"You May Ask Yourself, 'Why Don't My Clothes Fit?'"
by Your Diva, Robin Pastorio-Newman

The news is astounding, isn't it? Our leading talking heads - no matter whom you watch or scorn - deliver the stories you couldn't read in science fiction with the most even of even tones. These programs are designed to be riveting and they often are, if only because the viewer is shouting, "Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick! How did he/she/it say that with a straight face?"
 
Lately there's been big chatter about the Blogosphere. If you've been living under a rock, news junkies have set up websites all over the place. These sites break stories the mainstream media won't touch and argue the meanings of events. In the Blogosphere, one finds the true spectrum of political opinions, certainly broader than one sees on television or in newspapers, everything from the archest of arch-conservative to so left-leaning they're almost flat. The reader can find news digests he agrees with and digests inspiring acrimony. If you're peeking out from under that rock and your interest is piqued, why not start with a group blog parked firmly in the middle of the road? From this vantage point, you can move left, or move right, or park yourself in the middle of the debate. You can find very serious, and amusing blogs, animal blogs, celebrity blogs, personally political blogs, and extra-special news parody blogs. There's something for - or against - everyone. In the Blogosphere, the lines are drawn and re-drawn in the sand all the time, and just when you think your favorite bloggers will meet in a dark alley with Louisville sluggers, they join up to argue with their former allies. It's very exciting and blogs like the news are constantly updated, so there's no possibility of boredom in the Blogosphere.
 
A delightful feature of most blogs is blogrolling, which is where bloggers link to other blogs they like. You can start on Main Street and end up in the mountains, traveling the highways and byways of popular opinion without muddying your shoes. Many blogs offer readers the ability to comment on stories. Find something you truly agree with? Let the writer know! Find a bit you truly hate? Let someone have it! Watch out, though, because nobody's too polite to vent on you either.
 
You needed a new hobby. This one's almost free, and that's good because it's January and you're saving up to be broke after the holidays. How about you engage in a little cheap participatory democracy?
 

©2004 Robin Pastorio-Newman