A Nothing Blog 17/02/2005 Today I have nothing. I have spent the morning surfing the blogosphere and hoping that something would drop into my head. But, nothing. My head is full of nothing today. Everywhere I look, nothing.So I might as well do a nothing blog and this is it.On days like this, when nothing permeates the mind, when acres of nothing stretch out before me like an endless, empty plain, and nothing is the answer to every question, on days like this I surf the blogosphere in the hope of stumbling across something that will fill the void. This is a thankless task on the whole, there being about one readable blog in every five hundred out there, but it passes the time. And, just occasionally, one finds a blog that makes it all worthwhile.Having collected a few of these, I thought I'd pass them on to anyone who's interested. If you like, you can look on these as my hit parade of the last few weeks. Quite a few of them were stolen from others by clicking on comments in their blogs and so, if you recognize any as being "yours", I'm saying thanks very much. Here we go then:The World of Screetus: Screetus is a freelance advertising guy who talks a bit about his trials with ad agencies and puts up lots of funny little thoughts that occur to him through the day. I have found him to be a welcome break from continual work. I know Way visits as well so I probably followed him there one day. Thanks, Way.Bread and Roses: Writing from the keyboard of Michael K Willis. He writes well and often. I think I "borrowed" this one from Harvey. Thanks, mate.A Gag Reflex: This is Ceanna Crooks' account of growing up with her mother and her subsequent quest to find who her father was. Written in a prose/poem style, it is very moving and probably not for the faint-hearted. Absolutely riveting, however. This I had from Bread & Roses (see how a chain can develop). Thanks Michael.Nurse Ratchett's Alter Ego: Jodie is a nurse somewhere in Oklahoma and her blog details events and thoughts in her life. She is disarmingly honest and humorous and has a clear and elegant writing style. Well worth a read.Sarcasmo's Corner: Sarcasmo hunts down weird and wonderful things on the net and brings them to us with a few comments from herself. She is delightfully witty and her finds are always interesting or very, very funny (unlike most blogs that consist mainly of links). Like Screetus, Sarcasmo is well worth a visit if you're feeling a bit low.Darksparks: This is my latest discovery so I haven't had time to read very far into it. Written by Stranger Ken, his poetry is thoughtful and atmospheric. If you like haikus, this is a good place to go.Enjoy.
Clive
Wayne Well, I thank you for the comment left on my site. Are you, in fact, going to write about one of your excellent teachers? Not because I'm intrinsically interested in teaching and teachers -- I'm not, actually -- but because you seemed to have something worthwhile to say about your experience. Meanwhile, I'm very impressed, jealously so, with the layout of this site. The entries I've glimpsed so far -- no time to hunker down and read them yet -- are promising. I prefer longer entries to shorter tidbits, but it's difficult to find in the vast blogosphere really good ones (difficult, too, to write them). Gone Away could be my own "latest discovery." Date Added: 17/02/2005
Wayne Gads. My URL extension is .net, not .com. Still, calligraphy is pretty. Date Added: 17/02/2005
Gone Away I knew there was something I had to write about! Thanks for reminding me, Wayne. Guess I should get down to that before I forget again (oh, it's wonderful having age as an excuse). Thanks for the kind comment on the site. It's a part of my son's website (he's a web developer and had the original idea for putting out my journal as a blog) so he'll be very pleased to read this. You have also reminded me that I forgot to include a link to the Rag & Bone Shop. There we are, rectified. As you say, good blogs are few and far between. Perhaps there should be a list somewhere... Date Added: 17/02/2005
Harvey Young Nothing. I do know her well. I struggled with nothing today but a story kept coming back and would not let me go. Speaking of chains, I think that the reason I could not shake the story is something I read in Glennys blog (I think that is where it came from). Perhaps then I can blame Glenny for my nothing. Now I guess I am going to searh those blogs you mention and see if I can find something to write about tomorrow. Date Added: 17/02/2005
Jodie I love the way you make "nothing" sound suspiciously like "something". Date Added: 17/02/2005
Gone Away We're all chain-linked into this web, Harvey, and it's throttling us! Everything is linked to everything else... Date Added: 17/02/2005
Gone Away Ah, Jodie, we have a word for nothing so I guess it must be something... ;) Date Added: 17/02/2005
Way Aha! Something wickedly interesting comes to this Way. Cheers to ya, mate! Date Added: 17/02/2005
Harvey Young I had a thought today about nothing. Perhaps after we write or expend more creative energy than usual, such as after you created The Tale of Two Tailors, the reason we have nothing left is that we are spent. The creative muscle we use the day before is just plain exhausted. I think that as we write more that muscle gets stronger. Though still prone to exhaustion, it just takes longer to wear out as we get better as writers. Any way, just a thought. I would like the opinion of others on this as well. Date Added: 17/02/2005
