Bloggasm

Damian Penny is a lawyer in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada. Inspired by the aftermath to 9/11 and popular sites like InstaPundit.com, He started up his weblog, Daimnation!, in October, 2001. His site – which concentrates primarily on international affairs, but also Canadian politics, pop culture, cars and sports – is affiliated with Blogging Tories and Pajamas Media.

Simon Owens: In our last interview in early 2006, you said that blogs would never be able to replace the mainstream media because they don’t have the resources to do original reporting. Do you think now, a year later, they’re doing more investigative journalism?

Damian Penny: I think we’re starting to see a lot more “on the scene” reporting from bloggers, especially from people like Michael Totten and Michael Yon. Totten, in particular, finances most of his reporting from the Middle East with readers’ donations, and the result has been some excellent reporting you don’t see anywhere else. When bloggers have the resources, or if something important is happening on their doorstep, you get a lot more original blog reporting.

Simon Owens: Do you think that as online advertising increases, the major blogs will be able to hire on-the-scene reporters so they can break news just like other more traditional outlets?

Damian Penny: Some bloggers already publish guest posts from people on the scene, but I don’t think you’ll see reporters “hired” to report for blogs. One of the defining features of blogs is that they are personal, and most bloggers will want to keep it that way. Maybe you’ll see some add full-time guest bloggers to look at things from other perspectives. (My most prolific guest-blogger, Mark Collins, knows a lot more than I do about military matters.)

Simon Owens: I’ve interviewed a number of Pajamas Media bloggers in the past, and I always try to get their insider input on the network. How has your experience been with PM? Do you think it will continue to stay strong?

Damian Penny: I’ve been very happy with PJM, and I think they are getting better. Picking up some high-profile guest bloggers, like Victor Davis Hanson and Ron Rosenbaum, was a very good move.

Simon Owens: You said in our last interview that you first became inspired to start blogging partially because of 9/11. As someone outside the US, how did that event affect your political views?

Damian Penny: 23 Canadians were killed in the 9/11 attacks, along with hundreds of people from dozens of other countries. Attacks against one country will almost certainly have repercussions – and victims – from other nations, and Canada is so intertwined with its southern neighbour that 9/11 had to have a major impact. Indeed, many of the planes grounded on that day ended up here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Simon Owens: How does the Canadian political blogosphere differ from the US political blogosphere? Do they act in the same manner?

Damian Penny: I think the American blogosphere has received much more recognition from the US media than Canadian bloggers have received from Canadian news outlets. Some Canadian blogs have gotten pretty big, but none of them have become near-household names like Daily Kos, InstaPundit or Power Line. The high-water mark for the Canadian blogosphere was when the sponsorship scandal was at its peak – fueled, ironically, by American blog Captain’s Quarters, which had a source inside the sponsorship inquiry (and wasn’t bound by a Canadian publication ban).

Saskboy is a computer scientist who comments on all sorts of news, movies, and his daily thoughts. Photography, politics, preserving humankind, and having fun through humour are just a few of the things he likes to do and share online. Some of his creations include the Pet Foil Hat Technology seen on cats everywhere there’s an addicted eBay buyer, and The Teleban — a blog group of funny people semi-devoted to banning television in jest. He often writes to be funny, and wrote this bio in the third person to make it seem at first as if he had someone else promoting his site. He’s currently living in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada where the snow ought to melt any week now.

Saskboy’s been blogging since 2002, and contributes to Off The Grid, a blog that won the 2006 Canadian Blog Award for Best Science/Technology blog. He co-moderates and is the assistant webmaster of a prominent Canadian political blog aggregator, and has organized public Barbeque picnics for groups of Saskatchewan bloggers affiliated with the Saskatchewan Blog Aggregator

Simon Owens: For Bloggasm, I’ve conducted nearly 200 interviews, and the vast majority were with bloggers who could be categorized within a specific niche. You’re one of those bloggers who blogs on whatever comes to mind. Do you find it hard to gain readers this way?

Saskboy: Ah, the niche of the “whatever-blogger”. It’s not a famous niche, and certainly not the way to attract a regular and massive following. It’s the type of blog I enjoy writing (and reading) the most, however. I started blogging to share pictures and stories with my family after I temporarily moved several thousand kilometers east to Canada’s capital city Ottawa. Then I got interested in eBay’s discussion forums, and found I enjoyed writing and commenting on almost any subject under the sun. I hated it when something I’d put hours into discussing, would scroll off the page into the virtual dustbin, and so I started saving my rants, jokes, and conversations by putting them into a blog I could archive, instead.

