Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Quiet Blogs

Quiet, 2015

Sometimes coming here, to my blog, feels like walking around my high school, as an adult, in summer.

I recently went to update the list of blogs I follow and found they were nearly all inactive. So, it seems we've come full circle. This is a quiet place again.

There is a slim possibility I'll run into a few old friends, but there won't be any crowds. It leaves me feeling somewhat melancholy, but maybe it's better this way.
Posted by Denise at 6:53 AM
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45 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 5, 2015 at 7:23 AM

    Such a good metaphor, those quiet corridors. I, like you, rather like the quiet, and there are still a few of us wandering, with less urgency maybe, but still enjoying the space. I always enjoy coming here. Rx

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    1. Denise August 5, 2015 at 7:45 AM

      Happy to know you are still wandering, old friend. xx

      Delete
  2. AnonymousAugust 5, 2015 at 7:30 AM

    I don't think it's better this way...it makes me a little sad if it is the case though. It bothers me the way communication is today...so quick and thoughtless, almost. It's reduced to texting and little squares and one sentences on instagram. I've decided I dislike using instagram. At least with blogging it's easier to get to know one another a little more personally.

    Do you really think it's come full circle?

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    1. Denise August 5, 2015 at 7:54 AM

      When I say full circle I mean back to the quieter space where I began, in 2008. Yes, I believe this 2015 space feels much more like it did in 2008 than it did, for instance, in 2010.

      Delete
  3. PiaAugust 5, 2015 at 7:37 AM

    What I like best about your blog is the quiet.

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  4. WSAKEAugust 5, 2015 at 8:25 AM

    oh yes - your way of capturing everything (even this blog-feeling) amazes me every time!

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  5. UnknownAugust 5, 2015 at 8:47 AM

    I too, have noticed the quiet. I admire those that still post regularly... I need to more! Beautiful photo.

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    1. Denise August 5, 2015 at 9:16 AM

      I've never gotten along with that adverb. I think my #threepoemsthursday posts on Instagram are the closest I've gotten to "regularly". ;)

      Delete
  6. the habit of beingAugust 5, 2015 at 10:58 AM

    It seems it is quiet all around. This can be good or bad depending upon who you are, what you seek. Your blog is quiet in the very best way possible.

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  7. shariAugust 5, 2015 at 11:05 AM

    Hi Denise! I continue to visit you here but don't leave as many comments as I used to. I'm hoping to start writing at my blog again soon. I like the quiet, actually.

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    1. Denise August 5, 2015 at 11:22 AM

      I'd love to see more of your writing, Shari. I really enjoyed your last entry, Letter 29: Feel Alive, on To S and From S.

      Delete
  8. KateAugust 5, 2015 at 11:27 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. JenAugust 5, 2015 at 1:42 PM

    I like that it is quieter, but don't want it to go completely silent. I love it when people pop in on their blogs, whether it's once a week, once a month, or once in a while. But I never look for new blogs--just the old friends (your high school metaphor is so apt).

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    1. Denise August 5, 2015 at 7:10 PM

      I remember a time when I was finding blog after blog after blog, everyone was posting, and it was impossible to keep up. Change...

      Delete
  10. Susan ~ Southern FascinationsAugust 5, 2015 at 3:14 PM

    I enjoy the snippets of life that I see from others on Instagram and Facebook (when it's personal and not political or "dirty laundry!"). I tend to check in on my "old friends" and only read a new blogger if it's a recipe or how-to. Quiet is good... Seems to be where I am at this stage of life.

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  11. kate on the islandAugust 5, 2015 at 5:06 PM

    I agree that many blogs have come and gone in the last few years. Like you, I've been at this for a while, and while there are a few consistent voices, I can see that the conversations have changed.

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    1. Denise August 5, 2015 at 7:19 PM

      I suppose the world is always changing, it just seems to change faster now. I've been making some of my own changes lately too. I guess it's time to follow this gull's lead.

      Delete
  12. Amelia PSAugust 6, 2015 at 3:59 AM

    Denise: quiet is quite a fine voice. I agree: blogging is evolving but i feel your voice as strong as Ever. There is more than one way to enjoy a beach walk (and sometimes it is tracking back footsteps, like reading through old posts). I always find special treasures Here.

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  13. Michele | Cooking At HomeAugust 6, 2015 at 5:43 AM

    I agree completely with your observations on blogging. It sure has gone through changes since I started in 2009. The glut of social media and shortened attention spans may have something to do with it. But I always enjoy what you have to say, Denise.

