I don’t often use this forum to comment on the act of blogging itself, but it seems worth noting that today marks the one-year anniversary of Graphic Engine — my very first post, on the 3D Imax screening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, went up on July 26, 2007. Overall I’ve very much enjoyed the experience of keeping a blog, and have no plans to quit. That said, the commitment has turned out to be more stressful than I imagined; something about the constantly beckoning space of my WordPress dashboard converts every hour into a guilty idea-search, a constant quest for good stuff to write about.
My original goal was to put up new content at least twice a week, but — considering that this is only my 58th post — the actual rate has worked out to just over half that (1.1 posts/week). And for all the pleasure I draw from the sound of my own voice (as transcribed into screentext), the real joy has been the site’s visitors, a group of friends, colleagues, students, and strangers who have been generous enough to read and leave feedback for me in the comments section. I value you all, and hope you’ll continue to share your reactions in weeks and months to come.
Since no post would be complete without some item of graphical interest, I share with you a serendipitous discovery from this very afternoon. My wife and I were cleaning out a back room, getting it ready to house some guests who arrive tomorrow night. Moving an old wooden chest of drawers, we found a beautiful accident of a stain on the floor, so direct in its signification that something — an eldritch power from beyond the edge of time, perhaps, or the equally profound chaotic chemistry of trickling fluid and uneven tilage — must have authored it. Even better than the face of the Virgin Mary tattooed on a taco shell, what we found was the graven image of a dog: Katie says a chihuahua, but I maintain it’s a dachsund. In any case, the canine apparition appears below, by itself and in a two-shot with our good-hearted mutt Quincy [click to enlarge].
Thanks again for making Graphic Engine a stop on your itineraries through cyberspace!
happy anniversary from a reader who has enjoyed the year, and looks forward to many more like it
That’s definitely a dachsund and it’s pretty cool.
You’re far more consistent with blogging than i am. I feel I have nothing at all interesting to say. I have a draft post about what I’ve read all summer, but I also have the sneaking suspicion that noone cares but me.
Thanks, Jon, for the kind words. BTW, I’ve really been enjoying your recent posts on media consumption in Malawi.
Consuela: glad you see the dachsund, too — I have now verified with several members of my family (the visitors for whom we cleaned out the room in the first place) that Katie’s interpretation of the stain is … what’s the polite word? … idiosyncratic.
As for your blog, I definitely care, and look forward to reading your always-interesting words whenever and however they may arrive!
That’s very interesting. If it’s random, it’s even more spooky. Either way, rather apprapro for your “anniversary.”
Your house is truly a Graphic Engine!
My husband says it has chihuahua ears and a daschund body, but he’s the perpetual peacemaker.
Can’t be a dachshund, not fat enough. Maybe that’s just Tippy, though. Hope all is well.
Consuela, your husband sounds like a cool guy. He and I need to chat about Star Trek blueprints sometime. BTW, any chance you and/or Alison are going to Tokyo for SCMS next year?
Brett, great to hear from you! And thanks for the correction about dachsund body types (I’m not much of an expert). Hope all is well in Bloomington. How did you like the Galactica midseason finale?
Alas, Alison and I aren’t really media scholars, despite our forays into scholarship on fanfiction. So no tokyo for us. I am super jealous, though.
And speaking of BSG==I haven’t seen any of Season 4 yet, but I’ve finally finished all the other seasons and I have questions and problems. Maybe we’ll talk about that some time.