Sometimes I get onto a kick about politics or environmental policies. Other times it’s tech news, or things that relate to big-business locking customers out of fairly using things we’ve bought. I also do a bit of travelling in my job, so I have photography from small towns that most people would normally never visit. My blog is a true journal and log of my days, not a focused news or gossip blog which tends to get the most loyal readers and huge traffic numbers, but I’m happy with the crowd I do have (and look forward to meeting many more as they slowly discover my blog). I enjoy the intelligent and humourous comments I do get at my site.

Simon Owens: I’ve noticed that several of the Canadian bloggers I’ve interviewed follow US politics closely. Do you find this to be a trend among most Candians? How do you guys view the recent power shift in Congress from the Republicans to the Democrats?

Saskboy: All Canadians who follow politics, also follow US politics closely. Canada’s certainly not the 51st state, but we listen to what comes out of Washington DC, because we know it will have a significant effect on what happens on our side of the border. Many of our jobs depend on trade with the USA, so having an insular President in power impacts on our trade and tourism industries, as we saw with the Beef BSE blockade, softwood lumber NAFTA dispute, and the ongoing Homeland Security passport directive that is killing the camaraderie and cross-border shopping trips that have gone on for generations between our countries.

Canadians politically also have an unfortunate sense of smugness that comes from knowing a lot about American politics, while the average American knows next to nothing about Canada, let alone our politics. It’s understandable really, but it doesn’t mean we like being unnoticed and unacknowledged as an important part of North America by American culture. Canadian news always contains coverage of American news (which is part of why we know American politics), but we don’t see an equivalent proportion of Canadian coverage on American media. And when we do, half of the time it’s through the distorted lens of Bill O’Reily, or Ann Coulter who tell lies about Canada in their reports.

I think most Canadians are either optimistic that the Democrat-controlled Congress will improve the relations between our countries, or are entirely indifferent to the change. Both the Democrats and Republicans are to the right ideologically of slightly more than half of Canadians. There are some differences between the parties, but the almighty dollar rules even more strongly than it does in Canada, so two parties who are beholden to corporate interests don’t really give the independent thinker or politician a fair chance to be heard.

I was impressed when Senator Leahy tore a strip off of Alberto Gonzalez for witholding information from a Senate committee, concerning the deportion of Canadian Maher Arar to Syria where he was tortured. Holding the executive branch responsible for crimes is something we didn’t see during the Republican years, so hopefully the improved oversight is a glimmer of things to come. American democracy is suffering from a lack of imagination, especially if it elects another Clinton to the presidency. I don’t think it’s right for only Bushes and Clintons to be in power from 1988 through 2012, even if Hillary would do a fair job.

Simon Owens: How does the Candian political blogosphere compare to US political blogs? Do you have your own versions of Michelle Malkins, Instapundits, and Daily Kos?

Saskboy: The Canadian political blogosphere is vastly different from the American political blogosphere. In Canada, blog aggregators (sites which republish the feeds of member blogs) rule the numbers game, with only a few exceptions. There are popular newsprint media bloggers, and one very large Conservative blog written mostly by one woman, Kate (also from Saskatchewan like me), but the most popular sites are ones that direct readers to the hot news of the day on whatever blog siezes upon the latest topic in the best way. Kate’s blog is politically in line with Michelle Malkin’s, so you could say she’s the Canadian version, but since Canadian bloggers know of Malkin, Kos, Little Green Footballs, Glenn Reynolds, etc. it’s as accurate to say we add to the American blogosphere at the same time as being a microcosm of it. Progressive bloggers is probably the closest site Canada has in readership, style, and ideology to Daily Kos. And Bourque may be our Instapundit, although he was just rocked with a paid-headlines-as-real-news scandal, so his readership may have taken a dive?

Simon Owens: You linked to a “10 things that blogging has taught me” item recently, which commented mostly on the quick, often hysterical nature of the blogosphere. Do you think that bloggers are still in their toddler stage, and will mature as a form of journalism media as time goes on?

Saskboy: I think the bloggers of tomorrow are the kids making websites in grade 6 classes, and the bloggers of today are people who barely grew up with computers. The blogosphere is going to be changing constantly, but there will always be new bloggers, some having just started using computers, and some having used them their entire life. I don’t see blogging evolving into journalism of the kind provided by major news stations and professional journalists, at least not if the Internet and laws regarding free speech stay as they are today. There’s no way for every blogger to devote the kind of time they’d need to “evolve” into a pro, so we’ll always have cat-blogs, and variety blogs like mine.

