NewscomaGot A Two-Pack Habit And A Motel Tan

Rex is writing this morning about bloggers and writing longer entries. Of course, I’m here only to blow his theory out of the water as I offer you this.

Finally, I have this theory: People don’t read past the first paragraph of a blog post (or the first sentence of an e-mail). If you are reading this sentence you are completely blowing my theory. You are to be commended and you prove that at least one person — you — still has an amazing attention span. Congratulations. Now, go read a book and enjoy your day.

I’m one of those cats that reads the whole thing. I never think something is teal deer.

Unless, of course, I think it’s too long to read.

Heh.

And, of course, I’m winding up this talk about wisdom with a reference to my own dad. My dad, the one who taught me about baiting a hook differently for bass than for catfish, shooting a basketball one-handed with attention to the follow through because, essentially, he is one-handed and ignoring my sister rather than fighting with her when she said something irritating; the one who bought me a giant stuffed raccoon that was my size upon my first ear surgery, took me to my first Cardinals game, was King of the Courthouse to me for years and years, well, on this day, this morning, Father’s Day, HIS day, placed a large cup of coffee and a complete breakfast beside my pillow for me to wake up out of a fitful sleep to see and know that losing sleep over wisdom is far far better than being wide awake and missing it.

From the always thoughtful Scout.

Thanks for indulging me over the years. I know I can be a handful and that I’m odd to you sometimes.

But my greatest gratitude to you comes from you letting me be me. And thanks for wearing the Santa hat each Christmas because you know it pleases me.

Love you …

I would eat there because they don’t mess around.

I love truth in advertising.

From Eat Liver

Wow, it’s Bloggers-In-The-Press-Day today. Michael Silence is interviewing R. Neal about the world of blogging.

Here’s a snippet.

Blogs incorporate more multimedia, including video with the advent of YouTube. Twitter-style “microblogging” is popular among the younger, “short-attention-span” digital generation.

As an old-timer, I don’t get some of it, but I find all of it quite fascinating.

Lastly, while barriers to entry remain low and there’s an unlimited supply of pixels, readers’ time is finite.

Blogging is increasingly competitive as sophisticated readers become more selective. Launching a new blog is easy, but establishing a brand and growing an online community is hard work. Fortunately, people do it anyway, giving individual voice to millions in the “marketplace of ideas.”

Neal will be representing Tennessee at the Democrat Convention as a, you got it, official blogger from Tennessee.

Update: Wait, there’s more on Twitter and K-Town blogging.

I’ve been talking a lot about Twitter this past week. A murder trial, the speed of news and the conversation that followed immediately after Tim Russert’s death and even live updates about the 7.2 earthquake in Japan.

On March 29th, I wrote about us sending out some news on Twitter that made the rounds.

I know, beating a dead horse and all, but actually I’m not.

And I’m not the only one writing about it.

What you are left with is a group of people you find useful/interesting/relevant who update you through out the day. In my case it’s sparked new relationships and opportunities as well.

So I’m not really sure why anyone would prefer not to bother themselves with using twitter or a similar service. If you’re a writer (especially the non-fiction variety) check out twitter for a week and see if it hasn’t proven invaluable on at least one occasion.

Read the whole thing. TechGOnzo breaks it down very well.

I talk a lot about being in a rural part of the state and some of the limitations that go with that. I work at a place that doesn’t even subscribe to a newswire.

I’m finding I don’t need one with Twitter who continually keeps beating mainstream media cable networks in breaking the news. Many times it needs verification, don’t get me wrong, but then it creates a dialogue. The conversation flows and you have instant feedback.

If you don’t give two hoots about Twitter, I’ll give you a picture of a kangaroo drinking a beer

The Commercial Appeal is spotlighting Left Wing Cracker in today’s Sunday edition.

Steve Steffens grew up in a family that fostered lively political discourse.

“My father and I would have discussions that would almost escalate to arguments, but it forced me to defend my position,” said Steffens, 49, a FedEx customer correspondent.

His blog, leftwingcracker.blogspot.com, now serves as a forum for his political views and often generates discussions on local, state and national politics.

There’s more here.

I guess I can say I knew him when …

And the deadwood versions of news said blogs wouldn’t last.