Snuffed

Snuffed (2000)

I've been thinking seriously of killing off this blog lately. It doesn't shed enough light in any direction. It should probably be snuffed.

It's like a college student who's an undeclared major. It doesn't really know what it wants to be.

You can see this by the categories of the links. Sometimes, this blog wants to be an art blog -- a silent photoblog to display art without distractions and background noise -- like writing. Other times, this blog wants to be a political blog -- a platform for (mostly my) political observations, rants, musings, diatribes, moaning, and catharsis. Other times, this blog wants to be a cultural blog -- reflecting on odd eruptions of popular culture strangeness or historical oddness. Sometimes this blog serves as a publisher for my poetry. Sometimes this blog actually is my diary.

I'm grateful that several people nominated Blog with a View recently for a Koufax Award. But I wasn't considered because I am not seen as a lefty political blog. And I understand that reasoning and even agree with it. But can you see what I mean about an identity crisis? One day I'm fuming about BushCo. The next I'm delving into how to write poems using fractal theory. And the next I'm looking at ladybug folklore or the literary importance of Sir Mordred. And the next I'm sending a valentine to my wife.

And most of the time the result is just a mess -- an all-things-to-all-people buffet that ends up appealing to no one in particular. The art folks are turned off by the politics and yammering. The political folks are annoyed by forays into the non-political. The cultural folks are short-changed most days. I hear: You write too much. I hear: You don't write enough. Nobody seems happy. Most of the blog's hits stem from the mutated syntax of Google searches -- and I'm guessing the majority of these surfers seeking out nude beach or princess leia's metal bikini left disappointed. In the big picture end, here's the result:

[Image seen on zloblog]

Those of you who keep blogs know how time-consuming they are. And, lately, I find myself wondering why I do this -- especially when I can't even settle on a format. Like most of you, I hold down a full time job. I want to work on a book of poetry. I want to make more art. And, sure, I'd like to have a personal, private life, too.

But I hate thinking that this blog, almost a year old now, has been a waste of both my and your time. So, for now, given my current frame of mind, I'm going to leave it up and carry on primarily as a photoblog. I'll put up art everyday -- but will keep the writing to a minimum. Maybe that approach will be more focused and result in a better fit. Or, maybe, the silence will choke off the last gasps of fresh air.

I'm not promising I won't go off on a writing binge and sound off sometimes. There are days one has to "speak out against the madness." Or I might wake up one morning and tear everything down -- like I did one morning with my gallery on Renderosity. And, as I said, I'm fighting the urge to just close the curtain on the blog's view and let the room go dark. But, for the time being, I'll just let the room go quiet and allow the art to speak for me.