I just typed a long post on blogging as a means of expression and then I accidentally navigated away from the post and promptly lost the whole thing, so maybe that’s another strike against blogging as a means of expression.  

Anyway, this blog was born out of an assignment for a class I am taking at CUNY Grad Center where I am getting a PHD in slow motion. (Brief digression: when I started teaching up in Washington Heights. one of my students asked me if had my PHD.  And I said “Well, I’m not certain it’s really worthwhile to pursue that degree if I am unsure about the job market for professors…” To which he said “No man, your PLAYA HATA DEGREE, cause you never let us play dice in the hall.” To this, I had no response.) Being forced to express my thoughts in written form was a challenge.  Those who know me know that I am never shy about giving my opinion, whether or not it is solicited. I’m not sure if this comes from being a native Brooklynite or genetics or whatever, but it’s definitely a part of me to love a good argument.  But the thing about verbal altercations is that they are ephemeral and protean.  You can argue about anything and then all your arguments and points vanish into the either.

This is not the case for blog posts (provided you don’t accidentally delete them before posting). Once you make a statement, it is there on the web for the whole world to see (though you are lucky if you can draw 10 people) and changing your mind or altering your points becomes tricky.  If you are not careful, your trail of posts can, python-like, crush you in their logic.  

Still, this is something that all writers have to deal with.  Every time we put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, and write something, we are destroying infinite potential other paths.  This is the dilemma attached to all action and all creation and it is the reason why it can sometimes be so hard to make things.  After all, each made thing is actually a monument to infinite unmade things.  But those unmade things are unmade, and the act of taking misty thoughts and transforming them into solid ideas is good for us.  Or at least it has been good for me.  Maintaining this blog has really allowed me to work through a lot of issues and help me make up my mind.

And just as I have been a blog producer, so too have I been a blog consumer.  My classmates’ blogs have been an awesome read. Nader who eloquently skewers wacky third party candidates while possibly envying their wildness.  Monxo, who writes about the Bronx, maps, technology, veganism and why Edward Said is a bastard. Carla, juggling issues of race while trying to help rebuild Haiti.  Tamar (soon to be a rich banker) wrestling with her mixed Jewish, Iraqi and American identities.  Chris—the funniest capitalist Marxist you’ll meet this side of Deng Xiaoping.  And, though it isn’t technically a blog, who could resist the incredible arguments of il professore?

Hopefully this blog will remain active and I will continue to use it as a tool to shape my own thoughts and maybe yours as well, dear reader?