Tomato Guy would be a good blogger but doesn’t think it is worth his time.
- TG: It’s all so pointless. You measure success by “hits” and “reads.” So what if someone hits your blog?
- Me: Book successes are measured by number of copies sold. Who actually reads books but a very few?
- TG: So you’re like an author? That’s a little presumptuous – authors do careful research, make arguments over many pages, reach conclusions …
- Me: Blah blah blah.
- TG: Authors have impact. You don’t.
- Me: There are been a few authors who have influenced the flow of events by the strength of their work. Most are addressing selected small audiences and stroking them – Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, for instance.
- TG: Chomsky.
- Me: I suppose. That hurt.
- TG: Chomsky has had deep influence on you, but hardly reaches anyone in power. That makes you part of an alienated minority. Does disaffection qualify you to preach?
- Me: Who said anything about qualifications?
- TG: Answer the question.
- Me: I have given away more books than 99% will ever read. I’ve thought more about world events, trying to make real sense of them, than anyone I know except a few. My views, my ideas actually change over time. I don’t know anyone else who changes their mind, except a couple.
- TG: La de dah. You’re so very special then. Again, so what?
- Me: There comes a point in life where a person is faced with a choice: Submerge in the ordinary, go with the flow, think what everyone thinks, watch sports, dissolve.
- TG: Now we’re getting somewhere. You don’t want to be “like” everyone. That’s how intellectuals think, though they don’t say it. You’re an intellectual?
- Me: I hate that word. Most intellectuals I know are self-appointed and cling on to other intellectuals for validation.
- TG: Like Chomsky.
- Me: Would you stop with the Chomsky stuff? Anyway, intellectuals, American intellectuals anyway, are butt-kissers and they uniformly despise Chomsky. And I haven’t read anything by him in years – he doesn’t write much anymore. And anyway, I specifically eschew intellectualism. It’s a form of masturbation, sometimes alone, mostly in groups.
- TG: And blogging?
- Me: OK, then. Blogging is a form of masturbation. This is really embarrassing now. I’m going to go read a book.
Piece of Mindful 
Wonder what TM would have thought of Paul Gauguin, or his painting (1897) entitled “Where do we come from? What are we? Were are we going?” Gauguin’s art was never popular while he was alive. Today, anything not popular is generally rejected out of hand. I’m thinking it’s too early to judge blogging, or the blogger, any blogger, until the dust settles. Asking questions, and seeking answers isn’t for everyone, obviously. But why not? It’s as good as any other passtime, and seems better than most. Besides, grumps are a dime a dozen.
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Masturbation causes hair to grow on your palms. Otherwise its completely healthy.
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That was a trick that teachers pulled on us years ago – to say that hair grew and then look around quickly to see which guys were looking at their hands.
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masturbation isn’t usually broadcast on a platform with global reach.
a blog that has significantly influenced my awareness of global politics is Moon of Alabama. the fact I can interact with smart people from around the world is phenomenal. and the blogger, b, had a post cited by Gareth Porter about Iranian nuclear technology and nanodiamonds. he also beat CNN by hours when he speculated the Benghazi attack was an organized operation and not the supposed spontaneous riot it was being depicted as.
closer to home, hits are fine, but the real potential is who those hits may be coming from. change can come from planting seeds in the right places. it’s also nice for an unpublished poet to be able share work that has yet to be validated by the fickle publishing gods.
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Mark, I see, once again, you have resorted to erasing comments. Perhaps Tomato Guy would appreciate this: http://www.citizensforgovernmentaccountability.org/?p=1643
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Don’t know what comment you are referring to – pending and spam have nothing from you.
Your link to a long expose’ about Trotsky is interesting but merely a misinterpretation of circumstantial evidence, in my view. He was indeed backed by western elements as I read those times, but not for any other purpose than to bring in the old guard in Russia, get rid of the Bolsheviks. He was an amazing organizer and centrfugal force and capable of espousing Marxist tracts even as he sought to bring them down. I view him as a classic agent provocateur, and an amazingly talented person. Stalin had him killed as an enemy of the state, and indeed he was just that.
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That’s surprising since you responded here to one of them. Now poof!
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???
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Deleting a comment takes intent and several keystrokes. I have ingested no alcohol since last weekend.. (You?) I really don’t know wtf you are talking about.
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Unless someone else is playing blog master here, I find your denial quite dishonest. My first comment, which no longer appears was to question whether TG was a fruit or a vegetable. You responded.
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Click here:
https://pieceofmind.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/mindsets-and-the-arrival-of-tomato-guy/
It’s at a different post. Apology accepted. jeez!
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