The Agrinautica

   The Chosen Echidna the humorous newsletter I started a little over four years ago (June 11th, 2000), has not gone out since issue XII ("Echidnii are Forever") last September. It had been 364 days since the previous newsletter at that point. The original intention was for the newsletter to go out once a week, and during its hay-day it did do that for several months.
   Anyway, the point is that once again I'm getting the hankerin to come out with another issue. Problem is, all my former columnists have fled, faked their own deaths, and/or are wanted for war crimes. I'm hoping however, that due to the miracles of livejournal and the numerous highly skilled writers I've seen on here lately I'll be able to put together an all-star team to make the comeback and then write a movie about it on the underdog-sports-team-comes-together-and-wins formula. If you would like to write an article for the newsletter please contact me asap (this could be as simple as adapting your favourite livejournal entry).
   See if this is for you by checking out the archives. And of course there's no excuse for anyone not to be subscribed, so submit your email address into the thing above.


A Search for Life in OC ( today's adventures )

   In todays livejournal megablogging gimmick I was planning to make my own rendition of something I swear more than one of the other 30 in 30 bloggists did, but in my pre-blogging research I've only been able to find one person who did it (stephenl, which makes me feel more like I'm copying him rather than working on a 30 by 30 tradition. I already have all my plans laid out however so I'm going to continue. (if anyone can point me to the other contributer on this subject I'd still greatly appreciate it)

Five by Five five ideas for new television series by 5pm.( Five by Five )

Picture of the Day polls indicate you love this feature¹

Red Army of the Soviet Union, 1932
I found this picture yesterday, it is excellent

   This relates to this post because: its um, a scene from the pilot episode of my proposed star trek show.


Related
   Original Idea: Five by Five -stephenl
   Year Ago Today: First day back in county last summer and a story of airplanes and racists

Posted: 1515 hours
Last Edit: 1605 hours (V1.2)

   I have just minutes to go before being shipped off to my least favourite place ever - the beach. ::shudder:: So my planned expose on why nibot (pictured here) is so very evil (as he bursts in here to sing "fruzly... fruzly...") will have to be put on hold momentarily.

   Instead I think I'll take up the political controversy mongering which has been a recent theme for many of the other participants in the 30 entries in 30 days thing. Again this is probably an even more exciting thing for this journal, as statements regarding American politics are NEVER made, nor does our protagonist ever express views in person on American politics.

   If I ever finish this what with nibot randomly bursting in every thirty seconds.


( CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENTS!! )

   I am way behind in my mission to post 30 posts by the end of this month, but I'm confident I'll have much more time to flood your friends lists now than I did while in Davis. I think I'll try to put a lot of them behind lj-cuts to minimize the wrath of shid et al.


Final Days in Davis
   Thursday night while hanging out at a low-key party at Sashie's place (though Sashie never showed up ::Shakes fist::) Kristy found a recipe for Shrimp Scampy on the refridgerator, and we immediately resolved to make it the next day.
   So Friday night we made us a fancy dinner (hey, I chopped some basil) and settled down to watched Pulp Fiction which neither of us had previously seen in its entirety, only... I don't know how to work my TV.
   When I say I don't watch TV you see, I am not kidding. I really haven't the slightest idea how to work the thing. After more than an hour of trying to make it work, I finally had to go downstairs and ask fr3ethinker if he could make it work. He came to our rescue but it seems the thing really was malfunctioning to some degree. We were forced to eat our cheesecake without the movie.

   Just when we had completely given up and resigned ourselves to an evening of tic-tac-toe¹, who should come to our rescue but fr3ethinker again, this time with his magic DVD playing laptop for our movie viewing pleasure.

   In conclusion, (A) I am a ludite who lives in a cave, and (B) everyone should live upstairs from another livejournal user.


   Amtrak report will be out shortly.


Poll of the Day
[Poll #310551]


Livejournal Declared Goal # 17:² I decided its not enough to get comments, I want my commentees to respond to EACHOTHERS comments. Currently plotting on ways to do this. Any suggustions? You know what would really help? If you just DID it. Thats your homework, respond to someone else's comment in one of my entries. (=


Related
   Year Ago Today: On My Roommates (and STILL stuck in Davis much to my dismay)


¹not really
²a randomly chosen number

   I swear I'm developing a stockpile of ideas here OTHER than adding more speculation to my nonesense theories of bloggerdom, but in case you haven't gathered, I'm pretty hepped up on this new theoretical field. Yesterday I mainly focused on identifiable subcategories of underblogging, so today I'm going to illuminate the topic of megablogging. I promise after this I'm going to try to keep my theorizing to schoolofblog. For those who have no idea what the crap I'm talking about, see the entry which heralds this new era of my insanity.
   Let me emphasize that no, I'm not "becoming an lj elitist," these are not rules that one should try to follow, these are categories which attempt to describe pre-existant habits of lj users. When I speak of things that "ideally" and "should" be done, I'm speaking of efforts to attain the theoretical goal of megablogging, maximum readership. I am not becoming an elitist, I am becoming a blogologist. (=

Megabloggery
   It seems to me, or at least according to what a scribbled on my bookstore reciept while on the bus today, that I have identified at least three categories of megabloggists. Again, megabloggery is the general writing for readership rather than to express what you've been up to ("attention whoring" if you want to be derisive).

   Let us start with what I've termed the flameblogger. These infamous individuals are commonly found in communities and try to gain attention through controversy. I had a rare encounter with one myself just today in fact. Kristy tells me I was just giving him what he wanted by responding, but hey I thoroughly enjoyed taking the unusual opportunity to thoroughly cuss at someone (if you know me you'll know how rare this is) and it would be petty of me to forego that pleasure merely to spite them.

