A breath of fresh air...

I have come to a sad realization, one year and seven months following the commencement of 'Li'l bit of this and that'; I am not cut out to be a blogger. Regularly reading a few blogs now, I have come to appreciate greatly the passion, energy and enthusiasm the bloggers put forth into this business. I have awakened to the lamentable possibility that I am perhaps not passionate about anything any more, perhaps I have settled down to an ordinary, lower-middle-class, complacent existence that seeks comfort in tranquility and firmly suppresses any hint of rebellion from the old self trying to re-assert itself. To borrow an expression from an old favorite poet, my days are now spent in "Eating, drinking, sleeping... the prodigal Anabus (fish) returning to school in meek conformation". Which is why I have nothing to blog about.

I am not sure when this shift came about, and why. Sometimes I feel it is a gesture of defeat in face of the oppressive mediocrity that has pervaded the world; it is like a juggernaut hell-bent on diminishment of all the progressive human qualities - originality, rationalism, sincerity, conscientiousness and temperance, and suppression of ideas, thoughts, study and analysis, all those instruments of advancement of the human race. It is this mediocrity that prompts human beings to seek that elusive glory and fulfillment in non-existent utopias and outmoded concepts, making them easy prey for certain predatory parasites pushing personal agenda. It is this mediocrity that breeds and sustains ignorance, and reduces social conscience and responsibility. It is constrictive, depressing and all-pervasive, which is why I am so discouraged and defeated.

Hmm... now for a breath of fresh air. I am a lot into Scienceblogs these days. Scienceblogs' mission statement (read it here in full) says it quite eloquently:

"...science is figuring prominently in our discussions of politics, religion, philosophy, business and the arts. New insights and discoveries in neuroscience, theoretical physics and genetics are revolutionizing our understanding of who are are, where we come from and where we're heading. ScienceBlogs is a portal to this global dialogue, a digital science salon featuring the leading bloggers from a wide array of scientific disciplines. Our mission is to build a community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about science and its place in our culture, and give them a place to meet..."

And that is my little ray of sunshine. The three major blogs I read regularly are:

• Pharyngula, by Dr. PZ Myers, a biologist and Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris. His prolific blogs profess to be about 'Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal', and are immensely enjoyable.
  
• Aetiology, by Dr. Tara Smith, an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. She writes about 'causes, origins, evolution and implications of disease and other phenomena', a host of topics very close to my heart.
  
• Pure Pedantry, an engaging blog by Jake Young, an MD/PhD student at Mount Sinai School of Medicine (in NY) focusing in Neuroscience.
  

I enjoy reading those tremendously, and try to follow almost all the linkouts they provide. I invite all of you to give them a try. Some of you may not easily grasp the biology discussions, but these bloggers present them with such a consummate skill that you cannot help being drawn to the contents.

And I shall let you in on a secret... I do comment in them sometimes, under the nom de plume 'suirauqa', that's 'aquarius' in reverse...

Wish you all an enjoyable weekend! Hasta que escribo otra vez.

Oh, and as always, your comments are always welcome. However, I have been forced to switch on a Captcha verification (word) for responders, because I was getting spammed through the comment box (I didn't even know it was possible...). I am really sorry for any resultant inconvenience. Ciao.