Not another one...

I hate blogs.

Wait... let me start again.

I find writing a personal blog to be a very frustrating experience. Trying to spin the minutiae of my daily life into three paragraphs of interesting prose that will mean something to someone I've never met, provide interest for someone I have met and, God forbid, make an interesting point or two in the process is a difficult thing to do. At the same time, looking back on what is often quite detailed, personal information displayed in a public place can be more than a little embarrassing, especially when it was written in more youthful times and more naive moments. Finally, the blogs that I enjoy reading the most are not ones that talk solely about the writer's day to day experiences (though that is often a good starting point), but ones that give me an insight into their thought processes, beliefs and, yes, even their sense of humour, through a brief (or not so brief) monologue, discussion, argument or rant.

So, without getting too deep into ideas about what I want/don't want to write on here, I found myself dissatisfied with the personal-journal style, and more tempted by a more journalistic (or at least more abstract) structure. However, when contemplating such a change of direction, I remembered that it was difficult enough to motivate myself to write personal entries, let alone ones that might require innovation, inspiration or inventiveness, as well as an opinion or two.

The solution was to try and get more people involved. By reading entries written by friends, I could imagine myself becoming inspired to produce more myself, and, in addition, the use of the blog by more than one writer gives a greater variety, a more diverse style and, most importantly, an impression of activity to any strangers who wander in of their own accord. Though I suspect we will start with just two writers to see how the concept plays out in real life, I hope that there will eventually be several people posting.

In that spirit, I officially launch this blog, wish that good fortune might shine on all who sail in her, and that she may have many voyages to come.