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Dear PoP – Ombudsman Edition
This is the first letter I’ve received that requires a statement from the ombudsman. Sweet. I assure you that the following letter is legit and I am publishing it in its entirety, exactly as I received it.
Subject line: “do you mean your blog to be comedy?”
“i read it to see if you can pick an uglier garden or house of the day then the last. you truly have no taste – sorry if this sounds rude but really you seem to think the worst good renovation or front door is amazing. you once picked a gate on the side of my house and said you thought it was great with something about it leading to some old lady drinking in the back. trust me it is way off from the truth and the most unattractive part of the house.”
Dear Sir or Madam,
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “For art to exist, for any sort of aesthetic activity to exist, a certain physiological precondition is indispensable: intoxication.” As I am frequently drunk, er intoxicated, this quote really resonated with me. But now on to your question. This blog is not meant to be comedy. It is meant to be a window upon my soul. Thus the doors. Common? Sure. Profound? Frequently. For a door can be a window, have you ever thought of that? Indeed.
I don’t recall the gate you reference nor an old lady drinking but I dare say Norman Rockwell himself could not paint a prettier picture. Let us remember the great words of the mighty Bob Dylan – “I define nothing. Not beauty, not patriotism. I take each thing as it is, without prior rules about what it should be.”
Warmly,
PoP
Category: Dear PoPville
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was the ombudsman intoxicated when he penned his response? and why respond?
I think this response lends itseld to an intriguing follow-up question. Who holds the key to the door of the window into PoP’s drunken soul?
The seagull of course.
Ha. Honestly I think the same thing about those doors and gardens about half the time. However, I think this blog is great. It’s great to see different views of the neighbors as well as comments/insights of some of its residents. Plus, if I ever want to put some lion sculptures on my front porch, I’ve got a good reference
Thanks PoP for your opinions, and time you put into running this blog.
beautifully stated PoP… i agree that sometimes your ‘whatever’ of the day is tacky as hell, but i love it. i have to force myself not to be so judgemental, and to really look for the beauty in the idea of a garden/vestibule/door/house, rather than the execution. your blog does our community a huge service, if for no other reason than the fact that it unites us by being able to say ‘hey, i know where that ugly ass garden is! PoP was on my corner!’
maybe you should start a new feature, and call it ‘asshole of the day’….i nominate the person that sent you that email as the first recipient!
I have always looked at this blog as entertainment, nothing more, nothing less. And to that end, it is fabulously successful. It also frequently touches on many of my favorite things… life in the city, drinking, offbeat humor, and pointless banter.
Oh good lord, it’s *your* blog and you can post and write about anything you want to! For the poster who doesn’t like what you’re putting up: get your own blog. We like this one.
Cristobal, agreed, an asshole of the day or week would be tons of fun! PoP could post the rude emails and such he gets and we could all read and be entertained and be merry!
This is the best thing I’ve ever read on here!
I read this blog daily and it has always provided me with a smile and I’ve tried some delicious restaurants based on PoP’s recommendation. Also, as a result of reading the blog, I’ve become much more aware of the little things around the city (doors, fences, etc)…beauty does exist!
The PoP blog is the author’s creation and he has the right to post and opine about what he chooses. I may not agree with it, but I choose to come back since I enjoy his creativity and neighborhood journies (how do you get around so much??). Indeed, it is art. And much the same as some would outlaw if not burn Robert Mapplethorpe works, one mustn’t enjoy the art to still fight for the artist’s right to produce and publish.
If the offended reader finds that a crown molding or yard art that PoP posts is unworthy, he should steer himself elsewhere, or open a blog of his own. Criticizing PoP’s tone, judgement or right to call something “X of the Day” is, in my mind, beyond the reader’s role here.
As far as I’m concerned, I dig doors, gardens, vestibules, sculpture, stained glass, forward-thinking architecture, and, to a small degree, house numbers. As a non-coffee-drinker, I couldn’t possibly care less about where new coffee shops open up. And as a renter, I have no need for renovation tips or commentary on condos. And I still like reading PoP.
I think PoP has made an effort to allow for collaboration and commentary on his site, with comments, forums, interns, and an open inbox. He’s certainly not required by the blogging community to let any of us use his bought-and-paid-for webspace to express ourselves. He even posts a dissenting opinion, publishing it as much as his own even by rebuking it. That’s journalism, it is.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is an ombudsman exactly?
oh nm, I looked it up on dictionary.com and it says the following (for anyone else who is in the dark as I once was and more lazy than I am):
om
I think someone… (ahem…PoP) really just likes the word ombudsman, which you really can’t blame him because it is a pretty “dope sky” word.
Re: the blog itself, anybody that digs vestibules is quite alright by me
This is the post in question – http://www.princeofpetworth.com/?p=1907.
You rock my world, PoP–this was HILARIOUS!
Liking the Nietzsche quote–and sort of guessing the old man never did say such a thing…