About the Good Intentions Dojo

My intention with this blog is to have one place where I can post my thoughts about things I care about. This includes fluffy things like video games and Transformer figures as well as philosophical, religious, and political topics. I used to have several different blogs for my disparate interests found it was difficult to manage them all and try to fit my thoughts into partitioned spaces. With this site the only theme is that it is something I find interesting that I would like to share with the world.

Another reason for this particular blog is to get away from posting serious topics and things I care about on social web sites. Although I have engaged in some really interesting discussions with people about serious topics there, I have also gotten into heated debates with friends and noticed some friends and family don't seem to appreciate my rants. With this site you can choose to avoid any article I write on topics you would rather not engage with and just read the fluffy stories and nobody is offended!

The Name

When thinking on what to call a blog that was about so many different topics I came across the idea of "Intendojo" and thought it was fun because not only did it combine "intent" and "dojo" but it sounded very similar to "Nintendo" which was one of my fondest obsessions in childhood. Thinking more about it I went with the name Super Good Intentions Dojo for awhile, but now it has settled down to simply Good Intentions Dojo.

SUPER
This was for my love of video games and the fun side of my interests. I used a similar font to the Super Nintendo and also references that many games on this system which were updates to game series with the word "Super" as the first name in the title. I removed the Super because I noticed that I tend to write about more serious stuff, and less about video games and toys than I thought I would.  Fun fact: Originally the N64 was to be called the Ultra Nintendo, but I guess they felt that eventually they would run out of superlatives.

Good Intentions
This is because this site will also talk about moral issues. "Good intentions" can mean both a sincere desire to do no harm but also can be a misguided clumsy attempt to talk about a subject. They say the path to hell is paved with good intentions. So as you read my posts on this site I would just like to let you know I critique and opine passionately at times because of a sincere desire to contribute in some small meaningful way to the greater collection of serious discussions about important issues to human beings of our times. 

Also be warned that I may stray down the wrong path at times (for instance over a decade ago I didn't understand the importance of gay marriage) but I hope that honest and sincere discussions about the human condition also lead us eventually in the right direction, even if we veer close to Hades along the way.

Dojo
This is probably the most important part of the name of the site. A dojo is a place (usually near a temple) that is used for training. It is not a place to perform, but rather a place to make mistakes, try things out, and eventually improve. I am going to try and be honest with my opinions but I am aware that I will often make mistakes along the way. If you engage in discussions on this site I hope you will keep this in mind. 

I also am aware that you are a human being just like me and we may not always perfectly express our thoughts and feelings. We may change our minds as we learn more about an issue or topic. I'm sure if I write here long enough you may see some evolution of thoughts, hopefully to a more enlightened place. The only way to come to a more complete understanding of something is to first understand that you don't know everything about it and then strive to fill in the blanks.

-J.D.