A longtime friend of this blog, Emperor Misha I, is going through a terribly hard time in his life right now. Please help him out if you’re able, or leave good wishes if you’re not.
Everyone at SashaCastel sends him love and good karma/prayers.

I’m not sure why but I’ve never been into Napster, Kazaa, or any of the online music stuff-whatchamacallit. I have Dean Esmay to thank for changing all that. He pointed me in the direction of the marvelous Winamp, which beats RealPlayer and WMP like a cheap rug. And like the hopeless compulsive I am, I spent the rest of the day seeking out ever-new and esoteric sources of music. If any readers have good sources for opera MP3’s, please get in touch.

In the wake of the recent forgery detections by LGF and Chronically Biased, one of the thoughts on my mind is all that naysaying that the blogosphere will never be as relevant as old media. This underestimates blogs and vastly overestimates the news establishment. In any medium, most of what is transmitted will have relatively little impact on overall society. The earth-shaking stuff is rare – and in that exclusive arena the blogosphere can truly compete with old media.
Update: 1972 Email Casts Doubt on Bush Guard Service

Our Web host, designer, and all-round God Mike Hendrix is so cool and talented at so many things that I forget what he’s capable of in the “deliciously vitriolic rant” department.
Never again will I make that mistake.
You’re a babe, Mike. Keep up the magnificent work.

One of the most articulate and passionate bloggers out there is Alice Bachini, and I was disappointed when I learned that she had discontinued her blog. However, she has taken to Texas like a duck to water, and it appears she has moved there permanantly.
And even better (for me) she has rediscovered her voice- so please go visit Alice in her new (Texan) blog.

God bless our Bloggfather, Mike Hendrix at Cold Fury. He is one of the smartest and funniest people I’ve come across, ever. And I’m not just saying that because he hosts this blog. Here’s a sample from his latest ramble:

Did I mention we’re dieting here at Casa Hendrix? Well, we are. The gf is unhappy about her weight lately – which seems to happen every so often – and if she’s unhappy we all are here, including the cats and dog. Personally, I don’t care; I haven’t even owned a bathroom scale in like twenty years. But the nice thing is she’s a nurse and can get samples of all sorts of diet pills, and the ones she’s chosen for this particular jaunt through Sunkencheekville make me feel like I’ve got ball bearings in my blood. Which is cool, although I must say that living on amphetamines isn’t as much fun as it was in college. But that’s okay; lately I need the energy more than I need the sleep I’m losing.

Rock on, Mike. Rock on.

Three new blogs added to the blogroll: the Marginal Revolution, Mike Jericho, and British Pickle. All smart, all worth the time.

Over at Oxblog David Adesnik hosted a discussion with a journalist at his University. While reporting on how it went, he ponders the way journalists operate and the different perspective that he brings in reading a paper, being a blogger, then the rest of the public do.

The final thought I had about today’s discussion was that if I can look back on myself from two years and say “Oh my God, I can’t believe how ignorant I was!”, who might look at me now and say “Oh my God, I can’t believe how ignorant he is!” Would it be the soldiers who read what I have to say about Iraq? The officials at State and DoD who might laugh at my primitive concept of how policymaking works? Or the journalists who marvel at how much arrogant advice and allegedly constructive criticism comes from someone who hasn’t written edited a newspaper since high school?

There’s plenty of great blogs out there but I am really enjoying 2blowhards.com who are on a roll just at the moment.
(Ed. note: I heartily concur. Put aside 30 minutes to read the Blowhards, and don’t forget their feisty commenters. One of the top ten out there, really.–SC)

Two of the very best ladies of the blogosphere, Alice Bachini and Michele Catalano, have quit.
I’m crushed. You’ll be missed, both of you.