craptastic!

i've been reading a lot of other blogs (mostly by mom's) lately; it started out as a kind of time waster, when i need a break from spreadsheets but quickly became a frustrating pursuit for quality writing by people other than myself who also raise a child, or children. i won't say much more about that...except for: WHERE ARE YOU, Literati/Mothers??? i even joined this network called blogher that is by for and about women bloggers. i don't know if there are quality blogs on there because their site runs too slowly for my i-live-in-the-21st century, impatient & spoiled self.

as a total aside: i love that i freudian-slippishly wrote "myselves" instead of myself in that first sentence. how great is that???

anyway, i was trying to explain to my DBF (i think this means darling boyfriend???) what i'm looking for when i say "quality" writing, but it's hard to explain. there's not like a "category" of writing that's good or not-so-good; nor is there a type of writer who's good or not. it's basically like, there's SO much that goes into writing well, that many people really should just not do it at all. if they lack a reason, pick fear of failure. that's exactly why i don't write as much as i should...or at all, really...

never fear: that was not a joycean epiphany. i knew that all along. however, i would like to write that paragraph in a james joyce kinda way without all the dots and the dot-dot-dots...but, i can't. i love these little guys...!

what was i saying???

oh, right. why not to write... (as opposed to that other argument). so, i know there is the whole argument about blogging is personal and shouldn't be criticized because it's personal. but, let me dispel that myth right here. right now. these people are writing--as my first freshman comp. teacher used to say--to be read. they Want you to read their blogs, just as their mothers probably secretly wanted you to read their journals when they were trash talking their neighbors and kids and their neighbors' kids and their husbands and their husbands' kids (if different from their own). and i do NOT say that just to alleviate my guilt of reading other people's journals, because i don't have any guilt where that is concerned. ahem! the only difference between these modern day mloggers, if you will, is that they call their husband DH's---- now, i can only assume that doesn't mean Designated Hitter in this context; so, it must mean Darling Husband, right??? or, am i missing something? okay. so, assuming DH means what i think it means... ---they call their husbands DH's and then trash talk them. yes, it's cute. but, meant to be read nonetheless. which is the point i'm making. in case you didn't get my point.

how do i know they are meant to be read, you ask? well, because i believe everything written is meant to be read. but, that's a weak argument. so...i'd argue, for lack of a better word, that they're writing to be read because they have a community (see paragraph A) of people that they go read and comment on so that that community of people will then read their blog and comment on it and so forth and so on. they even have contests to promote commenting on their blog. also, they have cute nicknames for themselves, each other, their kids, and their DH's which you would not need in a truly private sphere. lastly, as far as i know a blog has to published for it to be a blog. but i could be wrong about that... there actually is a "keep this posting private" button on my wordpress blog (yes, i just linked to MYSELF. loves.) but i always wonder why anyone would use it.

if i may elaborate on the nicknames... i find those bloggers amusing who are so protective of their "true" identity. i mean, if you're writing something, and PUBLISHING it online for anyone in the whole wide world to see, then why be so secretive?? i don't care if joe blow knows that my name is Charrolee [Murphy] Thompson but i go by lee lee thompson and that i have a son named henri owen lee. what's the big deal? it's not like i'm giving out our social security numbers or bank account information. it's my name, and--along with the story i tell by PUBLISHING things online--i am proud of it.

therefore: if my argument above is clear *laughs out loud uncontrollably* then we can all agree that these bloggers should not be begging us to read them. they should be doing something else that they're totally capable of doing, like knitting, scrapbooking, attending conferences, etc. again, this is the same argument i use on myself (for "real" writing) and it works, as arguments go; however, i've taken a liking to my blogs, so those i keep writing.

uh-oh. this is going to sound Very...well...Very Crappy (not to be confused with craptastic, which is a word i have discovered while mlog surfing, and--well, to be frank: i don't know what it means. but i L-U-V it) by those other bloggers/moms who read my blog. i don't think any of them do...but, just in case they do, i will point out that A) i don't like ANYTHING i read (others will verify this) that either wasn't written by me or wasn't written before i was born. so, Please...don't take this personally. i'm simply searching for my mlogger soulmate and am pissed that i haven't found her yet; and, B) i have found one or two people who's blogs i return to occasionally (ok, i read them Every Day!!!!). and some of them are mothers (see disclaimer below).

one of them, who i will mention within the body of my text--because that seems to signify you're of importance in a blog that mentions a lot of other bloggers/best buds who you've never met (what do they call this? an "online community"?)--is this woman called the portuguesa nova, also known as the anchored nomad. her life is real and her wit/writing--though quite lengthy--you're right, who am i to talk?--lets life speak for itself. she also appears to be a genuinely nice person. why i find that attractive i don't know. but i do. don't take my word for it; go read her yourself.



***disclaimer: there are some mloggers i approve of, such as the suburban correspondent, the philosopher-mom, and the woman who writes motherwise cracks. i also find this blog semi-interesting in its self-deprivationness and this blog simple & sweet (really, i just like the name). last but not least, the bloggess and joy unexpected are worthwhile if only for their shock value. and by shocked, i don't mean: wow, i'm shocked that mothers use foul language or don't love their children 100% of the 24-hours in a day. finally, if you still have a taste for reading, or just for those days when no one else has updated their blog, check out Madame Pince. just because i said you should.