I was saying something yesterday, and I realized before the post went up but after I no longer had computer access to make any edits (heading off to errands) that I'd been leading up to this thing, which I hadn't put in so many words there in yesterday's post. Which thing I'd been leading up to, but having been prescheduled, but having to go leave on errands, it all fits into what I realized slightly too late that I'd been going to say. We force ourselves to get along, and that's perfect, and without it nothing gets done. And so here, there was a post scheduled going up, which I'd forced myself into, but couldn't get to it because of the errands which had been scheduled for us. (I've got more on that to say later, but that's good for my purposes here.)
Today. Had to shove aside a post today that had been prescheduled for today from two years ago. Fittingly enough. I'm not sure if I'm going to, move it up to being posted earlier, a post for one of the days I hadn't been able to get to. That is what it is, after all- a post, scheduled to roll out during a time I'd thought I still wouldn't have computer access. But the mission turned out to be less than precisely two years, and so here I am and here we are.
It would be the perfect time to bring this up, then, that it would kind of be helpful to break down what a mission represents. Breaking that down, plus how much of that affects this blog directly (which is just gravy.) Two years away from home, serving the Lord, putting aside all other personal affairs. Yes. I suppose I could talk about that.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
A Sort of Homebeing
It's still kind of weird. Especially the timeframe of it all- yes, it still took a full 24 hours for each of those days of the last few mission weeks which it still feels like I should be on- those days were normal daylength, yes, and I can cognisate that. But. The way those days fit together in the way that leaves it so that those hours not only happened but also somehow dumped me here into the present, it still doesn't fit together 100%. Maybe it never will. So, yes, having my mission behind me, being home, this major change in the status quo, it has the liability to list towards surreality. Black Friday is not helping.*
I'd always thought that when I got home I wouldn't immediately try to catch up on all the films that came out while I'd been cut off from that part of the world- rather I'd first start by rewatching all the shows and movies that I have seen but want to watch again. (Monk marathon at my place, everyone!** It starts... as soon as I build up enough interest in it, and after getting used to the idea of Netflix again.)
And I keep, I don't know, expecting things to snap back and cut me off from that. No, actually, no, I don't "expect" it-- subconsciously, though, it feels like I should be running out of time. Just with my base assumptions: I've got the mentality, oh no, get on it quickly, there's not much time left that you can do this! Until I realize, I can take my entire life. I've got my entire life ahead of me. I want to finish my, you know, thing, I don't have to get it done within the next couple months...
The stagnation of many returned RM missionaries makes sense to me now. They put in their best two years, heck maybe even sacrifice it all, really put themselves into it, and it's enjoyable and it's a blessing and then they get back... What do they do? ... What would you do? Just a month ago I'd thought that I totally had it made, and I was ready to tackle the world and my ambitions and myself, not necessarily in that order... It was a fairly common topic of angst a month ago still on the mission, which bore much fruit: that, for a later time.
And, being home, it's like- sure, I've got all these notes for all these projects I'd put on hold and now am maybe even eager to get back to, except they're all on my harddrive with the connectivity trouble, and maybe I could just blaze my own trail, except my room's super messy and I'm still trying to sort through the aftermath (and the beforemath) and maybe I'm not being as diligent as I maybe could be, on that, but how are you supposed to organize your mess when everything's a mess, and meanwhile I've got all these hobby board games to play and it turns out that I'm not really that great at any of them, and... It's just, not the ideal circumstances.
But nothing's the ideal circumstances.
I'd always thought that when I got home I wouldn't immediately try to catch up on all the films that came out while I'd been cut off from that part of the world- rather I'd first start by rewatching all the shows and movies that I have seen but want to watch again. (Monk marathon at my place, everyone!** It starts... as soon as I build up enough interest in it, and after getting used to the idea of Netflix again.)
And I keep, I don't know, expecting things to snap back and cut me off from that. No, actually, no, I don't "expect" it-- subconsciously, though, it feels like I should be running out of time. Just with my base assumptions: I've got the mentality, oh no, get on it quickly, there's not much time left that you can do this! Until I realize, I can take my entire life. I've got my entire life ahead of me. I want to finish my, you know, thing, I don't have to get it done within the next couple months...
The stagnation of many returned RM missionaries makes sense to me now. They put in their best two years, heck maybe even sacrifice it all, really put themselves into it, and it's enjoyable and it's a blessing and then they get back... What do they do? ... What would you do? Just a month ago I'd thought that I totally had it made, and I was ready to tackle the world and my ambitions and myself, not necessarily in that order... It was a fairly common topic of angst a month ago still on the mission, which bore much fruit: that, for a later time.
