Ethan Kaplan, Master of Irony

Dave Winer posts that too many blogs are chasing each other's tails with meta-commentary about meta-commentary and gossip about gossipers. He says, "the end is near" and there's a drought of original thinking. "Most people wouldn't recognize an original thought if it bit them in the ass," he says.

Then, Ethan Kaplan chimes in with: "Wow, I agree with Dave Winer completely on this." Was that an original thought? Or a meta-comment? Or just delicious irony? I vote irony.

Mickeleh's Take: I agree with both of them (and everyone else making this point). But there's nothing new or original in noticing it:

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes, 1:10).

On the other hand, it is not true that Ecclesiastes said, "Of the making of many blogs there is no end." That was Sifry.

What I Learned Last Week

Here are some of the things I learned last week.

• The Aurora Bridge in Seattle (over the Ship Canal on Highway 99) is the second most popular suicide bridge in the U.S. (behind San Francisco's Golden Gate).
• Some of the jumpers don't wait till they get to the middle of the span where they would fall into the water, but jump from a point that's still over land so they fall into local parking lots, traumatizing the workers.
  
• I'm a very bad prognosticator. I predicted that last week would be a "fine, fun week for Obama fans."
• Three big shot tech executives (or ex execs) have signed on with McCain to bring us a third Bush term and a 100 years in Iraq. (Carly Fiorina, ex CEO of HP; Meg Whitman, outgoing CEO of eBay, and John Chambers (CEO of Cisco).
  
• Steve Gillmor—whom I've only known as the wise and far-seeing tech oracle, impresario of NewsGang (a fine compendium of what's new, important, helpful, and interesting) and the NewsGang Live podcast— has also had a long association with members of the Firesign Theatre--and served as a producer on some of their projects (evidenced by the appearance of George Tirebiter on a recent NewsGang Live).
• Dr. Bronners Magic Soaps include olive oil that combines the product of a grove owned by a Palestinian with that of a grove owned by an Israeli. (Yes... the hemp oil is still an ingredient; so is the peppermint.
• The Prophet Jeremiah had an even harsher message and rougher reception than the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
  

Mickeleh's Take: Given my record, maybe I should predict a rough week for Obama fans.

New on the Soapbox: Ferraro's Game of Market Segmentation

I keep two blogs, one mainly about marketing, the other about politics. But the two practices share a lot of commonality. What is a political campaign but an effort to market a candidate?

Over on the Soapbox, I offer Mickeleh's Take on what Former Congressional Rep. Geraldine Ferraro is up to. It's a nasty, cynical game. It's a game I know well because I play it professionally. She's not a racist. She's a marketer.

The Lord of the Ring: The Resignation of the Gov.

When did the terminology change from "call-girl service" to "prostitution ring"?

Mickeleh's Take: What's next: "fee-based social media platform"?

(Tag:Spitzer)