Networking and Sucking Up

I went and submitted to the New Blog Showcase. It's a weekly sort of contest, rolling from Monday to Sunday. In a spectacular display of disregard for basic game theory, I went and submitted on a *Friday*. Yes folks, I am, from heel to crown, pate to toenail, a fool.

Part of the exercise is the requirement to "vote" by linking to other blog submissions for that week. This is somewhat clever, as it forces the newbie to display his or her capacity for cross-linking, which is the most vital attribute of the apprentice blogger.

Looking through the list of, the first fellow new blogger we find is Machine in the Ghost, who at least gets points for clever blogtitling. On the other hand, he loses points for thinking that Roseanne Cash wrote "Circle of Fire" instead of June Carter. At any rate, his submission is an OK gag about how Americans are better suited to the concept of Purgatory than all that lazing about in Heaven.

Next is brainstorming, who loses points for e.e.cummingification and a not-exactly-riveting blogtitle. On the other hand, his submission is promising, and didn't make me want to carve my eyes out with a broken, leaking Bic pen. Harrisburg does the same thing on on I-83, without the James Dean standup, BTW.

The last new blog is Virtue Pure, which is another lame blogtitle. But the submission is different from the usual political rant. I have never been good at the sort of personality-simulation roleplaying that he is discussing. My brief and not particularly memorable fling with role-playing gaming was probably crippled by my basic inability and/or un-interest in this skill. I mostly was interested in the possibility for narrative and world-building. The opportunity to simulate others - to think like someone else, be someone else - I think I'm lacking the necessary deep empathy to pull it off right.

Of course, you could argue that the popularity of role-playing games among the famously anti-social and borderline autistic represents a fascination with this notion of simulation and mock-empathy.

Eh, I'm spinning my tires on this one. Maybe I'll come back to it later.

Damn, now I'm embarrassed that I went with George Galloway. It's so... pretentious. Oh, well. So it goes.