Diversions & Other Obsessions
by Aaron Joel Santos
So it’s been a long time. That much I know. And it will probably get longer. A lot of blogs seem to be blocked in Vietnam at the moment. And mine is among them. Not for anything said or posted or alluded to or hinted at. Mine is simply a sin of proximity. Blogs are being blocked. I have a blog. Thus the absence.
And with this absence comes a sense of both loss and freedom on my end. I miss writing blog posts and sharing work, but at the same time, I haven’t had to worry about posting anything. I’ve been able to obsess over other aspects of my life. New branding. Marketing materials. Life outside of the internet. Photography. Go figure.
In less than two weeks I’m off to Africa with my wife, and then to Washington D.C. for a friend’s wedding and to meet with magazine editors. I’m putting books together, making stamps, sewing shit. I’ve read several novels and I’m in the middle of several more. I used to ignore the internet more. I’m trying to get back to that. Finding other diversions. But doubtless I’ll be back soon.
It’s a hard thing to uninvent or ignore. We lost internet for all of 12 hours in Tay Ho due to the storm and it was like losing an arm. People have told me that they can’t get into my blog but I’ve had no problems updating it. As usual the blocks are either half hearted or badly organised or whatever. Nothing says you’ve already lost the argument more than censoring.
Blogs being blocked! A bit worrying..
[...] Joel Santos, a blogger in Vietnam, writes about the blocking of numerous blogs in the country: “A lot of blogs seem to be blocked in Vietnam at the [...]
Steve, I’ve had trouble accessing almost all Blogspot and WordPress blogs recently. From my house, even using Google’s DNS, I can’t access my blog or others. Though from Hanoi Social Club, where I’m working now, everything seems OK. So it’s random or halfhearted or both for sure.