More about Blogjam

More about Blogjam

BlogJam is Made of People!

Bloggers are tall and short and skinny and beefy and just regular guys. The readings were as varied as the bloggers. Waremouse's piece was touching, Dogpoet's lyrical, Chrisafer's funny.

I learned too that bloggers, even "famous" bloggers who get several orders of magnitude more readership than I do, can be nervous about public speaking. This should not have been such a revelation to me, for blogging is ultimately a solo sport. The writing and publishing are done in private. Even though some of these guys choose to reveal so much of themselves publicly, I think the nature of the media provides a level of detachment. To go on stage for some of them was clearly a cause for some anxiety -- I saw the pacing going on. Everybody did a great job though.

Like I wrote last night, I feel obligated now to put more effort into my own little place now. My life experiences are not nearly as exciting, and I'm not the writer that those guys are, but I'll see what I can do.

The Sully Report

So I actually exchanged words with Andrew Sullivan and didn't even know it. The club did not open the doors until 8:00 PM and he was trapped outside with all of us plain folk. He asked if he couldn't get in if he was a participant and I said "sure, if you can get in touch with somebody." I just didn't realize who it was I'd said that to till later in the evening. When it was his turn to read, he was greeted by a smattering of hisses. I figured I'd at least hear him out. He played it safe, IMHO, choosing to read two pieces on gay marriage and his sense of betrayal by his beloved W. I actually expected more. This was the fearsome Sully? OK, whatever.

Speaking of Public Speaking

One thing I have surprised myself with lately is my own ability to appear in public in front of a bunch of strangers. It will be happening tonight as I end up once again being solo emcee for trivia night at the Cannon. I think when the management asked Andy to run the game, I was just an add-on that they perhaps hadn't expected. And now, with his soldiering duties once again getting in the way, I'm on the line again. I'm feeling a lot of pressure, primarily self-imposed, to do a really good job. I keep telling Andy he needs to quit that job, but I guess that's not really an option.