The gadget blog rivalry

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Wired Magazine wrote up a story about the gadget blog rivalry between Engadget and Gizmodo recently, and it’s an interesting read that pits the two blogs against each other in what seems to be a kind of awkward and bitter dance between two rivals. Imagine that dance scene in Beat It, or the You’ve Been Served moves in the movie of the same name. It’s laughable, but there it is, plain as day.

I hadn’t wanted to comment on this story (especially since I do work for CNET, who is sort of a competitor in the same space), but felt a weird sort of shifty emotion as I read it, because all the feelings felt so familiar. See, I’ve worked for Gizmodo before, in an editorial capacity. Not with the same people mentioned in the article (I worked under Bigg and Robischon, not Lam), but I was there all the same. So I know the competitive feeling well, and I remember that odd queasy feeling as I saw the competition build, and I remember the regret and resentment of not “being first.” I believe it when writers on both teams say the rivalry isn’t that bad — after all, they’re pretty different in voice and tone, and gadget blog rivalries are pretty low on the totem pole as far as Important Things in Life go — but that rivalry is real, and it can be bloody. I’ve certainly felt personally slighted by the people on the other side, and I felt obligated to be “with us or against us.” Note that no one told me to feel this way (Robischon even encouraged me to go talk to Boutin, who was writing for Engadget at the time), but I felt that way anyway, due to the nature of the rivalry.

And I have to tell you, I didn’t like it. I’m not a fan of frat boy esque rivalries, and I’m not a Type A personality who’s constantly out to take out the competition. Not only that, I also felt completely torn. The guys over at Engadget didn’t seem like a bad bunch, yet I did feel a little sulky that they didn’t link to us. I also appreciate the non-PC fanboy toilet humor that the Gizmodo guys have (I like dirty jokes and have the sensibility of a 12 year old boy), but I also don’t always have the writing chops for it (If anything, my writing “style” is probably more strait-laced and Engadget-y). I am loyal to the Gizmodo folks (Well, the old skool Gizmodo guys anyway), but I also want the Engadget people to respect me. It’s a push and pull situation that leaves me feeling like the kid in the cafeteria who’s trying to decide which table to sit with.

Again, this is the kind of stuff most people don’t care about. In real life, Lam and I are cordial colleagues, and I even attended his 30th birthday party (Disclaimer: Brian used to be one of my editors at Wired Magazine, and I am guilty of wanting to be his friend). I also get along okay with Ryan Block the few times I’ve met him, and yes, I am also guilty of wanting to be his friend. Which, to me, is like wanting to have friendly reputation with both the Aldor and the Scryers at the same time (Total inside WoW joke, OMG, I apologize). Awkward!

The situation isn’t so clearly black and white. It’s possible to have rivalries this intense while maintaining respect and decorum. But outbreaks of outright hostility and false accusations have occurred on both sides, and to me, this resembles warfare, not friendly fire. And really, all I want is peace.

I’m not even sure why I’m saying all this in such a public space. I’ve just had this internal conflict for a long time, and I wanted to get it out in the open. (Plus I don’t REALLY know the guys on both sides well enough, so I can kind of just say this stuff without fearing the implications). I guess all I can say is: Please don’t hate each other. Link to each other. Praise each other. Do your own thing if you have to, but respect the other party too. Frat boy rivalries aren’t funny when the people involved are in their 30s.

And that’s all I have to say before I pass out from sleep deprivation.

Top Chef in Middle America

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top chefThis season’s Top Chef features two unusual contestants — a lesbian couple, both of whom are great chefs in their own right. My first sort of knee-jerk reaction is that Bravo has purposefully chosen these two to add drama and in-fighting to the show. After all, what’s a reality show without drama? But as the show progressed, I honestly forgot about the two being a couple, and viewed them as separate contestants. It seemed clear that they were trying hard to not be too chummy during competition, and the judges seemed indifferent to them. This was only the first episode, so who knows what the other contestants will think of them as time goes on. Maybe I’m putting too much trust in television, but I believe both these women qualified to be on the show regardless of their sexual orientation or relationship status. I might be proven wrong though.

