Alameda must have the highest density off-campus blogger-to-populace ratio in the American West.

Heated commentary and discussion used to be contained to a handful of hyper-local blogs and "media" sites, all competing for the dish, the scoop, the gotcha... the Crown Cleverest.

Hell, I used to have an Alameda blog. Years ago. But for me, writing a blog post is like pulling one of my own teeth out. I really just like to make websites.

I don't know how these bloggers do it. Especially Lauren Do. I disagree with almost everything she says, but gotta give her credit. She finds something Alameda-centric to rant about every single workday. It's truly amazing.

We've had some other beauties. Alameda Daily News hasn't changed it's style in decades (this website is so old it defies logic) but it maintains a strong presence. And there's the Alameda Daily Noose, the parody that is such a waste of comic talent because it can only be appreciated by Alameda bloggers. Come to think of it, what a growth model! And speaking of growth models, "Stop, Drop, and Roll" is worth a read and a chuckle... like having our very own Thomas Friedman.

Now... we have an independent journalism site "The Island" that is proving superior to our local newspapers as far as news gathering goes. And wow, does it gather a lot of news. 4 or 5 stories a day, roughly. Who knew Alameda had so much news?

I don't think we have so much news. We just have a lot of super-informed, opinionated people with time on their handhelds. But unfortunately, 90% of these opinionated Alamedans share the same opinions (especially in regards to David Howard.) And while they used to write comments and letters to the blogs and newspapers, now they've all started their own Alameda blogs.

These days, a typical Alameda blog post reads "so and so over at blah blah blog has a great write-up about..." dullsville! The problem is, there aren't enough fiery contrarian ranters left to go around. There's only one Kirwin, one AD, and thank heavens only one Jeffrey R. Thomason to shake up the status quo.

I think we are finally at the part of the zombie movie where everyone's brains have been eaten so the movie ends.