Right versus left

One thing I've contemplated of late is why right wingers I know, Bruce Bateman, Harry Blalock, Mike Ernest and even Richard Pierce come to mind, are way cooler people to hang out and talk with than the left wingers I agree with so much more. I think it boils down to humor, and the left's apparent lack of it. Angelo, pretty liberal himself, has had his spats with lefties Wendy Doromol, Ed Propst and Dengre. I've gotten it from lefties Jane Mack, monkey picture and a touch of it from Steve Woodruff. As usual, Matt Taibbi captures this phenomenon in a quote I just read.

As for why the left's writers are dull, that's probably the reason —
anybody who's doctrinaire is also always going to be dull. If I know what your
opinion is going to be on any subject, why should I bother reading you? Plus,
most of the left's writers are like Democratic politicians in general — always
worried about offending somebody. And they're always trying to stay on message.
There is something there left over from the old communist dictum about art for
art's sake being dangerous and unorthodox. What's most infuriating about this is
that humor is the most subversive force there is. If you can become the place
where people go to laugh at the system, you will attract all the dissenting
energy in the population. But the American left has no sense of humor and no
sense of fun at all. And so the would-be revolutionaries all avoid them like the
plague, go into day-trading and shit like that.

Quote of the day

This had to be the funniest quote of the day.

"Odd relationship with bradinthesand, whom he repeatedly links with NAMBLA (see here and here)."
- Steve Woodruff

It's not all that odd really. Brad is one of my oldest and closest friends on island. What better way to show brotherhood than to publicize the link between Brad and the North American Man Boy Love Association. Doesn't everyone torture their friends like this, or is it just a northeastern thing.

Blogger etiquette

Steve Woodruff was kind enough to give me a new write up on his overview of the blogosphere. Blogger etiquette requires me to do the same.

In a world where lawyers have the esteem usually reserved for child molesters or sophists in Ancient Greece, Steve is a lawyer I genuinely admire for his unwavering support of contract workers. As a blogger he describes himself as someone who doesn't teach writing. Steve's "never dull or prissy" blog is a celebration of free speech as long as it isn't the "offensive or annoying" kind that offends his sensibilities -- such as when people poke fun at cold movie theaters, the poor quality of Subway sandwiches or the confusion haoles face when they encounter eyebrow talking. Steve enjoys the "lively" blog of lil hammerhead, the inspirational musings of an alleged woman who found an outlet for her anger over long term unemployment by channeling that rage into obsession about every statement made by a bar owner, a teacher and an environmentalist who won't pay enough attention to him/her or help him/her escape his/her desperately lonely world. Steve links to links of Japanese girls engaged in group sex, and is reviled by "thousands" of people who protested federalization.

The taotao tano blog

I get most of my Taotao Tano news from the newspapers and their breathless daily updates, but tonight I checked out the TT blog and had a few chuckles. Back in July Brad Ruszala got the NAMBLA endorsement for Saipan's Sexiest Blogger. Taotao Tano gives Angelo Villagomez its continuing endorsement for "Saipan's Best Blogger." Look in the links on the left.

The funniest thing on the Taotao Tano site was a headline about "Out of Control" contract workers, and to illustrate the point they showed a newspaper picture of workers holding hands and the newspaper headline says "Hundreds join prayer vigil." Prayer vigil, now that's my idea of excess. If you look closely there were a bunch of empty Jagermeister bottles -- not really.

On this survey of sites I haven't seen, I also visited Steve Woodruff's overview of the blogosphere where he described my blog as sometimes "offensive or annoying." At the same time, the ball sack/penis poll blog is "lively . . . distinctive point of view . . . energetic . . . creative . . . concerned." That's ok, I enjoyed your dull and prissy blogs, Steve. Thanks for the reminder on why I'd rather hang out with Bruce Bateman than walk on eggshells around depressing politically correct liberals -- perhaps the one group more loathsome than the neo-cons. Here are some adjectives you forgot for that other blog: "cowardly ... predictable ... whiny ... a clear example of what is possible when boredom, fixation and jealousy meet long term unemployment ... dull ... routinely mean spirited ...gutless... focused on other bloggers to the point of obsession ... clearly has a crush on Bruce Bateman."