The irregular blog posting of late has been due to three things. First, the pressure of work. I am trying to finish a key component of a project and it’s proving more complicated and involved than anticipated. Second is the time required to read more books, which currently mean Jonathan Foreman’s Aiding And Abetting: Foreign Aid Failures and the 0.7% Deception and Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven — and more in the works as snail mail arrives. The third factor has been a variety of long neglected and deferred chores that are claiming their due.
These are the obvious explanations. But on reflection there was yet another factor that was harder to express. The simplest way to put it is that the times now call for fewer words, or least for words of a different type. That is because most of the things that are easy to say have already been said on the blogosphere. While it would be easy to run on about the miserable state of the world and the folly of politics, this corner of the blogosphere is victim of its own success. The readers know that stuff already. We have beaten it nearly to death in these pages. What they need now is ways to do something constructive within the limits of their situations, otherwise these realizations lead to bitterness and bitterness to futility.
This may mirror what is to some extent a general trend; a change in mood that is palpable in the air. The British authors of yesteryear would probably have written “Carruthers sensed a subtle difference in the beat of the ship’s engine. He realized that his chance had come …” or hackneyed phrases to that effect to convey the shift in the story line if it were an adventure story. It may only be imaginary, but I think the game is changing — to what, I am not sure.
Whatever befall, I’ve resolved, for my part, to do more in the context of ordinary life; and to write fewer current events pieces in favor of more broadly themed items. The goal is to make the Belmont Club more fun, but not in a mean way. Whether it works out … time will tell. Let me check to see how well Carruthers is doing. He should be climbing over the rail by now.
The Three Conjectures at Amazon Kindle for $1.99
Storming the Castle at Amazon Kindle for $3.99
No Way In at Amazon Kindle $8.95, print $9.99
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