Our latest no-comments week has come and gone, and I must say it was relaxing, refreshing, and revealing. Not having to read everyone's thoughts, or respond to off-base arguments, was a bit of a relief. But it ain't the same without the comments, and so I'm happy to say that they're back.
Later today, when I've got a little more attention to pay to this, I'll be un-banning, at least temporarily, everyone who has previously earned the honor of being banished from this site. With any luck, this will not unleash a torrent of spam and trolling, but if it does, we'll have to reverse course.
Now might be a good time for us to assume the editorial "we" and say a few words about what kinds of comments are and are not welcome on this blog. The idea of the comments feature is to allow readers to participate in a conversation with us, and with each other. Comments that are overly argumentative, caustic, or insulting do not fit within this description. Off-topic comments, particularly those that make the same point that the commenter has previously made on this site, are not welcome.
Comments that relate to my workplace will be removed. Comments that make ad hominem remarks about other commenters, or particularly about me, are also unwelcome. And this is not the place to post a general review or critique of this site or my views or outlook, either. You'll have to go to one of the ever-growing list of hater sites to do that.
When in doubt, you can always relay your reaction to anything on this site to us by e-mail. We may post your message on the blog, but absent extraordinary circumstances, we would not attribute such a posting to you.
As ever, we reserve the right to remove comments and ban commenters, without notice, for any reason or for no reason. Your leaving a comment here grants us a nonexclusive license to use and re-use your comment in any medium or forum, and for any purpose. We are not responsible for the content of any comment left by anyone other than us.
O.k., enough of that. A sincere welcome back, commenters.
UPDATE, 1:50 p.m.: The bans have been lifted. Please join me with fingers crossed, hoping that this does not trigger a cyber-trashing of this site.
Comments (13)
Jack
I was just starting to get the shakes.
I for one welcome back the comments and their overlord!
Just kidding Jack, I welcome back the comments.
Jack,
Thanks for the website.
I'm going to offer a bit of (possibly unwelcome) advice: please don't post someone's "recollection" if you're not certain it's correct. It doesn't look good for you, and they're anonymous and so can't take the heat. You've been relaying other folks' words recently (perhaps just because you had turned off comments feature), but I'm not sure that's the best tactic for you.
I'd agree with Jud. It's one thing to pass along a rumor that's attributed to someone (since they take the heat if they're wrong) - but I wouldn't pass along an unsourced and anonymous rumor... like the one about an imminent resignation that never happened a few weeks back.
p.s. ...and in the interest of accentuating the positive: Jack, I continue to think that your blog is one of the best around. I don't always agree with you, but that's because your point of view isn't predictably partisan or single-minded (like, say, mine.) Keep up the good work.
Regarding people who have been banned, I thought that it was more of a one or two week timeout, rather than a permanent ban. Or was that just my experience the two times I was banned here?
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (13)
Jack
I was just starting to get the shakes.
I for one welcome back the comments and their overlord!
Just kidding Jack, I welcome back the comments.
Posted by Lc Scott | June 10, 2007 1:29 AM
I feel like it's the first day of school, and this is a new pencil box. I hope to keep that feeling for a long time.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 10, 2007 1:32 AM
Thanks Jack,
I didn't know I could hold my breath for a week!
Posted by Dave Lister | June 10, 2007 10:01 AM
Jack,
Thanks for the website.
I'm going to offer a bit of (possibly unwelcome) advice: please don't post someone's "recollection" if you're not certain it's correct. It doesn't look good for you, and they're anonymous and so can't take the heat. You've been relaying other folks' words recently (perhaps just because you had turned off comments feature), but I'm not sure that's the best tactic for you.
Posted by Jud | June 10, 2007 11:12 AM
I'd agree with Jud. It's one thing to pass along a rumor that's attributed to someone (since they take the heat if they're wrong) - but I wouldn't pass along an unsourced and anonymous rumor... like the one about an imminent resignation that never happened a few weeks back.
Posted by Kari Chisholm | June 10, 2007 12:46 PM
Damn it's been so long i forgot what I wanted to say. LOL
Glad everything is back to normal.
Posted by KISS | June 10, 2007 12:47 PM
p.s. ...and in the interest of accentuating the positive: Jack, I continue to think that your blog is one of the best around. I don't always agree with you, but that's because your point of view isn't predictably partisan or single-minded (like, say, mine.) Keep up the good work.
Posted by Kari Chisholm | June 10, 2007 12:47 PM
Guys, please, no reviews (good or bad). Use e-mail.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 10, 2007 1:25 PM
As for the rumor -- I still suspect there's truth to it.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 10, 2007 1:49 PM
Interesting point from my Yahoo horoscope today:
You mustn't think that people don't like you just because they argue with you.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 10, 2007 7:59 PM
Thanks for turning the comments back on.
Regarding people who have been banned, I thought that it was more of a one or two week timeout, rather than a permanent ban. Or was that just my experience the two times I was banned here?
Harry
Posted by Harry | June 10, 2007 8:09 PM
Some folks' behavior has warranted a complete and permanent ban, which we're trying to relegate to a measure of last resort.
Posted by Jack Bog | June 10, 2007 8:40 PM
somewhow I managed to survive without reading my own comments
it's okay
i read a book instead
Posted by reese | June 11, 2007 7:41 AM