Way to go, Billy, OR How To Ruin A Perfectly-Good "No Comment November"

K. Flay--"Less Than Zero" (mp3)

Thanks, Billy. Thanks a lot.

I thought we had agreed that after "ROcktober" we were shooting for a "No Comment November," that we would try our best to write pieces and to post music that would receive no response whatsover, that we would numb our readers with mindless dithering about stupid topics like books that we like and global politics and the inability to get a good night's sleep.

Just had to do it, didn't you?

I thought we had agreed that people, known or anonymous, and their little remarks, insights, and observations about the issues that we raised were no longer important to us. That like true writers, we would put our stuff out there into the void, letting it stand on its own merits without us begging for scraps of recognition from readers.

But, you, you just couldn't hold back. You had to go and comment on my post about sleeping and now the perfect record of zero comments is shot for the month.

What's the point now? Why even write anything for the rest of November? Even if we can get back on our games and write stuff that no one, INCLUDING OURSELVES, will respond to, even if we can create a string of perfect "0 comments" for the next 26 days, we still have to look back at your blemish, your digital zit on the otherwise clear face of our "No Comment November."

You were feeling sorry for me, weren't you? You didn't think that I could go for two straight posts without a comment. Well, save your pity for another blog. Me, I'm all about the "0 comments."

I mean, what does your comment even say? That you've had your own issues with lack of sleep? That the reasons for those have changed as the stages of your life have changed? That you liked my post? Big. Fucking. Deal. Do you really believe that your personal connections to my piece are important? That anyone cares what you thought about it? That risking the chance that either of those were so was worth destroying an otherwise-perfect streak of "0 comments"?

If we're to continue this thing, I'd only ask that you think a little bit more before you actually ruin something so completely. I mean, I could delete your comment, but if someone clicked on the comments to check, they'd still discover that there was a comment and that the "blog administrator" intervened. Your digital footprint cannot be erased. It's permanent, pal. And it's stomped through the fresh white snow of an otherwise un-walked-upon field.

C'mon, Billy. Don't be that guy. Okay? I'm despondent.