Writing for this blog is turning out to be exceptionally difficult. I believe that the reason for this difficulty is that I do not really know what audience I have (it is virtually none at the time of writing, and usually consists of almost random passers through), or who my audience may be in the future. Not knowing the audience means not being able to “pitch” certain ideas in the same uniform style (hence the sometimes jarring mix of short and snappy comments for more general readers, more in-depth mini-essays for specialized readers, more introductory notes for those unfamiliar with anthropology).

As a matter of fact, the only audience that I can think of that may be interested in reading such diverse items would probably be the undergraduate university student, and perhaps some graduate students (especially those in anthropology). And that, then, will be the prospective audience that I address.

So, I have not been having that much “fun” writing so far, although I certainly intend to. Be on the lookout for items that are meant to be jokes, dream sequences, rough poetry, dream sequences, you name it! If there is one thing that kills me is uniformity. Wait, three things: If there are three things that kill me, they are: uniformity, conformity, and authority. And excessive revision.

For now, the challenge has been, as mentioned above, pitching my ideas, and trying to quell this incredible storm of ideas that, quite literally, has gotten me out of bed at night to write, only to cancel the post later in the day. I have probably deleted as much as I have posted thus far. (One day, the blog snob will be heard to say: “Boy, I have deleted more than you will ever post!”)

Why even bother to write for this blog? When you can just shoot yourself I actually find that, even if I am writing just for myself (I am my own most loyal audience…but sometimes the heckling can be a little much), I write with much more deliberation and focus than if I were to scratch notes into a paper pad. In addition, I have become so accustomed to typing, and reading on a screen, nerd alert! that this is more comfortable for me, physically, and more orderly in terms of saving and revising files. Also, what this blog allows is for something unusual that cannot be done with a paper scrapbook or journal for example, I can’t wipe my ass with it: others can enter, leave their notes, or engage me in discussion, and that can alter what is written subsequently.

So on I go. I am indebted to Chris Cocker for his inspiration?