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Song Lyric of the Day:

I can feel it / I conceal it / I can feel it coming, the beginning of the twist / We get along well / We talk a lot / I made some promises, I guess that I totally forgot / Forgive me, my mind is else where

The Futureheads / “The Beginning of the Twist“

I read a lot of blogs. A lot of blogs. Local blogs, well–known blogs, blogs I’ve stumbled across. Blogs friends recommend. More than could be considered healthy, probably. Obviously. I really enjoy the sense of community blogs have created, that feeling that makes us readers think that if we met that blogger in person, surely we’d get along — we have so much in common, right? I’m talking specifically about how just by reading someone’s innermost thoughts, reading about their experiences, discovering their opinions, mourning their losses, we feel like we’ve made new friends. Friends we may or may not ever meet. (I’m still lamenting the fact I don’t know any Toronto-based bloggers. Not that I know of, anyway.)

While the blogosphere is generally a pretty happy, fun place in which I occasionally spend way too much time, there’s a subculture I don’t quite get — the blogger-on-blogger haters. I’m not talking about any here, per se, since I have a grand total of 17 followers (see what I did? I added a reader), but they’re out there: The bloggers who complain about the bloggers who’ve made it big, gotten books published, were interviewed on national TV, could afford to quit their day jobs. And I really don’t get it. Well, OK, on the most basic level, I do get it — it’d be fantastic if I could make a really good living just off my blog, but that’s not going to happen. Which I’m fine with. But do I waste time or energy writing about how I resent the bloggers who do? Nah. I don’t get the point. That and I don’t actually resent or hate any of them. Lots of bloggers have also gotten books published based on their blogs. And you know what? I think that’s great. They put it all out there and got book deals out of it, either through hard work on book proposals/material or sheer luck that an agent stumbled across their site. (FYI: The stuff I’m writing? Fiction — I’m giving the characters I’ve made up much, much more interesting lives than the one I lead. So if any agents out there are interested in a dark, dark comedy about … well, drop me a line. I never said I was above self-promotion.)

I’ve blogged about my favorite porn movie titles (newest fave: Titty Titty Bang Bang – ha!), having the puppy from hell, ridiculous conversations with the spouse, grief, adventures in home improvement, my family, what I’m watching/listening to/reading, and lots of other, all-over-the-place topics. And that’s the course I’ll continue to follow, since that’s what works for me. I’m an inherently negative person (the glass isn’t just half empty, it’s FULL OF POISON), and that’s something I constantly struggle with. So while I voice my opinions here, I do have to work to not come across as flat-out hateful (and I know I’ve failed at times) depending on the topic. I am my father’s daughter in that regard. That, and the talent for inventing curse words.