Star Trek Blogging: The Klingon Way Daniel

This is a guest post by Joshua Clanton.



Image by Eli from PhotoshopStar

In the world of Star Trek, Klingons are known as a warrior people, formidable in battle, fierce in their passions, and concerned with honor above all. But the life of a Klingon has lessons for humans, even for that sedentary class known as bloggers. Here are three proverbs that can help you learn to blog the Klingon way.

Act and you shall have dinner. Think and you shall be dinner.

Because so much of Klingon life is centered around battle and the hunt, the ability to act quickly and decisively is highly prized. When your opponent is swinging a bat’leth at you, there isn’t any time to contemplate the best course of action. You need to act instinctively to avoid a painful death.

In blogging too, taking action can be much more important than thinking things through. One of my most popular posts was just written up quickly and when I did allow myself to think about whether I should publish it, I hesitated wondering whether my readers would like it or not. Fortunately I decided to act instead of overthinking it.

Four thousand throats may be cut in one night by a running man.

This proverb also emphasizes speed, but even more importantly, it warns against underestimating someone’s abilities, whether that is you or someone else. If a warrior can cut a single person’s throat, then the only obstacle to cutting four thousand is how quickly he can repeat this act. The warrior who can not only cut throats, but do it quickly, is the warrior capable of achieving greatness.

In blogging as well, the limiting factor for most blogs is how quickly and strongly they pursue their goals. Often they underestimate themselves, thinking that they can only do so much in a given period of time. That’s true enough, but if you perfect your technique by eliminating distractions and systematically pursuing your goals, gaining a few thousand subscribers might not be so impossible after all.

Mere life is not a victory, mere death is not a defeat.

To a Klingon, it isn’t enough to merely live. One must also live well. This means fighting great battles, going on great hunts, serving the Empire well, and finally dying a glorious death knowing that you have passionately pursued the things you want most.

Then too, it isn’t enough to merely blog. One must also blog well. This means writing great articles, posting great comments, supporting your blogger friends, and when the time is right, retiring your blog honorably knowing that you pursued blogging passionately.

Qapla’!*

* Success!

Joshua Clanton is a freelance web designer who blogs about design, productivity, and creativity. He’s also quickly approaching his long-term goal of watching every Star Trek episode ever made.

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39 Responses to “Star Trek Blogging: The Klingon Way” medyum thank you

nice article

helse Star trek isn’t actually my cup of tea, although this post made me smile :). Thanks

Peter helse

Kondomer Great show! ..and a great blog. 🙂 I have not seen all Star Trek episodes, but I like what I have seen so far. Have you ever seen Andromeda? That should be related to Star Trek somehow?

Vsem Well I just started my blog today and I really needed this verbal kick in the butt; trying to overcome my jitters. Live long and prosper!

Peter Szabo There is no honour without action, no reward without suffering. I would have though that ferengi would be more apt.

PopArtDiva Dear Joshua: I have seen every episode of Star Trek in original broadcast! I then taped every episode in rerun. Packed away in storage there are hundreds of VHS tapes loaded with places where no man has gone before, lol, as well as some serious Star Trek memorabilia! Funny post and you make a very good point! We can sometimes think ourselves out of a dynamic post by being too timid! As to why so many Vulcan greetings, blogging is much like Vulcan too. Remember I.D.I.C. – Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination – so many blogs in the universe! Though the Vulcans valued peace they were fierce warriors too, but their preference of logic over emotion is a valid premise. Sometimes you should think before you act – or post – especially if your emotions are involved! A judicious use of both action and thought would benefit many a blogger. So maybe a half-breed blogger of a Vulcan and a Klingon union would be best? I shall close with the other Vulcan greeting: Peace and Long Life

Pink Ink I’ve NEVER even watched a single Star Trek episode (yes, what planet have I been on), but this post had me smiling. I think a certain balance of acting and thinking is ideal. No nail-biting and tweaking until dawn, but at least give it some thought so you don’t look STUPID. I’m new to this blogging thing; thanks for the daily blog tips.

Joshua Clanton – Design for the WEB I don’t get why everyone is using a Vulcan greeting on a Klingon post. 🙂 @ Carol: I haven’t seen them all yet, but I’m pretty close. About 36 left to go. Glad that you found the post helpful!

