Memo From The Skipper
Amen!!! Why people are so damn easily offended over everything, seem to have lost their sense of humor and delight in taking things personally is a mystery to me. Skipper, don’t worry about that type, they seem to flourish in their own misery.
Well I spent all weekend unpacking boxes again. I just now got around to checking out BMEWS.
It seems like providing all this web content is becoming more of a chore than a source of fun to you. If you are not having fun, don’t do it. For God sake remove the option on Expression Engine that sends you an email every time you get a comment.
You are trying too hard to provide well written, insightful content to your readers on a daily basis. That is pretty much impossible to do, and hold down a regular job at the same time.
I have had fun doing guest posts here, but I don’t put as much effort into it as you do and I damn sure don’t take it so seriously. Here is my process.
If I am bored and feel like posting on a certain day, or if you are out of pocket and I have been asked to provide some content, I do the following.
o Brew a pot of coffee.
o Walk down to the end of the driveway and pick up the paper.
o Start reading the paper from the front page to the end.
o When I find something that interests me, look it up on Google.
o Write a hopefully witty sentence or two and throw in a blockquote.
o Provide a link back to the article I found on Google.
o Post a picture with the article because it is worth 1000 words.
o Check out “Dave Barry’s Blog”, “Fark” and a few others to find some weird shit.
o Post that.
o Go about my business for the rest of the day and maybe take some pictures.
o Check in every now and then to shake hands and say hey to the regulars.
o Pour myself a drink along about 5 O’clock.
o Post any stuff with pictures that happened during the day.
o Check in and shake hands with the regulars.
o Go to sleep and repeat the process in the morning ONLY IF I FEEL LIKE IT.You have a bunch of regulars here who drop by because it is like a local bar or coffee shop. They will comment no matter waht you post. You can post “GJrghfsfd asdjhkjer jwkejr asldfh wkjehrf qkwjherhqiuwhe hfskajdhfa wuehriquhf qwkjfhqwh wqjhyyueq[iut” here and get somebody to comment on it.
That is because they come here to check up on our blogging friends. We all want to know how OCM is doing after is operation.
Don’t let this blog be a burden.
I think Stanley said it pretty well....if it gets to the point where it is no longer any fun (or the bs out weighs the fun by a factor of “x") then take up needlepoint or something...we will understand.
One thing I noticed of late, on many of the sites visited (and strangely enough all seem to be of the same social-political bent), is there seems to be either pending burn out, or a realization there is a rather large weight on their shoulders...from fighting the good fight. And I wonder (please correct me if I am wrong) based on this:
“I would consider it a benefit to humanity if I could just convince a few people to just start behaving more rationally and use a little more common sense.”
Are some of your concerns about what you are trying to do here, beginning to wear you down too? As in; We wonder why...what we consider to be either “just good old common sense” or “the right thing to do” is such a hard concept for some people to grasp?
You know you have friends here who believe in what you are saying and doing (and most definitely want “to have fun"). I may not comment all that often, but I do peek in almost every day. As much to check out the posts as to read the comments ... Heck I have even found myself in agreement with OCM...now that’s a scary thought<G>.
Keep up the good work, thanks for all you have done, and don’t let the bastards grind you down!
Posted by Guy S.
06/05/2005 at 09:23 PM
I appreciate your efforts, Skipper, as well as the efforts of the other contributors and commenters.
I believe that even posting something as non offensive as what powder to use on a baby’s butt can become controversial. The corn starch and talcum forces will burn your house down while having at each other.
I’ve had the misfortune of ambiguous phrasing by a blogger who was thanking me for helping her spot a multi-handled troll. I know she meant it in the best terms and I accepted it that way. Had I pointed it out I know she would have rephrased it and apologized. I found no need for that or the personal embarrassment it might have caused her.
As most of us know you can’t express an opinion on the internet without finding someone who disagrees, sometimes vigorously. Expect it, live with it, embrace it as a chance for civil dialogue or go watch the weather channel.
I will admit that preview helps me reconsider and possibly tone down some responses that I’ve prepared. Some I discard altogether and just move along.
As to handles, I’ve used this one since essaying onto the internet. It contains part of my real name and an email exchange will get anyone my real name.
