Or, Lapsing, then Lapsing into Solo-dom
I think this will be my last post on Troppo. For some time, I’ve been thinking seriously about a number of conflicting impulses relating to my blogging life. For a start, I really need at this time to focus all my writing energies on my thesis. Chris Sheil’s example of taking a hiatus to bring a major research project to conclusion has also weighed very heavily with me. There are also major changes in my personal and professional lives which I think need time to work themselves through without too much else on my plate. I’ve never been sure how well I’ve fitted into the Troppo ethos, and I’ve also been thinking that I’d like to give the blogging thing a go on my own, and see how I go.
I don’t want to comment again on the recent Troppo culture wars except to say that civility is a very important value, and it is not consistent and never should be consistent with judging others on the basis of their style of life. But enough said already. I want to stress that recent Troppo controversies occurred after I’d more or less made up my mind to take this step. So no inferences need be drawn.
So I’ll be setting up a solo blog in due course, not quite sure when at this point but I would imagine sometime before the end of April. If you’re interested in this project, keep an occasional eye on my livejournal site 1. I remain exceptionally grateful to Ken for inviting me here, and it’s been consistently enjoyable and entertaining for me. I hold Ken in very high regard, and think he’s done the blogosphere immense service, which I fervently trust will continue to be the case for a long time. My hope for Troppo is that it lives up to its ethos, which I think is well worth supporting and which is a fairly distinctive one in the Australian blogosphere. I hope in turn I’ve been able to give you something – however modest – in return for the pleasure of sharing your company and benefitting from your comments and the stimulation of interacting with you. You’ve been a great audience, but it’s time for me to wish you goodnight for the moment, at least.
IMAGE SOURCE: Photo taken by my friend Eryn last year when we went up to Coolum for a beach wedding and rented a postmodern shack for the weekend. It should be noted that this image was captured on the stumble home through the bush after dining on steak and a number of red wines with the wedding kiddies and listening to the excellent music of Brisvegas’ answer to Ani DiFranco, Peachfish.
- also worth a visit if you’re looking for a share house in Brisvegas at the moment![↩]
Sad to see you leave Troppo Mark but great to hear you’re striking out on your own. Remember it’s a lonely old world out there when you’re a lone blogger, but it’s worth it. Good luck and thanks for all the posts.
glad you added the note on the image source, Mark, explains why you look really really pissed in the photo…
join with Georg in saying I’m sorry to see you go.
I noticed on yr post on Curtin you recommended Jim Bishop’s ‘FDR’s Last Year’. the Democratic Roosevelt is also a hero of mine, and I read Bishop’s book with tears in my eyes. I’ll quote one of the African-American porters who worked on FDR’s funeral train: “such a good man to leave us”.
And I’ll quote Nabs as well:
“Well Jason, it’s Mark’s almost painfully open and earnest intelligence and willingness to confront big and/or personal issues head on have that helped make Troppodillo such a lively salon of late.”
And wbb:
“You are one of the big personalities of the blogosphere”.
hurry back to blogging, Mark, we’ll miss you.
Mark
You’re probably right that it’s time to go solo. I would have been perfectly happy for you to remain, as I’ve said more than once. But equally, your prolific posting pace almost demands a place all its own. And so do some of your fans, who don’t seem at all happy here. Good luck, and don’t hesitate to pick my brains about anything you may need as you set up your own blog.
“your prolific posting pace almost demands a place all its own”
That’s the main reason I think Mark’s right to branch out — the front page was almost his, anyway!
I blame Sweden.
yeah – what they said.
I blame Canada.
I blame the French. Everyone else does.
Well, I dissent, dammit. I don’t want you to go away and establish a cult blog and preach to the converted. Stay here where tough criticism keeps you on your toes. I agree that your domination of the blog was becoming a problem for all concerned. The solution is actually quite easy: post less. It will be good for you to develop some restraint, and you’ll have more time for other things. You don’t have to say everything that’s on your mind, at least not all at once.
I’m not quite sure whom Ken’s comment about unhappy fans was directed at, but I for one really appreciate this blog, and not just for Mark.
That having been said, it goes without saying that I wish you every success with the solo blog and I’ll be sure to visit.
James
I had urged Mark to hang around for the reasons you argue. But he clearly feels it’s time to go it alone. It seems to be an inevitable trajectory with prolific bloggers (like Mark and Chris Sheil). I doubt that Mark can (or would want to) post less often. It’s probably all or nothing, I suspect. So it may well be that the best solution is for Mark to take a break and then start on his own at full speed.
I blame the Antarctic Treaty. Nobody ever does.
“You don’t have to say everything that’s on your mind, at least not all at once.”
It saves me from boring my friends, though, James :)
Not that online folk aren’t my friends. Aarrgghh, it was only today that I was reading about beautiful online friendships destroyed by a misused emoticon!
Blame Canada?
I’m with Matt and Trey – It’s not even a real country anyway! :P
But seriously, Mark’s entries were very interesting and thought provoking. They tended to be controvertial, insightful and in my view got the most diverse group and commentators together.
