It is almost 1am on July 9th. I had better make a blogpost before I retire to bed. But what, pray, could I possibly write about?
I could rake up stories from the cellars of my memory or pontificate about coronavirus masks and Jair Bolsonaro.. However, sometimes it's nice to be light - avoiding heavy topics or issues that might cause controversy.. Skid over the surface rather than plunging to the depths below.
I had the idea of writing about blogging etiquette and perhaps I will do that before very long for in recent months I have observed noxious evidence of nastiness in what should be a pleasant grown-up community. Some people do not appear to have latched on to the notion that "it's nice to be nice". Good manners should matter here in the blogosphere as well as in everyday life.
If you have something to say about blogging etiquette, please leave your points in the comments below. They will help to feed my thoughts on this subject.
Meantime, I am thinking about donkeys. These incredible beasts of burden have suffered greatly while in the possession of human beings. As I said in the last post, there were two teams of donkeys on the beach at Cleethorpes. They did not look happy... Zzzzzzzz!
(At this point your genial host fell asleep on our La-z-boy sofa)
...Five hours later, I am back downstairs on the sofa wondering whatever possessed me to write a post about donkeys. Anyway, as we are on the subject of donkeys, let's throw in a quotation...
"The strongest animals on earth are plant eaters. Every creature we've enlisted to do the work we couldn't handle - the horse, donkey, elephant, camel, water buffalo, ox, yak - is an herbivore... whose huge muscles were built from plant protein, and whose strong bones got that way, and stayed that way, from grazing on grass and eating other vegetables." - Victoria Moran
I must be a donkey myself as I don't know what else I could possibly say about donkeys. Besides, I have just recalled that the only reason I titled this post "Donkeys" was the fact that I took two pictures of donkeys at Cleethorpes. Riding donkeys on beaches is I think a peculiarly English tradition. I have lounged on beaches in several other countries and never once saw donkeys to rent. Do they have donkeys on Bondi Beach, Australia or Santa Monica Beach in California? Hee-haw! No they don't.
And why donkeys anyway? A ride on the back of a male lion or a Spanish bull would be much more invigorating.
And why donkeys anyway? A ride on the back of a male lion or a Spanish bull would be much more invigorating.
I think it's so sad that donkeys are subjected to neglect and abuse throughout the world. They are lovely, gentle creaturs. I'm sure they wouldn't write any nasty comments in blogland either. I like to read comments on blogs, I enjoy sharp wit and banter but there is no place for nastiness.
ReplyDeleteWhat you say about donkeys must be true because Jenny at Procrastinating Donkey is always exceedingly polite.
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I have to say that's the most amusingly rambling post you've written for a while so far as I can recall. There are so many points in there that I could spend the morning writing - well, thinking, the writing would be a small part of the exercise. Donkey rides were for children and in the days when they were started all children knew about them because Christ rode on one so they must be safe. So there was no persuasion needed. Only manly Yorkists want to ride on lions on the beach. Anyway that would be cruelty to lions. They don't like sand.
ReplyDeleteBlogging etiquette is a totally different matter. There are so many issues from bad language (and people's view of that vary immensely), innuendo (which offends some), sarcasm (regarded as respectable nastiness), right wing views (offensive and misguided), left wing views (offensive and misguided), personal attacks (commonplace these days). I could go on but that could monopolise the comments (another common problem). Ah well.
You seem to be in a good mood this morning Graham. I guess you have had your porridge. What evidence is there that Christ rode on a donkey? I heard it was an inflatable unicorn.
DeleteA lot of blog behaviours hinted at in your second paragraph. Thank you for that.
YP, I'm always in a good mood. It's my default outlook on life.
DeletePS I read about Jesus and the donkey in a book so it must be true.
DeleteWhat's a Blackpool donkey get for it's dinner? Half an hour.
ReplyDeleteI bet you rode on one when you were a lad and whipped its rump to mak it go faster! Little devil!
DeleteThe wife wanted a new coat. So I bought her a donkey jacket.
DeleteWho needs mink when you can have donkey?
DeleteDonkey jackets make good eider downs. It's bad though when the sleeve falls off the eiderdown.
DeleteI'm not sure why donkey's are still being used in this way. Poor things trudging up and down the beach in the sun. I'm surprised it is still allowed.