The other aspect to your question is the implication of having bloggers a part of the main stream public consciousness. As blogs endure, some will grow into professional journals, and the public will become more aware of independent media online. Blogs have the ability to revolutionize where people get their news from, and that will have profund implications on culture around the world. I think the jury is out on whether bloggers will be more or less hysterical than the current media, where everything is a “shocking revelation” if you trust CNN to describe the nature of events.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Saskboy: 1. Miss Cellania – is a great read, and there’s more than enough laughs to kill an evening with, on any given day. Miss C has her fingers on the pulse of every joke on the web that you haven’t seen yet.

2. The Galloping Beaver – has an excellent perspective on political news, usually from a person with a lot of military experience. When I need to know how a government is messing up in regards to defence, TGB is an excellent resource.

3. I put a lot of effort into promoting blogs from my home province, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug the SaskBlogs Aggregator hosted and designed by Lance Levsen, another ex-military blogger. There is a nice cross section of blogs to be read at the Aggregator, and I swing by almost every day to get the latest on what other Saskatchewanians think about current events.

4. The Prairie Wrangler – Olaf’s blog is from a conservative viewpoint, but unlike many Canadian Conservative bloggers (known as Blogging Tories in Canada), he conducts himself in a more personable manner. Facts and intelligent discussion are important to Olaf, so along with the humour of the daily political cartoon, you find plenty of honest debate from dozens of commenters.

5. There are a few I’d like to put for my last pick. There are so many good blogs I read, and 5 doesn’t cover nearly enough of them. But Procrastinatrix is an interesting and intelligent (even when there are poo jokes) blog. Bonus points go to her for actually knowing the details of feces, and still having a sense of humour.

And in “link dump” fashion here are other considerations: 1337hax0r for his excellent set of websites combined with his political and technical knowledge. Nic’s Opinions for the sometimes naughty jokes, and funny threads. Liberal Catnip for her blistering indictments of government incompetence. And Jim Bobby Sez for his unique, accented style.

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(Related posts: Interview with Echidne of the Snakes, Interview with Jurassicpork from Welcome to Pottersville, Rush Limbaugh caught with bottle of Viagra, A Wikipedian’s fake “authority”, Interview with John Hawkins from Right Wing News, College kids posing nude for campus magazines, Have you broken the law and want to write a book about it? Don’t go to Canada)

Jurassicpork runs a blog called Welcome to Pottersville, which is named after the character Henry Potter in Frank Capra’s It‘s a Wonderful Life. This is his second and by far most successful venture into political blogging. He’s an independent-minded liberal blogger shunned by the A-listers who nevertheless has, since Pottersville’s founding late June ‘05, been linked to on almost 350 blogs and gets 5,000-18,000+ hits a day. He answers to JP or “the defendant.”

Simon Owens: To prepare for this interview, I combed extensively through your archives, and though you are a political blog, you tend to focus on more obscure issues than the ones highlighted by the bigger blogs. Do you think the B-list bloggers have to find new topics in order to be heard? What do you think of the hierarchy of the liberal blogosphere?

Jurassicpork: I’m not sure I know what you mean by “obscure.” I generally tend to stay on top of the bigger issues and stories, such as the ones regarding Iraq and Iran, the Walter Reed scandal, etc. The devil’s in the details, as they say, which is where finding and expounding on smaller or less publicized issues comes in. But I wouldn’t be much of a political blogger if I studiously ignored the State of the Union Address or the elections for the sake of keeping my own scope unfettered.

Just because the likes of Aravosis, Amato, Eschaton, Kos and Hamsher offer excellent and astute political commentary on the hot button issues doesn’t mean that there aren’t, literally, tens of thousands of people out there who wouldn’t be interested in your take. I have readers who come in all the time and leave comments that they’re disenfranchised by the A-list blogs and their “comment management”, the cliquey-ness, the swarm factor, even the development of a culture and a secret nomenclature that surrounds the webmaster(s). There’s none of that at my place. Aside from that, I’ve already made my thoughts on A list hierarchies known and I don’t wish to pull off scabs by naming names.

However, I see what you mean about B list blogs finding new and less-traveled roads. I’m always up for finding the important but little publicized story, the odd, the arcane, the tragic and the simply ludicrous, like the Havidol hoax. That’s why I do a “Twenty Bucks, Same as in Town” weekly feature. I highlight some of the better and most unusual blog postings by
other, usually smaller bloggers, partly to get their names and URLs out there.

