The typical definition of “blog”—simply put, some random person’s online journal of wandering and, more often than not, useless thoughts—usually holds little to no interest for me. I’m in the business of “me” (aren’t we all when it comes right down to it?) and so I have no time for other people’s hopes, dreams, friends, enemies or house plants; I prefer the delights of celebrity gossip rags and fashion-related minutiae to the detailings of ordinariness any day. That said, when I come across one of these typical “blogs” that I do enjoy reading, it’s worth mentioning. (The last time I wrote about one of these blogs, I believe my selection was Mayor David Brown’s thrilling missives about brushing his teeth and eating turkey sandwiches at Bodo’s.) So allow me to mention HappyScrappy, the blog of Boston-based writer and editor Jason Feifer.
Perhaps it’s because I relate to these people, or perhaps it’s because people who make their living as writers can sometimes actually write, but I doubt it’s a coincidence that the personal blogs that I usually enjoy are the extracurricular activities of professional writers or journalists or dorks. This Jason Feifer is clearly no exception to this rule. I don’t mean this in a bad way; I, myself, earned the name “Nellanerd” as a child.
Like the best blogs, his tone is chatty without being overly chatty; there are personal details without divulging the unwanted; he lets you get to know his person without forcing too much of his person on you too quickly. For instance, according to the most current posts, Feifer is on a Craigslist kick (having had two posts on the subject in the past week) and he thinks “goths” are funny. This is intriguing to me for two reasons: 1) I agree about goths: hilarious. And 2) I, too, have been logging more hours on Craigslist than I have at my real job recently. So. I know that this blogger and I have more than just journalism and dorkdom in common, and this keeps me reading.
Distance, methinks, is the best policy when it comes to these personal-type blogs. That way, the writer can be revealed to you over time—not unlike in the real world —should you choose to commit yourself to that relationship.