Sunday, February 29, 2004

The problem with embarking on new creative endeavors is context. If you intend to start writing a column, painting a picture, or building an installation, it is easy to come up with a plan (even greatly detailed) of what you want to say and how you want to say it. The difficulty lies in placing your work in the proper context, figuring out the amount of references and allusions you wish to imbue it with, answering questions such as: "Do I want people to know or just to imagine they know what I am talking about?" and "Do I want this piece to be actually about my own or my mother's neurosis?"
Yup, the context is the bitch.
So, after I decided that I would start blogging again (it is good, makes one feel intelligent and productive), I spent a bit of time wondering what kind of context I would set my blog in. Do I want it to resemble a diary? In other words, do I want to chronicle the class content and social interactions at my small liberal arts college and the sex I have with my man? Not really - I like to put my slightly obsessive analytical capacity to good use, and overanalyzing one's daily activities is, well, kinda weird. Do I, then, want to comment on the news, like so many admirable bloggers do? I think not - although I enjoy The News as an institution, I lack either Jon Stewart's detached perspective or Andrew Sullivan's biting engagement. In other words, I would only get riled up, and I would suck.
Then what do I want to do already? Well, how about I just write about stuff that I think about? How about I hook Kosher Piglets up to my mind, without setting any guidelines beforehand, and take my waves of thought with their respective references and allusions as they come?
That's narcissistic! I love it!

Monday, February 23, 2004

New beginnings are good every once in a while, so here I am.