random thoughts and thoroughbred selections

Monday, June 14, 2004

The New Tattoos

I was talking with Pauly on Saturday, in very general terms about, to borrow a phrase, the viral phenomenon of blogs.

Pauly�s line, one that I feel is apt, is that �blogs are the new tattoos.� Everybody is going to have one, or already does.

Viral, actually, is a terrific adjective to describe blogs, as the Howard Dean campaign proved early on. For better or for worse, Dean�s supporters utilized blogs to at once rally and corral the troops.

I mention the �for worse� part because what this marketing strategy has wrought is the political regurgitation blog. No offense to Phil at Studio Glyphic, because I wouldn�t read him if he didn�t have interesting content besides the various links and quotes, but what has grown weary and tiresome in the blogosphere is the link-it-and-leave liberal blog (frankly, I haven�t come across a conservative blog, although I�m sure they�re out there too). Link to an op-ed piece from an unabashedly liberal outlet, quote the first two paragraphs, and that�s it. Congratulations, you now have �content.�

I know it�s an election year, and I know that passions run deep for and against this President in particular (well, maybe not as particularly as the last one), but there�s a reason Drudge is Drudge, and you�re not keeping my attention.

I offer this about blogs: I�m not generally going to be interested unless it�s honest, funny, or if I�m lucky, both.

I feel like crap today. I can�t tell if it�s a legitimate cold, or if I�m just having a sinus problem due to allergies. If I were still working my mortgage job from a bunch of years ago, this would be an automatic day off. Now that I have to actually budget sick days in, I don�t want to waste them.

Not only that, but I don�t need more couch time today. I just had one of the ladies at work do the �mom thing� to see if I had a fever. Apparently, I�m just clammy, although that�s not exactly a consolation.

I also had a momentary freak-out this morning related to the following entry from my archives:

- Aside from the shoplifting from my college, I engaged in petty theft of another sort. I worked for three years as a cook and then manager of an on-campus student-run steak-house (every-thing is more fun with a hy-phen!). I wasn't bold my first year, but I also lived on campus and had a meal plan. I took the occasional big huge cut of prime rib for my "employee meal," and had the other cooks looking the other way. No biggie. My second year, off campus, I was pretty good as well. Year three, I had carte blanche. There were many nights where I was the sole person left to lock up the nation's largest non-military cafeteria, in which our steakhouse was located. We were a prime rib joint, and the unused slabs of cooked rib were usually plastic-and-foil wrapped and thrown into a distant corner of a distant freezer, rarely to be heard from again. So I started taking them home. My biggest take was about four pounds. Imagine all the fun a college kid can have with four pounds of prime rib (not like that sicko). I'm talking Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches for days and days. There was plenty more, but that's where the story ceases to be interesting.

What happened was that someone from the administration of that cafeteria used the search term �largest non-military cafeteria� to come to my site, undoubtedly reading the above-mentioned paragraph. It wouldn�t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out who I was from the clues above.

So, here I am, at work and freaked out that my old college might press charges for the theft of less than eight pounds of prime rib scraps nearly ten years ago. Maybe my head is just a little too thick today.

I did get some good news. First of all, I found out that I was nominated for an award for my recent work in the play I was in. That�s nice. I was expecting that, to tell you the truth, as there were only two of us guys in the play, we were both supporting actors (the category in which I received the nomination), and my part was a little meatier than his was. Not to say, �I kick ass, all bow before me� or anything though. I just kinda figured this might happen.

The second good thing that happened to me today was that my �check engine� light was off this morning after three days of staying on and freaking me out. I figure that I didn�t screw the fuel cap on appropriately or something, and it took time to repressurize. I think that�s how cars work. I don�t get much beyond �put gas in tank, turn key, depress pedal and steer.�

More later, if these sinus problems clear up�

[>>]posted at 12:48 PM by BG - click to email
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