Warning: This is not one of your usual GirlHacker’s Random Log postings. This is, instead, one of those navel-gazing, self-promoting weblog posts that regular readers may find unpalatable, so I apologize in advance, and promise I will return tomorrow in better form.

Last Friday I composed my second annual Oscar Gift Bag list. My post last year was well-linked within the weblog circles, and I expected this year’s to do similarly well, but instead it received more exposure than anticipated, thanks mainly to a link on Gawker (thanks!). On Monday I received a nice email from one of the artists I mentioned, Sherri Lindsay, thanking me for singling out her contribution to the “losers” gift basket which I unearthed from a Google news search that turned up a local news story on her handmade boxes (she also sent along the link to her website where you can see her amazing eggshell mosaics). In a follow-up email Ms. Lindsay mentioned that the N.Y. Post’s Page Six had printed a “nearly identical” paragraph to mine on Sunday, which had been picked up by other media outlets. She echoed the sentiment found in many essays on “the power of weblogs,” that one person with a PC and modem can indeed be powerful these days.

Here’s a portion of my original paragraph. I gathered my information from the Wichita Eagle (last item).

…this bag of goodies valued at $32,000. The main feature is, of course, a trip to Caesars Palace with plenty of perks and gift certificates to smooth away the sorrow of losing the Oscar. A unique addition are one-of-a-kind mosaics made of painted eggshells placed on small wooden boxes, created by Kansas artist Sherri Lindsay.

Here’s the N.Y. Post archive link and a portion of the paragraph they printed:

The bag, valued at $32,000, includes a trip to Caesars Palace with plenty of perks, gift certificates to Las Vegas malls, and one-of-a-kind mosaics made of painted eggshells placed on small wooden boxes created by Kansas artist Sherri Lindsay.

Interesting, isn’t it? I don’t think those last 17 or so words and a few above those are a coincidence. And in case you are wondering, no I’m not upset at the N.Y. Post. I am, however, very amused. Sentences are impossible to watermark, save for a writing style, and I’m not sure what to think about mine appearing on the gossip pages! But it’s only a few words, and I’m glad I decided to feature an artist with a unique craft for that portion of the posting.