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In totally unrelated news, the Opinionated Cyclist - that guy who posts rambling videos of... well, the Opinionated Cyclist - has taken umbrage with a comment I made ages ago at BikeSnob's place. The comment was pretty innocently intended, I thought, just my usual facetious bunkum, posted about a guy who posts videos about random cycling topics, along with some fairly bizzare things like, "I need a d1ldo for my mom."
Stop me if this is getting too weird for you, okay?
I had forgotten about the comment but the Opinionated Cyclist - we call him The OC at fan club meetings - apparently wanted to dredge it up and make a big issue about it. I wish he hadn't disabled embedding, but oh well. Feel free to click through and check it out. It's up to the normal production and scripting standards.
I now feel really bad about this, as The OC is using my comment as a brickbat to hurl repeatedly at BikeSnob. I told the Snob he can zap any of my comments whenever he wants, talk bad about me, take my mom out for a seafood dinner and not call her the next day, whatever he wants to do. It's his site, his relationship with The OC, who is is entertaining, um, number one fan, I'm cool with that and I don't want to mess up the Snob's good thing. Seriously - he's a fantastic writer, has a good blog, and a lot of interesting characters comment there. Good stuff. But I digress.
The comment at issue came in the wake of Snob's discovery of the OC and posting an embedded video marvelling at the weirdness. I had recently discovered the OC's video series on purchasing sex toys for his mom, and reached a conclusion that the OC was kind of a little bit deviant. Okay, a lot deviant. So I cracked a joke that maybe crossed the line. Where the line is, exactly, isn't entirely clear to a first amendment absolutist like me. I'm a guy who jokes that his own hobby, after crashing his mountain bike once weekly, is killing hobos... you guys do realize that is a joke, right?
The upshot is that I didn't realize at the time that the Opinionated Cyclist would take such offense to the joke. One might think a guy whose schtick is based on substantial part on posting pretty graphic monologues about getting adult toys for his mom would kind of be in on a joke like that and get it immediately. One would be wrong.
I've since concluded the chap is probably a little fragile, and I shouldn't do things that might hurt his feelings or get him stirred up. He's really getting up in BikeSnob's grill a bit and I don't want to be pouring gas on that fire. Yeah, I had about fifty funny, nasty little bits responding to that video drafted up at the drop of a hat. Being a combination of funny, sarcastic, and downright mean is not hard for me. But then I thought about it, and decided I really don't need the hits a good blog flame war brings. A lot of bloggers have gotten big by being jerks. I'm not interested in that. I blog so my friends can get some chuckles and also to express my fanboy gushing over our local racing scene, not to be That Guy who makes himself big by picking on a guy who is a little fragile, but also trying to contribute in his own very special way to the same project I believe in. So it's a bit of compassion, rather than antagonism.
So I officially apologize, OC, you got that? I won't make any more jokes about you and sex workers and station wagons and chloroform, okay? But you gotta promise me you'll ease up on the talk about buying sex toys for your mom. That stuff is creepy. I only watch your videos to get your whacked out take on the cycling world, not to cringe, 'kay? 'Cuz there's enough stuff in the big bad world to make us all cringe as it is.
To show there's no hard feelings, I hereby grant you permission to joke about me killing hobos for upper body strength training in between 'cross races, and I won't get upset. I promise.
Besides, it's not like you'll be able to prove anything.
5 comments:
I don't think you crossed the line. It's actually a beige Volvo. With fuzzy dice.
BTW, is that a bit of hobo between your teeth?
i never heard of oc.
I watched a minute of his video.
wow. Is this was humanity has come to?
I wouldn't worry stress it.
respect
fm
Mike - yeah, it's hobo. They're awful stringy and lean these days, what with the economy and all.
Marc, I'm not sweating it. Until the day my dog wakes up and there's a horse's head in his LL Bean Doggy Bed.
jim,
I've always been interested in your commentaries. Please don't change a thing. The OC is just trying to get the reaction he so craves.
-B
OH MY GOD! First of all is he a crack user, check out the teeth. Second, we could play a drinking game based on how many times he says BikeSnob. A shot for every time. Third, the cat in the background mewing smells of serial killer in the making. Fourth, you really are not sweating this Douche Bag. With that video clip you will get more hits, and it shouldn't be negative. This guy is a FREAK wanna be rambling idiot. If that makes me an A-hole, please add me to the list.
BTW, you are not an a-hole.
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