By Popular Request....

Ok, it was just Nattie Hattie. Here's the Under-30 essay I wrote on the topic of "History of blogging: 2000 - 2020":

Roots of the Modern Internet: The Blog Revolution

The Blog Revolution was one of the most significant technological events at the turn of the millennium. Though the actual events occurred in the opening years of the 21st century, its roots go much deeper than that.

In fact, the beginnings of this revolution go back to the 20th century when the people were increasingly turning to the internet to get their information and entertainment. During that time, such services as Tripod and AOL Hometown started appearing, offering free web space and user-friendly tools for creating basic homepages. This allowed even low-level users without any HTML knowledge to have the opportunity to mark their own little corner of cyberspace.

Soon, most of the regular internet users had their very own poorly-designed homepages filled with interesting facts about themselves, animated GIFs, hit counters, and guest books. The main problem with these homepage services is that though they made it much easier to create HTML pages without ever touching actual HTML code, it still wasn't easy enough. These homepages were usually fairly unappealing aesthetically, and when a page was created it was still just a flat page, no real opportunity for interacting with others through the page.

Then, in the closing years of the millennium, a small community of what were eventually labeled "weblogs" ("blogs"), began to spring up among some of the more technically-savvy web enthusiasts. Like the higher-end personal websites that the followers of the homepage craze wanted to emulate, these original bloggers set up their own sites, updating them regularly either directly by HTML code or via their own interface.

As this community grew, new tools for easily starting and running a blog started appearing, including Blogger, and LiveJournal. The original form for blogs was focused more on cataloging content found elsewhere on the web, then giving it some context, additional information, or simply pithy commentary. This evolved as people started creating original content with blogging tools.

Blogging tools created a homepage that was easy to update, which allowed for regular (daily, hourly, constant) updates by multiple users. Many blogging tools also had "comment" features built in, which produced something that was an integration of the homepage and guestbook concepts, allowing the blog's readers to make comments on individual posts. That increased the interactivity of the site and allowed for more collaboration.

The revolution grew users were attracted to the increasingly simple tools for updating their blogs. They could make updates from any computer via email, and even could create moblogs from their mobile phones and PDAs. This ability to add new content from any location, and nearly any electronic device caused blogs to explode across the internet. Users started maintaining multiple blogs, and were writing about anything, from the minutia of daily life, to hobbies, to global politics.

As the Blog Revolution came to a peak around 2006, mainstream media started to take notice of the would-be reporters and authors that the blogging community had created. Blogging was an official part of news networks' 24/7 coverage of the party conventions before the 2004 US election. Bloggers who gained a following and sparked the interest of mainstream media started getting book deals, which drew more wanna-be writers into the fray.

Around 2009, the Blog Revolution itself was effectively over. Blogs had so saturated people's lives that "check out my blog, I just wrote about that" became an acceptable response in social situations to the question "how are you?" Thus began the Blog Reconstruction period of technological history. During this time, the blogging technology and some of its related outgrowths, like RSS feeds, podcasts, and video podcasts, had spread far beyond the hands of web enthusiasts, and into the standard repertoire of traditional media outlets and corporations.

During the reconstruction phase, everything had a blog attached to it. Labels on products listed the blogs of the product developers and marketers responsible for it. Consumers could read all the details of how the product was developed and learn funny things that happened at 3 a.m. when on a deadline for completing the project.

When the blogs on the web had grown so numerous that they were choking all of the other content, a movement of people realized that it was unnecessary for everyone to have a blog about everything and it lead to an overload of information. They banded together and formed large, collaborative communities centered on a single portal for information.

These community logs (or "clogs") had members from across the globe who shared news and information, making them a more reliable and balanced source of information than traditional media. Eventually, the old mode of local news broadcasts and papers became obsolete, because more interactions were based on clogs, not geography.

One by one, the 24-hour news networks shut down and the talking heads of the evening news disappeared, as people turned to their new community for information. Television itself was eventually abandoned completely, in favor of the daily human drama that played across the clogs. Podcasts and video podcasts became the new entertainment and news sources.

