On maintaining a blog

Due to changes in my personal situation, I have neglected my blog.

It's not that there has been nothing to write about. The movie "Fitna" by Geert Wilders - who thinks the Koran should be banned in the Netherlands and compares Islam to Nazi fascism - came out. There were protests from Muslims and Danish editor Flemming Rose unnecessarily defended the film. Then there is the US presidential race in which Obama lost a major contest in my native Pennsylvania. I have been talking with both Chinese and Tibetans as they have faced a major crisis in their shared history - events that are more complex than they are often portrayed in the West. These are all blog-worthy subjects.

But the circumstances that had kept my blog going until about the end of March have been disturbed. I moved from Japan to New York into a less stable situation. More of my time must be dedicated to securing a steady income and there is less mental room for crafting my thoughts in blog form.

Should a blog try to remain focused? Is it worth writing about all my day to day worries and about what I had for breakfast? I had been trying to keep it on a certain level. I started my blog to address a certain issue, specifically because I felt that the blogosphere was unbalanced in its treatment of it (I am talking about the Danish Muhammad cartoon thing, which was my MA thesis topic). I branched out into other topics such as the US elections, but generally kept it political. Some have suggested that I include more about culture and language - topics that sound a little wishy-washy to me, but that I must admit I like.