Last Saturday, I wrote on my wiki about Hopes for a bright blogging future:

Over the last couple of months, I've been keeping my blogs going mostly through writing tiny entries about seemingly random topics. Sometimes, I wrote about an article I read, a book I just took out from the library, or a picture I just took. In the past, I have tackled more lofty subjects. I still have ambitions of writing larger pieces covering themes sustained over time and reflecting some orderly progression of thought. I have been keeping a running list of topics for my weblogs with the hope of crafting logical series of blog entries. I am hesitant to promise any massive changes in my blogging patterns, waiting to see whether I can bring my blogging reality in line with my blogging vision.

Today, I'm sorting through two running lists of potential blogging topics (one for my personal blog and one for my professional blog). There are certainly pros and cons to putting a topic in a queue to be prioritized instead of immediately writing about it. On the plus side, I have an opportunity to write on a larger, more coherent, scale, recognizing items of greater significance. I avoid being bounced around so much by the deluge of everyday events that may not have any discernible long term significance. My readers might also enjoy hearing from me less often -- but when they do, they get something worth their reading. (A model that comes to mind is the justly praised occasional essays by Joel Spolsky.) The downside of being more deliberate in my writing is that some of the most important part of my readership (my family and close friends!) are interested in hearing from me, even if it is about the little things in life. Moreover, as I look at the list of topics, I regret not writing about certain topics; there is something to said for the spontaneity of the every day that I would not want to lose with a new blogging style.

Face transformer image upload:

The Face Transformer is a fun toy only, and is not guaranteed fit for any purpose, implied or otherwise. The Perception Laboratory and the University of St Andrews accepts no responsibility for loss or damage incured while using this software.

Starting with the following original picture (which I classified as representing an "East Asian", "young adult" male):

I got the following derivative pictures:

I burst out laughing when I first saw the "ape man" rendition:

As a subscriber to the San Francisco Chronicle, I have become an avid reader of Jon Carroll's column. I don't read it all the time and must admit that I don't get into his cat columns. However, I usually find myself in violent agreement with his politically-oriented columns.

I mention his columns today not to get into the specifics of what he has written (I hope to do so soon enough) but to write about how I'm attempting to ferret out the truth of what's happening in our world. In this blog and in my reflections, I have been adopting a type of hermeneutic of self-suspicion. I put the emphasis on self-suspicion because I feel the need to inspect my own prejudices and thought-processes with as much vigor as I do of others. Finding articles and commentary that largely agree with my own viewpoints and writing about them (and occasionally subjecting them to vigorous examination) is an indirect way of testing my own assumptions. By writing out in this public space, by drawing in different perspectives, and by inviting others to comment -- I hope to grow and learn and become increasingly free to avail myself of the truth, whatever that might be.
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