And, being home, it's like- sure, I've got all these notes for all these projects I'd put on hold and now am maybe even eager to get back to, except they're all on my harddrive with the connectivity trouble, and maybe I could just blaze my own trail, except my room's super messy and I'm still trying to sort through the aftermath (and the beforemath) and maybe I'm not being as diligent as I maybe could be, on that, but how are you supposed to organize your mess when everything's a mess, and meanwhile I've got all these hobby board games to play and it turns out that I'm not really that great at any of them, and... It's just, not the ideal circumstances.
But nothing's the ideal circumstances.
Friday, November 28, 2014
HUD on Your HUD
Okay, some HUD on your HUD- I said in yesterday's post that maybe now that I'm back and I can do it, that I should do this big thing with the blog, taking everything in a different direction as some kind of official part of my being back. (The hundred-odd posts that I hadn't managed to get prescheduled up, I'll be getting on those too-- I've got an idea in mind for those, which I'll announce officially as, um, as soon as I've figured out how many days are postless like that... From screenshots delivered me from back at home, I'd calculated the number of posts missing to be 100 precisely, but now I've a closer vantage point it would appear that the number of days I'd failed to preschedule a post for is something a lot closer to 128... So, yes, I'll brief you on that bridge when we come to it.)
For now, though- I'm still in excellent position for that, the "new direction thing." And while it's not quite that, it's... it's more of an optimization of what I've always thought that the site should be, fiddling around with Blogger's tools and stuff, so you may see some changes going on today as I do that. I'm kind of busy with that at the moment, my time allocated to blog maintenance mostly being occupied by that- but here's just a quick post letting you know what's going on.
For now, though- I'm still in excellent position for that, the "new direction thing." And while it's not quite that, it's... it's more of an optimization of what I've always thought that the site should be, fiddling around with Blogger's tools and stuff, so you may see some changes going on today as I do that. I'm kind of busy with that at the moment, my time allocated to blog maintenance mostly being occupied by that- but here's just a quick post letting you know what's going on.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Thespis Strip Dated Sunday, November 28, 2010
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| Click to embiggen. |
Marvin: Hey out there. Many of you-
-and when we say that we mean like two-
Collin: You know who you are...
Marvin: -noticed and pointed out the similarity between last week's strip and a real-life case.
But it didn't happen any time recently...
Collin: In fact, it happened in Ancient Greece.
Protagoras was a famous lawyer who took in an apprentice one day.
He made a deal with this pupil that he would not have to pay tuition fees until he had proved his worth and won his first case.
But at the end of the pupil's training, he decided not to go into law, and instead became a goat farmer.
Furious, Protagoras sued for the full amount of tuition money. But...
If the student wins, then Protagoras's base for the lawsuit would be groundless, as the student won his first case. But if Protagoras wins, the student would not yet have won his first case, and would not have to pay tuition.
Marvin: Meanwhile, we were just standing in line for punch, but we're not quite sure if it was the right line.
Collin: IS THIS THE PUNCH LINE?
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Hipsternerd Part II
Yeah, I'd been thinking just to leave my last post, part 1, at that, but something clicked that really sizzled with me far deeper than any vague notions for a sequel/follow-up post that I'd had while writing the first (Second?) post yesterday. And now that I look at it, well, it's kind of ambitious, but let's just go over a very very basic outline of what I'd had in mind. Let's jump into it.
Nerds and hipsters- kind of an arbitrary mashup/pairing there, now that I think on it, but of course it becomes pretty clear why I'm doing this if you keep in mind that these are two sort of, stock characters? archetypes? countercultural movements? Well, that last one's closer, though the term "counterculture" has kind of become loaded again, and maybe it always has been that- subculture, that's the word. (subgenre?) -- these subcultures are ones that I sort of defined myself as fitting into (though not necessarily belonging to; entire volumes can be written exploring inside/outside cultural phenomena.) Sort of defined myself as fitting into, in a very silly manner of course, not at all being serious (that is at least I don't think)-- but the possibilities of my belonging have been brought up before so I suppose it's time to face that head-on.
This isn't going to be self-indulgent, I swear-- that was all just a rehash of why I'm comparing these kind of arbitrary apples and oranges.