Geeze, I just Googled my handle and got 8,700 hits. Wow, I hope that isn’t all me. (the top one was BMEWS) The ones I looked at were me though. I gotta get a life. Do they deliver?
I come here for a little information, a little venting, a little humor, and some occasional good writing. All in all, a very pleasant experience, like dropping into the neighborhood bar and chatting with friends, as Stanley said.
Bless your heart Allan, for opening the bar every day. Forget about ratings or moonbats or other assorted jerks. Even people who write syndicated columns for a living seldom post every day, and not every column is a bang-on masterpiece either.
So don’t worry, be happy, have fun and most of all, keep well.
dick
I also agree with the above posts.
If it isn’t any fun, then stop doing it…
And people take themselves WAY too seriously, all this PC crap and trying to find something that offends them, just pisses me off.
Anyway, I look forward to the weekends, last weekend was a MAJOR disapointment, because you weren’t here, but this weekend was just what I liked...LOL
Keep it fun, or don’t do it skipper, end of story....
Stick to your guns Allan!! This is an excellent, informative, well written, well connected site. If your cup runneth over - take some time to find a balance. Your circumstances haven’t been the best as of late - do what YOU want first.
Ogden Nash (I think) said that there are those who would see obscenity in the crotch of a tree.
Perhaps your source had a bad day, or didn’t know the flavor of this site. If a being doesn’t conform to that of its’ contemporaries, maybe it marches to the beat of a different drummer - or its’ just a dumbfu**er !!
WE know that you meant no harm
Hey Allan! It’s YOUR Blog and I support your efforts; if other people take offense, I would simply invite them to start THEIR OWN blog! That’s what the whole point is.
You have always provided excellent content and I will continue to visit and provide my two cents as long as you keep doing this!Hi Allen, I am also very grateful for your site being here. I read it most every day and I like everything you are doing here, its a very good balance. So many people these days seem to make a carreer out of being offeneded at just about anything and they are just thin skinned and weak, I don’t know why. I recently got my new Snap On Tools calendar which after 25 years of great looking babes went politically correct and I had to throw it away. These people are everywhere.
Posted by Paul "No Fear" Weir
06/06/2005 at 12:26 AM
Allan.
I think your blog is totally unique. I’m new. I found you accidentally when I googled “Moonbats” and clicked “I’m Feeling Lucky”. There you were.
Your articles, and the posters here, are always refreshing and intelligent. Oh… and hilarious, too. I’m not worthy, but I’ll keep trying. Sigh…
That dog castrating the bear. Who was it, StinKerr, I think, with the “saddlebags”? Very funny. Did you know that the chihuahua was the pirrhana of the Mexican desert?
I’m a fan. Keep it up!I have mentioned to friends that BMEWS is like a workin’ man’s tavern.
Owner operated, you being the bartender.
Sometimes, even a neighborhood joint has to adapt. Maybe change a tap or add a sandwich to the menu.
All the regulars will show up because it is comfortable. Sometimes, they had a bad day and don’t say much. Other times, well ... it’s payday and let’s party.
Sometimes the barkeep has to go away on personal business and leaves the joint with a few trusted patrons.
I have spent countless hours in such places and I know how they work.
Once in awhile, a new patron will start stoppin’ by everyday. He might like a special brew or want to hear a certain song on the jukebox. Might even ask you to change the channel on the TV.
If that patron contributes, then you’re happy to oblige.
The best joints are the ones that have a eclectic bunch of folks sittin’ on the stools and a barkeep who ‘tends’ to them ... as the term bartender implies.
I knew a guy once who had a very small bar.
It was his. All his. He had worked his way through med school at Stanford tending joints in North Beach, in San Francisco.
When he was graduated, he did not go into medicine. He bought a joint.
That man could toss an ice cube across the room into your drink ... backhanded.
He knew what every person’s birthday was and would always serve that person’s drink of choice with some aluminum foil on top and a lit sparkler stuck in it. Free.
If you asked him to play a song ... somehow that song was on in 10 minutes.
That bar sat MAYBE 30. But it was always packed. I asked him once ... ‘WTF? YOU ARE a DOCTOR! Why are you here’?
He said, ‘money’s the same and all I have to do here is make people happy’. If I was a doctor ... I’d have to keep them from being sad or sick’.
