Blog-versary

 And just like that, it's been three years that this blog has been...uh, blogging.  When I wrote the first post on this day in 2023, I really didn't have a solid idea what the blog was about.  I'd done one in the past focused on building a wooden sailboat.  But this one didn't really start out with a central theme, which I figured any blog really needs.  Those that publish "random thoughts" never seem to last, and aren't really that interesting, in my experience.  But as things developed here, I suppose if any theme has emerged, it has been an exploration of analog life.  Classic literature.  Postal mail.  Watercolor paintings. Postcards. Travel. Mechanical typewriters.  Things that are tangible, lasting, and real.  And every word written here is composed - and sometimes even carefully considered and crafted - by a real human being.  An unremarkable human being, sure.  But a real one, and not a pile of silicon microchips at a massive data center. So there's a theme for you: reality.  May it survive and prosper in the coming years.  Write on.

The Kellys and the O'Kellys

 Yesterday was the final book club meeting of the Trollope Society to discuss Castle Richmond.  So that means today begins the next book on the reading list, The Kellys and the O'Kellys, by Anthony Trollope.  This novel was written by Trollope while he was in Ireland, and was published in 1848.  The common themes of inheritance and debt are once again found in this story, which will be familiar to Trollope readers.

  

August Stats

 

A respectable month of activity in Postcrossing this August:  During the month, I sent 76 cards and received 65.  This month my ranking jumped to 25th highest Postcrossing member in the USA (with 83,875 members) based on number of sent cards.  Still #1 in Alabama.  Incidentally, the USA is only second most active among world countries in Postcrossing.  First place by a large margin is held by Germany.  The USA has collectively sent a little more than 118 million cards, while Germany has sent 160 million cards.  Germany has achieved this with fewer Postcrossing members; nearly 84,000 for the USA, and about 69,000 for Germany.  So per capita, German Postcrossers are nearly twice as active as Americans, sending 232 cards per member, versus 141 for Americans.  Germans end up sending 18.2 % of all cards on Postcrossing, while Americans send 13.4%.  But there is a glimmer of hope: in the last 30 days, Americans comprised 17.6% of all new members of Postcrossing, while Germans were just 6.3% of new members.  I wonder if this is new enthusiasm sparked by the newly issued Postcrossing stamp.  Just an interesting comparison. Write on.