See, for me, an important part of blogging is the conversation that posts prompt. (The rest is, as Frank Paynter’s site so succinctly explains, that it works as a “public place for self-expression.”)
Recently, I commented on a post of Frank’s (entitled “When Does a Blogger Find Time to Write”) about what constitutes success for a blogger. He cites several, for example, who have parlayed their blogging expertise into dollars. To that I commented:
Maybe it’s because my primary medium is poetry (and we all know that very, very few people make any money writing poetry) that I’m comfortable with the notion of blogging not being a commercial venture. For me, blogging is like giving a poetry reading at Borders: I don’t get paid, and the audience is small. But it’s what I do, and there are always a few people out there who appreciate it, a few people whom my words touch in some meaningful way. Bloggers and poets — each in good company, I think.
While blogging and writing poetry differ in style, often the intent is the same — to share with the world a personal interpretation of a larger reality.
And then Tom Shugart posted a funny piece on an episode of the HBO series Real Sex (which he swears he doesn’t really watch. Right.)
Given my ongoing disagreements with the expressed gender attitudes of both RageBoy and Halley, I wound up leaving a very serious comment. Some things I have a hard time not taking seriously.
I’ll bet that the Boy Toy was invented (and marketed via HBO) by a male. If you read erotic fantasies written by women (ahem, yes, I’ve been through more than a few of those books), it becomes pretty clear that many, many, many of us prefer a slow hand, an easy touch, warm skin on skin. Erotic movies written and directed by women (ahem, yes, I’ve seen a few of those, too) are also very different from the slambamthankyouman scripts devised by men. So, if men seem to be becoming irrlevant to many women (we don’t need them for financial support and all we need is their sperm for impregnation)perhaps it’s because what we look to men for is really something very different from what many men think we look to them for. And so if men seem to be becoming irrelevant, perhaps it’s because they’re making themselves irrelevant.
Anyway, Tom, from what I’ve learned about you here over all of this time, I don’t think you have to worry. Big, heavy-handed anatomically correct Boy Toys are about as satisfying as Halley’s “Girlies.”
Q: What’s the difference between a cucumber and a man? A: A cucumber doesn’t leave a wet spot. (Sorry about that.)