Don't Play It Safe!

First I must say it has been a random week here in my little bloggy world

Second I have ALMOST gone a week without doing this:

13. if you havent written about sex, religion, and politics in a week youre probably playing it too safe, which means you probably fucked up on #5, in which case start a second blog and keep your big mouth shut about it this time.
From: How to Blog by Tony Pierce

So without further ado here is me blogging about sex, religion, and politics. It's kind of a weird time to do this, because there are SO MANY PEOPLE here right now, but it's weird in a good and coincidental kind of way.

1. Sex: I cannot understand why not blogging about sex is playing it safe when you have nothing whatsoever to say about sex. I'm not having any, I could be, but I'm not. I guess in a sense my not having sex is 'playing it safe' too. American society is sex-obsessed, and let me tell you, being the (seemingly) only person who is NOT obsessed with sex, is not exactly peachy. Sex is overrated. Intimacy is not, but the actual act of sex, being 'sexy' and advertising sex in the media are all grossly unimportant in comparison to the climate crisis or the children who died today in Africa. We really DO have better things to talk about and obsess about.

2. Religion: I believe in God, I am not Christian, Muslim, or Jewish. I don't believe in hell, or that Jesus was the son of God. I also believe in The Goddess. Mother Earth, Gaia, etc. I am not wiccan. I have to ask this; why can't that be accepted?

3. Politics: I don't like Bush. Finally after almost 8 years I feel like that opinion is in the vast majority. I saw Barack Obama announce his candidacy for presidency in Springfield IL on 2-10-07. He was the most inspiring person I have ever heard (there are probably more inspiring people in the world, I just haven't heard them). I truly believe he is the person that can bring America to where it wants to be for the future and for our children.

Ok, there, I have officially left myself open to hundreds of people i don't know. I am no longer 'playing it safe.'

The most interesting thing about all of this is that: I don't spend my time thinking about Sex, Religion or Politics, I don't watch the news (or the daily show), I don't even have Cable TV. I don't attend church, and the Obama announcement was the first political event I have been to in my life.

Freaking OUT right now.

Oh man, I cannot believe it! You can't believe it. I bet you, reading this right now, were led here by Mark Frauenfelder and his Boing Boing Article about his new book Rule the Web! I have never been so honored. It proves true that the MOST IMPORTANT thing about blogging is link to everyone you can because someday they might return the favor. Even if you have 2 readers. Just Link. I'm still kind of in shock. I've been blogging for a week. My blog was on Boing Boing!!

Ok take a deep breath.... now blog.

It is really proof of how amazing the web really is. I didn't tell Mark I linked to him, I didn't ask him to link back, I just did it because it's the right thing to do. He can track who links to his blog, and in turn link them. I just picked up his book because I am a budding geek and really wanted to learn everything I can about the web and all of the amazing things it can do. If you have a well-established blog, or are a geek and have been for a while I bet you can remember a time in your youth when you discovered what the internet was, and when you realized what it meant for you, remember when you transitioned from a non-specific outcast to a Geek. whether you were 10 or 30, you likely remember this turning point in your life. I feel like I am there right now. It is just so amazing.

If you are where I am right now then I highly recommend Mark's book; It is everything you need to graduate from novice to apprentice or even from apprentice geek to journeyman geek: geek in your own right.

Thanks to everyone who has commented and I really hope my blog entertains and inspires you.

Most especially thank you Mark for linking my blog.

A first step and something of a roadmap

A couple of things inspired this blog.

The first of which was a book; Rule The Web by Mark Frauenfelder. I was inspired by his book to do more with the time I waste on this computer then stumbling forever through the endless abyss that is cyberspace. A lot of what he wrote about was things I was already doing: using firefox, good emailing, flash games, music sharing etc., but the one thing I didn't really have a grip on yet was a good and true blog.

As the book inspired me to learn how to publish my words here on the wide and wonderful web I immediately Googled "how to blog" and found how to blog by tony pierce, 110. It is an incredible resource for anyone who is a bit overwhelmed by the idea of blogging.

So here are the guidelines I am adapting from his site for my blog.

1. don't let people you know read your blog.

2. Write all the time

3. Be open, forthright, and honest. Be true to yourself

4. Link blogs

5. Lose all apprehension.

Every journey begins with the first step; a fitting cliche because this is my first step and I have no idea where I am going to end up.

So there it is. The beginnings of what may suck, or may thrive but no matter what it is mine.