Thanks Jim

The last blogger standing has elected not to turn off the lights, but to shine a little instead.

Yojimbo, who writes Lets Not Talk About Movies, never flinched as the casual blogosphere meekly acquiesced to a nation drunk on Facebook. Defective Yeti hasn't posted in a month and missed all of April. Last Plane to Jakarta has downgraded from fever pitch to just tepid. And I've had to delete the links to all of my friends' dead blogs. But as so many of us gave up the rigors of weekly posts, sculpted essays and original thought, Jim continued to write at a faster pace than I can read. He has developed a loyal following and has even received sponsorship offers. LNTAM continues to blossom and I couldn't be happier for its meticulous curator.

So I was pleasantly surprised when he gifted me an ice cream sundae worth of praise. Thank you for honoring me as one of your "versatile blogger" award recipients Jim. I suppose I am the "very definition of versatile." It's a blessing and a curse. I often berate myself: "If only I could care more about a single topic, I could really get somewhere." Then I think on the long-standing success of Orangette, and the new-found success of LNTAM, and feel a welling of self-pity. These writers bring nuance to their observations that can only come when a person has dedicated a lifetime to their chosen topic. Woe to the ADD writers of the world! Woe to us that must hunt our topics the way pigs snuffle for truffles.

Perhaps Facebook will suffer a backlash. Perhaps I'll find inspiration to start writing in a new vein. Perhaps someone will leave the perfect comment that spurs me on. But more likely, I'll continue with Stave It Off at my own churlish pace, stubbornly insisting that I write for an audience of one: My own future self who will someday look back on these posts and smile.


PS Not sure why, but I hate being known as the guy that posts gnarly-looking sports injuries. It represents about 5% of my posts, and ought to only count as 5% of my blogger persona... but for most people it seems to be the most impactful thing on Stave It Off... which makes me sort of sad.