Carol McCrow Hi, I just had to comment. I’ve been watching Star Trek for a long time. I remember watching the original with my dad when they were new episodes! Anyway, I liked the objective and it made good sense. I’m very good at over-thinking or over-analyzing myself or my work, and sometimes it is to your benefit to just go with it. Over-thinking something clouds the true picture, or it does for me anyway. I like the way you used Star Trek on your site- it caught my attention and I found your blog worth reading and helpful. Thanks! I’ll be reading more of your blogs. Live Long And Prosper! Carol McCrow P.S. I can safely say I have seen every last episode! And movie! And I still watch them. They’re part of my comfort zone.

beautifullovepictures innovative blogging idea, but i am not there yet

jonson roth Sorry, no. Enterprise is far more interesting than DS9, except when they started having Cardassians (sp?). [But not Kardashians.]

Joshua Clanton @ Gia’da: Glad that I could help you get over your jitters. Congrats on your new blog! @ David: Thanks! @ Blogtalks: But what about the Borg? 😉

Joshua Clanton @ Luis: I’m glad you found it inspiring. Now get out there and act! 😉 @ Frank C.: Kosh is cool, though I prefer Londo. “Now, I go to spread happiness to the rest of the station. It’s a terrible responsibility but I have learned to live with it.” @ space code: I usually find it helpful to jot down my main points first and then fill in the details. That seems to result in more of my drafts making it to the front page of my blog.

condoms Act and you shall have dinner. Think and you shall be dinner. <— nice quote lol i better start acting rather den thinking lol! ive been thinkin and regrettin all this while..

Tony Star Trek humor….LOL

Muscle Post More action is definitely necessary for most bloggers. I sometimes even find myself stuck in this pattern of thinking about my blog and how I can improve it, when I should be out there writing posts, networking, and commenting on sites like this one!

jobs LoL~

nice post!

“Mere life is not a victory, mere death is not a defeat.”

i like this sentence, vry inspiring!

good day~

Dr. SciFi A Klingon warrior blogs by using his bat’leth sword on his defeated enemies.

Worf quote -“Thinking about what you can’t control wastes energy, and creates its own problems.”

My link to this excellent post

BlogTalks There is no honour without action, no reward without suffering. I would have though that ferengi would be more apt.

David at FullTiltBlogging.com This post has been featured in FullTiltBlogging.com’s Daily Blog Summary today. Great post!

Gia’da Well I just started my blog today and I really needed this verbal kick in the butt; trying to overcome my jitters. Live long and prosper!

space code I agree with the first point. My blog is full of drafts that I never finish writing because I keep thinking about what to write when I actually already had a rough idea in my mind.

Frank C I prefer Kosh from Babylon 5, “Understanding is a three-edged sword.” and “The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.”

Luis Gross Great post! This was very inspiring Daniel, I honestly feel like writing 30 post’s before morning breaks! I must say these words cannot be anymore truthful. Acting and thinking can determine a very different future depending on which one you choose. Success? or Failure? I’m going for success!

Joshua Clanton @ Daniel: Do what I do; use Netflix (or something like it). You’ll be caught up in no time.

Daniel Scocco Some of these days I need to start watching the episodes again.

Joshua Clanton @ Barbara Ling: DS9 is the best! I’m glad I could remind you of it. 🙂

Joshua Clanton Thanks, Jason! I definitely agree that acting before thinking has a negative side, but I think people often need to learn to act before they can learn to judge quickly and accurately.

Barbara Ling LOVE THIS POST!! My favorite reference to Klingons is the following (from Wiki): ….”With fire and steel did the gods forge the Klingon heart. So fiercely did it beat, so loud was the sound, that the gods cried out, ‘On this day we have brought forth the strongest heart in all the heavens. None can stand before it without trembling at its strength.’ But then the Klingon heart weakened, its steady rhythm faltered and the gods said, ‘Why do you weaken so? We have made you the strongest in all of creation.’ And the heart said… ‘I am alone.’ And the gods knew that they had erred. So they went back to their forge and brought forth another heart. But the second heart beat stronger than the first, and the first was jealous of its power. Fortunately, the second heart was tempered by wisdom. ‘If we join together, no force can stop us.’ And when the two hearts began to beat together, they filled the heavens with a terrible sound. For the first time, the gods knew fear. They tried to flee, but it was too late. The Klingon hearts destroyed the gods who created them and turned the heavens to ashes. To this very day, no one can oppose the beating of two Klingon hearts.” DS9 – the ultimate of the Star Trek series. Thanks for such a great post! Barbara

ã‚¸ã‚§ã‚¤ã‚½ãƒ³ (Jason) Jaq haB qa hoghobe’r gaKh be’H!

— You bring honor to us all I couldn’t agree more with the idea that one should act before thinking sometimes. That said, it can also get us into a heap of trouble 😛

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