Five Star Friday's 150th Edition Is Brought to You By Bertrand Russell

This Five Star Friday roundup is brought to you by Chuck E. Cheese, Detroit, a suicide, self-preservation, preserving memory, pretending, the difference between seduction and sexual assault, your reputation, the loss of a loved one, quality, the realities of ageing, rumors, and Bertrand Russell:

No one gossips about other people's secret virtues.

     — Bertrand Russell

Every week, the submissions to Five Star Friday are weeded through with an eye to spelling, grammar, and general interestingness. This week saw a greater number of entries than usual, and so a greater number of entries than usual were not able to be included due to this editorial direction. I bring this up only to be clear about the fact that Five Star Friday is a place to find a higher caliber of weblog content, and it is just not possible that all content submitted will meet that standard.

If my keen eyes spot too many misplaced commas, an inability to use spellcheck, or gross overuse of a thesaurus, an entry simply won't make the list. Sometimes interestingness can win me over despite a few grammatical missteps, but that interestingness had better be gripping, because a good weblog post requires more than a good idea or strong emotion. A good weblog entry is born through craft, artistry, and clarity.

What does all of this mean? This means that when I say we laud better content here, we laud better content.

It also means that I have to make some tough editorial decisions on occasion, but I'm okay with that. I am passionate about good weblog content, and I want it to mean something when it is called good.

And with that, on to the reading. Happy Friday!

"Better" from Merlin Mann:

What makes you feel less bored soon makes you into an addict. What makes you feel less vulnerable can easily turn you into a dick. And the things that are meant to make you feel more connected today often turn out to be insubstantial time sinks — empty, programmatic encouragements to groom and refine your personality while sitting alone at a screen.

"Johannes" from That Girl Runs

"Lesson Learned at Chuck E. Cheese" from Achieving Clarity

"The Moment Is" from Hula Seventy:

...where do they all go? all the seemingly forgettable everyday moments? the thought of losing them all terrified the ten year-old me. no matter how unremarkable they were, I wanted them. I wanted them all.

"Just Cover" from Kate Levy Photography

"Your Most Valuable Asset: Your Reputation" from Allison Types

"The Pretending Layer" from Russell Davies:

...that's what we need to add to so many things, to give them that extra neccesary magic. A pretending layer. So it's not just a useful or beautiful or functional object — it's got some little nod to who we're pretending to be when we're using it.

"Beware the Blogger Rumor Mill" by Alli at BlogWorld

"Who You Callin' Ugly?" from Mocha Momma

"The Media's Groping Problem" from Kate Harding:

So, whether Strauss-Kahn is "the great seducer," for instance, has very little to do with whether he might also be "the great rapist," because rape is not actually seduction gone pear-shaped. It's a whole different thing! Similarly, any consensual affairs Schwarzenegger had over the years have very little to do with his "groping problem," which would probably be better described as "a problem with giving a tiny rat's ass about consent."

"Coroner Kick" from The Gravel Farm

"Notes to Self: Using the Good Stuff" from EarnestGirl: WestCoast Chronicles at Yummy Mummy Club

"Last Post" from Crib Chronicles:

his death notice says he died at home; he never made it to the hospital. it is a narrative choice, the one i think he would have wanted. it was him who taught me how to tell a story.

Please come back and share good writing with us over the coming week to be featured on the next Five Star Friday. If you have read a really good piece on someone else's weblog, submit it by Thursday at midnight CST to have it featured on Five Star Friday.

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Comments

[The Jules]

Many thanks for the mention. Some great blogs here as well.

[ChrisB]

Honored and humbled to be in such great company! Thank you

[andrea]

thanks so much for the feature! honored!