February 18: Blog in the Raw

My last post today is going to be a blog in the raw.  That means I'm not going to proofread or correct what I'm typing.  I'm just going talk about whatever comes into my head.  I'm not going to backspace or speell check or anything.  (OK, that's funny, misspelling "spell.")

Pretty much, when I type in a post, they all pretty much look like this.  I'm a pretty fast typiest, so my fingers sometimes work faster than my brain.  Especially when it comes to spelling and grammar.  After I'm done entering a post, I usually spend a good 15 or 20 minutes proofreading and correcting it.  I hate reading blogs that are poorly written, which is about 98% of them.  Either that or they're about food or fashion or crafts.

Yes, I'm bitching about the state of blogdom.  I wish there were more really good writers blogging out there, instead of the vomit that's usually posted.  Perhaps it's my sensibilities as a college English professor.  It could be.  I've read so many comma splices and sentence fragments that I think my own skills are detriorating.  The final word in that last sentence proves it.

I usually tell my students not to worry about grammar or spelling on their first drafts.  The problem with that advice is that they apply it to their second, third, fourth, and final drafts, as well.  And now I read that they're not going to be teaching kids in elementary school how to write in cursive.  It makes me weep for the state of the world.  If the power goes out and the wireless towers are disabled, nobody is going to able to communicate with each other any more.  We'll be reduced to a planet of people wandering around like the walking dead, staring at our blank computers and smart phones and tablets.

Yes, this is a rant.  A poorly spelled and punctuated but deeply felt rant.

Maybe Saint Marty should have lived on the prairie with Laura Ingalls.

It's never stopped me, either

October 24: Another BON Rant, New Tactic

Yes, I'm going to write, yet again, about not yet being chosen as a Blog of Note (BON) by the team at Blogger.  I've threatened hunger strikes, animal sacrifice, and Stephen King-like curses.  Nothing has worked so far.  Of course, the closest I came to a hunger strike was turning down seconds of Hamburger Helper for dinner, and I can't really bring myself to harm cattle or sheep, although I have killed a few goldfish in my time.  The curse thing is harder to pull off than you would think.  It involves satanic ritual, and that would screw up my chances of becoming a saint.  I would be a double loser--in my life and afterlife.  Not willing to take that chance.

Therefore, I am at an impasse.  I'm not sure where to go from here.  I have reached some milestones on Saint Marty already.  I'm approaching 10,000 page views.  I've got twelve disciples.  Each day, I'm getting close to 100 hits.  Things are going well.  When I started this little blog two Lents ago, I really never thought I'd still be at it almost two years later.  It was a slow start.  I had to beg people to become followers at the beginning, and I forced friends to sit down at their computers and read each post.  Wait, that hasn't really changed.  Of course, Saint Marty has evolved over time.  Long-time disciples will remember the first name of the blog--Feasts & Famines.  (Sounds like a food blog, doesn't it?)  I've added poetry, cartoons, and lots of pictures.  If you go back and look at my first posts, you'll find a lot of great writing, but not a whole lot else.  Go ahead.  Look.  I'll wait.

Now, I have to decide how to make the people at Blogger sit up and take notice.  Maybe I should write each post in pig Latin.  Ouldn'tway atthay ebay nnoyingaay?  Something's gotta give here.  Any reader who has any suggestions, post them in the comment section here.  I'll try any reasonable idea, and probably unreasonable ones, as well (as long as it doesn't involve public nudity).  I didn't get the Nobel this year.  I need this shallow recognition of my hard work on Saint Marty.

Help a poor saint become a BON.

Evolution of Saint Marty