   Next we have a subcategory with subgroups of its own. This is noveltybloggers. The three subgroups are pollbloggers, quizbloggers, & memebloggers. As you can imagine, the defining feature of these groups is that they find things on the internet and decide to post them, much like birds that collect shiny objects.
   nonmerci had this uncomplimentry but colourful description of the pollblogger in her eyes: "the pollblogger lacks any substantial content (whether that content be of a mega or underblogger variety), and is only able to supplement his/her journal by posting various livejournal polls that are only answered out of boredom and embarassment (as the pollblogger's friends are generally good samaritans who feel sorry for the pollblogger and wish to heighten his/her self-esteem). the pollblogger generally lives a vapid, innocuous existence, is oftentimes overweight and/or unattractive, and seeks validation through unhealthy online relationships. generally, the pollblogger will spend his/her days posting repeated polls, until either becoming a quizblogger (or a mixture of the two), an underblogger, or a permanent member of the realosphere. it should be noted that occasionally a pollblogger may elevate his/her status to that of a megablogger, but this is extremely rare and thus does not bear mentioning." (comment in schoolofblog)
   Personally I think pollblogging can be done well, and I really really don't see the point of memes that process outcomes entirely based on your username and one or two other inputs (as opposed to more complex ones that actually do calculate out interesting things based on real data). But I think its important that no valuative judgements be included in the blogosphere theory, it must be an objective science.

   Thirdly we have undermegabloggers. Yes I called myself a megaunderblogger initially, but on further reflection this category fits better under the general megabloggery hemiblogsphere, since the underblogs are characterized by very little concern for readership. I'd be willing to concede that perhaps there are undermegablogs and megaunderblogs.

   Finally there are megablogs proper, megablogs for megabloggery's sake, and the really succesful ones, the ultramegablogs, which have such a large audience that the author can't hope to interact with more than a small number of them. Examples of general megablogs include most of the participants in the 30 blogs in 30 days challenge (follow links elsewhere if curious, I've made enough to them already for now) or say our own citizene.


   In completely unrelated news, I just finished my last final, holy crap I'm now a senior!


Poll of the Day
   Rate the following features frequently found in the Emosnail livejournal, according to the following general guideline:
5 - increase use of the feature!
4 - I very much appreciate the feature
3 - its a'right keep it about how it is
2 - use it less
1 - eliminate it all together please
[Poll #309615]
EDIT: I should have known nibot would as usual mess with my quiz results by categorically voting against everything.


Related
   Crossposts: My entries in schoolofblog, though they're the same there as here
   Year Ago Today: STILL in Davis - "I think I'm in hell"

Megaunderbloggery
   In a chance mishap of procrastination today, while rooting about on livejournal I discovered some interesting livejournals. They termed themselves "megabloggers." Some definitions as used by them:
      Underblogger - "An underblogger uses LJ to keep an online diary, as it was meant to be, really." (apoplecticfittz, in The Frasky Awards)
      Megablogger - Someone who writes to entertain people, or as apoplecticfittz put it "A megablogger writes to make an ass out of him/herself in hopes of entertaining someone, anyone." (ibid.)
   Now I myself have never liked the word "blog," but it seems to be slowly and inexorably becoming rooted in society like a social disease.
   I think my own livejournal is sort of a megaunderblog, since I try to write it both in journal form and I try to make it interesting to read even for those who don't have a vested interest in the finer points of my daily misadventures. Its like.. a megablog dedicated to the subject of interesting things about my daily adventures perhaps? I think it may have fulfilled this mission better in the beginning, when it had daily features on things like "Social Deviants Who Frequent the Coffee House," and classic stories like "The Girl That Had a Boyfriend (Other early features: my original LJ Friends Explained and The Am(y)ies Explained). Reading the megablogger's entries inspired me to put renewed effort into regaining the lost glory of this livejournal and making entries people might actually consider commenting to (gasp).


30 Entries / 30 Days
   Apparently, several of these megabloggers partied too hard around the first of the month and drunkenly swore to write 30 entries in 30 days. I perused at least briefly all of the identifiable participants, and have determined my favourite to be incomple.
   I was so inspired by these megabloggists actually, that I've been inspired to attempt to join them in their 30 / 30 adventure. Two things about this: (A) theoretically I update every day (again back in the hey day this used to be true. Lately its been more similar to the publishing record of the "weekly" Chosen Echidna); (B) the month is half over already. Yes, that means I'll have to make TWO posts a day to catch up.
   Even though in the past I've been rather against multiple posts per day, I do believe I am going to attempt to catch up with these kids (unless they decide I'm an insult to megablogging and demand that I cease and desist), and subject your friends lists to two of my attempts per day.

   And maybe its because I'm becoming a bit delirious from finals, but I even have a mild interest in replicating their 24 Hours in One Place stunts. I'm thinkin the abandoned wild animal park next to wild rivers... absolutely no guarantees about that though.

   So there you have it: 30 Posts in 30 Days, my new quest.


   Also, I've decided I'm going to need to take advantage of the phonepost feature of having a paid account sooner or later.

\/ ATTN! \/   Also, last call for people to get me in contact with friends of theirs that need a place to stay for next year. Please don't make me resort to random people.
/\ ATTN! /\

Poll Question of the Day
[Poll #309062]
EDIT: "...paid account made him mad" "...it, any Feature..." Emosnail Internat'l regrets the errors.


Related
   Year Ago Monday:
      Stuck In Davis - wherein is described how I spent a hellish week hating life and trying to finish a paper after one (1) year of procrastination. Also Garian was in town and we hung out (recall she was in town the other day this year)
      Tales of a Desk Lamp - An entry inspired by my frequent away message ("pretending to be a desklamp so no one will notice me.")
   Year Ago Today: STILL here