Ok, here we go. The lists below are the Editor’s Pick and Front Cover of Open Salon for Wednesday, November 4 2009.
A couple points of clarification before I continue. I just finished reading a post on Open Manhole where the woman posting her views was honest, forthright and to the point of just how completely screwed up all of this has become. It seems that every other day there are posts and articles on the condition of Open Sore and no one, absolutely no one seems to be listening, or just doesn’t care.
My second clarification is that I don’t give a rat’s ass what the gang of bitter, elite schmucks thinks about my writing. I have a wonderful following of people who I love to read and they love to read me. What more could one ask for but there really is a problem going on here at Open Mouth (insert foot). It really does appear that they don’t’ care. They don’t care to a point where they won’t even respond to the frustration that is very real and apparent.
Also, I don’t want to hear comments about people who have some wimpy assed excuse for how and why Editor’s picks or Front Page articles happen. Grown some balls and start at least acting like you give a shit.
And here we go boys and girls with today’s Editor’s Picks. Apparently it doesn’t matter if you get comments or ratings, just views, oh and inane bullshit articles about Kate and eight and who gives a shit.
Editor’s Pick1 Ratings298 Views6 CommentsInfant mortality report neglects most the important detailNOVEMBER 4, 2009 10:28AM EST By AmyTuteurMD
(Ok, who the hell is AmyuteurMD)
Editor’s Pick17 Ratings1191 Views27 CommentsA Love Letter to Maine from One Second-Class CoupleNOVEMBER 4, 2009 1:43AM EST By JustMarriedUs
Editor’s Pick17 Ratings525 Views16 CommentsTaking a little girl away from breast cancerNOVEMBER 4, 2009 2:25AM EST By Jess D. Facts
Editor’s Pick4 Ratings359 Views6 CommentsOpen Salon review: A Christmas Carol: The 3D IMAX ExperienceNOVEMBER 4, 2009 1:20AM EST By Scott Mendelson
(How many people read Open Ass for movie reviews or reviews about TV shows? Please tell me. Is that what people want to know?)
Editor’s Pick4 Ratings134 Views6 CommentsNJ Results: DC Dems have a year to get things doneNOVEMBER 4, 2009 12:15AM EST By HudsonJoe
Editor’s Pick12 Ratings314 Views21 CommentsFinally, Standing in Line for My Own H1N1 ImmunizationNOVEMBER 3, 2009 10:03PM EST By Kathy Riordan
Editor’s Pick1 Ratings100 Views1 CommentsHow much can we do with $100? NOVEMBER 3, 2009 9:43PM EST By MsThirteen
Editor’s Pick20 Ratings294 Views25 CommentsThe Future of Publishing: Not as Bleak as We Might ThinkNOVEMBER 3, 2009 3:29PM EST By Lonnie Lazar
Editor’s Pick22 Ratings3570 Views33 CommentsPutting the "I" in "Bisexual"NOVEMBER 3, 2009 3:28PM EST By Elizabeth_Friedland
(Ok, my daughter is a Lesbian and I am proud of her for everything she does but apparently if I want to be and Editor’s Pick or Front Page all I have to do is write articles about my Lesbian daughter and that would be unvelievably unfair to her.)
Editor’s Pick22 Ratings1165 Views26 CommentsForeclosure: Staring Down the Barrel of a Loan Mod Ray GunNOVEMBER 3, 2009 3:20PM EST By dailyforeclosure
Editor’s Pick13 Ratings356 Views18 CommentsReason #547 that Sears is in the crapperNOVEMBER 3, 2009 11:42AM EST By Skeptic Turtle
Editor’s Pick13 Ratings3447 Views26 Comments'Gay Eradication Day' imposed by Jamaican townNOVEMBER 3, 2009 10:33AM EST By gaypersonsofcolor
Editor’s Pick12 Ratings2400 Views32 CommentsThe Obamas, the Date Night, & the Public PurseNOVEMBER 3, 2009 10:21AM EST By Heather Michon
(For God’s sake stop picking on the Obama’s and the fact that they have a night out. What the hell is wrong with you people? WE actually have a normal President with a normal family. Shut the fuck up!)
