The Times They Are a Changin'

The irony of finding counsel in the Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show farewell speech is not lost on me.

Most of it was standard stuff. Good humor and requisite gratitude to staff and audience alike. But a couple of lines, right at the end, stuck with me.

And all I ask is one thing...and this is...I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch...please do not be cynical.
I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality.
It doesn't lead anywhere.
Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get.

Cynicism. Too many of my posts are full of it, and frankly it's all rather dull. I've been updating this blog for a few years now--and if it's boring the shit out of me (which it is) then by cracky it has to be sending the three or four of you who read this into apoplexy.

My interest in hacking out commentary about writing and literature has been exhausted. I'm not an English major, nor have I ever wanted to be one. In fact, I hold that the continuous focus on deconstructing other peoples' writing inhibits one's own ability to construct something of value.

Plus, I'm not very good at it (the deconstruction part). And I'd rather be using my time for my own writing. This is not to denounce the need for Literary Criticism--just that emphasizing it is detrimental to my own writing.

I've also noticed a trend in blog land: a perpetually angry shaking of fists at everything under the sun. And very little of it is constructive. This sort of blind, slightly self-righteous anger is too seductive for me--and the end result is a sort of ostracizing rather than an open forum.

Some things require a necessary outrage: environmental disaster, political corruption, religious scandal...and on.

Literature? Not so much. At least not for me. A person can read whatever the hell they want, as long as they engage with it in a meaningful manner (for them). Yes, some of it is crap. The Shack, for instance, will forever leave me feeling less of a person after reading it. But at the end of the day, how much energy is wasted lambasting it or other books of equal or lesser value? And is that energy better placed elsewhere?

In this spirit, The Threshold is undergoing some changes--yet to be determined. A new look and a different direction. I'm going to focus less on writing and literature (though not abandon it completely), and look for a broader scope. Hopefully I'll find something interesting, maybe geared towards a larger audience. Not sure what, though.

No celebrity gossip or long-winded gaffs on Lord of The Rings.

Until then...