Editorial Policy

My posting has been erratic of late. If I was doing this seriously, that would matter, but I'm not, so it doesn't. Anyway, nobody reads blogs now, they listen to long rants in You Tube, interrupted by adverts (unless you use the Brave browser).

This is because I keep circling back to the same thing, and I've said my final word on it. I don't want to say any more about it.

I've been trying to find something else to talk about.

This blog has always been a diary, written knowing that other people might read it. That imposes a certain discipline on the way I say things. The language and sentiments are... allowed to mellow from time to time. As such, it gives me an opportunity to examine ideas I'm reading or things that I'm feeling. Or just plain rant. The conclusion is not so important, it is, as they say, all about the process. That is because I'm a philosopher, and philosophy is about examining ideas, rather than stating conclusions.

I write about the things I am doing, or discovering, because that helps clarify my thoughts and actions. I write about things that catch my attention. Too often that is politics. For a long time, I wrote far too much about the murky inner workings of my psyche, and as meaningless as that would be to others, it helped me. How often did I write something and soon afterwards think, well, that's nonsense. Jumping from one subject to another is not going to bring a consistent audience: what, after all, is this guy writing about?

Several things have been a big part of my life for a long time. Fiction, and later on, non-fiction. Listening to music, and playing it for personal satisfaction. Exercise. Photography. I've been sober for over a third of my life.

What can I bring to writing about any of that? There are enough hi-fi channels, music magazines and radio stations around, and some of those people do actually know what they are talking about. Some, but far from all. And even if they do believe in `burn-in', their views on other things might still be sensible. Book reviews, movie reviews... there are plenty by people who know what they are talking about and have inside knowledge of the industry and the people. Why review movies when, until recently, there was Roger Ebert? There are photography channels and magazines run by all sorts of talented hard-working people. What do I have?

I have read thousands of books, and seen seen thousands of movies, but forgotten most of them. That may be the clue: maybe I should talk about the ones I remember, not only what's in them, but why I remember them.

Well, maybe I can share the stuff I liked. Why I like it, why it felt important to me at the time. Some of the things I've learned as well.

That feels like a plan.