Might As Well Face It, You’re Addicted to Blog

August 9, 2006 - 11:12 AM by Allison

“Hi, I’m Gavriel and I can’t stop blogging about the war.”

A very funny post — here’s an excerpt, but there’s much more. Check out the photos on the bottom.

A Few Things I’ve Learned While Blogging the War

1. Blogging can both release tension, by being a good outlet to vent about all the outrages we otherwise keep bottled up — especially during a controversial war. But it can also create its own tension.

As the war has ground on into its fourth week and my blogging has turned to all-conflict-all-the-time mode, I find now that I’m carrying around a feeling that I HAVE TO POST on the war. If I haven’t posted anything in the last 24 hours explaining why Israel does not want to kill Lebanese civilians, I start to twitch.

And the worst thing for my chances of remaining sane is that when I get ideas for silly “off-topic” posts, the kind that used to drive my blog, I don’t know what to do with them. I can’t keep that stuff bottled up inside, and my draft folder is filling up with post ideas that I’ve been avoiding writing — too busy fulfilling my duty to comment on the conflict instead. Well, henceforth, I’m reclaiming my blog and my sanity, or at least my blog. While I will certainly continue commenting on the war, frequently and at length when I have something to say about it, I’m done supressing every other thought.

Watch for a silly, off-topic post in this space soon — maybe not tonight since Sharon and I are going to a concert, also to cling to a little sanity — but soon.

2. Nasrallah is simply not as funny as Hamas. Hamas has been a humor goldmine for me. While they are lethal terrorists in one sense, at the same time they have a ridiculous style and sensibility about them that is easy to mock (check some of the Hamas posts on the sidebar and see if you agree).

Now I’ve been trying to write similar funny posts about Nasrallah, but with rare exception, all that comes out are deeply reasoned screeds and analyses, no goofy stuff. I’ve come to the conclusion Nasrallah needs to dye his beard red, or maybe purple so he’ll have his own trademark.

3. I was starting to think that my anti-Reuters fixation was a neurosis for which I might need to seek therapy. I’ve dwelled on the bias in their photos and text so obsessively I’ve considered taking out a restraining order against myself.

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