In order to announce the street-date of the Truth blog, I thought I would interview the legendary literary character, Wraxtiorre. This is all fictional, of course, since Wraxtiorre is only an Internet persona.
TWM: When is that article you keep talking about going to be published?
Wraxtiorre: According to the webmaster at BreadnCircles, the first six parts of the article should become the Top-Page on November 26th.
TWM: That's Thanksgiving Day! Wait, whaddaya mean, first six parts?
Wraxtiorre: I submitted the article in ten 300-word sections, alternating between essay-like prose and story-like narration, so as to give it the appearance of having been written by more than one person. Only the first six parts will become available this Thursday, and the rest will be posted a week or two later.
TWM: Is there anything unusual that I should ask about?
Wraxtiorre: You mean, aside from my new hairdo? Yes, you should ask about the layout issues.
TWM: Layout issues? What layout issues?
Wraxtiorre: The article is being posted in an extremely wide layout, with margin spaces for commentary being added by fellow BnC editors. So, before leaving it, make sure to scroll all the way to the right from the top of the page all the way to the bottom so as to catch all the additional commentary and reactions from my fellow philosophers.
TWM: Tell me about your unique narrative style of writing in an academic philosophical blog. Why do you tell stories instead of writing prose?
Wraxtiorre: Most people refuse to read philosophy because it is written in such a dry, technical tone. How often do you pick up the reference for your Windows XP (or Vista or 7) to read it for its entertainment value? How often do you read it at all? Would you know more about your Windows if you did? It's the same thing. I want more people to know about philosophy, but I don't know everything. So, I try to make entertaining jokes inbetween passages of academic learning so that readers will keep interested while my fellows teach them some stuff about philosophy. Also, sometimes it is easier for me to portray a thought than to tell it, and it is also easier to grasp some complex ideas if they are shown instead of explained. Besides, most often it is the same thing as what my fellow writers are saying.
TWM: What are you really like, as a person?
Wraxtiorre: I'm constipated--I mean, complicated.
TWM: Does it bother you that some people fail to take you seriously?
Wraxtiorre: I'm not here to be taken seriously. If readers are still there when I am finished writing, I am happy merely that they stayed to listen to the stories, and read what my fellow contributors had to say--and maybe chuckled at a few of my jokes while they were reading. It is more important to me that they take my fellow writers seriously.
TWM: Who is the Itinerant Philosopher? What will happen to Saint Sixedog? The last I heard, he was flailed against a light-pole by the Behemoth. How is he doing? Is he getting medical attention?
Wraxtiorre: The Itinerant Philosopher is just a mouthpiece for the narration, not really a representative of any particular school of thought. As for Saint Sixedog, a discussion topic has been started in the Facebook "Bread n Circles Fan Club" to allow for requests or suggestions about his fate, but being in the future, even I cannot predict what will happen to him.
TWM: What are your plans for the next blog?
Wraxtiorre: I have no idea. I don't plan the future--I just create it.
TWM: Do you think that any of the storylines from Yahoo!Answers, such as the Stoic Cat and Cartoon Dog, might be included in future writings at BreadnCircles?
Wraxtiorre: They will have to be fresh writings, I cannot just cut-n-paste the existing narratives that have already been posted at Yahoo!Answers for copyright reasons--but I own the rights to the characters, so I can write new episodes using the names.
TWM: Is there anything you would like to repeat for your readers?
Wraxtiorre: Just a self-serving reminder of my excellence. Don't forget--Thanksgiving weekend at Bread n Circles! Read my article, and discuss it loudly!
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This article appears in my new book, Appearing to Study Particle Physics, which is currently available at Lulu.com in hardback and paperback!
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