Weird Google-ness...

I'm becoming obsessed with the referrals that pick up my blog using Google.

Isn't this one a bit twisted?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&;ie=ISO-8859-1&q=republican%20theorist%20dies%20of%20brain%20tumor&btnG=Google%20Search

Sure hope this is an extremely benign request...imagine this leading to me, of all places.

(And somebody is still trying to scam a book report!)

5:32:30 PM    comment []

Skeletons in the closet…

Republicans have their share, and I’m never certain how it is they don’t make it out into the light of day or don't get much press time when they do.  Like Bob Dole – how is it the “family values” folks never took him to task for running out on his first family?  (Because it happened years and years ago when this was acceptable behavior it’s now okay, he’s surely reformed now?)

And now another Dole getting a little skate time.  Thank goodness for Salon – Note the recent article featured in Salon on dear Libby Dole.  Nice lady, but she’s got a few ghosts too, from the looks of it.  Or maybe she’s learned a few tricks over the years since she hooked up with dear old Bob.

Take a very careful look at the photo included with the article in Salon.  Look at the earrings the lady is wearing.  Okay, not my taste, maybe yours, but that’s not the point.  Those honkers are REAL, as is that matching brooch.  Red coral, turquoise, accented with small diamonds and a pair of very large baroque pearls, set in brushed gold (14K, not 18K, we’ll give her that).  This isn’t Home Shopping Network or QVC stuff you’re looking at, it’s the kind of stuff you spend time looking at in an exclusive jewelry store.  And we’re not seeing what’s on the fingers or wrists…does she have a matching bracelet, ring?

Yeah, so how do you know it’s real, you might ask.  Look, I know real, okay?  I’ve got friends and family in the business.  And what if it’s fake? you might ask next.  Does Libby strike you as the kind of chick who’d wear department store fake, even upscale fake?  Not hardly.  Can you see her spending her time in Marshall Fields or Nordstrum's looking for these particular pieces?  Hell no.  Her time's too valuable to be wasted on paste.

Sure, I’ve got jewelry too, I have a few nice pieces I’ve acquired over the years, some gifts, some not.  I don't wear it every day; at work, I'm likely to be found in plain pearl studs or gold hoops, wedding ring, anniversary ring and a Timex watch.  That's appropriate for a professional woman.  What's appropriate for Libby, maybe it's different for her? you might interject.  If I’m a public figure planning to look for a government office at any time, you can bet I’m not going to rub it in the face of my less-fortunate constituents that I’m doing very well, thank you very much…keep those tax dollars coming in...

Especially if I’ve got more of this kind of jewelry at home keeping my skeletons company in the closet.

Certainly no way to win over any liberal like me, either.

1:21:53 PM    comment []

DharmaSurfing:  At home, blogging about blogging…

Most of Raven’s recent post I agree with, in regards to blogging.  There’s been a lot more chatter of late on this topic since it appears a sea change may be underway in regards to the role of Salon’s blogs. 

Raven points out there are several different kinds of bloggers as well as natural affinities forming sub-communities within the blogs.  Bloggers tend to either write primarily for themselves or for a larger audience.  There may be a number of us in the middle, though, who are neither entirely lone gunmen nor journalists desiring increased traffic. 

My blog falls in that middle way – it was started as an experiment, an adventure, and is now a hobby.  Hobbies typically don’t see the light of day, or are shared only with family and occasionally with friends.  At the far end of Hobbyville, people share their hobbies at shows or go professional and start selling wares.  I’m definitely closer to the other end of the scale, never really expecting a lot of company dropping by to peer at my puny hobby (although you are entirely welcome, come on in).

Maybe it’s feeling like you have to pick up and tidy and run the vacuum more frequently when guests drop by…but pushing for more readers means more effort, more work as opposed to play.  It’s more difficult to experiment, try out new stuff when guests are expected frequently; one is more conscious of “branding” one’s content, making for more predictability than spontaneity.  And sometimes it feels like people might be looking in my underwear drawer or going through my makeup when I’m not looking…eeewww…needing crowd control...

I wasn’t looking for that here.  As I’ve said before, blogging for me is a “catch and release” concept – the stuff floating around in my head is looking for a venue, wants a life of its own.  It’s nice to have a discourse on some of this stuff – many of my interests are pretty esoteric, obscure and don’t have any local forum for further evaluation and exploration.  This on-line journal has been great from that perspective; validation is a nice bonus.  On the other hand, my feelings aren’t hurt if I don’t get a lot of comments or many visitors.  With fewer readers I’m less likely to be overly self-conscious about feelings and observations, the kind of reading material and art I enjoy, etc.

The nature of my interests tends to weed out readers; today I’m into art and politics, tomorrow into metaphysics, next week food or my family, who knows what any given day will bring?  And watch out if something p*sses me off, it’s sure to be blog fodder.  With that kind of psychotic deviation in topics, how could I expect to draw a regular, large audience?  F*ck it, I’ve got to be true to myself and stay on this path less traveled, got to write what’s real for me.  It’s a reflection of my life – and that’s essentially what journaling is about. 

So, what’s with this entry?  I guess it’s my two cents on all the recent chatter, now that I’ve become a full-fledged bloganista: Salon’s blogs mirror the Salon audience at large, and I’ve been a part of that audience, a Salon reader since 1996.  My place is here at Salon, whether it’s at the lone gunman end of the spectrum or the quasi-pro journalist end, or somewhere in-between.  Some of the folks who’ve been coming to Salon over the long haul are true-blue, would be here rain or shine, ask the tough questions, expect equally tough answers, and demand depth.  Some who visit come here infrequently, but know when they come they’ll find a piquancy, a special persona, a je ne sais quois they won’t find elsewhere.  It’s a place where someone like me with a diverse range of interests feels comfortable, knows they’ll get it straight up with a twist.  Our blogs here should have that same appeal, feel the same way since we’re all "Salon spawn".

Here it is, this is home, regardless of how many visitors I get or don’t get.  Make yourself comfortable, kick off your shoes, have a cuppa’ Kona or chai with me.  Or maybe today we’ll break out that rioja…

12:23:08 AM    comment []