June 9, 2006

Interviews With Bloggers, Part 1: Donny B of "Everything in Moderation, Including Moderation"

The Bella Rossa Interview With Donny B of "Everything in Moderation, Including Moderation."



Stories_of_hawaii_jack_london
Donny B recently took time out of his glamorous life to consent to an intimate interview with yours truly. Donny is a Chicago blogger with actual real life writing credits. According to his blog, he is currently reading "Stories of Hawaii" by Jack London, watching "Everyday Italian" on the boob tube, listening to "St. Elsewhere" by Gnarls Barkley, and recently visited the cinema to take in "Art School Confidential." When he reads this interview online, he will likely wonder why the heck he thought this was a good idea.




Bella: How would you describe your blog?



Giada_of_everyday_italianDonny B:
Like a hot bed of Brie with sheets of chutney and fruit pillows. In
other words, pop culture + food and Chicago - useless celebrity gossip
= my blog.



Bella: Why do you blog?



Donny B: Initially as a creative vent, now more so just to have fun.



Bella: What was your original goal or intention when you started, and has that changed with time?



Donny B: My original goal was to use a blog as host to my
writing samples when looking for jobs (many were looking for blogging
experience as well as writing samples).  But now I do it just to post
silly pictures and talk about whatever pop culture nugget crosses my
radar.



Bella: Is your blog a means to an end (finding work,
developing creative ideas, making money, meeting people), or does it
exist for its own sake?



Donny B: I definitely don't make money, except for the cash
people voluntarily send me to STOP blogging, which hasn't convinced me
yet to stop, so I'll need more cash to be persuaded.



Bella: What are some of your favorite, "must-read" blogs
(besides mine, of course)? What keeps you going back again and again?
Have you ever totally lost interest in a blog that you once really
enjoyed, and if so, why? 


Waiter_rant_dot_net
Donny B:
WaiterRant.net,
laurenpoulin.blogspot.com, justbraise.blogspot.com,
thecookbookcritic.com, Bookslut's blog, fourfour.typepad.com,
GapersBlock.com.  Some I read because they're by my friends and I like
them.  Others I read for the content and/or writing.  I've lost
interest in blogs where I realized the content doesn't compensate if
it's really poorly written and vice versa, or if the blogger's quirks
were cute and entertaining at first but then became annoying, redundant
and one-note.



Bella: What's your relationship with your readers? How much
interaction do you encourage? How much do you self-censor, knowing that
your friends and family might be reading?



Donny B: Usually other people react supportively (is that even a word?) and I'm like "Really? Don't you think it's kind of dorky?"



Turkey_drumstick
Bella:
Have you ever heard yourself say something like "If
you really cared about me/were really interested in me, you'd look at
my blog"? Is this a fair thing to throw at, say, your sister, during an
argument over who gets the nicest drumstick at Thanksgiving? 


Donny B:
I
say it's totally fair to play the blog card whenever you can,
especially if it's over the nice drumstick.  I can't really think of a
better reason.



Bella: What is the history of your relationship with
computers and the internet? How long have you been online, and what
kinds of things have you done online (e-mail, chat rooms, message
boards, real-time multi-player games, aimless surfing, etc.)? How has
this changed your life, for the better or worse?



Donny B: My relationship with computers is basically
dysfunctional. I rely on them yet they often let me down. I turn to
them for support - technical, physical, spiritual, medicinal - yet they
often reject me. I've even had abusive relationships with some and
found myself the next day lying to my friends about bruises from
"falling down the stairs."  But I've been to support groups and feel a
lot better.



Bella: How long do you think you will continue to blog? What are the circumstances under which you can imagine yourself quitting?



Dell_laptop
Donny B:
I think about quitting every day, yet it keeps
pulling me back in. Seriously, it takes up a lot of time and I figure
if I'm going to write something, maybe I should do something with it
other than just posting on my blog, but now I sound like a writerly
snob, so scratch that. I love blogging. I would never quit. Ever.



Bella: What's the coolest thing that's come out of your blogging experience?



Donny B: Um, this interview? Well, this and all the positive
feedback I get from both random strangers across the country and from
friends and family. And did I mention the cash people send me? That's
pretty cool, too. Actually, cash would be the coolest part, then this
interview, then the good feedback. Sorry, but money always wins.

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