Monday, November 19, 2007

In Defense Of Blog (#96 in a series of 2)

It seems that hardly a day goes by without another lurid internet scandal hitting the news. This hoax led to the suicide of a young girl- it is especially heinous because it was perpetrated by adults, not by other kids. It was done by neighbors.
One cannot help but conclude that the adults- who passed themselves off as a teenage boy- enjoyed the cruel emotional destruction that they wrought on the poor girl- there doesn't seem to be any motive other than pure evil meanness and sadism.

Cable news has created a new "reality" genre- one in which the lowest life-forms on the planet (Internet Trolls) are lured into fake trysts with underage decoys that they met in chat rooms; when they arrive at the meeting place, they are met with TV news crews and , later, the police. Strangely, many of the men (it's always men) have seen these programs, yet they can't resist the trap...and there seem to be an endless supply of these 'predators'. It's disturbing, to say the least.

All of this negative attention makes me increasingly reluctant to discuss blogging with my non-blogger pals, so I'd like to take a minute and point out a few of the positive things that blogging has brought into my life:

Yesterday I had something that I wanted to discuss with somebody- but most of my local friends know each other and this town has an amazing ability to distort gossip- so I called a long-distance blogpal and had a long talk about football, sex, politics, religion and stuff...it dawned on me that I was watching NFL football while talking on the phone with a woman about sex (and football!)- for free! A lot of men would pay for that...

...speaking of paid, I made honest money last week, and I couldn't have done it without my blog. A while back, I got a comment or two from a fellow music fan who had found my blog by googling obscure bands... we exchanged a email or three and it turned out that we live in the same city, so he came down and sat in with me one morning during my show- we found that we live exactly one block apart, small world, eh?
Last week I fed his cats for him while he moshed across England- upon his return I was rewarded with cash, a tin of travel sweets from London and assorted music-related geegaws not typically found in the US.

Honestly, I'd rather clean catshit than work for lawyers again, but I do need to find a real job soon...

Blog also helped me through the long painful months after I got sick and had to quit drinking. I quit cold turkey without any outside help, which is probably the hardest possible way- I started writing about my experiences on my blog and I soon found that I wasn't alone, which helped a lot during the worst of days.
I got hurt a few times too, but that's part of life, ya know? Stronger for it and all that...yeah.

I've been blogging nearly four years, which is a long time by blog standards. There's a big world out there that doesn't involve blogging, and I've had a slow, difficult time adjusting to it since I quit drinking- that sort of change just doesn't happen overnight- things have been really rough lately but I haven't started drinking again, so I feel like some real progress has been made...but I've also started slacking on my blog as I get more involved with real life; it's as if blog is a sort of therapy for me ( I know I'm not alone in this) and maybe, just maybe I don't need therapy as badly as I once did.
At least I hope that there is some truth in that.

Anyway, this isn't the end, not yet...I've come close to deleting this blog many,many times... something always keeps me from doing so. I've had at least a half-dozen other blogs over the last few years and never formed any sort of attachment to or from them, but this one has survived every purge, weathered every storm...and there's an election year coming up, so I imagine my political outrage will keep me on-line to some degree, but things are changing for me. There are things happening I don't feel like blogging about- perhaps they'll be fodder for future posts, perhaps not...

I've been becoming more interested in writing fiction, but I find that blog is a terrible platform for long, serialized fiction- the chapters are presented to the reader in reverse order- and the reader, unless they are well-versed in the logistics of blog, often doesn't realize this, entering in the middle or at the end...one of the first blogs I read was like that.
It wasn't until the author printed out the entire blog in manuscript form and mailed it to me that I caught on- it was excellent...that seems so long ago , but it's the sort of thing that keeps me coming back to blogworld- one of the finest unpublished writers I've ever read once sent me an entire manuscript- that never woulda happened without my own blog.
Strange things can happen- sometimes that includes good things.

Hmm...it occurs to me that I am giving myself a pep talk- and that means :

Puppies!

See ya soon.

10 comments:

whimsical brainpan said...

Awww, cute puppies!

I'm glad you are not going anywhere anytime soon. I love this blog (and my blog pal who writes it) and as you pointed out an election is coming up. I can not picture having to go through it without your wit and insight to sustain me.

Anonymous said...

I am so happy for you. I'm still trying to get where you are, not there yet, but I'm right behind you.

AngelConradie said...

aaalrighty then... so you're saying you may be a little scarce- which i get since blogging is my therapy too- but this is not a goodbye, right?

the rube said...

we're all the victims of a series of accidents.

may all your blogging accidents be good for your heart and soul.

schlep said...

This weird phenomenon of blogs/discussion forums has impacted me positively too. It's good therapy when you're having a hard time making meaningful real world connections.
Glad you're sticking around and blogging Allan, I enjoy reading this stuff though it is a LITTLE more real up close and personal than I bargain for, bless you!

Yawn said...

You wrote a a comment in my blog 3-1/2 years ago. Can I have some morphine?

Allan said...

Whim,
Thanks you...I'm all about the wit and insight! Your Firefly-esque experiences are among the many positive web thingies I can point to, ya know?

Beth,
Get where I am? I'm not sure I know where that is, but it would be nice if you were there with me.

Rube,
Another cool thing is the odd, yet always apt Mp3s that come my way. Us DJs love that stuff!

Schlep,
Yep, yer recent journey is another example of long-distanceforum/blogging - and the extra bonus of making a real-life local friend! Personal? Wait 'till I finish my Mentors/Gwar/10,000 Maniacs orgy post! That was a weird week...

Hi Yawn,
I did? I was drunk then.I wonder WTF I said, I hope it wasn't awful...

Of course you can have some dope..In the last 3 1/2 years the world has become a much safer place to grow opium; morphine - or heroin, at least- is cheap and plentiful this gift-giving season!

Craig D said...

I hear ya! You, me and several others of my blogging plas seem to be going through some life changes that are putting the kibosh on our virtual koffee-klatsch.

Of course, you'll always have your playlist to use as blog-fodder.

I hope to be around to inspect the cobwebs here...

yellowdoggranny said...

blogger buddies are the best...I could never understand how anyone could delete their blog..it would break my heart to delete mine..happy thanksgiving sweet cakes...

CS said...

That story about the sick adults tormenting that poor child is horrific, but I don't think it is an indictment of blogging. I have gotten more support than I dreamed possible through some difficult times.