Shallow | Center

Blinq and You'll Miss It

PHILADELPHIA BLOGGING loses a very good friend with Dan Rubin's announcement that he's leaving Blinq to serve as an Inquirer metro columnist. As the face of the Inky's first serious foray into covering blogs and bloggers, Rubin has been a thoughtful and generous chronicler, spotlighting the good work of many who otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Importantly, he brought a reporter's mindset to what could have been simply an aggregation of local links with some snark thrown in for good measure. Columnist slots are hard to come by, and they're pretty prestigious things, so congratulations to Dan and best of luck in the new gig.

And here's a public plea to the Inquirer to continue his good work online. The Philadelphia blogging community is a rich and diverse collection of writers, and no one was pulling them all together quite like Rubin was. Seems to me it would make for good journalism and good business to have someone keep an eye on the men and women who are supplementing the paper's coverage of city politics, culture, news, and sports with outstanding (and volunteer) commentary and observations.

He Also Thinks This E-mail Thing Is Just a Passing Fad

Morning Bytes Rages Against the Machine

DO YOU SUPPOSE Frank Fitzpatrick knows Jonathan Klein? Klein, who heads up CNN, once famously referred to bloggers as nothing more than pajamas-wearing hacks, then was hoist on his own petard when the blogosphere pointed out several examples of sloppy reporting and insufficient fact-checking by the mainstream media. Well, in last Friday's Inquirer the always-insightful Fitzpatrick led a typically illuminating Morning Bytes column with this gem:

Assuming George Mitchell doesn't find any grounds to shut it down prematurely, the 2006 baseball season is just days away.

That means that for the next six months baseball fans have a license to behave like bloggers -- sitting around their dens in their underwear, staring blankly at a screen, pontificating on subjects they know nothing about.

I'll pause so that you can let the heaving laughter subside and wipe the tears from your eyes.

gr Unplugged

A Phlogger's Alter Ego Makes a Public Appearance

From former blogger and current Shallow Center brother Chris:

From his contributions to Shallow Center's comments section, readers know the mysteriously initialed GR as a fellow phan and a phlogger in his own right, not to mention an afficianado of Kristin Bell. But in Washington, DC, last night, in a cozy bar on funked-up U Street, GR added another phacet -- uh, facet -- to his persona: singer-songerwriter. And not a bad one. He performed a 45-minute acoustic set of his own material, which leans toward wry lyrics and sturdy hooks, buttressed by amusingly self-amused between-songs banter. Not that you have to take my word for it. GR has posted two of his songs online. Give 'em a listen. Can a cover of Terry Cashman's  "Baseball and the Phils" be far behind?

Citizens Bank Spark

The Return of One of Phlogdom's Best Serves to Inspire

THE E-MAIL'S subject line was "I have returned," and in the message, Michael Berquist said simply:

I'm pleased to announce that I've decided to return to blogging effective March 6th.  I've been avoiding blogging and baseball for the last six months b/c I was so burned out, but I've got the bug again.

I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And damned if there wasn't a similar announcement on Mike's site, the incomparable Citizen's Blog, last Saturday. As if to prove his own point about the bug's return, he then went and posted some thoughts about Jimmy Rollins's hitting streak on Wednesday. Having blogged in fits and starts myself over the last several weeks, I've come to realize that I, too, miss the extraordinarily fulfillment that regular posting gives me. I write less and less as my career advances, and one of the primary reasons this site was launched two-and-a-half years ago was to give me a way to scratch that itch. Seeing the level of discourse offered on a daily basis by the Phlogosphere makes me want to jump back into the conversation. And so starting tonight, starting with tonight's sit, I'm rededicating myself to doing this, and doing it right.

Unless I decide otherwise in a few months.

Meantime, welcome back, Mike. I look forward to reading your thoughts -- and those of everyone else engaged in this dialogue -- over the coming weeks and months.

Season's Greetings

An In-Print Shout-Out of Sorts; Will Fame and Fortune Follow?

EVERY SATURDAY, the Inquirer takes one or more posts from its Blinq blog and runs it/them in the paper. This week sees the publication of Dan Rubin's Tuesday Wednesday post on various Phillies bloggers' takes on the start of spring training -- and what we were blathering about during the long, not-so-cold winter. Lo and behold, Dan leads his piece with some musings from yours truly on movies and the Philadelphia Auto Show -- but, uh, lists my little site as "Shallow Season." I had meant to e-mail him earlier in the week when the online piece appeared, but just never got around to it. What is it they say about there being no such thing as bad publicity, so long as they spell your name right?

