Blog confessionals #1

So after weeks of thinking about writing a blog, I am stymied.

I (re)discover that I am a curmudgeon. I (re)disocver that I hate
writing. I (re)discover that I have a messy mind that thinks about 10
things in parallel. So, I find I am trying to differentiate what I'd
write for myself, or for a specific audience and what I would write
that would be something of an opinion I'd like to share with random
whoever out there. What is my schtick (and how do you spell schtick
anyway)? What is my angle? What form would I like - Image+text (most
comfortable for me)? Sudden fiction? Academic discourse? Proto-papers?
Thought pieces on the way to punditry? What rhetorical stance should I
take, and how should I organise my site to reflect the differences? Or
should I not bother? More than that, I hate reading poorly written
things that offer unsubstantiated opinions and which don't refer to
relevant literatures. I like rambling opinions to be saved for pub
conversations. Which is why my enjoyment of the blogosphere is limited
to the few people I think can write. I fear that I am not among them -
I have written a few papers I am very proud of, but I always stay close
to the data, and/or to the technology I have helped design/build. I
prefer conversing about things I don't know with those close face to
face or in email, person to person.

In all of this pondering I was shocked to hear a friend had looked at
my sorry state of a blog with my non-entry on feminist fictions and on
4 things (which showed how sadly I am not 'web 2.0' because I was
unsure about who to link to as 4 other bloggers I wouldn't mind
imposing on.). Shocked. Why on earth are you reading this? Should I be
flattered or worried? Why do I care? Actually - do I care?

But reader be warned, there is *no* quality control on my blog. And I
am told that I will loosen up. Oh good, may my blog do what a thousand
therapists (I am joking here) could not do.

And I always need an audience: this post is for Joe.

Finally, I hate this editor. It sucks. So now I suppose I have to work out how to get to use a better one.

Ok,
first thing is to import stuff from "Cyberxee analects", "Xeepiphany"
and "Xeel" my previous marginal use of blogs to collaborate with myself
and others.
 

Four Things

Rashmi Sinha tagged me to post something to my blog, and I guess Four Things is as good a way to start as any.
Four Jobs I’ve Had
1. Post Office Clerk
2. Promotions and Merchandizing Coordinator
3. Fashion Model
4. Researcher

Four Movies I Can Watch Over And Over
1. Meshes of the Afternoon
2. Dream On (Amber Films)
3. Safe
4. T2

Four Books I recently enjoyed
1. The Companion Species Manifesto
2. The Devil in the White City
3. Death and Material Culture
4. The Secret History of Disco

Four Places I’ve Lived
1. Moubhandar
2. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
3. Brighton
4. Cambridge

Four TV Shows I Love
1. The Office (UK version)
2. Couples (UK version)
3. Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends
4. Ali G

Four Places I’ve travelled to or want to
1. Tokyo
2. Seoul
3. Budapest
4. Granada

Four of My Favorite Dishes
1. Sunomono with tako
2. Filet Mignon
3. Prawn Vindaloo
4. Shepherds Pie

Four Sites I Visit Daily
1. news.bbc.co.uk
2. flickr.com
3. NYT
4. engadget

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
1. In the UK with friends
2. On my snowboard, anywhere with powder
3. Eating
4. Looking at the stars

Four Bloggers I’m Tagging
Sadly I don’t think I know four
bloggers well enough to tag them to add to this meme. I will think of
some and update! My personal Web pace is 0.25, not 2.0.