Have you noticed that blog thread comments are down? It seems that others, like myself, are either chilling on the downside of the November elections or we’re sliding on hope because of them or we just can’t think of another way to say Fuck! This! Administration! The diehards are still at it, picking the bones of daily news, and blogs are still telling it like it is, but I’ve noticed on the ten or so ones I read daily that we’re talking less about The Daily Outrages and instead we’re connecting in a more personal way, sharing tidbits of their daily lives, laughing more with foolishness, trying, I suspect, to find a balance between disgust and keepin’ on keepin’ on.
For some, winter’s hard ways have slowed us. Check this video.
Some of us are already weary of presidential candidates who need to stay put in the Senate…to my way of thinking, this one in particular. And this one. And I wish this governor, my governor, wasn’t fond of continually speeding in his phat black SUV on NM freeways, clocked by state police in excess of 100 mph, and then joking about his “lead foot” when questioned about it. I, for one, have had enuf of arrogant presidents.
Maybe we just need a change of conversation. Here are some factoids from the February issue of Harper’s Index:
* Number of Silver Stars the Army has awarded so far for heroism in the Iraq and Afghan wars combined: 249
* Number it awarded for the Vietnam War: 21,630
* Percentage of Nigerians living on less than $1 per day in 1985 and today, respectively: 32, 71
* Total oil revenues that have flowed into Nigeria since 1974: $728,500,000,000
* Consecutive years that the U.N. has ranked Norway as the best country to live in: 6
* Minutes after the ranking that Norway’s aid minister said Norwegians needed to fight their “culture of whining”: 38
* Average number of times an adult worldwide has had sex each year, according to self-ranking in polls: 103
* Average in Japan, the lowest of 41 countries surveyed: 45
* Percentage of 16- to 34-year-olds in Japan who say they are happy: 8
January 22nd, 2007 at 2:29 pm
I for one have also suffered from blog fatigue, even dating back before the election though I had held on up through last November. For me it is as much outrage fatigue as anything else. How long can one day in and day out, continue to read and hear about the outrages of this administration before entering some sort of rage fugue? One day it all just seemed so pointless. Not that I gave up and lost all hope, I still have that, it just seemed that I have had enough and couldn’t keep reading blogs much. I’m only here now because of my good friend mirth.
I suspect once ‘08 begins to loom near, I will regain my drive to get active and involved. If this country is to have any hope for the future, winning back the WH in the next election will be crucial. Progressives unite! We must succeed! Lethargy notwithstanding.
January 22nd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I have a following! :smoke_tb:
I hear ya, DMan. There comes a time when you realize you are reading the same comment over and over again with different names attached to it. It isn’t that we are indifferent. Remember that at the last organized anti-war rallies, of the thread ‘regulars’ we interact with, you and I were the only ones to actually get there and march. Writing ‘hit the streets!’ and actually hitting the streets are two different things. As time goes on, I’m less impressed by thread warriors.
January 22nd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I agree you guys. I have had convenient excuses for not writing as much as usual. The site changed to a new server, we added an ad bar,my cat puked on the carpet, post-holiday resentment syndrome,personal issues, searching for show topics and listening to other people’s shows for a change. I DID buy an electric guitar though(I’m a bass player) and it’s fun to play at night when my family goes to bed. No more though, I plan on posting more often and now I have no more excuses. I think we ALL deserved a bit of a break. I’m glad to see you back Mirth, I missed ya. You too D-man.
As for the candidates, I take NONE of them too seriously…YET. Brownback scares me. He makes Pat Robertson look like Marilyn Manson. As for new ways to say Fuck This Administration, I think I can sum it up in one new word I thought of as I stared at the ceiling last night. It applies to ALL neo-cons. Superinternationalisticcoporateprofittraitors. Let’s see bush try to say THAT!
January 22nd, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Which isn’t to say that some blog comments aren’t dynamic and keep us all better informed. I’m just not seeing many of those right now.
Instead of reading we need to do this & this & this, I’m always happy when someone reports back on what they have actually done.
January 22nd, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Hi Frank!
Guitar man, huh.
(note to self: hang here more often)
Brownback is the stuff of nightmares. In terms of creepiness, he has no peer.
Superinternationalisticcoporateprofittraitors
Ohhhhh yeah! Good one! Perfecto!
January 23rd, 2007 at 7:34 am
Even I have had a blog burnout lately.
Actually, I go through a bit of a slow-down about every four or five months. It usually lasts for about a month.
I am in the middle of one right now, but I had to take some time out to move this site and upgrade several others that I manage.
I think Mirth pretty much nails it. Because of the current administration we get a rage fatigue, and the only way to really deal with it is to step back and do something else for a while.
I still keep up on current events — I will still read my favorite blogs — but then I will go off and occupy my mind doing something else.
