Flatlined

Ever since my blog has changed addresses, for personal reasons, I have had the fun and enjoying time of watching my number of views just flatline. I am not saying that this is something I truly wanted to watch happen with my blog, but I am interested in the whole experience. What happened to all of the google searches that brought random people here? What happened to my artwork being viewed? Nothing, it just disappeared...

A New, Darker Tumble

I have always thought of myself as two different halves. There is the one side that sees the world for what it is and then a side that likes to look a bit more abstractly on what I think. In other words, in one world I can see my friends, family, and everyone else as they are, but in another world I like to think backwards and turn things around. Maybe up is down and down becomes up, the limits of society suddenly unconstructed and the limitless suddenly pushed back.

So, to bring about a new sense of disorder, I decided to just start a whole new blog to get these thoughts out in the open. This new blog is going to be one-hundred percent darker than this one, and definitely more abstract. I will probably even offend some people along the way, which is why I am not really going to associate this blog with my name. Actually, besides this post here I do not think I am going to mention it anywhere else. And that is what this blog is supposed to be, anonymous and abstract. If you would like to take a look at the blog's design, this will be the only place I post the link.

[http://perplexpolar.tumblr.com]

I decided to use Tumblr as the hosting website because I wanted a few options that are only available on Tumblr. First of all, this is going to be a rather rambling blog where I actually plan on just going on about something I have randomly concluded. Since it is a ramble, I want it to also be able to have infinite scrolling. I like the idea that if someone gets really into reading my stuff they can just scroll down forever. I will also not be posting anything that will stop people from using it as such, meaning there are no links except the one. Second, I want this blog to be filled with posts that come out on a random schedule and not because I made them. I will write my thoughts down, but the postings will be at random times that may not associate with exactly when I wrote them. Tumblr has a wonderful way of doing that, which should make it interesting. And finally, I wanted to post somewhere with fluctuating amounts of persons that can then repost what they find. In other words, I want to spread the wealth, so to speak, that I write and then see if it grows.

This is both an experiment as much as it is a test. We'll have to see if I can keep posting on there up-to-date and daily like I do with this blog. And if I do manage to get an audience, then this might get even more interesting.

When Does It End?

Today I decided to take a dive on the stranger side and I clicked that button at the top of my blog that says simply, "Next Blog»". Maybe curiosity had gotten the better of me, but I just wanted to see what other types of bloggers were out there and what they were writing about. So what did I learn? Pretty much nothing that I did not already know. Most blogs out there are run by women who just want a minute to be heard, a look into their style, and a place to call their own. I am not saying that is a bad thing at all, everyone deserves a little bit of space out there to post what they are thinking.

What was more interesting is how people seem to have vanished from the blogging scene. What was once a very vibrant community seems to have died down to a few blogs per month or even a stop completely to all blogging capabilities. Which got me to thinking, how long do blogs tend to stay alive? For some, it was a small glimpse into a dark, corner section of their lives. For others, it was just something on the side and they lost track. And maybe I was asking this question for the greater interest, when will my blog die off.

I guess it is going to take something as powerful as pinterest, a social media website that basically killed off all the arts and crafts blogs, or tumbler, a quick-post thought and image social media website, to actually move me onto something new. But I do not think that will happen though, because for all the good that are those websites they lack one important part of me. I like to write. I like to express myself with the english language, spraying my words onto paper and letting my thoughts ramble on. So I do not see myself switching any time soon, but I also can see why a lot of these older blogs are sort of just dying off.

Just a thought.

A Long Day

After a sleepless night and a kind wait for my parents to depart, I was finally back to a state I had not been in over three months. I was home alone, cast off to do my own bidding in a place that I could arrange as my own temple. And so my first action of the day was to go out and seek breakfast food from a fast food place. I first thought maybe McDonalds, because I was craving their breakfast burritos, but I soon discovered something rotten about living here in subburbia, they actually close down and do not open at four in the morning. And yes, I checked a multitude of locations before finally letting the white flag rise and moving onward. I went to Einstein's instead and had a lovely bagel sandwich, though it did not replace my original want of a good breakfast burrito. The second action I attempted for the day was to start writing.

For the first time in months I have started writing again, working on a fresh story with some brand new ideas. I cannot say that I have made very much progress so far, but that is from both being captivated by other things, having other tasks at hand, and just not being very satisfied with the way my story was beginning. Already I have re-written the beginning at least five times and after re-reading what I had written a little later I am already thinking of re-writing it again. And that saddens me that I cannot find the right footing for my story, which may or may not be the most important part to where this goes. Still, what I have is better than what I had and what I want is but an arms grasp away I hope. So I will continue writing to see where this goes, and hopefully after I purge this start I will be able to more successfully continue on faster.

