Jenn, aka JeSais (I know)

Hi All!

I’m looking for blogs to read that are more of the telling stories variety and less of the the commenting on the news variety… especially if they are regional in nature (any region, but stories of the Southwest would be preferable)

Actually I’ll be writing a paper tentatively titled “The Emergence of Blogs as the New Regionalism” for my Contemporary Literature and Film of the Southwest class. I figured rather than reading all the blogs on the internets (technorati is tracking some 11 million blogs) I’d ask for recommendations.

If anyone has some suggestions, I would love to check them out….

Starting in January 2006 I started blogging for SanDiegoBlog.com. It was a community blog run by my dear friend Joe Crawford (one of the smartest guys I know). I blogged off and on for almost 2 years. The ads he had running on the site pretty much paid for hosting– his hope was that if it ever started to make money he would construct some sort of profit sharing, but it hadn’t come to that yet. No forms were signed, just kind of a internet hand-shake.

Joe, being the smart guy that he is, sold the blog. It was the wise thing to do. He had moved to Simi Valley with his lovely Leah Peah (another dear friend) and wanted to focus his energies on his new life up north.

Unfortunately he sold it to a guy that (1) has cluttered up the site with ads; (2) never ever emailed me (or any of the other regular or occasional bloggers that I am aware of) to introduce himself or to ask me (or any of us) to continue writing -or not and (3) there’s no info about him or about the site on the site– a personal pet peeve of mine especially if this is a business, which clearly it is.

And so my words are making him money (keyword based ad revenue). It ticks me off every time I get a notification of a comment– usually a SPAM comment– on one of my old posts. (Note I have not contributed to the blog since October 2007).

SO, since I can’t delete even my own posts, I edited them all…. they are now blank. Nothing more than empty (keyword free) space under some pretty catchy titles (if I do say so myself). Note my personal favorite title was “Oooo eeee” (for you Justin Wilson Cajun’ Cook Fans) to announce a Cajun Music and Food Fest taking place in San Diego.

My most commented post ever (47, baby) was “Wake Up San Diego”

Your city planners are trying to enact an Oversize Vehicle Ordinance (OVO) that will affect ALL citizens of San Diego. ALL vehicles over 7 feet high and or over 22 feet long, ALL utility trailers, and ALL recreational vehicles would be prohibited from overnight parking on city streets. Recreational vehicles, as defined, could park overnight up to 72 times per year only with a valid permit issued by the city. The San Diego business community will be drastically affected as the OVO includes street parking in industrial areas.

Note to any potential commenters on this issue, it is dead, decided, and I no longer live in or near San Diego so it’s not my issue anymore.

My personal favorite post was “Is San Diego a Literary / Artistic Wasteland”

Maybe I’m just naive. Maybe I just like Rich Baiocco. And maybe, just maybe, San Diego does have an arts community… and maybe, just maybe you have to open your eyes and look around. It’s there. Like Winter in San Diego its subtle, but it’s there.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the interview with UCSD’s Lit professor / poet Eileen Myles (she’s ready to move to LA because San Diego isn’t gritty hip enough for her):

Alone in San Diego: Gritty New York poet Eileen Myles struggles with life and work in a shiny, happy city by Emma Silvers

and local writer Rich Baiocco’s response via BlogSanDiego, I, Necrophiliac

So, SanDiegoBlog readers…. you know where I stand, so I put it to you. Is there art in San Diego? Can you be an on the edge, over the edge, standing on the ledge artist in San Diego?

That one didn’t draw as many comments –only 8– but it did get picked up by The Reader. And I got paid for it!

So all in all I don’t regret the time and words I spent at San Diego Blog, but it really would have been nice if the new owner had made some sort of effort to either keep the community going, or let us know what his plans were for the blog….

So, instead of taking Joe’s advice, “You might even offer up constructive criticism of the site to him, rather than go in with guns blazing,” I just deleted all my words, killed my darlings as it were…..
I am now free to be as noted on the tags (see right column) of this very blog…. or participate more on Duke City Fix — a true community blog / social network site for people that dig life in Albuquerque… or, hey, do my homework! write my book! (grad school update coming up next)

or do another bad bad thing….