Editor’s Pick15 Ratings1285 Views12 CommentsIdentity Crisis, Kindergarten-styleNOVEMBER 3, 2009 10:16AM EST
By Stab329
Editor’s Pick3 Ratings69 Views5 CommentsThis Is How East Van PartiesNOVEMBER 3, 2009 10:06AM EST By Ryan Clark
Editor’s Pick56 Ratings1584 Views68 CommentsHow I Got Thomas Pynchon’s Medical RecordsNOVEMBER 3, 2009 9:59AM EST By john blumenthal
Editor’s Pick24 Ratings565 Views37 CommentsLast Gasp GazpachoNOVEMBER 3, 2009 9:33AM EST By Jodi Kasten
(Ah Jodi Kasten even puts recipes up that are better than Chuck’s unbelievable writing)
Editor’s Pick8 Ratings551 Views11 CommentsBetty Crocker Goes Gluten Free: The Taste TestNOVEMBER 3, 2009 8:27AM EST By LuluandPhoebe
(Foodie Tuesday on Wednesday)
Editor’s Pick12 Ratings1142 Views30 CommentsInbreeding at The New Yorker Produces 12-Fingered TypistsNOVEMBER 3, 2009 8:05AM EST By Con Chapman
Editor’s Pick6 Ratings106 Views7 CommentsAndy Rooney and Other American Foreign Policy GurusNOVEMBER 3, 2009 6:00AM EST By Norwonk
Editor’s Pick20 Ratings328 Views31 CommentsWeird Reactions When Someone DiesNOVEMBER 2, 2009 11:17PM EST By skeletnwmn
Editor’s Pick45 Ratings1012 Views84 CommentsLive Blogging: Saints game with added H1N1NOVEMBER 2, 2009 8:39PM EST By tequilaanddonuts
(What the hell is live blogging?)
Editor’s Pick16 Ratings439 Views17 CommentsThe New Magazine: Blogazine or Magazog?NOVEMBER 2, 2009 4:08PM EST By Martha Nichols
Editor’s Pick3 Ratings411 Views14 CommentsParanormal Activity: Go See This Movie!NOVEMBER 2, 2009 4:01PM EST By mad_typist
(Here we go with another review)
Editor’s Pick74 Ratings2456 Views109 CommentsLive-blogging the pre-labor.NOVEMBER 2, 2009 2:30PM EST By the squirrel
And now ladies and gentlepeople let’s look at the front page, shall we, oh hell yea. It’s better than being dipped in acid an inch every hour from the feet up. You know what. After looking over the front page I don’t have to list them. They are all editor’s picks. Good I am becoming completely bored with this whole experiment.
Here’s the crux of the journey that we have just taken to get back to the problems with Open Black Hole. There is no point here. There never was. Some bean counting butt head sat down and realized that he could make money off of genuine people spending time writing great stories and fund this little adventure on the merits of some real shit writing that gives the kinetic world of the Internet something to look at really quick, skim over and understand that the show, “Celebrities who have no careers anymore also can’t fucking dance” is, well, I don't know what.
We are all whores. We sit and write and create and craft and we splash it out here and the pimps shuffle the digital papers and still smack a couple on the ass and let the rest drift off into nothingness.
Everyone says it and it’s the truth. Keep writing, keep commenting and keep your personal bile out of the comments. Keep finding friends and making friends and sooner or later we will have enough genuine great people that we will tell Open Saliva to go fuck themselves and start our own blogging service, or not.
In the name of the Father, the son and the holy ghost. PLAY BALL!
Oh yea, fuck the thongs.
I wonder how pissed off the cretins have to be before they shut me down?
cool beans
hippy mike
peace
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Comments
Once you get past the front page, you find some really talented writers who do some wonderful and powerful work. Those are the golden nuggets I search for well past the front page.
Btw...there was one guy who actually DIDN'T make the front page today for about the first time in a week. Hell, maybe he just hasn't written one yet today...will have to check back later.
This is an experiment for someone like me who gets squeamish with praise, criticism, or attention in any form. I stayed here for the talent, and continue to stay -for the talent-. Getting money or credit for writing or art has never been easy, and at this point it's an "Escher-like hellscape." Editors are fumbling in the dark as much as we are, albeit a more comfortable, fancier dark.
