Welcome to the KEYS

It's time for Jose Melendez's KEYS TO THE BLOG.

1. The KEYS TO THE GAME began on May 11th, 2004 on the Sons of Sam Horn Web site as part of Jose's effort to establish himself on the most prestigious Web site in all of Red Sox nation.

http://p086.ezboard.com/bsonsofsamhorn

Jose got the idea after attending the SoSH Bash at Fenway Park. There, a drunken SoSHer bwith the handle Dana Kiecker slurred to Jose "Yer a funny poster. Do you think of yerself as a funny poster?" That was what Jose had hoped for, as he isn't nearly the analyst then many SoSHers. And so an idea was planted. Jose would try to distinguish himself by formalizing his observations.

For a few days Jose would post observations in sets of three in random threads, but they tended to get lost in the big picture. More focus was required. So Jose decided to start posting in the daily game thread.

When he started Jose never really planned for KEYS to be anything more than three little quips about Red Sox, maybe 15o or 200 words, but it soon began to spiral out of control. All of a sudden he was writing longer and longer entries, more and more words and having a surprisingly good time doing it. Before he knew it Jose was typically writing 500 to 1,000 words per day.

2. Now on August 23, 2004 Jose has written over 49,000 words, an almost appalling waste of time and energy, and yet the writing process is typically Jose's favorite part of the day. Jose has always felt that he was a good writer and has sometimes felt that he is funny and witty, but Jose has always know that he cannot produce without a deadline. I f Jose were to write strictly for joy, he would never write word one. He needs to feel like he has to do it. Jose has written two one act plays in his life, both for classes, he has written countless op-eds, all but two were for work. Yet, with the KEYS, he has managed to internalize the deadline to the extent that he can produce day in day out at a ridiculous rate despite not having the threat of financial punishment for failure hanging over him like the Sword of Damocles. (Note: That's what's called an allusion. Good writers use them, or so Jose has been told.)

3. So now Jose has come to the horrifying realization that the Red sox season will eventually end, most likely in late October, and if he wishes to continue writing he will have to do so without the constant source of stimulation that is the proverbial day in day out grind of the baseball season. Sure, there will be some insane doings on the hot stove. The Red Sox will make blockbuster deals and not make blockbuster deals, but the offseason will simply not be the same as the onseason.

So Jose decided to start KEYS TO THE GAME ( Now in Blog!!!) to provide a format where he can write about other subjects: the symphony, kabuki and shadow puppet theater that might not be appropriate for the non-member boards at SoSH. ( Note: By symphony, kabuki and shadow puppets, Jose means other sports, wrestling and politics. Jose will probably may do some pop culture too, but only if he can stand it. After all, he's not Bill Simmons.) Jose will continue to post the Red Sox KEYS at SoSH but he will post them here as well. This site will simply cover a far broader range of material.

I'm Jose Melendez, and those are my KEYS TO THE BLOG.