Tag: Blogging

I’m Blogging on the Hive Now

Image credit: Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay

My first blog in a long time. So much going on in the world. I don’t know if you’re all as edgy as I am, but I keep remembering passages from Defoe’s “Journal of the Plague Year”. Descriptions of St. Giles Parish were haunting in that book. It seemed every day the numbers mounted in St. Giles, and outpaced other parishes.

I live in New York, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States. Maybe that explains my heightened awareness. I’m looking for ways to distract myself. Watching the “Indestructible Kimmy Schmidt” is one way. Blogging is another. So here I am.

First I’ll start with blockchain news.

There’s been an upheaval in the world of Steemit. Not long ago a young Chinese investor bought a massive stake in the organization. Which stunned those of us who blog there. Not because he was Chinese, but because he assumed he had bought us. I think it was a cultural disconnect. Most people get involved with cryptocurrency and blockchains because they have a libertarian streak. Being owned is an intrinsic contradiction.

To make a long story short, there was a rebellion. A lot of Steemit bloggers (stakeholders) essentially took their toys and went to another playground. They started another blockchain and migrated all the accumulated content to that chain. So, many of us joined the new blockchain, which is called The Hive. The link is to my home page on the blockchain.

It took me a few days to find my way around the neighborhood, but finally, yesterday, I put up my first post: Tinkering with DNA to Find a Cure: The Story of Azathioprine.

The blog is full of helpful information, especially if you’ve ever been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Azathioprine is prescribed for a wide variety of conditions. The article describes some of those and also explains some of the risks associated with this course of treatment.

I’d love it if one or two of you read the blog and gave me feedback. So far, I only got one good comment. That’s a little discouraging.

Everybody, across the world. Stay well and take care of each other.

by Categories: A G Moore, Blogging, PandemicTags: , , , Leave a comment

Sometimes, Your Audience Simply Doesn’t Like It

I wrote a blog this week and was so satisfied with it. Unfortunately, my audience did not seem to share that view. Only the kindest of my followers stopped to comment, and only the most loyal stopped to vote. So I’m left to ask,”Should I have assessed the interests of my audience more accurately? Or was I correct in writing exactly what I planned to write?” I guess the answer to those questions depends on my reason for blogging in the first place.

This is actually a profound question, because it’s about more than writing. Do I answer to myself, or someone else when I set goals. Is there an ideal in my head when I start a project, or am I constantly testing the waters around me to see what others expect?

How do I live my life? Of course I don’t live in a bubble. Wouldn’t last long if I did that. But I also can’t live in a balloon that drifts about in response to the slightest breeze, the slightest suggestion of displeasure.

I’m going to share the essence of that unsuccessful blog here. I still like it, though perhaps I could have explained the theme better. Perhaps my message was too subtle. I’m very anti-war. I know, I know, there are probably times when everyone has to come to the defense of their particular group. But generally I believe war benefits a few and most who die and suffer don’t really know why that fate has befallen them.

The picture at the top of the page is a still from a GIF I created for the blog. This was part of a collage contest. If you’d like to see how that looks as a GIF, just click on the link and you will be connected to my Steemit blog.

Associated with the picture was a brief history of gunpowder and cannons–mostly gunpowder. I emphasized the toll these inventions have taken on life. But maybe I was too tongue-in-cheek.

If you read the blog, please let me know. How does it sit with you?

I would write the blog again, but perhaps put in some pictures of flowers and birds. People like that stuff. Maybe a few dogs and cats.

One thing I know for sure: never blame the audience. If I write for myself, then I should be happy that I please myself. And if I write for an audience, then I should always keep that audience in mind. A good writer, I guess, strikes a balance.

Ah, we’re back to life again. A well-lived life is a balanced life. That’s what they say, anyway.

by Categories: A. G. Moore, Blogging, WritingTags: , , 2 Comments

Catching Up

This was adapted from two Pixabay pictures: one of a tree and one of a man sleeping. It was the closing picture on a story I wrote recently (see below).

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

I’ve been absent but I’ve been writing. I’d like to share with you some of what I’ve done.

In the political season, Twitter gets a lot of my traffic. If you care to check that out: https://twitter.com/A_G_Moore. My political beliefs are strong, but never hostile. As is true with many people these days, I’m looking for alternatives to most of the choices we are offered.

The world is always in flux–it just doesn’t look that way from a rear view mirror. Often, people speak of the old days as though issues were settled. But they never were. It’s just, sometimes things are a little more unsettled.

Besides Twitter, I’ve been blogging on Steemit. I wrote some nice stories, I think. I’ll cite the two most recent here, if you’d like to check them out. They are both sort of character sketches.

I think there are enough stories now for me to put together a collection. Nobody reads collections, particularly from unknown authors. But, anyway, I still might like to put them all together. You never know how something will work out unless you try it.

My latest post on Steemit is a research article about pigs, if you can believe that. My posts on Steemit alternate between creative writing and research. If you care about your health, my pig article might interest you. So many issues with pigs can impact other species, including humans.

Here’s the link:

Radioactive Pigs, Wild Pigs, Sick Pigs: The Trouble with Pigs Today

This is a hybrid piglet, descendant of wild boar and domestic pig

____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

I’ll put a link to my most recent stories here, also:

Larry: A Family Album

___________________________________________________________________

And the other one:

Samuel: An Illustrated Story

Some of the pictures for the story were adapted from photographs I found on Pixabay. Here’s one of them:

This picture was derived from the landscape picture below. I just imagined the scene I wanted and used the original as a guide.

___________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

You can find a lot of interesting material on Steemit. I know some people are suspicious of the blockchain. I’ve been blogging there since February of 2018. So far, nothing bad has happened to me.

I have met some interesting people. Here’s an article by one gentleman who has a WordPress blog, and a Steemit blog. His latest blogs featured a video by a clever young man who demonstrates how to create a blockchain. This really takes the mystery out of the technology.

I’ll post links to the WordPress site, and the Steemit blog:

First WordPress:

World of Chapper

______

And then Steemit:

@chappertron

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

I hope you don’t mind my extremely casual catching-up post.

I’ll be back soon!

by Categories: A G Moore, Blogginh, Creative WritingTags: , , Leave a comment