I have some major respect for some of the people that get EPs and FPs, but they write blogs. We don't. Most people I think are here to read blogs. Not the garbage I call 'writing'. So I expect to never receive an EP or be on the cover. That's not going to stop me though. I just take heart in the fact that there are other people out there that feel the same way.
Thank You for your comment.
And yeah, I don't really get the whole 'live blogging' thing either...
R~
Live Blogging is where you write something, like T&D did for the Saints game the other night; like Squirrel did for the impending birth of his child (though he didn't really keep up - I guess Wifeasaurus didn't want him blogging from delivery room) - and then you edit the post, add something, Live, and update it. That's live blogging, to my understanding.
The rest? Go in Peace.
What the hell is Gezpacho?
Rated.
Which along with a $1.39 will get you a cuppa coffee.....but, hey.
I hear you man. I force myself to ignore the cover and find the writers I enjoy following and also scan through recent postings to find other interesting content. There are some writers whose stuff I won't read because they seem to be the "popular boys and girls". There's also a couple--John Blumenthal comes to mind--who consistently make the cover with stuff I find to be compellingly good and must read material.
I've done some stuff lately that I felt was good enough for the cover. But, it didn't make it and I was at least OK with it (the adult in me is OK with it, the little kid in me wants to throw a tantrum). I'd love to have some of my Cheap Bastid stuff on Foodie Tuesday make a cover because I'm trying to make the point that you can make good meals on a tight budget. But that's a message that the editors don't seem to get.
So, that's the way it is. I'd like to say I don't care but I do. Like you I have some followers. But ultimately, we have to write for ourselves and our own expression. If that's not enough then perhaps we need a different forum--and this is about the best forum on the net.
Rated--peace
As for MD mentioned earlier, I finally broke down and read part of one of her posts. And then part of her comments. I choose to ignore her again.
I write a blog entry every single day. Wehn I first started appearing here, a lot of my entries were getting Editor's Picks and even showed up on the home page. Now? Almost nothing. Why? Who knows? I think I'm pretty consistent with my pop culture topics which is what my blog is all about, and based on the comments I've received, I think what I write about draws readers and sparks discussions.
I DID notice something interesting though -- my blog originates on Blogger and there is a pretty terrible lag time from the moment I post and the moment it appears on Open Salon. Sometimes, over 6 hours. What's the reason for the delay? Again, who knows.
But in my early days at Open Salon, I used to post my blog entries right after midnight so they would go live on OS during the very early morning. Now, I've been posting them in the late mornings or early afternoons (or sometimes even later) sothey would appear live on OS sometimes at the end of the day or after business hours. Is that a factor? Again, who the hell knows.
My philosophy, just keep writing about what you like and hope it attracts a faithful audience. Not too many people blog every single day, and it's obviously tough to hit a home run every single day, but I think I'm providing something fresh and entertaining and I consider myself lucky if the Editors and readers pay any attention.
Just write what you love. The rest is gravy.
Your blood pressure...remember your blood pressure.
JL
it's all cool. I'd be plagiarizing Betty Crocker anyway.... : )
again thanks.
I like everything. I like pictures. I like music. I like fiction. I like funny, sad, silly, esoteric, and the just plain weird.
Which obviously can't appeal to a broad common denominator, but take it from this common broad: that's okay too.
There are many rooms in my house, or whatever the hell that quote is (where is Dennis Knight when we need him?!), and you guys fill all of them, and then some.
I think we can make each other happy, frankly, and putter about.
I'd rather have a discerning few applauding madly, than an arena full of puppets doing what everyone else is doing.
I haven't looked up the mission of OS, so it's not mine to say what's important or what's not, but this is the only place I've ever heard about Mad Men. On Monday there were three cover posts about it. That and the squirrel with the big nuts. Ha ha. Squirrel with big nuts. Sorry, I'm tired.
I love all the indignation. Keep up the good work but don't forget to breathe.
I feel I'm starting to "get it" with a second EP for an anti-violence, anti-gang posting.
It's like so many things. If I cater constantly to feedback then it drowns originality but if you completely ignore it you lose not just an audience but also the objectivity of valid critique.
It's important to take note what people are "into."
"Live Blogging" might be strange but if you have it all set up on a device and something significant is actually taking place then it has some function in terms of anecdotal impressions.
What if the success of a piece was judged by the number of interesting questions it generated? If so, I think you just hit a home run here---perhaps writing that prompts great writing or even dumb ass QUESTIONS like mine being the real service. So with thanks to Harriet Why who told me about Padgett Powell's "The Interrogative Mood"
What color are the walls in an arena full of puppets?
Can you choke on a cup of open saliva?
If I just keep putting down words and hope that a few people will read them, will someone call me a squirrel?
What do you feed a whole different animal for breakfast? Would corn flakes work?
Does a fancier dark have more expensive chairs?
Is that an Escher like landscape or just an Ikea inSchaumberg Illinois?
Is the garbage I call writing recycled anywhere?
What does a 6 pack of neurotoxic venom go for these days?
Does Chuck's past dalliances with Betty Crocker really have to be brought up now?
Is constituiting irony something they are covering on FOX?
Why doesn't that Cat woman have to pay as much as me for coffee?
Making cheap meals on a tight budget? Would that be covered on my per diem?
What if skeltwmn did rethink that scene?
Is gravy required?
What kind of a car does a right wing Jewish fascist drive---and if you actually met on, do you think Sally Swift could take her?
I sure as hell do.
OK. Back to you Arthur James. Time to let a pro handle this.
Sorry for the interruption.
Carry on.
Tastes like shit, but it's cheap.;)
rated:)
I go straight to where I know the good stuff is.
But I don't get your point(s). Why are recipes and movie reviews so bad? I don't generally read them, but they are legitimate, original pieces that people like. You list these EPs as if it should be obviously apparent why they don't merit attention. It's not apparent to me.
I didn't read the post about the bi-daughter, but I don't know why that is automatically not worth an EP.
Incidentally, live blogging, is done during an event (like the World Series) and usually involves participation of others. It's fun!
I'll agree with you on one point. I didn't think my post todaymerited an EP. I've produced much more interesting and original posts than my most recent customer service rant. But, what can you do...
It's good to be loved and cared about. It's good to be home.
By the way, check out the front page right now. Three different stories about mothers. One is a liar. The other is a meth addict. And one has no hair. The rest of the stories are oh-so-special stories about gay issues. I have nothing against gay people or sick mothers, but give us a break already.
You'll feel good and then you go to my doc', Dr. Crotchen Rotchez and read about corn.
You'll feel better. Screw the cover. It's there for the tourists.
The writing here is as varied as the people reading, so it's a pretty difficult task to be all things to all people. Still, it would be nice for them to have a Guest Editor once a week, wouldn't it? Every Friday, maybe. A nice way to test out if the peeps doing the journeyman writing and reading have a better sense of what will attract the clickety clicks.
I don't share your passion about EP and cover pics, but I admire it. I read posts like this and my guilt-ridden Catholic childhood rises up like a spectre and I worry the comments are aimed at me, like I am being singled out for getting undeserved EPs. I often don't care at all for what is on the cover....but like I said, if I chose the cover, I'm sure I'd get accused of cronyism, sexism, mean girlism, liberalism, feminism, racism and anti-theism.
All of which means nothing, really. I hope you keep writing. I like your work, your voice, your stories, your life.
I never really look much at the front page, but I thought tequila's live blogging was hilarious and rather fun. There are some nice pieces there. I would like to see faster turnover and more variety of types of writing but well ... they are clearly an editor short.
Anyway, thanks for your perspective.
A writer writes, so that's what we shall do.
B
If a writer writes simply in an ttempt to garner an EP, wouldn't that sort of be like Miss SomeState saying that if she wins the pageant, she will devote her 12-month reign to ensuring world peace.
You've heard that before.
Doing what is expected is too safe to be any fun, and does not inspire squat. You and many others here however, inspire. It is the real deal. I believe that is what matters.
I have to go now. It is time for me to fantasize about wearing a tiara.