Those of you familiar with the Baconian 6 degrees of separation matrix (the methodology of connecting Kevin Bacon to every other Actor in Hollywood) should be made aware that here in Whateverpeg that ratio is down to about 2 degrees.
For instance back in ’82 a young intern named Leonard_Asper , now the President and CEO of Canwest Global Communications Corp., drove me around in a CKND TV van on shoots and came over to my house for the occasional liquid lunch: a swim in the pool.
I was a TV Writer and Producer and he was on his way to University in the Fall and of course destined to inherit the family business. Today Leonard couldn’t pick me
out of a police lineup as our paths rarely seem to cross.Back in ’94 I watched the Rolling Stones perform while sitting in the elevated comfort of the VIP booth next to the Promoter Sam_Katz . The ‘mystery’ row of seats stamped on our tickets did not exist and an exasperated security guard (Biker) having moved us three times finally escorted my goodladywife and I into the best seats in the house. Seated directly in front of us the opening act..some guy named Colin_James.
It was like a scene out of Forrest Gump!
Although I worked for a Developer who was a close friend of Sam and had met him on several occasions he too would be hard pressed to identify me..Sam Katz is the now the Mayor of Whateverpeg and I don't get down to City Hall very often..
These days the only celebrity who COULD pick me out of a Police Lineup is David Bergen and on Saturday night we sat together and watched our daughters perform at the Senior Professional Dance Program.
Dave, is now a reluctant but bona fide celebrity but back in College during the late 70s Dave was a very quiet, tall, and charming fellow… basically the polar opposite of me.
He doesn’t appear to have changed one iota despite his well deserved success .. and they say that nice guys finish last ((pffft!)).
Anyway last night before, during and after the performance I nattered incessantly to Dave and his lovely wife about Blogging.
As we were departing we speculated about organizing another little reunion with other classmates from Red Reefer Community College. Most of my former classmates are REAL writers and that includes another local celebrity my little buddy Within Without @ Snippets .
OK I’ll wrap this up…
On the way home it occurred to me that I was talking to a REAL writer, an award winning accomplished Author no less, about Blogging as if it was REAL ‘writing’.
As of February 18th I will have been Blogging for exactly one year. HUZZAH!
I told Dave that Blogging was like publishing your own Magazine…completely free to divulge personal information, rant about hobbies, politics, religion, post pictures of your cat or whatever. I also mentioned that the best part about Blogging was getting to know and exchange ideas with other people from every corner of the globe... and all without having to sell a single Ad or answer to an editorial board or publisher.
Now I am not comparing this experience to the art of painstakingly assembling a ‘heart breaking work of staggering genius’ but Blogging can be rewarding and totally fun!
Most of my 315 postings were rubbish but I enjoyed discovering things about myself and meeting sentient beings from points unknown.
I may be placing Descartes before ‘des horse’ but the translation of his famous philosophical statement
“Cogito, ergo sum/I think, therefore I am”
(or as he said,"Je pense, donc je suis") could be updated for the 21st Century to include Blogging
Cogito, ergo blogito which loosley translates to Pig Latin as
Iyay inkthay,
ereforethay Iyay ogblay
I think that Blogging is writing..
don’t you?
so now ya know Jimmy Barnes,Our prime Minister and GWBush Plus the Queen and all the other ass wipes around.........Don't it make ya feel good?
ReplyDeleteOh and of course ya know me......which is probaly more important than anything else cos I am a no body...( No pun intended )
so that means ya no all the bodies....
as a matter of fact my brother married and Every.......they joined their names and so are now known as "Every - Boddey".....
So in fact by knowing me ya really do know......Every body........
Well, I don't know about other bloggers and if they think they're writers, but it's definitely a "no" in my case.
ReplyDeleteA. N. Other blogger was asking me if I draft my posts. Whaat? It's all just rubbish that transfers to the keyboard with hardly any pre planning. Writers do research, and re-write stuff and work really hard. I just spew out a load of ill thought, biased and ranting rubbish.
Er, that's just me though ...
I have to think about that ;-) and certainly will return for a comment with some more thoughts later (let's work first)
ReplyDeletewhitesnake,
ReplyDeleteLike it or not YOU are a cyber celebrity. I was having fun at my expense about how the seperation of Celebrity from Osbscurity is very small in a mid sized City.
The other inference was that while some Bloggers do regard their posts as 'heart breaking works of staggering genius' (and sometimes succeed) most probably equate the experience as a form of group therapy or tossing a message in a bottle out into a cyber sea or nothing more than a glorified conference conversation.
Although I may appear to be frought with angst at the notion that I am nothing more than a pseudowriter or a cyberspaceposeur..((HA HA HA)) if that is true atleast I am cognizant of my condition and there is hope for my re-entry into the REAL world.
I suppose that we as individuals decide WHY we are doing it and that we all have different expectations.
betty,
I didn't paint everyone into a corner...and everybody obviously lurrves your load of ill thought biased ranting rubbish!
You know that I don't equate every throaway posts but a short published poem entitles the creator to be known as a REAL writer...
not the same as being a novelist or essayist but a REAL writer none the less.
hildegarde,
Please return with confirmation of my scandalous theory...or prove to me that this isn't a REAL form of writing in the 21st Century..maybe this is just communicating...if that's true what is writing?
Howdy HE,
ReplyDeleteThat's certainly a more positive view of blogging. I see it
as a barometer of how tedious I
truly am, whenenever I put ink to
paper. It's a vastly humbling experience, but that only applies
if you're less dense than I am;-)
Never have so few said so little to so many; either that, or nobody's home...
Happy Blogaversary!
ReplyDeleteMe? Writing? Have you checked my blog lately?
*laffs*
So where are the pictures of your pussy?
And I've just downloaded that pic of you and WW for future Photoshopping purposes.
*laffs again*
grumbloggler,
ReplyDeleteOk you win! I found the cybersentence of the week and it is only 8:26 am on a Monday..that is a new record.
"Never have so few said so little to so many".
Brilliant HAHAHA!
mj,
ReplyDeleteLuckily the blogosphere will be graded on a curve.
I still consider you a writer..a writer of wrongs maybe but a writer no less.
You complete me...
and now I am finished and so is my theory.
well, all I know is that I write stuff and people read it. Does that make me a writer, or a lonely housebound, delusional woman with an overactive and overanalytical brain?
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't think it matters. At this point, "I am, therefore I write".
And I'm glad you provided the link to David Bergen, I was about to google him!
joyce,
ReplyDeleteSTOP!
You're both right.
Relatively new to the game then? Happy anniversary. Yeah, I think blogging is writing. I have to give it that. It counts. A while back you mentioned some other writing plans, the details of which I forget. Is something still happening in that ballpark?
ReplyDeleteI blog therefore i am.... I like it:)
ReplyDeleteIt is a form of expression, no different to keeping a journal or compiling an essay... People just get turned off because ofan electronic medium, because of the stigma of self indulgent bloggers.
The "i want to kill myself, but its all a bit too much of an effort" blogging comunity.
jammer,
ReplyDeleteGracias. It is writing but I fear that the txtmsg lingo will keep devouring our common tongue into bloglish.
I have my sights set on a screenplay or two before I exit stage left and I am laying out a few plots.
I've had a year to see what spilled out and I will have to go with what I know...history, sex, sharks, celebrity gossip, rock n roll, religion, evolution, parenting, statistics and death!
aidan,
Blogito, ergo sum is probably a more accurate statement. I was hoping to raise the bar a bit by setting up the whole thinking precedent but a quick spin around the blogosphere would certainly put the kibosh on my pie-in-the-sky analogy.
Your observation that there exists a great deal of stigma due to the relatively new appearance of the electronic medium/internet factor is spot on. There is a certain snobbish segment in the literary world who are still clinging to electric typewriters with a cigarette burning and half of a bottle of Scotch next to the angst ridden writer struggling to find that perfect line...neo luddites..just google perfect line.com and go to bed!
I wrote (because I am a writer!) a story for your birthday.Must I come up with another for your Blogday? Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteBlogging seems, to me, not unlike the old pen friendships that many of us formed (and in some cases, maintain) in the days before cheap electronic/telephonic communication.
