Being Self-conscious

The word blog is very hot nowadays, and it is sometimes seen as something new, this business about writing personal stuff about yourself for strangers to read. And some people get very upset when blogging is mentioned, and claim to be dead tired of people blogging. What's the deal? they are asking. Who cares about some stupid blogger's life? Well, to the second question the answer is: Surprisingly many. But another, better question, might be whether blogging is actually all that new. For one thing, as long as there have been newspapers, there have been columnists who have been writing about themselves for the benefit of the common man. Essays have also been written since the dawn of the printing press, and probably before that. What is Montaigne if not a 16th century blogger? So I don't think there is anything novel about writing a blog. What is new is that so many are doing it. Any that is probably why some are so upset. Either the "upsets" are writers, and feel that the bloggers are trespassing on their domain, or they are not writers, but hostile to blogging just because it is so popular. But, although it is perfectly all right to criticize one blog in particular, such as this one, it becomes another matter when you criticize blogging, or bloggers, per se. That is neither meaningful nor fair. It's pointless. There cannot possible be anything wrong with people writing, which, basically, is all blogging is about.

And of course, blogs don't have to be someone writing about his/her own miserable life, or his/her thoughts about the environment or George W. Bush. It can be very serious and important, or it can be something like Boing Boing, which, apparently, is the most popular blog out there. There you can, among other things, find useful tips on how to knit a Princess Leia wig (here) or how to remove plastered logos from your mobile phone (here).

But you don't have to cross the bridge to find water, here's a tip for free! If your favourite tea or coffee mug is getting dark inside, due to fallout from the hot liquid, you might try scrubbing it with salt. That removes the stains, but doesn't damage the mug itself.