Tossing my hat in the ring...

A dozen good reasons to blog that are occurring to me as I write this:

1. A blog is the perfect place to rant and ramble about any topic I find of interest. I'm sure that I am the first one in the history of blogging who has conceived of such a novel application of this technology. Look for LOTS of posts about rainbows and unicorns and baking that perfect banana bread. Ha. Unless we're talking about a kickass double rainbow that alerted me (along with a few notes from a harpsichord) that a once-captive unicorn had been liberated from the sketchpad of a Disney storyboard drone AND incarnated so that I could feed the magical beast some fantastic banana bread (fair-trade, of course). Well, I would most certainly write about that, because I think that sort of a rainbow-unicorn-banana bread story would be neat. I'm not trying to be glib; I really do. Unless that happens, though, expect the rants and ramblings to be more in the line of a modern vegan, feminist mother and all that implies.

2. I don't have a lot of time, so writing in short bursts of passion is really a good outlet to offset any creative ruts I get into with the Big Project I'm currently working on, which threatens to suck me dry of true enjoyment I might otherwise get from writing. Or just suck, period.

3. Opinions? I've got plenty. Name your pick: I have opinions on Bush (entitled nimrod who would merely be pitiable if he weren't so damn despicable), Cheney (Darth Vader), Republicans (I'm thinking that the only excuse for voting Republican is because you're either ignorant or rich), strangers who criticize your parenting (they suck), Hillary Clinton (cannot form the words to describe my loathing for this woman, but suffice it to say that I think she is worse than a Republican, and I don't hold them in terribly high regard), Gary Francione (I think he rocks), PETA* (I loathe this organization, which has become, really, a mouthpiece for one person who embraces the exploitation of women as some ill-thought out and poorly executed "strategy" for ending cruelty to animals. Yeah, you try to wrap your brain around that one), sea lions (how cute are they?!) and more. I realize that I've got way more opinions about things that bug me than not. So sue me. Isn't that usually the way that opinions work?

4. I used to have a really cool website, in my humble opinion, called Vegan Street. We (my partner and I) started Vegan Street in 1998 as a way to help build a dynamic and creative vegan culture. For the most part, I think we succeeded: people still implore me to revitalize Vegan Street (it's been dormant since 2002). We also sold clothing, including a cute black camisole with the words of this blog on it (plus 'for peace', but that seemed too long for a URL), but that was more of an after-thought for us. We were too busy coming up with articles and ideas. I thoroughly enjoyed working on Vegan Street and I met sooooo many cool people through doing it. We may activate Vegan Street again, who knows what the future will bring, but for now, I'm thinking that my Big Project and this blogging are going to be my main creative pursuits.

5. I've read that keeping a blog is a useful thing to do if one wants to be published (this has NOTHING to do with my Big Project), just, 'cause, like, in the future, I might want to be published. Send all serious offers this way, big honcho o' publishing, where you light your cigars with hundred dollar bills and step on the homeless people as you hustle from your downtown office for the limo. I totally promise not to rag on you if the seats in your limo are leather. (If you find a 'Leather = Death' sticker on the seat, it must have fallen out of my bag and somehow adhered itself there.) Oh! I also should add that I self-published a book in 2004 called Marla's Vegan Guide to Chicago and the Universe, and it is two books in one. Literally, you flip the book over, and there's another book on the backside of essays and that sort of thing. For the ADD in all of us. Write to me if you want an out-of-date but entertaining restaurant guide for $15.00.

So it looks like I 'm about seven short of a dozen good reasons, but you'll have to accept this. I'm busy, people. What do you want from me? I'm really looking forward to this blog, though, I must say.

*Except for a couple of really cool, committed friends of mine who work there), I should say.