Manie eaantle Jungean

erh.. is this my name in japanese?

* 忧伤的裙子:::Manie eaantle Jungean

10 reasons why blogging is good for you

I started this list a while ago, not really to explain to others why i was blogging, but more for myself to understand, why the hell i was blogging. What does it had to do in my life, why it caught my attention and why it quickly became an habit – even skipping a day or two could make me feel that something was missing. 

So here it is. A short list of the reasons why i think blogging is good and why i think everyone should get to press the publish button. Feel free to add your ideas to it. This might just be the start.

Blogging is a form of expression, as any other art. I think Martha Graham’s quote is describing pretty well what i think blogging is about:

“..There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to deternine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions…”

* * *

1- Letting the world know about you
Imagine each and every folks in urban centers manifesting themselves by saying out loud: “I am here! This is me, what i think-feel-ate today-did-saw-thought”. This is somehow similar to what blogging is – it allows us to manifest ourself and take a place in the (virtual) world, bringing us a little step away from being perfect strangers to one another.

Some might see blogs as a result of mild exhibitionism, or even, being only written by ego-centered people. I say, blogging is a good way to forge a voice of your own and let the collective knowledge travel around the web, with some of your ideas and personality added to it.

2- Feeling heard (and sometimes understood)
Having people visiting and commenting my blog in an intelligent manner is one of the greatest reward for me, the author and human bean behind this blog. I feel heard and understood by many folks out there. Many people are writing me to express how they do appreciate my sharing about life and how it help them figure out their own way. You guys rock. Maintaining a blog with no one visiting or commenting would be sad as a clown doing a show with no one watching. Virtual interactions and site stats is mostly what keep bloggers alive and kicking.

3- What you think is what you get
Sharing your true self (well, who you really are) with the virtual community is fundamental about blogging. Like in a relationship, the more of yourself you invest in your blog, the better it will get.Who you are, what you think, like, dislike, listen to, read, places and websites you like – all this tell us a bit more about you each day. Bloggers are curious people, in case you didn’t already figured out. For me blogging was a new way to express myself, communicate and share ideas. It somehow helps keep my sanity, as strange as this might sound. Maybe it’s all about categorizing thoughts and getting things clearly written down that makes me feel that way.

4- Meeting people isn’t so easy
As much as i do like Radiohead, i do have to disagree with their saying Meeting people is easy. Meeting people is everything but not easy these days, as we may all suffer from isolation at one time or another. Having a blog might help to find people who have similar interest as you – this means to create something we used to call “community”- folks connected one to another by similar interest. Blogging is an essential tool to build virtual communities which often end up in get together like events where people meet face2face. Beside that, blogging help you keep in touch with family and friends who can check out what you are up to these days. Wouldn’t you like your mom to call and ask about this new guy/girl you are dating?

‘With the raw materials in my blog, my mom could actually construct an accurate picture of who I am. This is fucking serious.’
- The Onion

5- Getting to know yourself (and see your own life with a different perspective)
The outside world doesn’t hold the answer about who you actually are. It is through reaction to events and what surrounds you that you get to know yourself – who you truly are. While reading about other people’s lifes, on superficial or deeper levels, you can catch a glimpse of how is life for them, and then see your own life with a different perspective. This said, blogging is also about getting to discover yourself while discovering about other people’s life.

6- Deepening our understanding of human nature (oh yeah, don’t we need that?)
Does this really need to be explained here? Like people watching, reading blogs give you a good overview of how it is to be a human these days and how all our lifes are deeply connected and similar. (Caution here: people lightly unfulfilled by their day job might end up caught into obsessive blog reading on job time. At the moment i am writing these lines there aren’t still any known therapy for this addiction).

7- If only you knew what you might find
Reading about other people’s lifes and interest got me to expand my horizons and discover new things.This said, in the last months, i have read about kniting, book binding, new music bands. I have discovered new authors, artists, places to visit, how it is to live in montreal from an expat point of view, and have seen wonderful places via photoblogs. All this via my favortie blog reading list.

8- Access to not filtered sources of information
Reading different blogs, i can get access to information which wouldn’t be accessible via the average media sources. This is a topic in itself, but you are the only judge about what’s good information on the net and what’s not.

9- Sharing and collecting information
Through blogging, you can share a lot of information about your passions. Your favorite bands, movies, authors, or business related information. I do keep listed my fav bands and related links. Same goes for artist, designers and authors i like.Keeping all my blog archives, i can think of the day where next generations could be able to read my blog as a memoire… if i do archive everything properly of course… lazy me.

10- A hope for blogging to make us better people
Blogging is about sharing thoughts and ideas by writing daily/weekly or monthly on a webspace accessible online. Writing about things that matters to you will likely force you to question yourself and express feelings and thoughts as clearly as possible to the outside world. Thus, this can just result as you, being a better communicator -and hopefully- blogging will make us better people.

Be wild, be open minded, but before all, just be who you are.

2004 , M-C Turgeon.

* * *

Suggested readings:
* Small pieces loosely joined, a unified theory of the web
* Biz Stone: Who let the blogs out
* Never Threaten to Eat Your Co-Workers: Best of Blogs
* Writing down the bones

* * *

Version française ici.

