Blog Projects

1. English 101
2. The Supreme Court
3. Chapter by Chapter
4. International Relations by region

My intention for this blog has been to develop my writing skill, track my visual arts development, and share my opinions and random thoughts.

It all begins with enjoyable, articulate writing.

I'm not improving in that regard. I still have trouble focusing my thoughts and ideas, presenting my ideas in context, and serving it all up in way that someone else would enjoy reading.

The idea that popped into my head while I tossed and turned tonight is that I need to go back to English 101.

If you went to college, you took English 101. I did in my first quarter at the local community college. I recall we wrote 5 essays during the course, each with a different focus: 1) tell a story, 2) write an opinion piece, 3) present an argument, 4) and 5) I don't remember.
At the time, I thought it was elementary because we'd learned essays in High School.
32 years later, I forget what I learned.

So, my first project is to start over; go back to the techniques and ideas I learned in English 101. Well, re-learn them.

That is job one.

Once I have a handle on how to write with clarity and effectiveness (to the best of my ability anyway), I'll tackle my other ideas:
a. The Supreme Court. I've always enjoyed the ideas, arguments, and philosophies highlighted through cases brought to the Supreme Court. I'd like to summarize and think about the arguments presented in Supreme Court cases, make my own decision, and then look at what the Supreme Court decides. Was I able to see and articulate all the reasoning the Justices thought of? If so, I'll feel proud of myself (ego!) and If not, I'll learn to see things in a different way. I think this is an exercise in debate, right?
b. Chapter by Chapter. I still don't read enough. I thought it might be helpful if I wrote about each chapter I read in a book. Its a smaller bit than writing about the whole book so it would be easier to tackle. I have two goals associated with writing about my reading. 1) once a book is read, it gets donated. I don't have room in my apartment to keep books anymore. I need to get rid of the ones I have. If I write about the plot and story and what it means to me at the time, I won't need the physical book on a shelf to remind me. 2) Fully experience the books. I tend to read quickly for the plot alone. By reading fairly quickly, I miss subtleties and don't develop an appreciation for the author's artistry. Writing about the books will help me be 100% in the moment while reading the book.
c. International Relations. I recently remembered I considered majoring in International Relations or Public Affairs when I was in college. It didn't fit my life at the time so I didn't pursue it at all. But, I'm interested to see that the things I most write about on this blog are International Relations and Public Affairs. I think it would be fun to pick a region of the world, and consider the history and how it is affecting our current politics with that region. It would involve a lot of research that, in theory, I like. In practical terms, am I focused and diligent enough to be a good researcher? This will be an issue in the Supreme Court project as well.

I'll also continue documenting my card making and photography.

Once I'm a better writer, I'd also like to write about Philosophy. That's interesting to me as well.