It’s been a while since I wrote a batch, where I give links to some deserving writers. I usually write this on Sundays but since I’m still a free citizen, I’ll do it whenever I wish. I wanted to have at least 10 links, but I’m far too tired. I will be back on schedule for doing this next Sunday and will have even more selected posts. I won Andy Bailey’s weekly contest and received my new iPod headphones…thanks Andy! Be sure to pay Andy a visit, and join in on his next contest. While you’re there, read some of his cool posts.

I am an Outcast

One thing I know about myself, since birth (yes, I remember being born – a horrifying experience), is that I never really fit in. I’m an outcast on so many levels. Put me and 99 other people in a room and I’ll be the one standing alone while everyone gathers in little groups of 4 or 5. I’m really terrible with meaningless small talk, and am perfectly content not being part of the crowd. I naturally gravitate towards blogging because I can say all those things I normally wouldn’t say in real life if you didn’t know me very well – trust me, I am a very difficult person to get to know.

While growing up, I always had a few friends, but never more than 2 or 3. Some people have hundreds of “friends” in their real lives, much like bloggers with 20,000 friends on Facebook or MySpace. I always hung out with other people who didn’t fit in because we had that in common. We were social rejects who refused to be part of all things normal. If everybody did something, I would make sure I didn’t. I approach blogging much the same way. When I first began blogging, I quickly learned how most just followed others, copied others and so forth. I used to have a vendetta against make money blogs, mostly because 99% of them are redundant, regurgitated, unoriginal, passionless, uninspired drivel – plagiarized from the “successful” ones. I personally don’t read any of the most popular blogs with 25,000+ subscribers. If you’ve read them once, there’s no reason to go back except for an occasional tidbit if needed. After a while, I gave up criticizing them – I have better thing to do. I just don’t read them – much like an offensively lame TV show – I just don’t watch it.

I’m such an outcast – even among my outcast friends – an outcast forming his own rebellion within a group of outcasts; a loner among loners. Reflecting on my teen years, I wonder: What’s a 15 year old kid, who practices guitar 10 hours per day and studies Zen, yoga and martial arts going to discuss with other kids who worry about their haircuts and what brand of shoes they wear? I remember as a seven year old boy, noticing how people grouped together and began their life long category of personhood. Are you a jock, geek, loser, dopehead or what? What category do you fall in? What group do you belong to? In college, I was faced with joining a fraternity, which I opposed with absolute disdain. Why would I join an exclusive group? What is exactly is an exclusive group? It’s doesn’t mean it’s a good or special group – it’s about exclusion. If you’re not in the group, you’re excluded from it. That’s why I despised those people who belonged. Well, I really didn’t dislike the people, just the idea of exclusivity. If I have to join a club to be your friend, then I will not be your friend. I don’t want to “fit in”. I prefer to think of people as individuals, not associated with a group of individuals. The blogosphere seems much like a high school where people are divided up into cliques – some snobbish, some friendly.

I know…I’m a cynical skeptic as well as an outcast. If you know me really well, I’m a goof who jokes sarcastically. If you don’t know me really well, I’m a quiet person. In my daily life, I listen much more than I speak. It’s amazing when you know people really well, who know nothing about you. I’m that guy at work everybody confides in and says nasty things about others to…oh my, the secrets I know. I guess that’s because I keep it all to myself, don’t tell anyone what they say and never add fuel to the fire – so they trust me.

I became interested in politics over the past few years and feel like such an outsider it’s ridiculous. I’ve come to the conclusion that the U.S. government is nothing more than a corrupted special interest group – I’m so disgusted I cannot take it anymore. We are supposed to choose where we fit in: conservative or liberal; I don’t fit in either group and never will. That’s how I feel about the Internet – I really don’t fit in anywhere; thus, I fit in everywhere. It’s quite lonely to be an individual these days. Now for this week’s links:

Wandering through BlogExplosion, MyBlogLog, and EntreCard – from Aldon Hynes of the Orient Lounge is a very interesting post (among many). I wrote the main part of this batch #15 last week and was surprised when I read Aldon’s post – the premise is quite similar, though mine is probably more negative. I know exactly how he feels. Make sure you read this very insightful article.

Retribution – from Why Paisley. This post pissed me off because her hosting service changed her domain name (the removal of the dash between why and paisley) and gave her no options. I suppose it could happen to anyone. She lost all her page rank and as far as I know, the change prevents her from doing a 301 redirect because she can no longer access the old domain. If she had psychic powers, she could have preemptively redirected before all this happened – but that’s a little much for any host to ask for. Because she is such a brilliant writer, it really bothered me to see this happen. Please read her great article and fix any links you have to her.

Facing Faults and Fears – My long time friend Becca aka Wonder Woman wrote a this great article about how caring and helping others can often keep you from taking care of yourself. It’s a quite wonderful and somber sentiment I strongly relate to.

Congress Wants to Make It Easier for People to Steal Your Content – From Dan at DCR Blogs. Here we go again with congress protecting criminals. I am all about political activism and this is very important for every American to do. Check out this article.

Hide and Seek – My friend J.C. from the blog Jasmin’s Heart has a guest writer, Jim Murdoch, who authored this post. It is a brilliant look into creativity and poetry – I found it very inspiring.

The Adventures of Marie Cambridge – Story Game 4 – I was fortunate enough to be invited by Teeni to participate in her cool writing project where several writers get to add a paragraph (my contribution is the 3rd from the top). Where else but the blogosphere would I get to hang out with an army of vegan women?

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