Blog Dreg Clogs

Sometimes I start to write blogs, don't get around to finishing them, but don't want to delete them. It means that I occasionally have blog dregs clogging up my post count. Blog dreg clogs.

This can be annoying, as it gives a misleading total blog post number, meaning that my anniversary posts might be inaccurate. Heaven forbid.

So, to get rid of these little draft stumps, I'll put them here. That way, I can move on with my life. Well, I say life...

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On 30/11/2009, I began:

I'm feeling tired and pointless. I'm annoyed by my typing. Not just the things I type, but the method.

Fingertips.

What a loser.

I don't feel too tired. I've been more tired than this. But I'm not in the finest of fettles. I feel sad about the world. I feel trapped in my body. The pressure in my head is building, but it won't burst.

I feel cynical. And I despair when faced with cynicism.

What a shame I didn't finish that one. It seemed like it would be a real crowd-pleaser. Infused with joie de vivre, and no mistake. I was probably building to some kind of euphoric epiphany. But we'll never know...

***

On 19/01/2010, I wrote:

Let's give this a go. I've just finished (re)reading a JD Salinger book, which comprises two stories - Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: an Introduction.

I like it. I like Salinger a lot. I think he's my favourite writer. But it worries me.

It worries me because lots of people like him. And not in the way that lots of people like Shakespeare or Michael Palin or toad-in-the-hole. He seems to have a more specific fanbase: people who have similar backgrounds to me, have similar interests, but are (of course) oh so much more shallow than I am.

The main character in the (supposedly awful) new Michael Keaton film is a Salinger fan. Annoying people write songs and stories about his characters. He seems to be a sage to the adolescent -and not that good kind of adolescent (fearless, eager and ) - but the kind of adolescent that loves The Matrix, and thin

I think I stopped mid-word there. I don't have particular disdain for the thin.

This one takes on extra significance, since ol' JD himself has since died. Maybe I was being prophetic by writing about him.

I definitely didn't poison him.

Just to clear that up.

I think I was trying to defend my interest in his work. Which is totally unnecessary, of course, but I am nothing if not an utter fool.

It is true that a lot of annoying people like him. But that's probably true of everything. Annoying people like The Simpsons. Annoying people like Michael Palin.

All the retrospectives of Salinger's work talk about The Catcher in the Rye, and how it was beloved by teenagers. Everyone thinks it's speaking directly to them. But it wasn't speaking directly to them; it was speaking directly to me.

I suppose that's what makes it a good book.

I've come to terms with annoying people liking the book, and I've come to terms with everyone having the same unique and personal reaction that I did.

What I did find a bit irritating is the focus on Catcher (is that an acceptible abbreviation?). I much prefer the short stories.

That makes me a real fan. Not like everyone else. (Of course, they've all read the same stories) The saga of the Glass family is well worth reading.

I hope people don't get caught up in wondering whether Catcher is overrated, or wondering whether it's only read by immature people. I hope people realise that above all the hype and counter-hype, Salinger wrote really good stories that are thought-provoking, have superb dialogue, and are really, really funny.

So a few weeks ago, I may have been caught up in a vortex of snobbery, snob-snobbery and defensive rationales. But I'm over that now.

I like the books of JD Salinger.

They're good. And even if everyone else feels exactly the same, it doesn't matter.

He may have been having a unique and individual dialogue with everyone, but he did provoke a conversation I've had with myself. And that is unique.

Unless there's someone else in my brain.

But I don't think there is.

(Oh, really?)

I think so.

***

I just wrote a conclusion to this, but it wasn't saved by Blogger! Maybe someone doesn't want me to publish this. Maybe they think this a bit to pointless even for me.

But I'll show them.

I think the gist was:

That's it for these little unborn bloglets. If I produce anymore dull, whiny and pretentious little vignettes, I'll compile them in a similar manner.

Also, I just got back from lunch, and can't be bothered to proofread this. So if there are any mistakes, it's probably your fault.