This article is protected by a Creative Commons Licence:
- You must give the original author credit
- You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
- You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

With podcasting being more accessible, i think its a good thing to have this article as an audio file.The audio version last for about 10 minutes, and i had much fun doing it… i made an mp3 out of the bloopers, which you can find here. Enjoy

- 10 reasons why blogging is good for you, 11 minutes audio file;
- Bloopers, about 1.30 minutes.

Novembre, poésie et éclats inégaux

Poésie ou délire, peux importe, semblerait qu’on est tous inspirés ce mois ci:

“Ouin ben moi, comme on se disait plus tôt hier, je trouve novembre particulièrement prolifique en ce qui a trait à la rédaction et l’expression des idées de mes contacts sur msn.

J’ai entendu les propos les plus inusités, incensés, et même me relire me donne parfoit des frissons.

C’est comme une pleine lune continuelle, qui dure tout le mois. J’attend la fin avec impatience, et en attendant, je me réjouit à lire et écrire des imbécilités toute préparées d’avance.”

Autres faits divers bizares sont à raporter, mais ça, j’aime mieu pas en parler.

Now that it’s wednesday

i sure can start to plan my friday:

erste: parc Quatre au patro vys, friend jean-seb djing
or/and
the hasbeenwannabe nite at la tulipe
and/or
monsieur p did invited me for the pixies show..
– no way — option not even considered.

I am mtl.

Picture taken from my workplace, in caron building.

Why i do not like tuesday.

Because it’s my monday
because it’s laundry day
because it is not the middle of the week yet
because i can still not plan my friday
because as i am writing this i have to leave in less than 3 minutes and my hairs are still not dry and i’ll probably be sick next tuesday and will hate it even more.

Standing on a melody – The Ipod Serie.

Some of my new work is now online, The Ipod Serie.

The ipod serie was inspired not only by the device itself, but more of it being the music we are traveling with.
Walking my way trough life with music playing makes life as a movie,
makes me feel that everything’s gonna be allright,
all worries pushed away.
The ipod serie represent people as I, isolated beings in urban centers, traveling around,
walking in freedom with ryhmes and melodies playing in our ears.
We do all feel, we do all express something. Even into isolation, i do feel we are all connected trough earphones.
We are all standing on a melody.

* The Ipod Serie.

Je chaise

Nouvelle recrue,

* Je chaise

Last nite, the 80’s

We’ve been out real late, dancin’ to the sound of 80’s tunes.

Some things i’m not sure if they really did happen, so twisted they were:

- seeing antoine dancing and signing on a bon jovi tune (i really had to pinch myself there, believe me on that);
- finding myself dancing on a samantha fox tune (touch me, touch me, i wanna feel your body…) Oh dear, i’m so happy no one took pictures;
- having 20 people performing a guitar solo at the same time on micheal jackson’s beat it.

I had a real great time living back the 80’s, surrounded by people who obviously liked them as much as i did. Sweet memories.

ps: lilo talks catnip and politics.

Some things must not be done on a friday nite.

I wll be ief. Yoimusr suen ultitdum tae ther niht ws unmneected, bht cald for. hNonnpe the less m orr ay it apepnoed lsike that. You ahid odce tat syrou fmelt i colbd stop eaehing you oad coIpleteely forlet ygu- tis is stIill ot true- alohugh peruas you nw pr hnfer it othepewie…

di urnstand if you don’t wafmnt to talk tpo e…but hohe twis uwill nxot alarays be te cnse. Ih gwil ot bomher you anyoe if i do ntoter ros yeou in rnatrletur.

Duper mix – Nov. 2004

Let’s go we’re gonna have some fun mix –
indi rock mix (i could have called it ‘the male mix’ but decided to add the bjork track at last..). Enjoy -

1. Weezer – Island in the sun
2. Jimmy eat world –
3. Pernice brothers – One foot in the grave
4. Pernice brothers – Shades of blue
5. Cake – Take it all away
6. Cake – Dime
7. Junior boys – Bithday
8. New Order – The perfect kiss
9. M83 – Run into flowers (midnight fuck mix)
10. Arthur Russell – She’s the boss i take this time
11. Arthur Russell – A little lost
12. Badly drawn boy – Piano medley (live acoustic)
13. Badly drawn boy – Walking out of stride
14. Pernice bothers – Number two
15. Bjork – Joga

Saturday nite fever

***
Update!

Antoine party animal dit : C’est 5$ en se présentant avec le carton vert imprimable sur le site du Cabaret.
Moi je dit : j’irai, juste pour ses cheveux gaufrés!

***

Snds like me, mari-jo and martine will be going out at La Tulipe this saturday nite for the Pop 80 party!

Anyone wanna join?

* La Tulipe | C’est Extra/Pop 80.

Paula Scher & Pentagram

A well inspiring video directed by Hillman Curtis about designer Paula Scher.

What struck me the most is when she talks about the place left for spontaneity in her work – that she gives herself permission to create something in a flash, a second, without having to go trough a long (and sometime difficult) creative process cycle which everyone calls out for.

I do think that best ideas can come simply sometimes, in a flash, and they can be the best ones ever. To give credibility to these ideas is the designer’s decision, but most of the time, what comes too easily is left out as ‘easy solution=not good one’.

As paul rand manifested many times, its all about intuition. And spontaneity.

* Paula Scher, the video
* a conversation with,
* Pentagram’s impressive studio.