Monday, 30 August 2004 - 7:50 PM PDT

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
First time here
My mind you blew.

Rancette,

I was scanning comments at T.B.'s and saw your blog site listed so thought I'd fly over and do some reading. Interestingly, I have been working & playing with poetry a great deal lately, too. It happens sometimes. Rather odd that I take a break from a poem I am working on, visit T.B., and tonight decided to relax and read a few blogs, and then... well, you know the rest. Anyway, best wishes on your efforts. I am going to continue reading now.

If I am not mistaken, silver rhymes with orange.

Monday, 30 August 2004 - 11:32 PM PDT

Rancette,

I do not live in LA. I spent about a month there some years ago but I have never lived there. I live in the middle of nowhere. Is Rance really so much the talk of the town out there? I?m surprized at how much blog you devote to writing about Rance. I read Rance for a while, I even sent a comment that got posted, as did my wife, but we wrote because he was entertaining (for a while). It seems more and more that people are just kissing up to get posted now. I rarely even read it anymore since he never writes anything.

I?m not trying to put you down Rancette, it?s just that I think you?ve got a great blog here and I would love to read more of YOU in it, and less of Rance. He gets enough attention. Either way, I?m really glad I found your blog and plan on reading more in the future. All the best! Take Care,

-Wakefield

Tuesday, 31 August 2004 - 6:05 AM PDT

To tell the truth, I don't really talk about Rance to the "real" people I know all that much. If someone brings it up, I act like "yeah, I know what you're talking about" but I don't act like the crazed fan I am.

Maybe Rance was big news once the story hit Reuters, but that was a few months ago, and people are moving on from one story to the next. But not me. Something about Rance clicked for me. I'm really into it (do I even need to say that??).

I have really gotten past the point of kissing up to Rance. When everyone was lighting those candles for him in his comments section, I wanted to, but then I thought that he didn't need my sympathy. Yeah, when it looked like he was going to hand the blog over, I kissed up. Now, I'm ashamed and let down cause he never wanted to hand the blog over anyway. No more kissing up to Rance from me!

I'd like to stop talking about Rance, sure. But I have a section called Rance & Rancette (which I'm sure you know about), that would be hard to retire. Of course, I'm running out of viable options of who Rance could be, so R&R might be easy to end.

Yes, I agree that Rance gets enough attention. On one hand. On the other, he doesn't post so much. That was the point of R&R. If he doesn't say things, I'll MAKE him say things. And even when he does say things, he doesn't talk to ME. Unless we're talking about my Rance & Rancette deal. Then he talks to me. That's why it's so fun.

I realize this post makes me sound like I've lost my mind. Maybe I should go to a psychiatrist and maybe they'll tell me I'm schizophrenic. And yes, everyone likes to talk about themselves. But as for me, the writer, I'm more of an observer. I observe other people. So it's easy to talk about other people.

And now that I've dumped my Hollywood actor boyfriend (he wasn't really a big deal in terms of star power anyway), I have no one to complain about. I'm chatting with this new guy, but he's a singer (undiscovered).

Anyway, the point is life is exciting. And when it's not, you can always write it the way you want to make it exciting.

Tuesday, 31 August 2004 - 10:28 AM PDT

Wakefield, just a thought: have you ever considered that the real magic of rance and his blog might have less to do with what he says and more to do with the idea behind it, the power he holds? While undoubtedly his blog entries were quite entertaining, do you realize that rance had at times over a hundred comments before he started screening sooooo tightly? Whatever he casually typed off-hand and posted would be read by all those people, laughed over and thought about by all those people, and remembered by all those people throughout the day as they sat in their office cubicles, classrooms, whatever the case may be. tripod is a resouce open to anyone with internet access, as we know all too well. the magic of rance is that he took this boring little site and transformed it, in his own way, into an addicting substance. the communtiy formed is rather amazing. every one of those comments was written by a real live person, with hopes and worries and their own life. the only thing that ties us all together is that we've all taken a couple minutes out of our day to read the same words. what is really so enthralling about rance is the way he brought together and addressed so many random people at once. not just him being "entertaining (for a while)".

xxx,
da tiger gurl

Tuesday, 31 August 2004 - 2:33 PM PDT

I'll have to say I like the idea behind it more than anything. Of a celebrity blogger taking time out of his busy schedule to indulge the public into a few glimpes of his celebrity-world.

Some people think that now it doesn't matter who Rance is or who is behind the website, because his public has grown to love the entity known as Rance.

I don't know. I don't know what to think. He's dangling that carrot in front of everyone and I'm not sure he's ever going to let us take that bite.

But I do have to admit. You have a point in the "community" idea. The group of people I know here at my blog and I probably never would have come together unless it was for Rance and for that I have to be thankful for.

Wednesday, 1 September 2004 - 11:00 PM PDT

So the reason that people flocked to his blog is because of the "power" he holds? Yes, I realize that he had a lot of comments, that's great. Is his the only blog that gets so many comments? The way you described the reactions of his readers would also fit some cartoons I find in the newspaper. What about public radio, or talk radio? Thousands of people hear the same words and comment on those things and those people (each and every one of them) also have their very own lives. Maybe they don't chat with each other on the side or form a "community" but the power that you mention is the same. I think what you said just glorifies the whole thing into something amazing when it's not. The fact is that many people (myself included) discovered Rance because of the rumor that he was a celebrity telling amusing Hollywood tales under a pseudonym and when they found his comments to be "entertaining" (I guess that's a slander now) they laughed, told their friends, and came back for more. Cut and dry. Do you think that if those rumors hadn't put a fire under the site it would have turned into what it is/was? I don't think so.
I don't go back to the site to sense the power, or to commune with other Rance-ophiles, I go to laugh and/or be amused. When he doesn't post, I'm not interested in socializing.
I think being able to make people laugh is a wonderful gift and that laughter is an integral part of our society, so what's so bad about being entertaining for it's own sake?

-Wakefield