I suppose you’re correct about giving anonymously, it’s just so much more satisfying when you get noticed and can make yourself feel superior to everyone else who didn’t give.

I think I’ve seen the History Channel show you referred to. Although I don’t enjoy gambling, casinos and con games fascinate me.

I was wearing socks during the writing of this blog, and a full complement of other apparel.

John, Shoo,

I agree the IT basically took a cheap shot, but I think that when writing that feature they take off their fair-journalist hats and get a little dishy. Which is fine, but they do run the risk of alienating readers.

Neil Steinberg of the Sun Times, one of my favorite newspaper columnists, wrote a column this week about a weekend trip his family recently made to the ALPLM. He was generally complimentary to the museum, but ripped Springfield pretty bad. It wasn’t a fair attack in that he didn’t offer an opposing view, but that’s not the purpose of his column. He calls him like he sees them and, in this case, probably pissed off a lot of people from Springfield.

Allen,

Is it illegal to cheat at trivia, or just frowned upon?

Thanks for commenting,
Dan

Re: Counting Cards, haven’t seen 21 but have read the story of one of the members of the original MIT Blackjack Team and just saw a show on the History Channel about it. According to the “experts” on that show counting cards isn’t “illegal” & only generally unprofitable to casinos on a small scale financially. On a larger scale casinos fear what card-counters do to their reputation. As if looking like you allow “regular touristy gamblers” to win big makes you look unfair!
The History Channel show, “Breaking Vegas” wasn’t as flashy as I suppose the movie 21 is, but its free.

Re: A Diss…, IT was way off! I pick up a copy every weekend, but don’t find myself ever reading a lot of it. (Call me crazy, or nosey, but I find the legal section with its requests to start businesses or change names the most interesting.) Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with an article on local blogging & was hoping to read some good things about your blogging community. Not the case. You guys got dissed unfairly.

Re: Crisis averted…, Dan, I gotta ask, Did you write this segment of your blog barefoot or in your new socks? The IT is going to want to know…

All lame jokes aside, I thought the IT piece was tacky. It’s one thing for a “respected” publication to start belittling a group of local amateur bloggers, but to get it so wrong in the process. All that stuff about “unrequited dreams” and “day-to-day anxiety” and “underpants.” The whole piece was built on the outdated stereotypes of bloggers.

Even as a blogger with no editorial staff, I wouldn’t consider writing a negative critique of Illinois Times using newspaper stereotypes as the sole basis for my critique. I would need something hard and real to report upon. I guess I just expect more out of professional journalists.

On the other side of things, bad news is always good news because Google Analytics is telling me that traffic was up for spfldbloggers and gotshoo last week. Not as much as my glorious TV 20 interview, but up. Now only if they would click the advertisements and make me rich.