Thursday, March 10, 2005
(3:57 PM) | Adam Kotsko:
Surplus Enjoyment
Scott McLemee's latest column is my new favorite -- barely edging out the one in which he profiles me. On a completely unrelated note, I see that he uses journalistic standards that dictate that I be called by my last name only, after an initial full-name reference (the New York Times has a slight variation that would require me to be called "Mr. Kotsko," just as they refer to a certain former dictator as "Mr. Hussein"). That is not particularly noteworthy, except for the fact that virtually everyone in the blogosphere, except for certain well-established co-bloggers and commenters here at The Weblog, also refers to me as "Kotsko." That defies the longstanding blogging convention of calling everyone by their first name, even the most prestigious bloggers (Josh, Kevin, Glenn, etc.), as a token gesture toward the myth that we are all equals in the blogosphere, that a lonely blogger from Buttfuck, Idaho, who gets two hits a day is a peer to Instapundit.I doubt that the explanation for this lies in my seeming untouchability, some aura I give off that will never allow people to address me as a peer. Rather, I think it comes from the fact that I just have a fucking cool last name. It's fun to say; it's fun to write out. At first you think it's going to be hard to pronounce, but actually it rolls off the tongue -- Cots [as in the plural of a thing you sleep on] Co. [as in the abbreviation for company]. Sure, some may call me CostCo -- but the thing is, whatever meager humor is to be found in that mispronunciation, the pleasure derived from pronouncing my name correctly is always going to be greater.
Kotsko! Listen to it: Kotsko! Brilliant. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me this wonderful name.