It would be helpful to go over what I see as the basic assumptions/driving forces of the two factions as they stand today (though, it should be noted with extreme care, not how they've necessarily always stood):
Hipsters: Roots taking place in the countercultural minirevolution of beatniks in the back alleys- the revolution under the surface of the water, waiting to break out into the mainstream revolution. And when that happens, moving onto something else. Gradually evolving over the years, but always doing the "cool" thing before the "cool" thing becomes cool- or at least, that's the story needing to be told in order to maintain structure and the identity of the movement itself. Such ideals can of course lead to kneejerk reactions against anything in the mainstream- and it often does lead to that, of course. Which is hipsterdom's most iconic and thus most mockable facet- that schizoid blend of vinyl records and iPad 4s (or whatever the heck the latest iPad is nowadays.) It's a basic human longing, to feel if not to be special- to be the elite, the avant garde- super post modern, and thus super hip - which isn't always an ideal that's met, of course, and thus when lacking the resources for hipness, self-deprecatingly (re: postmodernly) unhip.
Nerds: Mercilessly persecuted throughout time, ever taking refuge in the idea that the persecutions and houndings were by an uneducated mass and that the subculture in fact rather represented the elite (whether these assumptions were correct or not is not my place to debate here- but I can point out that these assumptions aren't unfounded.) Like anything underground, there evolved an air of genuine coolness- and, now thrust into limelight, the barriers are breaking down and the entire thing's rather like a snake thrashing around without its head, as the subculture is becoming just plain old pop culture- with the injection of the "anything goes" new blood, the old blood --bound together through shared experience of persecution-- is searching for a core. Identity here is so shifting that it's near impossible to pin down any one basic tenet or screed, but if you were to run across one, you'd know it- a non-continuum continuum.
A lot more research could probably have stood getting put into those definitions, but you understand the basic outlines how I see them. And as you can see, they're not totally incompatible.
Now not all human behavior can be ascribed to these basic motivations of course- but a shockingly large amount can, I think.
Nerds and hipsters- kind of an arbitrary mashup/pairing there, now that I think on it, but of course it becomes pretty clear why I'm doing this if you keep in mind that these are two sort of, stock characters? archetypes? countercultural movements? Well, that last one's closer, though the term "counterculture" has kind of become loaded again, and maybe it always has been that- subculture, that's the word. (subgenre?) -- these subcultures are ones that I sort of defined myself as fitting into (though not necessarily belonging to; entire volumes can be written exploring inside/outside cultural phenomena.) Sort of defined myself as fitting into, in a very silly manner of course, not at all being serious (that is at least I don't think)-- but the possibilities of my belonging have been brought up before so I suppose it's time to face that head-on.
This isn't going to be self-indulgent, I swear-- that was all just a rehash of why I'm comparing these kind of arbitrary apples and oranges.
It would be helpful to go over what I see as the basic assumptions/driving forces of the two factions as they stand today (though, it should be noted with extreme care, not how they've necessarily always stood):
Hipsters: Roots taking place in the countercultural minirevolution of beatniks in the back alleys- the revolution under the surface of the water, waiting to break out into the mainstream revolution. And when that happens, moving onto something else. Gradually evolving over the years, but always doing the "cool" thing before the "cool" thing becomes cool- or at least, that's the story needing to be told in order to maintain structure and the identity of the movement itself. Such ideals can of course lead to kneejerk reactions against anything in the mainstream- and it often does lead to that, of course. Which is hipsterdom's most iconic and thus most mockable facet- that schizoid blend of vinyl records and iPad 4s (or whatever the heck the latest iPad is nowadays.) It's a basic human longing, to feel if not to be special- to be the elite, the avant garde- super post modern, and thus super hip - which isn't always an ideal that's met, of course, and thus when lacking the resources for hipness, self-deprecatingly (re: postmodernly) unhip.
Nerds: Mercilessly persecuted throughout time, ever taking refuge in the idea that the persecutions and houndings were by an uneducated mass and that the subculture in fact rather represented the elite (whether these assumptions were correct or not is not my place to debate here- but I can point out that these assumptions aren't unfounded.) Like anything underground, there evolved an air of genuine coolness- and, now thrust into limelight, the barriers are breaking down and the entire thing's rather like a snake thrashing around without its head, as the subculture is becoming just plain old pop culture- with the injection of the "anything goes" new blood, the old blood --bound together through shared experience of persecution-- is searching for a core. Identity here is so shifting that it's near impossible to pin down any one basic tenet or screed, but if you were to run across one, you'd know it- a non-continuum continuum.
