Friends don't let Friends ruin KC blogging



All right, now that your token Black guy is dead and you've had time to grieve . . . Let's talk turkey.

And before you get too offended, let me make it clear that I'm not talking about anybody who REALLY knew the guy . . . I'm only referring to those of you who developed an unhealthy affinity for (micro-media obsession with) someone the blog of someone you never knew in real life. I met the dude twice, exchanged e-mails with him often, linked all the time and looked forward to every post but I never KNEW the dude in much the same way that you don't KNOW somebody you've only hung out with at a bar or restaurant and you wouldn't think of going to the funeral of your favorite checkout clerk that you probably see more than your mom. Put simply, you people are a lot more looney than you let on . . .

Anyhoo, the people I'm addressing here is the local blogger bunch that threaten to turn this thing we call blogging into a fad faster than you can say CB radio.

I don't have a stake in this really because TKC is a writer, (micro) media mogul and raconteur but I like the idea of blogging because it opens up personal publishing to EVERYONE with an Internet connection and a dumbass opinion.

From what I've seen, the "KC Blogging Bunch" (You know who you are) represent nothing more than a club of people who were PLAYED by Mayor Funkhouser and Joe Miller, have little to NO relevant political viewpoints and are basically using the greatest freedom ever bestowed upon citizens to do nothing but create a social club that is now made up exclusively of white, middle class people . . . Most of whom are suburbanites.

So, until you folks dig up some other Black person to be "friends" with (Don't even think it) then you're doing nothing but offering a skewed perspective on blogging in Kansas City with your expensive digital cameras and horrible taste in restaurants.

Blogging isn't for buddies (even though I've made many) it's about mixing it up, creating, sharing, promoting opinions and ideas (and jokes) that the mainstream press won't touch. It's not a social club for you and your friends and their haircuts.

Wanna do something that helps "the local blogosphere" besides mingling with your demographic? Comment on a strangers blog, look for other local blogs, link and let loose with your own opinions that might cost you your job. Anything less, and you might as well just go back to online dating.

Comments

  1. No, that did not sound arrogant. You aren't exactly the end all be all of writers either. Hell, I KNOW I'm not. To each their own Tony, just let people be.

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  2. Remember, guys, this is a joke blog, and someone just might want to ignite a little blog-slap-fest to generate a little attention. Just sayin' . . .

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  3. what a racist remark

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  4. I love the new exciting "blogger community." Say, when is the next blogger meeetup and can fans come too? Me and the wife are thinking of starting a blog, we might post recipies that we really like on there.

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  5. I didn't understand a word of what you were going on about, but I'm thinking that if this "friendship/stalkerdom" bothers you so much, you really need to get out more.

    When we were all little kids, and I see this even today, we had the ability to walk up to a strange kid, on the play ground, or street, and instantly start playing with them. I look at the blog world, much like a big playground where we can be kids again. If this happens to stretch out into the real world and we get to meet some of the people whose written word, and stories, we enjoy reading, it is all the better.

    I for one would love to meet you Tony. I think we would have a good time...as long as you left you mom at home.

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  6. Oh fuck you Tony

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  7. This is as much a joke blog as Dan's Gone Mild is a Republican blog.

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  8. Then why am I not laughing?

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  9. It's NOT about my haircut?

    Wow - I am, like, sooooo disappointed.

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  10. DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS POST. THIS IS A CHEAP PLOY FOR ATTENTION AT THE EXPENSE OF A MAN EVERYONE ON THE INTERNET LOVED VERY MUCH.

    FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU SO FUCKING HARD YOU COCKSUCKING WETBACK.

    YOU KNOW I USED TO FEEL SORRY FOR MEXICANS BEFORE I READ YOUR SITE AND NOW I WISH THEY WOULD SEND YOU ALL BACK STARTING WITH YOU.

    GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT TONY. YOU THINK YOU'RE SUCH A BADASS BUT YOU AREN'T SHIT AND IT FUCKING PISSES ME OFF.

    FUCK THAT, NOBODY ELSE RESPOND TO THIS POST BECAUSE YOU'RE ONLY ENCOURAGING THIS MISERABLE FUCK.

    STOP POSTING TONY. GO DIE.

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  11. My favorite type of blogger is the person who considers themselves a "true blogger", but still has a blogspot.com address.

    Shell out the 20 bucks and get your own domain!

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  12. shane -

    i) the most erudite and beloved lefty blogger always blogged on Blogger: when he quit just over a year ago it left a hole in an international audience that has yet to be replaced;

    ii) you write about the Chiefs and use your ISP as a domain name: outside of the tiny KC circle, no one cares;

    iii) get a clue.

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  13. I don't think "don't do it" does a very good job using obscenities. The all caps is bad enough, but the "fucks" were just off. I didn't really get an "angry" vibe as much as a "just borrowed dialogue from my favorite porn" vibe. Particularly on this:

    FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU SO FUCKING HARD YOU COCKSUCKING WETBACK.

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  14. Must be a slow news day: no Mexicans and The Funk didn't fuck anything up this weekend.

