Today is the real first day of writing. I wrote over the weekend to help cement the habit, but today is the first day I gave myself on the calendar to write something. As an academic, I can think of no better use of a “first” post than to function as a sort of introduction. However, an introductory blog post functions quite differently than a book’s introduction.
I had a professor who said (I think quoting Derrida) that you should write an introduction last to create “the illusion of mastery.” In an academic study, the order in which you compose chapters doesn’t necessarily match the order in which readers consume them, and it is generally advised to write the introduction last, since only then do you know what you’ve actually written.
However, an introduction here is, at best, a guess. I don’t really know what I’m going to write, what I’m going to do with this space. I can only clue you (and probably at the same time, myself) in to what I intend to do. So, take this as a general disclaimer that this space is subject to change. The only constant that I can assure you is this: I hope to write Mondays through Fridays. And in the event that I miss a day, I intend not to miss twice.
So, with all that out of the way, let me outline a few types of content I could see myself writing. If nothing else, it’s a good brainstorming exercise for future posts.
Movie Reviews – I generally publish full movie reviews at Cinepunx, but I like those to be polished and at least somewhat timely. I also review movies on my Letterboxd account, but I would say that’s mostly for me. The majority of my Letterboxd reviews are just one sentence to help me remember how I felt about a film. This space would be a good fit for content that is more extensive than a Letterboxd review but either not polished enough or not timely enough for me to send in to Cinepunx.
Book Reviews – Same, but applied to books. Other than past academic work, I don’t generally review books except a little blurb on Goodreads sometimes.
Tips/Guides – I am an avid consumer of how-to’s, especially when it comes to writing, productivity, organization, and working on routines. Am I actually good at writing, productivity, organization, and routines? Not really. Perhaps that’s why I endlessly read, watch, and listen to content related to it. But occasionally I find a tidbit that is really good and sticks with me. For example, Brandon Sanderson’s creative writing course for sci-fi and fantasy, a Youtube series that I watched recently, had some really awesome bits that I could share. I wouldn’t mind distilling down the best of what I read and watch here.
Learning – Specifically, filling in the gaps of books and subjects I never read in school. I would love, for example, to work through something like St. Andrews great books curriculum, or to follow along with the History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps podcast, or the Secret History of Western Esotericism podcast (both my go-to’s for history of philosophy). I’d also like to be better informed about science. I’d love to finally read all of Plato. There’s a lot out there.
Challenges – There’s a lot I want to do. For example, I’d love to improve my chess rating (currently it’s pretty abysmal in the 600’s), or even learn a new game like Go. I’d love to get better at cooking new cuisines. I’d love to set a timer on something and see how much I can improve in, say, 7 days, 30 days, 365 days. The parameters here are still pretty vague to me.
Politics and Current Events – I’m adding this because it may come up (especially if I document a reread of Marx), but generally I am going to avoid politics, at least at first. There is so much emotion tied up into political causes, and the United States is kind of a political hellscape right now. I would rather focus my daily writing on things over which I have some direct control since I write in the morning and don’t want to spoil my mood before my second cup of coffee.
Religion and Spirituality – This may come up more often than I expect, since I have a graduate-level education in the subject. I find the study of religion fascinating, as well as spiritual practices. I have an interest in the weird and esoteric, but also the fairly mainstream when it comes to religion. I don’t know who, if anyone, will be reading, so I may lean more or less into this side of things depending on the response (including no response).
Technology – I am interested in tech, and currently work in a tech-adjacent job. But rather than product reviews, market trends, and the like, I’m more interested in speculating about how technology shapes our worldview, how it does and will impact our lives, and some of the far-out views of a technological future (like, say, transhumanism). Cyborgian futures, AI overlords, fully automated luxury space communism. You name it, I think it’s interesting.
Miscellaneous – the catch-all category.
So, I don’t think this will cover everything. But hopefully this gives you (and also me) a little more clarity about what kinds of things to expect here.
Jacob N. Given 