There’s also something to be said for scavenging the Internet for the little publicized that really deserves special attention, such as the deaths of soldiers and Marines of Iraqi veterans such as Jennifer Parcell and Gloria Davis. When Editor and Publisher’s Greg Mitchell reported on Parcell’s death, only seven local press mentions were made of it. I thought that was horrible and that her ultimate sacrifice shouldn’t be overshadowed by the Anna Nicole Smith death circus. So I wrote about her. Then I wrote about her again when she wouldn’t let me alone.

Remember, if you’re thinking about Jennifer Parcell or Gloria Davis or any other soldier or Marine who’d perished overseas, then it’s guaranteed that more people than you think are also thinking of them and they will find you and be grateful for your attention. That alone is one of the greatest rewards of being a blogger. Connecting with people, making people happy, touching them more easily than, ironically, real life would ordinarily allow. That’s really what’s it’s all about. Not scooping or flaming the deserving.

Simon Owens: You talk about Hilary Clinton in a few of your posts, and you’re highly critical of her–specifically her reluctance to admit her mistakes. Very few of the liberal blogs are endorsing her, do you think this could spell trouble for her campaign? Which candidate will receive the greatest benefit from the blogosphere now that Edwards has let his bloggers “resign”?

Jurassicpork: Well, you’re asking me for an opinion of what will happen in the next year and a half, which would hardly invite a scientific analysis. Your guess is as good as mine. Hillary is looked askance by both sides of the blogosphere for both good and bad reasons (we tend to have the good reasons), which makes her being a front-runner over Obama that much more mysterious.

Her alliance with the DLC, which is what I call GOP-Lite, doesn’t help her cause, as is her reluctance to admit her mistake in voting for the war. Then there’s also the revived and not altogether unjustified backlash against Bill Clinton. No one, it seems, has forgotten Hillary sitting over her husband’s shoulder during the 90s and crafting with him that co-opted laughingstock of a health care bill, acting like a second Vice President.

Plus campaign fatigue is already setting in. Hillary spent many millions of dollars to beat someone who was never a serious contender with the intention of serving just the first third of her second term in the Senate. Think of it: She just got sworn in again and less than a month later she announced, surprise, surprise, her intention to seek a better job in the White House. She’s in perpetual campaign mode and people are getting tired of giving money to her. That’s why she’s getting abandoned by the likes of Spielberg and big Democratic campaign donors. And, of course, getting embraced by the likes of Rupert Murdoch, of all people, gives people Lieberman-like PTSD.

So, yeah, I think the bigger blogs could make a dent in her campaign. But if anyone or anything will sink Hillary’s campaign, it’ll have to be done by Hillary.

Edwards’ non-support of Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan, I fear, won’t be remembered by the voters, so I don’t see Hillary or Obama or Richardson capitalizing from that. Edwards’ biggest disadvantage in his campaign is not holding a national public office like Clinton or Obama. That in itself is worth about $25,000,000 of TV ads.

Simon Owens: Do you think that the political blogosphere will remain mostly a “commentary” type of media, or do you think they have the capacity to do some major investigative reporting? What kind of resources would they need to do this?

Jurassicpork: With very few exceptions, such as Media Matters and Newshounds, to name but two, I don’t think one major blogger and not many B listers got into this game to act as a watchdog or minder of the watchdogs of democracy, as Helen Thomas calls the press. I believe that the political blogosphere originally started as a platform for commentary, which it still is essentially. Don’t forget the provenance of the word “blog”: It’s a contraction for “web log” or an online diary. Diaries are typically journals of private thoughts.

However, for the first time in our nation’s history, we’re in a position to judge the probity and efficacy of the mainstream media. Blogs have broken us out of the capricious and often exclusionary forum of letters to the editor or even emails to your favorite program. And the longer we do our thing, the more people discover us.

We now have a national convention in Yearly Kos, politicians are embracing both sides of the blogosphere, we’re becoming columnists, authors, television and radio personalities and political blogs are exploding in popularity. Also, more professional journalists, such as Keith Olbermann, Charlie Ross and Craig Crawford are becoming bloggers.

All the same, the impression I get is that bloggers in general are not comfortable with having to be arbiters of what’s true or not true. And now I’m about to say something very surprising. It’s not our job to tell the truth. I can picture the expression on your face right now. But I’m right in that it’s not our job to tell the truth. That’s why we have a Fourth Estate. It’s their job to tell the truth instead of being mere mediums and stenographers for the government. It’s only our job to seek the truth. And if the MSM doesn’t do its job which it largely isn’t, then we will have to seek it out that much more diligently. And in some notorious cases, we have “scooped” the media.

Otherwise, there’s no blogger out there who can approach the likes of Ron Suskind, Seymour Hersh or David Brooks in terms of access or sources. And that’s the way it ought to be.