    Yawn.

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  15. I detect a little jealousy. The fact is that we as normal people do devolop an attachment or affinity to people we never actually met or knew. A blog is just another form of public writing or speaking as it were. When a writer is able to reach an audience in a positive manner then the audience in turn devolops a bond. Becks blog did just that. I think the problem Tony has is that Greg Beck didnt play the race card, he didnt have some politcal agenda. He wrote for the pleasure of it and it came through to his readers. Tony on the other hand is like the bloggers version of a shock jock. He tries to shock and offend to draw attention.He lacks the skill or personality to attract a diverse audience . And to that end it works I suppose.People log on to see what thinnly veiled race baiting crap will spew out of him next. Im as guilty as the next of checking in to see if he can top his last idiotic rant. But Im done. Its old and tired and just not funny.

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  16. If you are a media mogul, my asshair is Ivanka Trump. Want to know what your funeral will look like? Think about the outpouring of love and bittersweetness at Greg Beck's, and then think about the exact opposite.

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  17. Am I part of the KC blogging bunch? I'm a little confused b/c I don't care about Funk or Joe Miller, I know I don't have relevant political viewpoints... I'm just blogging because I'm self absorbed.

    And isn't the internet all about stalking and unhealthy obsessions with people you've never met? Oh man, if it's not, I'm really using my time wrong.

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  18. Oh, No! An anonymous blogger says nobody loves Tony. Oh, that must hurt so much.

    And then there's guy who says he's going to stop reading. Like we all haven't seen the same comment almost every day. How does Tony keep readers when everyone hates him so. How does his keep his self esteem?

    You people can't be that stupid. Can you?

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  19. So, The Painman...

    What you're saying is you're too cheap for the 20 bucks? That's what I thought.

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  20. So The Painman...

    What you're saying is that you're too cheap for the 20 bucks?

    That's what I thought.

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  21. Your biggest fan should change his/her/its name to only fan biggest loser. People read this crap for shits and giggles dumb ass. The same reason they stand at the ape house waiting for a chimp to throw poop or pull its pud. Its amusing in a slightly twisted sense of the word.
    Why would Tony go out of his way to talk trash on folks who were fans of a guys writing? It shows a great deal of nanny nanny boo boo, adolescent jealousy. As for to be anon or sign a handle, why does that matter? Are you going to track me down and stalk me? Are you going to send larASSa to picket my midtown apartment? I thought Tony was the biggest retard in KC< looks like you may take his title, McDouche.
    Oh, and you might want to quit swingin on Tonys tiny sack, you are his mother after all.
    Signed
    Art Vandalay

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  22. Blogging isnt for making buddies it is for.............
    For a guy who spends all of his time crying about people infringing on someones rights or being anti mex anti black, you sure are quick to try to impose your ideas about what a free and open media should be used for. You have got to be the biggest hippo-critter north of the border.
    Two words for you.
    NO TALENT.
    and 2 more
    BLOW ME>

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  23. Shane, I am absolutely too cheap to pay the $20. Why would I? So I can act like having my own domain name makes me a better writer?

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  24. I felt weird and kinda screwy going to Greg's funeral . . . but once I was there, I was so glad I did. I don't know if I am blogging for the 'right' reasons, but I do know that I have found people that make me smile every day. Call me pathetic if you will, but when I lose someone that makes me smile, I mourn. Don't mean to screw up your platform for greatness . . .

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  25. I agree with you Tony. Not all the time thou.

    Sounds like a tea party to me.

    Some bloggers takes things too personal. MF and DaveKCMO

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  26. I was wondering why all of those people line up in my front yard, Art. I guess I'll open the blinds next time I rub one out.

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  27. "This I Believe" by Deirdre Sullivan

    (All Things Considered, August 8, 2005)

    I believe in always going to the funeral. My father taught me that.

    The first time he said it directly to me, I was 16 and trying to get out of going to calling hours for Miss Emerson, my old fifth grade math teacher. I did not want to go. My father was unequivocal. "Dee," he said, "you're going. Always go to the funeral. Do it for the family."

    So my dad waited outside while I went in. It was worse than I thought it would be: I was the only kid there. When the condolence line deposited me in front of Miss Emerson's shell-shocked parents, I stammered out, "Sorry about all this," and stalked away. But, for that deeply weird expression of sympathy delivered 20 years ago, Miss Emerson's mother still remembers my name and always says hello with tearing eyes.

    That was the first time I went un-chaperoned, but my parents had been taking us kids to funerals and calling hours as a matter of course for years. By the time I was 16, I had been to five or six funerals. I remember two things from the funeral circuit: bottomless dishes of free mints and my father saying on the ride home, "You can't come in without going out, kids. Always go to the funeral."

    Sounds simple -- when someone dies, get in your car and go to calling hours or the funeral. That, I can do. But I think a personal philosophy of going to funerals means more than that.

