For whatever reason, over the last week, a certain blogger’s reputation has reared its head time and time again.  This blogger undeniably has both a very large readership and quite possibly a larger Despise Club.  I happen to belong to the latter, and in doing so I swore that I would refer to this blogger only as She Who Shall Not Be Named.  Did you figure out who I’m talking about yet?  In the interest of fairness, and to serve as an illustration as to my point, I will name and link her here just this once.  Yes, I am talking about the blogger who calls herself Dooce.

For April Fool’s Day, while goofs and pranks abounded from the rest of the internet, She Who Shall Not Be Named decided to write a post about a photo project.  This project was done by German photographer Walter Shels and his partner Beate Lakotta.  Their photo project specifically documented the subject in a portrait accompanied by an interview, and then a second portrait taken when the subject had in fact died.  This is the project if you wish to look for yourself, however just be forewarned that if you are sensitive or hyper-sensitive it may not be wise to do so considering the text stories that accompany them.  Sadly, what has been overlooked is the actual article in relationship to the photographs.

Now one of the reasons that She Who Shall Not Be Named has such a large Despise Club is that the comments section to all the posts are closed.  There is no conversation or opportunity to provide feedback, nor is there the interactivity that blogs and the “Web 2.0” movement pride itself on.  It is a pulpit for the pontifications of a woman who prides herself on her ability to be a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM) through the ad revenue from the traffic on her “website”.  She offers nothing other than her opinions to her flock of Kool-Aid drinkers who are forbidden to put forth their own thoughts on the subject at hand.

Kool-Aid drinkers.  That’s really what this post is all about after all.  The term has most often been associated with cult leader Jim Jones and the Jonestown Mass Suicide.  In 1978, under Jim Jones‘ explicit instruction, over 900 of his followers died in an act of mass suicide.  The method of death by the majority of people was by drinking a grape flavored beverage laced with potassium cyanide.  The grape flavored beverage was extremely similar to Kool-Aid, although it is reported that it was not the actual Kool-Aid product that was used.  The term has for the most part stuck in the phrase “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.”

However there is also a tech relation to the sugar flavored water.  “Drink the Kool-Aid” has become synonymous with following a corporate mantra with a cultlike fervor.  Most notably would be Apple‘s own subculture, who have “Drunk the Kool-Aid” of all things Apple, believe that they can do no wrong, and believe that Steve Jobs will rescue them from a blue existence.

Not surprisingly, someone sent She Who Shall Not Be Named an e-mail berating her for not allowing comments after posting a link that caused the reader an adverse emotional reaction.  What then happened was pretty ironic considering the date… She Who Shall Not Be Named opened up the comments section.  Sure enough, her Kool-Aid drinkers were there to agree with her evaluation of the project and simultaneously be disgusted at the e-mail from the reader who was not partaking in the beverage of choice.  Over 1,000 comments were left there.  A few were very well thought out evaluations of the project, some voiced objection and were rebutted quickly and swiftly, but the majority was the mindless following of the cult mentality.

While its a relatively regular thing to seemingly attract readers who will agree with you, its the seeming mindlessness that irks me so much.  Which is why I want to make something very clear right here and now.  I don’t serve Kool-Aid.  I serve Crystal Light.  It’s clear, low in calories, and just as sweet tasting to the tongue.

I keep comments open on 99.9% of the posts here because I want to hear your opinion.  If you genuinely agree with me, then great.  You can buy me dinner.  If you don’t, then say so.  I can buy you a drink while I explain to you why I’m right and your wrong. 

I’ve always felt that there is something being hidden by those who won’t allow the voices of their readers to be heard.  I’ve always been for transparency, and I encourage you to be the same way both in the comments here as well as on your own blogs if you have them.  That is why I serve Crystal Light, so feel free to drink up!

As for the original portrait project, well I have to be honest… its pretty fake when your doing portraitures of death by moving and positioning the body as if it were alive.  Death is not something that can be propped and positioned… but then again… that’s really a topic for another post.

So do you want some Crystal Light?