Whatever the driver, there are strong links and loyalties being forged.Word verification notwithstanding!
In bloggo veritas?
Happy b'day!
Quit showing off all the people you know! I've met Isobelle Carmody (an Australian fantasy/sci-fi author), and I once sold an electricity plan to Rod Quantoc (an Australian comedian who's name I can't spell). So there! :)
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that blogging is real writing. But it's also chatting, with the comments system. It's also exploring, learning, meeting, and indulging. It's lots of things.
Yeah, we can consider it writing, but it won't gain mainstream acceptance as such simply because in order to find the "good" blogs with "good writing", you have to sort through a thousand shitty ones.
ReplyDeletePeople who don't blog will never look at blogging like people who blog look at it.
It's one of those things that you have to experience firsthand to truly apprecaite I guess.
I am of the opinion that I am a writer, because I write, people read what I write, and actually acknowledge in one way or another that I have written something. What I lack is license. I have made no attempt to "publish", or otherwise prostitute my thoughts, thus I do not "qualify" to belong to the brotherhood of "writers", who attain validity through the recognition of free enterprise. My thoughts are free. And everybody knows that if it's free, then there is no need to accompany the product with celebrity.
ReplyDeleteI DID attempt to gain fame by using the Paris Hilton method of notoriety by merely stating that I am hereby famous, without providing any good reason for being famous. Unfortunately, I failed to notify Opra Winfrey or other such gatekeeper of fame that I was famous, thus the word did not get out to a sufficient majority of the populace to ensure my fame. Which is why I am nothing but a lowly "blogger" and will never be known far and wide as a "writer", despite the fact that I just wrote this. Go figure.
Blogging is definitely writing. It has more of an advantage than the more traditional medium because of the immediate feedback you can get.
ReplyDeleteDescartes or Freud u rock HE! :)
ReplyDeletebtw who's in that pic with ya?
Keshi.
dinahmow,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the concise reply. I suppose that this is preaching to the choir. We all consider this to be a legitimate avenue for expression..word verification notwithstanding.
stace,
HA! It is hardly showing off if none of those people know me from Adam I was exposing myself as an example of how small the food chain is here in Whateverpeg Pop 750,000.
When you read a Novel it is a solitary personal experience and Blogging is more of a group experience...it is interactive internetting..which I believe is the highest and best use of the medium...and the medium is a big part of the message!
bloggersanonymous,
You're right I used to think that Blogging was for depressed shutin wankers before I tried it..and now it is a 'trip' that I don't want to miss...my attachment to you and many others is strange in many ways but it does seem real..which means that you have to put some faith into what you are reading because the other bloggers can pretend to say/fee/think whatever they feel like and there is no way of validating their comments...of course people can lie right to your face too.
THE mike,
Well said. Living in an Age of Professional Celebrities is very weird. Our Culture of Narcissism has the throttle wide open now and Andy Warhol was right..we can all be 'famous' out here with nothing but our words and publishing abilities at our disposal.
Do you suppose that when everything is online..TV Phones Newspapers Movies and we are all connected 24/7 that the Bloggers will be looked upon as pioneers of the New Age of Communication?
menchie,
It is the feedback that personalizes the experience. I can remember posting for months without any feedback and wondering why I was doing this? What was I doing Wrong? I tried to justify it by telling myself that I was writing for myself but that was only half true.
I don't know what sort of godlike feeling those uberblogs that get 500,000 hits a day feel...it can't be very personal..you must become some sort of a commodity ..where is the intimacy? I suppose once you are getting paid to do it then this becomes a job and less of a hobby.
keshiroo,
That lil guy is good ole WW. I have no idea how you manage to correspond with 100 comments and do it with extrordinary ease.
You have been doing this for a couple of years kesh..and you have a real world social life..you seem to be able to balance the whole thing and thrive..how is that possible? How do you find time to zip around and visit?? Do you have a staff of android keshis working in your room night and day?
