In the last month we’ve had rakkity’s “Potomac Death Wave,” Jennifer’s “Hardest Call,” and now BirdBrain’s bubble photo series. How does one compete with that kind of content? I know what you’re thinking – why does the blogmeister feel like he has to compete? It is all, after all, for the greater good of the blog. The answer is simple. Because he is a guy. Alrighty, here is my offering to the masses. Turn up your sound Lucas Davenport.
adam
Wow! I don’t know where you find these things, but that is absolutely incredible! I could watch it a dozen more times and still be impressed by the vision and skill to transform a party trick into something worthy of a standing O. ‘Course, the second time I wouldn’t have to sit on the edge of my seat wondering if he pulls it off… Thanks for the treat!
But also of course … Rakk’s near death experiences are pretty personal and BB’s Bubbles something she carried and uncorked; enlighten us, oh beloved blogmeister — in what way does this bring the stuff of yourself nearer to us … ? Or is it, in the headless heiress’s words, “cake”?
michael
I found this late last night, after midnight, and I did play it a dozen times. Without the music it’s an impressive, but not overly so (no chain saws, not rusted pieces of scrapped battleships), three ball juggling act.
Yesterday I wrote a long narrative with me in it, but my faithful editrix dismissed it as maybe worthy of a single frame in a Zits cartoon, which is okay because I’ll end up posting it anyway and her comment did drive me to find an alternative entry.
But, I’ll tell you something else in private, down here in the comments section. In Evansville Brian asked Matthew, “What’s it like to have your life displayed on the blog.†I was honestly expecting him to say it’s flattering. As I told you once, I remember Matt coming home from school (where he read the blog in computer class) and telling me the blog was all about him. Didn’t matter that not every entry, or even most referred to him. I liked that.
The answer he gave? “ I don’t want to walk down the hall and have some kid come up to me and tell me about my father’s tumor. I knew something was wrong because you two stopped talking as soon as I appeared for dinner a few nights before the blog story. If something is up, tell me.†Straightforward, honest and spot on? Sure. But I haven’t been able to let go of it since. I do post personal stuff in part because I’ve always thought it entertaining. All of a sudden I’m confronted with my cluelessness. My protestations, “But it was benign, I made a joke of it at the end†– the great rationale for posting it in the first place – now felt wobbly, very wobbly.
Then the other day as I ran that last great line through my brain, “No, because if it {the tumor} is {cancer} you don’t have any {future} anyway,†and it was no longer funny. For all sorts of reasons. If the great test is rapid growth and we’re waiting to see if it doubles in size, well, hasn’t it already doubled, tripled in size? How could it take weeks for me to understand the resulting comments which focused, not on Diane’s drilling down to the core issue, but to having the thing removed, biopsied, etc. ?
I’m also not sure “It Must Be Ratings Week†is all that appropriate.
So there you have it. How often have I tiptoed over the line in my stories without knowing it? And I do know I’m not the only blog contributor with reservations. Jennifer told me in the past that she likes the relative anonymity of this place. Because my family reads this, I don’t have that anonymity from my relatives.
Is the “stuff of myself†now “nearer?â€
If this engenders responses and I have anything to say about the content, it would be my preference that they don’t focus on me, but on the general topic of what is and is not (all personal decisions, to be sure) appropriate to post in here.
el Kib
On the topic of appropriate, one can but wonder why what could arguably be a pas-de-deux sidebar found its place here, and with acharacteristic directness. Me, I’m up for anything (including this sidebar) to which the protagonists have acceded, and in some cases, from which they have merely been granted anonymity absent an attempt at permission (though writing that last brings to mind a LTTE in today’s Globe that blasts the psychiatrist Elissa Ely for using her patients’ medical histories in her writings … ). I learn wonderful things here on this multifaceted blog from the willigness of many to share both the acute and the banal.
My alter ego certainly did not intend to disparage the entry, which is marvelous beyond words and for which I am (literally tearfully) grateful, nor to suggest that you (or any other contributor) should write more personal stuff — it has long been clear, especially in your case, that there are discomforts with that premise. That closing comment simply presumed that since posts tend to be of some significant personal interest, there’d be some story of its relation to you beyond a happenstance “Lookee what I found!” No disappointment that there is not, especialy as the 9-paragraph rejoinder was such rich food!
michael
I thought about a sidebar or maybe a tequila and tonic (you must have seen the stomping good Globe photo today) at Acapulcos, but you did call me out, and my undeniable tendency (contrary to what smiling Dan thinks) is to spill my guts for all to see.
In response to the Ely letter, I’m on Deb Silke’s side. The psychiatrist at the MFA conference we attended was quite careful to tell us that his upcoming anecdote, used to illustrate his point, was a composite of patient stories interwoven with fiction. I’’m hoping Ely employs the same technique.
Jennifer
How can I comment? I think you covered everything.
But about the Elissa Ely discussion … on the one hand I feel quite certain that the stories are composites and sufficiently out of date that the people are unrecognizable. On the other hand, when my mother told stories about us in which she admitted to using “poetic license” (she made them up) when I heard a story which reminded me of me, I wanted it to be accurate and reflect the real me. Do I get a third hand? El Kib covered it: “I learn … from the willigness of many to share both the acute and the banal.”
Kenny Bloggins
Everyone who reads this certainly enjoys sharing your experiences. Infrequent contributors have the advantage of a lifetime’s material from which to cull entries that don’t cross a line. You’ve clearly the obligation to produce more content. One answer could be to slow down. Unfortunately it’s the regular updates that keep viewers coming back. PostSecret, for example, has regular updates on Sunday and keeps viewers coming back. They also remove the line of appropriateness by soliciting anonymous contributions.
As a far removed regular reader, in several senses, I’ve not seen anything appropriate here. I could sympathize that there are some things you might post that affect others in negative ways as in your example. I don’t know how many lurkers read your site, but clearly it’s available to the world.
You’re only crossing the line of being true to thine own self when you post something you wouldn’t be reticent to tell any stranger in the street.
Incidently I thought ‘It must be ratings week’ was hilarious.
michael
Incidently I think ‘Kenny Bloggins’ is hilarious.
And I’ve heard about PostSecret but I’d never been to the site. It’s a good ‘en in design and content from the lead off casket through the “I got my masters degree in poetry 7 years ago and haven’t written a poem since.” And then there’s the compelling core of the site:
Dear Frank:
Everytime I visit postsecret.com, I find a secret I never even knew I had. I’m getting to know myself a lot better.
-California
You’re right about the constant comment, and you remind me of something I sometimes forget – you have a unique sense of humor.
And, Jennifer, I covered it all? Yeah, right!
Jennifer
I didn’t mean you personally. Duh.
adam
My intrepid wife found this hilarious spoof on Bliss:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYUXaYCkv-A
Which is arguably technically more impressive, but without the artistry (or lighting). Bliss is better.
And surely KB (great nom, BTW!) meant to write “nothing INappropriate” …
homefront:waiting wife
I loved Chris and Diss. Make the mundane magical, a sort of juggler’s recipe for life.
Jennifer
I was sure KB meant “nothing appropriate”. I’m still trying to parse “something you wouldn’t be reticent” though.
What I thought was funny about the Bliss Diss was the comments. Some people sure get worked up … they’re kidding, right?
michael
Kidding? I don’t think so.
Arguably? I don’t think so. Check out his website and if you have time for only one video I’d recommend the WJF Profile. Nice edge to that guy. I had no idea humans could do what he does. That many balls? And that behind the back stuff is ridiculous.
What a good find.