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
Same here Briony. I always feel very sad when I see them used in this way.
DeleteIt does seem like a hangover from past times. Donkeys should be running free over the Pennine hills.
DeleteI like stroking their ears.
ReplyDeleteWhatever turns you on Tasker!
DeleteI love donkeys. My favourite ever is the one who lives at a chateau hotel in France and gets up to all kinds of mischief to entertain the guests.
ReplyDeleteI have been on the receiving end of unpleasantness in comments. Some sarcastic, some confrontational, others downright rude. Some people just want to pick a fight, others to prove how superior they think they are. I wouldn't do it to others so won't put up with it myself. I just delete without reply now. There's nothing a bully hates more than being ignored.
I agree with you that that is probably the best tactic Jean. Frustrate the hell out of them by allowing them no "air time".
DeleteEventually YP they go and bother someone else. Result!
DeleteI meant to add that when I see their comments on other blogs I just skip them. Life is too short for that kind of aggro. Blogging is after all meant to be fun.
I used to have a little rescue donkey as a companion for my horse, she died from old age at 33 years old. For some inexplicable reason she was called 'mum'.
ReplyDeleteAs for bad blogging manners, that is a difficult one. What can one say or not say, not sure I am in agreement with Graham Edwards on this. It is the spark and thrust of language we could use not an overall 'niceness' which can be boring and anodyne.
But like Twitter and Facebook we must put up rules I suppose/
As in fencing there has to be a little cut and thrust. As long as we can take our fencing visors off after the contest and shake hands like sportspeople. I have had to deal with a handful of nasty visitors over the years. Fortunately the vast majority of commenters are good people who appreciate that we are not all the same and there are different ways of looking at the world.
DeleteThelma, I wasn't making a judgement on any of the points I was simply pointing out that they could be points of contention for consideration in a post on the subject.
DeleteYP, I used to be a fencing coach (with a foil not No. 2 wire - New Zealand joke) so I can readily agree with your point. After all you and I have crossed swords on quite a few occasions but we always kiss and make up. But that's only because I'm a nice person and forgive your Yorkshire boorishness.
Referring to good old Yorkshire commonsense and good humour as "boorishness" proves that you are not entirely a "nice person" Graham! As for being a fencing coach:-
Delete"Hammer that post in right there Gordon. That's right lad! Hammer it down as hard as you can! Now get the next post. You are doing brilliantly lad!"
Having anticipated your riposte I parried it in advance with my comment in brackets! I think it's rapiers at dawn. Choose your second.
DeleteOn the subject of fencing, a teacher come to the Nicholson Institute back in the 70s/80s. He was a National Fencing Champ. I was a Coach so we agreed to give night-classes. We put the advert in the Gazette. Everyone who responded wanted to know how to knock posts into the ground!
Thanks for this amiably rambling post, YP. You made me laugh and it's not even high noon. I am sure there is a reason that donkeys and blogging mingled in your consciousness. I too have a mind which largely works by association.
ReplyDeleteI have been on a few rides, given no choice, and they were not donkeys which I wouldn't ride on on principle. They have enough on their plate going round the well. Memorable rides were the Elephant, interesting in its indifference. The Camel (Cairo, Pyramids, oh my god, the sand, YP, the sand - in a breeze!) was admirably disdainful. I'd rather not know what it thought of the clientele. Actually I do know. And I couldn't agree more.
Before I press publish my (longer) thoughts re blogiquette I ask your permission, your go ahead, first. After all, as some bloggers like to keep reminding me (as if that was ever in doubt) that their blog is not MY blog. Which roughly translates as "shut up".
U
You will be pleased to learn that your comment has passed the tests of The Yorkshire Pudding Blog Scrutiny Committee - chaired by Robin Bird - the secret love child of the renown Yorkshire cricket umpire - Dickie Bird. I have also ridden on a couple of Asian elephants in Thailand where I washed one of them in a river. I don't think she liked me but fortunately I was not after a date. Pachyderms are not my type.
DeleteBlogiquette. A hornets' nest if ever there was one. However, I am sure it's in safe hands with you. Like Graham I could write reams about the subject. Which, most likely, I am just about to.