Great post over at Critical Mas, tallying up all his blog posts over the last few years.  So of course I had to go and count up mine:

• On this blog:  246

• SanDiegoBlog, the now junked up “community blog” with ads and no good content and no moderation of spam: 104 (MAS isn’t counting his posts over there, but I will count mine because even though the site now sucks, it was good while it lasted)

• JoeWelder.com:  81 (I’ll even count the posts from Joe Welder himself since I edit them and upload them)

• CarmenElectrode.com: 114

• Arc-Zone.net: 17

Guest Author at:

• AskPatty:  1

• RiskTakingForSuccess:  1

Total:  563

That’s a lot of blogging!

Memes. I hate them. They are like the blogosphere’s version of a chain letter, the creeping crud so to speak. Now the concept of memes, from an academic standpoint is quite interesting.

A meme is a cultural unit of information that gets transmitted from one person to another. Memes, like viruses propogate themselves. In the social science arena a meme can be thought of as tribal knowledge.

Internet Memes can also be cultural bits that are passed around like the warnings about deoderant causing breast cancer, or the laughing babies video… they become viral in that they are passed from one person to another.

In the blogosphere, a meme is propogated in much the same way a chain letter gets passed along– one blogger tagging another, often guilting them into participating. ;-0 and I hate it when someone tries to make me do anything….

But Martin was so pleased that he finally got tagged, a rite of passage he called, and then he tagged me, and I didn’t want to discourage him from playing on the internet, so here goes:

The Inquisition Meme

10 years ago
It was 1998 (Yeah! I can still do math –but I have to check my resume)
Ten years ago I was working as a computer consultant with my good friend. We had a consulting firm to help small businesses optimize their computer use: off-the-shelf software customization, contact management and accounting software deployment and custom database development.

5 things on To do list
1. Finish my You Like Play Chalk essay to turn into my Read and Critique group.
2.Pack a box. (I have goal of 1 box per weekend until I move)
3.Go through dresser drawer and discard items I no longer wear
4.Go to grocery store and make dinner (is that one or two ? they are related)
5.Help sister create a flyer advertising a Gyrokenisis workshop she has planned
6.Follow up on: estimate from movers, registration at University of New Mexico… hell, put together a list of everything I need to do.

yes I know that is more than 5 but I’m playing by my rules.

If I were a billionaire….I wouldn’t worry about paying for grad school! I would buy a house for cash for sure. I would get a massage once a week. I would travel all summer long…. I really want to go to Ireland. And Peru. Maybe a spa week at someplace like Rancho La Puerta. And a dude ranch. Maybe a yoga retreat in Costa Rica. Oh, and Alaska… and the Sea of Cortez to see the whales. Better make a list just in case I become a billionaire.

I would set aside at least 10 percent for charitable causes. Of course I would give money to public radio, and cancer research. Maybe start a scholarship or grant fund for writers.

3 bad habits
Only three! Hah! OK well, I quit smoking so that can come off the list.

1. I don’t exercise. Which technically isn’t a habit. Exercising would be a habit. NOT exercising is just plain lazy.
2. I pick at my cuticles.
3. I procrastinate… terribly, waiting until the last minute to do almost everything. I’m sure I’ll be up packing all night the night before I move… for example. But I’ll surely have a list about it. (is that bad habit number 4?)

5 places I’ve lived
More than five places, again, my blog, my rules. In order:

Long Beach, Calif.
Alameda, Calif.
Long Beach Again
San Diego, Calif
Aiea, Hawaii (near Honolulu)
Vienna, Va (a suburb of Washington DC)
Del Mar, Calif (a suburb of San Diego)
San Diego, Calif
Morelia, Michoacan Mexico (only for a summer, but I’m counting it anyway)
La Mesa, Calif. (a suburb of San Diego)
San Diego, Calif
Chicago, IL
Solana Beach, Calif (a suburb of San Diego)
Leucadia, Calif (a suburb of San Diego)
Del Mar, Calif
Solana Beach, Calif
and
…. Albuquerque, NM (beginning July 2008)

5 jobs I’ve had
Airline ticket delivery girl
(for you younguns, this was before the internet and email and electronic boarding passes)

Gift Shop Clerk/Birthday Hostess and sometimes Rat at Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theater. Those character costumes are disgusting inside. Hot and your breath condenses on the inside of the mask, like everyone else’s before you… ew.

Secretary (I type 80 words per minute and paid my way through college working for a CPA)

Program Coordinator, International Visitors Council of San Diego

Director of Marketing and New Media

# # #

That’s it. If you comment, consider yourself tagged.