But that was not the long part of the day. After both the sleepless night and trying time and time again to write that beginning, I grew tired and decided to fall asleep. I do not think I have had such a deep sleep in months, for there were no worries to be placed upon me and nothing to wake me up. I slept for hours, comfortable and confidently as the deep sleep pulled me in. Stress was a thing of the past and when I awoke I was actually sore from sleeping so well. That is right, I woke-up to find that my body was actually more sore then than it had been before I sought off for my dreamy worlds. So I stretched and began the rest of my day, which at that point was at sundown.

I went to the store, something I have not done in a while, and I bought several items of food that have been missing from my parents household since my Dad resumed cooking again. I do not think he understands that if you cook with fresh vegetables and fruits you end up with a more delicious meal. Anyway, I bought several things that I thought I might need in the coming week and then returned back home. Upon getting there, my stomach growled and I felt the fit of hunger that bestows upon a young person of my age who has not eaten in over eight hours. I set forth cooking a spicy chicken recipe that I had invented rather myself and come to love. It came out perfectly and then I felt tired again. 

But before letting the dreamy worlds get the best of me, I also started my laundry. When I would wake, it would be folding time for lots of clothes. On a side note, that was the first time that I had actually proceeded to do laundry in at least a month. Sure, I changed out my pants when they started to feel dirty and I would grab at a clean shirt after every shower, but that was still the longest time I have ever gone without doing laundry before. And then I feel asleep for the second time in the day. After waking up, I folded the clothes and decided to write a blog to explain everything, which looking back feels rather empty of any actual news. Oh well. I have a feeling I will not be sleeping tonight, maybe I will write another. Better yet, maybe I will start back at working on my novel!

Waiting for Morning

I know this is going to sound a little bit special, but I am actually staying up and waiting for the morning so that I can play some new maps in my video game. Though when I write it like that, I kind of sound a little bit retarded since the smarter thing to do would be to wake-up later and play them. But in truth I am also up again because I am having a wonderful time with insomnia and waiting seemed better than not waiting.

So now here I am, bored a little bit and without a movie to watch. I do not know what to do with my time that would be unproductive, which is what I sort of feel like doing more so than what I want to be doing. I guess I will just have to do something productive. Anyway, there's a random post if ever there was one.

Sitting Here with Peaches

I could not sleep tonight, which might be a symptom of having taken a nap earlier in the evening and then waking up. I say earlier, but in truth I really mean at bed time and then waking during the middle of the night. In either case to which you are reading this, considering this, and maybe even pondering this, I am awake. So first matter of business was to satisfy my stomach, which is why I am now sitting here with a bowl of peaches. Thank God for canned foods, otherwise I might actually have to go to the store.

Anyway, not a whole lot to do tonight since I've pretty much watched every movie that I could On Demand. I know that by saying that I am basically saying I watched weeks upon weeks of movies, but if you have not gotten the picture from my other blogs right now then you probably have failed to realize just how much free time I have. And earlier I was watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I must have watched that movie enough times to know all the best lines without ever watching it again, I was mainly using the movie as a tool to try and get to me to go sleep. If this blog is any clue, it did not work very well. So after about an hour of listening to Daniel Radcliffe, to which I despise no matter how cute he was when he was young, I decided it was time to get up and start eating or something. And in accordance with my friend Vicki, that sounds about right since we "ate our way through San Francisco" because we are "foodies." It only makes sense that I should start eating now.

On some other random notes, I finally started writing again. Granted, what I have written in Microsoft Word is not exactly all that much, but it is the start of an idea. I think that was the problem I was having up until tonight, I could not easily formulate or see an idea of what I wanted to write. That was, until I was suddenly struck by one that just kind of captivated me. It is nothing like I have personally ever done before, but it is something I think I can easily write about. Anyway, I have also set-up a brand new goal along with this brand new idea. While my parents are away and I have a house all to myself, I am just going to sit down every day and write until my fingers are bleeding all over the keyboard. The plan, finish an entire novel by the end of the week. That way when they get back I can go back into hibernation or maybe send my novel off to friends and order them to read it and love it. I know my friends, they'll love this idea.

Who knows though. They say the start of a new day is at the end of another, or at least if they have not then I claim all rights to that phrase right now and everyone must quote me. Otherwise, that is a quote form an anonymous source. You get the idea, I'm rambling. I think I might go finish up my other blog right now. Yeah, I have another whole blog in the works, but it is just another movie review...

Writing Exercise: The Sailor and the Meese

The following is a fairy tale that I wrote in approximately thirty minutes through text messages. Now, normally my fairy tales are not very good because they lack any sort of depth and pretty much have no plot behind them. But somehow the following one I wrote came out pretty well. And just for the hell of it, I am also including all of my friend's comments when she gave them and while I was writing this in a second column. I promise to keep them posted approximately when I  received them. Anyway, without further ado, here is the fairy tale I wrote.

