Miles for Rants

One of the things that sort of became my trademark is ranting. It honestly wasn’t planned, it  just happened. Organic (or dysfunctional) blogging evolvement, depending on who you ask. The problem is, ranting is dangerous, especially in the miles and points industry. It tends to polarize and offend. And you never know if you’ve gone too far. I’m almost scared to look at the number of subscribers after my colorful posts go live. It seems there are always a few defectors. What, you’ve never dealt with crazy people before?

Yesterday I was reading an article on Instagram sensation Socality Barbie and the author who decided to quit it all. She gained a huge following by posting photos of Barbie and Ken shot in gorgeous locales and profiling their #authentic #curated  lifestyle (the use of hashtags is for hipster effect). The account is a sharp satire that exposes the shallowness of social media and great lengths many go to  to document every second  of their #perfect life.  I instantly felt a rant brewing, so started typing like a maniac. #Inspired

But the deeper I dug, the more I realized that publishing it would be similar to kicking a hornet’s nest. It would surely offend quite a  few individuals. Sometimes, instead of getting on a high horse, it’s better to take a hike (#clever). Tweet that! Even Julia (my blogging alter ego) told me not to go there, and she is usually game for anything. It’s actually her who came up with rants about lice and Eminem

I do aim for style that can only be described as “sassy yet classy.” Do I always pull it off? Heck no! I mean, no, I do not. We all make mistakes from time to time. But if you think I’m politically incorrect, you are dead wrong. Recently, I’ve decided to redeem some of my parents’ dormant United miles for magazine subscriptions. Boy, I can already tell it was money (well, miles) well spent. I wish I could deduct them on my tax return as a business expense because the content is full of rant “seeds.”

So, I was reading an article in “Entertainment weekly” on stand-up comics, and let me tell you, these people hold nothing sacred. Check out some Q and A (I edited it down and added my commentary):

Interview with Jeff Ross:

Q: Fans know you as a roast-master, but you recently performed for inmates in jail. What was it like?

A:…I got to meet creepy murderers! They were in a front row. That was my opening joke: “Where are my murderers at?”

It’s dark, no?

Interview with Larry Wilmore:

Q: What’s you favorite website?

A: Gizmodo, because I love tech stuff. I love how angry people get over tech stuff. One of the funniest fights is the Android-versus-Apple people. They act like it’s Israelis versus Palestinians. I can’t get enough of reading these comments. I enjoy people fighting about silly things.”

Well, clearly, Larry has never been exposed to miles and points blogs! Gizmodo has nothing on The Hobby.

Interview with Kathy Griffin:

Q: What’s the landscape like for female comics today?

A: It’s still a struggle. I did a show in Iraq in the 2000s where the guy who introduced me said: “I tell you what. We have a lady coming up here. And she’s a lady who tells jokes!”

I sort of relate. While I do think the main ingredient for blog’s success is hard work (no excuses from me), when I got  into this ruthless business,  it was like: “I tell you what. We have a stay-at-home mom starting her own blog. And she is writing about miles and points (not her cats). And she can do math!”

End rant.