time to go back and learn guitar basics ....

friends:

i am tired.  writing is hard work, it really is, it is very draining when you try to stretch your mind around things not merely a re-hash of what someone else has already explored.

i have a friend who keeps track of his blog "hits."  they average about 4.5 minutes each.  now, if i don't get "links" from bigger blogs on my posts, i traffic somewhere between 50 to 100 hits @ day, and i will get thoughtful comments from one or two readers.  if i get a link from a big blog, i may go to nearly 500 hits.   but, you know what, from all those hits i rarely elicit a single comment.

such readers from the bigger blog may follow a link, but i suspect they read little, and probably don't stay much more than the 4.5 minutes mentioned above.

they simply cannot absorb what i am trying to say, reading or staying 4.5 minutes.  and, you know what, they aren't even interested in trying.  well, so be it.  they live in the world in which they feel comfortable, and if it is not my world and their interests are not my interests, i guess that is the way it is.  they are welcome to their world, and they are welcome to and deserve just what it gives them.

and, i guess i am welcome to mine.

i wish i had more impact on the general scheme of things, but it seems to me that i don't.  and, don't get me wrong, i enjoy tits and ass and thumping my chest on things we all agree on, but there are enough blogs out there that do that, one way or another, that the world doesn't need me to imitate them just to get attention.

so, i am not going to try to post very often.  i will leave the blog open, but i will not write unless it is about something that interests me.

i suggest these blogs to keep up with the world, as i view it:

http://www.atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com , http://www.jihadwatch.org/ , and http://www.yidwithlid.blogspot.com .

the above blogs cover the world i am interested in, and apparently in a far more informative, entertaining and commanding manner than i have been able to figure out.  i think that they are good, and that they will keep you abreast of the world.  i don't think they deal with things in the manner in which i attempt to do so, but, i don't think enough people are interested in the way i do things to bother: and, the people that read here are capable of thinking for themselves.

i am done writing posts that relatively few read, and for which even fewer are willing to put in the time and effort to comprehend or think further about the ideas i attempt to engender.  i am not trying to tell people what i think, but to get them to think, and i think that by any reasonable measure i have simply failed.  it has been fun, in some respects, but, in the main, i conclude only that i have indulged fantasy in thinking i have ever made any difference, whatsoever.

so, that is it.

back to being a very bad guitarist.  if i am going to indulge in simply entertaining myself, at least i am going to do something that is fun.

john jay @ 01.23.2010

Comments

[FoC (Friend of Cicero)]

jj,

If I may:
"I am not trying to tell people what I think but to get them to think and I think that, by any reasonable measure, I have failed".

How is that? I would imagine that less than 3% of readers comment on blogs as most don't want to express/are uncomfortable expressing themselves in a public forum. They are trying to inform themselves. The posts you write are lengthly, well researched (it's that country lawyer thing, I guess) and complete. They take time to read, to absorb and to think about. I agree that readers would find if difficult trying to absorb what you are trying to say. It is tiring to learn. But, even though readers aren't commenting I think they are thinking. Wasn't that what you said you were trying to do? Therefore, how have you failed? I fail to see you've failed.

"I conclude only that I have indulged fantasy in thinking I have ever made a difference, whatsoever."

Now, that's a different critter. I imagine one who commits the effort to create a blog and service same, does so because they want to or are driven to do it. The gas tank will, at some point, run on empty....fact of life IMO. As to having "ever made a difference, whatsoever"...? I believe that you have.

Now that I've 'got you straight' what kind of guitar do you play? And what tunes do you play/listen to?

If you like mandolin check out YouTube for Steve Goodman-Jethro Burns "City of New Orleans". That'll help lighten today's load.

That , Sir, be some fine pickin' !

FOjj

[Just Another Richard]

JJ. I think your analysis, while correct in many aspects, misses a fundamental problem of our age; namely, that few individuals like to read, or at least read anything in depth. Always remember, we live in an time where deep thinking is an anathema to the puerile pursuits favoured by the idols of our age.

Actually, as one who has been guilty of not posting a comment upon your labours of discovery, I must profess that I too have been worn out by the seemingly endless failure to engage with the wider public. People are intrigued, but wish to put little or no real effort into understanding the causes of our social incontinence; it is simply too much informational overload. The human mind has this unfortunate habit of closing down when confronted with complex and contradictory information coming from all sides.Now does this apply to your readers, who can say? However, may I point out that of those sites which you recommend, only jihadwatch has a substantial commentariat, (is that a word ... don't know, but it should be).

By the way ... playing guitar badly, can be equally as frustrating; I know, I've tried it myself.

I will miss your informative posts, but I will pop back occasionally to see if you've posted anything else.

[Mjolnir]

You're right in alot of respects. But even in 4.5 minutes, some of us take away a great deal. I enjoy your posts considerably. There are times however that I just don't feel like dealing with some of the issues and I just don't read them. I frequent Pamela Geller's blog and jihadwatch. I also am quite fond of Gates of Vienna. And honestly about a year ago i almost gave up altogether blogging, because I was putting so much of myself into it with seemingly no return. Comment on my blog are incredibly rare, aside from the spa comment which are quickly rejected. You do provide a service to many I am sure. I apologize for not commenting as much as I probably ought to, but I am usually not online long enough to take the time to comment. At any rate, thank sir. I appreciate your insight.