I am a lifer. Can’t help it. Think I found ways to cut the obsession, see the following post.
Actually I suffered from acute anxiety/depression cycles over the past decade first caused by not being able to help my Mom, not being able to live the life I wanted to because of too many obligations, yet I wasn’t married or had kids, then by 9/11 and the personal fall out.
Moving sounded very appealing. It still is way too expensive here, and I’m allowed to talk about that because my once “too affordable” coop’s maintenance has gone up every year–and more since 9/11. Food prices are sad, and you will be sure that I will complain about the weather as I do that so well.
While I am on this truth drug called finding my old life was great and shall be again, let me say this: I am a very shy person underneath it all.
Find that I comment on blogs that comment here because I know they like me, or something. If I get up at six or seven can blog, do my book and comment. I love staying up until two–but as Zevon said, and this ain’t a great example because uh, “you can sleep when you’re dead.” His third anniversary, somewhere not here, will be September 5th–the day I must reenact how Elka, my sister met Eddie my b-i-l. You will see why.
In the cross-cross promotion department, Shayna sings without music–can never spell that “a” word properly on my musical highway project. She has a great voice, is a great person who began the best blogroll in the blogging world.
The very beloved, but sometimes I wonder why he is–just joking, maybe:) Dawg–who was my first real blogging friend is this weeks attraction in the project. Love that the project highlights another blogger each week.
The Dawg, sometimes known as Doug, highlights Shayna in his special guest Wednesday
Being a very shy person, and I can provide references, means that I don’t reach out enough. I do plug a lot, because that’s a good way of meeting new people. But I know them all. Cooper and Jason have a great new picture for bloggers for Darfur. Got the code from Cooper, and have a wonderful eternal flame. Don’t know what the solution is only that it shouldn’t be. Read hell on earth, because it is.
Will have a post on Friday on an incredible NY experience I had today.
I have a list of questions and am seriously interested in the answers.
1) How did you meet the bloggers you like the most—love my blogging friends and hope that they know it
2) Do you expect theme days in a blog?
3) Do you like the unexpected?
4) I’m not good at contests or anything clever, really. I am a good interviewer. But it takes a long time to interview people that I don’t know well. For example I could do MizB without actually interviewing her. But she is a mistress of the unexpected and I don’t cheat. Failed that part in school.
Should I do an interview a month?
5) How important are comments to you, really, in your heart of hearts?
I asked that question because comments have really never been that important to me. I have always called lurkers readers because they are, and I respect that. Would probably be one myself if I didn’t have a blog.
For my sixth and final question:
6) Almost everybody seems to moderate comments.
6A) To the commenter, does that make you feel more involved in the blog, and want to comment more often?
6B) To the blogger: Do you enjoy it? I, who never runs out of words, can never think of clever things to say.
Okay a seventh and final question–or eighth if you’re going to count A+B. My posts tend to be long. Does that attract you? Turn you off? Are neutral?
Not that I’m planning on changing my blogging style, I’m just curious. And if I ask a lot of questions–my many job, four career lifestyle all entailed thinking up and asking questions.
When I was a child, my Dad made me ask questions all the time. When I was eight, there was one question that he couldn’t answer. I had my first crush, on anybody, on Fidel Castro. He was a hero to America then. We even gave him a parade. True in Jamaica Queens which was kind of weird, but a lot of people who worked for the UN lived in Parkway Village which was a large garden apartment complex near there.
Then one day he wasn’t. In my Dad and my private time–in the car on the way to the child psychologist, I asked him why Castro wasn’t a hero but the enemy. It literally seemed to happen overnight.
I will never forget how he played with hair, then chin, and then eyes downcast said:
“You know, Pia, I have been trying to understand that myself. Batista was a horrible dictator. Castro got rid of him. True, he’s a Communist, but maybe Communism can work somewhere.”
I couldn’t believe this. My brilliant daddy who always knew the answer, didn’t know the answer to this. I think I liked it, as he treated me as an adult but he always did. At the same time, if he didn’t know the answer who would?
My Dad had come from a Socialist family; my Mom from a Communist one. My Dad fell in love with my maternal grandmother and Communism. Then his Dad died, before I was born, and my Dad was to spend the rest of his life regretting never telling his Dad that he was right, Socialism was the answer.
Problem was he had turned into a major Capitalist, and then Reagan lover–but ideologically….He actually tried making my Aunt go to the Henry George School.
I own a copy of Progress and Poverty My Dad used to spend hours at Fourth Avenue book shops, and he gave me that book when I was young. It did have a profound influence on how I viewed the world
To try to explain his philosophy would be simplistic. His very famous granddaughter in a very different discipline–the arts–doesn’t do the greatest job, but it’s wonderful to find out how he influenced somebody who continues to influence some worlds, as does her grandfather. She also provides great links.
I say that Henry George continues to influence because there’s still a Henry George School, literally and figuratively. One year, Lucia of all people, got very excited by a brochure she received and was going to take a class.
Does she listen to me? Her best friend? That’s a matter for another time though.
I’m not gonna lie. I enjoy getting comments. But I enjoy comments more from people who really read my posts and have something to bring to the table. That might be asking for a lot, but I think that’s what most writers crave. Quality over quantity.
As for leaving comments I like doing that, too but for me blogging is really about the writing first, meeting others second. I always visit and comment on everyone who does with me but that doesn’t mean I don’t secretly dread commenting on some blogs bc I know deep down I’m not all that interested. I know that sounds horrible, but I really dont mean it to sound that way.:(
When the editors and marketeers and publishers are through with them, what survives of its author in a book or an article? Blogs like yours are a refreshingly unvarnished form of art.