Will definitely look out for the livejournal postings. In the meantime Mark, try not to let your PhD drive you to insanity and beyond (eg. http://www.livejournal.com/users/stephendann)!
Oh and by the way Mark, if you get chance, check out the Brizzie band “The Red Paintings” – bloody awesome performers and going places methinks! I also strongly recommend “Misinterpretato”!
Cheers and bon chance!
Sad to see you go, Mark. The place wont be the same without you all bouncing things off each other, though Im sure others will fill the gap.
Looking forward to Mark Bahnisch Unleashed, coming in April to a url near you.
Ay karamba! What a contribution.
Mark, I think you’re one of the most talented and natural-born bloggers on the whole triple-dub. You’ve led the way on a variety of topics and have left many of us trying to work out how to emulate the output and match that creativity. Most have probably struggled in that endeavour.
I don’t pretend to agree with every dimension of your worldview but I’ve learned from and respected your work in its intellectual journalistic and pop-culture manifestations. I especially thank you for the links, mentions and cross-spherical interactions and also the private communications of occasional philosophical comradeship and encouragement.
As a regular, it’s obvious Ken and the gang do something here that I enjoy and regard as worthwhile and challenging. I’m sure that will continue.
Best of luck with your doctorate, career plans and that new blog.
And all else as well.
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.”
– Yeats
Best wishes Mark. Warm thanks for many stimulating posts (particularly the po-mo debate). Look forward to your blog in due post-phd course.
Good move, for all the reasons cited above. Good luck, and please post here when you’re all set up so we can come ’round and visit with y’all.
Actually, I think that last statement was redundant. I give you about three days before vegasarmadillo is vibrating with hyperkinetic blogorama.
Lichtenstein has always dtruck me as a vey suspect little proincipality. I blame Lichtenstein. And all the best to you Mark. Last night Parish wouldn’t relinquish his seat at the computer at all I had to comment standing up. Poor me. Just wait till we have a wireless connection!
Are you really going straight away? Would I be premature to hope for a flurry of posts in the hiatus betweenyur blog and this. Don’t give me the thesis crap. You can blog and thesise. You always do, thus far!
Sorry to see you go but good luck with the thesis and hope there is a return to blogging soon. As for blame you forgot Poland!
Thanks everyone! Just to clarify something, I’m not planning to use the livejournal site as a blog – when I’m ready to go, I’ll have a blog with its own url – the livejournal site is really just a place holder to let interested people know when the blog itself launches – probably in April.
ps – Antonio, yep Misinterpretato are very good – I’ll keep an eye out for The Red Paintings.
And Stephen Dann and I were comparing PhD experiences recently.
I’ll miss you here, Mark – but it may be that Troppo is destined to be a launching pad for stellar blog talent.
And stellar blogging does require a major time and energy investment which I, for one, don’t have available. Not that I’m ‘stellar’ – I’m not into drag at all………
I’ll look forward to your new incarnation.
you will be missed Mark.
When we disagreed it was done in a civil way.
I would say good luck on your thesis but you don’t need it.
Look forward to your blog when it starts.
Geoof given that you have stellar blog talen does this mean you will be launching your own blog soon?
Homer
You’re dead right that Geoff is a stellar blogging talent. I wish he could find more time to write the occasional post. His incisive comment box contributions just aren’t enough for my taste.
I suspect Troppo can only ever be a longer-term congenial home for bloggers who generally don’t have time to post all that frequently (like Geoff and Don and Sophie and Wen and Wayne, touch wood). Once you start getting prolific and posting daily, it seems that the pressure to start your own blog eventually becomes overwhelming for a range of reasons.
I’m more than happy that Troppo has been the launching pad for blogging talents as stellar as Chris Sheil and Mark Bahnisch. Hopefully we’ll manage to talent-spot and nurture a few more yet. I think it’s an extremely useful role for Troppo to perform, because it allows talented writers not yet familiar with the technology or the mores of the genre, and not yet certain whether they want to blog seriously or not, to have a real hit-out and build an audience base on a blog that already has a wide readership.
I blame the West Coast Eagles.
Sorry to see you go Mark.
Good luck. There’s a T-shirt shop in Adelaide that sells “Don’t ask me about my thesis” shirts if you think it’d be helpful :)
Good luck, Mark. (& I think when it comes to theses, you should take everything that’s on offer: best wishes, luck, t-shirts, computer-generated chapters, typing chimpanzees ….)
Cutting and running, hey?
Well we have to leave home eventually, move into a shared household and then, after one heated telephone bill dispute too many, set up on our own.
Looking forward to Blognisch From Brisvegas.
You can never have too many Bahnisches about I find.
Look forward to the new blog.
What Glenn said.
This is a laugh coming from me, but it is worth thinking about the fact that some of our more prolific bloggers could publish less but make it more considered.
That is, we tend to be very reactive. There is a blogzone waiting for people who do more investigation and substantive concept building before they publish. In the less academic world that I inhabit, that means doing some journalism rather than simple stridulation, scraping our legs together to make a noise like a bunch of grasshoppers.
At the moment, the bifurcation goes: reactive blogging on one side, and BIG PROJECT on the other. Thesis, novel, solid book.