DeleteOnly this morning, before I read your post, I reflected on what makes a good blog HOST. And what do you know, and at least two people will be foaming at the mouth reading this (and they do read your blog even if one of them doesn't comment), the first person coming to mind was your very own Yorkshire Pudding.
What makes YP a good host other than the obvious of bringing up interesting subjects? Ah, you see, you actually let people talk. Not least among themselves. It's lovely. It's like one of those amazing cocktail and/or dinner parties. People mingle, feel an affinity to some, are amused (or not - par for the course).
Then I made a list (in my mind, I was going for a long walk this morning) of those who are the worst blog hosts I have come across. I won't (for obvious reasons) name names - apparently Romanians are cheap, and I'd like to enjoy all this wonderful world has to offer a little longer).
What they (we are talking five at the last count) have in common that they lack. They lack a generosity of heart, they lack imagination, they lack an expanse of thought. They share a dearth of ability to reflect on someone else's view. In summary: They lack spirit. And, by golly, never did I know how touchy, then tetchy, how narrow minded, how just plain limited some people are. A psychologist would have a field day as to the why. May I proffer the suggestion of "lack of self esteem". Chip, shoulder.
Some blogs appear an exercise in getting strokes. Let's be precise: A blogger's exercise in soliciting strokes. So, if you say everything is wonderful and they are wonderful and everything they do and say and their lives is just bloody marvellous and beyond questioning you are IN. Which is why I am OUT. Banned. Deleted. On principle. Not on the strength of input.
Not that I come unblemished out this. I kept trying. Taking another dive. How stupid was that? If you can't see a sow's ear for what it is you better take yourself off to Specsavers. As it is I am as good as new. My vision is 20/20 once more. So, there. That's five people on whom I won't waste time and thought any longer. The latest, by way of example? We were having an interesting, or so I thought, exchange about books and editing. What do you know? Rather than engaging in what I said I am being reprimanded (AGAIN - appears to me my default mode in blogland) and reminded that it's not MY blog. That I am taking up too much room. Well, yes. Some people are fountains, others are sad little dried out shrivels excuses of a river bed, in the desert, resenting a rain drop.
Hosting is what a blog is to me. You throw a morsel to your readership. And wait. Since when do you tell your guests how much they can say, what they can say (be grateful I don't always say what I really think), how they say it, to WHOM they say it? Yes, the blogger as the Great Controller. Thomas the Tank Engine comes to mind. Although, by comparison, that controller was benign.
There is a lot of talk about "nastiness". What constitutes "nasty"? What is someone's Turkish delight is another's puke.
Cultural differences are not taken into account. Sure, the English and those associated by dint of geography are rather reticent (gross generalisation). Why talk substance when you can talk weather instead?
Stet. Editor's note for : Let it stand. Or not. And someone who doesn't want "arseholes" on their blog calls you an arsehole. How is that for trading?
U
Interesting reflections Ursula - wrought, I know, to some large degree through painful experience. There are one or two blogs where my well-meaning comments have attracted "Not Wanted" or "No Trespassers" signs and I have simply kept away from them. I believe that that is the best tactic. Why go back for more whipping? Better to just keep away.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteFull stop.
DeleteYes, YP. The difference between us that I have great difficulty to take no for an answer. "Trying" (in more ways than one) my middle name.
DeleteOddly, and let's go back to your earlier donkeys, the more someone digs their heal in trying to throw me off the more determined I am to make a relationship work. So, not least in that respect, you are wiser than I am. One does need to know when to give up. I don't. Some sort of block.
However, you know when I give up? Finally? And I think it a terrible indictment on the person I give up on? When it just all becomes too stupid for words. When I lose respect. And I do have a lot of respect for some bloggers. They milk. They don't give. So once that respect is lost, my interest into the bargain, if I were them I'd seriously scratch my head. People don't come more forgiving than me.
U
Let's have this out once and for all, John. Subject to YP allowing this.
Delete"Thinly veiled"? Whom the shoe fits, John. A friendly tip: Don't make everything about YOU. I talked about FIVE bloggers. Four and half, maybe not so oddly, of YOUR circle. Thick as thieves, backstabbing each other. More of which further down.
You have foulmouthed me something rotten. That I took it (on the chin - think American Dad and his [chin]) and continued trying to converse with you is my fault, and my fault only. I don't see a fool when he blows me raspberries.
