Cool Bloggin Meme

Thanks Gregory for asking these questions that I haven't asked myself about my blog. And I do so love to talk about myself and my blog.

1. How long have you been blogging? - 16 Months

2. What made you start? - Had to be on the cutting edge of a trend - you know me. I read several cool blogs and left many comments and once I started getting responses back from those comments I was hooked.

3. Who inspired you? - Darius (Adventures in Nerdliness) was the first person I nicked a picture from and he was awesome to me and very encouraging as was Ries (Geek Orthodox) who wrote about things he liked and I thought I could do that. I can't shut out my opinion about anything. I have no internal filter. This stuff was tailor made for me. Plus when I can type as fast as I do I have no problem with getting out my stuff at the speed of light. Again, my mind was genetically engineered to blog.

4. About how many hours a week would you estimate you spend on your blog? 40 is conservative and some weeks twice that but I had was kinda all over the place at the time and finding this medium to focus on really saved me in a lot of ways. My Dad was about two years gone and I was directionless.

5. What kind of experience or background do you have with writing? Teaching, creative writing, cartooning, comic books, ect. I have always been surrounded by words. Expressing myself was an early gift I always had nurtured by those around me.

6. Talk about how you come up with blog topics. Where do you get your ideas? - Any and everything that passes by my mind that I remotely have an opinion on I MUST comment about because if I wait until the next thing comes along the former thing is lost to the ages forever unless it comes around again. I hate losing those 'moments' more than you will ever know. I could always entertain myself and if I find something interesting or entertaining I want to tell myself about it and why I like it for some reason. Like I NEED to justify my love for it just to myself. That is how I could play football and do drama in high school, I could mix with all kids of different crowds or people throughout my life. It's how I deal with the loneliness of being a 'base brat'. It's what keeps me sane in a world that didn't always understand me. But I 'get' me and I feel lucky to know that guy because he IS truly my bestest buddy and 'The Most Interesting Man In The World.'

7. What or who inspires you and your blog? Anyone who truly understands themselves and (while having doubts and reservations like we all do) can still be honest with us and themselves and be able to validate the effort of others. It's something my father did with everyone around him. He found something to admire them for, to validate them for - NO ONE was ever beneath his notice. I try to do that. It is what made me a great teacher and what allows me to live with myself at the end of the day which is my goal in life reduced to it's basest form.

8. Where and/or how do your brainstorming for your blog? I just start and go till I run out of whatever stream of conscious rant or stream I am on. Then I go back and edit (using by adding stuff, clarifying/clearing up thoughts and then spelling). I am surprised that most everything comes out the way I first think about it and is easy. I don't try to cut down...only make clearer to myself.

9. Do you have any blogging rules or guidelines you follow? Veritas baby - truth as I see it - one picture for each post minimum that somehow captures the initial thought moment. That is so simple most times because the image itself inspires the post or sparks the thought. Other bloggers that follow me or comment have taught me to write about what I love or what interests me and I can arrogantly say that I regret maybe 2 posts in nearly 3500 I have done in 18 months.

10. Is there anything you will not blog about? - Doubt I will ever find that point. Even things I hate I have to comment on. If I don't have some reaction then it never would get here in the first place. Again, a gift. I have little second thoughts or regrets ever and have really cared little that someone would not like what I wrote. I always figured they would move on like I do with their blogs when I find topics they right that I don't have any interest in. You only owe it to YOURSELF to be honest and the people that do that are the blogs I visit and revisit again and again. They have become some of my best blog friends and people that I most find inspiring in all my life. It's nice to actually KNOW my inspirations. Before those I admired were unreachable writers (thanks ALOT J.D.), celebrities or newsmakers.

11. Do you have any sort of a publishing schedule in terms of day of week or topic? Anytime I am online, watching downloaded content, surfing sites, looking at tumblrs, reading other posts - when it comes it comes and I can only NOT post or comment when I get away from the computer. If I am on it is like this meme. I go till I run out of questions or words. Again - a gift to me - maybe hell to some of you but you wouldn't be here if you couldn't at least tolerate the effort.

12. How many drafts of potential blog posts do you have right now? - maybe one. I usually can't leave something until I feel the complete thought has been done. Maybe half a movie review for something I haven't finished watching. Usually when I give an award out when I get one - those take time to get written. I want everyone I pass awards onto to know why I appreciate them. It's what I most value in return. Those tiny moments of explanation as to why they like my stuff. It's a gift to me to hear things like that and I wrapped them all up in foil and store them in that part of my brain I go to when I feel lost, alone, or uninspired.