That makes perfect sense, but there is a bit in the middle, that can be developed, and here the group blog is a natural home.
I do realise that blogging has a valuable function for some of our public intellectuals (ha! eat that SMH!) of public thinking and ideas development at a tentative stage.
The only problem with Troppo as far as I am concerned is that I hang out for the less frequent voices like Geoff, Wen and Wayne – and yes, I know how busy you are.
What the f is going on around here. It’s taken 33 comments and I’m the first one to blame Bush.
I certainly blame the software for not remembering my details.
Nicholas
It should remember your details if you post from the fully open page rather than just opening the comment box as a stand-alone window. Apparently you can still do that with some browsers (i.e. just open the comment box), alhtough if I try to do it with my Internet explorer it just brings up an error message.
I think its probably ok, these days, to come to work at a group blog dressed as above in scruffy denims and such but when you run your own show you’ll need to smarten up a bit young lad.
Nabs and myself do make ourselves available for consultancies on matters male sartorial for twice the normal fee.
[On second thoughts looking at that pic it might be more like 2.5 the normal fee.]
Hi Mark,
I’m very sorry to see that you are leaving Troppo but I look forward to the opening of your own blog.
I’ve found your posts and generous comments to be always thoroughly stimulating and educational. As is invariably the case with all of the Troppo contributors. And generally the case with its commentators.
Sorry I couldn’t contribute a little in my fashion to the big Troppo debates on Derrida etc. but I have been laid low for the last month with a nasty virus and the time has now passed. I’ve read most now. I’m sure these will be revived again in the future on your blog.
For what its worth, blogs are unlikely to solve the ultimately perennial philosophical questions that your posts essentially raised. My attitude is that the opportunity blogs such as Troppo provide for the discussion is the thing, given, in my experience, the general lack of such opportunities for sustained reasoned debate. And this is whether to just listen in, or to try and make a contribution.
I wish you a speedy and successful completion to your thesis and the resolution of any personal and professional matters. I was looking forward to reading some excerpts.
So thank you again for allowing us the benefit of your copious reading and considered thoughts.
All the best….I hope you did not bang you’re head on that branch after the photo was taken.
Troppo seems to do this to it’s more prolific and better writers, but good on you, Mark for seeing the light. I look forward to catching your next incarnation, and hopefully yarning with you on Sunday.
Cheers, Niall – hope you can make it along (it’s the second Brisvegan Bloggers’ Meetup if anyone’s wondering).
ps – yeah, Guido, I banged my head.
FXH – I wore a Wayne Cooper black suit and Industrie shirt with french cuffs to the wedding the next day, I’ll have you know!
Fyodor – with Ken’s indulgence I might take you up on the idea of a brief re-appearance here to let Troppo readers where to find the new blog when I’m ready to go with it.
And thanks again everyone for your very kind words!
Looking forward to the new blog! I think with your pace of posting, a solo blog is best. You could do what I do with CT and put selected posts up here.
Mark, you big goof. And about time.
Actually that’s not a bad idea of JQ’s. He puts his harder posts up on CT. But you’d have to put your easier posts up here.
Good luck,
Like Chris, you added value to the tropical tapestry and you played the ball rather than the player.
I saw, read, and was intrigued by some of your observations, Mark. So I look forward to your new adventure.
You may care to invade the Blogfather (link below) for tips and shortcuts to solodom …
PS: If you’re going to create, create a lot. Creativity is not like playing the slot machines, where failure to win means you go home broke. With creativity, if you don’t win, you’re usually no worse off than if you hadn’t played
-Scott Adams
N-o-o-o-o-o-o-o. I can only echo all that’s been said. You will be missed and I look forward to your next blogging incarnation.
By the way, I blame my mum, my third grade teacher and the high school bully. I will now go check myself into rehab.
I blame normblog.
I hope the massive success of your internet dating campaign is in part responsible for this break. And no, I’m not looking for an answer, just – you know – wondering ;)
Zoe, I reckon you’re Nabs’ rival for the best commenter this year!
‘He puts his harder posts up on CT.’
What sort of culturally cringing comment is that, for goodness’ sake, wbb? All right, it was necessary to the joke, and not a bad joke at that.
By the way, that ante-natal class you mentioned – was it recent, or was it after the now four-year-old? I’d hate to think there were baby baboons going uncongratulated.
I wanted to note my agreeement with those commenters who’d like to see more of Wendy, Geoff, Stephen and Woodsy at Troppo.
Interested readers of this thread are invited to visit the successful test of my new blog:
http://larvatusprodeo.redrag.net/
I won’t be posting regularly and launching the blog until 28 March, but I’ve tweaked the design and put up a few posts to test it out. Thanks heaps btw to Rob for hosting me and his help beyond the call of duty in helping me get the thing working.
“What sort of culturally cringing comment is that, for goodness’ sake, wbb?” – see James, there was a post up recently at JQ that dealt with some esoteric nonsense, that the likes of you no doubt understood, but I sure as hell didn’t – anyway there were about 5 sensible comments at JQ and about 35 at CT. Is why I prefer it here. I’m in my depth.
No. 2 is called Molly Baboon.