I've been trying to give this new Canadian blogger the benefit of the doubt. I read him when I can muster up the resolve. . .
An example of a typical Jim Bobby paragraph.
Whooee! Lookin' at the title I gave this boog story, you might be thinkin' ol' JimBobby's gonna start dishin' out advice on boogin'. Shee-it! I ain't that much of a numbnuts. I know I'm jest a neo-fighter in the boogeysphere boxin' ring. NosireeBobby. I'm gonna point you at sumpin' I come across this mornin' where sum fellers an' gals down in Californie set up a wiki on bein' a better booger. (I'm already takin' sum o' the Californicators' advice an' my very first paragraph got right t' the point.)
I could understand if the content were more consistant with the parody (The Politburo Dictat comes to mind as someone who pulls it off nicely.) "Jim Bobby" bears no similarity to any rural Canadian dialect - what he does is more like a cross between a Tennessee coal miner and Miss Prissy*. Yet, his Liberal-leaning content is devoid of the "self"-mocking satirical stance one would expect from a contrived character as extreme as "JimBobby". The employment of a "rural redneck illiterate" stereotype seems pointless. The resulting disconnect achieves little more than making the posts extremely difficult to read.
I don't as a rule go out of my way to critique other bloggers, especially Canadian ones - it's a fledgling group that needs to build a sense of community. Consider it a bit of constructive criticism and an observation for others who are trying to carve out their own niche. Creating a unique personality, indulging in quirkiness or adopting a theme - good, proven techniques in an increasingly crowded blogosphere.
Making your entries virtually impossible to comprehend?
Not good.
update - Wow. For all the pretense of the "good 'ol boy" gimmick, JimBobby has anasty, reactive side to him.
I agree, Kate. I find reading this neo-dialect to be frankly irritating, if not impossible.
I concurr , it is quite impossible to comprehend and down right frustrating.
The poor fellow hasn't accurately portrayed any real American colloquialism. Instead, he's made a fool of himself yammering on like a cartoon character from Hollywood. Such a tawdry banality he is.
I assume that was a rebuttal of some sort on his part but when I took a look my brain started to hurt.
He's gone from reactive from absofuckinglutely nuts.
Apparently, a blog post and two short comments a "cyber stalker" make.
The only other explanation I have for this blog, is that the stereotyped rural illiterate schtick , combined with pro-Liberal commentary, was just a satirical take that I initially overlooked.
If so, the lefties trickling in to support him are the butt of the joke.
I witheld opinion until I read his all of his
replies. At first, though schlocky, his style is
not without precedent ... but he ain't no Will
Rodgers. Then towards the end of his rant I saw
that he was actually stung ... reading between
the lines so to speak. But the ultimate tip off
to his being an idiot, is that he rejected out
of hand, advice. Advice from someone with more
experience. Advice from someone more read. THAT
is plain dumb stupidity. For none of us are so
@&%^$# cool that we caint be lernt a thing or
three. Cast ye not pearls before swine Kate. An
old lesson that never ages.
I had no idea that some unconventional semantics could cause such distraction. "Quite impossible to comprehend and downright frustrating"? Kinda like cruising around some of these blog sites looking for intellingent discussion and finding only a buncha "literary critics" with superiority complexes. Just...wow.
Apparently, a blog post and two short comments a "cyber stalker" make.
I don't know Kate, you gave me a creepy, Marsden-ish stalker vibe the other night when you asked me, a propos of nothing at all, how long I had lived in Ottawa.
Food for thought.
JB's comments are not difficult to read, merely tiresome. Like most of us, he's part of an echo chamber; it's not necessary to make the effort to read the faux hick because inevitably someone else will summarize the gist of it in a couple of clearly written "attaboy" sentences.
Stalk ME, Kate! ME! Over here! Ooh, those creepy, Marsden-ish stalker vibes, I love 'em, I love 'em...
Like most of us, he's part of an echo chamber; it's not necessary to make the effort to read the faux hick because inevitably someone else will summarize the gist of it in a couple of clearly written "attaboy" sentences.
Speaking of stalking...
