I have come to the first of many crosswords here writing this blog. Some of you may have noticed this but for those who haven’t, this is for you.
I’ve deleted some posts of mine, namely the “Observations of a Curious Aikidoist”. My reasons being mainly:
1. I felt that I was too aggressive in my language conveying certain posts. The language was too harsh and I felt I was driving away readers.
2. I have been told from friends that I use a passive voice, instead of an active one. It then occurred to me that I have been using the passive voice for the majority of my writing (online and offline) and that has given an aura that tend to ward off readers. An active voice is more effective on conveying your message than a passive one- not that a passive voice has its place.
3. I have gotten some interesting comments lately from readers who were more concerned about, even hostile towards, my writing style as well as the subject matters that I write about.
In retrospect perhaps I shouldn’t have been so quick to delete my work and did away with the criticism – however legitimate or not. Writing I’ve realized is not my strong suit, despite having experience in journalism AND a bachelors in History. I think Thomas Edison put it nicely when he said “I did not fail 1,000 times, I just found 1,000 ways how not to do it.” Either that or we can’t all be experts in everything.
Oh and to those who feel that they are better than me in whatever way they think they are, I will offer them the role of the thug and myself as Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins:
[Chinese Prisoner]: You are in hell little man, And I am the devil! [Bruce Wayne]: You're not the devil, you're practice.
The Journey of an Accidental Aikidoist 
You have to find your stride in blogging. I try to balance being opinionated with not offending. Most times I succeed but occasionally I still make people mad.
As Popeye would say: “I am what I am.”
Thanks Bob, your advice is much appreciated. Good luck by the way looking into the Aikido schools you mentioned.
“(…) a Bachelor’s in History”
How ironic, then, that this should occur again.
As George Santayana once wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
“I have come to the first of many crosswords (…)”
Well, you’ve certainly got your words crossed, since you probably meant “crossROADS”.
Furthermore, a certain Demon’s Head once said, “Theatricality and deception are powerful weapons; you must become more than just a man in the mind of your opponent.”
The revelance is left as an exercise for the intended reader.
Though I appreciate your knowledge of the English language and its…details. I’m not sure that the many readers of this blog would appreciate someone pointing out that they can’t figure the mistakes by themselves.
I find that it is good to have the older posts out there as we are all a work in progress. I’m enjoying your blog.
John – Thank you for your support!