Bloggasm

Sundries Shack: By way of a bio, I’d simply say that I’m nothing particularly special, which may make me a very good representative of the blogosphere. I’m in my late 30s and live outside Washington, DC. I work a full-time job that has nothing to do with politics or current events or technology and I’m also studying for my music degree with the goal of becoming a music teacher and choral director. I’m not a professor, lawyer, paid political pundit, media maven, or wanna-be political consultant. I’m just an American with a smidgen of writing talent, a plethora of opinions, and a desire to wield my own chainsaw in the Thunderdome of ideas. I’ve been blogging for not quite two years, have a modest readership, and would like to reach a bigger audience (but what blogger doesn’t?). I prefer to think that I write approachably, with some humor, some snark, and some seriousness, in a mixture that makes for entertaining fare on a daily basis.

Simon Owens: As a conservative blogger, is there any conservative pundits that you try to distance yourself from because you don’t think he represents your party very well?

Sundries Shack: There are a couple folks out there who, when I hear them speak, I end up slapping myself on the forehead more often than not. Michael Savage and Bill O’Reilly come to mind most immediately. Neither of them would confess to being particularly conservative, though that’s the label they wear more often than not. Both of them like to think of themselves as “populists”, though I think that they pick fights with conservatives more for the publicity than anything else. Fred Barnes also occasionally drives me nuts.

Simon Owens: Do you think that pundits should wait until a new story develops more before they rush in to offer their opinion on it? At what point is it safe to assume that we know *enough* of the facts for informed comment?

Sundries Shack: I do, to some degree. There’s no harm in immedately speaking out on something if it’s your job to do so, but you should be careful not to stake out too firm a position when not a lot of facts are out in the open. Unfortunately, I think too many pundits on both sides lash themselves to the mast far too early in a discussion and leave themselves no room to gracefully and honestly change positions when facts change. On the left, I’ll use the “Bush lied” meme as an example. No honest person who has even a passing knowledge of the events of the last ten years would say that the President looked out upon America and lied to us. The right does the same thing.

Simon Owens: Things have not been looking good for Republicans lately, yet many conservative pundits keep predicting that Republicans will gain more seats in 2006. Do you think it true that pundits on both sides of the spectrum tend to claim premature victory in order to fire up the base?

Sundries Shack: To our question, I’m sure there are plenty of them who do that. They’re party pundits and that’s who they’re going to back, no matter what. Fred Barnes, Bob Novak, Al Hunt, Eleanor Clift, and Lawrence O’Donnell all come to mind in that regard. And I’d say that most “sided” bloggers do that, too. There are exceptions though, and the reader needs to be aware that every blogger has a slant. Find that slant, read the blogger with that slant in mind, and readers will find the blogosphere a very informative and useful place ot spend time.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs everyone should be reading (besides your own)?

Sundries Shack:Hoo boy. I’d like to ask for a little indulgence after I list my five to toss in a couple more with a word or two of explanation about why I think they merit attention even though they’re not the run-of-the-mill blogs.

I also want to draw attention to blogs that aren’t among the giants when it comes to traffic numbers. As a small blogger myself, I am very dependent on drawing eyes to my site and I know very well that there are plenty of bloggers out there like me who deserve to be read as much, if not more than, some of the bloggers drawing ten, a hundred, or a thousand times more traffic. That’s not to say that all the big-time bloggers are bad, but they do tend to soak up all the sunlight. I wish that they would spend more time on the smaller blogs. It’d be good for the blogosphere as a whole, I think.

Let me start out by recommending two of the best writers I’ve found in the blogosphere, The Anchoress and Villanous Company. I’ve had the pleasure to correspond with both of them and to meet Cassandra. I can say that they are every bit as smart and engaging away from their blogs are they are on their blogs. If I were a newspaper of magazine editor, I’d give both of them a regular weekly or bi-weekly column. They’d be a very valuable asset.

Then, I’d like to recommend Q and O. I’m a Libertarian (surprise, surprise, huh?) and the three men who run that blog are doing more to enhance the image of Libertarians and to give the party a cohesive and, above all, principled message than the party itself has done in at least a decade. They’ve branched out into a chat area and a regular online magazine as well, all of which are worth reading.

My lone everyday lefty-blog read is The Liferaft of Love. I like Captain Salty because not only does he have opinions that are mostly rooted in honest fact, but he also understand the newspaper business. He knows what makes “good copy” and what is just tripe. That’s not to say that he doesn’t write abot less than gripping subjects, but his writing is always clean. He doesn’t waste the time you spend on his site. That means a lot to me.

My last recommendation is No Pundit Intended. Joel Gaines was one of the very first blogs I ever read, several years ago, and one of the first bloggers to notice my site and to start sending folks my way. What Joel gives that plenty of other bloggers don’t is variety. He can write as expertly about what’s happening in Darfur as he can what’s happening in Washington. That and he appears on the radio in his home of New Mexico in a weekly segment that focuses on the best blog posts of the week. If ihs success continues, I believe he’ll be the first blogger to really bridge the mass media and blogging genres from the blogging side.

Okay, now a couple other quick recommendations. If you like comics, Chris Muir’s Day by Day cartoon is worth reading every day. Chris is a rare bird – a conservative cartoonist who writes character-based strips instead of purely event-driven stuff. It’s big-time funny, too.

I also want to plug two “lifestyle bloggers”. They don’t often write about politics, but when they do, they do so from the point of view of being nothing more than an average wife and mother. More often than not, they’ll write about pop culture, their families, and their lives. But they are interesting people and they write interesting stuff: Dizzy Girl; Susiepie and State of Grace. They don’t update every day, so check them out once a week. You won’t be disappointed, I don’t believe.

Lastly, I want to give what some might call a Nepotism Plug, but stick with me. My brother is also a blogger, mostly recently the author of The Devil’s Advocate. He’s about to launch a new blog that will focus on happenings in and around the city of Washington, DC. Unlike a lot of other bloggers, though, his focus will be on the city itself – what makes it tick, what’s happening inside the city government, and its ongoing effort to keep a professional baseball team, for instance. Robbie is a good writer, with a unique and personal voice. I’m looking forward to his new blog and, if your only view of Washington is what you see from Congress and the White House, I believe you’ll find what he has to say entertaining and compelling.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this interview and for your patience. Please stop by The Sundries Shack anytime you wish, and leave some comments when you do!

You can find The Sundries Shack over here