I think, with some tweaks, that this template is going to work well for me. Expect a few adjustments in the upcoming weeks. If you have any suggestions or thoughts, please let me know.
Category Archives: blog
Wanted: New blog template
Blogger seeking attractive new template. Two columns preferred, with posts on the right. Clean and simple lines but must have some flair, as blogger writes on aesthetics. Readability is key, as is sense of humor and preference for Italian wines. Don’t take offense, but no black and reds templates need apply. Similarly no skulls and no pink hearts. Prefer pale backgrounds. Looking for a long-term commitment; seasonal themes need not apply.
The Difficulty of the Blank Page
Faced with a choice, one option of 2 or 3, life is easy. A blank page or an empty screen, however, is unlimited. Unconstrained, it becomes a mirror of yourself. A blank page is a scary thing: you simply stare at yourself, blinking.
Isaac Babel, in his short story Guy de Maupassant [photo of l’inspiration, right], affirms the necessity of perfection in each choice of word, claiming “No iron can pierce the heart with such force as a period put just at the right place.” Babel was a tireless reviser, editing and reediting his work, making each survivor almost a miracle. I admire this style, and between it and my affirmed fear of seeing what my reflection would be, very, very few words make it onto a page of mine.
This is an unsatisfying result; one must have courage. I shall try to write this blog more in the manner of Fernando Pessoa’s Book of Disquiet. Aside from it miserable navel-gazing, I hope for my fragments to achieve a continuity as his do, over time, repetively. So a minimum of editing to each of these posts! I want conclusions to be drawn out of a spiderweb pattern, and atmosphere to glisten like dew from each strand. Perhaps one day I’ll stare long and hard at my own reflection.