Here we go!

Let's begin at the beginning. Abbie, with the help of some white wine and Thai takeout, realized that I should make a blog. It seems so obvious now.

Have you ever wondered what your role or profession would be in a small tribe of hunter-gatherers, or in a prehistoric farming village? I have. The thing is, I can't grow food very well, and I'm not up for killing things. I like to think I'd be clever enough to start a shaman-ish religion, but that job would probably already be taken. My only hope would be, you know, blogging. That is to say, I'd offer my thoughts and sense of humor to the other members of the tribe, and in return, they'd ignore me and refuse to share their food.

So that's what this will be like, or at least that's my guess here at the start.

Maybe we should begin at the end? When I die, peacefully and surrounded by loved ones et cetera, I will take that last moment to look back over the many years and successes of this blog. I will be struck by the way my self-consciously sarcastic, occasionally awkward observations helped so many people see their worlds differently, and I will smile ever so slightly as I recall the winsome photographs and songs that occasionally amused and inspired the waiting throngs.

No, for real. The blog, like most others, will be personal, and therefore bizarre, and written at least for now with the assumption that really no one who's not related to me will ever see it. Dear reader, though I'm not sure who you are or whether you exist, I feel the need to form a relationship with you based not on fear or confusion but on a simple and straightforward bargain. I will provide you with a post every day, and a photo every day, and a song every week. In return, you will read/look/listen, if you want to.

Having sealed this bargain, I wish you well. Pictures start tomorrow - first song on Sunday if I can figure out how to post it. Thanks for reading, whoever you are.