Some things sound lame when blogged
Estimated Days Until Blogger Burnout: 9
 
 
Context.  It's probably my favorite word.  If you study history (like I did) and actually enjoy it, it's the thing you're looking for.  Plus, it just makes this muddled and confusing, which to me is quite a good thing.  Black and white is nice if you're, say, choosing new kitchen tiles or planning to invade Iraq.  In circumstances like those, you can't let yourself get bogged down in useless, annoying detail.  You choose one or the other.
 
But everything else is colored by context, and that's what makes the world interesting.
 
What am I getting at?  Well, in filling out my Blogger profile, I have been loath to mention a few things because of how they will read in the context of a Blogger profile.  What I mean by that is if I were to include certain things, then people who were familiar with personal blogs in general might make certain assumptions based on their experience in the blogosphere (a new word for me).
 
For instance, I take a martial arts class.  Aikido, to be exact.  I can explain here that I take it because I spend my days at home with my kids and for me, it's a chance to among adults and get a little exercise at the same time.
 
But think of it in the general context of a Blog.  "I'm into martial arts" means "I'm a fourteen year old who buys mail-order ninja stars".  That or I'm someone who lets it define their whole existence, mixing in Confucian quotes and Japanese words and characters into their blatherings, usually bastardized to the point of unintelligibility. 
 
Which brings us to my second favorite word, perspective.  It's a quality that I've found is especially rare in human beings.  Let's be clear, I'm not claiming it for myself, at least not in any larger dosage than your average blogster.
 
Perhaps it's an unfair characterization as blogs tend to be themed, so we don't get to see the larger whole of a human soul (yes that's right, context again), but it seems like blind extremism rules among bloggers: they tend to believe what they believe all the way.  No brakes, no consideration, no context, no perspective.  It's not that I think they aren't capable of it, it's just they choose not to employ it... er them.  Also, grammar is a problem.
 
In short blogs tend to be about obsessions.  This dovetails nicely with the idea that blogs are public versions of personal journals (OK fine, diaries).
 
In case it isn't clear yet what I'm on about, I've been spending my time randomly clicking through blog lists looking for something to engage me and I've been coming up short.  Again, the sample might be skewed due to circumstances, this being an election year and all, but all I can find are political blogs.  And not one of them--not one--is even handed in any respect.
 
I know I made my Iraq joke at the beginning of this post, but you're not going to find alot of harangue going on here.  It's just tiresome.  I loathe--loathe--political crosstalk television and so far, by and large, the blogs I've found about politics are simple extensions of that strident, perspective-less tone from both left and right.
 
Some are funnier than others, and that I do appreciate.  Some writers are smarter than others and those are more easily spotted.
 
But there's got to be something between James Carville and Bill O'Reilly.  I mean something.  Anything.   Comedy Central has tried to parody the crosstalk shows with something called "Crossballs", but it's so contrived and inessential as to be completely dismissible (assuming that's a word).  Plus it misses the point: it's essentially a "gotcha" show where real people fight with actors who they think are real people like them, but really they're just there to offer ridiculous propositions and rejoinders to see how far they can take it.
 
The closest thing to tolerable is "The Daily Show", which I love.  But that show is all about media mockery, when you get down to it, so still, I'm starving.  There's always "Hardball" on MSNBC, but that only works when the host is doing all the interrupting.
 
Just someone, anyone, bust these mouthpieces for their stupid talking points.  And you, blogger, stop repeating those talking points.  There's a difference between facts and information.
 
 
This post on the Narcissus Scale: 5.9
 
 
Pops

 

- posted by Pops @ 2:04 PM