Wednesday, April 1, 2009

"Hello, my name is..."

Jim. Most of my friends call me that. Some of them also call me Styro. Or The Protestant. And some of them call me Captain Dick.

So, you can begin to form an impression right away, perhaps, of the sort of person I am, the sort of friends I have, whether or not I suffer from some sort of split personality disorder, and so on. I'm a man of many - or at least several - names. You stick with me and in due course I'll try to explain them all.

Since this my first blog post*, I offer the information as a form of both introduction and greeting. After all names can be important; I must believe that - or else why would I have spent so much time trying to pick one for this blog!** One of my desires was to come up with a name that would reflect my intention to offer posts in both spoken and written form. I was a part of the competitive speech team at my high school - and that experience provided me confidence, a sense of achievement and friendships that remain with me still.

Maybe I just like to hear myself talk.

One of the first names I had devised for this electronic repository (that's "re-pository" - not "sup-pository") was "Blogging for the Visually Impaired". Apart from being a bit cumbersome, I feared that people doing web searches would stumble upon the blog hoping to actually find content directed towards visually-challenged individuals - and disappointing first-time visitors didn't seem like a good way to win friends and influence people. "Blogging for the Blind" was punchier and had a nice alliterative quality - but I didn't like it enough to risk offending some folks.

I may still use "Blogging for the Visually Impaired" as a title for my forthcoming one-man show - patterned after a Spalding Gray monologue. Admittedly, the idea is in its VERY early planning stages; I would use my best blog posts in fashioning a (semi-)cohesive performance piece. If I thought I could copyright an idea this vague I would. And thank you so much for reminding me it's already been done.

Anyway, I feel this first rant coming to a close. I've been thinking about starting this blog for several months now. My wife (the Middle-Aged Woman of some renown - hey, at least I waited until nearly the end to name-drop) has been blogging for the better part of a year - and I've been known to post a comment or two in self-defense. Since she asked me to guest-post in December, I've been thinking more seriously. I had thought about posting on the first day of Spring - but somehow April Fool's Day seemed more appropriate. I must be a fool to think I can find the time to do this (in a manner that satisfies me - and may be of interest to others). But if I waited to find time, I probably wouldn't do most of the things that I enjoy doing.

If you think about it - we have all the time there is. But that's another post.

Take care.



*on my very own blog

** I was shocked at how many cool URLs are in use by individuals who last posted in 2005. Perhaps some sort of URL reclamation project is in order...

7 comments:

unmitigated me said...

Dear Mr. Styro,

As we already have a Captain Dumbass, I think we better shy away from Captain Dick. Mind if we call you Bruce just to keep it clear?

Love,
MAW

Sprite's Keeper said...

There's also a Buffalodick roaming around some of these comment sections. I *hope* he wears clothes. I hope he's a he as well... Welcome to blogging, Jim!

andrea said...

"I must be a fool to think I can find the time to do this (in a manner that satisfies me - and may be of interest to others)."

yea, that's how i'm feeling....at least for two more years, when i finish school. then i might have time again.

welcome aboard, uncle jim!

Anonymous said...

I think I'll stick to calling you Daddy. YAY!

Mama Dawg said...

Can I call you Daddy?

Wait, that was totally inappropriate. Of which I'm known for being sometimes.

Sigh........yet another blog to get obsessed with. You and MAW (and Ms. Partly Cloudy). What will I do with you three?

Jim Styro said...

Thanks to all for the kind comments.

MAW: You, The Girl, and Mama D. can ALL just call me "Daddy". Oh, yeah!

SK: I would never presume to use "Buffalodick". My delusions of grandeur don't extend in that
(d)erection.

GD: Don't fret, Andrea. As a very good friend of mine often says: "These things have a way of resolving themselves."

Ms. PC: I love it when you call me that.

Mama D: Didn't I already answer this question? On the other matter of "what you will do" with Snoplum, The Girl and Me: In the words of Elwood P. Dowd - "What did you have in mind?"

unmitigated me said...

Oh, Bruce, that may be a very dangerous question for Mama Dawg!