A lot more research could probably have stood getting put into those definitions, but you understand the basic outlines how I see them. And as you can see, they're not totally incompatible.
Now not all human behavior can be ascribed to these basic motivations of course- but a shockingly large amount can, I think.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Hipsternerd (Part I, Potentially)
Post in follow-up to "Nerdhipster" of, well it went up exactly one week ago, but I wrote actually two years ago of course... and now no longer necessarily agree with 100%? Or maybe at all? So I thought I'd follow up on it. Maybe I was being, satirical, or something, when I wrote that... It was a long time ago... I don't know, I can't read my own thoughts...
I think I remember thinking some of that stuff (definitely the Nutella stuff, though that may just have been kneejerk to watching it go, well, viral like that. Viral! Nutella of all things!)
And the Doctor Who thing, it was because I hadn't seen the show in a while, and so jumping in to any given episode I had absolutely no idea what was going on. But then again. Doctor Who is always like that.
Yep, yep, I was being, somehow, satirical.
...And a whole article could be posted up on the layers of (hypocrisy? culture? irony?) behind making that statement.
And thus I withdraw. Am I still a hipster? Am I still a nerd? Depends on your definitions behind that... that's a whole other article right there... if this turns out to be only part one of a series, so be it- because I still can't stop thinking about it, and it's about time to post this up for the day...
We'll see.
I think I remember thinking some of that stuff (definitely the Nutella stuff, though that may just have been kneejerk to watching it go, well, viral like that. Viral! Nutella of all things!)
And the Doctor Who thing, it was because I hadn't seen the show in a while, and so jumping in to any given episode I had absolutely no idea what was going on. But then again. Doctor Who is always like that.
Yep, yep, I was being, somehow, satirical.
...And a whole article could be posted up on the layers of (hypocrisy? culture? irony?) behind making that statement.
And thus I withdraw. Am I still a hipster? Am I still a nerd? Depends on your definitions behind that... that's a whole other article right there... if this turns out to be only part one of a series, so be it- because I still can't stop thinking about it, and it's about time to post this up for the day...
We'll see.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Sort of, Sorting
I've accumulated a lot of stuff over two years. Trying to figure out how to put this... The apartment as I left it officially, moving out, well I hadn't really packed my stuff much. Going to the final Interview with the Mission President, it turns out that from that we went straight onto the luncheon that signified the official end of my best two years (though set-apart I still may have been at the time.) I had thought I would have more packing time. But, nope. I didn't actually manage to finish packing it until it was actually time to leave. And it wasn't really packing either... Mom's got photos to prove it, my stuff was still everywhere. What Mom also has is too much basic human decency to horrify you by posting them on her blog. So thank you very much.
An upside to most of my stuff not being in some bunch of suitcases- no matter how tightly packed the suitcases would have been, there wouldn't have been room. The car as it came to pick me up was... already pretty stuffed in itself. Having my items sorted into loose clusters allowed for some pretty fine nook-and-cranny work. And Dad- boy, Dad- Dad somehow managed to cram it all into the car in a way that would make the Tetris gods themselves curl up into a little ball in the corner and pretend that what they just witnessed wasn't real. It really was quite incredible. Props to you.
And so today, my task is to sort through that, but also to check out all the stuff I'd left from before my mission. All my drawings I did, for one (not as bad as I remember, but I'm still genuinely sorry if I subjected you to some awful stuff.)
And lots of other things as well. I guess it's time to get onto that.
An upside to most of my stuff not being in some bunch of suitcases- no matter how tightly packed the suitcases would have been, there wouldn't have been room. The car as it came to pick me up was... already pretty stuffed in itself. Having my items sorted into loose clusters allowed for some pretty fine nook-and-cranny work. And Dad- boy, Dad- Dad somehow managed to cram it all into the car in a way that would make the Tetris gods themselves curl up into a little ball in the corner and pretend that what they just witnessed wasn't real. It really was quite incredible. Props to you.
And so today, my task is to sort through that, but also to check out all the stuff I'd left from before my mission. All my drawings I did, for one (not as bad as I remember, but I'm still genuinely sorry if I subjected you to some awful stuff.)
