Welcome back.

Wife and baby (6mths old) asleep after long, meandering day trip to Chicago for art-viewing (father-in-law's exhibit at IL state building), coffee-drinking (thwarted by roastery's pretensions, lack of public restrooms), and zoo-going (successful: photos of baby watching seals particularly wonderful); now I sit in basement re-envisioning blog in light of recent readings (Will Richardson's Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms), finally understanding the differences between journaling (what I seem to have done here in the past [six years ago]) and "true blogging," which is more like what authors and critics like Diane Ravitch do, and wanting to use this space still/again but not wanting to change what it was about. I equivocate between trying to merge two ideas—a journal-esque, aesthetic/philosophical clearing-house and a more formal, professional blog with a critical bent—and not wanting to admit but ultimately believing the two cannot possibly co-exist. I mean, for starters, I'd have to shorten my sentences considerably. And who wants that.

But Richardson's ideas have very much piqued my interest, and I am looking forward to beginning my next class in my master's program at Judson U. A week before the first class, it's already gotten me to write in here again. Now, I just have to amass an audience (if any of you are [still] out there, please leave a comment so I know I'm not alone). Sadly, but understandably, Richardson hasn't had much advice about that yet.