Friday Blog Spotlight: Orient Lodge

Haddy haddy ho, hoddy hoddy ho

BW Readers, I have another treat for you tonight. I am spotlighting another artist/entrepreneur-like blog. As you know, I wanted to do this every 2-3 weeks, but to be honest, once a month is what I have time to do.

Tonight's spotlight is on Orient Lodge, by Aldon Hynes in CT.

Aldon chooses to go by his real name when he posts anywhere; he is not like me or Digby, who are pseudomyous. I met Aldon online 18 months ago, maybe longer because I admired his work with the Dean Campaign, but more forcefully for John Edwards during the time we have been acquainted. As most of you know, Orient Lodge is on my blogroll.

Aldon has worked many places, including Wall Street, and has a great understanding of hedge fund management--and how it works. He has pointed out on more than one occasion that some of them are not evil, as portrayed by very far progressives, and the WSJ has chosen to do with Democratic candidates who worked for one, but for the right reasons: the understanding of those markets and what one could advise in the future to improve.

As BW readers know or if they don't by now, I am drawn to blogs who have balanced views about art, life, family, progressive politics, and just transparency, even through sharing of Flickr photos.

Aldon strikes me as someone who understands the rat race, and got away from it. He chose to first back Howard Dean in 2003-04 primaries. Not a bad choice. Dean was my second choice behind JRE.

But Aldon has the intellectual and emotional IQ of many bloggers. He is struggling yet loves his family and trying to make his entrepreneurial ventures work. Wall Streeters may not be following in his path, but as a business librarian, Aldon and Orient Lodge hit the middle for me. He's not defining centrists in their ideology, but what could work for all of us.

Via e-mail, I asked Aldon what he would like to accomplish through his blog and other posts. He replied with his current activities and interests about blogging and Second Life:

Hence, I have a mix of articles about Second Life, Wordless Wednesdays, talking about writing, whether it be NaNoWriMo, NaBloPoMo, or my recently added section for poems. I try to reach to the bloggers in the other arenas, at home moms, homeschoolers, folks who try to connect using sites like MyBlogLog, BlogCatalog, BlogExplosion and so on. These are the people I want to reach. I want to write in a way that doesn't breakdown into troll rating wars. I want to touch the authentic American experience in all its beauty, the way Sen. Edwards celebrates American hereos.

Aldon Hynes and Orient Lodge, I salute you for what you post and enlighten us all.

Update: Aldon took notice of numbers through the blogs, and while my numbers aren't are good as many, he happened to notice my post about him. Thx Aldon! I like your posts, they fit the criteria I'm looking for. Hope some readers who vote may view it similarly.