Who Doesn't Want to Be Quoted in the Chicago Tribune? Raise your hands...

June 25, 2007 | Category: Not The Nightly News

At the risk of sounding like an ungratfeul wretch...

Which I suppose I am.

Who wouldn't be thrilled, being reviewed by the Chicago Tribune?

Is there something in this green tea making me surly and wiseass?

And if so.... should I drink more?

So. Steve Johnson writes a blog, Hypertext, for the Chicago Tribune.

In addition to sharing the name of a semi-famous Soap Opera character, he's a graduate of Brown and grew up in New Hampshire ['Live Free (or Cheap)']

He was a TV critic until 2005, and his writing still shows that flavor - reaching for a Gilmoresque snark and sometimes landing at game-show precious.

This morning, Steve did a review of a blog community I've recently joined - the Chicago Moms Blog. And, of course, he used my post as his example.

Shocked? Yes. Even with the pink hair*, I'm still a little shocked whenever it's my name being called over the intercom.

So the good news? I am now a mentioned blogger over at the Chicago Tribune.

The bad news? Well first of all, he intimates that Chicago Moms will someday be a commercial enterprise as though that possible eventuality were a BAD thing.

Ah, oh... wouldn't it be lovely if pigs fly, doves cry, and mom-blogs paid a living wage? Because there is some beautiful writing out there, tons of it, freely offered to the universe and created with time carved out of lives balanced on a pin.

It made me want to slap the back of Steve's head and say 'What? Afraid OTHER writers will come along and steal your salary and benefits?'

But, no.

He jumps then straight into being taken aback by my post and the blog in general. Why?

Uh...

"There's certainly a detailed examination of the experience of motherhood..." he wrote.

Um, yeah.

Which is kind of the point.

I mean, it's the Chicago MOMS Blog. Shouldn't the review have started on the assumption that it was gonna go pretty deep into the subject matter of its own title?

Here's what I think.

Blogs are an interesting combination of information and creative expression. Some have the entertainment value of a free real estate magazine at the grocery store where others are proven to be as honest (if not more) and valid as a sculpture in the MOMA or my 10 O'Clock news.

And with so many out there, and thousands more be started every day, blogs have become a ubiquitous expression of self and brand.

There SHOULD be reviews of them. To help sort the offerings for those of us already overwhelmed by our surfing choices. Negative reviews, positive reviews, reviews with lots of evil laughter and helpful categorizations and analogies and stuff like that.

And these reviews? Should be interesting, informative, opinionated, researched, and constructive.

So, while it was really kind of spike in the day to say - 'Wow, me? The Trib?' Once I read the piece, well....

Or maybe I should shut up and be grateful now, huh? Because all eyeballs on the Chicago Moms' site are GOOD eyeballs - even the furry doubtful ewwwww... kinda ones.

I mean, seriously? My post! Our site! Is in the Trib!

!Confetti!

(* Yes, I'm addicted to it now. Plus streaks of midnight blue. Pictures below the jump.)

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