Just a little heads up. I will no longer be accepting comments from you. It’s not that I don’t appreciate civil discourse. But civil is in fact the operative word here.

You make a lot of patronizing references to “people like you” and “the likes of you” as if you know me. You know nothing about me. And I know nothing about you. Maybe you just got fired. Maybe you just lost your best friend, or your spouse walked out on you and you decided to take it out on me. Whatever. Too bad. I am drawing the line here.

You consider my blog nothing more than me “spewing trendy blabber,” that I have no original thought and I say nothing relevant. Besides, as a marketing guru everything I write has a “hidden motivation.” So, I’m sure you won’t mind if I simply reject your comments.

And while I’m drawing lines. I will no longer accept Anonymous comments from anyone. I won’t go so far as to require you to have a Google account, however, if you don’t put your name or email or link to YOUR website on your comment, I won’t publish you on MY blog.

And if you agree with Anonymous, that my blog is irrelevant trendy blabber, then move on. There are some 10 billion other websites out there. Or make your own blog where you are free to opine until the cows come home.

KPBS has just launched the Citizen Voices Blog today.

Without me.

They had the opportunity to talk about the project, partisanship and politics and the upcoming election on the KPBS These Days program, hosted by Tom Fudge.

I must say, it looks like an interesting lineup of political bloggers. And of course in hindsight, it’s probably just as well I’m not in the thick of it. Now, I can focus on my other writing projects. So instead, I look forward to reading the blogs, commenting, and adding my own spin here on my own blog, on my schedule.

Have fun everyone.

And if you’re in one of the Super Tuesday States– DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!
And if you’re not registered to vote, you’ll miss out on the primaries, but don’t let the general election get by without your vote!

PS: it couldn’t be any easier to register to vote in California. Not sure about the rest of the US.

Yeah me! I made it through to Round 2, and the producer has asked for more writing samples.

Let me preface the next commentary with saying that 1. I love KPBS and 2. I welcome the opportunity to apply for the Citizen Voices project and 3. I have no idea how I would choose blogger/writers…

HOWEVER.

The email request has been weighing heavy on my brain for the last four days:

We’ve finished reviewing applicants and have narrowed it down to a very small group. You’re in that group and we’re requesting a bit more information to better understand everyone’s political leanings. In no more than one sentence for each issue, let us know where you stand:

War in Iraq:

Immigration:

Health care:

Education:

Taxation:

Gun control:

Same-sex marriage:

Abortion:

Separation of Church/State:

In addition, we’d like to see more of your writing. Please respond (in 300 words or less) to this question:

If the presidential election were tomorrow, who would you vote for and why?

eeeeegads! The last assignment– to sum up who you are, and your “unique perspective” in 500 words– all of the sudden seems easy!

Issues like those listed above are far more complex than one sentence. I admit I stretched some of those answers as far as I could while still maintaining one, creatively long sentence. Hopefully that kind of creativity will count in my favor.

Anyway when I know more, I’ll share.

On another note… through my blog, and my application for the Citizen Voices project I “met” Aaryn, writer of RubySoho blog. We compared notes via email, read each others submissions, commiserated over the fact that we were “going for it” even though it was scary, and wondered what other San Diego bloggers had applied… She didn’t get into the narrowed down group. I’m bummed, as I’m sure she is as well. Do stop by her blog. Give her a read. She really is a good writer, and her posts and pics about her daughter are particularly fabulous.

I just applied for a blogging gig. For KPBS radio/tv.

KPBS is recruiting bloggers for an election-based project called Citizen Voices. Six people will be selected to blog as “citizen journalists” for KPBS.org from January 2008 through November 2008. Selected applicants will be trained (beginning Nov. 2007) in journalistic ethics to maintain fair and accurate writing. Those selected will represent diverse perspectives (culture,life experience, gender, and geographic) and write about how election issues affect their lives and their communities. In addition to being published on KPBS.org, bloggers will periodically be featured on-air on KPBS Radio and TV….. continue reading about the Citizen Voices Project ->

As part of the application, they requested a cover letter (300-500 words) outlining your (my) experience, along with a professional resume and clips of any published work.

How in the world do you sum up who you are, and your “unique perspective” in 500 words. I didn’t even get to MENTION the fact that I am writing a book. And that I have a cat that just died. And my sister has cancer.

It’s so hard to know what to put in, and what to leave out.

