In my time writing this blog, I have written (much to your collective annoyance, I'm sure) on a variety of subjects. Heart Disease, the death of Brad Delp, censorship, the role of fear in gun ownership, the changes in our society and technology over the last forty years, what my wife means to me and why, a "thank you" letter to the President, the Constitutional and mathematical realities of impeachment, the curse of immortality, how innocent people wind up in prison and why it is important that we stop doing that, my observations on name-calling, immigration, the unabashed joke that is the "war" on drugs, a plea for help in finding my missing friend, three short stories and more. (The "and more" part is my way of saying my memory is fading and I can't remember all of the subjects I have tackled here. Give me a break. This is my 59^th post.)
     Of course, there are people who will read this who have written many more than 59 posts and will be able to tell you the subject of each and every one. Do not be misled. This is not proof that their memory is better than mine. All it means is that they only write about one thing. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. If you thought that sentence was annoying, try reading their blogs.
     Now, I'm not talking about the people who have a specific heading at the top of their blog. Something like, "Gay rights in America" or "Joe's Blog of Body Piercing Tips." When you see a specific header like that on a blog, you can assume that every post on that blog will likely be on the subject so prominently displayed in the header. I wouldn't go to the "Gay Rights in America" blog and expect to see a wide-ranging variety of posts on subjects like car repair, Springsteen's latest album or how in the Hell David Caruso ever got a job. I would expect to see a series of posts about Gay rights. I have no problem with that. My problem is with the bloggers who don't warn you they intend to spend their entire lives writing on only one topic, from only one perspective.
     If you are going to call your blog, "My Thoughts on Education," you aren't going to be doing yourself or your readers any favors if you post daily and every single post is about how you think the "No Child Left Behind" Act is a crock. Throw in the occasional post about class size or teacher salaries or outdated textbooks or school security or student apathy or how do we educate the thousands of homeless kids so we can break the cycle of poverty or the disruptive influence of gang activity or bullying or how a student is supposed to concentrate when his teacher is sitting at the front of the classroom wearing a skirt that makes her look like Britney Spears getting out of a car. ANYTHING, just so long as you mix it up a little. Don't you ever get bored? I can tell you, your readers do.
     If every post you write is going to be about how the wimp Liberals are all traitors to their country and should learn to love violence more or just get out, maybe you shouldn't call your blog "The Political Spectrum." If everything you write is going to be on the same subject, perhaps blogging isn't for you. Maybe you would be more comfortable as a graffiti artist. There are bloggers who used to see me on their blog every day, until I got tired of repeating myself. Take politics, for example. I have written extensively on the political scene in my own blog, and each political post I have written has been on a different aspect of our political situation. Between my own writings and comments I have offered on the blogs of others, I have said pretty much all I want to say on the subject, at least until something changes. Since nothing is going to change for at least another 15 months, do you really want to hear me repeating myself for that long? That is exactly what I am going to be doing if I keep visiting these one-note blogs. I swear, there are some blogs out there that have me thinking I should just go into Microsoft Word and create a comment, save it and just copy and paste it when necessary so no one will be offended that I haven't commented on their 300^th post (in a row) about how Barney Frank should not be allowed in politics because he's (GASP!) gay.
     I love the songwriting of Neil Young. I even like to listen to his music. That being said, I can only listen to him in short bursts. Why? Because he has an annoying habit that, over the years, has caused me to dub him the "King of the One-Note Guitar Solo." Before you start screaming at me, listen to Cinnamon Girl. He may play it with his customary passion but it is still one frigging note, over and over for thirty seconds. It drives me nuts. MOVE YOUR DAMN FINGER! THERE ARE SIX STRINGS AND TWENTY-TWO FRETS FOR GOD'S SAKE! PLAY ANOTHER NOTE!
     Sorry, I digress. My point is, a blog can start to sound like the Carpal Tunnel guitar stylings of Neil Young after a while. Does the phrase, "stuck in a rut" mean anything to you? I can't believe people don't get as bored writing the same thing over and over as I get reading it. If you want to take a shot at a particular group in order to get a rise out of them, fine. Do it and move on. Otherwise, you'll end up learning the same lesson about insulting people that my father learned about beating kids. It doesn't take long to lose its effect.
    If you still don't get it, try this. Go out on the sidewalk and yell "FIRE!" a thousand times and see how long you can do it before people stop listening. I'll bet you don't get past the first hundred before passersby start treating you like that guy with the "The-End-is-NEAR!" sandwich sign.
    Bruce Springsteen plays Born to Run in almost every concert he plays with the E Street Band. That is because he knows the audience loves it and is eager to hear it. Other than that, every show has a totally different set list. In 1976, the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas opened a state of the art performance venue called the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. The first four nights, Neil Diamond played to sold-out crowds. I saw all four shows. Every one was different. The reason Bruce and Neil and so many other artists do this is so they won't get bored. If they get bored, it shows and the audience will pick up on their lack of enthusiasm and they will be bored, too.
     I'm no superstar writer but I have tried to take a cue from the professionals like Neil and Bruce and at least try to keep it fresh. When you read my blog, whether you think I'm nuts or you just don't care about the subject I'm writing about, I don't want you to ever feel like you showed up at a concert to hear Neil Young play his Cinnamon Girl solo 75 times in a row.
    Mix it up a little, People. Every once in a while, throw in a post about your dog or your bad luck with mechanical things or your heavy period. ANYTHING! Remember, there are 88 keys on a piano. Ever wonder why?