{"id":635,"date":"2014-04-04T11:48:19","date_gmt":"2014-04-04T18:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/askangus\/?p=635"},"modified":"2014-04-07T07:09:31","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T14:09:31","slug":"ask-angus-29-trending-topic-magic-8-balls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/askangus\/2014\/04\/ask-angus-29-trending-topic-magic-8-balls\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask Angus 29: Trending Topic: Magic 8 Balls!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>Creamy: You don\u2019t comment much about the recent topics in the Pagan Blogosphere. I\u2019d be interested in your opinion of the current headlines.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear Creamy: Do I have to? I hate politics. I don\u2019t normally jump into the trendy topics of interest, because they are topical. That is, passing. And I\u2019m much more interested in the eternal. I\u2019m not so much into the news<\/strong> as I am into olds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Writing about the \u2018news\u2019 would be good for attracting eyeballs (As my editor points out, every, oh, day or so\u2026.<\/em>), but I don\u2019t have much patience for reading other people\u2019s analysis, let alone constructing my own.<\/p>\n

I am interested in what\u2019s happening of course, just not so much in what other people think about it. If you will forgive me, allow me to use a sports metaphor: I like watching sports. I do not like watching programs that are about sports, (that is, that just talk about the game.)<\/p>\n

I have my opinions, of course. But my interest has always been much more about the real people doing real things. I happily choose to spend my public service down at the bottom of the ladder, helping people up to the first rungs, rather than up at the top of the totem pole, arguing endlessly with other leading lights over who is more awesome \/ has the most extreme positions \/ spotted a trend first \/ has the largest genitalia, etc.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why this is an advice column, and not a bully pulpit. You got a question about how to pronounce the name of a ritual tool, whether to come out as a pagan, or what the hell is going on with the Magic 8-Balls, then I am your user-friendly port-of-entry.<\/p>\n

The Pagan Blogosphere can all too often seem like 200 people shrieking on the behalf of 2 million about things that really only 205 people really care about.<\/p>\n

But since you asked so nice, Creamy, let\u2019s look around the Hothouse right now and see what\u2019s blooming.<\/p>\n