You Can Quote Me On That

Is it just me, or does it seem like whenever I say I'm not going to blog for a while I write more than I usually do?

Anyway, I linked to that Pioneer Press story about dads who blog (I refuse to type the phrase "daddy bloggers" because it just rubs me the wrong way for some reason ... oh shit, I just typed it) a little over a week ago in my mammoth "why you should go vegan" post.

I have to say, it felt really good to write that post. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get any comments from non-vegans on there, but oh well. I consider it a lesson in the insignificance of print media (apologies to my brother, who is a reporter for said print media).

The quotes in the story were taken from an interview that I gave the reporter over the phone. Here's the part about my blog with comments and critiques:

AL NOWATZKI

thislittlepiggyhadtofu.blogspot.com

Bio: Nowatzki, 29, is a stay-at-home dad from St. Paul who is living the vegan lifestyle with his wife and their daughter, who is almost 2.

Why he blogs: "I want to show that very normal people can be vegan and raise their daughter vegan," Nowatzki says. "I want to show that it's a healthy lifestyle choice and that we're a happy, normal family, we just don't eat animals and animal secretions."

Oh my. How embarrassing. Did I really say "normal" two sentences in a row?

I'm actually really happy with this section. It's almost exactly what I wanted to say. If I could add anything it would be that we also don't buy leather or any other products made from animals. Actually, I think I did say that in the interview, but I suppose she had to cut it down quite a bit.

Also, I almost included "chickens' menstrual waste" after animal secretions but figured that might turn too many people off. After all, I wanted them to visit my blog.

A middle ground: "It's nice to have a hands-off way to inform people about veganism because when you get into a conversation with someone about it, it can escalate to hostility pretty quickly — food is pretty personal to everyone. Writing about it in a blog is more detached, and people can chose if they want to read it."

Right on. Though that's not to say that we as vegans shouldn't talk to people face-to-face about veganism. But when it comes to friends and family, it's nice to have a way to let them know how I feel about things without it escalating (or descending, as it were) into an argument about whether or not plants feel pain (the answer is no).

Why it might seem like more stay-at-home dads blog: "I really think it's still a new social experiment, to be a stay-at-home dad, ...

I have to say, I don't really remember saying that stay-at-home dadding is a "new social experiment," but who knows. I may have. It doesn't feel like something I'd say. I suppose it's sort of true, but I think it belittles the stay-at-home dad experience. To call it an experiment is to say that the outcome is unknown, that we're gambling with the lives of our children just to see how it will go. That's not how I feel at all.

...and it almost seems like the stay-at-home dad creature needs to justify his existence with a blog," Nowatzki says.

Huh. I'm almost certain I didn't say that. I said, and I quote, because this is something that I have said several times in several places to several people, "The stay-at-home dad is a creature that needs to justify his existence." Period. She may have asked me about why stay-at-home dads have blogs and I gave that quote somewhere in my answer, but I never said the combination of words that were put into quotations and then printed on several thousand newspapers.

Oh well, I know you always run a risk when you're being interviewed. Rarely does the quotation match exactly what was said.

All-in-all it was a well put together piece and I'm happy with it. I didn't come off as an ass, which is what I was afraid of.