I barely touched upon my political views. Or the fact that although I say I am left leaning I am so disgusted with the politicos on BOTH sides of the aisle, and that I am tired of the divisivness, and the personalization, and demonization within our own nation, and that I can say that in rhyme. Should I have mentioned my idea for mandatory political service by lottery? sort of a draft for congress? Or my uncle’s idea to curtail lobbyist spending by moving the capitol to Boise… think about it.

At one point I had revealed that I’m an NPR-o-holic but I figured the convulsions said it better. Should I have written that I like long walks on sandy beaches at sunset, and I enjoy fine wine and foreign movies? nevermind. wrong ad.

The fact that I studied Spanish Linguistics is on my official resume, but it doesn’t fess up that my Spanish gets really good after a couple shots of tequila. Or that I can say “Please pass the butter” in German.

And I didn’t include the fact that I could PODCAST my blog posts, recording on my M-Audio digital recorder, and my fancy Beyer microphone (with XLR to 1/4″ cable) and I can edit my own audio and lay in a music track, and …

Oh well. It’s done. I applied. A continuation of the year of Why Not Me.

So, dear readers– all five of you– I thought I would share my little essay. All about me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. And when you’re done reading… we can talk about you. Just leave a comment and tell me what YOU think about me. Old joke, I know.

I am applying for the Citizen Voices project. My writing skills, experience as a blogger, passion for public radio and interest in politics would make me a great citizen journalist for KPBS. Of course I think my perspective is unique. I believe we all have more in common than not, politically, socially, and culturally. I do admit to leaning to the left but I strive to be fair, and to listen to all sides of an issue before I make a decision. Perhaps its my Libra rising. And perhaps that is my tongue in cheek salute to my California roots.

I scan the Union Tribune with my morning coffee and count on my commute to keep me up to date and ready to good-naturedly debate friends, family and co-workers. I drive to work listening to Morning Edition and on the way home I catch Marketplace. I nearly went into convulsions when I found out that I could subscribe to public radio podcasts with my new iPod. At work I’m known as Google Girl. I’m always the first to find information online. I know my way around the internet and even manage two blogs along with the company’s MySpace presence.

As a Navy brat I lived all across the country from Washington DC to Hawaii though I rightfully call myself a California native. And,because my grandparents retired in Del Mar in 1972 the San Diego area has always been home. I spent my college years here, and except for a six-year stint in Chicago in the 90s, I’ve spent most of my adult life here as well, from La Mesa to Leucadia. I currently live in Solana
Beach.

Through San Diego Writers, Ink, I participate in the First Friday Prose open mic event each month. Over the last year I’ve gotten fairly comfortable performing in front of a microphone. My only television experience was in Argentina in 1993 as part of a Group Study Exchange Program sponsored by Rotary International. Our team
was big news throughout Patagonia and as one of the strongest Spanish speakers, I was often called upon to speak for the group. In Spanish.

I’d like to think my community is the global community, but the truth is I’ve cobbled together a rag tag group of middle-aged, middle income, mostly local friends from all walks of life: writers, artists, construction workers, real estate agents, computer geeks, accountants and flight attendants representing most of the middle of the political spectrum. We care about local, national and global issues, and sometimes dryer lint.

We all want the same things out of life, good health, a decent job, a nice place to live and to find fulfillment creatively, and spiritually.

My resume is attached, which includes a list of published articles and links to my various blogs. I am eager to learn more about the citizen voices project– I’d love the opportunity to participate.

Regards,
JeSais

PS. I vote.

Of course I have 200 pages of unpublished, incomplete memoir that perhaps says it better, or more deeply than I would say on a blog. Or in a cover letter or a resume.

Who are any of us anyway?

I felt like I needed to post myself a happy 3rd, but not in the mood to write much. It’s hot tonite, I’m tired, and my eyes are itchy. Maybe tomorrow.

SO… I was thinking I would read my Me and Billy Crystal post. But it was an audio post already, so if you really want to hear about Me and Billy Crystal, you can listen here at my blog. Then I got the brilliant idea that I would read a post from one year ago. But “Not. Good. Enough,” it is a bit of a downer.

I’ve opted to read two posts. One, what I have since developed into what I call my Barbie Rant, but started here as a blog post, so I will read it in its original raw form. Very hard for me to not tweak it, or read it in its now polished form. I’ll also read something a little different, I’m not a poet.

Hopefully we’ll get the audio recording working and I’ll post here.
If you are in the LA area… drop on by. 6:30 pm at the Tangier Lounge.