Blogging

"The New York Times is going to quote Bernadette so that the people can be heard, and the Times can demonstrate they're not the media elite. I prefer when they were elite — I'm a fan of credentials. It's like we've all spent the last five years living a Roger Corman film called Revenge of the Hack. I have to care about the Internet, Sim — you know why? Because everybody else does."

"I remember. I blogged the whole thing."

"I've been inspired by José Saramago's extraordinary blogs, which he posted when he was 85 and 86 years old. They were published this year in English as The Notebook. I read them with amazement and delight. I never wanted to blog before. I've never liked the word blog — I suppose it is meant to stand for bio-log or something like that, but it sounds like a sodden tree-trunk in a bog, or maybe an obstruction in the nasal passage... But seeing what Saramago did with the form was a revelation. Oh! I get it! I see! Can I try too? My trials/attempts/efforts (that's what "essays" means) so far have very much less political and moral weight than Saramago's and are more trivially personal. Maybe that will change as I practice the form, maybe not. Maybe I'll soon find it isn't for me after all, and stop. That's to be seen. What I like at the moment is the sense of freedom."

"Skimmability, write like an idiot. Skimability: definitely a real word. People are lazy. People online are even lazier. So don't write like your turning in your AP English paper - write like an idiot. Keep your sentences short, and your paragraphs shorter. Short Paragraphs help people read, skim & enjoy articles."