Still, the MSM largely disrespects us and even resents us for being so critical of the way they do their jobs, which is alarmingly similar to the arch, “We’re in charge and we know what we’re doing” attitude of the government. And they forget that we’re an increasingly large part of their customer base.

Simon Owens: You write extensively about how Republicans are becoming even more antagonistic. Is this a sign of an inner explosion of their political movement? Or is there another root cause for this?

Jurassicpork: I look at the recent Republican hysterics with a lot of amusement. The less power they can get their mitts on, the more “unhinged”, to quote Michelle Malkin, they become. I think you can begin to explain this rage from GOP politicians as an addiction to incumbency and control. But I see more of an implosion in Republicans on the Hill, perhaps because the last election chastened them and some of them are finally beginning to see the importance and necessity of bipartisanship and compromise. They’re clashing with the ones who still haven’t learned, such as on the nonbinding resolution on Bush’s surge. The bobbleheads on TV, who still seem to be getting their marching orders from someone who’s the love child of Frank Luntz and Joseph Goebbels, are a different story. So, the kind coming from the neocon punditocracy is more complex, I think.

In most cases, we’re seeing people who actually thought that conservatism never goes out of style (Norman Bates assured us in Psycho II that it wouldn’t. That’s what you get when you place your trust in amateur taxidermists who wear cheap wigs and knife people in showers). We’re seeing people who’d been fooled into thinking by the likes of Karl Rove and others that the Republican Reich would last for 1000 years and the likes of Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, et. al. simply jumped on the wrong team.

So, as I’d said recently in Liberal Truth: It’s All the Rage, there’s a lot of money, access and reputations at stake. Plus a lot of conservatives are genetically incapable of admitting when they or their icons are wrong. Just try telling someone like Ann Coulter that Ronald Reagan was an elitist, narcoleptic, jackbooted racist thug who cut and ran from Lebanon when the terrorists made things too hot for us and watch her head explode.

Simon Owens: Is it true what media analysts are saying that the liberal blogosphere is the new counter-force to the right-wing noise machine of talk radio and Fox News? How effectively are bloggers pushing against spin to make the media more objective?

Jurassicpork: Thanks to excellent watchdog sites such as Media Matters and Newshounds, who make it their business to keep these right wing pundits honest, we’re gaining ground. Unfortunately, our efficacy is directly proportionate to the volume of our readership, which still numbers, I’d estimate, less than 1% of the nation’s population. If the ‘08 general elections were held today and Fox “News” were to suddenly declare John McCain the next president instead of, say, Sen. Obama, I can’t completely trust that the dinosaur networks wouldn’t fall in line instead of risking being scooped by Fox, of all networks. We saw that exact same scenario happen in 2000 and it could happen again because of the persistent right wing bias in the news.

Several bloggers like John Aravosis of AmericaBlog, John Amato, Firedoglake and many many B-list bloggers and a loyal army of readers have proven to be excellent investigative journalists when called upon when they smell a rat. Whether it’s pushing back against a blatant lie (think Swiftboat Veterans for Truth) or outing a hypocrite (Jeff Gannon), we’ve often upstaged the lazy and biased media to their rage and rue.

Unfortunately, the numbers that we command (Superblog Crooks and Liars, even on their best day, can generate just over a half a million unique hits a day, which is a sixth of one percent of the national population) doesn’t mean that we can sway public opinion on a national level. There’s a neverending tide of crap and falsehoods that come cascading from the Far Right but our only other option besides slugging it out is to give up. And if we give up, then the conservative terrorists will have won. And people who threaten to take lives and wish attacks on liberal cities like San Francisco are terrorists and ought to be prosecuted as such.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Jurassicpork: Five blogs. Jeez, there are so many fine blogs out there by compassionate, intelligent, talented people. I hope the 99.9999999% of the guys I don’t end up mentioning don’t feel slighted. How about ten or fifteen? No? Five?

Well, if you want an education in how to sling words like brickbats, you could do a lot worse than a pal of mine out of Chicago named D r i f t g l a s s. There was a legendary Greek satirist in the days of the ancients whose words made his enemies commit suicide and this guy D r i f t g l a s s may be his reincarnated spirit. Using words like a skilled warrior uses a cudgel, employing a hefty dose of common sense and sometimes surprising compassion, this guy is a must-read for people who love to see the English language used to its highest potential. I’ve said it before and I’ll gladly say it again: This guy makes me want to be a better blogger and writer.

