A thousand words...

Suburban Study, 2008

This blog was initially conceived of purely as a diversion ~ something to amuse me & perhaps a way to finally develop a writing style. (I have no illusions about my shortcomings as a writer. I'm much more articulate & comfortable with the the visual than the verbal.) However having said that ~ somewhere along the way I've managed to become rather attached to this thing ~ to the point that I've actually started posting under my real name.

Yet, I've also found myself feeling a bit rudderless over the past few months; trying to find a foothold, get some direction, figure out where this is headed or even if it should continue. I think the writing style is slowly improving (However, still miles to go on that highway. I continue to be perpetually befuddled by the semicolon & mostly feel inarticulate.) but what remains hanging around in the corner, is this nagging sensation of a lack of focus. This, of course, begs the question... Does one actually need to care about focus when four visitors a day is a crowd around here? I suspect not. Excluding the writings of someone, for example, like Conrad Roth at VUNEX (There are others on my list but he's recently returned to blogging from a sabbatical & is a sentimental favorite.) whose posts need to be read & then read again ~ I don't think people actually go back to read posts after they have moved down off the screen & out of their field of vision. Attention spans all seem so short: culture so disposable these days... Out of sight ~ out of mind. 

I suppose most blogs (I'm referring to the personal ones here) are, by nature, ephemeral & one shouldn't really expect more than that. Here, then gone... Besides, one could argue that by posting things that interest me personally I am creating a kind of theme or focus, even if it is the consistently inconsistent nature of my posts. The blog that relies on the author's personality. Of course this works best if, like Francis Strand at How to learn Swedish, one has a charming personality, a strong point of view & a wickedly clever stylistic device (The Swedish word for the day is... ) to hold the whole thing together. (Not to mention a husband & what seems a glamorous social life in Stockholm. Sigh.) Or George Snyder at 1904. I've known George for ages & trust me, he's a bundle of personality & it's all there in his blog; regardless of what he's chosen to share with us, be it politics, personal redemption or kicking his Diet Coke jones. 

So what is my point here? Well I suppose there isn't any. I'm just rambling on & doing a bit of personal speculation, but have you noticed there are more photographs (& I don't mean snapshots) creeping onto this blog?

You know what they say a picture is worth...