Nothing Else
Hey there.
It's been a little while since I've posted. To be honest, I haven't really been able to sustain a thought worth posting about. I could talk about being sick, or putting new flooring in my house, or preparing things for Kaitlyn's upcoming baptism. I could start filling this blog with picture of the newest member of my family. Heck, I could recap the news, describe my shopping experiences, or any one of several dozen things. I could provide a window into my life and my interests. I could try and write funny things; I could focus on the people who read this stuff.
But that's not what this tar pit is -- for me.
This blog you are skimming through is a specifically purposed place where I chronicle humorous thoughts and less humorous struggles for understanding; a documenting of my glimpse into the human condition. And the big difficulty is that, while there is alot going on in my life right now, some strong good and some strong bad, none of it has settled into the kind of sanitized, universal commentary that prevents me from getting in trouble when I write about it.
When I sidetrack myself into providing a literary window into my day-to-day I feel I have dodged a personal responsibility: reflecting on my life long enough to say something interesting about it. Besides, I find day-to-day posts exceedingly voyeristic and there are plenty of other and better voyeristic outlets on the web than this place. If you track this blog just to get to know about my life better than, brother, you need a hobby. 8)
All of this boils down to, I suppose, a dilemma faced by several bloggers: A steadier stream of chit-chat (jibber-jabber?) or bursty insight. Clearly one is better to maintain a readership! But, as I have had to remind myself again and again, I'm not paid to write this blog and the sole intended audience of these missives is 40 year old Ed.
Of course, if I really had the balls to believe that last sentence, I wouldn't need to sanitize and universalize my commentary before posting it and I'd be outputting a ream of material a week. It does, however, sound noble and selfless, so I'll end on that asking, of course, for this present paragraph to be promptly excluded.
-Ed
It's been a little while since I've posted. To be honest, I haven't really been able to sustain a thought worth posting about. I could talk about being sick, or putting new flooring in my house, or preparing things for Kaitlyn's upcoming baptism. I could start filling this blog with picture of the newest member of my family. Heck, I could recap the news, describe my shopping experiences, or any one of several dozen things. I could provide a window into my life and my interests. I could try and write funny things; I could focus on the people who read this stuff.
But that's not what this tar pit is -- for me.
This blog you are skimming through is a specifically purposed place where I chronicle humorous thoughts and less humorous struggles for understanding; a documenting of my glimpse into the human condition. And the big difficulty is that, while there is alot going on in my life right now, some strong good and some strong bad, none of it has settled into the kind of sanitized, universal commentary that prevents me from getting in trouble when I write about it.
When I sidetrack myself into providing a literary window into my day-to-day I feel I have dodged a personal responsibility: reflecting on my life long enough to say something interesting about it. Besides, I find day-to-day posts exceedingly voyeristic and there are plenty of other and better voyeristic outlets on the web than this place. If you track this blog just to get to know about my life better than, brother, you need a hobby. 8)
All of this boils down to, I suppose, a dilemma faced by several bloggers: A steadier stream of chit-chat (jibber-jabber?) or bursty insight. Clearly one is better to maintain a readership! But, as I have had to remind myself again and again, I'm not paid to write this blog and the sole intended audience of these missives is 40 year old Ed.
Of course, if I really had the balls to believe that last sentence, I wouldn't need to sanitize and universalize my commentary before posting it and I'd be outputting a ream of material a week. It does, however, sound noble and selfless, so I'll end on that asking, of course, for this present paragraph to be promptly excluded.
-Ed
posted by Ed at 12:54 AM
4 Comments:
So why bother writing an on-line journal at all then? If you don't want others to read it, and it wasn't meant for others... why not just bust open a text editor and type away for the amusement of 40 year old Ed?
I am not trying to be mean or harsh, but questioning this entry and the intent.
Hi Ed,
I understand where you are coming from. My blog is written for me as well. I enjoy sharing it with others. Somehow, putting your words out there for others to see, even if it's just for you, keeps you more aware of what you are writing, because there is that part of you who knows you aren't the only one reading it. Keeps you accountable in a way.
In any case, I just enjoy your blog. It's a special treat to log on and see that you've posted.
Phil:
No offense taken. You used the term "on-line journal". That wasn't really the intent for my blog. It is the intent of your blog and, perhaps, many other blogs, and you all do a fine job of it. But I don't consider this space a journal of daily activity.
Why a public reflection space? To invite commentary, of course. I don't mind people reading these writings, and I don't mind people commenting on them, but the audience is me and, one day, my kids.
Besides, writing a diary is less rigorous because I always just wind up dumping emotions in a diary and never forcing myself to be disciplined enough to actually go back and examine the more generalized issue/perspective behind the emotion. I *need* to do that when publicly blogging.
One reason I get frustrated is that many times I start writing something on the blog, or forming the blog in my head, and after some reflection recognize that there was no issue at hand, just a misunderstanding or a not-fully-flushed-out point of view.
-Ed
But then, isn't it great to realize that it's not an issue, when you thought it might be? :)
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