On the radio, I still listen to Stephanie Miller and Thom Hartmann in the morning, but switch over to old time radio plays on XM because lately I have grown tired of hearing the same old thing out of Randi Rhodes and Ed Schultz just bores me. To me, both have “jumped the shark”.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:07 am
I podcast Randi’s show every day and I sometimes get disappointed because she DOES do a lot of repetition about what a dumbass bush is (point taken) and the war…over and over. Ed Schultz has MAJOR audience across the country because he talks like the “guys at work”. BUT he sometimes sounds like Walter Brennen and laughs like Barney Rubble. He also sounds a bit “dumbed down” and over simplistic with phrasing like “git er done” and “get after it”, but who am I to criticize?
As I mentioned, I am a bass player but I got an electric guitar to play. When I get
“talk fatigue” I listen to LOUD rock and roll like Judas Priest and Van Halen and Joe Satrianni and of course Jimi Hendrix. As a music teacher once told me, music is one part inspiration and three parts perspiration.
January 23rd, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Boys, you are so right. It’s the repetition that has worn us down, and the weight of all the issues that swirl around us, and the underlying sadness and helplessness we feel, particularly for the citizens of Iraq, and the worry of what is ahead for our country. Add that to our everyday stuff and it’s a lot of baggage to haul around. No wonder we’re tired and need a break.
Interesting that none of you three commented on the video. I guess I’m the only one that saw its humor.
:tongue1_tb:
Frank, you and D-day like the same kind of music. RockerMen. For variety, here’s some bird york…..she’ll smooth your rough spots.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tyUXeXnZwSk&mode=related&search=
January 24th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Ha! Great video! Hoooooo Aggggghhhhh! I mean Hooooooly shhhhhhiiiiiittttt! Bet that hurt!
Peace my friend.
January 24th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
That girl has a beautiful voice.I like rock and roll and jazz and certain neo-romantics and bluegrass and be bop. One of my favorite guitar players is Joe Negre from Mr Rodgers. Music takes the edge off of these idiotic times we find ourself in. Before the country woke up, and bush was polling in the seventies and eighties, I almost wore out my I-pod playing Percy Faith and Montovanni. Music hath charms that sooth the savage breast.
January 24th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Mark…so nice to see you here.
Frank & DJ, meet thepoetryman. If you are ever unable to express the weight of all we carry, check out his blog. He says it all for us in ways we cannot and his original art collages will stun you…they are poetry all to themselves.
Thanks for stopping by, Friend.
It’s especially good to see your Hooooooooo Aggggggghhhhhhh.
Frank, the theme from the movie Crash is good (and it’s all that Youtube has of hers), but bird york is great. Her CD The Velvet Hour is very good, especially the song Up In Flames. Firey stuff!
January 25th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Hi Mirth! I finally made it back here. I have blogging fatigue every so often too, but after being forced to shut down in the last two weeks because of the neocon maggots eating my blog (which they still are…slurp, slurp…but I figure it’s keeping them busy while I blog on my new site!), I am now ready to get back to work!
Talk to you soon.
January 25th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I just noticed that my name link brings you to my old blog the neocons are currently eating behind the scenes.
Here is the link to my new blog (sorry…doing a little blog whoring at the moment LOL Go about your business..):
http://www.whitenoiseinsanity.WORDPRESS.com
January 25th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
I am happy and proud that you all have joined us here on our little blog, thank all of you. I will add your fine forums to our link section as I acquire them. Of course I like the traffic, but more than that I like thoughtful discussions. Not all of us need to agree all the time about everything, I just want the talk to be productive and (dare I say) educational. I know how neo-cons can foul the air like the aftermath of a trip to a bad Mexican resteraunt, I’ve tried to have discussions with some of them and it’s like speaking Esperanto in China. I can’t figure them out. It’s like their mothers drank heavily when they were pregnant with them. Or over consumption of lead-based paint chips, or leaky microwave gaskets or something.
I am doing a LOT of things right now in addition to working full time. I am active in our Democratic party, working on add copy and topics for the show,learning to play my new electric guitar and writing songs,and being the best father and husband I am capable of.All of which require full time to be done right. So I welcome you and thank you for checking us out.
January 26th, 2007 at 8:49 am
I’m happy to be blogging with all of you too Frank. I looooooooove Mirth. She speaks my language all the time. I have you guys blog rolled on my new site and will be checking it out more often now that I’m back on track.
Keep up the great work! I know it’s frustrating at times because there are so many news stories bombarding us all at once. My explodes at least once a weak because of it. Don’t give up though. If it wasn’t for us liberals, George W. Bush would have an 80% approval rating or more because the ROM (republican owned media) would be getting away still with their constant feed of propaganda! Thank the Banana Cupcakes we rational Americans have the blogs to turn to and to the Internet to keep us current and intellectually informed. I feel bad for those who have no clue what the reality is right now (talking neocons here). Let’s just say in the last week I talked with a Bush-supporter online who had no idea who Jose Padilla was and another one who had no idea that Dick Cheney had another daughter named Elizabeth! Pathetic. It’s our job to keep getting the truth out!
Peace to you all.