Sunday, January 27, 2008

Blethic


Thanks, Stagwoman who gave me this "You Make My Day Award" for being a fun read!

I like awards AND attention. Yes, this made the matron happy.

Speaking of good reads, I finally got around to creating my blogroll. Check out that amazing line-up. If I've missed someone whose blog I routinely breeze through, zap me an email and I'll add you. We're all about inclusion up here in the northland.

As I wiped the technological drool off my chin while creating the blogroll (yes, it is that bad, friends), I found myself once again pondering 'blethic' or blog ethic.

Ever since I made up this word, I've been busily defining it. A good word will have nuance and depth--deployability (oooh! another good one!).

Of course, blethic refers to how I treat people on this blog: 1) only the (in)famous may be skewered but family and friends are fair game for a gentle roasting; 2) no telling someone else's story (but where yours meets mine is fair game). That's pretty simple, so far.

And then there's blethic, as in the care and feeding of the blog. A work ethic, of sorts. The blog has needs. Correspondence. Cosmetic concerns about color, texture and tone. The blog is greedy for content and can't tolerate more than a day without a little love, without being pampered and preened. And, the blog has blog role models who out-pixel and out-pace, whose verve makes the matronly prose putter and plod.

Not that I would ever compare myself to others. Or cast the critical eye on self, all that.

Um.

The other curious feature of blogging is that I have begun to think in blog posts. Any instantaneous observation or emotion immediately begins shaping into a narrative. My mind operates in blog bites. In compact summaries and amusing anecdotes.

This isn't unfamiliar territory. When I wrote my (very good but unpublished although agented and diligently shopped) second novel, I embodied Leilani, the main character whose husband and daughter are killed in a car accident. This was unpleasant for me. And everyone else. But I woke with dread, wept over Scarlett's dresses, developed transportation anxieties.

One quick digression: note the sentence above that introduces my novel. Could the matron be a tad bit insecure? Competitive? Required to self-credential from time to time?

Um.

Now that blethic's demands have been met -- post and blogroll and all that--the matron must turn her critical eye to that kitchen and the mess, therein. House and children, and all that.

Which world does she prefer, sometimes?

Um.

14 comments:

Angel said...

I love your word "blethic"..and I love your blog. I love your kid's name's, your dog's names, your pictures...everything. Your blog is perfect.

Minnesota Matron said...

Well. The matron's cheek, it is crimson. Thank you! Yours isn't too shabby, either, my dear . . . but if you have friends who will tell me similar things, I'd love to meet them :)

Kimberly said...

Great post! I do the same thing - think in terms of how to shape the events of my life into interesting posts. Glad I'm not the only somewhat obsessed one.
:-)

Lisa Wheeler Milton said...

I haven't come up with any sassy awards just yet, but you my dear, are one of my favorites.

So glad I came your fabulous way.

Rose said...

Just found you through Iguana Banana. So funny you are! You're now on my list of favorites (although I don't have the list on my blog yet.)

Rose said...

Me again. Just read your post on children's names. I loved the name Lacey but my first husband vetoed it so I named my beloved dog Lacey instead. Still love that name.

Minnesota Matron said...

Okay, Lacey is a great name. I noticed 'first husband' in your post. If you were widowed, forgive me. Otherwise: hey, reject the mother's preferred name and you have major roadblocks ahead. I think the reason John routinely cleans the bathrooms is because he vetoed Elvis. He's still making amends.

Suburban Correspondent said...

Yes, I'm thinking in blog posts, also. Frightening...

Mrs. G. said...

Yes, it takes awareness and deep breathing not to take all life's beauty and POST it.

Beth said...

Congratulations on the award!
I also find myself thinking in blog bites - rather disconcerting. My entire life cannot become blog fodder!

Karen Jensen said...

Thinking in Blogs. If you read her letters, it is clear that Emily Dickinson thought in poetry. Perhaps I should write more poems than posts. (Not bloody likely, as posts are easier.)

Anonymous said...

I have to think about the blethics. Interesting philosophizing.
And thanks for the blogroll--I love looking at what other folks are reading--it always leads me to something else good!

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

Blethic. We've been needing that very word. So I am to assume that thinking in blog posts does not mean that one is crazy?

Karen said...

Great word, blethic!

I've always lived my life at a distance--even during the most painful and emotional events, it's as though I'm standing in the back of the room, observing, thinking, "This would make a good story."