Etymology

So.

I'm no stranger to this. I'm adept at the blogging experience. I dabbled with a previous blog called Landshark Sandwich. For a record of my past work, click to your heart's content, there's over seven years worth of material there.

From beginning to end, I was pretty happy with LSS. However, times changed, as did the content of my posts. Very quickly, they went from being gripes about my own life to observational pieces about life in general; particularly in the United States.

We live in an interesting paradox of a nation that is as intricate as it is diverse. We're also coming out of an eight-year-long rut that has progressively worsened; hope has declined as the numbers on the calendar have gone up. You don't need to crunch numbers to see the trends.

However, the times are changing. Much like my blogging résumé. I found it only appropriate for my actual blog to evolve in tandem.

See, when I started LSS, the name itself was a gag. The entire thing was just my forum to sound off on what I saw fit without any real focus. The name itself is the perfect non sequitur title; an amalgam of an early but memorable Saturday Night Live skit with Chevy Chase and a one-liner from This is Spinal Tap. If you really want the breakdown, click here.

Even that which was erratic, like most things in life, found it evolving. I guess as time went on and my opinions became clearer, so did my voice. My faith in humanity also began to decline dramatically as it simply appeared we just didn't get it. Everything around me screamed "ignorance is bliss."

However, with the election of the 44th President of the United States of America, along with the cultural barriers and mindsets that were dramatically shifted, I find it necessary to delve a level deeper into my bag of tricks and actually put this blog in line with that shift by giving it something it has hopelessly lacked: focus.

To define the blog, let's look at the second component: culture.

Merriam-Webster defines culture as, "the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations b: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group ; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time c: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization d: the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic ."

Head spinning yet? Just think of the magnitude that has with regard to America.

OK, so how about rolling? I'm going to have to take a step back and explain this one outside the dictionary pages.

See, "rolling" in this sense refers to the art of sparring in ground-based martial arts like Jiu-Jitsu and Sambo. I'm a follower of MMA (mixed martial arts) and began studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu late last year.

To spar with someone, in a combat sport, means to simulate fighting for the purposes of training and practice. Notice this is a "simulated" fight rather than a real one. I don't suggest we actually fight our culture, but to understand its quirks and idiosyncrasies, is it imperative to wrap our hands around it and figure out what it's made of. And, unlike stand-up martial arts like boxing or Muay Thai, when you fight for real, you tend to end up on the ground.

Rolling.

However, one term that does retain relevance from stand-up is "rolling with the punches" from the world of boxing, which refers to the practice of stepping back or to the side as you are being attacked so as not to absorb the full impact.

Additionally, there is all the slang version of the term, "let's roll." Let's tackle this. Let's roll with this culture and figure it out. Or, let's get friendly and "roll with the crew." Let's roll with this culture and have a good time.

It's a multilateral term that fits perfectly.

The purpose of this blog is, for me, to roll with our culture, observe it and comment. It's what I do. And there certainly won't be a shortage in this nation. All things are up for grabs, right, wrong and indifferent. It's going to be a fun ride.