7/30/2004

We Have Met The Enemy, And She Charms Our Socks Off



So I'm at the Blogger Dashboard page, and I decide to peruse the list of blogs that have recently posted comments.

And one of the first things I decide is that it really, really helps to get someone's initial attention if you give your blog a good title.

A poor title is one that's dull --- cinema, or Rita's Blog, for examples.  And I find that blog-titles tHat usE RanDoMlY mIxEd upPer anD lOweR-CasE LetTers annoy me.  And, of course, there are the ignorable titles like Asian Celebrity Sex Photos.

A good title should have a bit of the odd, the mysterious about it.  An unusual juxtaposition of words you don't expect together.

And so I click on the link to a blog titled The Duchy of Burgundy Carrots .

Which turns out to be written by "The Queen of Carrots", a woman in the Midwest, in her mid-20's, married just a couple of years, a recent mother, and settling into a new house.

She also has a law degree, is politically conservative (yikes!), supports George Bush (ackk!), and she and her husband are both members of Young Republicans (OHMIGHOD!!).

In spite of which, I find the Queen's blog quite enjoyable.

I think this is because her political views, though important to her, aren't the be-all and end-all of her life and blog. And, when she writes on matters politics, it's usually to state her own opinions, rather than to disparage the opinions of those she disagrees with.

(Disagreement -- fine. Disparagement -- this gets tiresome, and there's a lot of it in the more political blogs, of either persuasion.)(Though I must admit I do enjoy a good zinger, and give them occasionally.)

But she also, predominantly, writes -- quite well, and frequently with a self-deprecating humor -- about marriage, pregnancy and motherhood, stopped drains & other travails of home-ownership, and more.

I guess this is proof that even Republicans -- even Young Republicans! -- lead normal (and even interesting) lives sometimes.

Probably something we should try to remember.

2 comments:

Queen of Carrots said...

Thanks for the very kind comments. I quite agree on disagreement versus disparagement. It's fun to mock, but it doesn't further the discussion much. Alas, mass media contributes more to disparagement, because it makes better TV (and radio). One of the great advantages of blogging is a better ability to actually have discussions with both sides.

Gary Farber said...

Am I good, bad, neutral, non-existent, or what?