It was pointed out to me recently that I tend to make long-winded statements on this site, to the point where it’s less of a blog and more of, well, something else. Sure, it’s online and contains writing and links and stuff, but there’s a good chance that this little slice of Internet is something else entirely. Consider your normal blog – full of clever bon mots, a succinct and clear message in every post, and consistency in tone and voice. Needle, Meet Haystack rarely fulfills any of those criteria anymore.
The closest online presence that I can find that’s similar to what I try to do is the “blog” of Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction and other big, thick books that take several months to read through and double as flotation devices or mugger deterrents. Greene’s site is a collection of well-researched essays on a large number of sociopolitical topics that are so dense that one might need a knife to cut through the layers of content to fully understand his theses. While I’d rather not compare the work of an asterisk-free New York Times bestselling author with a site that peaked creatively in a story about ice cream barf, the broad strokes of our sites are the same. Neither of us are bloggers because we don’t really blog.
Some of you are probably wondering what donuts have to do with all of this.
It was recently brought to my attention that in a horribly misguided attempt at cross-promotional campaigning, Dunkin’ Donuts released limited-edition Captain America donuts to celebrate the release of the new movie. Now, when I say “Captain America donuts,” I mean that literally – when I bought my star-shaped, jelly-filled, frosted, star-spangle sprinkled carb bomb, the sign on the rack identified the donuts as “Captain America.”
With my first bite, I expected the tastes of freedom, liberty and bald eagle’s tears, hoping that they weren’t being too literal and had kept the donuts on ice for over 70 years (or however long that would be in Donut Time). Instead, I tasted high fructose corn syrup, bleached flour, red dye #40, a host of artificial and natural flavorings, a tinge of regret, and a little bit of indigestion. There was nothing special or remarkable about Cap’s donut, aside from its vaguely patriotic theme that will serve the chain well on future July Fourths.
Conversely, I saw the Captain America movie this weekend, and it was delightful. Not just because Chris Evans surprised the heck out of me by being fantastic in his leading-man turn, nor due to Joe Johnston proving that The Rocketeer would have been a bigger hit if they’d given him a few more years, but because it was a genuinely good movie, and great Summer popcorn fare. Aside from the name and color similarities, there was nothing connecting the Captain America donut to the Captain America movie.
The disparity between the two is about as wide as the one between this “blog” and an actual blog.
If I had my druthers, I would probably change the format of the site – increase time between posts for fuller, more in-depth writings. But then again, having a blog that’s an actual blog might be a good thing – it’s taken me over 500 words in this post alone just to say that I talk too much. Either way, something needs to change with NMH - if you have any opinions, suggestions or wisdom to offer, sound off in the comments.
Have you thought about pitching your writing elsewhere? Is that something you do now? I see a lot of bloggers who would really benefit from a bigger, better-fitting platform for the kind of content they’re creating and I think you’re probably one of them.
I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t really taken the step towards writing for something besides this site. That is a very good suggestion, and I’ll need to think on it more. Thanks, Maureen!