BlogRush Tanks: Ain't that a Shame

Back in June, when I got rejected by BlogRush, I was still a newbie, wet behind the ears. I was hurt that I'd been deemed unworthy.Then I started reading other people's stories about how they had been unceremoniously kicked off the rolls in BlogRush's effort to include only "high quality blogs."

Among the upscale sites it kept was the Tampon Blog. Let me pause here to say, "Ewww!" The site's still there if you're hard up for your feminine products and don't mind waiting weeks for free samples.

Today John Reese sends an email out to his users to let them know BlogRush is shutting down. He goes on about how he entertained offers to sell but was never in it for the money. Sounds like he's perfuming a turd, doesn't it? You can read more about this palaver at Mashable or a hundred other places that have loved to hate BlogRush since its inception.

To celebrate, I'm re-posting my piece from June 10, 2008. Without further ado, I give you:

Je suis arrivée!

I have arrived! This is such a proud moment for me. I received this email from BlogRush today, a wonderful company that helps bloggers get more traffic in exchange for putting a large link on one's site.
This message is to inform you that
we have carefully reviewed your blog:
Magick Sandwich
And your blog did not meet the
strict BlogRush quality criteria.

Reason Your Blog Wasn't Approved:
Inappropriate Content Or Advertising: Obscene or Disgusting

Therefore, your blog has not
been approved for use in our network.
Please do not take this decision personally.
We have decided to only approve the highest quality blogs
for our network.
You should remove the BlogRush code from your blog's pages.
If you improve the quality of your blog, and you feel that
it then meets our strict criteria,you can try and resubmit your blog for review after 30 days.
Thank you for your interest in BlogRush.
Best Regards,The BlogRush Team.
Oh my God, this is so exciting- my content is obscene or disgusting! Not to quibble, but obscenity and disgust aren't mutually exclusive, are they?

But this is not a wholesale rejection- oh, no. If I can "improve the quality" of my blog, I can reapply after thirty days. Does this mean I just need to be more tastefully obscene? What does this word mean, anyway?
obscene adjective:
1. designed to incite to indecency or lust; "the dance often becomes flagrantly obscene"-Margaret Mead 2. offensive to the mind; "an abhorrent deed"; "the obscene massacre at Wounded Knee"; "morally repugnant customs"; "repulsive behavior"; "the most repulsive character in recent novels" [syn: abhorrent] 3. suggestive of or tending to moral looseness; "lewd whisperings of a dirty old man"; "an indecent gesture"; "obscene telephone calls"; "salacious limericks" [syn: lewd] WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University

Wow. That sounds like a review of Pink Flamingos.I'm not fit to touch the hem of Mr.Waters' raiment: he is the Jesus of filth. So how can I tell when I'm being obscene? Like Justice Potter Stewart, will I know it when I see it? I certainly can't imagine how to reverse something like disgust.Frankly, I'm a little thrilled to excite such a strong emotion.

Somehow, this is like the maxim that until you are mugged, you are not a real New Yorker. I prostituted myself to BlogRush and they said, "no, thanks, come back when you've washed up." Now I can say I'm a real Blogger. (And I can take off that frigging code!)

*********

Now everyone else will have to take off that code, too. Au revoir, monsieur. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

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