I beg your forgiveness. I know I've not been writing much. But that is not because I am not writing. I am. In fact, I've been writing up a storm. Luke Buckham, my friend and confidante who lovingly disagrees with me on lots of things, wrote the other day to inquire if I was alright. Alas, I cannot answer. I guess I am alright. But so many folks find fault with me -- when I post comments elsewhere -- that I have lost the capacity to judge whether I am alright at all. I feel OK in the psychological sense, though I have been suffering from chronic headaches.
If you are at all interested in what I have been up to on the big, crazy WWW, then you might want to know that I have been engaged in a "monumental" struggle with atheists and agnostics at exChristian.net. Specifically, I posted responses to "Webmaster's (aka Dave)" essay entitled "A Christ-less Grave." Dave seems a decent chap; he writes well and is engaging. But I found his article wanting; lacking. So I let him know. Of course, the flurry of comments that follow mine are, well, flurrious. I admit that many of the comments are penned by me. But the dialogue is fascinating. Scroll about halfway down the comment thread to find where yours truly jumps in, albeit late to the party.
Also, for you politics buffs out there, you might as well know that I have been featured -- what a surprise !! -- at The Vigil. I usually do not promote myself to you this way, but since my buddy Brady (a regular visitor at Contratimes who comes here via his lovely chalet in Switzerland) has already commented about reading the exchanges at The Vigil, then you might as well be given the chance to see just how I comport myself (and how I represent readers like YOU) when I am not at home (at Contratimes). Trust me when I say that the comment thread is also, well, flurrious.
Peace.
©Bill Gnade 2006/Contratimes - All Rights Reserved.
16 comments:
You fight like an old Brit. But tea and pipesmoke in a university hall this is not. You "confront" in an ochlocracy fed by advertising dollars that hasn't black and white, only friend versus foe — if you're a pessimist. Confrontation is certainly necessary, and I do not question your motives or your intentions. (But if the pen is mightier than the sword, imagine the fury you appear to those who think themselves to be king of the hill, rather than damsel in distress.)
You have chosen blog feedback forms as your medium for polite political discussions, akin to Bill Watterson's choice of the funny page for art and philosophy. But while it might take the average reader a month or two to see a difference between Garfield and Calvin & Hobbes, it only takes a quick flick of the scroll ball to spot your lectures amongst the one-liners. I hope I am not being insolent to you, Mr. Gnade. It only seems that though I am more amateur (or perhaps fresher) to this World Wide Mobocracy, my perspective is different enough from yours that it is worth sharing.
You have pointed out the differences between your blog and others. Perhaps I'm missing a deeper irony, but these wound-licking posts in the past months make me suspect (in my impolitic twenty-one year old ways) that you don't realize the stark difference of medium itself between even one style of blogging and the next. My fear is that where Watterson had a syndicate and the harsh incentive of cancellation to force him to heights where he could infuse rich meaning into an unlikely medium, the Web provides little such accountability.
Joy,
-nathan
Excuse me, Bill. I did not intend a secretive penetration into Contratimes' hinterland. The truth is I was trying out my newly deployed Google Reader and, before I was thoroughly acquainted with it, it mis-identified your April 28th 2005 (!) post as a current piece of work. Before I discovered my error, I had let loose the bulls of contention. Just had to ask a couple of questions. Don't feel as if you need to re-kindle these issues. I just didn't want you to discover this error on your own and suspect me of sneaking around behind the lines, so to speak.
Happy belated Thanksgiving.
I do hope your headaches cease; I know how difficult it can be to cope with a headache.
Nate VW,
As I said in our email exchange, I thank you for this reminder. You are a gift.
Gnade
Dear Vigilante,
Forgive me, my friend! I have been so stinking busy elsewhere that I have neglected my guests here.
Do not fret about the comment you left on that post. I saw it a few days ago and was aiming to reply. I will yet, or so I hope. As you may know, I have been getting my head knocked about by atheism. So I will try to get my wits back onto more concrete matters. Please, I did not mean to be rude.
Peace to you, you lucky Santa Barbara beach bum.
Gnade
Kim,
You are too kind. Thank you. The headaches are very real and very annoying. I went to the doctor's last week. We shall see where this all leads.
I am grateful for your concern.
Peace,
BG
Bill:
My husband went through a period of months when he had major, major headaches; the kind of headaches where he needed a dark room and a few hours of sleep to be rid of them. It was really difficult for him to accomplish anything, so I know what you are going through.
You will be in my prayers.
Dear Bill--
On headaches: try to find out about as many herbal remedies as possible. I have friends who swear by this sort of thing, and it seems to work for them. Alas, I am no herbalist, so I have nothing to recommend. But I am intrigued by their ability to relieve their pains with all sorts of innaresting potions.
good luck,
Luke
I spent an hour reading through the ex-christian posts. After that long hour, I didn't agree with any of you. But I had a headache too.
I do pray, Bill, it's nothing serious.
Brady,
It is a comment like yours that makes me laugh at myself. I am glad that you did not agree with any of us, particularly me!
But I have not lost my faith. I remain orthodox. I just may have a rather unorthodox way of going about defending that orthodoxy.
My sense is that my headaches are not serious. The doctor's initial diagnosis was that my pains are due to stresses and impingements in my back and neck. Blood work shows that I am good. If things persist, it's off to radiation for a CAT scan. But we're talking about ten weeks of discomfort so far. I am not suggesting that there are not far worse things to endure. It's simply that there's been just enough time to make me anxious.
Thanks for the prayers.
BG
Luke,
You know, I am sure that there are lots of herbal remedies that I could take. Perhaps my interlocutors at exChristian.net might recommend hemlock. But, I am in the same boat as you: I've no idea what herbs to take either.
Thanks for the reminder.
Peace,
BG
Do take care of yourself and keep us informed.
I recommend aspirin-free Excedrin Tension Headache.
I know you have most likely heard this before, but OFTEN the simple cure to headaches is to keep yourself hydrated.
Drink tons of water....you should never allow yourself to feel thirsty....as then its too late, you are de-hydrated.
I drink 125 ounces of water a day...of course I also run 15 miles a week and lift weights.
I recommend drinking simple H20....
I will ask the Gods/Goddesses to bless you with a headache free life during my next meditation.
;-)
Webmaster,
Thank you for the recommendation. I mentioned Excedrin to the nurse the other day and she gave me a sneer. No kidding!
Xavier,
You know, the first question I was asked by the doctor was how much water I drink. I THINK I drink enough. I will revisit my intake levels.
Thanks to you both for your concern and your kindness. You are good souls.
Peace.
BG
I mentioned Excedrin to the nurse the other day and she gave me a sneer. No kidding!
Hmm. Works for me. No kidding.
Joy.
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