To hell with topicality — a writing bleg

Russell Saunders

Russell Saunders is the ridiculously flimsy pseudonym of a pediatrician in New England. He has a husband, three sons, daughter, cat and dog, though not in that order. He enjoys reading, running and cooking. He can be contacted at blindeddoc using his Gmail account. Twitter types can follow him @russellsaunder1.

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68 Responses

  1. Sam says:

    I’m always, always, always happy to see two people have it out about what makes the best breakfast. Food, drink, location, etc. I recognize in advance how impossibly lame this suggestion is, but I think it is a conversation I’d love to have with anyone, and that includes the both of you.Report

  2. Chris says:

    Euclidean geometry. Or donuts.Report

  3. zic says:

    Cats on the internet. What’s up with that? Are there philosophical reasons people so love cats on the internet? Is our ceaseless posting of cat videos evidence of infection with that bug that makes you love cats, perhaps a medical problem? Do we discriminate against dogs (and dog people)? Have you ever shared a cat video or photo? Posted an original cat video or photo?

    What do you think of the notion of an art installation, a 50-foot wall of screens showing cat videos and photos scraped from the internet and posted in real time?Report

  4. Patrick says:

    I’d like to see you two participate in a Brunch or Brunchier off.

    I can write you up a list of candidates and you can liveblog it.Report

  5. Saul Degraw says:

    Which Marx Brother is the best Marx Brother?Report

  6. LeeEsq says:

    Davy, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.Report

  7. LeeEsq says:

    You can also bleg about watching Dinner with Andre with your children.Report

  8. Alan Scott says:

    I would love to read more about those aforementioned collections of small people. Write about your kids!Report

  9. aaron david says:

    You have what, seven kids and two husbands between you? Its obvious!

    The Brady Bunch!Report

  10. Mike Schilling says:

    You two seem to have a wealth of stories about things you’ve done or seen together that you’ll sometime summarize or allude to. Maybe flesh one of them out?Report

  11. Rose Woodhouse says:

    All right, first of all, these comments themselves make an excellent read. Second, the funniest Marx Brother is Zeppo. Duh.Report

  12. Kazzy says:

    You’ve given bits and pieces about the evolution of your relationship but I’d love to hear the full story.

    Also, please answer the following:
    What is a better debate to have – the usefulness of the infield fly rule and the usefulness of the designated hitter – and does the pro side of one outweigh the con of the other (or vice versa)? Please answer using formal scorecard notation.Report

  13. Chris says:

    Ya’ll should write an advice column, in which you field questions from OT readers, and give them conflicting advice.Report

  14. Saul Degraw says:

    You are both stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere.

    The good news is that you have access to every audio book in the world.

    The bad news is that they will all be recorded in the voice of Daffy Duck or Yosemite Sam.

    Who do you pick?Report

  15. Burt Likko says:

    From y’all, I like:

    Movies, media, and othe,r glamorous pop culture
    Science, by which I mean medicine
    New York stories
    Rants about people behaving badlyReport

  16. zic says:

    I’d just like to say that I wouldn’t mind more Stupid Tuesdays. Even on other days.

    Sorta miss that beloved feature, and while I applaud the family expansion plans, I’m jealous they take the time once reserved for Stupid Tuesday Joy.Report

    • Russell Saunders in reply to zic says:

      I regret that the real problem with keeping up with Stupid Tuesday questions has been that I am so often working on an assignment from Daily Beast that it consumes what time in my day I can set aside for writing. I’m often so relieved to have gotten whatever I’m working on filed by the deadline that I just can’t hack any more writing for the rest of the day.

      But I’m happy to blame it all on the kids.Report

      • zic in reply to Russell Saunders says:

        @russell-saunders

        I have a love-hate relationship with writing on deadline. I did it so much, for so long, that it seemed like the only way I could write. It’s taken me a long time to start writing without deadline; this blog has been really good for me because of that. Also, a chance to try my chops at editorial writing instead of reporting.

        And I have to say that I wonder at calls for topics; because there is too much I want to write about, my issue is always the impulse control required to settle on a topic and actually write about it; I have trouble shedding my gadfly wings.

        I should start a blog and simply call it things people ought to write about. I have considered doing a series of posts on being a citizen journalist; how to research topics and present them with some minimum standard of journalistic integrity. If there is such a thing.

        I would very much like to hear about your experiences at the Beast with editing, something that I wish were more present in the blogging world. Good editors make the world a better place.Report

      • The pluses and minuses of writing for other sites, where editors have discretion over what they run and how it’s presented, would be a topic about which I have a lot to say.

        However, it would probably be smart for me to keep those thoughts to myself for the time being. If I find myself frustrated enough to walk away from it, I’ll be sure to explain why here.

        But in the meantime, there’s this from quondam OT contributor and former Daily Beast colleague David Sessions:

        http://www.patrolmag.com/2014/08/25/david-sessions/the-state-of-the-internet-is-awful-and-everybody-knows-it/Report

      • I might, at some point when things are a little less settled, be interested in trying my hand at filling in on Stupid Tuesday Questions, when Russell can’t.Report

      • ScarletNumbers in reply to Russell Saunders says:

        @will-truman

        It would probably be better to wait until things are more settled. 😉Report

  17. Jaybird says:

    Dudes, for what it’s worth, it absolutely and positively tickles me to death to know that y’all are writing for a “real” venue. I am so very pleased that you have an audience somewhat closer to the size of the audience you deserve.

    Sure, I’m saddened by y’all not being here as often… but I love the fact that you’ve gotten to where you’ve gotten. I hope that where you are is not where you end up because y’all deserve an even bigger audience than that one.Report

  18. Kolohe says:

    I was wondering if you were going to do an Emmy post like you have done with the Oscars and the Tonys, but I guess not?Report