In which Ish obsesses in self-absorbed navel-comtemplation to the delight of all...
So I'm wondering what the hell the point of this is and what I want to do with it. I really would like the idea of doing semi-investigative semi-editorial journalistic type pieces, but I'm just never going to have the time to do that every day. I don't feel right about just throwing shit out there without doing at least some research to be sure I'm not spewing sludge, and providing resources so that people can learn more or prove me wrong if they care to. And that takes time. Lots of it.
But I really do want to avoid this journal becoming too personal based, just because I don't really feel like anyone cares what I had for breakfast. And if they do care, they should stop it. Seriously.
Not that there aren't personal observations or events that wouldn't resonate with other people. But its hard to develop that every day. Take today for example:
I started early, which meant sitting in traffic more than I like, because if I want to get to work 20 minutes earlier than normal I need to leave almost an hour earlier than normal. I worked, with very little that was eventful happening. I tried to find the least offensive thing at Wendy's for lunch because I only had 10 minutes in which to eat it, and settled on the grilled chicken, as I'm still not comforable with Fast Food salads. I left work and went to the gym, where there was a woman wearing the tightest pants humanly possible and no underwear. Not that there's anything wrong with that (and god bless Lycra). Then I swung by Starbucks to say hey to Xtian and get a triple grande no-fat mocha. I drove home.
So where's the big universal truth in that? More importantly, why are you still reading? Freak.
So I'm trying to find the balance of how to make this thing work. While I like bringing up interesting issues I've found or thought about in politics, science, religion, technology, culture and so on, I need to find a way to stop each one from being a research project. And I need to find a way of engaging in personal journalism without being as mind-freezingly boring as the above. This stuff is hard.
Just watch tv and you can reflect on stuff you saw, without looking up on it more. If other people care enough, they'll look up on it.
Wait a sec...you don't have tv, do you? Ah! Listen to NPR! There's a wolverine in Cass City!
An anal-retentive, obsessive, fan-boy-esque review of the day's NPR stories would be thrilling. No really. I'm not being sarcastic. Why does everyone always assume I'm being sarcastic!? Just be sure not to put it in the format of a quiz show on the week's news and events. That would suck.
Thats a great idea, Andy. Maybe I should call and see if I could get Roy Blount, Jr. to join in.
NOT SARCASTIC.
NOT.
Okay, maybe some.
Andy, it's hard to read stuff you write and think you're not being sarcastic. I myself am utterly confused as to whether it you think the NPR idea a good idea or not. I just assume you're being sarcastic and leave it at that, even when you say you're not being sarcastic, you really are!
Happy Pi Day! (3/14)
Okay, I thought about an obsessive NPR review, including dish on every sordid Terry Gross interview, musings on whether Michael Eric Dyson is really insane or just pretending, and gossip about whether Carl Kasell really does the news in the nude as everyone thinks that he must, would be hugely entertaining to me, because I'm a giant geek. Then I remembered that there already is an obsessive NPR review show called "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me", and that I really hate it and I want it to die. So now, if it is impossible for you to tell if "the NPR thing" sounds like a good idea to me, it's because I really don't know. It may be that it is, but NPR just did a terrible job with "Wait Wait" (despite haveing Mo Rocca, P.J. O'Rourke, Paula Poundstone, and, yes, the legendary Roy Blount Jr.), and a non-quiz show based system would have more merit. Or, possibly, that like masterbation, NPR obsessing can be fun, but you don't really want to listen to other people do it on the radio. I hope that clears up the whole issue. I also hope this helps Ish out by increasing the number of hits he gets from people who have Googled "Roy Blount Jr.", "nude", and "masterbation". I'm going to copy and paste those words in a few more times to add relevance to that particular search: Roy Blount Jr. nude masterbation Roy Blount Jr. nude masterbation Roy Blount Jr. nude masterbation Roy Blount Jr. nude masterbation Roy Blount Jr. nude masterbation (creepy)... (beware the Ides of March).
I see you tried to hone in on just the right demographic by spelling "masturbation" wrong. Brilliant!
Bonus points for recognizing the "Wait, Wait" reference. God, what a tedious show, and listening to other people masturbate is about the perfect similie. I, too, am astounded that such funny and intelligent people can be put together and producing nothing but uncomfortable silence.
Bad spellers are the only people who matter.