Favre in theory and practice

I left a fairly important part out yesterday in the introduction to this blog. I started this project for my English 4040 class, Blogging in Theory and Practice. So expect some posts that seem out of the line of focus or random.

Take this picture of Brett Favre, for example. This was posted as part of a class presentation on how to link images.

I realize that most of my readers are my classmates. But, in case you are an unrelated reader, now you know.

43 pages

I have this file on my computer. It’s 43 pages long and contains 22,420 words made up of 102,092 characters (124,238 characters if you include the spaces). And I didn’t write a single word of it.

The file, simply (but aptly) saved as “quotes,” is nothing more than my own dictionary of quotations, my Quotationary, if you will. It includes poems, lyrics, one-liners and full paragraphs from novels. The authors and speakers range from Ernest Hemmingway and Albert Einstein to best friends and ex-boyfriends. It is quite the mélange of wisdom.

And beauty. I started writing quotes down (on napkins, math worksheets, even tables at times) because I was in awe of the way someone else’s words could so perfectly and beautifully describe my emotions. I respect the authors and speakers and envy their ability to link words into sentiment and opinion

I started my quote file when I was a junior in high school and have added to it with varying vigor over the past four years. Those 43 pages are the closest thing I have to a timeline of my life – with each quote I can pinpoint the mood and developmental stage I was in upon its addition. Quotes are a big part of my life, one that I want to share.

This blog is based on quotations and synthesizing them with daily occurrences. Each post will include a quote and an application of its meaning (or the meaning I understand) to a current event. Sometimes the event will be a national news story, other times it might come from my own life.

You don’t have to agree with anything I say and attempt to connect. Chances are, you won’t. My objective, however, is to convey how wonderfully and easily quotable wisdom applies and occurs in everyday life. After all,

“Life itself is a quotation.”
-Jorge Luis Borges

let's be honest...

From Mark Bernstein's "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web":

Write honestly. Don’t hide, and don’t stop short. When writing about things that matter, you may be tempted to flee to safe, familiar havens: the familiar, the sentimental, the fashionable. Try to find the strength to be honest, to avoid starting the journey with passion and ending it with someone else’s tired formula. The work may be hard, it may be embarrassing, but it will be true – and it will be you, not a tired formula or an empty design. And if you can be satisfied with that tired formula, you aren’t writing for a reason.

I'm all about honesty. Which is why I wouldn't mind telling Mr. Bernstein that I respectfully disagree with aspects of that paragraph.

Honesty is essential to all forms of personal expression. That fact seems fairly obvious to me since, well, one's craft isn't a personal expression until a little bit of the artist's personality shines through in its creation or execution. What I do reject, however, is Bernstein's notion avoiding safe constructions when writing about things that "matter". Sure, that may be true for the big time bloggers who are read by thousands and receive hundreds of comments. But on a smaller scale, preaching such an aversion to the familiar could actualldetrimentalental to beginning bloggers.

What matters to a writer and a reader are often two different things. I think it would be safe to bet that most readers don't take away the author's intention - they don't take away what "matters." With that in mind, however, it should be the goal of the writer to make what he or she is writing about important. Let's be honest, people are self-centered. Unless the blogger has something to say that particularly touches their lives, their emotions, internet surfers aren't going to take the time to read. And the best way for a beginning blogger to do that is to start out with the familiar, the sentimental, the fashionable.

The idea here is to learn to appeal to basic human emotion. That'll get you a great starting audience. Then, learn to do it with flare, uniqueness. The audience will then grow.

blog articles

http://www.unc.edu/~zuiker/blogging101/
This short history was useful to me because it addressed the evolution of journal-blogs. It further separated pure journaling and topic blogging for me. Also, since I'm new to the world of blogging, I found the sections about the parts of a blog and why to read or write a blog very useful. I'm a complete beginner, so nothing is too elementary for me.

http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1049
The lesson I gained from this reading was simple: the satisfaction you get out of your blog all depends on what you put into it. Sure, it seems like a "duh"-type lesson, but its always good to have a reminder to keep an open mind. I also liked that the article was realistic in recognizing that blogging is not for everyone. The author got the point across without putting non-bloggers on the defensive.

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/blogging_part_1.htm
I found the section on blogging benefits most useful. The author brought up many aspects I hadn't thought of, such as barrier elimination and having discussions in real time. I like the idea that a blogger is judged on his or her words and thoughts without institutional prejudices.

reflections

Frankly, I didn't have a positive view of blogs before coming in to this class. I had always thought blogging was nothing more than online journaling that often just served as a soapbox for anyone, no matter educated or uneducated, to spout off about their likes or dislikes. I think much of this sentiment stemmed from reading my friends' LiveJournals in high school - sure I liked my friends, but I honestly didn't care to read an account of their daily activities or what song they were currently listening to.

Since class has started, however, my definition of blogging (and thus my opinion of blogging) has changed. I never knew, for example, that blogs are generally centered on a specific topic such as politics, music or celebrity gossip. Sure, a personal journal could be considered a specific topic, but I'm starting to feel that online diaries are separate style of blogging. Realizing the true definition has opened my mind; I have more respect for the blogosphere and take it more seriously.

My flawed definition of blogging is also why I never kept my own. Since I didn't really care to read about my friends' lives, I couldn't imagine why any one would want to read about my own. Plus, as a sometimes shy person, I'm not so sure I would want others to have that opportunity. As I read topic-focused blogs, however, I can see that a blogger's personality is what makes his or her blog great. Good writing often contains a voice specific to the author, and I admire all bloggers for being able to put themselves out there like that. I want to write with personality and voice, so I'm going to have to put my shy impulses aside.

That said, I think my greatest challenge for my blog will be finding a focus topic for it. I've always thought its best to write what you know, and what else do I know better besides my own life? I realize that question completely contradicts what I said above, but I'm not sure I know enough about anything else substantial to write a meaningful commentary. Hopefully reading more blogs regularly will give me some ideas.

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