Hey, everyone.

A few months ago, I shut down a livejournal blog that I wrote for quite some time. I went under the handle of “sirvinegar”, writing about pop culture, films, sports, and other silliness.

When I had the blog, I was working at a miserable job under an abrasive, micromanaging boss with no opportunity for advancement. I used the blog as the outlet for my frustration, frequently blogging at work (which was forbidden, and I was busted for it several times) while I surfed for the latest celebrity gossip and fantasy sports tip sheets.

As I said, that was a few months ago. Since then, things have changed a bit: I got a dream job at a library and have enrolled in a Masters’ degree program in Library Science at Emporia State University. I’m determined to use my love of information and my pop culture skills for the common good rather than wasting them on the uncaring and unappreciating Man.

Since classes don’t start until well into August, I have no idea what kind of librarian I’m going to eventually become. I’m currently fixated on a concept called Reader’s Advisory, which is librarian slang for “I really loved The DaVinci Code, can you suggest something else that’s kind of like it, but without the self-flaggelating albinos?” One of the things I’ve always loved about media (books, music, film, television, whatever) is the joy that I get when I let somebody else in on something that they might not know about. Exposing somebody else to the Good Stuff doubles the joy I already get out of a book or a movie. Think of what I want to do as spreading the Ebola virus, only in a good way, resulting in a gain of knowledge instead of blood pouring out your eyes.

So I’ll be writing about what I watch. And what I read. And what I listen to. Hopefully I’ll expose you to a good book or two. And likewise, if you come across a good read, I fully expect you to pass it along.

(And with luck, as we go along, I’ll pick better metaphors. The Ebola thing wasn’t my best moment, believe me.)

-Gregg W.