Tidbits of life in 9 minute increments.

December 22, 2003

Bestofme Symphony, 3rd performance

The third performance of the Bestofme Symphony has an astounding 19 participants and 21 submissions. Why is that astounding (since the previous Symphony had 27 participants)? Because not only is this the holiday week but I did no agressive recruitment. For the innaugural performance I hit up the people on my blogroll. Last week I emailed people who had participated in the Carnival of the Vanities. This week I did nothing but post reminders on my own site and send email to the people on my reminder list. I believe that in only its 3rd week, the Bestofme Symphony has gathered enough momentum to keep itself flying (with your continued support, of course)!

Submit to the Symphony: Want to be a part of next week's edition? Check out this post for submission info.

Spread the word: Webloggers, please consider putting up a post linking to this Symphony. The faster this becomes a well known weblog meme, the sooner I'll stop begging you to link to it. See? We all win if you link.

Email Reminders: If you'd like to be sent a reminder about the Symphony, drop me a line at this address. It's not a mailing list, just me sending out friendly little reminders. There'll be one on Thursday or Friday to remind you to submit for the next symphony and one on Monday with a link to the freshly posted Symphony.

Without further ado, I present the third edition of the Bestofme Symphony:

Post	Author	Weblog

Tick Tock...	Susie (Submitted by Victor)	Practical Penumbra
This week's honor spot goes to Susie at Practical Penumbra because I seriously pewed the scrooch. Victor submitted this for the first Symphony and I lost it. The post itself is worthy as it is the essence of Susie. In Victor's words: "Sure, on the surface it seems pretty dumb, but underneath it, this post just says...Susie. I really think it captures the Susieness that is Susie."

Won't You Be My Neighbor?	LeeAnn (Submitted by Jim)	The Cheese Stands Alone
LeeAnn has the worst neighbors in the world and the funniest stories about them. Read on and you'll end up buying your own neighbors a fruit basket and mowing their lawn in thanks.

The Wheels on the Bus	Simon Masnick	Simon World
It's about my bus trip to and from work. It sounds so lame you've just gotta read it to see how good it actually is.

Investigating McCarthy	Elliot Temple	Curiosity
I like this post because it rationally investigates an issue that few people analyze rationally, and it comes up against "common sense" (prevailing propaganda, more like).

Commander Plaza Romantically Linked To Uma Thurman	Guinness	AllGuinness
This post is written in the style of a gossip column. It is a fictional story involving a friend of mine. I just think it was funny.

Recall Debate Blogging	Kurt (Submitted by JimiLove)	Jockularocracy
In retrospect, this debate was the turning point in California's gubernatorial election, and no one...I mean no one...captured the true essence of the hilarity better than Kurt.

Michael Kinsley Pops a Vein	Pietro	The Smarter Cop
Michael Kinsley in October explained why liberals exude so much hate. I explain why Kinsley confuses childishness with anger.

Is Tipping A Bribe or Reward?	Johnny Huh?	Intellectual Poison
Tipping: a reward for good service or a bribe to avoid getting a spit burger or worse (hint, don't get clam chowder if you've pissed off your waitron).

Honor	homicidalManiak	the rantings of a homicidalManiac
This post was written as an answer to an email asking me what my definition of the word honor is as a servicemember. Seemed like a good idea for a post so I posted it.

To the X-10 Camera Advertiser	Gleeful Extremist	Gleeful Extremist
I wrote a rather sarcastic letter to the people who kept doing those annoying pop-up ads last year. It got a lot of link love.

Laying the groundwork for other possibilities	Stephen (Submitted by Sarah)	Taken in Hand
I believe that relationship is a path to the divine. In my walk with Christ I sometimes feel a connection to others because I have paid attention to those closest to me. I think it must start with those closest to us, especially our wives and/or husbands. When we create a solid, loving relationship with them it gives us a base from which we can reach out to others.

The Burning One in the Broken World	Jerome DuBois	The Tears of Things
It asks the questions: Just how real is the imagination? And why are our imaginations so impoverished?

What We Talk About When We Talk About Sex	TPB, Esq.	Unbillable Hours
This was my first big post, my first real story about love, sex, and the life of divorce lawyers. I guess it was my first attempt at trying to blog from a personal level.

Hide and Go Stink	Mr. Crunchy (Submitted by MojoMark)	Mister Crunchy
Here's a fun game for you and your family that we've just invented here at the Transglobal Epicenter.

What is wrong with people?	Susie	Practical Penumbra
Another exciting episode in the "Why I love my job" series...

Anti-Semitic Shyster Thrown Out of Court	Bill Adams	Idler Yet
Precis: The New York Observer waxed furious at the National Review for using the word "shyster," claiming that everyone knows this word to be an anti-Semitic slur. I hit the books and established that none of the major word authorities know it be any such thing, and that the Observer, having consulted some of the same authorities, had no excuse whatever for their wild accusation. Why submit this one? It's a good example of what Instapundit called my "lexicographical fisking," it's long but not dull, and it combines the literary side of my blog with the political side in an example whose politics have not been hopelessly dated by events. (Indeed, the Observer made another unwarranted anti-Semitism accusation just the other day.) From April of this year.

Femenist Bookstores - Declining Fortunes	MJ Pechar	Interested-Participant
This entry addresses a subject that many folks probably don't think about which is worthy of mention, the shrinking influence of radical feminism. It relates the decline in interest in feminist bookstores as evidence that the feminist movement is dying.

The Poopman Cometh	Mr. Crunchy (Submitted by MojoMark)	Mister Crunchy
Playdates are good for all kinds of reasons. However, playdates bring with them the non-zero probability that you're going to be dealing with the excess inventory from a child not of your own DNA.

Because It Can Become Good	Jay Manifold	A Voyage To Arcturus
America is good because it can _become_ good.

Crowd of Witnesses	Catherine King	The Tears of Things
My first digital encounters with the paranormal, and the changes those put me through.

Dear Mr. Address Does Not Exist:	Jim	Snooze Button Dreams
Before I started using a spam filter I was getting inundated with these electric barbs. This post was a letter back to the spammers and hit quite the mark with my readers.