Brian Addresses a Letter from Long Ago

There’s this new mass media outlet they’ve come up with. Have you heard of it? It’s called the “comp-net-link.” What it does is “link” everyone’s “computers” through an electronic “network.” I don’t know the science behind it, but Google has recently gone onto the comp-net-link, so it must be pretty cool.
You can visit “net pages” through the comp-net-link, and there’s one that you should definitely check out. It’s called the217.com. Yes, the “the217.com” page is the coolest net page around. Of course, it’s been around for a while, and you may be reading this article on said site, but an interesting fact is I have just recently started visiting it.
I do read buzz in paper form, but I never read my column. For one thing, I’ve already read it, and I also like to ignore glaring typos that were missed by copy editors/were added by copy editors. I think my favorite editing blooper was when “the times, they are a changin’” was changed to “the times are changing.” A close second would be the time a former music editor asked me if “The Boss” was the title of a Bruce Springsteen song or album and, therefore, wondered if it should be italicized or in quotations.
By the way, for people who didn’t get that (including the former music editor), “The Boss” is a popular nickname for Bruce Springsteen.
Anyway, I rarely read my own column. But upon visiting the217.com, I saw that my article on Lucky Boys Confusion was featured on the front page. From there, I checked out the article and was surprised to see there is a comments section on the page. In this section, people can type their reactions to my and anyone else’s articles, posts, etc. Even more surprising was that people actually posted comments! I felt so comment-worthy.
From there, I thought to myself, “Maybe other episodes of “Spin It” have been commented on…,” and they had been!
I felt bad because some responses were very insightful and were looking for timely responses. So to those readers, I apologize. But there is one in particular I’d like to mention. My Jan. 2 article dealt with iPods and was filled with hilarious jokes alluding to mini iPods being an indication of the size of the owner’s male parts. But a lengthy, egotistic comment was posted in response.
Before I go into that, I pick on a lot of people in my writing. Everyone from current music staffers to former editors to Nickelback fans to Jason Norris; no one is safe. Because of the precedents that have been set, I feel the need to address this.
Oct 18, 2007, a brief Letter to the Editor appeared in The Daily Illini. It dealt with iPods. The writer had read two articles I wrote dealing with iPods and went on to assume I was publicly addressing his 300-word insight into the world of technology. I had never read it. At this point, I’ve really only skimmed it. It boiled down to the belief that the sights and sounds of the world around us are better than MP3s. Nice sentiment but very far from what I was arguing against.
I was making fun of people who state the unoriginal notion that technology is personally isolating. These people think they invented this ancient idea and that it specifically applies to iPods. I was countering an argument that had nothing to do with the letter entitled “iPolitics” whatsoever.
The only common thread was the broad topic of iPods. I thought it was funny that someone would connect the two and think I spent this much time analyzing his little letter. This may sound like an isolating statement, but Brian does not read the Letters to the Editor in The Daily Illini. Even if there was something worthwhile written in it, it would be hard to find between letters dedicated to week-old typos and other pointless grumblings.
On a lighter note, I enjoyed the comment arguing that Daft Punk is, in fact, very masculine. I would like to agree, but what is awesome is not always manly. In short, I will now be reading the comments, so in the words of St. George, “Bring it on.”

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