The Pakistani Spectator

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?
My name is Chris Graham, and my blog is called Crispy Quips.  The name is derived from a nickname of mine.  I’m a Linguist in training at the University of California, Davis, and I’m also currently learning Japanese.  I’ve also got far too many hobbies to mention here, so I won’t waste your time trying.

I write about all sorts of different things on the site; originally, I had planned to have the blog just for personal posts, but soon I found myself blogging about Politics, and Cars, and Technology, etc.  It does grow on one the longer you do it.

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?
Absolutely.  When I first started, I was basically just regurgitating information found on other sources, paraphrasing, and posting.  Now, though, I feel more comfortable writing my opinions and exactly how I feel about any subject, and I think that is really the appeal of blogging in general.  The news gives you just that: news (and sometimes not even really that), but blogs give you real people.  A blog is essentially a one-sided conversation with an average person. It’s amazing that one can get that now without even leaving one’s house.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?
I’ve had a few cases where politics have led to some interesting exchanges.  I’m a proud Leftist, and I share my views rather regularly on Crispy Quips.  There was one event in particular that comes to mind: I had written against the Republican party here in the United States, and someone who was extremely sympathetic to their views decided to comment and tell me so.  I’ll never back down from an argument, and so we went back and forth at each other for the next two weeks or so.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?
I think it is important to comment often, even if you don’t really have anything of note to add to a post.  It shows other authors that you read their content, which makes them want to write more and keeps everyone on good terms.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?
I think that the face of politics has been changed by extensive use of the Internet.  Never before have people from so many different backgrounds and physical locations been able to communicate with such ease.  This allows one an unprecedented ability to make informed decisions.  Not only that, the mass of ideas that could be gleamed from Internet communications is a vast and nearly untapped resource. In time, the Internet will become a primary communication medium, and
when that time comes, it will be astounding the depth and number of the ideas one may achieve.

There is a dark side to all this, of course.  The Internet is a virtual realm, and as such it is extremely susceptible to
falsification.  As a society, we must take great strides to ensure that the Internet is always the voice of the people, not the voice of the company that controls the connections.

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
I think that people will say things online that they would normally not say in another venue.  While this may not necessarily make people more responsive, it does improve the quality of the responses as a whole.  I wrote a piece on Crispy Quips a while back about Internet anonymity, and how it effects the content of the Internet.  People will say a lot when they think that they can’t be caught.

Of course, the anonymity of the Internet is as virtual as the Internet itself.  There is a sort of “false sense of insecurity” which makes people feel invincible online.  It is the same principle that makes crime more likely in a massive crowd of people than among a group of ten or twenty.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?
I’m really not sure that there is much.  I like to think that my pieces offer a unique viewpoint on popular issues, but in reality, the sheer number of publicized views probably makes true uniqueness a virtual impossibility.  I don’t hesitate to speak my mind, however, and that is the only action that could possibly set any site apart from any other.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?
Without sounding too self-centered, I do think that my ability to effectively communicate has done the most for me.  Also, my knowledge of language and communication has allowed me to see things about society that I would have never noticed before, and more knowledge of that type does everyone good.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
This has got to be the hardest question here.  The gloomiest moment is probably when I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area up to the Sacramento area when I was younger.  I took me from my friends and everyone that I knew, and it was very hard to deal with at the time. Of course, the bad always stands out more from the good, so finding a happiest moment is going to be more difficult.  I’ll get back to you in a comment sometime.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?

Firstly, I would go to Japan, not only because I am learning the language of the area but also because I think that the Japanese are doing the best of any country in terms of living well.  They have an exceptionally low crime rate, low pollution, their infrastructure is world-class, and their people know nothing but kindness and respect for others.  Really… what more could one ask for in a country?
Secondly, I would go to Africa (the specific country in this case would not be as important to me as the region) in order to see first hand why humanity as a whole must come together to combat climate change / global warming.  Africa as a whole has been a political mess since the West set foot on it’s soil hundreds of years ago; it is high time that we stepped in again and did all we could to put an end to Africa’s unrest.
Thirdly, I would go to Germany.  No, there’s no political message there, I’m just a World War II buff, and I’ve always wanted to see the sights.

What is your favorite book and why?
I’ve got too many to list.  Primarily I enjoy works that really get into the human psyche and try and break down exactly what a character is feeling and going through.  If a book is that detailed, the setting or plot is immaterial to me.  Some favorites of note are Ghostwritten by David Mitchell (for its amazing character profiles) and Becket by Jean Anouilh (for it’s deep description of turmoil with so amazingly few words).

Is there anyone from your past that once told you you couldn’t write?

Actually, I’ve never had a problem in that arena.  I’ve always been told that I could write, and have probably disappointed a few by not becoming an English major.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
They can’t, in any real sense.  On some blogs it is possible to sell ad space, but for pennies only.  No, blogging is not yet a profitable venture, and may never be.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
Absolutely.  In fact, if I had more time, I’m sure Crispy Quips would be better off, too.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?
I think that a lot of hostility in this world comes from people not being able to or feeling comfortable with speaking their minds, and in that sense blogging really does a lot of good.  It gives everyone an equal voice (at least, those with access and time).

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?
I don’t like to play favorites, as I think that each blog (and thus, each opinion) should hold equal weight from the start.  That being said, I do have several who I read on a regular basis, including Katie Pope and Will Rhodes.

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?
Actually, my most popular posts are those which don’t really have any insight at all: my automotive / video game posts.  Perhaps that says something about modern society…

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?
In the United States, Pakistan is a bit negatively connotated.  After 9/11, the Bush Administration and it’s supporters became weary of anyone without the starkest of white skin.  I, however, see Pakistan as a country filled with people just like the people in any other country, including the United States: people who are trying to get ahead and live a decent life for themselves and provide such a life for their loved ones as well.  The world has become a lot smaller as
of late, and I don’t think that any of us are all that different anymore.  You, me, him and her have become infinitely more synonymous so far in the 21st century, and they will continue to do so until some country somewhere has a government that treats each of it’s citizens exactly how they wish to be treated… which will never happen, ever.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?
Only myself. (Just kidding.)

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?
I think the most striking thing about developing countries is that there still are some.  The unbalancedness of resources and wealth on this planet is disgusting.  The only good thing it might do in the long run is bring people together, but only once the “haves” have taken everything from the “have-nots” and it becomes clear that no one has anything anymore.

What is the future of blogging?
To continue to provide a medium wherein the voices of millions may be freely heard.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
I think it mainly goes the other way around: my personal life brings upon questions that I feel I need to answer, and so I blog about it. Maybe someone else somewhere had the same question, and my response will help them along.

What are your future plans?
I plan to finish school, get my degree, and then…. well, if I knew that, I’d be much better off….

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
From what I can tell, the Pakistani Spectator is a very honest publication, which doesn’t come cheap in these days of corporate media and political censorship.  It’s refreshing to see such a site in existence, and so enjoy it while you can; someday, we’ll all be stuck reading the Times, and we’ll never have an opinion again.