Monday, December 19, 2005

Last year I made a half-assed New Year's resolution to devote more time to writing. I'm making it again, but this time with a better sense of perspective.

The thing is, maintaining a daily blog is addictive . . . and, of course, fun, or I wouldn't be doing it. But it also takes up a surprisingly large amount of time and I feel I'm needed elsewhere -- if not necessarily in "meatspace," then at least poring over my word processor or reading an actual tree-based book (I haven't read as much as I would have liked over the last few months).

I think it would be premature and silly to stop posting here, so I'm not about to. But I'm going to change the flavor of the posts to expand upon the work I really should be doing -- namely, splicing/massaging my new nonfiction effort into intelligible form, cranking out more (finished) short-stories and getting serious about the commercial potential of a science fiction novel manuscript. (It occurred to me this evening that one of my favorite author/bloggers, Rudy Rucker, manages a rather remarkable fiction output while maintaining a well-wrought weblog, so I don't think writing and online publishing are mutually exclusive. In fact, I foresee the two genres becoming increasingly entangled and symbiotic.)

Quite honestly, I've got a lot on my plate right now, which is the way it should be. So in 2006 Posthuman Blues' emphasis will probably shift from coolhunting and fringe commentary to more personal, creative concerns. The change might be radical or it may be subtle; I don't know. Hopefully it will be for the best. If not, then at least it will be a diversion.

Anyway, if you notice a drop-off in the number of posts in the near future, don't be alarmed. And by all means please keep me bookmarked.

10 comments:

gordon said...

Mac,

I'm envious - trying to find the time to write a science-based fiction has been one of my fantasies. Writing papers somehow just doesn't have the same appeal ...

Good luck with the endeavour

Mac said...

Thanks, Gordon.

Gerald T said...

A blog takes an INSANE amont of time! And for what?!?!

gotta be half mad...mumbel mummblll...

IamTenBears said...

you've been writing noting but sci-fi. guess its a good idea to admit it. bonne chance.

elizabeth said...

What is your problem, iamtenbears? I am sincerely curious what motivates someone to make such negative comments. The juvenile quality of your statement leads me to believe that you are perhaps quite young...
At any rate, if you must disagree with the author, or other posts on this blog, and you don't have the adult language skills to speak your mind in any other way than asserting yourself by being a jerk, then I would suggest that perhaps you put this negative energy into something more fruitful, such as a good ol'fashioned road rage (which is what your commentary parallels, and is how other diminished souls anonomously assert themeselves.) That is, of course, assuming you are old enough to drive. Please leave civilized intellectual arguements for the grown-ups.
I am sure you will have to respond with some *cute* clever retort to really "get me back."
Be assured I expect nothing less....

IamTenBears said...

ok lizzy, wouldn't want to disappoint ya!

There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophies. Mysteries abound in the multiverse. When the first pic was taken of the pile-of-sand-on-Mars by Viking in '76, it really did look like a face. It was intruiging. Then, many years later, MGS took better pics and it turned out to be just a trick of light and shadow, and of the human mind's well-known propensity to create patterns out of chaos. No matter, there are plenty of other mysteries around. Unfortunately, other piles-of-sand-on-Mars and funny-looking-rocks-on-Mars are not them. Nevertheless, a cottage industry has grown up around such things, trade paperbacks with glossy pics are sold, amateurs (and worse) have websites where they hang the results of their twiddlings with photoshop. Does all this stuff really hurt anyone? I suppose not, people love to fool themselves, and will even happily pay $$ to have themselves fooled. Its better than going over to Iraq and blowing the faces off of women and children, thats for sure, or other such hobbies.

My particular pathology is that when I see bullshit, especially bullshit being passed off as science, my inner adolescent cant resist skewering the purveyors. Will it do any good? Doubtful- people who love to fool themselves rarely have the disicpline to rise to anything more honest. But who knows, if one emperor wakes up to the fact that they have no clothes on, then my great sacrifice will not have been in vain!

A merry christmas to all.

elizabeth said...
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mac said...

Nevertheless, a cottage industry has grown up around such things, trade paperbacks with glossy pics are sold

Damn. My trade paperback didn't get *any* glossies.

wearethemetrons said...

Damn. My trade paperback didn't get *any* glossies.

shoulda spent more time playing with photoshop, or made pretty mirror images like that loony Haas in "Cydonia Codex"

Cap'n Marrrrk said...

Mac's got no clothes? I have to jump in to defend Mac here. While I can't say for certain what is actually on Mars, but I think Mac covers the debate quite well rather than simply declaring, "Yep. Life on Mars."

Light and Shadow yeah, sure. Jesus on a grilled cheese..., but Bilateral Symmetry, that's just weird.

Anyhoo. I for one welcome the thoughts that will be coming from Mac's head. I want the personal stuff.