Whither Richard,his ragged right hand margin;
his pith
and wisdom have gone missing.
Did he run out of time,
space, dimension? Words?
Is he hiding?
Will he rejoin?
I send my greetings
by way of the Misery.
We all need to row
, Richard,we all need to flail.
I'm actually quite interested in why folks appear for a while, seem really involved in the page, and then disappear...Myra Logan? Darla? Tingle, too, I guess, though I never noticed.
ReplyDelete@ ELS - Well, perhaps our attention spans aren't really any better than those of the students we complain about. I know I find it a lot easier to start projects than finish them, to get involved in something and not really do anything, to sign up and just be a name on a list.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is basically a distraction, a place to blow off steam. If people are busy or are having a really good time in real life, they might not show up here.
Also, occasionally we get remarks about how this blog has "gone south" or it "blows" or whatever and people declare their resignation.
The only complaint I have about the blog is the pace. I don't like it when I spend a lot of time honing a post to high degree of refined snark, post it, and it is buried beneath five other posts within a day and off the front page a day later. That's too fast for me. I'd rather everyone post a little bit less, but work on it a tad harder. But that's a minor gripe. I still like most of what goes on here.
27 Poems about my dead dog hasn't been topped yet, though.
Myra Logan was an early poster who I really liked. And I'm traumatized by the absence of Darla.
ReplyDeleteI think there's just an ebb and flow of things here.
@Slave: come on, you get lavished with praise every time you burp. don't feign that your brilliance gets buried. should we all pause while you burp?
@ Wisconsin - Yes, I do get compliments, although my passive voice posting should have ripened for a few more days before going online. I suppose I'm just starved for attention, since most of my teaching is online and I rarely get to "perform." But like I said, it is a minor gripe. I am well aware that I wouldn't have any readers if this were my show alone. There is also the fact that I usually come here to read, not to post. I'm into the give and take.
ReplyDeleteAnd as it happens, I'm not burping right now, so feel free to post something.
And I want to say, I love Nancy's Tinglish attempt. Those closing 2 lines neatly sum up this page!
ReplyDelete@Slave
ReplyDeleteAt RYS, we oftentimes had 100 or more emails a day, and we only posted 3-5 things a day for exactly the reason you bring up. We had tons of material to choose from, but what only put up the "liveliest" stuff we got, and artificially slowed down the pace of the blog in a way that allowed folks to really enjoy what was up.
This blog is quite different, of course, so pick your spots. Weekends seem to be pretty light.
If people are busy or are having a really good time in real life, they might not show up here. That seems a likely explanation and pining won't change it. Either they'll return when they have more time, or they won't. Just like in real life, when friends get busy with work or school or family or even a new hobby, they aren't around as much as they used to be. Unlike real life, you can't call up Richard Tingle and make him feel bad for abandoning you. Oh, I know it's because Richard Tingle is well-liked and it's really a sort of compliment. But if Richard Tingle is also tremendously overworked, would he feel good knowing that he's sorely missed? Or would he feel guilty and angst-ridden that his career or family or yoga lessons are more important that his fans at CM?
ReplyDeleteI, too, miss Tingle (and appreciate seeing a bit of tribute-Tinglish). I seem to remember that the subject of his last post shocked him out of poetry; I hope he has recovered.
ReplyDelete