Let's do this...
This is still here. I don't know how, but it is. I made a digital archive of it a few months ago, wanting to keep it for reference. It goes back to 2001, for fuck's sake!
I originally began a post four hours ago, but from the first couple of words, my thoughts drifted back to other online writing I've done in the past. How much of it is still hanging around? How much of it is gone? So I had to go back and look. At the Internet Archive I revisited several of my old websites that I left journal entries on. Unfortunately, most of those journal posts are long gone; the Archive didn't archive them. A particular batch of journal posts from 2001 and 2002 are just gone, and I really would like those words back. I was able to salvage ten or so posts, and I reposted them here.
I also found an old backup from the mid-2000s of website content. Unfortunately, I didn't have the forethought to save previous iterations from the early 2000s, but I did find another 15 to 20 journal posts. Those have also been added here.
Finally, I discovered a collection of 87 poems I had written between 1998 and 2005, all in HTML format on the disk. I would say a solid 90 percent of it is pure crap. Perhaps I'll add them to my LJ as well, though some of them may already be here. And I don't have a specific date for most of them. However, at a minimum, I need to get all those poems into a single document that can easily be read and backed up. I've had thoughts about compiling some of my better poetry into a collection, with illustrations contributed by others. To be determined... But this is a damn good rediscovery in that regard.
So here I am finally, adding an LJ post for the first time in ages. I'm realizing that while Facebook has its uses, the LJ format is significantly cleaner and more focused. There are fewer distractions here. The platform still has merit outside the hectic, ad-filled chaos of Facebook.
My trip down memory lane tonight reminded me that I used to write. A lot. I mean, I still do, but it's different shit: wiki texts, personal messages, technical posts, and the occasional deep thought. But poetry and journaling have indeed been tossed to the wayside.
Let's give LJ another try. It may not be around for much longer, but it's an old standby, one of a hint of serenity, sadness, and a history of a past me. That past me... reading some of those old posts reminds me of how much of my past I've forgotten. That forgetting of the past: I've wondered for some time now how much of it is memory loss from aging and how much is from simply just trying to worry about the "now" me.
-Shawn
I originally began a post four hours ago, but from the first couple of words, my thoughts drifted back to other online writing I've done in the past. How much of it is still hanging around? How much of it is gone? So I had to go back and look. At the Internet Archive I revisited several of my old websites that I left journal entries on. Unfortunately, most of those journal posts are long gone; the Archive didn't archive them. A particular batch of journal posts from 2001 and 2002 are just gone, and I really would like those words back. I was able to salvage ten or so posts, and I reposted them here.
I also found an old backup from the mid-2000s of website content. Unfortunately, I didn't have the forethought to save previous iterations from the early 2000s, but I did find another 15 to 20 journal posts. Those have also been added here.
Finally, I discovered a collection of 87 poems I had written between 1998 and 2005, all in HTML format on the disk. I would say a solid 90 percent of it is pure crap. Perhaps I'll add them to my LJ as well, though some of them may already be here. And I don't have a specific date for most of them. However, at a minimum, I need to get all those poems into a single document that can easily be read and backed up. I've had thoughts about compiling some of my better poetry into a collection, with illustrations contributed by others. To be determined... But this is a damn good rediscovery in that regard.
So here I am finally, adding an LJ post for the first time in ages. I'm realizing that while Facebook has its uses, the LJ format is significantly cleaner and more focused. There are fewer distractions here. The platform still has merit outside the hectic, ad-filled chaos of Facebook.
My trip down memory lane tonight reminded me that I used to write. A lot. I mean, I still do, but it's different shit: wiki texts, personal messages, technical posts, and the occasional deep thought. But poetry and journaling have indeed been tossed to the wayside.
Let's give LJ another try. It may not be around for much longer, but it's an old standby, one of a hint of serenity, sadness, and a history of a past me. That past me... reading some of those old posts reminds me of how much of my past I've forgotten. That forgetting of the past: I've wondered for some time now how much of it is memory loss from aging and how much is from simply just trying to worry about the "now" me.
-Shawn