In 1999, the newspaper in Albuquerque, New Mexico commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival by writing a story about the experiences of local residents who were there, including my older sister Betsy.
She said she talked at length to the reporter about what those three days of peace and music were like--the rain, the camaraderie, the performances, being there when Jimi Hendrix played The Star Spangled Banner, etc. When the story came out, the reporter only used one quote, an offhand remark she'd made about having taken the infamous "brown acid." For all of Albuquerque, my sister was perceived as an aging acid freak.
That's what happens when you talk to a reporter. Out of a twenty minute conversation, only one or two sentences appear in print and not always the ones you'd like.
A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to a reporter doing a story on lapsed bloggers for the New York Times Style Section. On Sunday, June 7, it appeared on the section's front page, and damned if I wasn't taking the brown acid myself. Not much I can do about it, other than sound Palinesque and try to convince you all that my remarks were twisted and taken out of context.
That's why politicians stick to the talking points, as my sister Nancy pointed out.
So I'm taking my obscure little platform here in cyberspace to set the record straight.
I sepnt most of 2005 and 2006 blogging because it was fun. I have a background in journalism and it was like getting to write the op ed piece every day. Did I want lots of followers and comments? Yes, I would have liked them, but it wasn't something I wanted to actively persue. Why did I stop? It got old. It got pointless. With so many people online writing blogs, who has time to read them?
Blogging became a tremendous time sucker. I'd spend an entire morning researching, writing and editing a blog, while the dogs weren't walked, the carpets weren't vacuumed, and the laundry piled up.
As I told NY Times Guy, I am not so full of myself as to believe that there were people out there whose day would be ruined if they couldn't read my blog.
The internet is an immensely huge attic full of boxes. Some contain priceless treasure and some are just full of junk. My blog is just one of those boxes stashed away up there, gathering dust. If you find it, it's up to you to decide which category it falls into.
Something I did notice, the article generated a lot of snarky comments on a lot of blogs. Not mine, of course. I wouldn't have known it if I hadn't gone looking (dumb thing to do, by the way). Which brings up the fact that the blogosphere has its own Gossip Girl mentality, You'll rip a person to shreds on your public forum, but you wouldn't dream of saying it directly to them.
Looking back over the posts here, I know I've been guilty of that myself. I have given up on blogging, but I still make comments on other blogs. I hope I'll keep in mind that the person we're all calling an idiot may have had his remarks taken out of context, or miscontsrued or out-and-out fabricated.
Of course, Sarah Palin is always fair game.
