i upgraded to new blogger tonight. everything seems okay. the posting interface is not all that different. i wonder what all the fuss was about. at least this should stop that annoying "doncha wanna upgrade?" message i got every time i logged on.
i think i have to change to one of the new blogger custom-made templates to have take advantage of all the allegedly exciting new features. incorporating all the little tinkering i've done to this template into a new one seems like a lot of work.