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The Nicest Thing Anyone's Ever Done For Me*

So, a little while ago there was this thread over at Shakesville, where standard mockery of a wingnut’s absurd hyperbole quickly devolved into a barrage of our own absurd hyperbole.  Note that “quickly” here means “by the second comment.”

In the course of the thread, Jen said,

No fair. Scott’s got his hyperbole shield on. It’s like he wants to destroy us all with snappy comebacks while remaining immune himself. SCOTT MADIN IS THE EBOLA VIRUS OF THE INTERNET.

To which I responded, as anyone would, “I want that on a plaque.”

Reader, I did not have to wait long!

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Quick Hit: Kai Chang

If you don’t read Kai Chang’s Zuky, well, let me tell you, you’re missing out.  He’s an absolutely brilliant writer, and whether talking about gardening or the toxic legacy of colonialism, what he has to say is always worth your time.  I first found Kai through Nezua, but to my great detriment I didn’t start following his blog again until I saw him in the running for the 2008 Weblog Awards, and thought “oh hey! ‘Zuky’ sounds familiar!”  And then the first post of his I saw contributed to my quotes sidebar one of the most brilliant sentences I think I’ve ever read.  His latest again displays the same kind of (I’ll have to ask you to pardon the cliché — what else but cliché can an inferior writer fall back on when describing a far superior?) gemlike clarity.  I don’t kid myself that my tiny readership will make much difference to his numbers, but even if I’m not doing Kai much of a favor by trying to point y’all his way, if you do start following his blog, I will certainly have done you one.