October 7, 2009

Connections

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This whole blogging thing is still very new to me, at least from a blogger's perspective, and I'm very much the kid in a toy store - pushing all the buttons, and listening to the funny new beeps. I'm discovering things that I guess everyone else has known forever.

Something struck me this week that made that little light bulb pop up - the one you usually see over the heads of cartoon characters.

A blogger whose name I didn't recognize had added me to his blogroll and that, in turn, led someone else my way. The ever-watchful eye of Sitemeter helped me figure that out. I visited a new blog, found some cool stuff, and made a new connection. And who knows what that might lead me to?

It rang in my rather thickly-padded head that that is what blogging is really about - reaching people who we, as ordinary dufuses, never could in any other way.

And just as I was thinking about that, something else came in over the transom - an e-mail from a newly-minted author who's promoting her new book by speaking at the Berkeley Yacht Club this Friday night.

She's Janna Cawrse Esarey, whose “The Motion of the Ocean” tells of her two-year cruise around the Pacific, but is really more about the stormy relationship with her hubby both before and during the cruise.

That interests me because I intend to blog quite a bit here about how trying to keep my wife happy has influenced many of the decisions I've made about sailing over the years.

Janna also discusses her battle to get her story published - something that may interest other writing sailors or sailing bloggers trying to take it to another level. I think she's been rather successful. Either her two cats are named Simon and Schuster, or she's scored with a major publisher.

And so, because of this blog, yet another connection has been made in my life.

I'm starting to feel like James Burke.

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18 comments:

  1. this James Burke? the gangster? I'm failing to make the connection...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burke_%28gangster%29

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  2. my2fish, it sounds like your James Burke made some impressive connections throughout his career, but the James Burke I'm thinking of is this one.

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  3. Whaaaaat? Janna is emailing you too? I thought that my email relationship with her was something precious and special. I even gave her my real name and address because she promised to send me a little present. But now I discover that she's having email intercourse with one of my friends behind my back.

    I am shattered. These internet "connections" are not always what they seem.

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  4. She didn't promise me a present. I'm crushed.

    She must know you have more readers than I do. Size matters, you know.

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  5. Oh, boys. Come now. It's not the size of the (reader)ship that matters, it's the motion of the ocean.

    Sorry, couldn't resist. But, yes, it's true...in an effort to make connections despite my dufusness (well put, O Docker), I will stop lurking and start a'knockin' on all your bloggy doors. Anne Lamott said Bird by Bird. I'm thinking Blog by Blog.

    I started with you guys (EVK4 too) because I had the vague and false impression you were all in the SF Bay Area. 2 out of 3 right ain't bad.

    Speaking of the Bay Area, I'm doing another reading this weekend that's actually open to the public. It's at Book Passage Bookstore in Corte Madera, Sat, 10/10 at 4pm. Deets here:
    http://www.bookpassage.com/event_thismonth.php?start=24

    Come say hi and we can make bad jokes about boat/blog size all night. My gem of a husband, who will be in attendance, will love that just about as much as the first line of my book.

    Thanks for the post, O Docker. Send me your addy and I'll send you a gift too.
    -Janna

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  6. OK, Bay Area blogging friends of Janna (both of you), here is the challenge. We need a video on YouTube of one of Janna's book readings,

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  7. I don't think I'll be in Berkeley early enough to catch the Friday night reading, but may be able to make the one across the bay on Saturday.

    Thanks for stopping by Janna, and good luck with the book.

    If I'd known there were gifts, I would have started a blog a long time ago.

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  8. o docker - he's not my James Burker, and I was messing with you. I knew that wasn't the guy you had referred to.

    cheers.

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  9. apparently I need spell-check.

    I meant to say James Burke (not Burker).

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  10. my2fish, I knew you knew that your James Burke wasn't my James Burke and I thought I knew that your James Burke wasn't really your James Burke either, and I knew that your James Burker was really your james Burke, who wasn't really your James Burke, but blogging means never having to say you're sorry. ;-)

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  11. Reminds me ... I still need to write that blog post about how the Earth being spherical caused my car to get totaled.

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  12. Carol Anne wasn't driving the car at the time. But it was a bit disconcerting to get the Call from the Teen. "I'm all right. The car isn't."

    We live in New Mexico. We get to California about once a year. Our son sails in regattas in California about four times a year; I think next weekend he'll be in Mission Bay. One of Carol Anne's brothers lives near the Bay Area (San Jose) and one of our good friends has a boat in Richmond.

    The only blog-related present we ever got was a fun compilation of nautical songs from Adam.

    And we've enjoyed watching some of James Burke's programs.

    If Janna and hubby ever happen to get lost and find themselves in New Mexico we could invite them to speak at one of our local sailing clubs.

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  13. Question:

    Did the motion of the ocean follow Robert's Rules of Orders?

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  14. The earth isn't spherical. It's an oblate spheroid with the pole to pole diameter about 42km less than the equatorial diameter. I hope that Carol Anne's blog post on the car crash will show how that 42km difference contributed to the crash.

    I have to confess that I have received several "presents" as a result of blogging. Usually products to review, but also items for participating in other bloggers' group projects or being judged best in some other blogger's competition. I have also turned down several requests to review items where I felt they didn't fit in with the theme of the blog or the interests of my readers.

    Janna kindly offered to send me her book to review. After reading and reviewing it, I will probably offer it as a prize to other bloggers in some competition on my blog. It's amazing what other bloggers will do for some booty.

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  15. Pat,

    Yes, of course. The motion of the ocean was seconded and passed unanimously.

    Good to know someone here takes things seriously.

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  16. Just read this in the newspaper ... bloggers are going to be held to the same standards as others in terms of disclosure when writing reviews, and are to inform readers when free products or other consideration has been provided. The fine for failing to do so will be $11,000.

    Meanwhile, I doubt the Homestead Act took into account the 42km difference between the equatorial diameter and the polar, since the folks who drew it up probably didn't even know about the discrepancy.

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  17. connections, gangsters, presents, curry, basil, goats...

    you're tagging everything, right ODocker?

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  18. Bowsprite, tags baffle me.

    I see bloggers dutifully compiling them, but I never seem to use them to find stuff - I use the search feature instead, which seems to index all of the content, anyway. Maybe I'm missing something?

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