Oh, what to write about?

Y'know, my 11th-grade writing teacher, Brenda Ball, loved the way I wrote. She especially liked my free verse. She thought something was there.

People I worked with at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette liked it, too, although sometimes my literary devices were a bit too obtuse for them, and they would routinely get cut. "This ain't art, and you ain't Hemingway."

I suppose it's a skill that one must consistently work on or else it goes fallow.

I always liked writing, but I hated it at the same time. Yeah, so what?

I anticipate my re-entry into the blog world will be a mix of posts like these of a purely personal nature, plus typical blog posts commenting on the passing scene. Some Twelve-Step work may be included.

I've gone through a rough period in my personal life where I just couldn't muster up the energy to be outraged about much. I went through a period where I wasn't watching the news, reading my otherwise favourite opinion sites (i.e. National Review Online, Townhall, little green footballs, or even my perverse pornographic pleasure).

But now I'm getting better. I think trying to blog more will improve my outlook. And now that football season is over, I need something to do to keep me occupied.

I'm back (of a sort)

After taking a year and a half off from my blog, I've decided to return.

Blogging during that time was hard, if not impossible. I had a job that required massive time, I was going through a very turbulent period in my marriage, and I was right off politics and cultural issues. In other words, I couldn't gin up the energy to write, cleverly or otherwise.

Now I have a job that is much less stressful and demanding (while still making the same money -- go figure), I have developed more tools to deal with my still-less-than-wholly-satisfying marriage, and I'm slightly more interested in politics and culture again. Besides, I didn't want to lose my Blogger account for good.

So, your humble Boatswain's Mate has returned. I can't promise to post multiple times everyday. I'm not exactly a member of the Pajamas Media. I do work for a living. And I can't promise that everything will be politically or culturally relevant. But I am who I am.