Planting New Flags
For a long time, the “about me” section of this blog didn’t change much. Partly that was because my self-definition was fairly static. I started this blog after some dramatic changes in 2003-04, so my interests, projects and networks remained fairly static for quite some time. Our self-definition (the real us, rather than the fantasy […]
For a long time, the “about me” section of this blog didn’t change much. Partly that was because my self-definition was fairly static. I started this blog after some dramatic changes in 2003-04, so my interests, projects and networks remained fairly static for quite some time.
Our self-definition (the real us, rather than the fantasy we wish we were) flows from what we do and the people we are in relationships with. When that doesn’t change much, there’s little reason to revisit the definition. However, last year I made some decisions to change my work and networks and that has brought a lot of change. So, now I’m having to revisit quite regularly the question of who is asking to work with me and why people are coming to this blog.
So, I’ve pared back the about me page and re-edited the pages about my music and photography. I’ve added a small gallery of photos to both, as well as a SoundCloud player to the music page. Please take a look.
I’ve also added a new page, focussed on my writing. When I started blogging, back in 2001 I was primarily a writer (as an academic and researcher). These days I describe myself as an essayist and increasingly I see writing as an adjunct to music and photography – secondary but still important. The following is from the writing page and summarises some of how I approach writing these days.
“I’ve been blogging, on and off, since June 2001 and consistently on this site since October 2004. The inspiration to get into blogging came from reading academics and religious thinkers who were using the platform to spread new idea to readers in a faster and less mediated form than what print journals and magazines could allow.
Although a lot of blogging was (and to some extent continues to be) of the dear-diary type, it was pretty clear, even ten years ago, that serious and professional writers were using this platform in a revolutionary way. Everything that has come since those days, from Web2.0 to Web3.0, with social media, mobile and tablet computing thrown in represents a radical change to the publishing landscape for writers of all types.
My chosen form is the essay. With my background in philosophy, religious and cultural studies, the essay became a natural way to express my ideas. While essay writing transfers well to the blog format, it is also telling that many of the magazines that remain as standard-bearers for the print-format, such The Atlantic, The Economist, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, Monocle and Vanity Fair are bastions of the essay, in both short and long form.”
So there you have it – music, photography and writing. That’s my answer to the big ugly question – so, what do you do?