To Begin...

Let me start by saying I am not overly enthused with the idea of blogging. A lot of people use blogs as a method to vent their teenage angst and sexual frustration in the forms of bad poetry and emo rants. Now, one could argue there is no such thing as bad poetry, but I am going to have to disagree. Just like there is bad art. Sorry mom but Giuliani was right, Jesus in a vat of urine doesn't belong in the Met. Now, granted, he did it for other reasons, but the point remains the same: bad art.

The trick to blogging (as I am quickly discovering) is not to get lulled into believing that it is just a journal...it isn't. People can read it. Anyone who thinks of typing in the website: Armen's Trans-Siberian Account can access this. Bloggers often forget this when they talk about their ex-girlfriends or high school crushes; everyone can read it, and if anyone cares what you have to say about the aforementioned, it could be bad. I think it would be bad for murderers to have blogs, they might make the mistake of confessing. Or maybe that would be a good thing.

The point is this: blogging can be dangerous, or addicting. More than one soul has been sucked into the vortex of constantly updating their self-created fan base of every move they make, and unless these people are friends or family, chances are they don't actually care. This is not a cynical statement, but a truthful one; I have read a couple blogs by people who make announces to the masses and all their fellow readers. The problem is that not that many people read what 15-year-olds post online.

Then, of course, there is the useful kind of blogging, like Anderson Cooper and Campbell Brown on AC 360 (sorry Tom), or Jarone and company of Riviera Home Finders. These are positive blogs, blogs whose purpose is to inform, educate and generally brighten the days of their real fan base. And, while Tom may not read the AC 360 blogs, I know he does read the RHF group's. As a matter of fact, so do I.

Blogs can be good, or bad, or simply just there. A good blog brightens every one's day, teaches them of new cultures and imparts knowledge of foreign policy and international goings-on. A bad blog, conversely, is one that stumbles through the author's daily habits, the health of his or her goldfish, the look that girl gave in 2nd period Statistics, the new fact of a celeb-crush or, worse, a haiku dedicated to the nonexistent counter-culture revolution of 1998. A blog which is simply just-there, offers insight into neither an indigenous people nor a bored 13-year-old. My goal is to avoid being the latter two. My goal is to highlight the glories of foreign travel and to fill the reader with a yearning for knowledge. My goal is to instill a sense of adventure and understanding. My goal is to pass on unique customs of the Eurasian people (and maybe even a furry-Soviet hat or two).

However, I am certain that my blog will drift into the annoyingness (yes I just made that up) of morose-introspection and the uselessness of pointless babble. I am also certain that, just for the fun of it, I will, sometime in the next 5 weeks, write a haiku dedicated to the nonexistent counter-culture revolution of 1998.

This, ladies and gentlemen, has been an example of what can happen if I'm given room to ramble...which is to say, I will ramble.

Thank you and Good Night.