Beginning a blog is quite an adventure where missteps are difficult to avoid. Although I have several times planned and even designed blogs during my lifetime, I have never ended up actually publishing anything. It has been greatly due to the lack of self-esteem: What if people just criticize everything I publish? What if the result is a complete mess? What if…?
With the current blog I decided to make an exception and just go on with it. Surely the texts might have their extravagances, and there will always be people who dislike, well, whatever comes in front of them. These are no reasons to limit creativity and probably I always knew this in my head, but humans are excellent at creating excuses in favor of their sluggish behavior. Maybe it has been useful in the wilderness to avoid excessive activities during the time of rest.
In any case, I am glad that I finally achieved to open up a proper blog and publish the very first blog post. Although the site still needs some refining, the simple overall look is rather satisfying. I have a distaste for complex interfaces which limit readability and legibility of way too many professional websites out there. Thus, I have only the main blog post page as well as the “about me” page. It remains to be seen whether I shall include a small gallery since I am also an eager street photographer.
The blog began with a theoretical essay about ‘globalization’. The main reason for such an obscure post was to test the applications and the design of the website. For my surprise, the post did get some readers and likes, big thanks for those!
In the future, I want to write series of themed essays as well as commentaries on topical issues. The first themed essay series will be about so-called Spatial Canvases which can be used as lenses to understand the deconstruction of urban environment. The upcoming introduction to the topic will explain the need for such an approach. In addition, I have written an exciting piece about modern squares in the past and the future of urban design. The text is planned to be published in Finnish at a built environment -focused website, but I will be happy to translate it here in English for wider audiences.
Finally, as the turn of the year approaches, I am sure to “wrap up” the past year and to anticipate some of the upcoming events. A key question surrounds cultural activities which are threatened by current technological, political and financial developments. There are other stories to cover, but cultural activities provide the lenses to understand the civilization and give meaning for all other stories. The past year was presented with many moralistic narratives in a clear attempt to fuel bigotry and rivalry between people. This is achieved through AI-driven platforms whose purpose is to showcase the viewer only the most exciting/terrifying stories out there. In addition, political support is more often than not gained with the AI-driven platforms which function well for both zero-sum and give-it-all campaigns. Obviously, these are not ways to unite people under popular rule, but methods to ride on psyche of masses who have lost their faith on politics.
For now, I want to wish everyone merry Christmas, and I shall return to the previous thoughts closer to the New Year 2025!
🎅
saukotuksia 
What’s your view?