Why Not "Blog"?

From a discarded essay written last November published now because you may find the writing mildly amusing: 

I refuse to call this website a blog, as the word "blog" hurts my ears. If you had asked me, years ago, before the advent of blogs, to define the word "blog", I would have defined it as "the act of regurgitating something from your lower intestine". Given the quality of most online writing, I think the definition above is still appropriate. 

The word "blogger" is, in some ways, even more distasteful to me, both because it is derived form the word "blog", as defined above, and because of the way it is spoken on the nightly newscast. Imagine, if you will, the host of a nightly newscast or 24-hours news channel. This newscaster's renown is a step below that of whatever anchor is the most famous on the network in question. Perhaps this particular newscaster lacks the ability to "perform gravitas" in a way that is comforting to your particular nation when it faces the terrible calamities it must face as long as time passes, and is therefore on at odd hours, or when the main anchor is ill or on vacation. This newscaster is too-well groomed and probably drank his or her way through an unchallenging communications degree at a mediocre university. There are many ways to lack character and distinction and, for whatever reason, this particular newscaster's lack is read as charm, and so he or she is on TV.

After announcing the death of schoolchildren with less emotion than one might use to order a slice of pizza, the topic switches to politics, and with that segues comes the inevitable mention of "political bloggers". This phrase is always uttered with a wink and a smile that says, "it's 200x and we, the 'stodgy old media', know a thing or two about this whole technology thing." As if the news, and how it is reported, isn't disheartening enough, we are now subject to the kneejerk opinions of those whose only profession is to formulate kneejerk opinion. As I believe in the possibility of contingent truth, the world opinion can be understood as a synonym for the word "blog", defined above.

[2021 - the arrogance of youth - I miss me!]