I worked on my last post about political messaging strategy for about thirty hours over five weeks.

That’s…too much time for someone getting back in the habit of consistent creation. I almost regret it, considering the opportunity cost of thirty hours spent writing—especially when I’m not fully satisfied with the result.

That’s the nature of political content, I think. It’s different than telling personal stories about addiction, for example. The stakes are a higher, people are more invested (and will react more if they disagree), and there’s a bunch of shit out there in the space that I don’t want to get lumped in with.

On top of that, there’s a lot of pressure not just to be right, but also comprehensive. I cut myself off at seven thousand words! I wanted to do at least another thousand to cover more bases. I decided not to discuss how Left-wing politicians and news outlets might just serve the same billionaires as their Right-wing counterparts—an idea that renders my whole post moot. I didn’t talk about how inefficient and unproductive Left-wing parties are when in office, or how that neuters any real excitement about their campaigns.

So, in the hours after posting my Left-Messaging blog, I told myself it’d be the last of its kind.

But then I had a good conversation about it, remembered another handful I had while working on it, and I realized I had fun writing it. It was like solving a puzzle or building a Jenga tower. It was a weird little dance-y wrestling match with my own devil’s-advocate. And while I didn’t solve the Left’s messaging problems, I did solve the puzzle I laid out for myself.

Plus, I already have thoughts on an angsty new capitalism/socialism post which I also think will be fun and interesting to build—especially in the wake of the United Healthcare CEO assassination. So, I probably will write about it.

But before I that, I had a different idea which helped me wrap my head around what I’m doing with the blog in general.

I was listening to a hockey podcast this week when the dudes started listing their top movies of 2024. As I listened, I wished I could chime in. Then I realized: I could just write my own thoughts on my own platform. I can live with Sean & Ryan (the podcasters) not hearing my takes.

So, I wrote a post about my own top movies of the year, then moved on to TV shows, music, and books—and had a blast. In doing so, I had to ask a new question though: why would any of you want to read it?

It takes a certain kind of arrogance to write a blog in general—assuming someone will spend time and effort to read it. Not only am I throwing unqualified opinions on random topics out there, I’m asking you to consume it the hard way? When thirty-second videos are the dominant form of entertainment, are you really going to spend up to ten minutes reading?

Maybe it was one thing when I wrote about unique personal experiences; now I think my movie reviews are worth your time? The audacity!

Maybe they’re not worth your time. It’s the same as my political takes: I don’t actually know if they’re any good. But I think I have worthwhile opinions—worthwhile enough to explore and organize for my own enjoyment. And that applies universally. I think I have fun thoughts on politics, philosophy, health, art, sports, and culture.

I’m an enthusiastic tourist of a dozen different disciplines!

(Which is my new way of saying “jack of all trades.”)

While I may sometimes look clumsy to “experts” in those fields—like someone stumbling over the locals’ language—I don’t think I care. (I mean…I care, and ideally want everyone to like me all the time, but will work on saying, “that’s a them problem,” if they don’t.)

So, to wrap up that sidebar: the contrast between my last post and this one is a sign of what’s to come. If something interests me, I’ll subject you to it, and I freely give you permission to skip whichever topics don’t resonate or leave comments about how wrong I am.

Cheers to a new year of arrogant creation!