Mattheus Mei
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Portrait of the Artist as a young self absorbed man, srsly, check out the reflection in those sunglasses, totally taken as a facebook picture... totally. |
Over time the topical direction of the blog began to crystallize, and politics became a major component. I found myself blogging more and more. Part of the reason was to keep up with the new media news cycle, which in South Carolina is voracious. Most of the political blogs are Republican, mainly, and consultant driven - i.e. funded with insider knowledge. I assumed the role of left-of-center-critic which served well.
But while Leonardo's Notebook was becoming a great success in terms of content and traffic, blogging became ... meh. I was spending more and more of my day blogging and thinking about blogging, it was unhealthy - especially since I'm not (and still not) getting paid to do this shit. So in April 2009 I simply walked away. I needed to take a break, much to the consternation of the many friends and fans I had made while blogging. But it did allow for some much needed time to recalibrate. I couldn't stay away forever...
... And so, I'm back. From my first post in January 2010:
After nearly a year on blog hiatus, I've decided to return to the blogosphere, at this new address. This time I won't be blogging anonymously though I've retained my original pseudonym in the blogspot address and profile. Like before I'll be a bit all over the place topic wise, but hopefully will be a little more restrained in how and what I post. The object here is a little more reflection and a lot less reaction. That's not to say that I won't pen a screedal every now and then or resort to certain low brow humor, but.. I'll try and keep it to a minimum.
So why here - why not Leonardo's Notebook? It is all about new beginnings. If I had returned to the notebook there would have been certain stylistic and contextual expectations, and there would have been certain bloggy baggage. Not to say I want to place a distance between my work here and the notebook, but I want to try a different direction - one I feel I couldn't go with the notebook.
For now then we're going to move from key to quire and start the journey a new. Happy Blogging.But beyond blogging, who am I? A big hot mess. Yeah. A mixture of contradictions? Sure. But plainly, and you'll see this reflected on these pages, I'm a concerned and opinionated South Carolinian. I was born and reared in Cheraw, SC - a town that I couldn't wait to get away from with its anachronistic and yet typical southernness, but which has a special place in my heart and is a place I love to visit, and not just because my family is there. I'm a Carolina Gamecock by tradition and training. I graduated with a degree in History and Religious Studies from USC. I'm a praciticing Roman Catholic Christian, though not a very good one. I take my faith seriously, but not blindly. I'm a foodie -- I get it from my mom and dad who own a restaurant, The Palmetto Room, in Cheraw; though my appreciation for fine cuisine has only grown under the auspices of my partner and our wonderful friends. I also like soft pillows and long walks on the.... oh wait, never mind.