13. In what medium do you draft your posts? A lot I do right here. - right on Blogger - spell check and post

14. How often do you completely scratch or delete drafts or blog post ideas? - maybe five times in the whole 3500. They are like my children. All posts get their moment in the sun. I need to realize that while I might love them all, they are not always worthy of comment from anyone. That is the hardest thing for me. That is why some of my most regular commenter's like Wings or Drake or Megan or Lisa or Booksteve or Wandering Coyote or Matt or T.E. or Samurai Frog or rose or Nicole or Fonzie Sox or Pearl or Dr Monkey or Brother May or Reis or Margaret B or Cora or Vancouver Mark mean so much to me even if they say ONE WORD in comment (Wings you are the master at that)

15. If you had to leave your blog in your will to another blogger, who would you choose? - There must ALWAYS be a CAVE OF COOL. If you want the mantel when I am gone you will step up and own it, fight for it and be found worthy by the gods for it. Like it found me, the responsibility will find you. It will never seem like a chore but an honor to have found this medium/manner for expressing yourself. It's in your soul already. I have no worries about that believe me. The universe finds, rewards and punishes it's heroes. It needs no help from me. That is amazingly freeing I can tell you.

16. Are there other blogs that you feel are similar to yours in content, style, or voice? - I so admire people who don't self-censor. They just go with what interests them and fuck what anyone else thinks. Ries at Geek Orthodox, Samurai Frog at Eclectic Cerebrectomy and his tumblr, Drake at Eclectic Banana and his Tumblr, Yaban, VoVattumblr, SuperPunch, Daily What, Cora, Rose, Nicole, and everyone I mentioned above or are on my blog list. They all just let it go and never hold back. They love what they love unapologetic and I respect that so much you will never know. They have given me the best advice when I felt alone and unappreciated.

17. Has anything surprised you since you started blogging? That people can have really strong opinions about things and I have had to give respect to get respect.

18. What are your goals or plans for your blog going forward? - Not sure. Keep doing what I do. New things will find me. Fill up all the space I am allowed and move on to another Cave and start the whole thing over again. Volume II to Infinity and Beyond.

19. Do you make any money from your blog? - Absolute last thing I think of or want. It would cheapen the pure process I think. Now if someone wants to fund my octopus hate to it's logical conclusion then I have no problem with that Mr Billion.

20. What blogging system do you use? Blogger

21. How did you come up your blog name? - I wanted something catchy. I have always had the basement to myself in any house we lived it. I like the cosy cave-like feel of that. My dad always said my 'cave' was a cool place to escape to for him and myself. It was the name of my first website when I started teaching computers and needed an example for the kids to follow. I would love to teach writing and creative stuff like that again where the kids just worked on updating their blogs in my 'write what you love' style and that would be the only mandate everyday. Create content and become better at expressing yourself, considering that you live in a world where you need to be a leader and not a follower but still see the value in what others have to say about similar stuff to you. I want people to feel good about whatever they are 'GEEK' about be they comic books or gaming or Selena Gomez or hating the octopus or horror movies or Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers (who I hate but I never bash anyone who loves them - I truly respect their passion for anything when they don't punk out and never apologize for loving what they love.)

22. How many blogs do you have? What was your peak? - one stop shop baby. I admire people who can separate their passions but I need all my toys to be in one box.

23. Are you having as much fun as when you started? - More - no fear or doubts

24. Where do you find other bloggers like you? - They find me. They tell me. They 'get' me and they get the joke/irony which is a gift to me from the gods. They let me be playful with them and vise versa. I love that. I also base jump of the comments my favorite bloggers get to explore kindred spirits.

25. What’s your one wish when it comes to blogging? - To inspire everyone to feel what I feel about my little world. For example. Jeremy Ha of Olive Monkey has made me two headers. One for Halloween and one I will premiere soon. He put a level of commitment and passion in the new one that blows my mind how much he gets and likes my stuff. It's truly inspired. He will never know how huge a gift that is to me. THAT feeling is what I am truly after. To feel that I have reached someone, made them laugh or think or distracted them long enough to take a new approach to a problem. Exactly what I get from others.

WOW..Gregory. Thank you for these questions. This was one of those 'gifts' that I was talking about.

http://daytoday-gregoryj.blogspot.com/