Prologue

Alright, so this isn't my first attempt at a blog. Or my second. My third, and most successful, was a blog I kept on my old MySpace profile, but I've since graduated to a social media platform that's less cluttered and stained with the residue of tween hormones. It's a shame, too, because I wrote some passingly decent stuff on that old MySpace blog. I may post some of it here in time, even though most of it's better than three years old, because frankly I think it deserves a broader audience than the one it had. Which was comprised of roughly no one. But still.

So what to expect on this here bloggeroo?

The short answer is that I have no idea. A lot of randomness is what I'd expect. When my last blog was rockin' and rollin' along, most of my posts were basically columns, or essays, covering whatever random topic happened to be on my mind that day. I expect I'd do more of the same here, thrown in with some shorter musings, links to articles and videos, and maybe an unsolicited insult or two just to keep things fresh. My approach in the past was that everything had to be at least column length, have a beginning, middle, and end, and maybe even some kind of point. Which makes for an ideal writing exercise, but with all the other writing I do, it was hard to find the time to keep it up. I figure if I give in to sloth and start tossing about some brain farts I'll have an easier go of it.

Kinda makes this experiment sound indistinguishable from all the other blogs out there. And it probably will be. But really, when you look at all the crap that's out there – and most of it is indeed crap – what ground is there left to cover? There are blogs about news and politics, sex and relationships, cooking and gardening, parenting and trip-planning, reading and writing, movies and sports, theater and dining, ferrets and antelopes, constipation and leprosy, and I once found a site devoted to a disturbing fetish involving creative uses of a woman's high-heeled shoes. Although it's possible my dubious search patterns are to blame for that unfortunate discovery.

This will simply be about me, my views on things, and my need to speak my mind without actually speaking. Although if I ever do happen upon a constipated, leprous antelope, you can bet your tookus I'll write about it.

One quick note about the blog's title. A few years ago, after buying a new computer and some video-editing software, I started filming footage for a documentary short that I called “A Little Left of Center,” which was a catch-all blend of conversation, skits, and party footage cut to music. The title was meant to convey how unconventional and off the whole production was. I just liked the ring of it, and so I kept it. It's not meant to be a political insinuation, and this isn't meant to be a political blog – but I'll likely touch on politics at some point during these proceedings, and yes, my politics tend to lean a little left of center. So if you're a gun-toting, flag-waving, Mike Huckabee-loving patriot, skip over any post that begins with the words, “So I was watching the news the other day...”

So. The ground rules are set. And as unsure as I am about this whole experiment, I expect it'll lead to a chuckle or two. And if a couple of those chuckles are yours, well, all the better.