Freshly Pressed: Editors’ Picks for November, Part II

On Tuesday’s Freshly Pressed roundup, we highlighted posts published last month that resonated with us — and the rest of the WordPress.com community. Below, we’ve shared more picks that generated lively discussions, made us think, and even made us smile.

Dear Lady in the SUV

That’s how you made us feel: Like we were that kid, and finally someone wanted to be on our team. It was the first time someone looked close enough to ignore that we were gay, and instead, saw the love we shared between us. Better yet, I don’t think you “ignored” that we were gay. If you smiled, I think it actually made you happy.

The author at Coffee Bean Glean talks about holding hands with her partner in public, and the hurtful glares they’ve received as a gay couple. Here, in this open letter, she thanks a lady in an SUV who smiled at her and her girlfriend one day, as they walked across a parking lot. Candid and endearing, the letter made us smile. It’s refreshing to read a positive personal story that resonates with some of our readers.

“Hurricane Porn”?: The Aesthetics of Authenticity and Nature’s Wrath

That is, we increasingly live in an internet environment that is akin to walking down Main Street USA in Disneyland; Disneyland announces itself as a lie in which we willingly participate from the very outset, and most of us expect if not actually desire clever if not beautiful distortions and misrepresentations in such popular culture.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, we saw many fake photographs shared across the internet. In this post at Archaeology and Material Culture, Paul discusses authenticity in journalism in the age of Instagram and memes, and the internet’s power to shape our collective imagination and idea of reality. Sophisticated and thought-provoking, Paul’s take makes you think about ideas you may not have considered before.

We read other thoughtful post-Sandy commentaries as well. In “In the Eye of the Storm: What Hurricane Sandy Taught Me about Social Media and Technology,” Tracy describes how the experience taught her more about the role of technology in her daily life, disconnection in the digital age, and the importance of neighbors — our immediate, physical social network.

Goodbye, Twinkie the Kid

And what of the children? The innumerable generations of American children who will never know the foam-like, room-temperature mouthful of a Twinkie, who will never get the chance to debate the finer points of Twinkie-eating — end-to-end like a hot dog or upside down and bottom-first, like some cruel Twinkie surgery, savoring every layer of the total cremectomy.

Many WordPressers weighed in on the Hostess Twinkie news, and we were particularly entertained by the sharp humor in John’s homage to this all-American spongecake. Still, amid the lightheartedness, he makes us think: What does it mean when a society mourns a packaged snack — when crowds rush to grab the last ones off the shelves, or flock to eBay to snag what they can? At the end, he writes: “O, Twinkie the Kid! Winsome cowboy of my dreams, western harbinger of root canals, you will be sorely missed. A singular America dies with you.” We think you’ll agree: it’s a nice mix of humor and opinion.

Sometimes a Punch In the Face Is All It Takes

No one pushed me to defend myself by pressing charges or anything, which I really needed in this situation. Plus, wasn’t my dad supposed to walk out in overalls, wild eyes, and carrying a shotgun? That’s what happens on Lifetime. But, mine just stood idly by, which made me feel like I’d been punched a dozen more times.

You know those occasional pieces we stumble upon that are so raw and honest and bold? Meghan’s post is one of them. Here, she paints a picture of her father — whom she had wished was more open and loving when she was younger — and then recalls a relationship in her early 20s with an older man that turns violent. After a number of years, she learns the truth about the situation — and realizes her father is indeed the man she had always hoped for.

Art Blogging vs. Conversational Blogging

Art Blogs are like museums. When visiting one, the guest usually strolls about casually, looks around, stops, stares, maybe sits for a minute, contemplates, wanders off, and eventually leaves with a sense of appreciation for whatever was on display.  It’s rare to happen upon a conversation during a visit.

Adam at My Right to Bitch created a lot of chatter with this post, which presents two distinct types of blogs — the art blog and the conversational blog — as well as how to cultivate a fan base. We appreciate the space he creates for a community conversation and like how the piece kicked off a healthy discussion — be sure to read the 500 comments from readers and fellow bloggers who’ve weighed in.

Just can’t get enough? Read the latest Freshly Pressed picks; check out our writing challenges, photo challenges, and other blogging tips and inspiration at The Daily Post; visit our Recommended Blogs; and browse the most popular topics in the Reader.

For editorial guidelines for Freshly Pressed, read: So You Want To Be Freshly Pressed.

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