Maybe you are a big mainframe CRAY 5000 series supercomputer sitting in the basement of some Secret Agency and we are all being monitored by the Government to measure how trusting we are with information that we gather on the Internet...they want to know how much they can get away with..will we believe anything that we read?
Just kidding I know that you are real I've seen your pictures...
that is you isn't it?
You could be an 93 year old Swedish Fisherman in real life..anybody can throw up a photo?!
I enlarged the pic just now and recognised WW...hehe Im such a blondie I didnt do it b4 :)
ReplyDeleteHow do I deal with 100s of comments? o well Im Mrs.God didnt u know?
Keshi.
I know what you mean. When I started my blog the intent was to get better at writing (my handwritten journal sucked). You know, put a bit of structure versus just writing nonsense in a journal. I didn't mind not getting comments first because I knew people read it (my friends do. But I've got to admit that when people I don't personally know started giving feedback, well, it sort of changed everything. I've discovered I like to write and now I want to get better at it even more.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I don't know how people who get more than a hundred comments manage it. Keshi, for instance, is amazing at it.
Happy Bloggaversary matey, may you blog for many more years, and entertain and teach the lot of us....whatever it is you do best :)
ReplyDeleteThinking is vastly overrated, don't you think? Rilliantbay ostpay.
ReplyDeleteOf course blogging is writing. Since I blogged, I write better. I think too becos before this I mostly wrote without thinking.
ReplyDeleteAs for as I am concerned, I will blog as long as I can.
:D
i guess it all depends on your perspective and your objective, and your definition of writer.
ReplyDeletemy computer dictionary (another ball of wax) gives me this definition:
-a person who has written a particular text : the writer of the letter.
• a person who writes books, stories, or articles as a job or regular occupation : the distinguished travel writer Freya Stark.
• [with adj. ] a person who writes in a specified way : Dickens was a prolific writer.
• a composer of musical works : a writer of military music.
• Computing - a device that writes data to a storage medium.
• Stock Market - a broker who makes an option available for purchase or sells options.
i found the addition of the 'computing device' interesting, as it implies that something that does nothing but interpret data input is a writer. sort of like taking the microsoft training course and calling yourself an engineer (well, not really, but..)
i would say that if you put words down on paper (you know what i mean) for pleasure, than you could call yourself a writer. if you do it solely for the money, than you are a worker. i imagine it is possible to vacillate between the two quite often. i had to look up vacillate to make sure i spelled it correctly, and here's the sentence used to illustrate the definition: "I had for a time vacillated between teaching and journalism." it would have been spooky if it had said "...between writing and journalism."
anyway, am i an artist because i enjoy drawing pictures, or because people see my drawings and/or buy them?
Happy Bloggerversary, He! =)
ReplyDeleteIf you've seen my blog you'll know that it's more a place to throw down random thoughts so that I don't bug myself thinking too hard the rest of the day. I don't consider it more than a simple journal.
You, however, are a writer! =) And a celebrity to me! Actually, I'm kind of anti-celebrity. I've met all kinds of people who are well-known and not so well known, and there's no real difference. A famous person will still steal my fries at dinner, so there you go!
hallelujah! Your blog has been an enlightenment, the way you write and your passion is great! Never have i missed a post since i discvored you.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes blogging is writing, what we want to write, what we want to see in the world and what we want to change in ourselves.
It has certainly changed lives, and i wish you a hundred years more and a million posts more to make us all smile, laugh and be warm.
Congratulations!
Come chk my last post. Come join me in this latest rant.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will not disappoint the person who was the first one to comment on your blog almost a year ago!
^nothing like a little emotional blackmail^
*grin*
keshiroo,
ReplyDelete(cue Sitar)
You must have a dozen arms waving over a dozen keyboards to do what you do!
menchie,
Exactly! I wanted to improve..actually I wanted to find out if I could string together a thought that was understood by other Hominids.
