Thanks to the efforts of several friends of “this blog sits at,” and especially Gabriel Rossman, Steve Portigal and Liz Ditz, it appears we have a work-around for the problem with the “comment” field. (Movable Type has been no help on this issue so far).
How to beat the screen:
Write your comment in Word, and replace every “a” with “#” or the letter of your choice. (Steve Portigal suggests “@” as the more straight forward replacement and he’s right of course.)
This is cumbersome and annoying. But the upside, if this is an upside, is that comments will now conform more closely to punk and Prince spelling conventions.
“This blog sits,” always at the cutting edge of contemporary culture! Secret decoder rings are in the mail to all those who helped.
Here’s how this post looks in code:
Th#nks to the efforts of sever#l friends of “this blog sits #t,” #nd especi#lly G#briel Rossm#n, Steve Portig#l #nd Liz Ditz, it #ppe#rs we h#ve # work-#round for the problem with the “comment” field. (Mov#ble Type h#s been no help on this issue so f#r).
Caveat Lector:
A blog dedicated to tracking the innovations of contemporary life is obliged to observe that a secret code is one index of the emergence of new species of social life. More simply, this is how cults get started. It won’t be long before someone insists all “this blog sits at” readers dress in or#nge. (As usual, Prince anticipates us.)
Does it work? Th#nks to the efforts of sever#l friends of “this blog sits #t,” #nd especi#lly G#briel Rossm#n, Steve Portig#l #nd Liz Ditz, it #ppe#rs we h#ve # work-#round for the problem with the “comment” field. (Mov#ble Type h#s been no help on this issue so f#r).
This is gre*t for me. I c*n’t use the l*st letter in the *lph*bet anyway, bec*use the softw*re I use to re*d blogs (Feedre*der) doesn’t *llow th*t letter – I’m used to work*rounds. I run * m*iling list where we le*rned to write unsub *s uns*b (note in this c*se the * is * “u” not * “*”) so the *dmin filter on the list didn’t tr*p it *nd c*use * bounce.
My n*me is Prince *nd I *m funky.
Steve, I think we’ve done it. Th#nks #g#in for your help! Gr#nt
p.s., time to ren#me: “this blog sits #t the intersection of #nthropology and economics”?
would $ for “s” be more legible th#n # for “a”? Or would this #altern#tive, be 1) needlessly revising our new st#nd#rd, or 2) give f#lse implic#tions of # sort of #nti-consumption “#dbusters” m#g#zine ment#lity?
Gabriel: @ny thing to @void being confused with @buster$ who m@n@ge to t@ke the st@nd@rd @lphbet and m@ke it me@n nothing @t @ll. Gr@nt
I think I just found the problem. Some mischief maker prompted me to add the words “as” and “lucid” to me Movable Type Blacklist. And here is lots of other text, just to make sure that the test is relatively thorough. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. The lazy brown dog jumps over the great big cow. Let’s see if this works.
a final test
Not much here for export! And for its role as a plodding supplier of raw resources to the international economy, Canada has paid a price. Increasingly, it looks like Cuba _after_ the revolution. (Those who doubt me should check out the health care system.) People who give up their resources, but hold on to their emotions, have no real place in the Cuba economy. (As a first step toward this economy, Canadians might consider demoting Margaret Atwood, that paragon of WASP self control, from the Parthenon and worshipping someone else. My personal choice for cultural hero would be someone like Jim Carrey or Mike Myers, but of course we scorn them as commercial.)
So what if the Cuba economy is a new source of the wealth of nations? This will be bad news for those countries who prize self control and polished constructions of the social self, and good news for those who are more inclined to let it rip. You can be polished or you can be Polish, and the choice will cost you.
The Cuba economy is not a marketplace for the shy, the retiring, the emotionally convoluted or the creatively unforthcoming. You cant export what you do not have. (Im quite certain thats in Samuelson somewhere.) It is bad news for the likes of Disney, a company that has specialized in fun without danger and spectacle lite. Poor Disney. The rise of Cirque must have struck them like a Christensenian discontinuity. Suddenly, taste shifts and you lose Las Vegas and huge venues in New York, Paris and Tokyo. Worse, suddenly you look old, tired and trite. We may rest assured that a Disney person looked in on Cirque 10 years ago and thought, No threat here. This is a minority taste. Welcome to the Cuba economy.
Gosh, I was thinking of copywriting the letter “a”…suddenly I had a peek of the world I almost created!
Chris, we are grateful for your forebearance. The alphabet is a gift economy, not a commodity one. Great blog, by the way. Grant