Cover Page

Madness is one of those themes that pops up in literature fairly often, and with good reason. The title of this blog is a reference to two short stories: Gogol’s Diary of a Madman and Liu Xun’s story of the same title. What makes madness so fascinating is the perspective it offers. Sane people assume that they perceive the world just like their sane friends; the mad perceive the world differently from the sane. Sometimes, the perception of the madman is more appealing.

Now, I’m not mad. Just ask most of my (imaginary) friends, they’ll tell you. I don’t think I’m the King of Spain, my nose is happily attached to my face, and I don’t suspect that everyone is trying to eat me. But every now and then, I see things differently from most people, and I’d like to share some of those perspectives.

I never kept a diary when I was little except for summer journal assignments, and I normally ended up fabricating those entries anyway. I never felt the need to tell myself what I did. I’m not addressing myself in these entries; I already know what I think, and I spend half of my days chuckling to myself at the absurdities I think of. What you’re reading is meant for you. Drop by every few days or so to see if I’ve thought of anything interesting, read anything interesting, done interesting things, or in times of hardness, if I’ve stolen someone else’s interesting ideas. But if you’re looking to find out my deepest secrets here, good luck, but you’re mad.