Posts about blogging I usually find to be interminably boring exercises in navel fluff observation. Usually. However, while thinking about that, I stumbled across something about myself that I found illuminating. Something that you might find rings true for you and thus I give it to Lexi as my contribution to her Christmas selection box series.
I find myself at home, here, in what is Star Trekkingly called The Blogosphere, more that I have ever done in any job, any college, any other interest or group I’ve ever been involved in. Why?
I came to the conclusion after a few random thoughts and some well earned chocolate, that I do because I’ve always belonged in what I can only describe as the subculture to the left all my life. Since I was a teenager I’ve held passions in areas that are not of what would mostly be called “the majority” in most places.
On and off I’ve pursued interests in comic books, design, architecture, pre-1950’s songwriting, astronomy and space travel, computers, video games (before the console boom), classical music, furious left wing political thought, foreign movies, independent movies, old movies, modern art, chess, crosswords, museums, music that will never see the charts, the world of burlesque…
I don’t mean that to sound pompous and elitist by any means, just to say that I don’t fall into the category of perfectly wonderful people (some of whom are close friends) who like soaps, watch Sky News, buy Beyonce albums, go on package holidays, do the Lotto, spend every weekend getting hammered in the pub or buy a Sunday tabloid (all things my parents would deem perfectly normal bordering on essential to be considered “normal” I hasten to add).
I also blog.
It’s become one of the defining things in my life and in the last year especially I’ve met some of my closest friends through it. I look around at these people and suddenly, now that I think of it, I see is the same looking back at me. Geeks, dweebs, nerds, techies, anoraks about one thing or another. We are the A/V club in American high school movies, the fractured personalities, the mask wearers and dresser uppers, the satirists and manic depressives, movie nerds or angsters, festooned with tattoos, piercings, fabulous hats and alternative lifestyles.
We. many of us, have questionable social skills. I include myself firmly in that category.
It’s why I feel I belong.
I only ever really see the sharp distinctions when I’ve non-blogging friends in a room with us. “The Norms” if you will. They, lovely people that they are, rarely mix with us, don’t really get why anyone would want to blog, smile politely.
I think it explains in some small way why groups of bloggers gravitate together even though we blog on wildly differing subjects – a lot of us just share variations off a type of mindset.
It’s why I continue to blog so passionately, it’s why I like so much the people I’ve met and why this jigsaw is where my squiggly, angular piece fits.
Happy Christmas to you all no matter what lonely keyboard you might find yourself at today.
(This post originally appeared on golez.net)
2 thoughts on “To The Left, To The Left”
from one fabulous hat wearing blogger to another… great blog and i see myself most definitely in those descriptions. its been a pleasure meeting like minded left wing thinkers this year.
Rick, firstly merry xmas! Been a follower of you on 2fm since the midnight show way back in the day when i was in secondary school…”i’m a combine harvester!”…to the evening show to the breakfast show and now to your current spot. Gotta say that post sums up a lot of how i see myself too. In college now so dont get to here as much of the show as i would like but loving the blog. I’m new to the blog world and you can catch me at phantana.blogspot.com! 🙂 Happy new year!
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