First Post

Aura: a "presence in time and space, (a) unique existence at the place where it happens to be" (Benjamin, 1935).

If you thought there was something familiar-sounding about the name and title of this blog, then it is likely you are either familiar with cultural critic Walter Benjamin or his essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". Benjamin came up with the concept of aura, which refers to the particularity, authencity and uniqueness of an object or physical reality. That's just the very basic and general idea, and I won't dwell further on aura as defined by Benjamin lest I bore anyone (including myself, having written and submitted an essay on the very topic a few weeks ago and not wanting to revisit the whole thing again in all its complexity). But anyway, the idea of unique points in time and space sort of struck a chord in me, and I decided to create a blog to chronicle and cherish such moments. I don't have the most interesting life, but I do have many experiences and memories, as well as thoughts, I want to preserve. It would be nice to share them too. Hence I decided to carve a space out of the vast bloggersphere and call it my own.

This post has its aura, to revisit the term again, in that it is the first entry in this blog. Ehhhhhh... YAY :D I suppose another significance is that today is the last day of university before the month-long Easter break begins. Then it could also be said that today's special because it's April Fool's Day 2011. On a more personal level, April is a special month for me, for reasons which will be explained in later entries. Wow, this one post is loaded with aura all right.

That's all I'll say for now. Keep an eye on this space, for more to come!