Posts
It is an evocative word. We are a culture always looking over the horizon, perhaps losing sight of what we have left behind.
It is as though we feel time heavy at our backs and press on as if to escape it and our own mortality.
"Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life."
~William Faulkner
When I first started my blog, I would look at the label up at the top: NEXT BLOG.
I would hit my cursor over it and cyber-surf my way across the world. Sweden. New Zealand. Japan. Brazil. The Virgin Islands.
I stopped when the world pressed in heavy upon me. I decided to try it again tonight. I went on quite a journey --
First, I chanced upon Light Reading:
with its spotlight on the evocative photo narrative of (One Cat – Three Lives)
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/one-cat-three-lives/?hp
What hit me most was the photographer's final lament under his cat, Meeno, and the feline's last picture:
“I am an atheist and don’t believe in life after death. But
if there ever is one, I would like to hold Meeno one more time, please.”
Next I stumbled across the mystery-loving Karen at
She works at a community library and besides teen fiction, she also loves Euro Crime
mysteries.
My next port of call was
The Coachella Valley Art Scene which was colorful, lively, and
intriguing:
http://www.thecoachellavalleyartscene.com/
The tap of the ever-roaming cursor brought me to Elysabeth and another blog where I learned a bit more about turning an ebook into an audio
book at
http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com/
And if you think I have a few books to my credit, check out
Paula Graves, Harlequin author:
http://spinstersandlunatics.blogspot.com/
The hour was late, but I was still curious. I hit NEXT BLOG again and found:
CRITICIZE THIS. It was a fascinating, professionally done blog
reviewing movies, music, and even comics and books!
http://www.criticizethis.ca/
With heavy eyes, my cursor hit one last time and stumbled across my last find.
I loved the blog title:
Absinthe Minded with its news and
views on European Literature, Art, and Film:
http://absinthenew.blogspot.com/Have you ever roamed the net of blogs like a cyber pioneer? Let me know if you have. Let me know what you find if you decide to do it now.
"You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by;
but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by."
~James Matthew Barrie
I've never done that, Roland, and I probably won't go surfing the net as you describe. I prefer to look for a specific purpose or via searches, then I can see the title and the path before I go there.
ReplyDeleteI'm always aware of the security factor, and tend to be cautious at just picking 'Next'. Although, that might make a good scifi-horror story beginning.
I like a choice, and with clicking on NEXT, that choice is taken away by the web gods. I'm sure most of your readers will be more adventurous than I.
D.G.:
ReplyDeleteIt is the Lakota in me that yearns to see what lies beyond the next mountain range -- even if it is a cyber mountain.
Perhaps that is what draws me to wanderers like Samuel McCord and Victor Standish.
What did Victor say in his first book?
"Me? I knew what I was: a street orphan who lived or died by his wits. Every life was complicated. Every mind was a kingdom of unmapped mysteries. And I was an explorer of those mysteries. I had to be just in order to stay alive."
My virus blocker is excellent so I am not worried there. Like my old cat, Gypsy, I am curious. And yes, I know the adage about curioisty and cats! :-)
I think I did the "next blog" thing a long time ago, when I was new to blogging. Now, I sometimes click on blogger commenters or the blogs I follow feature to see something new. I like to browse post titles on other blogs. Sometimes, like your finds here, I see something new, and will follow a blog.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm always trolling for new people to meet, but I'm not really into the blog hops that are intended for that purpose. I'm still not a blogger who wants followers just because I joined a bloghop. My longest lasting blog relationships have been because I clicked on someone who had something interesting to say in a comment, or had an interesting title to a post and it caught my attention in the side bar while I visited a mutual blog friend.
The few times I've joined events for the express purpose of gaining blog followers, I've had success in obtaining followers, but not people who consistently comment on my posts.
I understand this concept though. Do you know how many posts I scroll through on my google reader and delete without ever reading or commenting on? I followed because I saw them in my followers on a bloghop or liked a few posts when I checked out their blog, then things just got uninteresting. For several months. I rarely unfollow due to lack of interest; I just don't want to hurt a blogger's feelings.
But I know how enticing that "next blog" button can be. I still like it here and there.
Its late, I shouldn't be up, and I think I got off track from the main topic.
Have a good night Roland.
........dhole
Hi Roland .. interesting finds you came across. I've occasionally - more like once in a blue moon! - hit the next button ... I've just added to my connections via others' comments at the various blogs I visit, or via the A - Z ...
ReplyDeleteBut I'll come back to look at your sites anon ... and I might risk a look at the "next blog" .... cheers Hilary
I've never hit the 'next' button. May have to rectify that situation as one never knows what one will stumble upon! Hmm ... may give it a go now :)
ReplyDeleteDonna:
ReplyDeleteYes. :-) You sort of went from NEXT BLOG to blog hops for collecting followers. I NEXT BLOG to explore the net in a random way so as to see people I would never get to any other way. Getting followers is not my goat -- just getting to know the world a bit more.
Always good to hear you comment no matter on what. :-)
Hilary:
Dare to explore. I've learned things about working with leather as with saddles and whips. I saw stunning pictures of Siberia. I have seen sights and come to know people I never would have otherwise.
Wendy:
Have fun exploring. Let me know what you find!