Seems like I was not the only blogger.com user experiencing problems. Wired.com reports that Blogger is experiencing serious technical difficulties, and the blogosphere is up in arms.
All I can say is come join the MovableType generation. The installation is unnecessarily painful and the learning curve stiff, but once you make the transition, you are entirely your own master (or mistress).
For those folks who may be a bit afraid of going down the MovableType route, I've found WordPress to be easy and stable.
If you get a host with the Fantastico installer (I use LiquidWeb.com, but there are plenty of others), the installation is really quite simple. Nothing against MovableType, just a suggestion for the scriptophobic.
*Wonderful* blog, by the way. Thanks for such a good read!