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Thursday, May 06, 2004 · posted at 2:45 AM

A blogger was featured on the front cover of a local newspaper last week. Out of 1) sheer spite and 2) tremendous fear, I am not disclosing her name or her link because the 3 readers who frequent this site have already seen the cover, heard my diatribe and agree with me, if not vocalize it even more!

The main problem that I have is that... she’s not that interesting! There are times when she strikes a chord with potential... but then she just stops. She introduces an interesting topic and then chooses not to expand upon it. It just ends. Period. As a blogger, I know this can happen - it often happens to me. But that’s why I’m an insignificant blog, shrouded among other blogs in the web waters (btw: I’m starting a movement to ban all metaphors of the internet as a highway or as an ocean to surf... tomorrow) and not one that’s highlighted on the cover of the weekly paper. She talks about how the old women at her office are catty and how their “water cooler” conversations are so petty. Yet she never writes a direct quote or gives an example. And she’ll have what I call “cheese sandwich” entries where she talks about what she did today, who she spent it with. Maybe this is where we clash. She (correctly?) thinks of a blog as a web diary used for recapping her days and thoughts whereas I (perhaps incorrectly) think of a blog as the lazy person’s website, one’s own internet magazine full of both entertaining stories and editorials. I don’t go to people’s blogs to see how they’re doing, what they’ve been up to, if their company has discovered a way to make their own prescription medication bottles at a lower price – these are things that should be covered in the first 5 minutes of a “hey, how are you doing, what have you been up to” conversation to be forgotten 1 minute later until the next encounter.

I’m also not fond of the way she splashes her picture across her site. Maybe it’s this notion that the greatest artists are the tortured souls who are uncomfortable in their skin and thus express themselves through words, pictures, and melodies. And she’s moderately good-looking... she’s not supposed to have grand thoughts and a personality... that’s how people like me are supposed to make up for lack of Angelina Jolie lips and Pamela Anderson breasts! (The exception to this rule is technicolor who is amazingly mature, talented and beautiful.)

Oh and the use of “hee hee,” “tee hee,” and other such sayings is a blog auto-fail for me. There is just no excuse for this, especially if you are a parent or, you know, over the age of 15.

The spiteful part of me says she was showcased due to her tourist-friendly entries. I think I read one entry that was dedicated to describing warm San Diego weather and another that talked about driving down palm-tree lined streets. “I went to Free Tuesday at the Park. The Reuben Fleet Museum was amazing!” Blogs are the next generation of product placement. “Went to Sushi Itto the other night, but it doesn’t compare to Sushi Deli 2 in terms of quality service and expense.”

Maybe she is simply being recognized for the frequency of her blogging. Some people seem to reward quantity... not that I'm bitter.

Perhaps my raging jealousy prevents me from truly enjoying and appreciating her words. Perhaps that her blog design bears some similarity to mine (except that her site meter must boast numbers in the thousands) riles me up so. And perhaps I can console myself by remembering that it was the free weekly reader, a “newspaper” notorious for plastic surgery and penile enhancement ads and classifieds-replying “weirdos” (according to my psychology resources at SDSU).

“But what they fail to realize, is that my opinion does not have to be their truth.” Adhere to your words Barby... and please don’t hurt me.
_______________

San Diego Bloggers maintains a list of bloggers in the greater San Diego area. They boast “being a complete list of bloggers in and around San Diego County.” I would mock more, except I happened to see a familiar site on there. Perhaps my reluctance to join such sites will ultimately be the demise of my “Get a book contract because a book editor/agent read my site and was impressed by my wit and high humiliation tolerance” pipe dream. Oh well, maybe miss lillyphenia lillunia will be willing to “discover” me. Anyway, research of these sites begin tomorrow with a $10 wage that majority of entries will have “I went to Martini Ranch on Friday and got trashed” and similar entries. Prove me wrong.
_______________

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves is a bestseller that has people like me shaking to their very core (fearful of the wrath of a stickler) and questioning the placement of every comma, apostrophe, and mad dash.