The influence of celebrities and political figures from the physical world waned as the individual gained power in the clogs. A single person sending out the right message at the right time could start a revolution; of thinking and ideals on the clogs or of people and guns in the physical world.

Strengthening the connection between the physical world and the clogs, and breaking political and social ties based solely on geographic location were the beginning steps towards the world we live in now. Now, the "old guard" of the clogs that remain after the Clog Revolution govern the people. With the reapplication of another technology from the time period of the blogs, virtual reality, life in the physical world and wired world have been blended together into a single experience, the true reality.

Book #4: If These Walls Could Talk...

This book is one I actually read in one night (Tuesday, been too busy to blog this week). One really long night. Hooray for insomnia!

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir about her very dysfunctional family. I have gathered that Jeannette is currently a correspondent for MSNBC.com, so the comfort throughout all of this insanity is that you know she gets out alright and is able to do well for herself, in spite of the bizarre circumstances of her upbringing.

Generally, I am not a fan of memoirs, but this kept me engrossed from beginning to end. I think it was so fascinating because I kept wondering "how can things get any worse than this?", while knowing all the time that there really was no great revelation in store where Jeannette's parents realized they were destroying their children's lives and finally, everyone would be able to live happily ever after in a nice desert home. Yeah, I know that I said it is a foregone conclusion that Jeannette ends up ok, but the first chapter of the book begins with Jeannette on her way to some fancy party in NYC, and looking out a cab window to see her mother rooting around in the trash. Basically, that says to me that her parents are not going to be improving their (or their children's) situation any time soon.

The beginning years of Jeannette's life were kind of a wonderful adventure for her. Her family moved from place to place, occasionally living outside in the desert, occasionally sneaking out of their current homes in the middle of the night to avoid the "Gestapo" or whatever other names her parents had for people they owed money to. They made plans to build a glass castle in the desert, but first their father needed to finish building the Prospector (a machine that would help him mine for gold) or whatever other money-making idea he had at the time. Her father taught Jeannette and her siblings (2 sisters, 1 brother) about the wonders of mathematics, physics, and reading at very young ages, and in spite of occasionally catching on fire, falling out of moving cars in the middle of nowhere, or taking multi-state trips in the back of a U-Haul, things were relatively happy for the family.

As the years wore on, her father's inability to hold a job and her mother's unwillingness to make use of her teaching degree (because she was going to be an artist) began to put the children into increasingly dangerous situations. Jeannette was sexually victimized at least 3 times in the book. When Jeannette tried to talk to her mother about it, she asked if Jeannette was ok, and said she knew she had raised her to be stronger than to be bothered by being groped by her uncle while he masturbated. Then she said "that poor man, he is so lonely". That kind of pissed me off. Her parents were also angry that the children objected when they discovered their grandmother molesting the brother, because that made it harder for them to keep living off of her (highly questionable) good will. Up until that point in the book, Jeanette's parents were weird, but at the very least, they were protective of their children. After that, all bets were off, and they lost every ounce of sympathy I had for them.

Her father descended into drinking, and repeatedly stole money from the family. Once, he even had Jeannette dress up real nice and took her down to the pool hall to flirt with some of the men he was trying to hustle. Then he sent her upstairs with one, who tried to have sex with her (she was in her mid-teens), and on the way home, her father compared her experience to being taught to swim by being thrown into the middle of a deep spring (his actual method, by the way).

From time to time, her mother would take up a teaching job, always with the help of her children to get all of the work and grading done. However, once she got sick enough of it (a school year or less), she would quit, declaring that she had spent all of her life doing things for other people, and it was time that she did something for herself for a change. Then she would spend a few years devoted to making her art career take off in whatever small, mining town they happened to be living in at the time.

