09.27.08
I has a Twitter. Let me show you it.
I’ve resisted the Twitter call for months. But one of the geek podcasts I tune into – TWiT network, GeekBrief TV, Buzz Out Loud, can’t remember which – finally pushed me to take the leap. Perhaps it was Merlin Mann, the clown prince of productivity and Picasso of profanity. [warning: I alliterate unintentionally, and often. I'm in therapy for it, but progress is slow.]
I’m chock-full of opinions, but I have a tendency to compartmentalize. For purely political commentary, I read a lot of political blogs, and I occasionally comment, but the bulk of my contributions are at Hot Air, where I dove in with both feet during the primaries and found a steady supply of agreement and disagreement. (Sometimes, I prefer the latter. It’s one thing to get kudos from the choir. But I relish the times when I can persuade – or be persuaded – to a better position.)
I dearly love the Gerbils at Teh Squeaky Wheel, where political rants (though they are certainly there) give a back seat to things like friendship, wit, silly pictures, classic pinups, and a camaraderie and compassion that keeps me lurking even when I have little time to comment. They continue to welcome me warmly even when I’m on radio silence for long stretches. And in this very partisan season, it’s a refuge.
I don’t feel that urgently about posting to my own blog, largely because I crave feedback and that’s more readily available where there are many people. When I do post here it tends to be when I have a lot to say, or I chew through complex thoughts. The posts, then, tend to be sporadic, and looooooong. When I need to go on at length, nothing else will do – regardless of whether anyone is paying attention.
But those take time to compose. As rough as they may read at times, I do fuss over them a lot before I post. And it’s tough to find time to devote to lengthy writing. Far more often, I just feel the urge to do a drive-by comment. Hot Air and TSW are good places for that, but sometimes even those places “take too long” because of my temptation to stick around and dive into conversations.
For barbaric yawps of one minute or less, this Twitter thing has potential. 140 character limit. Post from your phone. No logging in needed. No need to check the landscape to be relevant to the thread. Just toss out the bon mot and get on with life.
So…where I have this place to gaze at, contemplate, spelunk into and explore my navel in a leisurely fashion, I also need an outlet for the eeeevil, brief, spontaneous idiocy that flows from my mind like butter from a cow with Parkinsons. The nuggets will vacillate between profound and pitiful, a light nosh or a frothy glass of phlegm, depending on my mood. (I know: ewwwwww.)
Should you happen to care or be curious about the Readers Digest view of the button-down mind of the cuddly dictator, check out http://twitter.com/sulla_puppy. I’ll also use that place to link to my rare blog posts here.