This just in from
The Cassandra Pages
and very well put, I must say:

"The disappearance of authenticity
and its replacement by shallow,
Disney-land theme-park imitations,
no matter how expensive or detailed,
makes me exhausted and sad.
These concepts of “place” are dependent
on the judgments of others: the visitor.
They are something we can pursue
if we read the right magazines, or
acquire if we have enough money.
They’ve become part of a marketed reality.
Maybe that’s why I like my virtual place,
my blog. Here I can be fat or skinny,
pimply or beautiful, neat or slovenly,
and you won’t know or care.
You will know, I think, if I’m telling
the truth, if I’m speaking with integrity,
if I’m revealing my heart. There is no
authority that determines what my
blog should look like, no design
avant-garde to set artificial standards
of chic-ness. You come here, or don’t,
based on the content and based on
how coming here makes you feel.
It’s free, and pretty real: no games.
I like that."