1. Today is Lovecraft. One of the commenters hates me. Well, shoot, now it feels like home.
2. Joe Carr, professional dumbass.
3. Dear Paul. My name is Betsy Phillips. I assume you either know that or gathered it from reading the post of mine that so gravely upset you. Sorry about that. I happen to like Christmas sweaters, even though I won’t fuck you if you’re wearing one. It’s just a personal rule. I’m also not going to fuck the new convention center, even though I find it kind of charming, if hideous. I assume you feel differently or my opinion wouldn’t bother you so much. Eh, to each their own.
4. Today we can watch Mike Byrd play “I’m not the only one who thinks you’re terrible. Everyone is talking about how much you suck.” like this is junior high. Burns, doesn’t it, Mike? Knowing I suck and that you still can’t stop paying attention to me? Knowing how much I suck and knowing that the new readers you’re going to get today will come from me?
Tiny Cat Pants 
Some of the commenters on the Lovecraft thing are agreeing with you in strangely combative tones.
Betsy: The Music City Center is kind of funny looking, don’t you think?
Paul: Fuck you, it’s big.
Aunt B.,
Keep up the good work. With enemies like Mike Byrd, who needs friends.
After all, Mr. Mikey loves to talk about the importance of the general welfare and the collective against the rights of the individual until the collective’s needs run counter to the individual rights of his neighborhood. Then he tends to sound like a small time state’s righter.
Thanks so much for that Lovecraft piece! I’ve forwarded it to a colleague of mine who teaches creative writing to gender and sexuality studies students. I thought she’d appreciate your choosing to take such a “writerly” approach to an author whose politics you find reprehensible.
Elias, it is weird, but I’ve noticed that people on the internet have a strong revulsion to opinions that are along the lines of “I like this thing, even though I see these major problems with it, that also kind of ruin my ability to like it as much as I want.” I mean, I think people should be familiar with Lovecraft, if they like sci-fi and fantasy. It will enrich their experience.
And I certainly now understand why people like him, which I didn’t get when I thought it was all just weird tentacled shit.
I guess maybe people think that, if you don’t have an uncomplicated appreciation for something, you’re not appreciating it right? I don’t know.
Also, our new convention center isn’t ugly and externalities like ‘looking like a Christmas sweater’ have no bearing on whether large groups will book conventions in Nashville. Besides, that is an incredibly amusing image.
It’s probably due to my ignorance of the Nashville press/blog/etc scene, but I don’t quite get this everything-Betsy-writes-is-at-the-bidding-of-her-SouthComm-corporate-masters thing. SouthComm owns the Nashville Scene, I presume?
Mark, your insight into “I’m for the community until it doesn’t do what I want” just about took my breath away.
Elias, yes. SouthComm owns the Nashville Scene. I think some folks think that we all meet up once a week and whoever owns SouthComm gives us our marching orders, but I’ve never been invited to a meeting like that, if they even happen. Sometimes, Jim, the editor of the Scene, sends me emails about things he thinks I might find cool or annoying, but he doesn’t dictate what I write about except to say “I can’t understand what you’re trying to say in that paragraph. Can you make it more clear?”
It’s funny that my post on Andrea Zelinski started this all, because I honestly wouldn’t know her from Adam. I don’t think I’ve ever met her in person. The whole process is a lot looser than most people–including me before I was involved–realize, I think.
“we all meet up once a week and whoever owns SouthComm gives us our marching orders”
Clearly some confusion between SouthComm and Fox……