Snark has many definitions. Some say that it’s a combination of the words “snide” and “remark“, or “biting, cruel humor or wit, commonly used to verbally attack someone or something“. Snark is commonly found in blog posts and comments, formats which allow those who would otherwise never act this way in a face-to-face situation say just about anything they want.

I am a recovering snark-addict.

Many of you may know me from around the Internet. I have been on LiveJournal since late 2000, currently maintain a blog on my own website for the past 2 years, share recipes and photos via a few venues, and blog for two Seattle sites. While it is deceptively easy to build a bad reputation for yourself online, it turns out that it’s significantly harder to change other’s impressions of you online than it is in real life.

The two notable places for snark that I want to cite today: the Seattle LiveJournal community and the Slog. For years, I snarked in the Seattle LJ. It was almost a game: see a new post and try to make the first snotty remark. Even if multiple commenter had already told the poster how stupid they were for not using Google, I would add my voice to the masses. It became instinct to respond in this manner, though the guilt I experienced when someone became obviously upset due to my actions never went away.

About three months ago, I finally decided that enough was enough. I couldn’t snark anymore. As dumb as this sounds to those who haven’t experienced it, initially it was hard to quit. I would see a post in the Seattle LJ and immediately start typing a mean response. Catching myself, I would see if I could write anything productive and if not, close the window and move on. After the first month, it became easier to automatically think of something nice to write instead of something harsh and criticizing. I’ve had quite a few discussions about the recent changes, mostly positive, and feel better about myself because of it. The guilt is gone.

This brings me to the Slog. A fellow Metblogger passed around a link to guest Slog blogger Chelsea Alvarez-Bell’s last post as a guest blogger. She is opting out of future guest posts due to the high-level of snark that flourishes in the Slog comments. In her words: “I have no desire to contribute here any longer. I am taking my ball and going home.” She calls some of the regular commenters “cruel“, “small, awful, miserable people“.

As a recovering snark-addict, I have to agree with her in some regard. People who exhibit a sense of pleasure in verbally tearing down another person’s statements of opinion or fact, may well allude to an intrinsic unhappiness or frustration in other areas of the abuser’s life. It could be that those who snark are stuck in dead-end jobs with nothing better to do or have such low self-esteem that hurting others through an anonymous venue gives them enough validation to feel better about themselves. I am applying those very same suggestions to my own state of mind for the time that I was a snarker, but it is hard to really self-evaluate as an objective third-party after the fact. At this point, I am happier without snark than I ever was when I engaged in it.

Regardless of the real motivation for snarking, there are people who enjoy perpetuating it. No online forum is immune to it, but there are ways to minimize it. Required comment registration is a good way to lessen it’s impact. Moderated comments is another, more pro-active stance. Not “feeding the trolls” is a third option that requires the cooperation of the rest of the commenter community. Or, one can do what Chelsea did: leave the snark-tainted venue and seek solace in a place that is designed to bring about productive commentary and conversation.

In conclusion, I will quote Metblogger Chaya: “thank you for not being assholes, Metblogs commenters!”

_{photo courtesy of Metroblogging’s own Slightlynorth / Shawn [flickr]}

The New York Times published a short travel essay on Georgetown a couple days ago [nyt]. In it they describe the appeal of a neighborhood Fantagraphics curator Larry Reid calls the “last outpost of any blue-collar, bohemian arts culture in Seattle.” When put that way, the appeal is self-explanatory. For those reasons and more, I really enjoy Georgetown. There’s an authenticity (grittiness?) to it that is missing from many other Seattle neighborhoods. Lunch at Jules Mae’s Saloon is easily turned into a Seattle history lesson and a short walk along Airport Way always leaves me feeling fortunate that Georgetown exists (however precariously) and sentimental for a different Seattle.

And so, thanks to the TNT’s Grit City, the Tacoma comparison begins. Noting that among other things Tacoma (like Georgetown) has its own glass blowers, artists on scooters, and cheap rent, Grit City proudly declares that Tacoma is the new Seattle. Here I thought Portland was the new Seattle. Or Omaha. And if those cities are the new Seattle, what’s Seattle? Once again, an Internet poll comes to our rescue.

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Update: I just noticed that Grit City is not claiming Tacoma is the new Seattle. They’re claiming Seattle is the new Tacoma. All the sudden this meme became a lot more more sinister.

Last year there was a flurry of media coverage of young Semaj Booker’s attempt to run away from home. Lots of kids run away from home but Mr. Booker was a special case since he managed to get himself through the TSA screening at SeaTac and onto a Southwest Airlines flight to Texas. There was much wringing of hands and pointing of fingers in response to the then-nine-year old’s ability to get himself through the security checkpoint and onto the plane without a ticket and everyone involved insisted that it was a freak incident and couldn’t possibly happen again.

Well, it has. Semaj Booker is 10 now and just got caught “a short stroll away from” another SWA flight, says the P-I in a well-written story [P-I] that neatly details his trip last year and his attempted trip this week. It is worth noting that the little boy made it through the security checkpoint and was stopped by the ticket agent. (Like Semaj Booker, I really like flying Southwest, too, so I’m glad to see that they, at least, learned from the experience.) The Port of Seattle spokesman emphasized that the boy was actually screened but insists that an unaccompanied minor without a boarding pass making it through the screening process is not a “security breach” since he “might have” told the screeners that he was with an adult.

