Well, the big news in the liberal blogosphere is that Digby has been outed, so to speak. And she is indeed female, which I never suspected but which most of Julia's NY BBQ crowd did. And she's beautiful! She's how I want to look. She's how I almost DO look. You can see the video of her accepting an award on behalf of the A-list liberal blogosphere (you know, the ones who still, for instance, praise Jane Hamsher with nary a mention of blackface or the co-opting Clinton lunch) just about everywhere on the A-list liberal blogosphere, as apparently most of the A-list political blogosphere is attending a conference called Take Back America. I do hope when they take back America they may decide to include some of us who aren't A-listers. In any case, as a member of the C-list-at-best liberal blogosphere, I did want to say how delighted I was to finally see what Digby looked like, and that now more than ever, blinders or no blinders, she's pretty much the kind of political writer I wish I could be, if I had more passion and focus and less tendency to burn out.
In her acceptance speech Digby mentioned the late Steve Gilliard, who seemed to hate me for no apparent reason (whenever he thought of me at all) until the day he died, and while I don't particularly miss that vitriol a lot of folks in, again, the A-list blogophere do. And there's been a bit of a dust-up in the wake of some idiot saying stupid things about him and that statement being reproed elsewhere with no comment (like a simple "this is what some idiot said") and then some other folks piling on the non-commenter and... well, Donna has this to say about that, and the fallout includes one of my favorite writers Zuzu leaving the blogosphere (she has an open invite to post here any time she wants, but of course since I'm not an A-lister there's probably little incentive) and Ilyka taking her blog members-only and Chris Clarke shutting down altogether and Jesus' General going on a brief hiatus (he's just returned) and, oh, I can't make sense of any of it, especially after reading this Sadly, No! entry. All I know is that lots of writers I admire are at odds with each other, and I hope time helps heal whatever wounds have been inflicted and that they all return to blogging full-time as soon as they're comfortable. We need all the powerful progressive writers we can retain, especially when one of our number leaves this mortal plane forever.
And speaking of powerful voices, no better way to segue into a long-overdue blogaround of posts I liked from the past week:
• Two terrific posts (among many) from Amanda Marcotte caught my eye, one about yet another Nice Guy® whine and the other about the symbology of engagement rings. I've never had an engagement ring, but Robin had wanted to buy me a Legion of Super-Heroes ring (it's kind of the weight of a class ring) and, geek that I am, that turned into my de facto engagement ring even though it's a bit too big for most of my fingers (and barely fits on Robin's pinky) so I've never actually worn it regularly.
• Arianna Huffington is launching a new citizen journalism project. Sounds interesting, and I hope it includes bloggers who aren't A-listers. (Yeah yeah, I'll give it a rest now.)
• Mario Batali talks about why he hates food bloggers... okay, not exactly hate, but frustration. It's mostly an anonymity and accountability issue, but his real beef (mmm, real beef) seems to be that a food blogger referenced an item from the legitimate press written by someone "who has hated me for as long as I can remember, not that he has any value to journalism anyway" -- so isn't his real problem with this so-called legitimate (and non-anonymous) journalist, not the blogosphere?
• Terrance has a dream, which we hope to someday see become a reality year-round and not just expressed by many during Gay Pride month.
• Terry Jones looks on the bright side of the Iraqi occupation, where mercenaries and Cheney-connected corporations are making money hand over fist. I couldn't help hearing his cadence as I read this, having just watched a Medieval Lives marathon.
• Roy Edroso visits Coney Island during the last summer before Astroland is torn down. Breaks my heart, it does. No more "Winnah Winnah WINNAH!" cries from the ripoff carnival game stands, no more noises of chaotic happiness, no more cute kiddy rides... I don't think they're touching my favorite parts of Coney Island, like the Cyclone and the carousel across the street (it has brass rings! I love riding that sucker) and Richard Eagan's baby whose name keeps changing all the time (spookhouse? funhouse?). Speaking of which, this Saturday marks the silver anniversary of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, for anyone interested in cutting out of MoCCA for a few hours and heading down to the edge of Brooklyn. (PJ's definitely going.) Steve and I used to go to the Mermaid Parade every year, and I fondly remember Richard's young daughter Daisy heading it up one year after her triumphant Broadway work in Les Mis; I feel ever so old now finding out that she's been married for four years! In any case, if you want to know more about the area, the Coney Island History Project is invaluable. One thing is certain, the area has evolved countless times in the last century and a half, and most of those evolutions seem to have been met with initial skepticism giving way to acceptance and even affection.
• Speaking of evolutions and landmarks, Bully gives the London Eye the eye, and David Byrne extols the beauty of bike-riding in NYC.
• Cheryl Lynn gives a quick tutorial on how to draw hairstyles for black women. This would come in very handy for my artist if I ever decide to write that Anissa Pierce/Natasha Irons team-up story...
• Tamora Pierce takes the words right out of my mouth. Well, not my mouth, precisely, as there are certain words which make me uncomfortable so I don't put them in my mouth, for exactly the reasons she describes. Way I figure it, I have a big enough vocab that I don't miss not using them any more than I'd miss not using racial slurs.
• Lance has some good observations about our cell phone culture and how it's not really as postmodern as all that.
• I wonder what kind of messages the Big Two comics companies are sending to non-readers when culturally-astute PZ Myers doesn't even recognize Mary Marvel.
• .com/blog/2007/06/my_first_novel_.html">Congratulations, Trish!
• Lastly, a couple short maintenance notes. Melanie McBride is now blogging , and I've restored her in the Kultcha Gals section of my sidebar. Siva has announced that he's moving to VA with his bridge Melissa and will be taking Sivacracy.net to a new address soon, so stay tuned!
