Tea at Trianon: Where have all the bloggers gone?

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, January 5, 2009

Where have all the bloggers gone?

Where have all the bloggers gone?
Gone to Twitter every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

(Via A Conservative Blog for Peace)

Incidentally, I found my way onto Twitter about a month ago and am having a lot of fun with it. Share

8 comments:

Lucy said...: So many people are talking about twitter these days that I've checked it out (a few times)...the place looks very busy and a bit overwhelming. Messages seem short and casual, but so numerous! Maybe I'm missing something?; January 5, 2009 at 10:28:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I still don't quite get it except that it is another way to connect with like-minded people.; January 5, 2009 at 10:50:00 AM EST
Lucy said...: I'm tempted to take, yet another look...maybe I'm just afraid of having one more thing to keep up with (possibly turning into another excuse to keep me from my own work and research;-); January 5, 2009 at 11:02:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, exactly, sometimes it's good not to start too many things at once!; January 5, 2009 at 11:04:00 AM EST
Lucy said...: But I can never get enough of interesting new blog sites. So, thanks for this post and the link to the Conservative Blog for Peace. I'm checking it out right now (as I leave, once again, my research pending)...; January 5, 2009 at 11:12:00 AM EST
Alan Phipps said...: They're moving to twitter and social networking sites such as Facebook. All contribute to the growing notion of "microblogging", which I have been trying to resist for the past year.

The concept seems to be that instead of sitting down to compose something thought out and rational, I am instead supposed to blog in impulsive little spurts about every thing I am doing or thinking each and every day of my waking life.

In my opinion, microblogging is when we need to seriously disconnect, unplug, and go read a book, fly a kite, or spend time with one's family.; January 5, 2009 at 1:24:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, Alan, blogging and microblogging can be serious sinkholes for a person's time unless they are very disciplined about it. Facebook and Twitter can be useful for professional networking, as my husband has found. And I have been able to connect with other writers on Facebook, people who otherwise I don't know if I would have met. Like any tool, the value or harm of online networking depends on how and why it is used.; January 5, 2009 at 3:02:00 PM EST
Unknown said...: Thank you for your sweeet comment. I would love for you to link to my post! Thank you!
Have a beautiful day!
xoxo
Judith~; January 5, 2009 at 6:06:00 PM EST