Introduction, or "What's up with these random blog posts anyways?"

     This is my first post on Random Thoughts... , which is itself my first blog (not counting one or two half-hearted website attempts I made about a thousand years ago, when the internet was still powered by string, tin cans, and smoke signals, and I was still a bumbling, foolhardy man-child, who meant well but really didn't know anything about anything).  As such, it shall serve as an introductory explanation of the blog as a whole, its nature, themes, origins and intended purpose.  My reasoning is that if at some point in the very distant future, another living being besides myself stumbles upon one of my yet-to-be-written posts, that being may become curious as to the context of said post.  "Who wrote this?" they may wonder, "and why?"   It is for the benefit of this hypothetical being that the present post was written.

     So firstly, who am I?  Well, if you have read the "Introduction" blurb on my profile, you will know that I'm actually rather reluctant to say much on the subject of my own personal identity.  The reason is not so much a desire for the safety of anonymity, but rather a fear of inviting speculation on matters which I strongly believe are at best irrelevant and at worst misleading.  Within the context of this blog, it does not matter who I am or what I do "in real life".  If a piece of writing is amusing, or compelling, or true, then it remains so regardless of who wrote it.  Judging ideas on the basis of who has expressed them is known as the ad hominem fallacy, and it's an ineffective and unkind method of communication.  By remaining anonymous, I maximize the chances that what I write here will be read and considered objectively and without unwarranted bias.

     Second, I'd like to address the question of what exactly this blog is about.  What is its subject? What is the theme running through and connecting all of the individual entries that will (hopefully) be posted here?  The short answer is that there isn't one.  This blog has no particular subject.  It isn't about any one thing. There is also a much longer answer, but I will save that for a possible future post.

     Finally I want to explain why I created this blog, and how I intend to use and develop it.  I am incurably creative.  The activity of making - whether literally in the physical world, or symbolically with images, words or thoughts - is as necessary for my continued existence as water or air.  I cannot imagine life without it.  Not a single day passes without me spending time engaged in some form of creative thought or action.  This blog is a place for me to record some of the residue of that activity.  It's like a form of mental recycling, I suppose.  I know I'm going to do the writing anyway, and if I share some of it on the internet, it may do someone some good.

     With that in mind, my advice to potential visitors is to treat this blog much as you would a yard sale: scan the offerings and pick whatever strikes you as useful or interesting.  There's no charge, but any donation of kind words is always appreciated.