Pajamas Media Confusion, Frank Zappa and Billy Pilgrim

I never thought the concept of a 'pajamas media' sounded very smart. There's some concern and some confusion among conservative bloggers over the announcement last week that the Pajamas Media site is shutting down it's shared advertising program which was supposed to pay out to blogging participants. While the ads are ending, the site apparently is not, but now instead the founders of the media blog say they will focus all efforts now on their Pajamas TV project.

The same project which hired Joe Wurzelbacher, aka Joe The Plumber, to be a 'war reporter' in Gaza for 10 days. That program really tanked. (Though R. Neal pointed out today that you can order an '"authentic Mexican black velvet painting of Joe as part of the Modern American Media Martyrs series" ... yeah, nice work there. Maybe we could get some black velvet paintings of a screen capture of Pajamas Media??)

Anyway, some questions raised about the rise and fall and the paid blogging via the Pajama People is offered here.

Maybe one reason I had serious doubts about all the Pajama Games originates with the lyrics of Frank Zappa's "Po-jama People":

"Some people's hot
Some people's cold
Some people's not very
Swift to behold
Some people do it
Some see right through it
Some wear pyjamas
If only they knew it

The pyjama people are boring me to pieces
Feel like I am wasting my time
They all got flannel up 'n down 'em
A little trap-door back aroun' 'em
An' some cozy little footies on their mind"

Blogging (and bloggers such as my humble self) in general often remind me of the character of Billy Pilgrim in Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse Five". As Billy got older, he would often lock himself into his basement wearing his pajamas and furiously but earnestly type letters to the editor at his local newspaper, all explaining and expounding on how he had become "unstuck in time" when he was abducted by aliens and taken to their home planet of Tralfamadore. It drove his children crazy that he just would not shut up about it, that he kept pushing the idea out into the community.

So it goes.