The Beginning

You are witnessing the culmination of many influences and desires. This may be just a test post, or it could be something more. It also could be something less than what I'm expecting it to be.

I'm not up-to-date on the world of blogging, microblogging, news aggregation, or even social networking (whatever that may mean). I work for a newspaper. A printed, tangible, yellowing-in-the-first-hour kind of newspaper. I enjoy it. Some of my posts will be columns I have written for publication in the Bluff Country Newspaper Group. I think this blog will help me learn and expand my knowledge of journalism and, much to my chagrin, copyright law. 

What am I looking for in this endeavour? In a word: connection. In a longer phrase: An enhanced worldview that centers on understanding others, while strengthening and sharing both my temporal and spiritual knowledge. That in and of itself doesn't summarize the goals recognized and unrecognized for this blog and, in a larger scope, the mutual relationship networks I hope to create and build. This blog may prove to be ineffective in accomplishing this. Maybe I have too grand of plans for this simple blog. That would be okay. It is is a learning process.

My hopes and desires? I hope to learn lessons in simplicity and clarity. If you manage to get through this test post, I commend you. I could have probably written most of this in a more succinct fashion. Bear with me, please, while I continue to evolve as a writer, storyteller, and journalist. I hope to improve my ability to correctly use syntax and English grammar, while also creating my own style of writing. I hope to be interesting. I may have already failed with this horribly formal test post. I hope to be challenging. 

It's about progressing and bettering myself and the people around me. Please comment if you wish. If it promotes discourse and eventual agreement or respectful disagreement, I welcome it. 

My brother-in-law writes a blog that has inspired me.

I love the University of Minnesota. I proudly name my blog after the inscription on the historic Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium: 

Founded in the Faith that Men are Ennobled by Understanding; Dedicated to the Advancement of Learning and the Search for Truth; Devoted to the Instruction of Youth and the Welfare of the State.

The end: To be Founded in Faith is to recognize that you cannot know anything to be as it is except through faith.