And lots of other things as well. I guess it's time to get onto that.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
The Snowflake
Alright... still trying to figure out how to deal with all this stuff. Usage of my time has been... difficult, to figure out. Context for all of this, in case you haven't been paying attention to what's going on here (or are looking back through these posts at some future point and wondering maybe what the hey I'm talking about around this time period) :
So, yes- I'm just recently here off of my mission- two years, full time there- Dec 7 2012 through Nov 19th 2014.
Posts have been going up these two years, though. Prescheduled postings. All of them, or at least most of them, composed beforehand. And, well, not actually 100% finished, didn't get a full two years in there... (That subject, well, yeah I've been familiar with it even on the mission- I'm still working out my journaling project from the mission, getting down my two years of days there. I've got still that last week to go. Which, isn't that bad... But I'm struggling to find initiative to complete it within a reasonable timeframe...)
And here we are, a universe full of stuff out there to be writing about (loots of stuff, so much stuff) and I'm just reviewing this here, this "stuff" that maybe you are already familiar with, instead of novel stuff, two whole years' worth of stories or anything- I'm just making a rehash.
Not that homecoming has been without its inspiration, of course- I would definitely not say that there's nothing going on in my life right now, but there's a lot of emotional really subtle and maybe even kind of private things stringing together, even somewhat elegantly...
Strings in my own life- home, the emotions (sometimes mixed muddled and confusing) associated therewith. (Being home! returning to things! I haven't fully reintegrated yet and maybe there are even one or two things that I'm leaving in this box of get-on-that-later, perhaps indefinitely.)
Strings as well, in the lives of (one or two of) my friends and... maybe just one, specifically, but it's... Well, it's mixed muddled confusing and kind of private. For now. But it's not that bad, looking into it. It just, is. And isn't that always enough?
I'm sure we've all felt this weird kind of string of complexities in our lives, escalating the strange into the surreal. It happens. It happens more frequently than you realize.
And it's never the same twice.
So, yes- I'm just recently here off of my mission- two years, full time there- Dec 7 2012 through Nov 19th 2014.
Posts have been going up these two years, though. Prescheduled postings. All of them, or at least most of them, composed beforehand. And, well, not actually 100% finished, didn't get a full two years in there... (That subject, well, yeah I've been familiar with it even on the mission- I'm still working out my journaling project from the mission, getting down my two years of days there. I've got still that last week to go. Which, isn't that bad... But I'm struggling to find initiative to complete it within a reasonable timeframe...)
And here we are, a universe full of stuff out there to be writing about (loots of stuff, so much stuff) and I'm just reviewing this here, this "stuff" that maybe you are already familiar with, instead of novel stuff, two whole years' worth of stories or anything- I'm just making a rehash.
Not that homecoming has been without its inspiration, of course- I would definitely not say that there's nothing going on in my life right now, but there's a lot of emotional really subtle and maybe even kind of private things stringing together, even somewhat elegantly...
Strings in my own life- home, the emotions (sometimes mixed muddled and confusing) associated therewith. (Being home! returning to things! I haven't fully reintegrated yet and maybe there are even one or two things that I'm leaving in this box of get-on-that-later, perhaps indefinitely.)
Strings as well, in the lives of (one or two of) my friends and... maybe just one, specifically, but it's... Well, it's mixed muddled confusing and kind of private. For now. But it's not that bad, looking into it. It just, is. And isn't that always enough?
I'm sure we've all felt this weird kind of string of complexities in our lives, escalating the strange into the surreal. It happens. It happens more frequently than you realize.
And it's never the same twice.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Only One Monitor! Aaahh!
Can't tell you ho claustrophobic this is, working with one screen only after working two years at a workstation with two...
I've always thought, oh, real life is so messy, what are you going to do with all this crap, you can't organize it into folders instantly and do autosearches for anything or anything- but at least real life is, well, wide I suppose. This computer here, I'm so limited to only what's within this 12 by, uh, 13 flatscreen frame...
I've always thought, oh, real life is so messy, what are you going to do with all this crap, you can't organize it into folders instantly and do autosearches for anything or anything- but at least real life is, well, wide I suppose. This computer here, I'm so limited to only what's within this 12 by, uh, 13 flatscreen frame...
Friday, November 21, 2014
Thespis Strip Dated Sunday, November 21, 2010
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| Click to embiggen. |
Marvin: The Stella Awards are awards handed out yearly to that year's most frivolous lawsuits.
They're named after Stella Liebeck, who once famously sued McDonald's after her coffee was too hot.
Collin: They completely miss the point that the Liebeck case was not at all frivolous.
