This post by David Bogner on The Unexpected Rewards of Blogging really has more to do with the occasional Surprise Visit from a fellow blogger or commenter than it has to do with any material rewards that may accrue from Bloggadocious Activity...but I can personally confirm that both are real and valid.
Over the last two-plus years, I have met a small mob of bloggers, as evidenced by the “Bloggers I’ve Met” section of my sidebar. Some have been at full-blown blogmeets (the annual Blown-Eyed Jawja Blodgers gathering in Helen, Georgia being a notorious example), while others have been on more of a one-to-one basis. But all, without exception, have been enjoyable.
Elder Daughter once asked me whether I thought blogging could build communities. It was a question that had come up in a panel discussion, and by coincidence, the Missus and I were in Helen attending our firstdebauch blogmeet. The evidence was right there in front of us: We were among a group of people that had, all things considered, precious little in the way of common experience, politics, and lifestyles...but who all shared a mutual attraction based on their online writings. Despite my being new to the group, I was treated like a long-lost brother. It was startling, and yet it felt so right.
I’ve met fellow bloggers in Boston, Fort Worth, Houston, and even in far-off Saint John, New Brunswick, where I’ve been treated as family by people who would normally be mere Electronic Acquaintances. I’ve visited other bloggers’ homes; other bloggers have visited ours. Ars Electronica as enabling technology for social interaction? Why not?
And sometimes, strange, exotic foodstuffs will appear in the mail, sent by Semi-Mysterious Blog-Buddies.
But, getting back to David’s post, I have never had a Bloggity Tribute of Girl Scout Cookies show up on my doorstep. And for that, I am grateful.
Ahh, Girl Scout Cookies. Every year, the package contains less; every year, the price is steeper. It’s the Hershey Bar school of inflation: If you can’t raise the price, shrink the quantity. And if you can do both, mazeltov!
We don’t keep a lot of Girl Scout Cookies around. With She Who Must Be Obeyed being diabetic, and me being allergic to cookies (I break out in Fat-Ass), we just do not need the temptation in the house.
But a couple of weeks ago, when we were doing our first round of pre-Passover shopping, my attention was caught - alas - by a pack of Girl Scouts outside the supermarket door. And there were a couple of boxes calling my name.
Counter-intuitive, no? Here we were, preparing to lay in a week’s worth of Unleavened Provisions, and I’m buying frickin’ Girl Scout Cookies. But Passover was still three weeks away, plenty of time to consume the (potentially) problematic goods.
Besides, we’re sympathetic consumers. Back when we lived in Sweat City, our girls were involved in Scouts - in particular, the Mistress of Sarcasm, for whom we actually served as Cookie Parents one year. Imagine one room of your house completely packed, from floor to rafters, with cookies. Mmmmm, yeah. And, in a strange twist of fate, the Mistress today works right next door to the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts. Call it Cookie Karma: I had to get a box or two.
There were a few new (or semi-new) varieties there, and I needs must try at least one. Hell, I ended up with three different kinds. There were the brand-spankin’ new (to me, anyway) Café Cookies, with a whiff of coffee flavor. These turned out to have almost a spekulaas-like texture and flavor (think Biscoff™) and were a big hit. There were All Abouts, a shortbread cookie with a rust-proof undercoating of milk chocolate. And, of course, I hadda get a box of Thin Mints, to be tucked away in the freezer. Nothing beats a frozen Thin Mint cookie.
It seems that there are two bakeries currently licensed to produce official Girl Scout Cookies: Little Brownie Bakers and ABC/Interbake. Each baker can offer up to eight varieties of cookies; but three types are mandatory, sayeth the Girl Scouts: Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos™ and Shortbread/Trefoils.
Unfortunately, dammit, the baker that serves the Atlanta area does not offer Lemonades, those tasty little lemon creme-filled sandwich cookies. But it’s just as well. At 75 calories per cookie, that’s a whole lotta Fat-Ass in a box.