	Thursday, May 06, 2004 · posted at 2:45 AM A blogger was featured on the front cover of a local newspaper last week. Out of 1) sheer spite and 2) tremendous fear, I am not disclosing her name or her link because the 3 readers who frequent this site have already seen the cover, heard my diatribe and agree with me, if not vocalize it even more! The main problem that I have is that... she’s not that interesting! There are times when she strikes a chord with potential... but then she just stops. She introduces an interesting topic and then chooses not to expand upon it. It just ends. Period. As a blogger, I know this can happen - it often happens to me. But that’s why I’m an insignificant blog, shrouded among other blogs in the web waters (btw: I’m starting a movement to ban all metaphors of the internet as a highway or as an ocean to surf... tomorrow) and not one that’s highlighted on the cover of the weekly paper. She talks about how the old women at her office are catty and how their “water cooler” conversations are so petty. Yet she never writes a direct quote or gives an example. And she’ll have what I call “cheese sandwich” entries where she talks about what she did today, who she spent it with. Maybe this is where we clash. She (correctly?) thinks of a blog as a web diary used for recapping her days and thoughts whereas I (perhaps incorrectly) think of a blog as the lazy person’s website, one’s own internet magazine full of both entertaining stories and editorials. I don’t go to people’s blogs to see how they’re doing, what they’ve been up to, if their company has discovered a way to make their own prescription medication bottles at a lower price – these are things that should be covered in the first 5 minutes of a “hey, how are you doing, what have you been up to” conversation to be forgotten 1 minute later until the next encounter. I’m also not fond of the way she splashes her picture across her site. Maybe it’s this notion that the greatest artists are the tortured souls who are uncomfortable in their skin and thus express themselves through words, pictures, and melodies. And she’s moderately good-looking... she’s not supposed to have grand thoughts and a personality... that’s how people like me are supposed to make up for lack of Angelina Jolie lips and Pamela Anderson breasts! (The exception to this rule is technicolor who is amazingly mature, talented and beautiful.) Oh and the use of “hee hee,” “tee hee,” and other such sayings is a blog auto-fail for me. There is just no excuse for this, especially if you are a parent or, you know, over the age of 15. The spiteful part of me says she was showcased due to her tourist-friendly entries. I think I read one entry that was dedicated to describing warm San Diego weather and another that talked about driving down palm-tree lined streets. “I went to Free Tuesday at the Park. The Reuben Fleet Museum was amazing!” Blogs are the next generation of product placement. “Went to Sushi Itto the other night, but it doesn’t compare to Sushi Deli 2 in terms of quality service and expense.” Maybe she is simply being recognized for the frequency of her blogging. Some people seem to reward quantity... not that I'm bitter. Perhaps my raging jealousy prevents me from truly enjoying and appreciating her words. Perhaps that her blog design bears some similarity to mine (except that her site meter must boast numbers in the thousands) riles me up so. And perhaps I can console myself by remembering that it was the free weekly reader, a “newspaper” notorious for plastic surgery and penile enhancement ads and classifieds-replying “weirdos” (according to my psychology resources at SDSU). *“But what they fail to realize, is that my opinion does not have* to be their truth.”** Adhere to your words Barby... and please don’t hurt me. _______________ San Diego Bloggers maintains a list of bloggers in the greater San Diego area. They boast “being a complete list of bloggers in and around San Diego County.” I would mock more, except I happened to see a familiar site on there. Perhaps my reluctance to join such sites will ultimately be the demise of my “Get a book contract because a book editor/agent read my site and was impressed by my wit and high humiliation tolerance” pipe dream. Oh well, maybe miss lillyphenia lillunia will be willing to “discover” me. Anyway, research of these sites begin tomorrow with a $10 wage that majority of entries will have “I went to Martini Ranch on Friday and got trashed” and similar entries. Prove me wrong. _______________ Eats, Shoots, and Leaves is a bestseller that has people like me shaking to their very core (fearful of the wrath of a stickler) and questioning the placement of every comma, apostrophe, and mad dash.	Recent Posts The next generation of Ortho Tri-cyclen. My job c... I want a cat. And then I want to paint it. ...and another one. I didn't always have a disdai... A good one is hard to find. Karen recently reveal... "I have nothing to say of my working life, only th... Ban altruism. On my way out of the office today, ... On animals, men, and evolution. “and nowhere in t... I’ll stop the world and melt for you. I went home ... Workers Against Milking Mothers (WAMM) I’m all for... Clash of the titans. Batman versus Spiderman… who... 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