Thursday, February 4, 2010

Welcome To The SMB

Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?"
- Oscar Wilde

There was once a time, back in the day before MySpace became overrun with drug dealers and people looking to sleep with other people they once knew in high school, I kept up a small unremarkable blog. And it was good.

Although I blogged it up for awhile, it lapsed with the passage of time. But lately the blogging urge has struck again. Surely, I think to myself, the world can still benefit from my always clever, often timely, and admittedly vast pool of personal wisdom?

Of course it bloody well can. It is, for example, full of people like you, and that does it very little credit. The world, I modestly accept, could use me.

So came about the Strawman Blogger. Here, we’ll find social commentary, with frequent diversions into the field of economics, and occasional forays into the merely curious.

But before we begin, it would help to have the House Rules.

The House Rules

1) A sense of humor is required.


2) Your comments will rarely be deleted. Your frequent and entertaining displays of childlike reasoning don’t concern me – they embarrass only yourself. However, we will delete any material deemed to be offensive to any gender, ethnic, religious, or other interest group, anything deemed off-subject, any material my girlfriend does not like, and, on rare occasions, any time I really, really feel like it.

3) We will try not to offend you.

4) These things do not amuse us: Manchester United, the EMH, Michael Bay, the Treasury View, Eugene Fama, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, Casey Mulligan (It’s because they don't want to work, Casey? Really? Really?), anything ever recorded by Nickelback, the actual band members who comprise Nickelback, prawns (Tiny legs. Can’t trust them.), James Patterson, and Kokanee beer. Liking anything above doesn’t disqualify you from participating in this blog. It will, however, raise grave doubts about your level of taste.

5) Actually, scratch (3.). We will try to offend you all the time. For example: “I privately admire the willpower of anorexics.”

6) From time to time, if comments are slow, we will resort to outright bribery. Participating in the blog can be lucrative as well as edifying.

And, finally:

7) In the beginning, there was
Liverpool.

And that about covers it. Let’s get it started: