Food, Friends, And Lance

When I read Lance Mannion's blog I feel as though I'm sitting at a dinner table among a large group of friends. Lance is at the head of the table and beginning to pass the peas when someone asks: "So, how was your day Lance?" And the narrative begins!

I find Mannion's blog appealing because the character is as interesting as the content...and both appear to be genuine. His posts not only capture interesting ideas and topics, but also reveal a lot about Mannion both as an author and as an "everyday person". Here's a little example:

Yesterday morning I was at Starbucks enjoying my triple halfcaf defcaf vanilla mocha latte-frappe-cino and there were a pair of college students at the next table, which means, in that Starbucks where the tables are placed so close together that they look like some giant set out to lay a parquet floor, the three of us were pretty much having coffee together.

If you have been to a Starbucks you know exactly what he is talking about. Not only is it humorous, but he's writing about a universally accepted notion (among all those latte-groupies...such as myself) of Starbucks that makes you feel as though you know him...share some sort of "common ground" so to speak. Without him over-explaining anything, you laugh at his witty banter and completely agree with what he is saying. Certainly this is one (for the record: I never said it was "the best one") of many examples.

In addition, look at some of the comments after each post. Most of the time, visitors are reacting not only to what Mannion has written, but they're also reacting to each other. Ultimately, Mannion's blog becomes a sort of fire-side chat with friends (I think I like this metaphor more than "the dinner with friends and peas" thing). Even though we learn a lot about Mannion as an individual, through his "topics of conversation" you can't help but feel as though you're a part of a wider community learning about each other at the same time...a pretty cool concept indeed.