Firestarter5, who runs a blog called Playing With Fire, is another good but overlooked liberal blogger who has my weakness for soft core porn and sense of irony with an occasional O Henry twist (such as this post on Britney Spears’ Sinead O’Connor moment). He’s pretty good, considering that he’s Canadian, which isn’t saying much (Oh, come on, FS5. I kid, I kid!). As with D r i f t g l a s s, I have him in my special Must See Blogging list on my sidebar.

I’d be an ungrateful bastard if I didn’t mention Alicia Morgan at Last Left Turn Before Hooterville. As much as the Dood Abides, Alicia’s a magician with Photoshop and we’ve collaborated many times on some of my posts (most notably on my Christmas post, “It’s a Blunderful Life”). It’s not at all unusual to see her work kicking off an Assclowns of the Week (my big weekly feature) with a custom-made lead picture. She’s my political soulmate and her hubby and their kids are lucky, lucky people. Now, if only we can get her to post more often…

The folks who make up the Unruly Mob, or Les Enrages, have been very kind to me over the last several months. It started out as the brainchild of Sans Culottes, a frequent commenter at AmericaBlog who mysteriously disappeared last spring. The Unruly Mob is now led by another Canadian blogger named SadButTrue and, with oldtimers Revphat, Ice Station Tango and sexy ladies JumptotheLeft and KayinMaine, this group blog gives some interesting perspectives with some talented writers. They treat me like a king and it’s an honor to graduate from erstwhile guest blogger to regular contributor.

Lastly, if you want to see how good blogging can be, go to Baghdad Burning by Riverbend. If you’ve somehow never heard of her, she’s a 27 year-old Iraqi blogger who’s our eyes and ears at Ground Zero in the “Global War on Terror.” Her English is so accomplished, so eloquent, that her blog postings have been collected in two books. If there was ever a Nobel prize for blogging, she’d certainly be a consideration. Because Iraq dominates the political blogging landscape, her blog assumes that much more importance. She also gives us an almost unique perspective from her vantage point 6000 miles, in translating Arabic into flawless English and not allowing us to forget that the carnage in this war not only works both ways but that over 100 of her people are killed each day.

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(Related posts: Andy Griffith hates our freedom, Interview with Kevin Holtsberry from Collected Miscellany, Ann Coulter loses another column: Thank God, When service workers pee on your food, Interview with Patricia Storms from BookLust)

So, let’s say that you just spent ten years in prison for some infamous crime and you’re now getting out so you can finally write your bestselling memoir about your brilliant run-in with the law. It turns out that a new law just passed in Canada tells you that you’re now not allowed to profit off your criminal acts at all:

Alberta lawmakers have taken steps to ensure crime doesn’t pay — at least for convicted criminals seeking a market for their stories.

Cabinet passed an order this week that will bring the Criminal Notoriety Act into effect Oct. 1.

The law, passed last fall, prohibits convicted criminals from receiving money for recounting their crimes for books, movies or the Internet.

Perhaps one day this will also be extended to people related to the crime in some way, like somebody on the jury or a dectective or lawyer. Many can remember the case of the Michael Jackson juror who had already signed a book deal before the trial even started. Perhaps one can argue that if there’s a factor of potential money in play, it could influence how they act before the verdict is decided. Possibly the most famous case of this is In Cold Blood. The film Capote seems to suggest that he actually started hoping that they’d be executed, just so he could finish his book. Imagine how things would have been different if Capote hadn’t been allowed to write the book in the first place.

Patricia Storms is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist residing in Toronto, Canada. She specializes in humorous illustration for both adults and children. Her illustrated blog, BookLust, is a light-hearted labour of love which focuses on her many passions: books, cartoons, art and stuff.

Simon Owens: As someone who enjoys both books and cartoons, do you think it harder to provide in-depth criticism on cartoons? What criteria do you use if you’re going to analyze a particular cartoon (for instance, a political cartoon published in a newspaper)?

Patricia Storms: I don’t personally think it’s hard to provide in-depth criticism of cartoons – they are basically just another form of art, like painting, music or sculpture. In fact, I find it even more enjoyable critiquing cartoons, because I am assessing two forms of art (writing and drawing) which bond together as one creative element. The difficulty in critiquing cartoons lies in the limitations of those who see cartoons as hack work, or the lowest art form available. I hear that from time to time, but thankfully less often these days, thanks to, in part, the rise in popularity of graphic novels. The respect of graphic novelists is slowly seeping into other forms of cartooning, like comic strips and one-panel magazine gags and humour illustration in general, I think.