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  14. roughterrain craneAugust 6, 2015 at 5:45 AM

    Sometimes we need to listen to ourselves in silent. This worlds is lovely and noisy at the same time.

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    1. Denise August 6, 2015 at 6:58 AM

      Indeed. Perhaps it's juxtaposition that leads us to appreciation.

      Delete
  15. RachelAugust 6, 2015 at 9:03 AM

    Since I started reading blogs, I've watched them ebb and flow as well. The conversations shifted over to Flickr at first...but that seems less trendy now. Instagram...twitter...facebook... All forums that work for others but not for me. Summer always is a quieter time with folks enjoying time away from the computer (as it should be!). So I watch the shifts in myself and others but all the while remain grateful for the connections I have through my space even though they are few... This is very similar to my life outside the nets and that quiet suits me fine.

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    1. Denise August 6, 2015 at 9:35 AM

      The nature of the internet surely allows the more quiet types to find one another, something that seems more difficult out there in the physical bustling world. A few quality connections always beats a mediocre crowd. I'm thinking about the landscape and animals in your photos and letting it distract me from some of the craziness outside this cafe window today.

      Delete
  16. Marina | Garlands in ParisAugust 6, 2015 at 11:16 AM

    I always love your imagery and succinctness.

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  17. LPCAugust 6, 2015 at 9:11 PM

    I'm a new reader. Do you plan to vanish?

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  18. Rachael | The Slow-Cooked SentenceAugust 6, 2015 at 9:43 PM

    Pertinent to this conversation about quiet and all its definitions -- silence, absence, thoughtfulness ...

    "For the chronicler of an era, knowing how to listen is even more important than knowing how to write or better: The art of writing implies previous mastery of the art of listening. A subtle and difficult art, for it requires not only sharp ear, but also great moral sensitivity, recognizing, accepting, the existence of others."

    -- Octavio Paz's introduction to Elena Poniatowka's "Massacre in Mexico," as quoted by Melissa Pritchard in "A Solemn Pleasure: To Imagine, Witness, and Write"

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    1. Denise August 9, 2015 at 2:21 PM

      Great quote, Rachael. I treasure the good listeners I know.

      Delete
  19. MagdaAugust 8, 2015 at 10:11 AM

    I always enjoy coming here, Denise. Keep coming back yourself.

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  20. nancy at good food mattersAugust 9, 2015 at 11:46 AM

    HI Denise--this is such a pertinent post---and look at the thread of comments that have ensued! It's become harder for me to blog frequently---now only 2 times a month, average. When I look back at the "peak" of my blogging, in 2010/11 it was every week, peppered with many comments, and so forth. I think about the ebb and flow, the cycles of things. Change. I'll keep blogging, when I can. Like everyone who has commented here, I enjoy my visits to Chez Danisse.

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    1. Denise August 9, 2015 at 2:25 PM

      I'm looking. Aren't they amazing? They sure make me happy. I find myself thinking more and more about change, cycles, and the like. Thanks for being here, Nancy.

      Delete
  21. Nicole RimensbergerAugust 10, 2015 at 4:03 AM

    I guess we all follow the forces of ebb and flow in life, that's how it is for me anyway, and part of that are those quiet moments. Waiting, surviving, watching, learning. Things we do in quiet.

    Thanks for always popping in and writing!

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  22. Elsa MayAugust 25, 2015 at 2:57 AM

    Oh dear how melancholy indeed! At the risk of sounding like a stalker when I think about my appalling lack of blogging and blog reading I often think of you, and how I must make the time to visit your blog. I'm afraid my only excuse is that with our move to the farm and resulting lifestyle change spare time is a thing of the past. Mind you I should pull my socks up and make the time - a new year resolution in August :)
    That aside I do wonder if perhaps the change in blogging is in part due to the growing number of other social media platforms and apps, many of which are designed around the brevity of interactions - 140 characters, 1 photograph...and as a result life and interactions have sped up and become even more thinly spread. A sad state of affairs indeed.
    I've just read through the other comments - and I'm with Pia, I like the quiet of your blog too :)

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    1. Denise August 28, 2015 at 5:22 AM

      Thank you! Yes, I absolutely see communication speeding up, and not in a good way. Pause is so important.

      Delete
  23. DianeAugust 29, 2015 at 5:07 PM

    I am with the others. I like this quiet, thoughtful space of yours and am glad to read you are not vanishing. Carry on!

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  24. Denise August 30, 2015 at 8:02 AM

    Will do!

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