And here I thought that websites were out of touch with their audiences...

While reading Salon today, I came upon the following headline: "Anne Lamott is back!" Apparently, Ms. Lamont was a well-known Salon columnist three years ago who took time off to write books. (Aside #1: Why does it seem that ever Salon writer is either a published writer or an aspiring writer?)

Anyway, about halfway through her piece, the following question jumped into my head: "So who is Anne Lamott, and why should I care that she's back?" Well, when I got to the end and saw the "send mail" link at the bottom, I decided to share said question with the good people at Salon. Now, part of me really was curious who this woman was. But mostly, I felt like being a belligerent a-hole.

Which is why I was totally surprised when I got the following e-mail...

She's a best-selling author and past columnist for Salon who was very popular with our readers in the past.
This came from Patrick Hurley, Sr. VP (!) of Business Operations at Salon Media Group, Inc. So now a few thoughts come to mind.

A) They really are in touch with their readers.
B) This guy has way too much time on his hands.
C) He defends his colleagues with gusto.
D) This gave him a break from his manuscript.

Who knows? I'm just hoping they print my letter, so I can call myself a "published author" as well...