Gone Away I agree totally. After I wrote Thermopylae I was good for nothing for two days. Hopefully this time I'll be able to get back to work with only one day of recovery. ;) Date Added: 17/02/2005
Way Harvey, each and every time, after striking the Publish Now icon, I sit and wonder, "Nowwhat?" I have no clue, no new ideas, no reason to think I will ever manage to come up with another bit for the next day, not even a one-liner. And yet somehow it happens, and somehow I keep wondering and plodding. Date Added: 17/02/2005
Gone Away Hmmm, sounds familiar, Harry. And how come you never told me about Get Fuzzy before? Date Added: 18/02/2005
Piggy Sweet, those are cool blogs! Date Added: 18/02/2005
Gone Away Ain't they just, Piggy. :D Hey, if you know of any cool links, let us know, all right? Date Added: 18/02/2005
Harvey Young My point exactly Way. After I write each day I have no idea what is next. Sometimes in the middle of the night an idea comes to me and I get up to write a note, I also use that time to take advantage of the need to go to the bathroom, but beyond that I have nothing. Being new at this some days I wait and I wait and nothing really comes. On those days my writing is clumsy, long winded, and frequently pointless. Glad to know that I am not the only one that suffers through this. Date Added: 18/02/2005
Gone Away I hear that, Harvey! Allow me to recommend to you the "Nothing Blog". This little creature was invented for the very purpose of filling those gaps when nothing is the only thing that presents itself. And its variety and invention is staggering. I have used it today to hand out a few good links but that is merely the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes we can get a blog out of merely staring out of the window or playing a game to pass the time (yes, I have always admitted that Slay was a Nothing Blog and it irks me still that it holds the record for comments - is there a lesson in that?). It's easy: just think of how you spent your morning and then tell us. We may look down on Nothing Blogs (I know I do) but, let's face it, they keep the ball rolling until tomorrow, when inspiration strikes again! Date Added: 18/02/2005
Harvey Young I did learn that today. The nothing blog keeps the pump primed so that when something is there it will flow. I just hope not to have too many nothings in my future. Date Added: 18/02/2005
Gone Away I agree. Thankfully, mt Nothing Blog Count is fairly low to date and I hope to keep it so. ;) Date Added: 18/02/2005
Rusty I love Screetus now. Thanks for giving me another thing to take away my attention from the rest of stuff that ... I probably should be doing but won't anyway! Date Added: 18/02/2005
Gone Away The first thing a student needs to learn, Rusty, is how to procrastinate effectively! If we are to find excuses for avoiding legitimate work, they must be good ones at least. And Screetus is an excellent way to misuse our time! Date Added: 18/02/2005
Harvey Young Following up on Rusty's comment, I too love Screetus. I am not sure I completely understand his angle yet, but he has me as a new reader. I also read Rag and Bone today. There are still a couple more Iwant to get to, perhaps over the weekend. Date Added: 18/02/2005
Gone Away ,oO(Perhaps I should have put a disclaimer notice on this one...) Date Added: 18/02/2005
Mad "Meanwhile, I'm very impressed, jealously so, with the layout of this site." What an intelligent and discerning fellow Wayne is; indeed a paragon of good taste... Date Added: 18/02/2005
Gone Away .oO(I knew Mad would get a kick out of that...) Date Added: 18/02/2005
Way I reckon I've been spoiled by speed, and the last couple of days have pointed this out, what with loading times for lots of blogs, whether attempting to view or comment, have increased or flat-out timed out. And if I had a nice polyester suit, I'd feel like grousing. But for the more adventurous, here are two new sites that contain a single post each: http://www.bewildereddog.blogspot.com/ http://www.mromega.blogspot.com/ Date Added: 18/02/2005
Gone Away Oh no, I am present at the unveiling of Terry Wogan to America. How can I ever live this down.....? Date Added: 18/02/2005
Way I'd tell you how, but I forgot the combination. Date Added: 18/02/2005
Gone Away While you're pondering on that combination (note how I resist the urge to comment upon your combinations), have a look at this: Paper Sack Lifetime My bet for the next internet phenomenon. Date Added: 18/02/2005
Hannah No more blogs! All I ever do is read the damn blogs! Give me my life back! Date Added: 19/02/2005
Gone Away It's too late, Hannah, we are all trapped in the blogosphere and doomed forever to go round and round in circles, handing out little pieces of paper with URL written on them... Date Added: 19/02/2005
Back to the main blog
You may use HTML in comments. A carriage return is <br />, use two for a new paragraph. For bold text use <strong></strong> and for italic text use <em></em>. If you know what you're doing feel free to use more complex mark-up but please no deprecated tags or JavaScript.
Name * Comment * Email * URL Commenting has closed for this post