    "Always go to the funeral" means that I have to do the right thing when I really, really don't feel like it. I have to remind myself of it when I could make some small gesture, but I don't really have to and I definitely don't want to. I'm talking about those things that represent only inconvenience to me, but the world to the other guy. You know, the painfully under-attended birthday party. The hospital visit during happy hour. The Shiva call for one of my ex's uncles. In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn't been good versus evil. It's hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good versus doing nothing.

    In going to funerals, I've come to believe that while I wait to make a grand heroic gesture, I should just stick to the small inconveniences that let me share in life's inevitable, occasional calamity.

    On a cold April night three years ago, my father died a quiet death from cancer. His funeral was on a Wednesday, middle of the workweek. I had been numb for days when, for some reason, during the funeral, I turned and looked back at the folks in the church. The memory of it still takes my breath away. The most human, powerful and humbling thing I've ever seen was a church at 3:00 on a Wednesday full of inconvenienced people who believe in going to the funeral.

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  28. Post to your own blog, wench. I never said Sheboygan wasn't funny.

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  29. So Greg was a token Black guy? Interesting.

    "KC Blogging Bunch?"? How are they/we/me being played by Fuckhouser and Joe Miller when the majority of us "Kc Blogging Bunch" are not even political bloggers or even live in KCMO? You'll have to explain that one to me.

    This so called "KC Blogging Bunch" must have some kind of membership I was not aware of. After all they/we meet in public places, so I guess that makes us an "exclusive club" because you have to by your own beer.

    You then say "Blogging isn't for buddies (even though I've made many) it's about mixing it up, creating, sharing, promoting opinions and ideas (and jokes) that the mainstream press won't touch."

    WRONG, WRONG, WRONG,
    Blogging is about whatever the author of a blog wants it to be, it can be about needle pointing, sports, Space travel, or like mine about me, and only me. It does not have to be about politics, but it can be. In fact I would be willing to bet you a beer that the majority of blogs (and you only link to a fraction of them. Do a search for Kansas City in blogger and you will only scratch the surface) in the KC metro aren't even about politics, they will be about a random mishmash of topics.

    Wanna do something that helps "the local blogosphere" besides mingling with your demographic?" This just sounds like you want a written invitation to the next meet up. Consider this an invitation. If the rumors are true about the next one no on will recognize you anyway. Co'mon Tony join us for some beers and laughs. We'll turn the TV's to Telemundo for ya!

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  30. Shane - Most of us don't do this for a living (working on computers and "done hand-coding for various web projects") we do this for fun. Why would I pay for it if it's free?

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  31. Hell...

    I'm still confused: blogging is NOT about my haircut?

    oh - and where did The Painman go: I'll loan him 20 bucks.

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  32. I would definately have gone to that checkout clerk's funeral, as much as I hate 'em (funerals, not check-out clerks).

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  33. 9/24 10:13 anonymous said it well. A very good summary, Tony, of what you're doing wrong. People don't come here to learn something. They come here to discover what new level of insult you can come up with. They wonder, "How can Tony twist this into some hate-filled rant that delves into every stereotype about minorities possible?"

    They read TKC to see what new thing you have decided to hate about Kansas City.

    They read TKC to see how long you can hold a grudge against the mayor.

    And people like me read your site to see if you can pull yourself out of the cliched world and finally start writing about something other than the magic 8 ball of topics:
    Mexicans
    Blacks
    Parking
    Models
    Chiefs
    Hating KC
    Hating JoCo

    That's it, Tony. That's a good 95% of all your posts. The other 5% is a combination of topics -- Chiefs fans from JoCo who don't like to parallel park.

    I haven't seen that yet. Is there a chance you'll sit down at the keyboard someday and say, "Maybe there's more to life than complaining about things. Maybe I have enough of an imagination to suggest some changes instead of criticizing others?"

    You have the gift of gab, so don't squander it by painting yourself as the No Answer Man.

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  34. "Most days, [the] real battle is doing good versus doing nothing."

    Cara, brilliantly shared, thanks.

    Tony, darling, it looks like this is a call to action.

    1) Sometime this week, you should write one well-written post about all things positive. And, truly mean it. [You can then go back to your usual pessimistic, funny commentaries that I so love.]

    2) Come to a blogger meetup. We love you just the way you are. :)

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  35. waldo, you forgot 2b) "The first round of drinks for everyone there is on you." :)

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  36. Kristine, g-dammit! Okay, well, lemme see ... everyone gets a can of the cheapest beer on the menu!

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  37. No-no, Waldo, "you = Tony." ;)

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  38. WoW...this comment thread was just as spicy as the post itself.

    I wanted to get my name on here. Shane, I used to have a personal domain and shelled out the $20 for it. However, when I came across blogger, it was a no brainer for me to save the money and do it for free.

    I can always get that domain back if I wanted and believe me, I've had the "numbers" to justify that, but it is an individual choice.

    Some folks aren't tech savvy and they will never make that move to go get their own domain. Others, like us, are and we either do/don't get one based on our own reasons.

    Which reminds me, what was Tony's post about anyway? Oh...my bad. I'm a token wordpress guy this weekend.

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