We eschewed the yummy - but dental filling-rippingly gooey - Samoas. Coconut, caramel, chocolate...and a visit to Mr. Tooth-Croaker. No, thank you.
What kind of Girl Scout Cookies do you like?
Over the last two-plus years, I have met a small mob of bloggers, as evidenced by the “Bloggers I’ve Met” section of my sidebar. Some have been at full-blown blogmeets (the annual Blown-Eyed Jawja Blodgers gathering in Helen, Georgia being a notorious example), while others have been on more of a one-to-one basis. But all, without exception, have been enjoyable.
Elder Daughter once asked me whether I thought blogging could build communities. It was a question that had come up in a panel discussion, and by coincidence, the Missus and I were in Helen attending our first
I’ve met fellow bloggers in Boston, Fort Worth, Houston, and even in far-off Saint John, New Brunswick, where I’ve been treated as family by people who would normally be mere Electronic Acquaintances. I’ve visited other bloggers’ homes; other bloggers have visited ours. Ars Electronica as enabling technology for social interaction? Why not?
And sometimes, strange, exotic foodstuffs will appear in the mail, sent by Semi-Mysterious Blog-Buddies.
But, getting back to David’s post, I have never had a Bloggity Tribute of Girl Scout Cookies show up on my doorstep. And for that, I am grateful.
Ahh, Girl Scout Cookies. Every year, the package contains less; every year, the price is steeper. It’s the Hershey Bar school of inflation: If you can’t raise the price, shrink the quantity. And if you can do both, mazeltov!
We don’t keep a lot of Girl Scout Cookies around. With She Who Must Be Obeyed being diabetic, and me being allergic to cookies (I break out in Fat-Ass), we just do not need the temptation in the house.
But a couple of weeks ago, when we were doing our first round of pre-Passover shopping, my attention was caught - alas - by a pack of Girl Scouts outside the supermarket door. And there were a couple of boxes calling my name.
Counter-intuitive, no? Here we were, preparing to lay in a week’s worth of Unleavened Provisions, and I’m buying frickin’ Girl Scout Cookies. But Passover was still three weeks away, plenty of time to consume the (potentially) problematic goods.
Besides, we’re sympathetic consumers. Back when we lived in Sweat City, our girls were involved in Scouts - in particular, the Mistress of Sarcasm, for whom we actually served as Cookie Parents one year. Imagine one room of your house completely packed, from floor to rafters, with cookies. Mmmmm, yeah. And, in a strange twist of fate, the Mistress today works right next door to the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts. Call it Cookie Karma: I had to get a box or two.
There were a few new (or semi-new) varieties there, and I needs must try at least one. Hell, I ended up with three different kinds. There were the brand-spankin’ new (to me, anyway) Café Cookies, with a whiff of coffee flavor. These turned out to have almost a spekulaas-like texture and flavor (think Biscoff™) and were a big hit. There were All Abouts, a shortbread cookie with a rust-proof undercoating of milk chocolate. And, of course, I hadda get a box of Thin Mints, to be tucked away in the freezer. Nothing beats a frozen Thin Mint cookie.
It seems that there are two bakeries currently licensed to produce official Girl Scout Cookies: Little Brownie Bakers and ABC/Interbake. Each baker can offer up to eight varieties of cookies; but three types are mandatory, sayeth the Girl Scouts: Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos™ and Shortbread/Trefoils.
Unfortunately, dammit, the baker that serves the Atlanta area does not offer Lemonades, those tasty little lemon creme-filled sandwich cookies. But it’s just as well. At 75 calories per cookie, that’s a whole lotta Fat-Ass in a box.
We eschewed the yummy - but dental filling-rippingly gooey - Samoas. Coconut, caramel, chocolate...and a visit to Mr. Tooth-Croaker. No, thank you.
What kind of Girl Scout Cookies do you like?
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