Thinking About

An Inconvenient Blogging Truth

/ Ally Bean / 16 Comments

When I started keeping a personal blog I realized that I’d have to find the time to write.  Mornings work best for me.

And I also knew that I’d have to have the ability to express myself in this medium.   Stories, photos [not of people] and links work best for me.

But what did not occur to me was that I’d also have to have something to write about all the time.  That is, something would have to happen in my life that I’d want to tell you about.  Something interesting, or insightful, or entertaining.

And it is at this point in the process that I find myself today.  At a point where there is nothing to talk about.

It’s not as if I’m not doing things.  I am.  It’s just that I cannot fathom why anyone would care to read about the ho-humness of my daily life.  A ho-humness, I hasten to add, that makes me happy.

So, having explained myself thusly, I’ll end this post by leaving you, my gentle readers, with a guarantee that when something of note happens in my life, I’ll share it here.

And I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes that succinctly explains my attitude toward blogging– and life, too, for that matter.

“Give me your heart, Make it real, Or else forget about it.”

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Back When TV Was Truly Refined

/ Ally Bean / 10 Comments

… After yesterday’s constant stream of sad news I’m feeling a bit nostalgic today.  

This is funny and sweet.  It’s a reminder of how smart + delightful television used to be.  So. Very. Calm.

I miss watching TV shows that were in black & white.  I miss seeing TV shows that don’t *flash* and *bang* all over the place.  I miss being entertained by TV shows that don’t try to impress me with their super hipness.

But mostly I miss the kind of innocence that allowed a pleasant “nobody” to outsmart a panel of curious “somebodies” by merely being herself.  With a smile.

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[H/T to Maria Popova at Brain Pickings.  More info + other video clips here.]

[Unrelated to this video, but interesting to know, the contestant later wrote a memoir titled Look Back and Laugh.  Writers are everywhere, aren’t they?]

Realizing My Vision Without Flinging A Cow

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments

I loved Northern Exposure when it was on TV.  One episode in particular, Burning Down The House, made a big impression on me.  I still think about it.

In it, Chris decides to “create a pure moment” by: 1) building a trebuchet, & 2) choosing the perfect cow to fling from it.

But his plan stalls when he realizes that: 1) there is “a certain wrongness” to the cow he has picked out, & 2) he cannot, in good conscience, fling a cow because it has been done before.  Which would make his cow flinging merely repetitive.  And not the perfect artistic experience that he longs for.

• • •

At first Chris is bummed that he won’t be able to create his pure moment but comes to realize that:  “I had to let go of that cow so I could see all the other possibilities.”

I still reflect on the idea of a certain wrongness to things.  And on how you often have to let go of any preconceived ideas in order for a new, better idea to manifest.

All this comes to mind as I write this last NaBloPoMo post.  I had a different idea of how this challenge was going to play out, so when I sensed a certain “wrongness” to it I almost gave up.  However, I hung around posting something every day– letting go of “that cow so I could see all the other possibilities.”

And as a result, I managed to complete NaBloPoMo.  And make a decision or two about how I’ll pursue my dreams in the future.

So with that last NaBloPoMo thought, I’ll leave you, my gentle readers, to watch what might be the best– the most absurd– the most unexpected three minutes in all of Northern Exposure.  And that’s saying something.

Enjoy!

• • •

“The thing I learned folks, this is absolutely key:

It’s not the thing you fling. It’s the fling itself.

Let’s fling something, Cicely!”

~ Chris, Northern Exposure

NaBloPoMo: 10 Things About It For Which I’m Grateful + 3 Other Points

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments
  • It reminded me of why I don’t do a daily blog anymore. Too. Much. Sitting. Still.
  • It allowed me to meet some new-to-me bloggers who were doing this challenge, too.
  • It made me realize how small my world was before the internet– back when geography and genetics were my only links to people.
  • It encouraged some of my lurkers to reveal themselves with a like or a comment.
  • It got me laughing at myself & others as we struggled to do this challenge.
  • It confirmed that posting on Sunday is never worth it for me.  I hate doing it & my readers don’t do Sunday blogging.
  • It gave me the opportunity to write some new types of posts.  For better or for worse.
  • It showed me that despite my disinclination to use YouTube videos in my posts, doing so was well-received.
  • It provided me with a space to share some of my photos that I’d have never posted otherwise.
  • It forced me to re-evaluate whether blogging is worth the bother.  My conclusion?  It is… when done no more than three days per week.

# # # 

1. I have to wonder if November is the best time of year for NaBloPoMo.  I understand the history of this challenge so I get why it’s in November.  But honestly, November is filled with lots of other things to do, often involving travel, that make it extra difficult to finish NaBloPoMo.

Instead, I’d like to nominate February as the official NaBloPoMo month.  It’s a short month– with a good heart— typically filled with fewer distractions than November.

2.  I found this year’s NaBloPoMo blogroll to be frustrating.  As I have done in past years, I intended to use it to find new bloggers.  However, when I clicked on many of the links, I discovered the blogger had done nothing– or only posted a couple of days.

I realize that NaBloPoMo uses the honor system, but couldn’t someone at Blogher go through the blogroll at least once and weed out the faux participants?  I, for one, would appreciate it.

3.  I saw quite a few bloggers just do this challenge without signing up.  I joined NaBloPoMo officially because I had hoped that by signing up on Blogher I’d get encouragement from & interaction with lots of other bloggers within that forum.  But that didn’t happen [see points 1 & 2 above] which left me feeling somewhat alone while doing NaBloPoMo.

If I ever do this challenge again, I’m going to embrace my natural inclination to not conform just because I’m supposed to and follow the lead of those who refuse to belong– where ironically this year I found bloggers who were the most supportive of my efforts.