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Cross-Posting Goodness

The Public Radio Talent Quest guys have given me and my nine other semi-finalists blogs, and they’re asking us to discuss our experience going through the contest. I’ll be cross-posting so that I can continue to distribute love to my skeptical homies here while fulfilling my new role as contestant-under-the-spotlight over there. The direct link to my blog there: http://www.publicradioquest.com/blog/2760. Here’s today’s frozen nugget of deliciousness:

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Newtonian physics, and how I spent my yesterday.

For a very long time, yesterday was a wonderful day.

It was the first day that I could tell everyone about making it to Round Two, so there was much rejoicing all day at work. I was feeling pretty good, wearing my favorite new striped shirt, a skirt, and shiny orange open-toed wedges (those are sandals, boys). Work went well — I’m a copywriter, by the by — and to celebrate my success in the Talent Quest, at 6pm I joined two friends at the famed and justly popular Scooper Bowl.

For those not in the know, Boston is the ice creamiest city in the country, and yes, that is a superlative I just made up. In other (realer) words: we love our ice cream. The Scooper Bowl is an annual all-you-can-eat ice cream bonanza, with ten companies dishing out scoops of nearly every flavor you could want. It’s only $6, and the best part? The proceeds benefit The Jimmy Fund!

The day was sunny and breezy, just perfect for eating gallons upon gallons of ice cream (highlights: Ben and Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns and Edy’s Take the Cake [cake batter flavor with rainbow jimmies (yes, I like parenthetical asides)]). I came home happy and chock full of sugar.

I logged on to the Talent Quest site to see how things were going. I saw that I have my own me-centered forum — hooray, my favorite topic! Then I saw that the second post in that forum was an insulting rant from a crazy troll (meant in every sense of the word).

Despite the fact that I’ve heard the rumors spread by this troll in the past, one never really becomes accustomed to seemingly random and unending vitriol. All the excitement of the day came to a screeching halt and I was struck with the notion that maybe Newton came close to it with his third law: for every awesomeness there is an equal and opposite assclownery.

This morning I performed my daily web ritual, which includes checking Myspace, approving new friends, and reading messages that I’ll never have time to answer. I got one message from Will, who wrote a long, well-thought out letter about how the skeptical and science-oriented podcast and blogs I produce inspired him and affected his life for the better.

With that in mind, I’ve decided Newton’s first law is more appropriate to adapt: awesomeness in motion tends to remain in motion until you let an external assclownery affect it.

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

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3 Comments

  1. That is certainly my experience: it takes a certain investment in time / energy to get a particular process rolling, but once you pass a certain point, it's like going downhill.

  2. Hopefully downhill in the sense of ease, and not in popularity. :P

    Good luck in the Talent Quest. I will surely be listening.

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