DESCENDING INTO SELF-PARODY

I don't usually enjoy fiskings (for those who don't know, a "fisking" is a line-by-line refutation of points made in an odiously stupid bit of writing, named after Robert Fisk, whose sub-human lefty blatherings are frequently subjected to them), because they are often disproportionately harsh in comparison with my reaction, and thus fail the "based-on-truth" aspect I consider necessary for a humorously entertaining post.

Occasionally, though, a piece will be so nutball tinfoil-hat that it leaves me spluttering incomplete sentences while my brain desperately attempts comprehension of how ANYONE could possibly say this crap with a straight face.

For example, I read this spit-take inducing "WHAAAAA?" piece by some anti-personal-responsibility lunatic, and my only responses was along the lines of:

Huh?

NO!

What?

Are you serious?

Are you even human?

What the F*** is the matter with you!?

Fortunately, Mike over at Cold Fury has much better responses to this freak-show op-ed. If reading this insanity leaves you pounding your head against your cell's padded wall with me, stop by Mike's for a tall glass of Lithium-Prozac on the rocks.

WHAT A PICTURE'S WORTH

Lynn at Reflections in D Minor does some cogitating on why she takes so many pictures. I can certainly relate. I've got piles of photos laying around my house, unloved an unalbumed. The "why" of this is something that she comes very close to discovering, and, in fact, catches most of it:

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"Earlier I was watching a goldfinch picking seeds out of a sunflower and thought what a great picture it would make. But this time I didn't bother. It was only about 30 feet away, but even with my 200mm lens it would not have been a good enough close up. Besides, the experience of watching cannot be captured with a camera. Watching that little bird, brilliant yellow on the large faded bloom, beautiful, alive, hanging upside down picking out seeds, then sitting up, looking around, then back to picking. Yeah, I guess a picture might have been nice if I could somehow have gotten close enough, but then I would have missed a couple of minutes of just watching.".

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As I see it, there are two reasons for taking pictures: to create art and to capture a moment. They're based on two different drives: love of process and love of subject.

Professionals, like Photodude, are obsessed with creating an image. They see shapes and colors and seek to compose them so as to create a specific emotion in the viewer. It's about testing their creative limits to see what meaning can be wrung out of otherwise uninteresting objects. I doubt that Photodude cares much about a plastic toy soldier. He cares about what he can do with it.

Then there's the "pictures of our vacation" types (like my wife and I). We don't really care what the picture ends up looking like. For us, we seek only to create touchstones to remind us of where we've been and what we enjoyed. Years ago, I commented to a hobby-photographer friend, "Why are you taking pictures of this crap? You'll just look at it later & go, 'here's a rock, here's a tree, here's a bird.'" He responded, "sure, right now it's just a rock or a tree or a bird, but in a couple of years, it's all you're gonna have to remember it by."

With Lynn's goldfinch, it was the pleasurable emotion that she was seeking to capture, not the image, and she probably did the right thing by enjoying the process and blogging about it. Even a good photo wouldn't have captured the pleasure she felt, and she's better off storing the memory than than the image.

WHERE TO NOW?

J, over at Blog of Xanadu is having a blogdentity crisis. After 18 months, he's dissatisfied with both his hit count and, more importantly, the quality of his own posting. I find the post interesting because it's a microcosmic mirror of decision points everywhere. There simply comes a time when your life's ship needs more rudder. Putting your back into steering your choices is always an applaudable event. This is no exception.

I've only been blogging about 6 weeks, so I'm only slightly qualified to offer advice, but that won't stop me.

First, I think changing directions is generally a good thing. I took some comfort in reading Frank's blogiversary post on the many turning points of IMAO. I've already had a few changes of heart at my place.

I originally intended to be a "think-piece" guy. I had long admired Steven's ability to hammer out mile-long insightful analysis on topical issues. But it didn't take long to realize that I have neither the time nor the typing skills to do so.

I also considered being a cold-hearted, soul-crushing fisk-monster like the Emperor. Liberal asshats certainly need deconstruction, and Misha does it with a satisfactorily blood-lusting vengance. However, I soon discovered that I just don't have the sustainable anger level to keep it up on a regular basis. Harsh criticism - not my gig.

Now I'm mostly about admiring intros for things on the web that I find pleasing. It's an honest exercise in blogging that suits my temperament, and it makes the subjects of my praise feel good, too. The world becomes a better place, one tiny entry at a time.

Of course there's always the graffiti currency, which is the daily hook with which I hope to keep people checking back regularly. Plus, thanks to Frank's permalink contest, I'm discovering a penchant for high comedy which I'd not previously suspected.

In short, I've found my voice, and that's more or less what blogging is all about for me.

Of course, a writer without readers is just another crazy old guy on the street corner singing "Old Gray Mare" with his pants around his ankles, so I do what I can to get noticed. Right now, that's mostly the weekly entries to the Bonfire and Carnival of the Vanities. My hope is that if people stop by, they'll like what they see, and maybe come back again on their own.

The other part of the plan is just to keep throwing my name out there. If people see it often enough, they might stop by out of curiosity, hopefully getting hooked in the process.

So, my short advice for J is to keep writing, keep throwing your name out there, and, eventually, those who like your style will make you their home-away-from home.

As to his preferring 25,000 readers to 25, I don't know how worthy the goal is. Isn't one loyal reader worth 1000 indifferent curiosity seekers? If you just want numbers, start a porn site. You'll get plenty of attention. But if your blog is really about your content instead of your ego, maybe you should just be grateful for having a few people who really love you for who you really are and what you really want to do.

TODAY’S GRAFFITI CURRENCY



Kirilian photography reveals the changes in George's aura when he thinks about deer hunting.