Maybe the answer to your questions were discovered by a poet written on an urn in his attic. “Beauty is truth, truth beauty – that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”
Henry George, he was that single tax guy. When I was in a service club out West, there was an old guy who was a member (he was in his mid-80s and this was 10 years ago). He was a “single-taxer” and would always ask questions of any speaker who was addressing politics or investments or the economy. Of course, his questions were designed to woo the speaker over to his side. Most folks never knew what he was talking about… The rest of us enjoyed the inside joke. (do you like long comments, Pia?)
What were your questions again? Let’s see, on long blogs–sometimes I wonder if yours and mine (we both tend to do long blogs without pictures) contain too many words for folks to read. But like you, I ain’t going to change.
I like comments–when they actually comment on something–I don’t moderate comments unless one is rude, hateful or selling something–I don’t expect themes for the day and I truly enjoy stumbling into the unexpected. I hope that answers most your questions! I’ll take the 5th on the rest–just to have something to say.
Your Dad/Castro story is wonderful, first of all.
As for your questions:
1. Most found me. I tend to shy away from making the initial contact with someone beyond the blog, for several reasons.
2. I tried a few. But prefer to stick to just writing mostly. They’re good for filler, I suppose, if someone is out of original ideas for a new post.
3. Definitely. I get into a rut too often.
4. That’s up to you.
5. Feedback on my writing is more important than sheer numbers of comments. Although I admit I used to obsess over them.
6A. Yes. But I understand either way. And there’s not a lot of different things you can say in response to “Nice post.”
6B. Again, sometimes it’s hard to think of things to say. But I feel like if someone is going to take time to read what I write and comment on it, it’s the least I can do.
7 (or 8). Often I’m short on time and welcome a short post when surfing blogs. I rarely have a problem reading your posts all the way thru though. Interesting is interesting, short or long.
Um… I meet the bloggers I like the most through arguing with them. With the exception of one blogger reaching my blog, most of my readers and commenters came from arguments. That other blogger noticed me because I wasn’t taking it from someone who disagreed with what I wrote. Though I haven’t been so controversial lately.
Theme days and cross posts are dumb. Who could read them all? Seriously… who could.
Interviews are cool though, guest blogging takes less work and accomplishes the same thing: Promoting your readers and favorite blogs.
Don’t shut off comments because I have grown fond of chasing down trolls. I actually have set up a fake email address for spam and trolls who like to cause trouble. But that’s just me… Sometimes I am just really bored and it’s the only thing I can do to be creative at that moment in time. Another reason to not shut off comments is that I like seeing what others say and I like going to those blogs. Yet, I never always feel like commenting so it’s just lurking really. If I commented on every blog I read, I’d be tied up for hours.
I like responding to the comments in my blog especially when the story is so fresh or someone has made the story I have posted less complete.
I hope that answers your questions. 🙂
I’m not sure I can appropriately answer all the questions, but I’ll say that I like receiving and leaving comments as a means of to participate, interact, engage and get to know folks. I don’t however like to feel pressured to comment in order to secure and/or maintain readers though, especially since time and real life doesn’t always play fair and leave me time to do so. If I had the time, I’d love to return to the style of responding to everyone’s comments as I think it reflects my appreciation for their taking the time to visit me, and we all like to be acknowledged – in a way it’s why we all blog.
That said, I think Courting Destiny is in a class of its own, which is a reflection of its creator and hostess.
And funny you should mention contests, Miss Pia, as I have to congratulate you on making the finals in this week’s caption contest!
oooohhhh… you are now asking the questions… I’ll have to get back to you on these questions… will soon!
and again… THANK YOU… for plugging “MY MUSIC HIGHWAY PROJECT”… I could just give you a great big kiss…
ONE DAY… I’ll have to fly to New York and take you out to dinner to pay you back for all your promotional linkage!
I promise I’ll answer these tomorrow.It will take some thought.
Can you add stuff to your sidebar?
Add this.
1) How did you meet the bloggers you like the most—love
They either commented on my blog or I on theirs and I started re ading their blogs- that’s about it.
2) Do you expect theme days in a blog? NO, not from this one anyway.
3) Do you like the unexpected? always
4) not unless you want to
5) How important are comments to you, really, in your heart of hearts? Depends on the post, some posts are naturally interactive, and if they don’t get comments that is a bitch but often times things just need to be read.
For my sixth and final question:
6) Almost everybody seems to moderate comments.
6A) To the commenter, does that make you feel more involved in the blog, and want to comment more often?
Depends on the blog, these days I rarely comment on blogs that I haven’t been reading awhile and if I do I don’t go check to responses. I do check for responses to my comments at blogs i read routinely.
6B) To the blogger: Do you enjoy it? Sometimes, most always except when I don’t always have much to say in response to the comments. Some comments are just not answerable.
1) Cover of a paper and oh, you introduced me 🙂
2)3) no and yes
4) If you like, I’d love to read you interviewing someone – however often that might be.
5)I think as a newbie, they are still important to me as I appreciate the interaction and also feedback, I suspect that will become less so as time goes on.
6a)Yes but I understand when someone does not.
6b)Sometimes I enjoy it (particularly when I have time to answer) other times it feels like a chore and I guess then I should be honest and just not answer.
I think underneath it all I am shy as well although people often find that hard to believe (something about us crabs). I believe for me it is feeling secure in my own environment. Hmm now you have me thinking…
Hello and thank you for your post.
I’m going to be upfront and honest. I’m writing this post because I feel very strongly about ADHD. You might or might not be interested at all but here me out.
A couple of years ago my little one was diagnosed with ADHD and thus began my journey for a search for a cure. 2 years later there is no ‘cure as such’ but there has been plenty of information that helped my child.
I would like to share this resource with you and your readers if you would be so kind as to allow me to.
Enough of my ranting, thank you for listening.