Post 600: A Case for Literary Blogging

This is my 600th post since I started this blog in Brooklyn in April of 2009. I've been thinking of this post for a while, ever since I realized that my 400th and 500th posts were nearly identical; the same background story and premise. I've repeated myself a few times in this forum before, but that was usually about weather related things. I've been loathe to repeat the meat of posts.

I had two goals with this, the 600th post. First, I crunched some numbers. I posted 223 times while living in Brooklyn. Those posts, under the "...Back East" title, were about New York and travels we made while living in Brooklyn. I posted 217 times while living in Austin and under the "...Deep in Texas" title. That leaves us with exactly 160 posts under the "...Makes it Home" title. Pretty even split so far.

The second goal I had for this post is to broach the topic of "Literary Blogging", the idea that this is a media that can allow the formation of art in a style that is relatively new.

After hearing the buzz over Grantland, a literary style blog about sports and a touch of other entertainment news, and having checked it out myself, I shook my head. It looked like my own material, but about solely sports. I read the site, of course, but I feel like I beat them to the punch.

I would never claim that every post I've ever entered into this realm is literature. I am claiming though that this is a form in which literature can be created.

One reason I read Grantland is that it's similar to my own material, or so I think. I also check out Cracked's website regularly, because they have a more Daily Show mentality.

But, really, I could read this blog, my blog, anytime. I do, actually, in a bout of narcissism that I've never really encountered before. I have tons of posts I really enjoy; I enjoy their subject matter, their flow, tone, and progression.

The current idea is that blogs are creating a world in which the newspaper, or maybe newspapering, is a relic that costs their audience money. Blogging is supposed to be training people to expect their "news" for free. I've never had that goal, or plan, for this site. This site has always been about observations, ideas, memories, travels, experiences generally...you know, all the things about the human condition. All the things that can inspire artistic creation.

Some of my favorite posts I've culled to the left side on the web version of this blog. They live under the title "Essential Caliboy", mainly because "Essential Caliboyinbrooklyn" wouldn't fit and I couldn't settle on anything better. It seems like much of my personal beliefs can be discovered if you pay enough attention to those "Essential" pieces. Sometimes I try to hide my true feelings, maybe because I'm planning to run for Mayor of Long Beach within a decade, but those posts sure tell plenty. There're also a few posts I haven't included as an "Essential" piece that explain my personal feeling on other topics, explain them plain as day, but for other reasons haven't made it to Column Left.

Maybe that should be the name, instead of "Essential Caliboy"..."Column Left".

In any case, one of the best posts I put up here was one of the first, "A Beautiful Sight". That was a discussion about November 4th, 2008, in the black community. It's powerful. There was a reason I put it up third overall, I guess (the first two posts were of the "Hi! Here I am..." and "...this is what you can expect..." variety). It originated as a letter to a friend (actually a Facebook message (full disclosure)).

One of the best pure posts, or maybe a post that I consider to be one of the better posts, is the "Buddhism and Anticipation Games". I've read a great deal of things by a great deal of writers, and I've never read anything quite like that post. Even now when I read it, the flow, the connection of American consumerism, Buddhism and anticipation, and the conclusion all still surprise me. Somehow it all came together.

These posts aren't New Journalism, by any means, but they're non-fiction. There's definitely a strain of Hunter Thompson and Gonzo, since "I" is a character in, and protagonist of, each post. These are much more mundane things being done here than in which anything Hunter was involved. I also specifically avoid claiming any pretense of objectivity, but I wouldn't call this blog a series of editorials.

I'm at a loss for giving it a title. That's why I'm thinking of calling this whole endeavor Literary Blogging. I put a post up a few days ago about "Mammalian Prejudices" and got one of my loyal readers so fired up about a similar but different topic that she got up on a soapbox. The fact that reader was my mother doesn't overshadow the power of words, and if they have kind of power, then the whole thing has value, doesn't it?

Isn't that which reflects the world and has meaning and power for others what constitutes art?