“Babes in arms” can fly free on many airlines but a 10 year old boy isn’t sitting in anyone’s lap, he’s having his own seat. And therefore his own boarding pass. Wouldn’t the adult he was supposedly with have a boarding pass for him? Wouldn’t the screener wonder why a boarding pass wasn’t presented for the child? Wouldn’t anyone think to wonder why the two were walking through security separately? Obviously this kid is rather bright but shouldn’t the same agency that makes me take off my shoes and pack my shampoo in my checked baggage be able to outwit a ten-year-old?

Another copyright infringement case is currently being fought between the Rat City Rollergirls and Starbucks over the use of similar logos. Which will win? (Via Seattle PI)

_{you’re a sexy little thing, aren’t you? where’d you get that ink? got any more you want to show me? er… photo by anabananasplit [flickr]}

Josh and his In Other Blogs is heading to Sasquatch for the weekend and I wanted to make sure this important information was passed along. Via our neighbors to the south at the TNT’s Grit City (also, I’m told, from this morning’s Adam Corrolla Show) comes a story out of the UK’s Daily Telegraph of a Washington man, Edward Smith, and his lust for cars. No really, his lust for cars. He claims to have had sex with over 1,000 of them — most he didn’t own himself. In other words, however unlikely it may be, it’s possible your car isn’t a virgin.

Mr Smith, 57, first had sex with a car at the age of 15, and claims he has never been attracted to women or men.

“Maybe I’m a little bit off the wall but when I see movies like Herbie and Knight Rider, where cars become loveable, huggable characters it’s just wonderful.”

By the way, Edward’s predilection for automobiles falls under the category of mechaphilia. You can Google that for yourself.

One the most famous crimes of the 1970’s took place in 1971 in the airspace over Washington State. A man who identified himself as Dan Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient Airlines flight and demanded a ransom of $200,000. (That might not seem like much reward for the risk today, but when you adjust for inflation, Cooper was asking for what would be over a million dollars today, definitely improving the risk to rewards ratio.) After receiving his ransom, Cooper ordered the pilot to fly to Reno. At some point he jumped out of the plane and neither he nor most of the money he received was ever seen again.

Although just about everyone familiar with the case has a theory, the mystery of what exactly happened to Cooper and his money has never been solved. Obviously, it’s not a high profile case any more, but the FBI would still like to solve it. One of my favorite blogs, Investigation Discovery, got a copy of the FBI’s press release about the case and did a nice little write-up here, which is a good starting point for getting to know the tale.

Like a lot of people, I think Cooper died the night he jumped from the plane, although I’ve never fully made up my mind if I think he thought he could actually make it or if that point he realized that the odds of getting away with his crime were really slim and considered parachuting into the darkness to be his version of going down fighting. What do you think?

Awhile back, I was riding home on the 43 when Superman got on the bus.

He was a weedy guy wearing ordinary clothes, a red cape, and a kids’ Superman backpack. Perfectly quiet, mellow.

“I’ve seen him before,” said one of the other passengers right after Superman exited the bus. “He really does think he’s Superman. I asked him if he could leap a tall building in a single bound, but he refused to demonstrate.”

“Y’know,” said his companion, “it must be tough being Superman these days. Not too many phone booths left.”

Unfortunately, it appears that today Superman was having a bad day. Central District News reported that he was causing some trouble on Broadway. A few hours later, CDN reports, Superman changed his costume to Green Lantern and started spraying ketchup on people as they walked by. “He’s very agitated,” reported an officer on the scene.

Oh, how our heroes have fallen.

photo by Zee Grega

Everyone knows that the Space Needle is Seattle’s most famous landmark, but why exactly is it a landmark in the first place? What makes a landmark a landmark? Do you know?

If you do, you might enjoy the quiz in today’s Seattle Times that challenges you to explain why eight local landmarks are landmarks, given you the multiple choice options of location of or association with signifcant historical event; association with a significant historial figure; embodiment of an architectural style, perior or method of contruction; outstanding work of a designer or builder; prominence of location or contrasts of siting, age and scale. Don’t worry if you don’t already know the answers, you’ll learn.

As an added benefit there’s a whole separate article all about the landmark decision making process, too. [seattletimes]. Seattle history is actually quite interesting when you take the time to look into it; I hope that using landmarks as a starting point will be the inspiration for people to take that time.

A lot of people in this town love J.P. Patches and rightfully so–the beloved local TV clown whose popular show for kids aired in Seattle  from 1958 to 1981, its 23 year run making it the longest running locally produced children’s program in the US.    Kids loved J.P. Patches for his silly antics and parents loved J.P. for his sly wit.  (My grandmother loved J.P. when she babysat my oldest brother when he was a kid because he could always be relied upon to behave when J.P. was on air.)  This summer will mark the 50th anniversary of his show’s debut.

Even though it’s been a while since his show was on TV, there are still many “Patches Pals” out there.  J.P. has long been a fixture at Children’s Hospital and charitable events all around the Sound, using his charm to help fundraise for local charities. 

J.P. will live on forever in the hearts of many people; now Patches and his girlfriend, Gertrude, will live on forever in the form of a statue at the corner of Fremont Ave N and N 34th St, about 50 feet west of the famous “Waiting for the Interurban”.  Many a Patches Pal helped get it built and now everyone will get a chance to see “Late for the Interurban” when the statue is unveiled on August 17th. 

I think the statue will be a great addition.  It’s wonderful that Patches is being honored this way and I expect that this will be one seriously entertaining unveiling.

(thanks to Josh and to Citizen Rain for the tip.)

Yasmine Bouagga of UW’s Daily has been running a short series profiling a few Iraqi refugees, here in Seattle and elsewhere. They have powerful stories to tell.

• Out of home
• Resettling in Seattle