Re: [-empyre-] point of reference

[Chris Ashley <chrisashley@yahoo.com>]

Melinda,

I had to mull over your post this weekend.  That, and
the weather in the SF Bay Area turned into glorious
spring a few days ago- not a great time for
keyboarding.

But the reason I had to mull over a post that's really
quite brief is because I don't know this list and I
don't know you.  Maybe I should've done my homework by
going back through a couple of month's posts, but
frankly haven't had time for that.  So here I am an
invited guest looking for cues to tell me how this
list works, what the tone is, who is here, what
expectations there are, and how a guest should behave.
 And I was trying to understand why you were pointing
out what you did in your post.  Let me just reply:

> have enjoyed the posts so far but im noticing that
> the tendency this month to
> carry on the discussion or post in the guests  own
> domains rather than within
> the empyre area.

I don't think there is a tendency yet.  We've just
started and there's been little discussion so far.  We
all made our introductory remarks and perhaps are
waiting for questions and comments (well, I am).

Yes, I expect we will post on our weblogs and direct
empyre to that because that is where our work takes
place on a regular basis- that is what I will do.  

Firstly, and I know I risk sounding obtuse or
condescending (and I don't mean to sound that way), I
think the true nature and possiblity of a weblog- the
meeting of a regular deadline, coming up with content,
shaping a thought, honing a vision, working in public-
is difficult for a non-weblogger to appreciate.  And
after that, I don't think a viewer can really
understand the project, sensibility, aesthetic,
intention, etc. of an artist weblogger- or any serious
weblogger, for that matter- unless one follows that
weblog on a regular basis.  They aren't websites you
visit occasionally- don't follow along and you'll be
left behind.

We were invited as webloggers to discuss weblogging. 
Why would we leave our weblogs behind?  I'd think
they'd be central to at least the early discussions.

> or maybe ist talking the empyre
> arena into your domains

I think it goes both ways- discussion takes place in
empyre, but the weblog is a vital point of reference,
example, interaction, demonstration.

> however i'm wondering if  the blogging paradigm is 
> consequential of, or perhaps
> creates, this constant referral to self as a the
> central point of connection  in
> a wider network.

Yes.  It's my home.  That's where I work.  I'm a guest
at empyre, but my home is my weblog.  I can discuss
for June, but I will return to the work I do for my
weblog.  But I got hung up on, "constant referral to
self as a the central point of connection," because as
an artist for me it really is, "constant referral to
one's work as a the central point of connection."

> does this mark a shift to  distributing the self
> from a node so to speak rather
> than free ranging.

You're talking location, right?  By free-ranging you
mean being in other places.  Speaking for myself, yes,
I distribute from two personal points- my weblog and
email.  I'm very studio focused.  I've been on
discussion groups before for various topics.  It can
be a great experience, but personally- and this is not
a comment on empyre- after awhile I feel like I'm at a
party I can't leave.  I want to escape.

Liza wrote, "Are you inferring an e-list is
free-ranging but blogging is not?"  That take hadn't
occurred to me until I read her email; maybe I'm not
reading Liza correctly either, but I don't think
that's what you're saying, that weblogging is somehow
self-centered and interested in others.  If you look
at the work of all four panelists you'll see it comes
out of encounters with lots of other contexts, topics,
meanings.

Chris