- and I live in hope that I will catch up, if not with Squarespace's calendar, at least with my own agenda. So here's a line I picked up from a recent essay in the TLS (Times Literary Supplement):

"For the incurably listless, what is supposed to save time quickly becomes another way of wasting it."

That's by Will Rees from his review of a book by Brian Dillon, Essayism. The introduction to this book about essays cites James Boswell commenting on the short-form periodical essay, new at the time (late 18th century) - "one of the happiest inventions of modern times". He goes on to detailed praise of the usefulness of such 'light' essays, specially of their therapeutic potential. For Brian Dillon, the essay can be the cause or cure of depression (he's covering his tracks) and that is supposed to explain why a number of essayists (his list) - like Robert Burton, William. H. Gass, Joan Didion, Georges Perec- "have been prone to PARATAXIS, to abandoning themselves to the sheer joy of listing." WOW, did you get that? I just looked up that word yesterday. (see blog below)

Dillon may be talking about essays. I'm talking about blogs, lists and all. Blog or fog? At times lately I have indeed had a fog in my head (and a miasma over it) but I've been trying to write my way out of it. Dillon experiences it, too, apparently. He asks,"Was it possible I could write out of the fog itself, out of confusion, disarray, debility?" I hope so.

I'm counting on it.