The Narrator is starting a new blog

Very few of you will remember me -- The Narrator. I've been trotted out on increasingly rare occasion in this blog, usually when The Curmudgeon hasn't wanted to say something himself. Well, now I'm getting a blog of my very own. It's called "The Blog of Days" and, yes, that's a link to the new venture in this sentence. The idea, see, is to pick something out to observe or commemorate on every single day -- and not necessarily the obvious things, either. Of course, that means it will supposedly be a daily venture. I hope you'll stop by from time to time to see if I'm keeping up.

Blowing up balloons, setting up chairs....

We're getting ready for the big 1000th post party here at Second Effort.

Actually, I think the post counter has already inched past the 1000 mark -- but it's still recent enough that it remains appropriate to note the occasion now. Besides, a lot of those prior 1000 posts have been pretty feeble, OK?

And, let's face it, Curmudgeon is such a long-winded gasbag that I couldn't exactly get him to hold up posting while we set the thousandth post party up... I did try.

And the worst of it?

Whatever he comes up with will be anti-climatic. How could it be otherwise?

But sit back, stay tuned and prepare to be disappointed... perhaps as soon as tomorrow.

We're trying to get Curmudgeon under control here

The coming election must be starting to 'get' to the Curmudgeon. The crinkly-eyed, humorous stuff seems to have vanished, but fear not: We're doping him up with sedatives and hoping to get him back on track soon.

One possibility is for Curmudgeon to open up a "political" blog -- which people in search of entertainment can avoid like the plague -- and keep this blog open for the lighter, family-oriented, or just plain humorous essays. (At least Curmudgeon thinks some of them are funny. Opinions have differed.)

Curmudgeon thinks that this might be a good solution -- that way, he says, he might get two book contracts. That's when we slip him some more happy juice. But he has instructed me to solicit the readers' input, and, however reluctantly, I do so herewith.

Debate '08: Obama Girl vs Giuliani Girl

American political discourse reaches a new... and strange... level.

You've read about this... now see it for yourself.

What was that sanctimonious claptrap that Curmudgeon was spouting this morning?

Some nonsense about being creatures of the earth....

Sure.

And while Curmudgeon was busy composing about the wonders of nature, he was distracted by a loud trilling noise -- sounded like a bird to Curmudgeon's uneducated ear....

Eventually, he rose to investigate.

It was a squirrel. Sitting in the front window.

In the living room.

In the living room.

That same squirrel is now roaming around the Curmudgeon's bedroom. Long Suffering Spouse has come back from teaching summer school and will not enter the marital abode until said squirrel has been dispatched.

The City of Chicago promises service... maybe sometime today.

Curmudgeon found a pest control service on line... eventually... maybe he'll tell you about it later.

But there's a squirrel in the house!

Creatures of the earth indeed. A highrise never seemed more attractive....

The 100th Post

When – if – a sitcom reaches its 100th episode, it is a cause for great celebration, not just for the fans of a beloved TV show, but for the producers and actors and anyone else who stands to profit from syndication. The 100th episode is where the money tree really begins to bear fruit – and a celebratory episode is often prepared, full of knowing inside references for long-time fans.

In studied contrast, this is the 100th posting in Second Effort. Since blogs are self-published endeavors, all 100 posts mean for certain is that the blogger is sufficiently stubborn, delusional, or at least sufficiently self-absorbed to keep plugging away. The Curmudgeon is certainly stubborn and self-absorbed, but even he recognizes that excessive celebration is not at all called for at this point in the development of Second Effort. Still, some acknowledgment seems in order. Thus, the task of the 100th posting has been delegated to yours truly. This may seem something of a cop-out to you, too. Nevertheless, we soldier on.

A recent entry on a BBC news page suggests that there are now 52 million bloggers. If this is an accurate count, then it is probably also true that 50 million of the 52 million are devoted to family foibles and occasional introspection. Some of these bloggers are content to write just for friends and family – a Christmas letter that updates all year long. But many of these bloggers crave readers and ads and book contracts and the opportunity to jump sit on Oprah’s couch. Just like The Curmudgeon.

How does Second Effort differ from the rest of these?

First, The Curmudgeon is male. Most of the ‘family life’ blogs are written by women. By moms. The Curmudgeon’s Long Suffering Spouse could probably write a very funny blog – and that would be more typical of the genre – and The Curmudgeon cringes at the thought of how he might be depicted in same.

Second, The Curmudgeon is old. Not Guinness Book of World Records old; not even Medicare and Social Security old. But old enough that two The Curmudgeon’s five children can be legally served in any gin mill in the United States. By comparison with the typical denizen of the Blogosphere, The Curmudgeon is positively ancient.

The Curmudgeon refers to himself as a “dinosaur” – not that he’s extinct, but that he lives a cheerfully old-fashioned life: titular head of an intact nuclear family; a churchgoing resident of the bungalow belt. Still, he must not be a complete Luddite, else he would not have plunged into this medium.

So, stay with us, won’t you, as The Curmudgeon starts his second hundred posts in Second Effort?