About

Blah blah blah, listen to me talk about me, etc.

Some time ago, a relative I respect and admire suggested that I start a blog, saying he'd really like to read my thoughts on life, the universe, and everything.* No one had said that before, so I took it perhaps more seriously than it was meant and made a new year's resolution to write a post every week. And then I did it.

The focuses of this blog are the big things that interest me: telling stories (to a live audience if possible), arts and culture, and faith and religion. (In 2013, I started a new blog, called In Progress, for my religious writing, so it doesn't appear here very much anymore.)  I have a few slightly more specific topics that I write on periodically, which I've collected into series; you'll find them in the tabs at the top of the page.

Just browsing here.

I try to include a quote from a song (and a link to a place to listen to it) in each post, the lyrics to which are in some way relevant to the topic at hand and help introduce the material. This serves the dual purpose of (1) making me feel more cultured, classy, and creative and (2) providing something to listen to if you're feeling the need for some background music while you read. I also like to include a few relevant pictures, which I try to pull from places in the public domain/creative commons,** when not actually taken by me or a friend.

Pictured: cultured, classy, and creative.
Not pictured: common sense or self awareness.

The blog is named for a favorite short story, The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges, mostly because I really like it, but also because I think it's funny to name a blog that could be criticized for being a little too broad in its focus after a library that contains all possible combinations of the letters of the alphabet.

The banner art for the site was done by my friend, Alex Kostiw. You can find more of her art at her website. She is wonderful. The creature on the banner is nothing I've seen before, exactly, but Alex and I think of him as a sort of lamassu on break with his hat off.

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*I paraphrase, naturally; I think I'm the only person I know who actually feels the need to quote The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy where most people would be content to say "stuff."
**Note that if I've used an image of yours that you'd rather not be here, feel free to contact me and tell me so, as I'll most likely be happy to take it down. You can leave a comment on the relevant post, and I should see it and act in a few days or a week.