My point is this amigo, keep yourself and the patrons happy. Don’t worry about keeping them from being sad or sick or ... educated.
As long as the joint’s open and the beer’s cold and you’re pourin’ ... everything should be just fine.
Posted by Steel Turman
06/06/2005 at 03:14 AM
Allan you’re doing a wonderful job!
Remember:You can’t please ‘em all-all the time.
Nor should you try.
Keep up what you’re doing and if someone doesn’t like it-well they can %^&* off!
Note to the gripers: You be nice to my blogdad-OR ELSE!
*looks fierce*
Barb M.-see. I’m not anonymous
Posted by Annoying Little Twerp
06/06/2005 at 05:55 AM
Allan, being a public entertainer myself, I can understand exactly where you are coming from with this post. I wish to say at this time that nobody could have done better at blogging than you have done here. That is precisely why I settled on this site as my number-one hangout.
Apart from the overall quality of the commentary, our cast of characters here is matchless, and it goes far toward making this a sort of “web fraternity.” It is true that the folk behind the handles are faceless; however, I have come to feel that I know many of them, and the feeling is getting better every day. And without you, none of this would have been possible.
There is no way to properly thank you for the work you have done here, but I for one wish you to accept my deepest gratitude, and my hopes that you will keep up the good fight. And don’t let the occasional slips get to you. We all make them, God knows, and anybody with half an eye can see that you are a gentleman who has never forgotten the obligations of a gentleman.
Hang tough, my friend.
Skipper, thank you for all of your unpaid effort.
Have fun, don’t stop and get ready for 4,000 hits a day.
You, your members and guests are the best.
Posted by Z Woof
06/06/2005 at 08:26 AM
Allan!!
You do a GREAT job here. This is my number one blog favorite....You do an exceptional job on content, writing style, humor, and yes, even artistic nudes. You certainly brighten my world!
Keep up the great work, I, for one appreciate the hard work!!!!
By the way- I think this blog has THE best *cast of characters* I enjoy them one and all....
Have a great Monday- keep your chin up,and please( yes...I AM begging) keep up the good work....
Posted by SouthernDoll
06/06/2005 at 10:06 AM
HEY!!! Tell ‘em to get over it!!! Some people stand around waiting to be insulted.
Screw ‘em!! If they don’t like the content, don’t read the blog!!!
I’ve dropped blogs because they changed format or did things with which I didn’t agree. But I didin’t bitch about it. The blogs are like magazines—when or if they stop appealing to my reading tastes, I drop them. It’s no big deal.
If you ever start trying to appeal to everyone and stop being true to youself, I guarentee I’ll stop reading this blog.
In the meantime, WELL DONE, CHARLIE MIKE (continue mission)!
Posted by MAJ Mike
06/06/2005 at 12:17 PM
Allan - just dropped in from a hiatus away from the ‘net and BMEWS and read your post.
The above commenters have said it all better than I ever could, so I’ll just say “ditto” and keep on sandbagging.
As for your detracters - f**k-em if they can’t take a joke.
-Dan D,
CanuckistanAllan, I submit these words of wisdom I once heard Neal Boortz utter: “There is no Constitutional right to not be offended.”
I started my own blog while recovering from a broken ankle a couple of years ago. It went great for two months, then my ankle decided I could work again and it’s been downhill since. The posts are sporadic, and the traffic is nearly nill.
But I keep it for fun. I must say that during the two months I used to get some great hatemail. One guy even notified me that he had reported me to the FBI. I got my first hatemail in a long time over that pic I photoshopped of a Koran in the toilet. He didn’t like that at all.
The unanonymous Christopher. Yes that’s my real name and real avatar… about 30 years ago.
Allan- BMEWS is one of the best blogs in the blogospere..........I visit several other blogs but yours is one that I visit almost on a daily basis........Altho I may not agree with or like everything you post, but, what the hell, the world would be a very dull place if everyone agreed on everything........We all have our own opinions on the world happenings and I think we should be able to express our opinions as we see fit...........
Posted by Dottie
06/06/2005 at 09:28 PM
Hey Allen,
Thanks.
Posted by prairie biker
06/06/2005 at 10:32 PM
06/06/2005 at 02:45 PM
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