Stella Liebeck was 79 years old.She removed the coffee cup lid to put in cream and sugar, spilling the hot liquid all over her cotton sweatpants. It soaked in and gave her third-degree burns.
Not friv'lous.
Marvin: But they have awards named after her? She should sue!
Collin: But wouldn't that defeat the purpose? If she sues for defamation of character because she doesn't go around suing frivolously, that itself would be a frivolous lawsuit, defeating the purpose of itself.
It'd be the judicial equivilent [sic] of the "this sentence is a lie" paradox.
Marvin: ...it'd still be cool.
NOTES:
I hate it when I misspell things, which I do in this strip, and I kind of have to point it out with the little [sic] which just makes me look bad because it draws attention to the mistake. But, I own up to my mistakes, eh? Anyway, that water was boiling. That's just dangerous, man. Also, the double meaning of the word "cool" does not escape my notice, so let's pretend it was intentional.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
If You're Gonna Get Made (Don't Be Afraid of What You've Learned)
Turing 23 today. I'll go see if there's any Dogwood trees for me to curl up under, maybe gonna listen for the angels and see a girl with pearly skin wondering aimlessly.
Because I've got just enough indie cred to make Blitzen Trapper references, but not enough to actually do that to any but that band's greatest hit. Huh.
Because I've got just enough indie cred to make Blitzen Trapper references, but not enough to actually do that to any but that band's greatest hit. Huh.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
MEMORANDUM: A Word of Old News that's New
It's always so awkward doing a backlog post, making a post and having it go up retroactively. Believe me, I know; two years of trying to catch up on the backlogs of my mission journals have taught me that (more on that later.) The weirdest part is this, speaking of things that happened in between where your post is supposed to have taken place and when you actually wrote it. Do you use the past tense? Future tense? Burn Notice tense or X-Men tense? Weird Dan Streetmentioner things, or what?
That's the problem I am faced with now... in the future.
I am writing this post on November 20th, the day after I'm backscheduling it to go up, anyway. I should come up with a more unified way of handling these...
(More on that later, too.)
Why is this going on right now, in the future, you may ask? Well, actually though I arrived home tonight, fully honorably released from my mission services, I neither got the opportunity to get at a computer, nor really even recall the password to this thing to get on, to tell you. But here I am.
That is right, that is my announcement. Which most of you probably already know anyway.
That's the problem I am faced with now... in the future.
I am writing this post on November 20th, the day after I'm backscheduling it to go up, anyway. I should come up with a more unified way of handling these...
(More on that later, too.)
Why is this going on right now, in the future, you may ask? Well, actually though I arrived home tonight, fully honorably released from my mission services, I neither got the opportunity to get at a computer, nor really even recall the password to this thing to get on, to tell you. But here I am.
That is right, that is my announcement. Which most of you probably already know anyway.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Nerdhister
I think I should change my name to, "Doctor Who sold itself out," so that either my friends after repeating my name enough either come to my way of thinking, or realize what an insufferable nerdhipster I am and cease to be my friend.
Same with Nutella. I never really liked Nutella all that much either. Blasphemy, I know. I still dig cats and am okay with bacon. We cool, internet? Alright. I did like Nutella, at first, back when it was still obscure (I don't believe in something "before it was cool," as something was either always cool or it wasn't,) but then other people started liking it...
No, it's not that. It's just never been that good. It's overhyped. It's just impossible to take these things seriously when they're the subject of so many memes. They're just made petty and trivial and stupid. To all the living legends, I want to say, I'm sorry you got to live long enough to see the rise of meme generation.
Same with Nutella. I never really liked Nutella all that much either. Blasphemy, I know. I still dig cats and am okay with bacon. We cool, internet? Alright. I did like Nutella, at first, back when it was still obscure (I don't believe in something "before it was cool," as something was either always cool or it wasn't,) but then other people started liking it...
No, it's not that. It's just never been that good. It's overhyped. It's just impossible to take these things seriously when they're the subject of so many memes. They're just made petty and trivial and stupid. To all the living legends, I want to say, I'm sorry you got to live long enough to see the rise of meme generation.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Indoors.
So, there was this, and I thought...