What amused me, however, are some of the comments on Tom Colicchio’s blog on BravoTV.com. Some of them seemed to really feel offended by the lesbian couple being on the show. These were also the same people who seemed to have been insulted by censored F-bombs dropped by the streetwise New York contestant. The comments seemed to be like “I loved ALL the other seasons! But this ONE episode with a guy cussing and a lesbian couple just CROSSED THE LINE!” All I can say is: Get off yer high horse. It’s a TV show on Bravo. Have you seen Project Runway and Real Housewives of Orange County? This isn’t exactly high-brow entertainment here. If a little cussing and a gay couple is all it takes to stop you from watching TV, I would suggest unsubscribing from cable altogether.

But let’s play Devil’s advocate here for a second. Maybe they only objected to the cussing guy and the lesbian relationship because they want the show to be “family-friendly.” Maybe they objected to these things because they thought it was Bravo’s way of pushing up ratings, and shifting focus away from the cooking/food. Okay, fine. Let’s tackle those two arguments.

1) The cussing is bleeped. It’s bleeped enough that adults would know what the words are, but kids might not necessarily know, unless they ALREADY know what the words are. And in that case, that’s not the show’s fault. Also, surprise! Kids know cuss words! They’re not dumb! I knew the F-word when I was 10 years old, and I seemed to have turned out okay. 2) Here’s a newsflash: Two people of any gender loving each other is totally family-friendly! Okay, so this is a bit of a shaky situation thing depending on your beliefs and your preconceived notions of gay people. But seriously, how harmful is it to your child’s psyche that two women can be in a committed relationship with each other? The Spitzer story on primetime news isn’t exactly painting heterosexual relationships in a positive light either, ya know.

As for the second argument, well, I’ll admit to having those thoughts too. But I’m willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt and watch it a few more episodes before I call Reality-TV Foul. Have you watched Season 2 of Top Chef? I mean THAT was a hellhole of a drama situation. And I don’t think it detracted from the food and cooking at all.

That said, however, I think the REAL “controversy” from Top Chef might lie in Atlanta’s Richard Blaise being a contestant. Richard Blaise isn’t an ordinary sous chef; he is a total professional. He was an Iron Chef contestant fer chrissakes. He’s actually had experience running restaurants! Now THAT is worthy of a reality TV showdown.

And like the sucker I am, I’ll be there to watch it all go down.

Everything I learned in life, I learned in World of Warcraft

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This is probably really obscure to most of you, but certain situations have prompted me to write this completely meaningless list. Well, it’s meaningless if you don’t play the game anyway.

  1. Listen to people.
  2. Learn from your mistakes.
  3. Your goals can be achieved through hard work and determination. Unless you have a lot of money, in which case you can just buy what you want through the hard work of others — but you’ll be hated for it.
  4. Teamwork is important.
  5. Never underestimate your enemies.
  6. Be humble.
  7. Don’t be an ass.
  8. Socialize more, especially with people who are different from you.
  9. Do your homework.*
  10. Be punctual.
  11. Take things seriously, but don’t forget to have fun.
  12. Be willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good.
  13. United we stand, divided we fall.
  14. Pets are cool.

Humor in the face of all things

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Three years ago on February 12, 2005, Brandon and I got married, under the witness of select family and friends, who gathered around our small backyard. The pastor was a gay woman, who gave a sermon with “The Gospel According to Peanuts” book in her hands. Our vows had a significant amount of geek humor. The wedding was everything that I liked about our relationship, symbolized: Cozy intimacy, openness to different ideas and beliefs, and a healthy dose of humor.

Three years later, and we’ve survived. A sudden move to a family home in order to salvage it. A maddeningly bureaucratic process to get me legalized. Both of us trading off periods of unemployment. Numerous emotional moments of us helping to save a pet we loved from dying. And through it all, we were each other’s rock, each other’s source of laughter, and each other’s unquestioning love.

Happy anniversary, Brandon Michael Hanvey. Here’s to many more years of love and joy.