w.atching the w.orld unw.ind

I like the idea that not everything is as it appears on the surface, that you have to ‘pick away’ at something to discover what really lies beneath.

One of the books I’m enjoying picking over at the moment is by Hugh Cornwell, ex-Stranglers’ front man and is a great insight into the workings of a band in the 70’s and 80’s. “Song by Song” literally strips away the veneer which is all that the average fan sees/hears.

In the book he mentions about palimpsests and the fact that there is often something (deliberately?) hidden below what you initially see. Da Vinci apparently painted over his own works - whether he was short of canvas or just couldn’t be bothered to go and get a new blank, who knows. How many masterpieces are concealed behind a magnolia wash?

So are our blogs canvasses on which we can paint a certain picture, portraying images of ourselves which may or may not be accurate or true-to-life? “Belle de Jour” has allegedly been ‘outed’ and the conspiracy theories say that it was all done to show how false Blogworld is, and how easily manipulated. Was it ever intended to be anything other than a diversion? Maybe naively, I believe that most blogs are basically close to the truth, with careful omissions leaving a cold trail for anyone trying to get dangerously closer to the author.

I just enjoy blogging and sharing the talents of those on my blogroll and elsewhere – nowt wrong with that, imho.