It does sharpen your skills to know that others may come across your creation...and it is rush when you notice the number change in the comment section...it's fun.
cazzie,
That is so sweet. I am glad that we reconnected..you can never, ever, have too many cyber friends.
kyknoord,
It is great to hear from you again Kyk. I agree that thinking can be troublesome and tedious...as I always say..bottom line...People don't care how much you know they want to know how much you care.
owhay ichedcleeyay!
gautami,
She said matter of factly..and I believe you. You are a blogging dynamo and you are a serious purveyor of prose and poetry...long live gautami!
reyspoutine,
Writing is a multi headed hydra that encompasses many forms..I still think that if you get paid for it you are a lucky writer..acquiring some form of remuneration is an incredible idea when you think about it..getting paid to produce thoughts! wth!
shelley,
((blush)) You are far too nice to me..I am the one who is fascinated by your strength and wicked sense of humour.
If we were ever in a barfight I would be right behind you cheering you on. I love being around Hominids like you who have zero tolerance for any BS...you make me want to be a better Hominid.
blazngfyre,
Greetings Citizen. I know what you mean..content is one thing but the ability to cajole, convince, inform, or discombobulate is another story (pun intended).
I hope that I am improving..that whole less is more thing is disconcerting..why can't people waste 1 hour reading mmy explanation of the universe???
This format (about 5 minutes per visit) is a great way to learn how to edit yourself and compact the information...I find that nearly impossible to do.
ghosty,
Wow that was so kind of you. You intrigue me because you are so forward looking and fascinated in the future. For the most part I have such a dismal view of where our species is headed..but you not only accept our liabilities somehow you look to our ingenuity as a way of surviving our mistakes..it may be on another planet but you seem convinced that we are going to make it...that is very cool.
gautami,
Funny you should ask...I just got back..and I left you one of those tedious 6 paragraph responses Hee Hee Hee...
HEY you asked for it!
You have been a wonderful friend to me gautami..I appreciate that you challenge me to raise the bar every so often..it would appear that you are finally 'on to me' and I can relax a bit..you know that some of my posts are going to be fluff (like the next one) and you are willing to let it slide..you are a very wonderful colleague and friend ((gulp)) now get out of here and go read my comment before I start crying..go on..
So anyone who keeps a journal is a writer? Cause I think of blogging more as journaling rather than writing. I definitely don't think of myself or the vast majority of bloggers as writers.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I am totally jealous about the Colin James thing. I ADORE that man!
I know I'm late. On the other hand, maybe you're too quick. That's the sign of a writer.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone who blogs is a writer. I think Aidan's correct...anyone who puts their thoughts down in the written word is a writer.
And I respect anyone who does so.
LOL @Sitar!
ReplyDeleteok so u labeled me as the Hindu goddess with 200 hands? ROFL mebbe I am her!
Keshi.
anna,
ReplyDeleteFair Enough..the longest Prison sentence ever handed out for not divulging a 'source' is currently being served by a BLOGGER!
I told Colin to stick with these guys (Stones)..I said that they will probably be big someday...
can you believe I said something that stupid! He laughed!
without excuses,
Where the hell have you been?
If you notice I gave you credit for being a de facto writer..and a celebrity...you owe me big time!
keshiroo,
I should draw you a characiture (can't spell it but I can do it) of you in that pose....but you would have to send me your exact whereabouts (ooh stalker city eh!)..
your last email didn't work..just e-me.
kajole@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteemail me man. I didnt ask u to fedex. LOL!
Keshi.
Be careful what you wish for..
ReplyDeleteFed X is available and he is quite a 'catch'.
Dear HE:
ReplyDeleteA writer is simply one who shares something with someone in a form that can be read. You are a true writer in every sense of the word. The other side of it if you want to take it further is that you create an interest in a topic and ask questions that cause others to respond therefore making them writers also. So your a teacher and a writer. As far as correcting my term paper due to typos, no bad grades please.
Now choose your topics wisely ob1 because the topics you choose will invite many to join in and respond and when the student passes the teacher then you have created another link to another blogger.
See its fairly simple to explain.
By the way you know another author... My wife who is presently finishing book # 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 with #2 being released in June we hope.
Have a great day.
isnt hope the only thing we have in the face of adversity. We will walk through, no one can live forever, but ideas can, and the will of a generation can!
ReplyDelete