So Apparently You All Hate Me...

So there it is. I gave you all the freedom to have your say about my blog, and in a late swing of surprise voters, it would seem that a large majority of people feel that if I had any sense of decency left I would crawl under a rock and lie dormant for the next century.

I am impressed by the large number of voting, though of course it is quite possible also that the votes stemmed from solely one dissatisfied, malicious, and tech-savvy reader. In fact, it reminds me a bit of the Green Guide letters section - which is always a good laugh, simply to read the letters that people send in. I myself have been guilty of having letters published, before I realised that it is simply a place where people wanting to have their name in print send letters (and then I started this blog, an immeasurably more worthwhile pursuit, of course).

For those of you not acquainted with the sorts of incisive issues chewed over in the Green Guide Letters section, here's a taster:

"Why do radio presenters (including ABC News Radio) say "let's have a listen to" instead of the more concise and correct "Let's listen to"? We Australians usually abbreviate everything (sometimes cretinously), so adding the superfluous "have a" is puzzling and jarring."

This is typical of the kind of intellctual debate which frequents the half page spread which is the letters section. If you ever wanted to be published in this section, here are some of the traits frequently employed by the time wealthy regulars:

• If you didn't enjoy a program, don't every make the mistake of simply saying "I found it a little bit dull." Everything must be overstated. The program was "the absolute limit", "jarring", "an assault to my ears and mind", "a carnage to common decencies",
• Here are some adjectives and phrases which you will no doubt wish to employ: "I was appalled", "shocked", "Shame on (insert name of station)", "Peter Everett (or other host) is friendly and offensive", and of course the ever versatile "How often have I heard people voice their irritation at loud music drowing out dialogue in various film or TV productions?"
• And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, sarcasm and rhetorical questions. Don't assume that there is a limit to the type of stupid questions you can put forward: "Does Hilary Harper have to end sentences on such a high note?", "Does Channel 10 think its audiences enjoy the offensively grating music which announces the advertisement break during films?" and "Why do you think I send these letters into the Green Guide, because I haven't got anything else to do and putting down things makes me feel bigger?"

And so on.

But I digress. I don't really have a response plan for the poll result, and unfortunately ever since my metallic emotion chip was repaired I have found myself unable to be suitably distraught over polls indicating that I am loathed. So I guess I'll just keep going, and if you really hate me, you can leave a comment telling me, or write into the Green Guide to vent your pent-up frustration at the world.