I could go for a fully blown character assassination of four of you - thick as thieves, yet slagging each other off behind each others' backs. Who'd have sunk it what goes on behind the "xxxs" you send in each others' comment boxes? You don't want to know, John. As I am as good as my word (keeping my silence) my lips and my inbox are sealed. Think who you trust, John. And don't just skim a post (mine). READ it. Give me the benefit of the doubt. Turn on brain. You know what the four/five of you share? So quick to take offence. Over nothing. Priding yourselves over your "houmoUr" whilst showing none. The lot of you seemingly unable to see the WIDER picture. There were friendships, potential friendships in the making, on offer from me. Instead of which the five of you pissed on it.
Anyway, I have learnt my lesson. Or so I hope. I'll stick a little yellow post it note on my comp screen. Do not take bait from . . ., times five. Or in the immortal words of one of your (blogging) friends when she addressed me, first time, on a third party blog which now deceased; "Fuck off, Ursula". Charming, don't you think?
Anyway, all the best, John. I'd still adopt Albert. And if you like I'll pay your fees for Swiss Finishing School.
U
PS You are "not happy"? My dear John NOT "going so gently" ban away, give me a bad name, bring my name up again and again and again - your friends loving a little bashing even, and this is what makes me smile, when I haven't said a words in ages.
PPS You always bang on about you being hurt (not just by me, anyone including fate. Does it ever occur to you that you dish out hurt? Which is fair enough if only it was thinking hurt.
So sorry, YP. I didn't see your "full stop" till after posting my last two comments. Otherwise I'd put the sock in.
DeleteU
All I ask is that you refrain from talking about me and too me
DeleteSee, John, and then I really will stop since this is YP's blog which I most certainly do not wish to be soiled by me or anyone else, you are doing it again.
DeleteDo you ever actually care for someone other than yourself?
You keep banging on (on your blog) about your empathy. The endless tears you shed. Bull. When you write about your many plights you write to elicit your readers' empathy/sympathy. Give some of that [empathy/sympathy] back, I'd say if I were your sister.
You ask me not to talk to you. I don't need to "refrain from talking [to you]". You know why? Because I don't talk to you. Figuratively speaking. Your door is shut. Of course, doors may shut. Indeed shut in one's face. Happens in a moment of anger, frustration, whatever. A breakdown in communication. Something that rarely can't be fixed.
You don't have the curiosity to tenderly open that door again, have a peak round the corner, allow that door being opened again from the other side. To see what's behind. How fences can be mended. Oh no. Once your door is shut it's SHUT.
In my reply to YP I was not just talking "about you". You are one of a few examples of what can go wrong in blogland. We'd have long parted ways if you (and others in your circle) wouldn't bring up my name again and again. Your contingent then jumping on me. Why is that ok, John? Why? Makes a mockery out of your mission statement.
Anyway, let's leave it there. Take pleasure in the fact that you really got to me a number of times. Not by your insults. I am thick skinned to the point of rhino. Neither stick, stones or words will break me. You got to me because if the self appointed saints like yourself can't make peace/are unwilling to make peace then there is little hope. Go and look into your own heart before you attempt to butcher some else's.
U
I always feel sad when I see donkeys heaving fat people up steps such as in Santorini in Greece. Donkeys have been given a bad deal. Aa for blog etiquette, it is the same as any social media. There is no place for nastiness. People hide behind their keyboards and think they can say what they like, but at the end of the day we are all humans with feelings. My dad (a refugee from Nazi Germany) instilled in me the policy never to discuss politics or religion, as everyone will have their own biased views and you will never agree. So there is no point in introducing nastiness into it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise that your father was a refugee from Nazi Germany ADDY. Now I can partly see where your interest and talent in European languages came from. The things he must have seen... Religion and politics are certainly not no-go areas for me but I see no need to bang on about them all the time. There are plenty of other things to blog about... like donkeys.
