Another Year

Okay, so 2011 marks the third year Rachel Wrong has existed as a blog. Kind of. I actually started the blog in September of 2009 at Wordpress, (here is the first post I ever did) so this whole three-years thing is kind of a technicality. Nonetheless, 2011!

So, to mark this auspicious occasion I want to know what you would like to see in the new year. Not in general, but from this blog. My goal is to entertain you, readers. All five of you. What would make this more entertaining for you? More ranting, less raving? More photos? More music reviews?* More stories that feature yourselves and your amazing accomplishments? More hard news and facts?**

There are a few things this blog shouldn't be. I know that we don't want this to be some sort of stream-of-consciousness thing that reveals the inner recesses of my mind (Oh jeez, she's analyzing the symbolism of the samovar in Dostoevsky again and now she's thinking about her muscles), and we don't want this to be a diary (Sample: Dear Diary, I love my boyfriend sooooo much. He is the best. OMG.), and we don't want this to take a political slant (It's all horrible and I'm disappointed and relatively uninformed). So, what do we want it to be? More of the same things that really don't matter? I'm fine with that but I am also open to change. Small changes.

Please comment because this is going to be the lamest post that I've ever done if you don't and I will just have to move on like I never wrote this long appeal filled with weak attempts at humor and question marks. In fact, if there aren't any comments I will probably just quit.

* I use the term "review" loosely.
**  Hopefully not.

Reading with Faulkner (Or Some Other Drunkard)

So, this is more of a question than anything. What is with all these people that read in bars? I keep seeing people (mostly men, but sometimes ladies) posting up alone at some table in some noisy bar and they're sitting there, sipping an IPA and reading a book. And what I'm wondering here, is whether or not this is actually a passive-aggressive pick-up technique. I mean, I know that when I am reading, I don't want to talk to people. That's why I'm reading. Because I feel like reading and not like talking. But there's the bar thing. Bars are noisy and socially lubricated. They are not conducive to concentration. People sitting by themselves are fair game for some random leering sot who feels like conversation and a little thing like a book is not going to save you. If you want to read in peace you can read in a park or your home, or any number of places. You may argue that one can't buy beer in a park. This is true. But you can buy beer in a store and take it to a park. So, what I'm thinking is that these people are just sitting there, with their book, hoping that someone will talk to them. Is the book just a pick-up accessory, like a puppy or intense cleavage? Does anyone have insight on this?