Anyway, LrC, once again, you've distilled complex public discourse (yes, I know, I know) into one sentence (..well, two propositions joined by a semi-colon, but let's not quibble), that being...Hi, I'm LrC...I point out the obvious, but with a obscurantist verbosity that projects the illusion that I am as insightful and perspicacious as I want people to think I am."
>Speaking of stalking...
Wasn't it you who over on Stageleft (another echo chamber) tossed off a comment you might like to follow me around on the web? Maybe that was someone else. Keep on tossing off as you wish.
Oh, c'mon, LrC...that's a little raw,
don't you think? Tossing off?...*tsk tsk*.
Anyway, I was going to stalk you, but only at Stageleft. That lasted all of 2 minutes. You got un-stalk-worthy very quickly.
No mystery Ti-Guy - when someone starts to remark on matters that have no bearing on the discussion (as in comments that denigrate the quality of my artwork), I sometimes exercise my privilages as an admin.
Your IP address belonged to someone in Ottawa, but that was a few years ago. I'm pretty certain you live in or near Scarborough at the moment.
I have a habit of keeping an eye on the "hostiles". In this day and age, it's just good policy. By "hostile", I don't mean dissenting or a little silly namecalling - I'm talking about those who go over the line to attack me in my personal life. The nature of my business doesn't allow for web anonymity - so just call it a little insurance.
No mystery Ti-Guy - when someone starts to remark on matters that have no bearing on the discussion (as in comments that denigrate the quality of my artwork), I sometimes exercise my privilages as an admin.
Ok. So I thought your art was crap, and you decided to trace my IP because I said your art was crap on your blog. Believe me, I already knew you would do as much. You edited my comments at The Shotgun, after all.
Your IP address belonged to someone in Ottawa, but that was a few years ago. I'm pretty certain you live in or near Scarborough at the moment.
Yes, I live in Scarborough. Midland and Ellesmere, actually. You know Kate, that is such a clumsy dodge, I'm really surprised at you.
I think I'll just save this for the RCMP, just in case (...why the hell are you suggesting I live in Scarborough? And exactly why do you care where I live, again?)
I have a habit of keeping an eye on the "hostiles". In this day and age, it's just good policy. By "hostile", I don't mean dissenting or a little silly namecalling - I'm talking about those who go over the line to attack me in my personal life. The nature of my business doesn't allow for web anonymity - so just call it a little insurance.
A little insurance for what, Kate? Is this some kind of Kate McMillan almost threat of lawsuit but not quite?
Shove it...I know my rights.
Anyway, heh, heh...You have a habit of keeping your eye on hostiles? From now on, Kate, I'm going to treat you like Buffy treated her arch-enemy Glorifius (Glory). If she goes over the line, let me know.
Oh, pipe down. You've read far too much into my reply. It wasn't directed at you specifically. You asked a question, I gave you a answer. Take it or leave it.
Your location shows up in a routine traceroute.
"Insurance" refers to basic security of the site and myself. ie: real stalkers and trolls. (I'm not in the habit of threatening lawsuits.)
I dont' remember deleting or altering any of your comments at the Shotgun. I generally give a warning first. If I did, it was for reasons of profanity, etc. It may have also been Kevin (head admin).
Now - this time don't read more into this than what has been said, and you'll save both of us a lot of typing.
This whole Kate-Ti-Guy exchange is more than creepy. It all sounds a little reminescent of the patriot act. Identify "hostiles"... secure their personal information...for purposes of "insurance". I am new to this blog thing, and definitly a computer amateur. Tracing IP addresses? Paranoia anyone? I thought it was kinda fun (if sometimes a little scary) to see what people thought about things. After reading this...it has all become decidedly not fun.
Princess, when you describe yourself as an "amateur" in the way you have, it is generally ill advised to then offer strong opinions on a topic.
No one touches anything on the internet without leaving information about themselves. For example: your internet provider is CGOcable, you've read this post 5 times, and you'r computer is running Windows 98.
It's no more "sinister" than having call display on your telephone, so you can report cranks.
Kate, I don't mind you knowing my isp or what OS I'm running.
It's that peeping in my window that bothers me.
Especially since I'm on the second floor.