DeleteAnother irritation is when you get comments like “great post” followed by “here is a link to my blog”, or even more direct “I’ve followed you, please follow me”. By coincidence I’ve just noticed a WordPress blogger I follow, beetleypete, has written about this today, and previously often about similar issues. He sees a lot of them because with more than 6,000 followers he attracts people who think him an easy vehicle to increase their own count. He blocks them immediately which WordPress gives power to do. Unfortunately, I find Pete guilty of another annoyance which is posting too much. He is full-time blogger who often gets in his 5 a day, which meant he was always at the top of my follow list until I took him off.
ReplyDelete6,000 followers? Is Beetleypete Jesus in disguise? I know that I post most days Tasker and hope that my regularity does not offend you. In my defence, I eat a lot of "All Bran". Having a fellow Yorkshireman visiting this blog is something that I value. Rawcliffe? Howden? Snaith? Thorne? No - it must be Goole!
DeleteAirmyn, Hook, Old Goole, Swinefleet, Reedness, Whitgift, Ousefleet, Asselby, Wressle, Spaldington, Howden Dyke, Laxton, Saltmarsh, Yokefleet, Blacktoft, Eastrington, Gilberdyke, Newport, Broomfleet, Rawcliffe Bridge, Sykehouse, Moorends, Cowick, Carlton, Gowdall, Hensall, Pollington, Heck.
DeleteYou are a teaser - that is for sure. I have been to Moorends. That is a hell of a place. Maybe you are the only lad who ever got out of there.
DeleteFirst- I've lived near and visited beaches my entire life and I've never seen donkey rides offered on any of them. Horse rides, yes. Donkey rides, no. Must be a very British thing.
ReplyDeleteBlog etiquette? Hmmm. Well. I've never really had any problems with my commenters and readers except for spam and that's not the same thing at all. People are very polite to me. I have had one or two who got miffed and left and that's fine. Whatever. But I do have the idea that on my blog I get to say what I want the way I want to say it and if someone has a problem with that they of course have the right to speak up but I'm not going to change. Honestly, I think I have one of the nicest blog communities in the world. I'm with Tasker though about blatant attempts to get me to follow someone else's blog. I'll generally check profiles to see if the commenter is a blog poster themselves and I'll give their blogs a look and if I like what I see, I'll go back. If it's not a blog that much interests me, I won't. Nothing personal.
I am very much NOT of the opinion that neither religion nor politics should be discussed. My blog is not a newspaper nor is it set up to be a tea party where polite conversation rules. I think that politics and religion are two very interesting subjects and by golly, sometimes I have a lot to say about them. My opinion, of course. Everyone has a right to their own.
I do try very hard not to invade anyone's privacy and before I write about anything that involves one of my family members that may be in the least touchy, I ask permission first.
Your blogging philosophy is admirable Mary and I hope that the nasties continue to stay away from "Bless Our Hearts". A valued correspondent and I parted ways because she objected to my thoughts on religion and politics - suggesting that such subjects don't belong in blogs. She was also a closet Trump supporter.
DeleteSo far I have not found very many objectionable behaviours. I stopped one blogger stopped following me because I wouldn't agree with him. Rules? The objectionable people like breaking rules.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is a nice one Red. You speak of ordinary life and memories in a nice, laid back manner. It's hard for negative commenters to latch on to something to chew in your blog.
DeleteMy house backs onto a farm and the farmer keeps donkeys. He has 9 there at the moment and it is heaven - although god knows they're noisier than the bloody bull he had there for some time. When I asked his sister "why" re the donkeys she just said "he likes them". So I get all the pleasure and none of the pain and it's lovely!
ReplyDeleteLittle donkey, little donkey on the dusty road
DeleteGot to keep on plodding onwards with your precious load
Been a long time, little donkey, through the winters night
don't give up now, little donkey,
Bethlehem's in sight
Neil, as you know I have not blogged in some 4 years now.. maybe longer. Does that mean my life is less full or less meaningful? No, of course not. Do I miss the daily interactions I had through blogging. At times, Yes.
ReplyDeleteI do think that part of blog etiquette includes knowing when to comment, when not to comment and thinking about what you are saying .. putting a pause on that thought or urge for 24 hours .. and then deciding if you really want to say it.
Will the world be a better place by what you are commenting? Why is it so important that you be heard? If it is that important for you to be heard, have the courage and courtesy to write your own blog instead of hijacking other people's blogs in the comments.
I personally don't have the courage to write a public blog again. I am too needy and take offence too easily. Mind, blogosphere has nothing on the drama in comments on You Tube.
