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My 175th post. A sign? And WordPress no longer has stats to show what country my visitors are from—grrr! A sign? I used to have a direct link on my desktop, now I have to jump through hoops to get into my own website. And new hoops—plural—to get my stats. Definitely a sign that I should pause my blogging. (And then the stats disappeared)
Meanwhile, a blogger I follow, award winning science fiction writer John Scalzi, calls his website Whatever. (Whatever he feels like writing) His blog started as practise for writing a column. Similarly, George Orwell titled his column, which produced some classic essays, As I Please. My own essay blog is “about everything” as my London hotel receptionist puts it.
This month Scalzi wrote that a piece titled I think I have finally figured out why I write about politics here rather less than I used to. (link) I commented:
QUOTE
I’ve moved away (from my nation’s politics) to blogging international politics, but I will probably stop this month. So ya, me too.
I can dimly remember when socially it was almost OK to drink and drive, (legal penalties were small) and to smoke with children present. Sanity took decades.
And hey, it took years to learn not to yell into the microphone of one’s cellular phone in public.
I don’t think it is hopeless, I just think it may take decades for people to be suspicious of outraged politicians, “outrage media,” and to think before they forward.”
UNQUOTE
… …
SIDEBAR BEGINS
My concern is that all this false social media could lead to an extremist distrust of all media, of both amateurs and professional ethical journalists. So far, only anti-vaxxers and conspiracy-types have a firewall making them as unreachable as the Russians. I quote from a BBC website article:
Ukraine war: Belgorod locals live in fear but won’t blame Putin
By Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Belgorod
QUOTE
…Conversations here run similar to those at the market, with most people telling me: yes, security only became a problem after the invasion, but, no, they don’t blame the invasion itself. It’s as if there’s a psychological firewall preventing people from connecting the deteriorating security situation to the decision of their president… (Link)
UNQUOTE
SIDEBAR ENDS
… …
My comment to Scalzi is my final sign: Not only should I stop blogging politics this month, but I should pause on blogging altogether. How long? Beats me.
At least for a fortnight.
Likely longer than a lunar month.
Probably past a season.
But readers may still comment on older posts; I’ll still read them.
And now, as the title of a thin James A. Mitchener novel (link) put it…
Everybody, Sayonara.
… …
… …
Sean Crawford
London
February
2023
Footnotes
Still in London: Someone asked, “What is your travel theme this time?” I replied “art.” (My “favourite painting” is a tie: Lady Jane awaiting execution and Perseus turning Phineas and his followers to stone)
Now I have to add “theatre.”
I’ve seen Hamilton the rap play,
Les Miserables the musical (I read the novel as a teen)
the one act Orlando twice, (some day I’ll read the novel)
the one act Lemons, Lemons Lemons (from the fringe festival, co-starring Doctor Who’s Clara—a fan sat behind me)
the one act Medea (from a 1940’s translation of the 3,000 year old play)
Medea is still in it’s “preliminary” run meaning no critical reviews yet. My word-of-mouth advice is: If you are anywhere in Britain, then stay in London overnight to see it, and run-not-walk to buy tickets. If it comes to North America with the same actors, then the same advice applies. That show is a winner.
British Epilogue:
the glum and the light, from Quora social media (e-mailed to me):
David McDowell BA from University of Oxford Updated 4y
Glum
I teach at one of the most famous independent schools in Scotland and a few years ago I was showing some people round; they were wealthy folk from another country who were thinking of sending a son there. At one point we were looking at the school war memorial which has the names of 350+ former pupils who died in the two world wars, and mentioned a few examples of chaps who’d joined up straight from school into the ranks, etc. The woman looked confused and asked ‘If they were rich, why did they get killed, why didn’t they get out of it?’
I suppressed my disgust and the temptation to answer that she had just shown why in her country the ruling class had been overthrown in revolutions, and instead said that they saw it as their patriotic duty.
Light
Two old ladies were sitting on the bus in front of me, in Edinburgh. One had just come back from a holiday to the US – or maybe Canada, I forget which. She spent about five minutes expounding on how much better the service over there was, how friendly the shop staff were, how helpful everyone was, how everyone wished you a nice day. This was followed by a thoughtful silence and then she added, “It gets on yer nerves.”
Blog note:
Drat! (Crossing both the Atlantic and much of North America) One of my wee joys is composing essays during my return flight: This makes my eight-to-nine hour ride meaningful and exciting, not boring and impatient. But since my blog is “paused,” now what? Maybe I could compose for my “future files.” (So I did, about art, and old age)
Update: On March 13 WordPress restored to full functioning my stats feature, and included a survey form. I filled it out, commenting how disappointed I was.
Maybe the change is temporary; my Blog remains paused.
Update ii: It was temporary. Getting onto my site needs hoops again: The pause remains!
Update iii: Fixed again, but now I have other priorities.