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Post THE THOUSANDTH, In Which Not Much Happens
Not much is happening. Well, there's probably stuff happening, like, all around us, and I'm probably doing something right now, but, uh, no, we're not doing very much to celebrate such an auspicious occasion. It's not like this falls on a year mark or anything. It's my birthday this week, and Thanksgiving, but, let's save the partying for those dates.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Correspondence 3/25/12 22:45 - 22:56
Is this generation the zenith of history? What will the future of the internet look like? How much of it will be distinctly pornographic in nature, and will there be any family-friendly corners? We discuss.
10:45pm
Eric Perazzo
Naw, to me, the internet is just communication and rule 34. No way they'll invent something other than that. Only new memes off of those.
10:45pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Yep, we've truly hit the ceiling. Though I guess pornography and social networking are two of the biggest uses.
10:46pm
Eric Perazzo
I shudder at the prospect of social porn, which is surely what the Singularity will look like.
10:47pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Huh. Well, there are like... adult meet up sites modeled mostly after social networking sites. Is that social porn?
10:48pm
Eric Perazzo
No, I mean, like, it's social networking, but instead of using words you speak in pornography.
Imaginably, heavily advertised.
10:48pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Huh! I wonder how that would even work. I imagine it could, though.
10:49pm
Eric Perazzo
At least it'd be easy to spot the sex offenders.
10:50pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Hm, well, there is a tradition on some sites of verifying that nude images you post are of you by including timestamps, writing on the body, etc. So I think we're already seeing it.
10:50pm
Eric Perazzo
The FUTURE!
10:51pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
And there are whole sites based around self posted images, largely in that style, but they aren't social networking sites. Almost there, I guess?
10:51pm
Eric Perazzo
Well, I was wondering what spam would look like in the Artefact. Now I guess I know.
You got anything on OH yet, or will that be a tomorrow thing?
10:54pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Probably tomorrow, yeah. Also, on the subject of scifi 'verses, I've been reading up on the Eclipse Phase setting. It's from a tabletop RPG, but I think the books are creative commons and free as pdfs. Very interesting stuff that I think you'd like.
10:55pm
Eric Perazzo
Tomorrow.
10:56pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Reasonable. Anyway, yeah. I guess I'm going to sleep now.
10:56pm
Eric Perazzo
Yeah, that was kind of worth it, I suppose. Good night.
10:56pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
I'd say so. Good night yourself.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Correspondence 3/25/12 22:37 - 22:43
Is this the "me" generation? Or is the new shift toward social media ensuring that's not happening? The concept of "blog" embodies both of these, paradoxically. We discuss.
10:37pm
Eric Perazzo
Blog. It's like a personal thing, but designed to show off to other people.
10:37pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
What a future we live in.
10:37pm
Eric Perazzo
It connects us.
10:38pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
And some argue it isolates us. But, you know, to heck with them.
10:38pm
Eric Perazzo
I don't believe in the "me" generation, either.
10:39pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
I do to a certain extent. I think it's a double edged sword.
10:39pm
Eric Perazzo
Yeah, there's feeling of entitlement, there, too.
10:40pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
I'd say it's a good thing we're still socially adjusting to. If that makes sense.
10:40pm
Eric Perazzo
Our generation is truly at the most crucial moment in human history.
10:41pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Oh, I think they all say that.
10:41pm
Eric Perazzo
So long as it's in the present, yeah.
But this time it's truer.
10:42pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Maybe. Probably a little.
10:43pm
Eric Perazzo
It all comes down to whether this is it, or will there be future innovation on what the internet can bring us.
10:43pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
I'm sure there will be.
In any case, I think I'm off to bed.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Correspondence 3/25/12 22:28 - 22:35
Blog name decided, the question is raised: what kind of posts to post? We conclude: "worthwhile" posts, posts that edify the reader by letting them catch a glimpse of your innermost self, in whatever way that may be.
10:28pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Guess that's what I'm going with.
Hm, now I need to decide what to, and not to post, I guess.
10:31pm
Eric Perazzo
It's a tough line to balance.
10:32pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Yeah. Is posting names of birds I find to be hilariously silly and made-up sounding a valid use of my blog or no? It's hard to say.
10:32pm
Eric Perazzo
It's edifying the reader through an extension of you, I suppose.
If that makes any sense.
10:33pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
A little bit. Okay, maybe it's better for a later entry.
10:34pm
Eric Perazzo
Ultimately, this is up to you, though. Remember.
10:35pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Yeah, that's true. I suppose I'll go by the vague qualifier of thoughts and ideas that are "worthwhile".
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Correspondence 3/25/12 22:12 - 22:28
Still stuck on a name for Cailin's blog...
