Thursday, August 28, 2008

Your Intrepid Reporter -- Take 2

Last night I wrote about me being an intrepid reporter, and on-the-fly did some etymological speculation, deductions, (guesses, really) about the word "intrepid." I posted it to little fanfare, leading me to believe that no one was commenting on it because my explanation was beyond reproach.

I went to bed, then, and I was lying there thinking about it, mentally parsing the word, until I couldn't stand it anymore. So I got up and went to look at the dictionary, hoping to be validated, but I wasn't. That doesn't mean I looked up the other aspects of the definition, because I didn't. I just stuck to this one word, which, as it turns out, has something to do with the word "trepidation," which we all know has to do with fear. So "in" makes it a kind of opposite of that. Anyway, I could have looked up "trepidation" for its origins, but I didn't. I'm just not going to go out on a limb like I did last night and make any guesses about it.

Whether the word "intrepid" means (originally) what I said it means, or something like what the dictionary says, these are matters for scholars to debate. I'm just going to be it, not know it. I re-read over some of my reports, and really I think I was quite "intrepid." Look, I gave Joe Biden's mother five stars and I only gave Barack Obama four. That's fearless. I criticized Mrs. Biden's son for a few stumbles, meaning I have a spine of brass. I'm not that concerned about trolls or nasty emails. If you're going to be a reporter, with original reporting such as I provide, you have to play it right down the middle. To me that means Mrs. Biden did a great job, plain and simple. Others might see it differently, but that's their business; to each his own would be a good way to think about it.

I haven't turned on the TV yet today. But after while, after I do several other errands in my busy life, I plan on watching it. And I won't be taking a lot of notes. I'll just be relying on my memory. Then after it's over -- or maybe between events -- I'll come and post some comments about what happened. These may be very affirming comments; I hope they are. They may be mildly critical -- it's very likely there'll be something I don't like; I'm easy to satisfy, but not overly easy, pretty easy, but don't take it for granted. They may be quite critical -- such as if there is something very egregious, something that strikes me wrong, that raises a sense of ire. They may be super, all-consuming critical; I hope not, because I'm saving most of that for the Republican convention.

You'll have to check back, if you're really that curious. Because we're doing this in real time; even I don't know at this point what I will say!

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