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Charlie over at Japaneze is definitely onto something with his Japan blog reviews. Every couple of days he checks out some other blogs from Japan and rates them on a scale of zero to four stars. Since he's started doing this I've been checking his site once or twice a day just to read his latest reviews. Truth be told, they're not very informative or useful -- but one thing they are is brutally honest and often funny. I'm not quite sure why, but I find them highly amusing and entertaining. Maybe because I've read a lot of these blogs before, so it's fun to see if I agree with him or not.
More importantly, though, his reviews got me to thinking about why it is that I do this. Oftentimes he'll critique a blog for being boring or unoriginal, and I think that's a fair complaint. At the same time, everyone's got their own reasons for why they blog, so it's kind of unfair to take digs at the less creative or interesting ones. Not everyone has a degree in creative writing or even a degree, period, and not everyone leads an interesting, action-packed, adventure-filled life, right? (Of course, I bet his response to that would probably be something like "then quit writing about your dull life and go out and get a real one," and I can't entirely disagree with that either.) :)
But also, some people just aren't interested in spilling the beans on all the sordid little details of their lives. I think I'm one of these people, in a way. I realized that there's definitely an awful lot of stuff about my life I don't write about it, and it kind of saddens me. I really would like to share more of my experiences here, along with the countless things I've learned from them, but there's just no way I can put some of the stuff I want to share online. Some of it is too personal... some of it would embarrass or offend others... some of it would get me into trouble with the law (hah), and so on. The stuff I want to write about the most is relationship-based. Not just girlfriends (though that'd definitely be the main portion, as my 'lovelife' -- and I use that word loosely -- is pretty crazy), but also relationships with close friends, family, God, etc. Those relationships are what have made me into the person I am, and I'm pretty sure they'd be a lot more interesting to read about than what I eat when I'm broke or what games I'm hooked on lately.
I thought about making a separate, anonymous blog that I'd only show to a super select few people where I could write about the girls I'm seeing, the friends I've been making, etc. etc., but I gave up on that idea as it's hard enough just maintaining one blog, let alone two. And besides I hate 'hiding' stuff... either I'm going to write about it or I'm not; I'm not gonna cover up my identity over it.
I really, REALLY respect people who have the balls to write every last detail about themselves online -- like their most private thoughts, details on their relationships, their families, their fears, hopes and dreams, etc. etc., but I guess I'm just not one of 'em. Though I'll at least try to let loose some more details on who I am and how I came to be this way as time goes by. I've already got the first (and possibly most important) entry in mind -- I just need some time to flesh it out and put together a coherent update for it. Until then, you'll have to deal with reading about what I'm eating, what I'm playing and so on. :)
More soon...
Posted by john tv at July 2, 2003 10:19 PM | TrackBackit's personal taste, which there's no point criticizing, but...4 stars for Noriko's Yapping? A random slice from the current top page:
Went to class... 2 classes today. Went pretty well, I think. Hmm...what else? Nothing much. Came home, ate dinner... watched some tv... pulled out some shoes to take over tomrrow. Took some advil.... and now I'm just bumming around. I think I should sleep soon.... or pack up a few things.
I'd rather read the Communist Manifesto.
As to daring to bare, as it were, there's a reason why most people keep their diaries secret and publish after death (Samuel Pepys' famously frank autobio was apparently written in code so his wife wouldn't find out about his affairs); unfortunately, much tedious, bland dreck like Hillary Clinton's book gets published every year regardless.
The answer would seem to be to fictionalize things slightly, changing names and situations to protect the innocent (if such a person exists); but that usually robs what you write of its honesty. Could have therapeutic value though.
Posted by: Cormac at July 3, 2003 12:56 PM"Purpose" isn't everything, John! (Sorry Agent Smith.) I like your blog the way it is, although I'd like to see more photos documenting your life in Japan. :) I think that the blog evaluation thing is entertaining, but to seriously evaluate someone's online journal can get pretty personal, and the concept suggests that maybe peoples' *lives* can be evaluated by some sort of grading system... Even if that were true, I wouldn't like to see you living your life just to please some other dude on the net. Just be yourself, man. I like your blog the way it is.
Posted by: Alitak at July 4, 2003 02:20 AMI've been trying to do more ... incoherent blog entries, where the contents only matter to myself, and are absolutely incoherent to other people. Of course, that only works if you're feeling particularily poetic.
