Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Blog Identity Crisis, and other pressing issues that outweigh world peace.

Musings of a Barefoot Foodie.

Ahh...I was so young, such glorious aspirations I had.

A whole blog about food and restaurants infused with my infectious charm and witty banter. Each post typed with care and Food Network aspirations.

And then, a few things happened...

1. I realized my food photography skills were as grainy and poorly lit as the Paris Hilton sex tape...and far more anticlimactic.

2. Writing out the recipes that sit inside my head is...well...hard. I use pinches of this, and sprinkles of that. How to convert that to a commonly used form of scientific measurement is more strenuous than this lady of leisure cares to exert.

3. Blogging became a fun substitute for the adult interaction I was lacking on a daily basis. I wanted to talk about so much more than just food. I want to talk about the gritty job of being a mom and a wife. I want to talk about politics, and sex, and all the trashy tv I watch. I want to make people laugh. I want to say the wrong thing. I want to put all my shit out there, and there is so much more to my shit than just food.

4. I am starting to loath the term foodie. Do I love food? Fuck yes I do. Do I cook? Every night. Do I watch Alton Brown and Top Chef with no pants on, like it's porn? Absolutely. But, the term foodie has fallen out of favor with me, as trite Clay Aiken's Claymates.

But all that aside, I was cool with my blog name. It has gotten me this far. No harm, no fowl.

And then, I got an email. YAY! An actual reader email! Was it a gush fest about how brilliant I am, or an actual Barefoot Foodie groupie turned stalker?

Um, no.

It was a fellow food blogger wondering why my blog name gave the impression this was a food site, and yet, they found it to be heavy on the musing, and low on the fooding.

Wow. Called out by one of my own.

So now what? I'm still barefoot (calluses, check.), and I still love and explore food like it's going outta style.

Do I change my name? My identity? Can I still lie about my weight like I do on my divers license (fuck yes I am still 135 old lady, back the fuck off)?

A new name sounds like it would be hard to come up with...so here is where I turn to you. Inspire me, give me ideas, advice, what have you. If someone turns my head, I'll come up with a prize. I would love to give you a Prius or a new Ipod...but I'm not Oprah...and going into Best Buy gives me hives. But, I could feature you on my site as the most brilliant person in the world for a whole month, and maybe I'll even send you something...as long as you live in the US.

9 comments:

Politi Gal said...

Uhhh...(confused look on my face)...I love the title of your Blog, and am with you if you'd like to change it, but I think who-ever wrote that email had a bug up their ass.

Heavy on the musings? Really? Isn't that what this blog thing is about...especially if the title of the blog starts with a word like...er.. say...MUSINGS?!

IMHO, your blog title suggests something more than pictures of bare feet or food recipes.

It suggests, to me, a collection of random thoughts -- in your case, the result of some divine confluence of a richly complex life, a super-smart (ass) sense of humor, and the imagination of a multi-faceted human being with one (...eh...maybe two) of those facets having something to do with a love of food (or food luv).

But if you must change it, how about "Helga's Massage Tips and Techniques"? A blog in which someone not named Helga discusses neither massage tips nor massage techniques.

I vote no on a name change (It's like suddenly changing your kid's name to Prancer or something), but I'm with ya' either way. A rose by any other name...

Amy said...

How about, "Fuck you, fucking fucker with too much fucking free time" ??

Not Just Any Jen said...

Hmmm...are you serious? You can't change your name.

Brittany said...

Wow, lots of good suggestions. I love how you both take into account my love for Old Norse baby names and the use of the word fuck.

but alas, I agree with all three of you, I don't want to change my name, and I am happy to find the sentiment is not shared by all, only one sad little man blogger who is jealous I stole the name first.

Plus, the paper work is ridiculous. I wanted to legally change my name to Ima Balltosser a few years back, and it was just a legal nightmre.

Judy@nofearentertaining said...

Don't change your name. It still represents you. You aren't going to let one stupid ass "foodie" fuck up your mojo are you????

Jan said...

Don't change a thing. I love your blog exactly as is, food or no bloody food.

Lezl said...

Dang, I just lost what I had written. Anywell. Don't change it. You make me laugh. You don't wear shoes. You put food on the table to be consumed by your husband and offspring and various pets. Ta Da - your a foodie!

Brittany said...

Judy & Jan...thanks ladies, I am gonna keep it afterall:)

lenl...tada...YOU ROCK! Thanks for the kind words, they made me totally laugh and it's true. Barefoot? Check. Eater? Check. Sounds good to me!

Brittany said...

I second amy and everyone else's words with great zeal (but especially Amy's).

Your blog title suggests "musings", not recipes. Your musings are why I read your blog- they pretty much always have me pissing my pants I'm laughing so hard (walmart post cracks me up just thinking of it)

The cool thing about blogs is that it's yours and you can do/say whatever you want and everyone else can just fuck themselves