In the wild struggle for existence, we want to have something that endures, and so we fill our minds with rubbish and facts, in the silly hope of keeping our place. The thoroughly well informed man—that is the modern ideal. And the mind of the thoroughly well informed man is a dreadful thing. It is like a bric-à-brac shop, all monsters and dust, and everything priced above its proper value.
—Lord Henry, The Picture of Dorian Gray
The rationale
I initially posted the above quote to test this template's functionality, but it's a nice way to start. This is my bric-à-brac shop, I guess, and I have thought about whether I should present it here. I considered returning to Tumblr, where I used to have a blog, but it really isn't suited to journals - unless one directly visits the page, written posts recede into the endless scroll of the newsfeed. It is a fleeting medium that centers around aesthetics. Plus, I was convinced by my lovely friend E.
The name
When the world, or reality, finds its artificial equivalent in the virtual, it becomes useless. When everything can be encoded digitally, language becomes a useless function. When everything can be reduced to the brain and the neuronal network, the body becomes a useless function. When computer technology... [is] all that is needed for production, work becomes a useless function. When time, and all its dimensions, are absorbed by real time, it becomes a useless function.—Jean Baudrillard, The Impossible Exchange
This free domain comes from Nauru (.nr). I consequently thought that 'perimeters' would be a fitting name, in light of Australia's recent self-excision from the migration zone and the role of Nauru in Australian refugee policy. It also aligns with the purpose of the blog - you know, crossing physical and personal boundaries...
The rules
Orwell's Politics and the English Language made me focus on concision and dispensing with false verbal limbs, so here are 4 self-imposed rules for my future entries:
Rule 1: Be honest...
These posts aren't truly mine if I'm not upfront. Analysis of personal and social woes trigger the most thought when it is radically honest and sound where possible.
Rule 2: ...but not too personal.
I should not publish private thoughts on people that can stumble on them, especially since: (a) this will become my travel blog when I go on exchange in 2014 and (b) words can limit the thoughts they express (as stated by Stephen King) and I don't want my posts to be misconstrued. This rule couples with the first one on honesty, which should apply...
- within the blog -- frankly covering all grounds of an issue reduces the risk of misunderstanding -- and
- beyond the blog. I should voice constructively critical thoughts on others (and myself, but that's a different matter) to them and not through a medium where discovery is possible. Writing about others does not solve problems in relations with them: talking to them does.
Rule 3: Write about issues and solutions.
Cryptic posts are chronic symptoms of the 'personal' blogger who is trapped in the paradox of publishing private thoughts on a public forum. I've always felt that one's vagueness in posts signals subconscious desire for readers or the posts' subjects to enquire further. Furthermore, more often than not, such posts fail to address solutions and become personally damaging because they can exacerbate the issue. But hey, this was me not long ago, so I could simply be projecting my sentiments onto others. On this note, this rule ties in with the next...
Rule 4: Remain open-minded.
I will make many statements and I will base them in reason to the best of my ability. Like everyone, I'm not perfect and I will be wrong at times. And what a glorious, humbling and necessary thing it is to be wrong and consequently corrected. One cannot learn otherwise.
I hope to adhere to this manifesto, even when this blog becomes my central means of communication with home when I am on exchange. Hold me to it.
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