Out of the Blog Closet

'The time has come,' the Walrus said, 'To talk of many things...'

For a few years now, I have sporadically (at best) worked on a personal blog, mostly for selfish reasons -- I fancied myself as having a hidden writer just dying to get out, and this may be the best conduit to help me achieve that objective. After all, it's no secret to my former professors (by their grading and comments at the time) or those close to me that I have a "gift" for writing, especially when pressed for time. Only problem is that I find "the spirit has to move me", as they say in the vast cultural wasteland of (insert your favorite cultural wasteland here), or else the hidden writer stays beneath the surface for another week, or month, or months.
I still want to write, but I also have recently come to the conclusion that I know many people, all or most being your average person-next-door, who have the ability to contribute unique and equally interesting ideas that I feel not only need to be heard (or in this case, read), but can create a honest rebuttal for others, concluding (I hope) in food for thought. These people I know are a small group, but they vary in age, experience, culture, political partisianship, and gender, and I find them refreshing and capable of providing a counterpoint when the need arises. With that in mind, I have decided to open the floodgates, if you will, by exposing this blog to them, and hopefully they will respond in kind with their opinions, and their friends' opinions, and any others who wish to join the party. I only ask that we keep this somewhat above-board -- have some respect for your fellow contributors. I'm not a prude per se, and I love a funny joke (adult or otherwise) just as much as the next person, and there may be times that a funny joke or cartoon or caption is used to amplify a point, but let's not go overboard if we can help it. Personally, if my blog is fortunate enough to receive contributions from who I think will write in, then I believe we'll have nothing to worry about.
And so it begins...

(special thanks to Lewis Carroll)