Consider this my coming out. I’ve decided to officially succumb to one of my guilty pleasures : Stumpette.

Amanda Chapel (a.k.a. Strumpette) burst onto the scene last spring and has waded in controversy ever since. Her last name is steeped in irony : she’s anything but a choirboy .. erm .. girl .. erm choir.

I’ve watched as she’s bared her teeth at many of our industry’s thought leaders and, while with anonymity comes the liberty to say out loud what others might be thinking .. or simply to say something completely outrageous for effect and let the chips fall where they may .. I have to give her/him/them credit. Stumpette certainly knows how to put on a show.

And admit it. What she has to say isn’t always totally out there. In fact, it’s often quite thought provoking. She has a ‘march to the beat of a different drummer’ style that resonates with me.

I’m not sure I’d want to cross her in a dark alley, or would have wanted to come up against her in a schoolyard brawl, but we’re all big boys and girls now. I think our industry can survive a little introspective criticism. And I suspect her favourite targets are tough enough, and confident enough, to take one on the chin every now and then. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, the man said.

My overall verdict? I like Stumpette. The same way I like chocolate. With guilty pleasure, eager to read any report that tells me it’s good for me so I can taste a little more. Meanwhile, I’ll keep indulging now and then.

As Ms Amanda says so well, La vita e troppo corta. That goes both for chocolate and for taking oneself too seriously.

Onto my blogroll she goes!