Hi.
So, as you may or may not have noticed, it's been over two months since my last post now and the last few before that had been pretty sparse.
I did write a lengthy explanation of why blogging had been so infrequent, detailing the entirely true account of my kidnapping and removal to Florida at the hands of Richard Littlejohn and the somewhat surprising revelation that I am his long lost son, but then I decided you all probably knew that anyway.
The truth is (and this is something I've put off writing for weeks now) I can't do it any more.
There are various reasons why not. Firstly, and most obviously, is how loathsomely trying it is to actually read the Mail every day. I've heard it said that reading newspapers is a great way to get a warped view of the world but, by Christ, that doesn't come close to what the Mail does to you. Brain-rotting stuff, seriously.
Secondly, I set this blog up because, at the time, newspapers were the biggest avenue for bile into the heads of unsuspecting plebs in this country and the Daily Mail was the most influential bile-carrier out there. Things have changed (a bit) now. There are more channels to disseminate fear and vitriol than ever before and newspapers hold decreasing power to really damage large numbers of people.
Personally, I think this is great; the freer and more transparent the conversation, the better, and the idealist in me believes that people are a little less (6% probably) likely to blindly believe the written turds they used to, and a little more likely to look around and say 'Hey! Gay Muslim single mothers haven't stolen my house after all!'. It does mean bollocks can spread faster than ever before too, of course, but the curatorship of crowds is not to be underestimated.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that communication is evolving, while bad newspapers are not, and that there's plenty more, but slightly less potent, shite out there ready to be skewered, and focusing on one particularly rotten ship putrefying in a sea of gradually sinking Titanics of hate just ain't what it used to be. And no I don't care how long my sentences are, it's my farewell do, so nur.
Thirdly, I just don't have much time any more. This pains me the most because I love writing but I simply cannot do as much of it as I'd like. Quails take quite a while to put together (you try typing with wings) and, unless I cut down heavily on the length and content, which I'm not prepared to do, I couldn't carry on.
Then, lastly, there's the blogosphere, a weird beast if ever there was one. There are some truly brilliant blogs out there, but then some truly awful ones too and, frankly, I don't like where it's all headed. I won't bore you with the intricacies.
What happens now? Well, I may post here veeery occasionally but don't hold your breath. I will, however, continue warbling on Twitter as much as ever, so do join me!
Oh and lastly, those brilliant blogs I mentioned? They're all in the blogroll over there <-- so, if you haven't already, give them a read.
Lots of love,
D Quail (expat)
XXX