Requested Blog: How I Am Driving My Father Insane

Today I did not know what I wanted to write about and I decided to take a request. So I went up to my Dad, who was sitting on his computer in our kitchen, and I just asked him what I should write a blog about. He said, "How about how you are driving you father nuts!" I thought about it for a minute, chuckling at the idea, and decided that it sounds like a great idea. I mean, sure, why not talk about how he is going crazy with me being home.

Still Updating

I have recently had a lot of energy to turn my blog from a simple cut-and-paste format that they provide into a more personal thing. I've been working countlessly on the backend of things, messing with the HTML as best I can, as I actually write the script myself to create a more efficient and nicer blog. To everyone that views the page, that means almost nothing. But to a programmer it means faster load times, easier code to browse through, and just overall better coding.

More Pictures!

So I started working on a whole new page of the blog, one that is specifically for all the pictures I've been taking this year. I have a feeling that I'm going to have too many next year and will have to make a brand new page, but until I run into that problem I'm going to use this page. So sorry if it takes a while to load, but it has just under seven months worth of photographs.

I'm probably going to go and do the same thing with artwork that I've worked on in the past year as well as youtube videos. I really like the idea of everything being in one place for the year, making it easy to find and view. If you have any comments to offer, then please tell me because I will take them into consideration.

Anyway, to reach the new page you can either click the tab at the top of the blog (which will remain there) or follow the following link:

[http://canvasspots.blogspot.com/p/spectacular-snapshots.html]

Tumblr vs Blogger (Blogspot)

If you did not know, I decided to run my blog on both Tumblr and Blogger (also called blogspot). If you feel the need to follow me on Tumbler, then simple go to http://canvasspots.tumblr.com and start following me. I've tried to set it up as best I can the same, but very quickly I am starting to see there are several differences between the two. Some for the better and some for the worse.

My Personal Blogging History
Now, I've always been a Blogger fan when it comes to writing blogs. When you search blog in Google, Blogger is the first to come up (which may have something to do with the fact that Google owns Blogger). When I first got into blogging back in the day, that is what I did and that is how I first ended up on here. And to be honest, it has all the tools a beginner really needs to start off.

But as I have mentioned in my very first blog, this new account is to symbolize a starting-over of my entire blogging history. As such, I feel that it is time to branch out and reach for other mediums to quickly blog on. That is why I have a Twitter account and that is why I want to do a Tumbler as well.

So I opened it up for the first time today and worked on getting my theme set-up over there as well. It took a while, but the Tumblr team has made editing the theme very easily. I'm not joking, editing the theme on Tumblr is brilliantly done so that anyone can enjoy quickly changing colors and then getting started or getting into the real kinks of the machine and working out problems. Being as I have some experience in website programming, that is exactly what I did. I dipped into the code and started tinkering until I got the results I wanted. Just for reference, the results I wanted were not that much different from the page I already had. I basically added a Twitter feed and moved on.

The Differences
When it comes down to it, I actually think the Tumblr system is much nicer for newcomers to the blogging world. They've basically turned blogging into a feed so that people can quickly get to creating and spend less time messing around. And I like that. Want a photograph added, there's a quick link at the top to upload and move on. Want to show off your new Youtube video? There's a button for that one too. So for the simplicity side of things, Tumblr has that down.

In fact, the only thing that can be complex, should you want it to be, is your personal theme. You can hire someone to write the code for you, buy a theme from their stock pile, or just do it yourself. That is honestly it. I think they have chosen to do this so that the website stays what they meant for it to originally be, a quick-blogging website.

Meanwhile, Blogger is a little bit more cumbersome to the newer people that use it. If you want to add a photograph, you have to make a new post. And adding a new photograph looks kind of weird, so you probably won't do that alone and will need to write something. Want to put your video in, well that requires a new post too. Like I have said before (though I believe on Tumblr), for the new-age of A.D.D. driven bloggers that is just too much work.

But having to go into each post and really start editing things has lead to another outcropping for Blogger, they have editing tools! Unlike Tumblr where everything is congruent and you must conform to their way of posting pictures, text, and videos, Blogger allows the users to make each and every post different with all of the editing options. And not only that, but they make a large majority of them user-friendly from the get go. Want to go farther than those user-friendly button you see in each blog? No problem, just click the HTML button and get to writing the code yourself.

My Personal Preference
Hands down I prefer Blogger for making my posts. I can make them easily, lengthy, and actually the way I want them to appear for my viewers. However, as far as networking and socializing goes, I really love the way Tumblr is set up. So in the end there is no winning (yet) and I'm just going to have to do both. And since I can't copy and paste code from Blogger to Tumblr (or vise-versa), I'm going to be forced to use them for their advantages. In other words, stay tuned to both!

To Start Over

With every passing day, I've gotten bored of my previous blog and all of the previous attachments I had to it. That's not to say that I did not like posting and talking about nearly everything that reached my mind, and in fact I have no intentions of stopping that, but I felt that it was time to start a whole new phase of my life and with that should come a whole new face. So out with the old and in with the new!