Blog Hospitality
So on Friday before last, I got to one of those "blog hop" posts in time to add a post here to the link-up. This only incurred a need to read about thirty other people's blogs. Not a problem. I opened all the tabs. Then the sun was down. Not a problem. I could read those blogs on Saturday night.
Except that on Saturday night nobody in the Point of Virginia had electricity.
Electricity returned on Friday. By then I had cyberchores to do before I read those thirty blogs. But I left the tabs open.
Finally, this Saturday night, I got to the thirty blog posts.
A couple of them were completely closed to comments.
About half of them had that Googlitch where Google, without bloggers' knowledge or consent, decides to block people's comments on one another's blogs as a way of whining for more cookies. Of course that's not going to get any more cookies onto the computer.
One Blogspot blog included a message that comments were "open" on its Wordpress shadow blog. I clicked. Comments were NOT "open."
I felt as if I'd wasted a lot of time and energy trying to post comments at blogs where nobody's being paid per comment any more, anyway, and nobody's interested in my comments, and that's just as well since the posts consisted mostly of pet photos and what's to say about them? I mean to say, some of these people took clear and clever photos of beautiful animals, but not all. "Nice photo" would not have been truthful in every case.
Maybe the same thing is happening when people try to comment here. I don't know.
I know this. If you want me to comment on your blog, BE SURE "anonymous" comments are welcome. I'm not anonymous. How could you follow me back here and post a comment here if I were anonymous? I type in my name. But if the comment is blocked in any way, I feel unwanted at that blog and will probably never go back. I won't blame you--you're not a public figure, maybe you want only relatives to read your blog--but as an introvert I will naturally feel motivated not to intrude again. You want your blog posts to sit there in their pristine state without comments, have it your way!
Blogspot actually has a system that allows you to wave some people's comments right through while holding others for "moderation," if you look for it and activate it. It's not perfect but it does catch 99% of the spam while bringing the legitimate comments from new people to your attention.
Music
Rhiannon Giddens.
Van Morrison.
Judy Collins.
Some random soccer fan. I'm not sure exactly what the message was intended to be, whether or not it's true, but it works as a song.
Bob Dylan.
What I'd call a hammed-up rendition of "God Bless America," but the song is sung accurately by the crowd in between bursts of strutting and gurgling, and it's a good enough song to have survived a lot of hammy performances over the years,
Tom Waits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYRPhH60MRQ (Christmas in July, anyone?)
Sheriff Joe Arpaio...who knew he sang?
Polish Ambassador.
Matthew Magnusson and company.
The Pixies.
Pop-up mob.
Tindersticks.
David Bay.
Tropic Vibration.
Melanie.
I'm not sure I believe anyone played three-quarters of "The Star-Spangled Banner" perfectly on metal targets with a rifle. I think this amateur video might have been enhanced a bit. But it's a target toward which the audience can aim.
Pelosi Family in the News Again
Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul, who was last featured in national news when a maniac beat him up, made headlines last week by driving irresponsibly. He has been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol before. This time he admitted driving under the influence of old age. While apparently sober, he slammed his Maserati into the back of a parked Tesla, then drove away for as far as the Maserati could go. Only when the Maserati, also damaged, came to a halt did Mr. Pelosi admit he was having trouble.
It can be hard to hand over the car keys but, when people start taking daily blood pressure medication, pain medication, Flomax, etc., handing over the keys can prevent expense and embarrassment.
Politics
Google traces it to an Instagram account called Theeconomist, who may (it's hard to tell) have credited a cartoonist called Javi Aznarez. It's appeared in lots of places. It is viral.
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