10:13pm
Eric Perazzo
I like Phylum Anthropoda.
10:13pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Which is apparently available. Plus, exuvium isn't exclusive to hexapods.
10:14pm
Eric Perazzo
It's so great. It can take on practically any tone you want it to.
10:15pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Yeah, I like it a lot, actually. But I'm glad I didn't take it just now, because it's "arthropoda", not "anthropoda". Oops.
10:16pm
Eric Perazzo
Joint foot. More sense.
10:16pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Yeah. And it's also taken. Dang, man.
10:17pm
Eric Perazzo
You could go back to the man foot thing, and pretend you're...
10:17pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Ha, yeah, I was thinking of ways to justify it too.
10:18pm
Eric Perazzo
Might as well be.
10:18pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Or I could just go with Anthropod.
...Or not.
10:18pm
Eric Perazzo
Why, also already taken?
10:19pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Yep.
10:19pm
Eric Perazzo
Man, these people.
10:20pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
How about "Occidental Hoodoo"?
10:20pm
Eric Perazzo
Snarkoleptic? Like, a snarky narcoleptic?
10:20pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Ha, I like that too.
10:20pm
Eric Perazzo
There was a word that sounded really good backwards, what was it.
10:20pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Snarkoleptic is also taken.
10:21pm
Eric Perazzo
Greek gods sound like drug brand names when you spell them backwards.
10:22pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Susyinoid sounds like a B-movie sci fi thing.
But yeah, how did Occidental Hoodoo sound?
10:24pm
Eric Perazzo
Well, this is the west...
10:25pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
It's from a joke Joe and I would make. About using "oriental" offensively, and how occidental can't be used in the same way.
10:26pm
Eric Perazzo
Ah, man. We're getting away from bugs, though.
It's good, other than that.
10:27pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Yeah. It's the name I use for a lot of things, though, so it doesn't have to become a theme.
10:28pm
Eric Perazzo
Ah, alright.
10:28pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Also, it's available.
10:28pm
Eric Perazzo
Even better.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Correspondence 3/25/12 21:48 - 22:12
Cailin decides to embark on a blog. Ideas for how to chug out daily posts out of the way, we gear up and tackle the greatest challenge of all: coming up with a good blog name. But, first, blog post tips:
9:48pm
Eric Perazzo
Write a lot of drafts, so you have something to expand if you're stuck for a daily topic.
9:49pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
That's not bad. Anything else?
9:51pm
Eric Perazzo
In case you're stuck for a daily topic? Serialization.
9:52pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Oh, that's good too. I'm stuck on a name, though.
9:54pm
Eric Perazzo
Something ridiculously misdirecting, perhaps. Like, Chicago Glassworks, or something.
Remember, though. Once you pick it out, you're stuck with it.
9:55pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
This is true. How does Grand Rapids Brewery sound?
9:56pm
Eric Perazzo
Too hard to explain.
9:58pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
How so?
9:59pm
Eric Perazzo
You'd be stuck with it, remember, with no really good story to explain what you're brewing.
10:00pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Well I've no idea.
10:01pm
Eric Perazzo
Though Brewing as a metaphor isn't that bad of an idea, come to think of it.
But what do the grand rapids symbolize? Your mind?
10:01pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Er, inspiration.
10:02pm
Eric Perazzo
The Criminal Animal?
10:02pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Not available as a URL, apparently.
Well, with a "the" it is.
10:03pm
Eric Perazzo
But it'd have such an adorable vandal raccoon as its mascot.
All spray painting that wall.
10:04pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
They're already vandals. Um, my username will be Exuviae, so maybe something entomologically themed?
10:06pm
Eric Perazzo
All I can think of are really creepy ones.
10:07pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Subphylum Hexapoda doesn't have much of a ring to it either.
10:08pm
Eric Perazzo
How about just, Subphylum? Or Phylum Asylum? No, never mind, that's...
10:08pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Maybe Phylum Anthropoda?
10:09pm
Eric Perazzo
Man foot?
10:09pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
..."Man foot"?
10:09pm
Eric Perazzo
Its name in Latin.
10:10pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Oh. I was thinking something having to do with segmentation, or segments. Entomo, and all.
10:10pm
Eric Perazzo
It's good, though. I like it.
10:11pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
"Today's Segment", or something.
10:12pm
Eric Perazzo
Fitting. On many levels. But kind of corny.
10:12pm
[deadname] Anderson Taylor
Yeah, very much so.
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