Punk. Soldier. Blogger. And now author. A young veteran shares his war stories.

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/19/07 | Justin Berton

[TFFKAMM]

Colby Buzzell had little time to hunt for an apartment in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, what with appearances scheduled for both NPR's "Talk of the Nation" and CNN's "Paula Zahn Now."

It was a surreal week for the 28-year-old soldier-turned-author. On Sunday he learned he was the second recipient of the $10,000 LuLu Blooker Prize for his "blook" (book based on a blog), "My War: Killing Time in Iraq," and on Monday, the Defense Department announced that it would cut off access to file-sharing sites such as YouTube and MySpace on 5 million Pentagon-issued computers -- an apparent reaction to bloggers reporting from the front lines. (Soldiers still have access to the sites on their personal computers and can log on to them at privately owned Internet cafes on their bases.)

Buzzell, who still posts at cbftw.blogspot.com, has been out of the Army for two years, and his book was published more than a year ago, but suddenly -- and despite his current dread of talking about war and blogs -- he's fielding dozens of interview requests for his thoughts on both. Still, he's glad to take the ride.

"Every time I think my 15 minutes is up," Buzzell said, "someone else calls me."

Before his NPR appointment, Buzzell sat outside a Starbucks cafe, chain-smoking and working on his third cup of coffee. With his mesh cap, tattooed arms and loose wallet chain, he looked more like a Mission District hipster than a war veteran.

"I don't know what people expect me to be," he said. "Because I ride skateboards and wear Vans, I'm not supposed to join the Army? Maybe I'm supposed to be from Alabama, because people seem to think you have to be from the South to sign up...."

[TFFKAMM]

For 10 weeks during his tour of military duty in Iraq, Buzzell posted a blog. Photos courtesy of Newscom

[Lurker]

The folks at NPR must have been torn about this guy. I mean he smokes for Gods sake!

And don't even get me started on the assault rifle....

L

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

They don’t mind all smoke, just tobacco.

[Cacique]

bump for later read

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

http://www.Freerepublic.com/~anita1/

http://www.Freerepublic.com/~aloharonnie/

.

[the invisib1e hand]

if they weren't able to use him to promote the leftist delusion, his 15 minutes would be up. That's one of the non-negotiables.

[Libertarian444]

Buzzell often bristles at the notion that American troops are nothing more than country hicks; when his radio interviewer joked that Buzzell must have been the only soldier carrying a copy of Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five" in his back pocket, Buzzell responded tersely: "There's a lot of literate people in the Army."

Typical NPR.

[pawdoggie]

"There's a lot of literate people in the Army."

On its face, the statement is correct. However, he might have made his fellow soldiers (and himself) sound a little more "literate" if the statement were gramatically correct: "There are a lot of literate people in the Army".

[Milligan]

the Defense Department announced that it would cut off access to file-sharing sites such as YouTube and MySpace on 5 million Pentagon-issued computers —

Can’t use government computers for personal use.
Cam’t drive a government car for personal use.

[JB in Whitefish]

“he was the second recipient of the $10,000 LuLu Blooker Prize for his “blook” (book based on a blog)”

Heck,

He’s just plain BLUCKY....!!!

[JB in Whitefish]

“”There’s a lot of literate people in the Army.”

On its face, the statement is correct. However, he might have made his fellow soldiers (and himself) sound a little more “literate” if the statement were gramatically correct: “There are a lot of literate people in the Army”.”

....perhaps he’ll win the FIRST Nobel Peace Prize for

SEMI-LITERATURE....???