a pasta factory to pay the rent. The second or third time I met Jason, he said, "We've got to get you out of the ravioli game," and I think it was in May that I started doing Cinematical more-or-less full-time.

What's your experience been like at WIN?

Amazing. Sometimes it feels like they must put some kind of hallocinogen on the checks, because we're all just so goddamn happy to be here, but I'm pretty sure it's actually genuine. I've never had a sit-in-a-cubicle kind of job, and now, I don't think I'd be able to do one. They've just given me so much trust and freedom here. I constantly feel like I'm getting away with something. It's awesome.

What do you do when you're not blogging?

Very little. I really am kind of a workaholic. For a long time I was writing 90% of the posts on Cinematical myself, and I still work really long hours, mostly because I seem to enjoy working more than doing anything else. I'm really boring – I really like to spend entire days watching movies and reading theory and making soup. I should probably get out more. If you're reading this, invite me to a party or something. I have a bunch of cute outfits that I never get a chance to wear.