INDCJournal: Why the Visceral Dislike for Wonkette?

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December 21, 2004

Why the Visceral Dislike for Wonkette?

Posted by Bill

Well folks, aside from my initial, strong aversion to her manipulative and wildly successful "scoop" of discovering, celebrating and collaborating with the dubious exploits of Washingtonienne, while patronizingly claiming innocent detachment during their obvious huddle, Cox basically seizes every possible opportunity (and she gets plenty of them) to minimize the importance of the new medium. Which gets old. Speak for yourself. And crucial to my annoyance is the fact that I don't find her wit nearly impressive enough to eclipse the offenses.

You want to make formulaic, raunchy jokes? Great, I sometimes employ similar humor and certainly appreciate the style in healthy doses. You want to publish false exit polls on election day? Not-so-great, but everyone makes mistakes, and the world kept spinning. But you want to take every opportunity to poo-poo the legitimacy of amateur journalists and writers in widely read mainstream publications and forums? Now you're torching up bags of dog-crap and leaving them outside of my front door.

Florida Cracker has also noticed the trend.

And the mainstream media, besides being naturally and slavishly enthralled by a young, photogenic face framing a purty potty mouth, loves the apparently self-deprecating sound bites that also minimize the entire medium. Loves them. A Jonathan Klein-like sample quote from Wonkette:

"For a Revolution you need to leave the house."

This rote attempt at ironic hipster cleverness and smarmy deprecation has been proven false - all you really need is the will, internet access and a good mind. A phone and a digital recorder are helpful.

Which goes to show that Wonkette understands about as much about the impact and potential of blogging and the flattening of hierarchies through technology as I understand about the fascination with her site. Which is why I usually don't bother to comment on the specific appeal of its content.

So there you have it. Some people just rub me the wrong way, I suppose. Wonkette, much like the nannering "highbrow hussy" at the New York Times, Old Navy commercials and cookies with raisins in them, tops my very special list.

UPDATE: Warm sashimi is on that list too, especially when it's delivered.

UPDATE: Or cookies with nuts. Raisins and nuts? I'd rather eat glass.

Posted by Bill at December 21, 2004 12:01 PM | TrackBack (6)

Comments

...*especially* rasins in cookies.

Bleah!

The rest can safely be ignored. As far as minimizing the "entire medium", I suspect she's more interested in being in print than posting on a blog.

Posted by: leelu at December 21, 2004 02:05 PM

How can you not like cookies with raisins in them? Oatmeal raisin cookies are great!

We'll just have to agree to disagree I suppose.

Posted by: Jeremy at December 21, 2004 02:14 PM

She is just so 9-10. (I wish that comment were original with me, but it isn't - it's just accurate).

Posted by: andrewdb at December 21, 2004 03:39 PM

And Cluster berries.

Posted by: Cranky Neocon at December 21, 2004 06:42 PM

Why you feel the need to explain yourself?

You're a grown man, if you don't like raisins in cookies then you don't like them - period. End of story. Finito. That's it.

BTW, I personally think that oatmeal raisin cookies ROCK! Throw some walnuts in them puppies and you got yerslf a meal.

Posted by: John from WuzzaDem at December 21, 2004 07:09 PM

John -

Please see last update.

Posted by: Bill from INDC at December 21, 2004 08:53 PM

John, I don't humor easily, but you succeeded with this post. As for Wonkette, I'd sum up everything she says with this quote:

"DON'T PISS DOWN MY NECK AND CALL IT RAIN!"

Posted by: BuckTownDusty at December 21, 2004 09:06 PM

John, I don't humor easily, but you succeeded with this post. As for Wonkette, I'd sum up everything she says with this quote:

"DON'T PISS DOWN MY NECK AND CALL IT RAIN!"

Posted by: BuckTownDusty at December 21, 2004 09:07 PM

UPDATE: Or cookies with nuts. Raisins and nuts? I'd rather eat glass.
Posted

Cashew cookies being recalled because they may contain glass fragments

Posted by: Dave at December 21, 2004 10:54 PM

Umm, I agree that I may well be wrong, being only one of those, err, blogger thingies, y�know, just a guy in his living room in pyjamas, not someone who actually knows anything about the real world, not plugged in to any of the special networks where the mainstream media get all of that information which they so carefully sort, sift and then serve to us. I mean I have no fact checkers, editors, certainly would never allow the truth or actual facts and evidence to come between me and the spouting of my vile and hate filled opinions. So it is a great deal of humilty that I tentatively push this seemingly overlooked factoid your way:
From Newsweek:
"Dec. 27 / Jan. 3 issue - Ana Marie Cox started writing as the Wonkette in January '03, "
The Wonkette site proudly diplays a comment from Sully:
"WONKETTE UNPLUGGED: A fun interview with the newest, funnest blogger on the block."
which appears to be dated 28 March 2004 and links to a piece in Media Bistro (sorry, can�t do links in html....I am, after all, simply a guy pontificating in sleeping attire) at
http://mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a1376.asp
which opens with:
"So what if Wonkette.com actually launched a little more than two months ago?" in an article dated 30 March 2004.

I just don�t know what to make of it. Who should I believe? Two bloggers telling me that a site started in 2004 or a mainstream publication telling me it started a year earlier? Guess I�d better go with the MSM hunh? They do, after all, have the teams of fact checkers, the editors, a certain amount of respectability to uphold, and I�m also told that many of the people working for such organisations actually have degrees, advanced ones even, in the process and methods by which one can uncover the truth and present it to the general public.
Yes, that�s absolutely what I�ll do, go with the tried and trusted brandnames for after all, they�ve always told me the truth before, haven�t they? And as for that Nick Denton guy, well, I met him a few years ago before he got into blogging, just around the time he sold First Tuesday to the Israelis (now there was a deal for you) and around the time he was running Moreover. Seemed too sharp for his own good back then so yes indeed, I�ll go with the MSM.
Good to know that you can trust what you read in the papers eh?

Posted by: Tim Worstall at December 22, 2004 07:20 AM

Ummmmm Broken Glass.......

I guess I visit Wonkette's blog the same way I look at the website of the Fat Farce From Flint. It's in some ways like looking at a car wreck. Or the way you can't stop probing a sore tooth, Or going to the Mall at christmas time.

I loved the link to MoDo and Miller Duel. Must have missed that one.

Posted by: Nylarthotep at December 22, 2004 03:56 PM

"I'd rather eat glass."

I ingested glass once many years ago. I won't go into graphic detail, but believe me, you'd rather eat a dozen sh*t cookies.

Posted by: John from WuzzaDem at December 22, 2004 09:48 PM

You don't like Old Navy Commercials?
How could you? I need to sit down..

I am only 33 and even I know Morgan Fairchild is a hottie.

I guess you won't like this site then:
http://blondeoldnavygirl.blogspot.com/

PlutosDad
http://eyesontheball.blogspot.com - news satire

Posted by: PlutosDad at January 2, 2005 11:09 AM