The Things That Matter

photograph by slimmer_jimmer

Philosophers and scientists agree: there are two ways to prove a claim.

The first is to eliminate all possible other options.

As such, the Things that Matter is not a music blog. It is also not a blog for worship of the Democratic Party platform.

It is not a blog about what bag Paris Hilton is carrying. It is not a blog about what I ate for lunch.

It is not a blog that reeks with naked pretension. It is not a blog that weeps with hyper-sincerity.

It is not a blog aimed at the largest possible audience. It is not a blog written to maximize profit and minimize costs.

It is not a blog that is supposed to ingrain itself into the coveted 18-to-34 demographic. It is not a blog that is supposed to capture the imaginations of a generation.

That is not to say that any of those things are bad per se. But there are many voices shouting at those ears.

The second is to show what it is.

The Things That Matter is a project that my friends, acquaintances and I are undertaking.

We are of the opinion that we have creative and interesting insights into the fascinating environment in which we live. We hold many things dear: politics and policy, culture and art, science and philosophy, sports and media, ethics and economics.

We care deeply about these things and many others. We spend our waking hours analyzing them, in blogs, in conversations, in our internal monologues. By any account, we could be using this time in more profitable ways. But we can't help but feel that these things are very important and that they deserve our attention.

As a result of our intellectual devotion, we often come up with creative insights we wish to share. Thus arose this blog.

We are not especially qualified pundits, though many of us have served, are serving, or wish to serve as analysts, authors, journalists, and other organizers of information. No, we are just people who value intelligent commentary and think that we have voices that will add value to an enormous, open-ended conversation – a conversation about The Things That Matter.