Going on leave

I'm taking a break from this here blog. I don't know for how long: maybe pretty much permanently.

It's the traditional time of the year for reconsiderations, and I'm doing a bit of that sort of thing in general. In particular, though, I'm thinking about pulling up stakes here. I'm just not sure that the site is doing what it used to for me or for anyone else. The blogosphere has changed--becoming something rather more official, high-profile, and authoritative than it used to be--and while I'm pleased and inappropriately proud to see many blogs coming into their own, I'm not sure that mine either is or can be one of them. Furthermore, while maintaining my anonymity is a professional necessity, smoothing out the telling personal details used to be less of a barrier to saying what I want to say than it's increasingly becoming.

And there's other stuff demanding my attention--like that pesky dissertation.

I'll still be lurking around here and there, and you may well see my name attached to some comments or even see some changes to this site, but I won't be posting at least for a while.

Poetry Saturday: Shel Silverstein

I missed Poetry Friday on accounta being in transit for most of it and then going out for dinner once I got back to Big City. The apartment is a disaster area of unpacked suitcases and clothing I was too tired to deal with appropriately, so this seemed like the perfect poem for a day which will pretty much be dedicated to trying to clean up after myself.

Messy Room

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!

Happy New Year

I'd considered writing something reflective, but I'm plumb wore out of navel-gazin' and bellyachin', so I'll just say: Happy 2007!

Here's hoping it's a good year for us all.