The Introduction: Because YOU DEMANDED It!

Hello, welcome to Dotting the Landscape! Like most blogs, this is a self-serving, indulgent, almost masturbatory project that will capture the interest of few people besides Your Blogger himself (or perhaps "theirselves". Possibly "itself". Pronouns were never my/our/your strong suit).

Nonetheless, you've now found this blog, and we can at least take a minute to explain what you can find here. You see, Your Intrepid Blogger recently started a new job, a job that has taken him (her?) back to where he (it?) grew up- central Illinois. And the thing about central Illinois is that there are ALL these small towns. You know the big ones, Peoria and Bloomington and Springfield and Champaign. But in between all of these are a hundred other places, very real places with their own cultures, their own things to do, their own histories.

And of course, this isn't only the thing about Central Illinois. It's about all of Illinois, all of the midwest, all of the U.S., all of the world, probably, at least the more established world. It's probably quite a bit different of an analysis in Europe (where all the history is) or in, say, the West Coast (where you won't find Lincoln landmarks every twelve feet). But the basics are the same: there is a world outside of the big cities, and the towns in that world all have their own things going on.

Your Handsome, Intrepid Blogger wants to know about those cultures and histories. Mostly, he (I? YOU?) wants to know what they do with their day, and this isn't meant to be condescending. While Your Creative, Handsome, Intrepid Blogger loves city life, it's clearly not for everyone; living in a small, kinda isolated town can be just as cool.

The trick is finding out HOW it's just as cool. And that, dear friends, is why your Wealthy, Creative, Handsome, Intrepid Blogger started this nonsense.