The criteria I would use to critique a cartoon, would be first, is it funny? (That is, of course, if the cartoon in question is supposed to be funny. Political cartoons, for example, are not necessarily always supposed to be funny, but if effective, are insightful, and elicit a strong feeling from the reader, be it agreement or anger). If the cartoon is funny, I’ll also be wondering if it was the most effective way to communicate the humour. Is the humour too obvious? Could the writing (if there is any; remember some cartoons are completely wordless, but of course still communicate ideas) have been pared down some more? I find that the more terse the writing, the better the cartoon. Is the idea new, fresh, original? A funny cartoon is of little use if it’s something that’s been done before, especially if it’s been done better. The art for a cartoon is important, too, though the writing, in the end is most important. There’s an old saying in the cartoonist world, “Good writing can carry bad art, but good art can’t carry bad writing.” I think most people would agree with this, and popular comic strips such as Dilbert and Pearls Before Swine certainly can attest to this adage. What’s important in the drawing of a cartoon (or comic strip, or graphic novel, etc.) is that the drawing style should match with the writing. Heavy, detailed illustrations don’t always work well with certain gags, especially if they are short and snappy. In fact, as I get older, I am less and less drawn to detailed cartoon work. There is a lot to be said for the quick, energetic brush strokes which can really capture an expression or mood.

Simon Owens: How does a freelance cartoonist compare to being a freelance writer? How do you go about getting into the freelance cartoonist business?

Patricia Storms: It’s hard for me to compare, since I’m not a freelance writer, but I’ll try. In a lot of ways, I think they may be similar. Freelance writers have to pitch ideas to magazines and newspapers before they get the job, and in a sense, this is sort of spec work, I think, since you are presenting an idea (mind you, I assume it’s in a rough format at this point) to an editor before you have even been paid. In some situations, cartooning is very similar. I occasionally do magazine gag cartoons (though sadly not as often, since I find it isn’t as lucrative as freelance illustration work), and when I do, I send off a batch of already finished cartoons to an editor, with the hope that they will pick up at least one of them. In my mind, that’s a form of spec work, since I am not guaranteed payment even though I’ve done the work. Freelance writers, if they are lucky, can be syndicated, just like cartoonists, and just like cartoonists, if they are lucky, a freelance writer can land a regular gig in a publication. And both jobs, I think, can be very stressful, demeaning, frustrating, heart-crushing….but when you get that amazing job, there are no words on earth to describe the feeling of utter elation. Of course, that feeling never lasts. And then you have to face the blank page once more, as the bill collector is beating down your door.

There is no magic method to ‘get started’ in this business. Just start. Build up a portfolio, and start pounding the pavement (or these days, the internet). You gotta have a bit of a tough skin, because trust me, there will be plenty of rejection. And the rejection will probably never entirely go away. It takes time to develop a style, as well as to build relationships with art directors, editors and publishers. My career in freelance cartooning and illustration has taken a long time to develop. I started out doing it on the side while I had other full-time jobs when I was in my 20’s, and I didn’t graduate to full-time illustration until my late 30’s. I’m 43 now, and things are now just starting to gain momentum (though paranoid person that I am, I firmly believe that it can all disappear in an instant).

Simon Owens: Do you think that blogs and the internet are great ways for unknown artists and cartoonists to get their work seen? Do you have any examples of this happening?

Patricia Storms: I have stressed this over and over again to anyone who will listen to me. You wanna get exposure with your work? Start a blog. Art directors aren’t just looking at portfolio sites these days, they are looking at blogs, too. I’ve had quite a few illustration (and writing) jobs from my blog. It’s really a must, in my opinion.

Simon Owens: What are some of the key differences between drawing for children books and drawing for other forms of media–like greeting cards and newspapers?

Patricia Storms: Well, your work will be different because you are catering to a different audience. With greeting cards, there is that opportunity to delve into gritty adult humour, which obviously you are not going to be able to do if you’re working on a children’s book. Same goes for newspaper illustration, which is obviously geared towards adults. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same in the sense that you are working with an art director, and hopefully coming towards an agreement on the illustrations that need to be created. If you are lucky enough to illustrate a trade children’s book (ie, commercial – it will sell in bookstores) then you will be paid royalties, as opposed to educational children’s books, which are work-for-hire (flat payment), since the books will only sell in schools, and thus will have a shorter print run. The same is true for greeting cards. Some companies pay royalties (though there are less and less who do this), but the bigger companies (Hallmark and American Greetings) just pay a flat fee.

Simon Owens: What are some books that are coming out soon that you look foward to the most?

