The bad stuff that happens and nobody notices

So hello readers. I've been doing a little thinking. (not a lot, I doubt I could get away with a lot of thinking in this corporately-charged environment, it's quite stifling). I've been thinking about you bloggers out there. Mostly about you anonymous bloggers out there that I've never met and don't know personally (or e-personally). There is some pretty serious blogging going on out there.

Like, skipping around, trying to find things to read, I've read some blogs authored by psych patients, by cancer patients, by divorcees, by near-divorcees, and wow man, there is some serious shit going on.

So, right here, this post, this is as serious as you'll see me get. Ever. This is the post where I mention bad things that could happen, and then tell you what you would read if bad things like that ever happened to me or people with whom I am close.

Bad things like:
death - this is a big one. there are many degrees, I will start small.
death of a pet, like a fish -- this probably earns a sentence or two in a post by way of setting a scene, or as "something that happened leading up to the subject of this post." for example, we've got a fish at home that hasn't been fed in I think three weeks and it's still kicking (or flipping its fins), it's sort of like the fish that will never die.

death of a pet, like a dog -- probably mentioned in a short, sad, post, just to keep people informed.

death of a person, esp. a loved one -- you will never ever hear about this. ever. I don't like sad things, I like bringing them to people even less.

bodily injury - this is happens sometimes
scrapes, bruises, general falling-down -- this will certainly get posted about, like the time danny jumped a fence and had to go get stitches.

life-threatening bodily injury -- like a life-altering paralysis. you won't see it here folks. much to grave.

sadness, despair, hate, rage, anger, fear - basically, for you star wars nuts, all the emotions that lead to the dark side. I'm not a big fan of these emotions. so they won't get much of a mention. frustration may be the exception, but that's really less about the dark side and more about blocking the light side, it's a force-neutralizer.


So, as a rule, if something bad happens, you won't know about it. I like it like that. If something good happens, you will hear about it. And, it may be true that limiting the content of the blog may also limit its impact, especially its dramatic impact, well, tough. I'd much rather sacrifice drama to promote the inane and immaterial. A person is just as happy as he makes his mind up to be...and so is his blog.

-Tom
recommended download: Dave Matthews Band, 41