Yeah, as I said, of course things turned out well for Jeannette (and most of her siblings, too), but through no help from their parents. They end up living in New York, the kids in apartments, going to school or with jobs, and their parents lived on the streets, refusing any help from their kids and declaring that they were finally living the life they wanted.

One of the many things in this book that disturbed me was that the whole time, her family didn't have to live like that. They had many ways that could have allowed them to live a life they way they wanted, but with such luxuries as non-maggoty food and houses that you didn't occasionally fall through the floor of.

My thoughts: I recommend this book. She managed to write it in a way that was honest and straightforward, and still packed an emotional punch for the reader. It didn't come off like a whiny "poor li'l ol' me" kind of story. She didn't vilify her parents to the level that I think they could have been because, in the end, she still loves them and wants to try to take care of them. As time progresses in the book, she goes from early childhood, where her life looks like an adventure, and her dad is really going to do everything he talks about to gradually recognizing the faults of her family and realizing that this isn't how they should live, to finally doing something to change it.

This was read for my book club, and it was the first book in a long time that I hadn't read previously and ended up liking.

Book #3: A touching romance

Ok, so who guessed that the book that I read that was later made into a movie with Helena Bonham Carter was Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk? Anyone? Aww, come on.

Anyway, I recently saw the movie for the first time. It has only been out for 6-7 years now, you know. I mean, I was aware of the phenomenon at the time of the movie's release. My best friend's teenage brother and his friends spent the next couple of years beating the crap out of eachother and trying to build things to bring the school down. I even knew the first 2 rules of fight club, but I figured that the whole thing was just another marketing ploy directed at angry, adolescent males without any other value. After seeing it, I felt that though I absolutely loved it, it probably would have connected on a more personal level if I had fewer X chromosomes. But I liked it enough to be interested in the book that started it, which I picked up on my recent "using up my holiday gift cards" shopping day.

So, on to the book. I think it added to the whole experience. It really expanded on Tyler and the Narrator's philosophy of destruction and clarified a few bits that I was kind of fuzzy on from the movie. In some ways, it was even more violent, because you got more of a description of the pain and injuries, and the ever-widening hole in the narrator's cheek. It kind of turned my stomach, and I had to read through it because I couldn't just look away and wait until the scene changed. So it ended up being a more intense experience in some ways. The story ended differently in the different tellings, and I think that I definately liked the movie ending better, as it gave more ambiguity to it. In the book, it felt a little trite and maybe a little like a twilight zone episode. Still worth the read, though.

You may be wondering why I describe this book as a romance in the title. In the afterward, Chuck discusses the aftermath of the book's publication and movie's release, and how other people described his book to him. Some of the the ideas were outlandish, but I thought it was interesting that he really only describes the book as a romance. I guess it just made me think of when a friend described the movie Unbreakable as a romance, too. In both cases, I have thought about it and come to the conclusion "huh, I guess you're right". My question is, though, were they envisioned that way from the start? It would be interesting to find out if he thought "Ok, so there are 2 people in love, but let's make one of them suicidal with a tendency for self-mutillation and the other have a friend who is shoving him towards hitting rock bottom and is hell-bent on destroying civilisation as we know it. Oh, and they should meet by pretending to have various horrible diseases and attending support groups for them. That sounds nice."

In summary: liked the book, want to watch the movie again.

Book #2 - Naked Barbie Torsos?

Ok, ok, so it isn't really called Naked Barbie Torsos, but I think that would be a pretty clever title, an homage to a friend I had in high school. But I digress.

What I actually read for my second book was Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. Yeah, I realize that I ended 2005 with a Gaiman/Sedaris combo, but I really needed to read myself a path through the pile of books next to my bed. Also, I really like them both, so there. Stop trying to spoil my joy!!!

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book as well, it had more craziness with his family than the previous one I read. I especially liked the description of his oldest sister's home: "...the house itself had a way of aging things. Stand outside and you looked, if not young, then at least relatively carefree. Step indoors and you automatically put on twenty years and a 401(k) plan." In this book, we got to spend significant time with most of his family members and like whenever I visit my family, it made me think that though I like to visit, I don't know that my sanity could take it if I lived there.