In a few minutes I leave for my youngest brother's house, as our other brother is visiting from CA and this is the only day he can see us when he's not otherwise occupied. I'm expecting a weirdly emotional day, so I'm glad I have this off my plate. Oh, and my latest ComicMix column is up, dealing with prejudice who look like Digby and with Ann Coulter and female magicians and like that; please go there and comment so I'll feel somewhat less alone...
In her acceptance speech Digby mentioned the late Steve Gilliard, who seemed to hate me for no apparent reason (whenever he thought of me at all) until the day he died, and while I don't particularly miss that vitriol a lot of folks in, again, the A-list blogophere do. And there's been a bit of a dust-up in the wake of some idiot saying stupid things about him and that statement being reproed elsewhere with no comment (like a simple "this is what some idiot said") and then some other folks piling on the non-commenter and... well, Donna has this to say about that, and the fallout includes one of my favorite writers Zuzu leaving the blogosphere (she has an open invite to post here any time she wants, but of course since I'm not an A-lister there's probably little incentive) and Ilyka taking her blog members-only and Chris Clarke shutting down altogether and Jesus' General going on a brief hiatus (he's just returned) and, oh, I can't make sense of any of it, especially after reading this Sadly, No! entry. All I know is that lots of writers I admire are at odds with each other, and I hope time helps heal whatever wounds have been inflicted and that they all return to blogging full-time as soon as they're comfortable. We need all the powerful progressive writers we can retain, especially when one of our number leaves this mortal plane forever.
And speaking of powerful voices, no better way to segue into a long-overdue blogaround of posts I liked from the past week:
• Two terrific posts (among many) from Amanda Marcotte caught my eye, one about yet another Nice Guy® whine and the other about the symbology of engagement rings. I've never had an engagement ring, but Robin had wanted to buy me a Legion of Super-Heroes ring (it's kind of the weight of a class ring) and, geek that I am, that turned into my de facto engagement ring even though it's a bit too big for most of my fingers (and barely fits on Robin's pinky) so I've never actually worn it regularly.
• Arianna Huffington is launching a new citizen journalism project. Sounds interesting, and I hope it includes bloggers who aren't A-listers. (Yeah yeah, I'll give it a rest now.)
• Mario Batali talks about why he hates food bloggers... okay, not exactly hate, but frustration. It's mostly an anonymity and accountability issue, but his real beef (mmm, real beef) seems to be that a food blogger referenced an item from the legitimate press written by someone "who has hated me for as long as I can remember, not that he has any value to journalism anyway" -- so isn't his real problem with this so-called legitimate (and non-anonymous) journalist, not the blogosphere?
• Terrance has a dream, which we hope to someday see become a reality year-round and not just expressed by many during Gay Pride month.
• Terry Jones looks on the bright side of the Iraqi occupation, where mercenaries and Cheney-connected corporations are making money hand over fist. I couldn't help hearing his cadence as I read this, having just watched a Medieval Lives marathon.
• Roy Edroso visits Coney Island during the last summer before Astroland is torn down. Breaks my heart, it does. No more "Winnah Winnah WINNAH!" cries from the ripoff carnival game stands, no more noises of chaotic happiness, no more cute kiddy rides... I don't think they're touching my favorite parts of Coney Island, like the Cyclone and the carousel across the street (it has brass rings! I love riding that sucker) and Richard Eagan's baby whose name keeps changing all the time (spookhouse? funhouse?). Speaking of which, this Saturday marks the silver anniversary of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, for anyone interested in cutting out of MoCCA for a few hours and heading down to the edge of Brooklyn. (PJ's definitely going.) Steve and I used to go to the Mermaid Parade every year, and I fondly remember Richard's young daughter Daisy heading it up one year after her triumphant Broadway work in Les Mis; I feel ever so old now finding out that she's been married for four years! In any case, if you want to know more about the area, the Coney Island History Project is invaluable. One thing is certain, the area has evolved countless times in the last century and a half, and most of those evolutions seem to have been met with initial skepticism giving way to acceptance and even affection.
• Speaking of evolutions and landmarks, Bully gives the London Eye the eye, and David Byrne extols the beauty of bike-riding in NYC.
• Cheryl Lynn gives a quick tutorial on how to draw hairstyles for black women. This would come in very handy for my artist if I ever decide to write that Anissa Pierce/Natasha Irons team-up story...
• Tamora Pierce takes the words right out of my mouth. Well, not my mouth, precisely, as there are certain words which make me uncomfortable so I don't put them in my mouth, for exactly the reasons she describes. Way I figure it, I have a big enough vocab that I don't miss not using them any more than I'd miss not using racial slurs.
• Lance has some good observations about our cell phone culture and how it's not really as postmodern as all that.
• I wonder what kind of messages the Big Two comics companies are sending to non-readers when culturally-astute PZ Myers doesn't even recognize Mary Marvel.
• .com/blog/2007/06/my_first_novel_.html">Congratulations, Trish!
• Lastly, a couple short maintenance notes. Melanie McBride is now blogging , and I've restored her in the Kultcha Gals section of my sidebar. Siva has announced that he's moving to VA with his bridge Melissa and will be taking Sivacracy.net to a new address soon, so stay tuned!
In a few minutes I leave for my youngest brother's house, as our other brother is visiting from CA and this is the only day he can see us when he's not otherwise occupied. I'm expecting a weirdly emotional day, so I'm glad I have this off my plate. Oh, and my latest ComicMix column is up, dealing with prejudice who look like Digby and with Ann Coulter and female magicians and like that; please go there and comment so I'll feel somewhat less alone...
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