Catching Up

I haven't been much of a blogger recently (duh), for no good reason other than that I haven't had much to say. The driving impulse for this blog is to comment on politics, rather than to serve as a personal diary or anything. And frankly, contemporary politics is so dispiriting that it's hard to summon up the energy to write about it. I've been taking a personal break from it myself. Although I have every intention of getting involved in the general election, I must say it's quite difficult to pretend that the election is about much more than avoiding immediate catastrophe. Should Obama win re-election, he's almost certain to face a Republican majority in the house, which means another 4 years of stalemate as our country (and planet) continues to circle the drain. Sigh.

In any case, as I've taken a step back from the public domain, my private life has begun to, well, I suppose flourish is the only word I can use. I've gotten involved in Roller Derby, which is great exercise and a surprisingly good way to meet interesting people. I'm part of a real community for the first time in quite a while. I'm finally beginning to find my feet as a professional, and shifting from my old academic field into a new one.

I've also been tinkering with revisions to my first book.As might be expected, the changes are going to be quite extensive, but I think I've worked out how to solve most of the outstanding issues, with the exception of one rather glaring one that has so far stumped me. I suppose it really has been too long since I was an adolescent boy to figure out what would motivate one. Is irritating one's family and mentor sufficient reason for an arrogant 16-year-old to do rather reckless things and to associate with inappropriate people? Hmm, maybe the answer is a lot simpler than I thought.