Hallo und willkommen!

For a minute I debated about writing this post as an official introduction with a website overview and a list of possible expectations. Upon further thought, I concluded such formality is superfluous, considering I have reinvented my online presence numerous times. I have sampled many social media platforms, ranging from the big dogs – Facebook, Twitter, X, Instagram, Threads – to the smaller dogs – Mastodon, Bluesky, Substack, Medium. Each has its pros and cons, but the more time I've spent on social media platforms, even ones originally created for writers and long-form creation, such as Substack and Medium, the more I've come to crave a space separate from any company or organization that pushes generative A.I., collects data, and utilizes an algorithm. Yes, currently Mastodon and the like do none of that, which is why I have activated the Fediverse feature on this site, curtesy of Ghost (find me at @clark@bullcroft.com).

However, even Mastodon, Bluesky, and other open social networks are no longer a location for escape, creation, and connection. Seeking rest from the woes of the real world requires the odd dichotomy of turning off digital devices and stepping into the real world. A quick walk through the woods with a camera in hand or a half hour reading session with a mug of coffee and a notebook nearby does wonders to restore the mind. I truly believe social media as we've known it is disintegrating. The blind societal acceptance en masse of generative A.I. and the cultural pressure to orient core personal identites around one of two political parties has accelerated the plummet in quality of such spaces, along with the pick-me attitude and transactional approach to fellow humans that influencer culture has fostered.

Years ago I was a massive proponent of Instagram, discovered amazing writers on Twitter, published several articles on Medium, and marveled at the creativity and exceptionality of each artist. Gradually, these virtuosos were replaced with influencers, artwork with content, and connection with engagement. Frankly, I'm bored of it. Hence, this website, and why I'm not pushing my profile on the Fediverse, because I am unsure I'll use it much.

Fundamentally, I want a personal and personalized digital place, a little online nook for myself to be myself, void of any overarching and overreaching ownership from a company – essentially a public journal combined with a portfolio. I decided a dedicated website would be the best solution. In fact, I've long dreamed of replacing social media with blogging, like the good ol' days of the early internet, and, after much too long, I have arrived. This place is free from paywalls, free from requiring an account to peruse my silly little thoughts and photographs, and free from advertisements.

Please, enter, engage, read, and respond to your heart's content.

Or do not; you are a free individual. Either way, I wrote this first post to inject a touch of personality onto this site, a way to begin transforming that crisp, stark page into a notebook full of well-loved, crinkled, and ink-stained essence. Although I currently work in a library and would love to publish a book once in my lifetime, by no means am I a professional writer. I am rediscovering my written voice after years of dormancy following my English Composition and English Literature classes in college. I recollect those days with great fondness, bolstered by my admiration towards those two professors, who stoked into a bonfire the embers of my love for language, stories, and the literary world. I have much honing to do, but this is one step along the path. I do apologize, dear professors, for the grammatical atrocities and the stilted flow of my writing. In time, I shall improve.

Speaking of embers, there is an option to sign up for my email newsletter, the name of which might correlate with embers and the Hungarian language, pending upon my final decision. As of this posting, I have no immediate plans for utilizing this feature. Nonetheless, there is a strong chance that a cordially addressed email will greet your inbox one morning. Do sign up, if you feel inclined, so that when I decide how and when I send newsletters, you will be amongst the lucky humans to receive the first edition. I am simply setting the expectation that, upon entering your email, do not expect to forthrightly receive regular emails.

This is all for now, but stay tuned. Some articles will be long and some short. Some photographs will be color and some black and white. Some Tarot readings will be clear and some murky. Only the future knows what itself holds, which is why we continue to show up and plod forward.

Witchingly,

— Clark