Patricia Storms: I’m really looking forward to reading Jonathan Franzen’s memoir, The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History. Although I tease this author mercilessly in some of my cartoons, I love his writing. He is thoughtful, insightful and so very self-absorbed. I’m very intrigued as to why he would choose now to write a personal memoir; people usually do that after they’ve lived a bit longer than 40-oddish years. Part of me wonders if it’s a way for him to ‘set the record straight’ about all the misunderstandings concerning his numerous personal gaffs over the years. Whatever he writes, though, I know it will be fascinating.

I’m also looking forward to some new short stories by Alice Munro The View from Castle Rock because this lady is the master of short stories, and I hear that this collection is supposed to be her best, and may sadly be her last, as she has intimated that she’s done with writing. I hope that’s not true. I’m also looking forward to Margaret Atwood’s latest collection of short stories Moral Disorder: and Other Stories, because this is another very talented author who is mostly known for her novels, but she can write a damn good short story. This short story collection is her first in 15 years.

And, well, um… I’m looking forward to my own collection of cartoons which will come out February 2008 by Red Rock Press. It will be a Valentine’s day gift book; just a bit of light-hearted fun, but it’s the first book which I have written and illustrated, so I’m kind of excited about that.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Patricia Storms: Oh dear, I hate questions like that, because I always feel bad about leaving certain bloggers out. But here’s a list of some of my fave blogs:

Book Puddle: Vivacious and energetic book-luster like myself. And a Canuck, just like me!

Daily Blague: Extremely erudite blogger with a passion for books, movies and music, from a Manhattan perspective.

Drawn: Excellent illustration and cartooning blog, created by talented cartoonist and designer John Martz, another great Canuck.

Kate’s Book Blog: Very intelligent book blog by talented Toronto writer named Kate.

Magnificent Octopus: A well-read and witty lady named Isabella, hailing from Montreal. Yes, I’m really showing my Canuck bias.

Written Inc: A very thoughtful and engaging blog by journalist Carmi Levy, who is based in London, Ontario. Yet another Canuck. Heh.

Damian Penny is a lawyer in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada. Inspired by the aftermath to 9/11 and popular sites like InstaPundit.com, He started up his weblog, Daimnation!, in October, 2001. His site – which concentrates primarily on international affairs, but also Canadian politics, pop culture, cars and sports – is affiliated with Blogging Tories and Pajamas Media.

Simon Owens: As a Canadian blogger, do you think a lot of American’s flock to your blog in order to get an outside view on US policy?

Damian Penny: My site gets a lot of readers from the United States, and some of them may be motivated by a desire to get an “outside view” of world affairs and American policy. However, my opinions are generally pro-American and supportive of the war on terror, so I think many of my U.S. readers see the site as little different from one of their homegrown blogs.

Simon Owens: Do you think that bloggers who interact with bloggers from other countries are more likely to get both sides of every story?

Damian Penny: Absolutely. Right now, Shire Network News, a weekly podcast to which I provide audio commentaries is running a discussion between an Australian-Israeli blogger and a blogger from Egypt. The listeners are richer for the experience. My own site gets comments and feedback from all over the world, and I think it makes my site much better.

Simon Owens: Are blogs slowly becoming a watch-dog group on the Mainstream Media?

Damian Penny: Yes, especially in the wake of “Rathergate.” But blogs will never replace the mainstream media – the newspapers and TV networks have resources far beyond what we have, though some sites are adding more and more original reporting. You’re already seeing MSM organizations start their own blogs, hire well-known bloggers (like Andrew Sullivan, now blogging for Time), and generally do what they can to co-opt this new format.

Simon Owens: Is there a Canadian version of the New York Times that Candian blogs try to constantly monitor for factual mistakes?

Damian Penny: Probably the Globe and Mail, which calls itself “Canada’s National Newspaper”. Mark Collins, one of my co-bloggers, is regularly all over its articles. The Toronto Star and CBC also come in for a lot of criticism on the right, while Canadian left-wing bloggers turn their guns on the National Post and Global television.

Simon Owens: Do you think that a lot of conservative American blogs are somewhat hostile towards Canadian blogs because they don’t exactly agree with a lot of Canadian policy?

Damian Penny: I’ve never had the impression that American blogs were hostile toward Canadian bloggers. Hostile toward some of our government’s policies, perhaps, but not the bloggers.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs you’d recommend to supplement the reading of your own?

Damian Penny: Here in Canada, I recommend Steve Janke, Kathy Shaidle, Colby Cosh, Greg Staples and Sari Stein. Also, if you can convince Bob Tarantino to resume blogging, I’d really appreciate it.

(Related posts: Interview with Terminus, Interview with Matt Welch, assistant opinion editor for the Los Angeles Times, Interview with Michael Ubaldi from ublog)