Bloggers step into character for fictional fun
Next time the Supreme Court attempts to divine what the founding fathers would think about some thorny constitutional issue, the justices can skip those dusty articles and amendments and query FounderBlogs.com instead.
Of course, the purported online home of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin, John Adams and George Washington might actually be the fanciful creation of historian Richard Brookhiser, out to have a bit of fun while promoting his book “What Would the Founders Do?”
But that’s the risk unsuspecting readers take in an online world replete with blogs supposedly written by long-dead personages and fictional characters.
Postings at such sites are often surprisingly timely. Here’s what the nation’s fourth president, James Madison, had to say about the low poll numbers of the 43rd: “In my own administration, the New England states contemplated disunion, so unhappy were they with the conduct of the War of 1812. Yet the war being won, their disaffection ceased.” For a guy without a body, Madison still knows the body politic.
Other historic bloggers seem more intent on fun and profit. Fans of “The Canterbury Tales” who enjoy reading Middle English shouldst make a beeline for Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog. The fun includes “Ask Chaucere” segments in which readers query the author for advice on topics ranging from teen crushes to changing the taps on a plastic bathtub. And the profit? “Thow kanst buye a Chaucer Blog t-shirte if it pleseth thee.”
Instead of bringing historic figures back to the future, some bloggers transport readers into the past. Consider 1947project.com, for instance. That blog started by spending a noirish year immersed in 1947 Los Angeles. Now it’s tackling 1907 L.A. One recent entry indicated Angelenos were still developing their famously progressive view of animal rights a century ago: “Henry Flynn, a butcher, pays a fine of $250 ($5130.89 USD 2005) in lieu of 250 days in jail for beating a horse to death. The jury recommended leniency because the horse balked.”
Moving from history to ephemeral pop culture, many TV shows now boast blogs ostensibly written by their fictional stars. A recent USA Today story on the trend highlighted blogs credited to William Shatner’s eccentric Denny Crane on ABC’s “Boston Legal” as well as Dr. Nigel Townsend on NBC’s “Crossing Jordan” and Nurse Debbie on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” And it turns out many stars of NBC’s “The Office” actually blog at their fake workstations while filming episodes. They get paid enough to multitask.
Official show sites may give fans a fix of favorite characters while they wait for the fall season to arrive, but unauthorized TV character blogs can be a hoot as well. As a diehard devotee of Fox’s “24,” for instance, I was delighted to discover that some rogue agent has launched Jack Bauer’s Blog. News from a recent post: “Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.”
Visiting Jack’s site—and other blogs based on legendary or fictional folk—is a great way to kill time.
Drilling down
In what may be a first, a political prisoner is blogging from jail. Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel-Fatah recently updated his award-winning Manal and Alaa’s Bit Bucket from jail by smuggling out a note for posting. He was picked up by Egyptian security agents May 7 at a rally for reform, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “I expect to spend no less than a month here,” reads his note at manalaa.net. “I’m sure that’s enough time to see all the ugly sides of prison, to be genuinely depressed.” But maybe the online ruckus raised by sites such as freealaa.blogspot.com will keep him safe.