July 27, 2004

• I didn't post anything yesterday, and now I'll quickly try to get something online before taking my walk (which I missed yesterday, my second day on Jury Duty) and attempting to at least finish up a quote at work before going across the Vincent Thomas Bridge and into San Pedro, where I'm serving on the Jury.  The Convention "show" was on last night at 10pm edt and I watched the East Coast Feed on DirecTV at 7pm in California. My poetry group, ElectricPoetry, was the sponsor of the monthly Poetry Chat set up at the Fear of Writing Chatroom website run by Glenn Walker, who is also the moderator of the PoetCircle group on Yahoo. Trouble is, the chat was set up for 7pm too! I don't like chat rooms, and for the five or so years I've been online, creating my website, I have been in only two or three of these internet endeavors. I always thought of chat as the real equivalent of a bunch of people in a room attempting to talk over each other. I don't usually use those instant messenger "thingys" either, because I might be working on something, and don't want to be "disturbed" by what to me is a poor substitute for a "telephone" which is a "technological" wonder that dates back over a 100 years or so. Since my "group" was the sponser of this particular chat, however, and for the most part, I "know" the people who would be there, I waited till after Clinton's speech (which I remarked to Cancerboy that it's probably the best speech he's ever given) missed Gore's speech, and came into the media room, got on the puter, and signed into the chat.

  
  

  One of my favorite correspondents, Anna Blake, (who doesn't have a website, but writes excellent poetry)  runs this particular "chat" group on the last Monday of each month. I enjoy her poetry, and her observations. Anne, Glenn, and two other members of my group, plus another member of Glenn's group, were in the "room" when I entered at what would be past 11pm Eastern time. The main "chat" had already been completed at that time, and before long only Anne and I were "chatting". Since she is one of the few people I will turn the "IM Thingy" on for, we discussed her trip (she's in New England and is visiting Washington D.C. today.) There wasn't any "poetry discussion" at all and the only reason I agreed to be involved in these "chats" were because I'm a poet, and wanted to be available if someone wanted to ask me questions about my poetry. As is usual in my brief "chat" experiences, it still seems like a bunch of people in a room trying to talk on top of one another. Anne is new at "running a chat" and if I were doing it, I'd probably prepare a bunch of "questions" in notepad and then copy/paste them in the chat box, so there would be more "structure". Anne did tell me there would be more structure in future chats. I won't "give up". I always write about "interaction" on the internet. That's the reason why I'm using this particular blog service. (Although I have found there are lots of "blog communities" like Xanga during my "research trips around the web")

  
  

  I even find the "responses" I sometimes read in the comments sections at these Xanga blogs to be somewhat akin to "chat" in that sprinkled amongst the comments from people who actually take the time to read the entries and who might actually become friends of the individual blog writers because of interaction, there is also the looming spectre of people merely posting in someone's blog so that they can add more "subscribers" or "eprops" or "comments" to their own. Sort of eerily like the site fights in that regard. (In the site fights ca. 1999-2000 competitors would enter their websites, then try to acrue "votes" in order to "win in the Dome" which always reminded me of the film "Logan's Run". In the site fights, people didn't die on their 33rd birthday, the Dome was the main "arena" in which one's website was entered. In order to receive lotsa votes, you had to "vote exchange" with other sites, promising to vote for them so they would vote for you. I did make some lasting webfriendships through the process but largely it was a mammoth waste of time.)

  
  

  As I go through the Xanga universe commenting on certain blog entries that catch my eye, I read comments in other blogs that are plain rude and unneccessary. Probably if I ever gain the "readership" I have been craving since creating AllThingsMike in 1999, then the crazies will start appearing here too, although it hasn't happened yet and I have attempted to go to the blogs of all the people who have posted in WhenWordsCollide and give lip service to their efforts at blogwriting. There are, as I've always maintained, a wealth of talented people in the world who are finally being "heard" thanks to the internet.

  
  

  To sum up (uh,oh  sitting on Jurys too long) the Convention was lively. The chat was disappointing, but it was nice to "talk" to my friend Anne. Glenn, who runs the room, sent me an email this morning telling me of a "disgruntled" chat guest. He FYId me because I was the "sponsor" of the chat last night. The "comments" in an email he received:  "If you don't want outsiders at your little circle jerks, please do not send invitations.  I tried twice to join your little smooze fest, twice I couldn't read 1/2 of the people supposedly there...& I wasn't even acknowledged!!!!  What a terrible thing you have here!!!  I think I will inform yahoo that it's some kind of cult thing or scam!"

  
  

  Glenn had acknowledged the guest when they entered, but it looks like this was just another person trying to "stir things up". You can't please everyone all the time. A rather creaking chestnut of a homily, but true nonetheless. 

  
  

  Well, that's enough for this ramble. It's past 6:30am, out for a walk, and one quote to complete before going to my new "other job" on the Jury!  
  

  • 9:34 am
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