Saturday, February 20, 2010

And so it goes, etc.

I was scratching my own head about that post I wrote about blogging and the New York Times article a couple days ago. What the heck was I thinking about? Turns out that my blogging friend, Barbara, had written about the New York Times article and her reaction to it, which was startling similar to mine, but what I think happened is that I started reading her blog entry, got as far as the link, followed it and never got back to Barbara's blog. I got so absorbed by the article and went into my own reaction and never got the rest of her take on it. Then later, when I started reading the comments I realized that people weren't reading what I thought I was saying. But Barbara knew and so did Reva and June. If you didn't read June's priceless comment you ought to go back and read it. Or maybe it just meant something to me, but I swear it's the best blog comment I've ever gotten. Perspective. That was all I was trying to say. Blogs are what they are. Blog friends—wonderful people mostly, but we only sort of know them, really. Real life is where we actually live. Let's not get carried away. Moving on . . .

I am loving the iPhone. Loved all the comments. Several people said, "now you are one of us!" I didn't know iPhone users were an "us". Hope I know how to act, dress, whatever. I have a few apps that amuse me. I really like the level. Works just like a carpenter's level with the bubble that you center. Handy for hanging pictures. I'm pretty impressed with the camera. Who knew? My old phone camera was basically useless. Here's a picture I took of some daffodils blooming in my yard.  Can you believe daffodils are blooming in February? We planted hundreds, literally, of daffodil bulbs last fall. They were a mixed assortment and it seems the teeny, miniature ones are the early bloomers. The bigger ones are looking close to blooming.

Here's a more challenging test of the iPhone camera. I took this picture of my son, Andy, this evening, in the house, with low light and no flash. Pretty good, eh? He came over today and helped Ray do a bunch of digging and preparation of pathways in the yard. It is looking pretty great out there. I fed him dinner, then took his picture. Look at that grey hair on his head. I love it.

5 comments:

  1. The article by Emily Gould is rather long, and I haven't finished it, but June in her comment made clear that there is a difference between the persona who appears in the blog and the real life person. I very much agree, and it would be foolish to forget. But when you read between the lines and consider what our work reveals (which is true for artists and craft people), I guess we can find out a lot more about the bloggers' personalities than June assumes.
    Seeing the blogging scene as a Non-American, I also noticed the great caution which rules blogging. It is true that positive comments can become a huge ego drug. This is why we should not forget the "reality gap", as I'd like to call it. The wish to remain polite and not to hurt anyone builds up a barrier, too. Any criticism seems to be impossible. It is okay to be very careful about what you say about other's work; we wouldn't simply say, "I don't like it". Never ever! But what about comments things or persons outside the blog? Are Americans developing a phobia from honest analysis, just as Germans have started putting critical and even devastating questions since the end of the sixties? We interrogated out parents, whereas many people in your culture learnt to spare them and tiptoe over mined ground. Maybe this is why it may be true that the person who blogs is a lot different from the real life person in America, but it may be a little different in "rude" cultures.

    Terry, I quite agree with what you said about the corrupting power of stroking the ego (+ "awards"!). On the other hand, the work of many artists leaves me so enthusiastic that I'm happy to express it.

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  2. Now we can sit at HFD and text each other snarky comments!!

    Loved June's comment on the other post. But having known both of you via the internet first, I think your blog personalities are pretty close to the real persons. But then, what do I know.

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  3. I can see you are having fun with your new phone. I'm glad your son has allowed you to post his picture! :)

    I did go read June's comment. Now I'm dying to meet the REAL Terry Grant!

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  4. Terry, did you know that you can put that photo of your son into your address book, and when he calls you, his photo will be on your screen? I love that part of the IPhone. I also have some games on it so when I'm waiting for something/someone, I can play scrabble or solitaire or bananagrams.
    There's also the Brush program that is great for painting/sketching, and trying out ideas in a miniature size.

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  5. i love my iphone, we still need good quilting apps for it though.

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