Yours was one of my "go to" blogs Carol and in a way I miss your presence in the blogosphere. Nice to see you commenting again and leaving thoughtful reflections on blog etiquette. I agree that knowing when not to comment is important.
DeleteI just want to say I'm really enjoying the discussion this post has prompted! I agree with Ursula in that YP is an excellent host and I appreciate how his blog allows free expression of ideas within reasonable boundaries.
ReplyDeleteI don't like seeing the pettiness and bickering between some bloggers, and I've quit following some blogs (one in particular) where the blogger was just so mean spirited and oftentimes rude that I couldn't understand how they had any blog friends left. They do, though. For that reason I don't see why Ursula is considered such a pariah when I've seen worse behavior from others who regularly get a pass.
My own blog only occasionally gets a troll comment or two, and I just delete those without comment. There's a well-known troll that's been around the blogs I read for a while, and I have a theory that the person behind it would come as a shock to a lot of people.
My head has swollen up like a balloon now you have called me an "excellent host" Jennifer. More wine madam?
DeleteI have honestly never even seen a donkey on a British beach, but that's probably because I've only BEEN to a British beach a handful of times. It's hard not to feel bad for them, isn't it? At least here they're well cared for. I saw some truly sad donkeys when I lived in Morocco.
ReplyDeleteAs for blogging etiquette, I feel like I've been mercifully spared negative blog energy. (I hope saying that doesn't jinx me!)
I think that one of the reasons you have avoided that negativity and aggression is that you handle comments with calmness and positivity. You are never spoiling for a fight.
DeleteWell, you already know I have a soft spot for donkeys, so that part of this post both pleases and saddens me.
ReplyDeleteAs for Blog etiquette, I could go into a lot of rules, but they are all basically some form of the following three:
1. for readers: if you don't like it, move on
2. for commenters: if you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't say it in a comment
3. for bloggers: if you want to keep your reasonable commenters, don't allow unreasonable ones to commandeer your blog
You asked :)
Thanks Jenny. Straightforward as usual. All I would ask is what do "reasonable" and "unreasonable" mean? That would be a matter of values and judgement. Allowing for other people's differences is healthy and desirable.
DeleteDifferences, yes. Poking with a sharp stick, no.
DeleteBut then, it all feeds back to #1, doesn't it?
In the words of literary critic Joy Hurt, *one of the most enlightened experiences a person can have is owning donkeys.* This is from an online essay: Betsey Trotwood's Donkey Wars; a study of the novel David Copperfield.
ReplyDeleteDonkeys are *fascinating and complex* writes Joy; and the same might be said of bloggers. Till recently I only visited literary blogs. My favourites: The Airship (from Black Balloon Publishing) and The Rumpus which currently has an enjoyable interview with short story writer Rita Bullwinkel. Searching for essays on Stan Barstow, I came upon the magical and Barstowite world of Tasker Dunham. And through Tasker your own, The Librarian's, and Ursula's. New worlds to discover!
Regarding blogiquette (a new word from Ursula) it never occurred to me that I should not leave a longer comment than the blog post: I still need to reign in my blather! As for what we Wegies (Glaswegians) call Bad Patter, I have two amusing examples. The first was when I left a comment on The Spectator blog and received laddish responses like *Of course he's stupid, he's a Lefty* etc. A bit much, methought, since I buy The Spectator and The New Statesman. But who could get angry?
The other experience that had this Wegian laughing was on a blog called American Catholic. It was posting on the death of Fidel Castro. I said I was no Marxist (though I admired Raymond Williams) but that Castro did some very decent things, like his care for children, compared to the previous regime of Fulgencio Batista. They jumped all over me like a Rangers-Celtic brawl. A blogger who self-described as Lucius Quinctius Cincinattus stopped reading my opinions and started to add up my word-count, going *blah blah blah, Haggerty has now written 750 words* etc.
I could have done a Betsey Trotwood and confronted him head-on, but what was the point? Cincinattus was not remotely capable of discourse. The irony is that I admire aspects of American conservatism: Barry Goldwater was a Jeffersonian democrat who believed in small government; and William F Buckley's Firing Line interviews (YouTube) are entertaining, especially with Paul Goodman, Norman Mailer, Kurt Vonnegut, William Styron, Bill Goldman, Truman Capote, Mrs Thatcher and Mother Theresa.
