Whew! What a night!

Imagine my surprise to learn the hazards to my health blogging may carry. I was thinking more in the lines of what happened to that poor woman sitting on the crapper for two years.

I wonder if the NY Times is pushing this story in an attempt to discourage folks from blogging. They and other MSM outlets have been stung repeatedly by bloggers who have caught them embellishing the truth, shall we say. (Or maybe “misspeaking” would be a more appropriate phrase to use here.) As a result, their market share, not to mention the price of their shares on the market, have eroded considerably. Whatever their purpose, I can truthfully say that no one in attendance last evening seemed to be suffering any ill effects from the grind of posting news, commentary and entertainment daily.

I will confess that part of the reason for traveling into Princeton, New Jersey yesterday to attend the Spring Blogfest ’08 was to get out of this chair in which I’m sitting. It’s becoming rather molded to the shape of my buttocks and back. That was one reason. Another was curiosity. Having read the blogs of many of those attending and commented thereon, I wanted to be able to put faces to the names and the thoughts so freely shared. Also, it’s farookin’(as Jimbo would say) April and I wanted to get the heck out of the house. Cabin fever can lead one to do some strange things.

On the way to Princeton, I drove down a stretch of US Route 206 that I haven’t been on in about six years. The development and congestion have continued to increase despite all the rumors of folks fleeing the Garden State. Several new developments in the Hillsborough/Somerville area on what were farms back then now sprout McMansions. Although there’s not a tree to be seen along the new and as yet unpaved roads, I’m sure they will give the streets names like Oak Terrace, Pine Court or some such. (BTW, If the freaking housing market is so bad, where’s the money—and the buyers—for these projects coming from?)

Princeton itself was jam packed with people and automobiles on Saturday. There must have been two or three different athletic events taking place on the University grounds. (I know of one track meet and overheard someone talking about soccer.) Add the folks just strolling along Nassau Street in the warm, bright sunshine of early spring and you’ve got the picture. Not a parking space to be found on any of the streets or outdoor municipal lots. I had to venture into the parking garage. Luckily, this is America! The clearance was for 7’ 6” which was more than enough for my Tundra and the Hummer parked nearby.
I strolled the street for a bit and was struck by the comparison of what might be found in other college towns. Up in Amherst, Massachusetts, and in Moscow, Idaho every telephone pole carried multi colored posters for imrov groups, bands, clubs, etc. In Princeton, these were confined, more or less, to one or two multisided kiosks. In those other towns (as well as in Pullman, WA—home to Washington State, North Hampton, MA—home of Smith College, or Ithaca, NY—home to both Ithaca College and Cornell University) one is likely to meet a more—well, diverse group of people. In Princeton, hair color is confined to the normal shades of the human race and visible body piercings are pretty much confined to the ears. The other college towns’ denizens display a bit more imagination. Hair color alone is more likely to represent many more hues of the spectrum. And let us not discuss where the piercings might go on the face. In short, while the Princeton sidewalks were crowded, the people walking along them were rather—well—bland for a college town. Plus there were real families from toddlers in strollers to grandparents walking together.

Not wanting to get too much sun on my bald pate, I ducked into the Triumph Brewing Company early (about 4 PM) to sample some of their fine micro-brews before the rest of the throng showed up. I picked out a bar stool and ordered a pint of Irish Dry Stout from the chalk board. When the barmaid served it up, it was a nice dark brown with a fantastically rich and creamy head at the top. Well, before 6 PM arrived, I had had three more pints and felt pretty bullet proof.

Suffice to say that I had a very good time meeting and speaking with numerous blogger from up and down the eastern seaboard. They came in from Georgia, Massachusetts, Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania to talk and eat and drink—not necessarily in order of importance from what I could gather.

Fausta has posted a round-up of those who attended last evening’s festivities in Princeton. She’s got quite a few pictures up too.

A big thanks to Fausta and Jimbo of Parkway Rest Stop for organizing this event.