We also get to learn about the gun laws around the US and the holiday traditions of various European countries that he has visited. I feel that the Christmas eve goodnight that Dutch children get is probably the most therapy-inducing: "Listen, you may want to pack a few of your things together before going to bed. The former bishop of Turkey will be coming along with 6 to 8 black men. They might put candy in your shoes, they might stuff you into a sack and take you to Spain, or they might just pretend to kick you. We don't know for sure, but we want you to be prepared." Ah, the holiday magic. It just fills the air.

He also has observed just how much his home in Tuscany looks like it could easily be occupied by a serial killer from a horror movie. Really, who hasn't thought that at one time or another?

Anyway, I'd recommend this book. 8 somethings out of 10 other things!

PS: Nope, no Gaiman or Sedaris for at least 1 book. Currently, I am reading a book that was later made into a major motion picture (because no book was ever made into a minor motion picture). Who can guess what book?

American Gods II: British and Caribbean Gods

So I have finished my first book for this experiment/resolution. As I have discussed in a couple of status reports, I read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.

I liked it very well, which wasn't surprising. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was a little annoyed that I saw the mid-story "twist" coming from around the time that Fat Charlie's mysterious brother, Spider, was mentioned. However, the more I think about it, the less I mind. It ended up being less important to the story as I got to know Fat Charlie and Spider, anyway.

The story is: Fat Charlie has an embarrassing father (anyone who has met my father and seen him dance knows that I empathize, deeply), Mr. Nancy, who dies in the first few pages of the book mid-Karaoki. To make matters worse, his last dying act as he reached out while falling from the stage was to rip the tube top off of a woman sitting next to the stage. But, really, it's how he would have wanted to go, anyway.

Fat Charlie (who was nicknamed that by his father at a young age, and is unable to remove the "Fat" from his name, no matter how much distance he puts between himself and his father) has been living in London, and returns to his native Florida for his father's funeral. While in Florida, he learns from an old neighbor that his father was a god (Anansi) and he has a brother he never knew about, named Spider. Fat Charlie doesn't meet Spider until he returns to London and, following his neighbor's advice, asks a spider to bring his brother by.

As you can well imagine, this was not a good choice for Charlie. Spider wreaks havoc on Fat Charlie's life, dating Charlie's oh-so-sweet fiancee (while she thinks Spider is Charlie), causing him to spend a night in jail due to suspicion of white collar crime at his workplace (an accurate assessment, but misplaced blame), and generally being a poor houseguest.

All-in-all, enjoyed the book greatly. It makes me want to go back and re-read American Gods, which I will have to do once the pile of books in my room goes down a little more. It also made me think about the parallels between this book and Neil's first adult novel, Neverwhere, a topic which I hope to discuss later, because now I am too enthralled in the tawdry details of a friend's new romance to elaborate.

Still well behind Skippity

I am now at over 2/3 through Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. I am a little disappointed that I saw the mid-novel twist coming, but as that there is still plenty of story left I will not despair.

Neil has a great way of writing, describing the "pretending to be sick" voice that Anansi used in one of his stories as a "weenie, weedy, weaky" voice. As a Latin geek (different from a
Latin Greek) from way back, I giggled for a good couple of minutes over that.

Hopefully I will have a full report on the book tomorrow, when I intend to finish it. Tonight, however, I must pay attention to the cookies I am attempting to bake. I wonder how people like Cajun-style cookies.

Nia's Current Status

As of last night (round-bouts midnight-ish), I am about 1/3 of the way through my first book, Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. It is a sequel (in a way, maybe more just "set in the same universe as") his previous novel, American Gods. At least once a chapter, I find myself thinking "I need to re-read American Gods," due to my previously-mentioned inability to remember anything for any reason.

All-in-all, I'm feeling on track. Except not enough alcohol so far this year. I'll need to rectify that.