Perhaps a vow of silence?

"It's better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." 

   - Anonymous (possibly Mark Twain, but nobody seems entirely sure)

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m a bit of a broken record when it comes to these things (and the politically sensitive entries that once made up half this blog are now no-go, so it takes me longer to find things it’s okay to talk about. [Is that okay Mr. Cameron? I haven’t crossed a line there have I Mr. Cameron? I’m not- *gets violently ball-gagged* mmmh mm mmh! Mmmh! Mmh-mmh-mh-mmmh! *ball gag removed following nodding promise to change subject*]). 

Anyway, I’m going to mention it again, because it tends to plague me a little. Although this blog is mostly pointless drivel I do occasionally write things I quite like; am even a little proud of. I’ve had compliments about my writing from quite a range of people, some I only know online who read this blog. Others I’m close to like members of my family. Some are work colleagues. This does make me feel pretty good (don’t worry about me getting big-headed, as you’ll soon see). 

All of this good work tends to be undone every time I open my mouth, however. I have a brain that works, but works slowly, and as such cannot debate in real time. This also translates to writing in real time when talking to someone online, but at least I can fact check online so I don’t end up saying something like My Little Eye is a Hollywood remake of Rec (something I genuinely said, which, considering I think enough of my cinematic knowledge and sensibilities to write a film review blog, was a really dumb thing to say). I am so bad at it that I once told someone they were jealous of Alex Turner’s song writing ability because I failed to find the words to defend my love of Arctic Monkeys. Sometimes it isn’t all my fault. Sometimes the person I’m talking to simply over-rides any attempt to engage by repeating their deliberate misunderstanding until I simply stop trying and they call that a win for their purposefully ignorant viewpoint. And I’ve been over-looked and not listened to when I actually do find the right words to say so many times it is becoming ridiculous.

It sometimes gets bad enough that I consider communicating only via email and just shutting my stupid mouth lest I say something that makes me look like a proper knob.  But I won't.