It's Just Kids ... Kids ... More Kids ... Stupid Kids

A Changing of the Guard at Wonkette Gives Me Blog Envy

IT WAS BAD ENOUGH when blogging hottie Ana Marie Cox confirmed that she was turning over her very, very funny (and quite profane and often smartly inappropriate) political site Wonkette to a couple of second-stringers. Then I came across this depressing item in the story about Cox's departure and about the two new guys:

[David] Lat will be joined by [Alex] Pareene, a 20-year-old dropout from New York University, who will co-edit the site.

That sound you hear? That's me smacking myself over the head with my bachelor's and master's degrees while I set at a desk at my day job.

Around the Horn

A Look Back at the Week That Was

• For the Philadelphia sports fan, winter begins prematurely. Again. | Phanatic Phollow Up
• Finally, some thoughtful, reasoned insight on how to fix the Eagles. | Philadelphia Will Do
• Another Billy Joel sighting at a restaurant? Ah, that's been done to death. | Gawker
• Braden Looper signs with St. Louis. The Phlogosphere yawns. | BeerLeaguer
• Party on, Terrell. And piss off, A.I. | The 700 Level
• Why do our local TV weathercasters try so hard to scare the crap out of us? | Philadelphia Weather
• Buzz Bissinger, Tony LaRussa, and John Grisham shoot the shit. | Caught Looking
• Mourning Leo McGarry/Tommy Mullaney. | Minutiae
• Damn, I miss Sports Night. | A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
• Free J-Mike! | Phillies Nation
• When bad punctuation happens to good movies. | Defamer
• You work in HR. Your boyfriend, who might be The One, works at the same company. He reveals that 20 years ago he pleaded guilty to a minor infraction, spent a few days in the joint, did his community service, and served his probation. He never mentioned it on his job application. Do you narc him out? | Ask MetaFilter
• Frank Fitzpatrick still can't bring the funny. | Morning Bytes

Around the Horn

A Look Back at the Week That Was

• Aww, is Pat Gillick a little cranky? | Balls, Sticks, & Stuff
• For many reasons, viva Vicente. | Swing and a Miss
• Imagine ... | A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
• An endorsement of building from within. | BeerLeaguer
• The dude modeling a Phillies t-shirt lacks fundamentals. Coincidence? |
• Philadelphia Will Do
• I wonder if Stephen A.'s bodyguards flush for him, too. | Deadspin
• Finally, Jude Law can rest easy. | Defamer
• Frank Fitzpatrick still can't bring the funny waxes philosophical about sports and old men, and it ain't half bad. | Morning Bytes

Around the Horn

A Look Back at the Week That Was

• Envisioning the Opening Day lineup card. Guess we're still stuck with Rollins leading off. | Balls, Sticks, & Stuff
• The Sal Fasano signing? Here's the catch. | BeerLeaguer
• If the rumor ain't about a starter, I don't wanna hear it. | Swing and a Miss
• A true Philadelphia send-off to Billy Wagner, via Europe. | Mash
• Who's your favorite eye candy intrepid reporter on the sideline? | The 700 Level
• Come to Butthead, Manny. | Caught Looking
• If the anonymity of the Internet isn't quite enough for you, give Dan Rubin a call and confess your sins. | Blinq
• An interesting Christmas list, as long as no one loses an eye. | Phillies Nation
• Dude, didn't you mom tell you to always punt on 4th and long? | Deadspin
• Frank Fitzpatrick still can't bring the funny, but he's got a point about Carlos Delgado and "God Bless America." | Morning Bytes

Around the Horn

A Look Back at the Week That Was (Turkey Coma Edition)

• Which reality-TV star is the bigger human train wreck -- Danny Bonaduce or John Daly? The world will soon find out. | Balls, Sticks, & Stuff
• Why Pat Gillick may have trouble pulling the trigger on a blockbuster trade. | Phillies Foul Balls
• When Billy met Omar ... | Phillies Nation
• Scouting the Phils' relief possibilities for 2006. | The Good Phight
• Hey, c'mon -- I like How I Met Your Mother. | A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
• Is Art Carey necessary? | Philadelphia Will Do
• Shane Victorino makes history. | BeerLeaguer
• Rising and falling in the National League East. | Swing and a Miss
• Yes, now that you ask, there is one thing on a golf course that Tiger Woods cannot do well. | Deadspin
• Did the Department of Homeland Security, like, not get newspapers delivered to the office last September? | Wonkette