Blogging Meme

This life has just had another small stitch: I've been tagged again. This time by The Goldfish. An interesting tag, this one so here goes.

Why do you blog?

Okay, I'll tell you exactly why I blog.

Because it's hard work. I've said before that my educational achievements with regards to the English language are, well, complete poo. I can't write and I certainly shouldn't be in charge of a blog. If any of these words make sense, it's because I've been learning from other blog writers.

I do have feelings and opinions, and having been around on this planet for a while now, I've seen some things. I'd like to write about them.

Okay, I'm squeaking now but converting the chaotic cloud of thoughts inside my head into written language is very hard for me. This is a foreign medium, it's like learning a new language. I'm quite dependent on my dictionary and thesaurus but much more so on the blogs of people who can write, for reference and inspiration.

I'm simply too embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to write this entry. I'm sitting here with 30 odd other draft posts, each of which contains bits of writing and bits of gobbledygook. I've also listed 23 other things that I want to talk about. if you're a telepathic editor who's prepared to work for free then mail me.

Of course there's more to it, but if I carry on down that route, you'll throw me in the doghouse as an out and out moaning git. Lets just say I have problems with thinking (IQ? what's that?) and memory recall. And I'm self critical to a degree that is debilitating. Oh and there is something else but I can't go into that right now.
But what's most gruelling is that I can't even gripe with any justification. It's not like I'm ill or have a physical disability.
Okay, okay, I'll stop.

So, look, this is a challenge for me. I really should drop it and go back to studying the curious patterns on my wallpaper, but I'm stubborn and I like to test myself.

I used to free climb pieces of rock. Why? because when you're hanging off an overhanging cliff, either 100 or 1000 feet off the ground, you learn some things about yourself like how you react when you take yourself to the edge, how far you can push yourself, how to manage fear, how to overcome obstacles.
For me, writing is equally challenging, but something inside me is hammering away telling me that it's essential I keep trying, so I will.

Okay, sorry that took a while, but the meme did ask.

How long have you been blogging?

Since June 2006. I'm a mere youth.

Self Portrait

circa mid-sixties

Why do readers read your blog?

I haven't the faintest idea, in fact it's quite a puzzle for me. It's very welcome and I really appreciate it when people pop by but I don't understand it.

What was the last search phrase someone used to find your site?

early black radio shows/actors

Which of your entries gets unjustly too little attention?

I haven't been measuring and I'm quite pig-headed so the knowledge probably wouldn't make very much difference to how I blog.

Your current favourite blog?

Diary of a Goldfish

I know this meme came from The Goldfish but that's not why her blog is listed here. Her diary is a wonderfully diverse collection of observations, thoughts and opinions. It's very witty, sometimes odd but never dull and it challenges me in many ways. Any blog that uses the phrase "a pile of poo" gets a spot on my Glorious list, but don't be fooled, this diary is written by a very intelligent fish.

Which blog did you read most recently?

Dagoth's Domain, looking for information about the new Blogger Beta. While I was there, I found he'd written some interesting things.

Which feeds do you subscribe to?

I recently trimmed my feeds down to 29 though that's likely to increase again. There's one for each link on my Blogroll (excepting Vincent, sadly) and five that seem to be defunct. Ignoring these, I have feeds for the following sites (in no particular order):
My coComment feed.
BBC News
the Erudite Baboon
A Word A Day
Random Acts Of Reality
Coin Operated Girl
Belle de Jour
Aberystwyth Mon Amour
Simplelsie
Balancing Act
Student Nurse
and 3 others. Two are feeds for my own blogs so I can check for feed errors and one is for a feminist oriented site whose author writes in a style I like.
I do also read a number of other 20Six blogs via the 20Six blogroll, but not as feeds

What four blogs are you tagging with this meme and why?

Sketches because she likes a challenge and she's got a super blog.

I'm going to be an awkward sausage now and reserve my other three tags because I'm still a young blogger and I haven't decided who to tag yet.

Listening to: Cat Stevens, "On The Road To Find Out"
Needing: a coffee, a biscuit and probably a good seeing to.