Blogging As Essay

Blogging comes as a surprise.  Not sure what I'd expected... crassly, I guess, just a way to megaphone to the world "Read my Book!"   And it has helped (a teeny tiny little fraction of) the world take notice.  (Sales!  Boris, sales!)  But I hadn't realized the utility of these little essays to me: writing clarifies thought, as Francis Bacon and Michel de Montaigne proved.  A blog post is, I think, a lineal descendant of the essay.

What's shocked  me is that people read what I'm writing.  Readership is UP... reaching scary numbers now.

Thank you, Gentle Readers.  I'll try to make your visits worth your time.

Why read blogs - this or any other?  (Or click on the "follow" button on your right?  Dare ya.)

Well, it's gotta be for either information, opinion, or sheer enjoyment of the writer's voice.  What I like about the essay/blog form, as a reader, is its informal sharing of information and thought.  But what makes me return is its mirroring of the writer: their wisdom, perhaps, but certainly their funny quirks, failings, and odd-ball world view...  As the writer of a blog, this is the terrifying part!  Why attempt this scary thing?  ("Essay" means "attempt.")  Why does my weird opinion matter the least bit?

I comfort myself with Montaigne:

"A straight oar looks bent in the water. What matters is not merely that we see things but how we see them."

Maybe all our "bent" viewpoints matter...
Can we can average 'em together to figure out the "straight" truth?

Interesting Theater Blog

I've found a good blog called The Playgoer, written by a well-informed and nicely opinionated New York playgoer who... well, seems to go to a LOT of shows.  Some good stuff here: follow the link to Stephen Sondheim's reaction to the big new "reinterpretation" of Porgy and Bess.

Stilty Coolness

Check out this great art blog "The Best Part" at http://tbpdesign.blogspot.com/  Where I found this cool stilts-ville by artist Luke O'Sullivan: