Ceci n'est pas une Blog

Birthday.

As of today, this blog is one year old. Happy Birthday, Blog! (I didn't plan this, but this is also my 100th post! Pretty neat.)

The name of this blog is an homage to René Magritte's famous Surrealist painting, La Trahison des Images, (The Treachery of Images). The image is of a regular pipe against a plain background, with text underneath reading "Ceci n'est pas une pipe." ("This is not a pipe.")
The explanation Magritte gives is that it really isn't a pipe, but rather an image of one.

I haven't thought of a clever way to apply that logic to my blog's own metaphysics, but I do enjoy that kind of thinking. I know that sometimes in speaking, and certainly in writing, I'll often employ more words than most people think are necessary. It's because I seem to have an unyielding desire, not only to be understood, but to be irrefutably correct. Sometimes the need to be as correct as possible overrides the need to be clear. Apparently my ramblings have, on occasion, been accused of containing contradictory statements. I think this is more likely attributed to a lack of understanding from my audience than a logical error on my part - but still, it's probably something I should work on.

Anyhow, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for reading. Your interest in me and my eccentric interests means a great deal, and your comments still make my day every time you leave them. They're especially important to me because it feels like proof that I've provoked at least a little bit of thought from someone, and therefore affected someone else besides myself. I was going to say, "without my readers there would be no blog"...but I'm afraid that's not quite the case. It's possible that I'd go on writing even if nobody was reading, albeit less contentedly. I look back at past-postings all the time, and I think my writing's generally improved since June 4th, 2006. (Although perhaps not in this post as I'm writing it after 2 in the morning.)

I need to give a special mention to my grandparents, who have been my most consistent readers for a long time. Also, of course, a nod to Sarah who inspired me to start in the first place and whose blog remains at the top of my list to this day - even though it's been exactly one month since her last update. For shame.

My plans for the future are to continue on as always, hopefully evolving at least somewhat in both content and style. As always, I thank you for your continued support.

Special Request: Although Ceci n'est pas une Blog is mostly for my own amusement, I'd like to make a decent effort to please my readers too. Below I've listed some of my favourite posts I've made in the past year. The criteria for my choices revolved around the quality of writing, the content, and maybe most importantly, the quantity and quality of discussion the post generated. These are my favourites, but I'd really appreciate it if you took a few minutes to tell me yours. As always, my monthly archives are in the sidebar and awaiting your perusal. If you could go so far as to leave a little comment describing what was good about the post(s) you pointed out, that would be fabulous. Thanks!

My Faves From This Year:

Zidane Gives Italy Headway
Google Buys YouTube; Fate Buys Dave-like Voodoo Doll
Ding
APOCALYPT....oh.
Not O.K. Computer
Critical Muse
Massacre Chasers are Lame
Fond Farewell, Firefox
Life of a Non-Student

Labels: blog

posted by Dave @ 10:27 PM