Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Am I a 'pamphleteer'??

I've been 'blogging' since March of 2006. This qualifies me as a 'blogger'. Actually I am a real estate blogger and in many eyes, that is probably even worse.

Over the years that I have been pursuing the many various web sites and 'blogs' I have seen journalists and a host of others disparage 'bloggers' to some degree. I take no personal umbrage to the disparagement... and honestly I don't think of myself as a 'blogger' or amateur journalist. This blog allows me the opportunity to say what is on my mind and sometimes more than a hundred other people tune into this place and see what I might be whining about on that particular day. I believe that I saw that there are over 50 millions blogs in existence (probably more), and I bet many of those blogs deserves some disparagement or scorn from time to time by professional writers and the like.

What I want to share with you today is a look at some disparagement from a well known sports journalist towards, I guess, bloggers everywhere. This sports editorialist is Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Enquirer. As many of you may know, I'm a loyal sports fan of professional teams from the Philly area (hey, the Eagles almost shocked the NFL on Sunday night so I have that going for me right now), and since the advent of the Internet (thanks Al Gore) I have been able to read columns from the likes of Philly sports writers, including Mr. Conlin.

I tend to think that Mr. Conlin's columns are pretty good, but he will stick his neck out and say some crazy things that will get a rise out of the Philadelphia Phaithful Phans from time to time.

Apparently, Mr. Conlin got himself into a little email battle with a contributor from a sports related blog. Many years ago when I first started reading Conlin on the Internet I emailed him some saucy comments for not voting for Nolan Ryan for the Hall of Fame... and to my surprise... Mr. Conlin emailed me back. I was shocked to get a return email, but after that I never bothered to exchange emails with him again... I stuck to reading his columns.

If you've read this far you can probably guess that this post has nothing to do with real estate or local politics in Kingman, and if you do guess that way you will be right. I wanted to share a couple of things that I felt were interesting... and entertaining.

Here is the first blog post about the Bill Conlin email exchange taken from a blog called 'deadspin.com'. That is for background and for the feint of heart there is some harsh language so be warned.

Today this appears from the same blog, and this is where my real entertainment begins...

This is Mr. Conlin in an email...

The only positive thing I can think of about Hitler's time on earth-I'm sure he would have eliminated all bloggers. In Colonial times, bloggers were called "Pamphleteers." They hung on street corners handing them out to passersby. Now, they hang out on electronic street corners, hoping somebody mouses on to their pretentious sites. Different medium, same MO. Shakespeare accidentally summed up the genre best with these words from a MacBeth soliloquy: ". . .a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. . ."


Oh... Mr. Conlin... first of all he broke Godwin's Law. Major faux pas in the realm of online discussion.

Secondly, I cannot believe a man from the so called 'Traditionalist' generation would even think of stating something positive about Hitler's time on earth.

Lastly, and this truly is the beauty of blogging and online discussion -- and I'm talking pure gold here -- is that someone, anyone is free to respond. One of the comments left on the deadspin.com blog follows...

Uh, Bill. I'm pretty sure the Pamphleteers were on the winning side, and their views were largely vindicated, leading to the formation of a wildly successful nation off whose tit you now suck in the form of Social Security?

Drag your ass off the stool at Pat's Steaks and take the visitor's tour at Independence Hall for a refresher.


I still cannot stop laughing... this is a great retort. Seeing that response has only made me even more proud to be a so called 'pamphleteer'. Honestly though, being called a blogger really isn't that bad and hopefully I, too, will be on the winning side of things and make a difference.

Be sure to add you own magic in the comments here at MOCO Real. The time is yours.

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