Before Kid A came out, Ed from Radiohead used to keep a diary of their progress - but he has long stopped doing it. Recently someone asked him why this was, and he said "Well, it turned very public, and anytime you're conscious of an audience, a diary ceases to be a personal diary anymore, you're thinking about what people think when they read it."(paraphrase)
So I think... there's really no need to care too much about "spilling the beans" on blogs - cuz let's face it, blogs are different from our private journals - and as such, you should just write whatever you want :P
I always have this dilemma myself - the basic purpose of my blog is to let family and friends know what I'm up to, but I don't want to go into *too* much detail because of the strangers that come to the site. I guess my site is dull as ditchwater to most who stumble across it, but it's always nice to receive comments.
Posted by: JonnyRam at July 4, 2003 11:32 AMCormac - your last comment summed it up perfectly for me. If I can't be honest, it just doesn't seem worthwhile. I definitely see there being therapeutic value though, and that's one of the main reasons I want to write about some of this stuff, but alas, it's just not happening. Not now, anyway.
Alitak - thanks for the feedback. I'll try to get more pics on there. I'm gonna start a moblog sidebar soon so I can upload random pics from my keitai, which should be fun. As for the 'purpose' stuff, I didn't mean to sound like I'm concerned about what other people have to say about my site; I'm more concerned about how some personal topics will affect certain people who read them (especially those involved). Just don't wanna burn any bridges, step on any toes, etc. etc.
GG - Ed's got a good point there. :)
Jonny - Interesting that you're more concerned about strangers. With me, it's kind of the opposite. For people who don't know me or aren't a part of my life, I could care less what they read. It's the people who are somehow connected to me that I'm concerned about. Hmm...
Posted by: john tv at July 4, 2003 04:21 PMFictionalizing things is fun. It's a part of life.
The rainy-day-Hachiko picture is quite moving. The video is downloading. Slowly. Indianapolis, Indiana has slow dialup, even on the Fourth of July.
Is there any chance you could take a picture of a Japanese crosswalk signal? Whether it's 'walk' or 'don't walk' doesn't matter. I won't be back in Tokyo for a month at the earliest; I'd like to see a Japanese crosswalk signal again some time soon. Bonus points for a video of one changing from red to green or the other way around. The closer-up the better.
Why I need this is a bit of a long story. I keep meaning to ask people with digital cameras to snap a picture for me, and I forget. I remembered now, so I'm posting here. You help would be, as they say in Mexico, mucho appreciated. [. . . sic]
Posted by: tim at July 5, 2003 05:02 AMYo Tim. I've almost always got my camera on me, so now it's just a matter of waiting for my mind to trigger some kind of reminder the next time I see a crosswalk signal. :) I'll do my best to help ya out -- just give me a few days to make it happen.
PS - You moving back? Or just visiting?
Posted by: john tv at July 7, 2003 12:49 AMBlogging may be a good idea for some, including myself. I do but no one except my best friend has an access to it just to keep her updated on what's going on in my life.
Sharing and need for sharing is beautiful but there is certain things I do not want to share with anyone, not being considerate for others appear in my blog or what others may think of me according to what I write. I just don't feel right about sharing too personal stuff with others, even if they are the ones I care about most.
Besides, knowing that there'd be people reading what I write, I know that even unconsciously, I try to look good, sound nice, be appropriate, socially accepted... in short, become so superficial.
Anyway, you guys (you and G-man) have been blogging nicely, keep it up!
Posted by: Blogache at July 7, 2003 07:42 PMwow, did my comment above set off a shitstorm...good grief.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/wakame77/416849.html#cutid1
including scathing notices from the Japaneze guy as well, which is pretty rich given the nastiness of his reviews.
I can only apologize to all who were offended. The 4-star review stood out, since most of the reviews were overwhelmingly negative, so I clicked the link. I just couldn't see what the fuss was about, Noriko, sorry.
People who write personal stuff seem to confuse criticism of their blog with criticism of themselves or their life. But, despite being by one of my favorite people, I think my younger brother's Live Journal pretty much sucks in my opinion (he puts no effort whatsoever into it and NO I'm not giving a link ;) ). Having a boring blog may just mean that you're too tired to write properly that day, that nothing interesting has happened in your life for no fault of your own (due to working 16hr days etc) - it doesn't mean you aren't a unique and beautiful snowflake, as it were..i certainly wouldn't presume to judge anyone because of the quality of their blog. After all, it's hardly an established art - none of us are pros at this yet, least of all myself.
Posted by: Cormac at July 8, 2003 09:26 PMMost blogs in general don't blog about personal detail.
Most just talk about parties they went to.
Yeah, I know what you mean about blogging really personal stuff. For me, I would like to blog about my attempts at a relationship but I can't for fear that that special someone might read it.
Posted by: MoonKnight at August 4, 2003 04:33 AM| ©2003 john ricciardi - all rights reserved - the only constant is change. |