Meta-Self-Referentialism

Season's Gratings!
Now that's out of the way, on to pertinent stuff.

On The Pond today I have posted a poll in honor of the weaknesses betrayed over this last year by some(many/most) of those paragons of athletic virtue who occupy so much of our national attention. The question is "Would you "dope" for success?"

If you want to answer, or chirp, or chide, please do...
Can blogger make a poll? I dunno, and I'm not nerdy enough to wanna find out. If you want answer without actually texting a message, it's up on My Left Wing, too, if ya actually wanna "vote."

There's also a post on a very alarming story I heard on NPR this morning, regarding the "unforeseen"--i.e., "nobody could have EVER predicted"-- increase in the decay of the Greenland Ice shee-itt! Cheerful thoughts to tide you through the avalanche of smarm that attends this celebration more and more every year. In recent days I have also remarked on CIGNA, TSA, and the eagerness with which putatively 'Democratic' presidential candidates announce their desires to incorporate (suitably repentant?) GOPukes into their prospective cabinets. I have also ventured a precis on why I believe Obama won't be the next President of the USofA.

Over on the Lamb, I have put my X-mas present to all my friends who are admirers, from their varied perspectives, of the nude and semi-nude female human form. The cheesecake is legitimized (to the extent that it needs to be) by it's contribution to a fairly quick exposition on the relation of "propaganda" to the political and other sensibilities of many (most) Murkins. Boobs and buttocks...and trucks, the usual stuff.

The previous post is yet another cautionary tale, this one about the apparent willingness, even eagerness of the Israelis to attack Iran to prevent the Iranians from challenging Israeli nuclear hegemony in oil-states of southwestern Asia. Previously, there's a clever vid about the (vain, naturally) efforts of "Santa" and his "Elf" to deliver copies of the Constitution to the White House. None of the Praetorians even cracks a smile. Prior to that, I engaged in a soliloquy on the "purpose" of "Science," which arose in a comments section exchange about Foucault. Courtesy of Eli, there's a new Mr. Deity episode, too. That 'show,' now in it's second 'season,' is one of the very smartest of its kind.

I haven't been as busy on The Guitar, for reasons of which even I am not clear. But, in keeping with the holiday spirit, there are a couple of tuneful, antic seasonal reminders. Not safe for work/kids, probably, but very little is anymore. In addition there's the usual eclectic mix of music and spoken vids. Also recently I put up my favorite Kenneth Patchen poem: As We Are So Wonderfully Done With Each Other

Now:
Possibly you're asking yourselves what may be the meaning of this sudden (and unwonted?) resumption of these (occasionally objectionable) missives? Why did they stop? Why did they EVER start?

All good questions. The last is the easiest. They started in an effort to boost traffic on my blog. This I endeavor to do because I want an audience. I'm a horrible show-off. I have never stood too close to the cnter of attention. With my abrupt termination as a commentator on some other blogs, I found my appetite unassuaged, and settled on this expedient to try to drum up a few more colloquists and interlocutors.

Why, once they started, did I then cease them? More complicated. What happened was, sometime in the summer, I started getting clouds of hits from google searches for one particular image which I had posted--the carcases of the 4 Blackwater mercs hanging like sides of meat from the bridge in Fallujah. Those hits came in waves, and the surfers never stayed longer than a second or two. Sometimes there would be hundreds of them over just a few days. Lately there have been almost none. I wondered if it might have been the object of some internet treasure hunt. Dunno. Anyway, it distracted me (lately, I have the attention span of a hummingbird). Anyway, hits are hits. and I kinda got out of the habit.

Then, the third question: Why resume 'em? Well, believe it or not, there have been a few folks write to remark they were astonished to remark on missing them. I know, I was stunned. But I resoned, if there were a few who admitted to it, there were probably a few more who were silently battling their withdrawal.

So--will ye, nil ye--I have resolved to resume the distribution of these notices, probably only 5 days per week, beginning today.

And so, I leave you today with my favorite festive salutation: JOLLY HOLIDAYS! to one and to all.