Buckley only ever lost his cool with Gore Vidal, blogiquette being abandoned for *Call me a crypto-fascist again you fag and I'll punch you in the mouth!*
Vidal, of course, retained his dignity. There's a lesson there, somewhere.
Thank you for highlighting Ursula's useful new word - "blogiquette" and for your reflections on past experiences with commenters. A "Wegian" sounds like a member of a comic book race from a distant planet where people do weird things like reading books and absorbing their contents. The Planet Wegia - I wonder if they have coronavirus there or has it been zapped to extinction by The Wegians' great leader - President Kranky.
DeleteYou have blown my cover. I AM from Planet Wegia, located in Ursa Major in the northern sky. We are the Nordics, the mortal enemies of the Greys, who are not a species at all but merely interdimensional entities (demons in your lingo). A crop circle will appear soon on the Sheffield moors. The Age of Aquarius is finally here, buddy. Good news for those Wiccan girls. No naked dancing but.
DeleteErratum.
ReplyDeleteThe interviews with screenwriter William Goldman and novelists William Styron and Kurt Vonnegut are with broadcaster Charlie Rose (YouTube) and not William F Buckley. However William Buckley's interview with Noam Chomsky at the height of the Vietnam War, is a study in reason and good manners. My mistake with the blog American Catholic was to quote Chomsky who is hated and feared by conservatives like Cincinattus.
Chomsky sees American politics very clearly. I have often listened to him via "Democracy Now". Still such a wise man in spite of his great age. He is 91 now.
DeleteTry to order a DVD about Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent.
DeleteI don't have a blog anymore, I wasn't that serious to be honest :)
ReplyDeleteThe rules for blogging have been well covered above, but what I will say is about the use of 'troll', well it seems to have changed from my day of 'usenet' and the rooms therein, you really knew a troll then and don't get me started on 'flame wars' lol
Now 'troll' is thrown about just because someone doesn't agree with what has been said, different times :)
Anyway, its a long time since I was taken to the beach for a donkey ride, I still have the photographs, black and white and some faded colour ones...memories :)
I see what you mean about the changing definition of "troll".
DeleteAs for donkey rides, it's never too late Jane. There's a donkey called Elvis waiting to carry you over the sand.
Loved singing the Canadian sea shanty Donkey Riding at Primary School in the 50s. Always thought it was about real donkeys until I read the You Tube post from LUCASTDScom explaining that the donkeys were steam engines used to load timber onto ships in Eastern Canada. Hate to see animal abuse anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very thought provoking quote on the power of vegetable protein.
I also sang "Donkey Riding" at primary school Peng. Could you hear me down there? I am going to send that quote to my vegan son at Bosh!.
DeleteThe only donkeys on Bondi Beach are the ones who can't swim but go into the water in front of Backpackers ( famous rip at Bondi ) and have to be fished out by the Lifesavers !
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteInternational students from Korea on this week's episode of Bondi Rescue. It was said to be .. a good opportunity for them to practise their English.
DeleteWhat about the donkeys who clustered together on Bondi Beach at the height of the Australian lockdown? Bondi = 'a place where a fight with nullas took place'. But what is a "nulla"? I thought it was some kind of boomerang.
DeleteTo me there is something rather sad about those donkeys waiting for someone to ride them. Maybe it's the rather bleak English beach, and grey clouds.
ReplyDeleteI read very few blogs, and occasionally make a comment or two, but have no desire to become a blogger myself. Apart from your blog YP., all the others feature dogs!
It is nice that you drop by from time to time CG. Here - have another hobnob. More tea?
DeleteI hope British donkeys are better treated than those Steve saw in Morocco. My Uncle George worked with horses and donkeys all his life, and he said the novel Black Beauty told the truth about the way they were worked to death. He lives in Devon and was 100 in April. He was at the battle of Monte Cassino, and as sergeant-major he was solely in charge of donkeys, which he always fed and watered before he saw to himself. Later he ran a stud with his Italian wife not too far from Venice. The intelligence and sensitivity of horses and donkeys is something he understands. Animal consciousness is much debated now.
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