the next blood moon
Sup, LJ? Oh, nothing? Okay.
As predicted, I haven't written in here since the Annual Survey. Seven months and not even so much as a cursory glance at this bitch. I really do miss the way it was here, ya know. Entries very real and confessional, contained within parameters that are strictly opt-in for those who are down to read those confessionals. No dramatic tagging, thrusting each other into a feed of strangers' uninvited commentary. Simple locks and blocks. And no fucking algorithms to determine what content you get to see!
Facebook is a god awful bore at its most harmless. But if you're into that, hit me up and add me if we're not already friends. Just be warned that,my FB presence is heavily curated; I'm only really present in the form of occasional likes and comments. I don't post much to my own page because I've been too cautious of the site and its insidious ways. As well it should be. Don't you know what they're trying to do to you? My hormones already do a fine job of manipulating my feelings, thanks. And the attempts to get me to report brand loyalty to sponsors is not welcome either.
Well, there's that and there's also being embarrassed for the people who make absolute fools of themselves by saying ignorant things and/or getting mixed up in FB debates. It's worse out there than a forum/LJ flame-off because now all your friends and family have to deal with how stupid or mean you are. Or, like in the case of many I've known and consequently unfriended, people have no idea how different it is to communicate online versus in person. It's like all intuitive abilities to empathize, to be polite, to consider feelings or even be open to other viewpoints are washed away in the torrential streams of keyboard rage. It's like, "c'mon dude, this isn't some random troll on YouTube, this is your friend."
At yet some still have the nerve to believe they're not any different online from their IRL selves. If there is no distinctions, then blessed be are we who only need to click once or twice to remove you. Bye, Felicia!
However, the LJ world is deafening in its silence. Tumblr is where teens and fans congregate now, in a system similarly operating on unnecessarily spreading your ideals through the chain of reblogs. It's different, yes, but I still yearn for a journaling community like this one used to be. Nothing was done "for the notes" then. Comments, maybe, but only to fulfill personal satisfaction or re-establish connections with your friends (not followers), and not to garner sitewide respect.
But I like Tumblr. It's funny. It's just not what I'm looking for as far as a journal community goes.
So instead I've found myself more withdrawn online. I'm not hungry for internet notoriety, and it seems like the whole thing about social media is that we all want internet fame. Otherwise what's the point of half the shit people post online? That's why there are likes and shares attached to everything. That's why people force memes and post a billion tags on Instagram. God. I just want to swim and the water is full of -- well, not sharks -- oh, I mean SHIT. The water isn't therapeutic anymore.
I still blog, and I think I've mentioned it before here, but it's a locked-up Blogspot that I do just for ny own sanity. I greatly value keeping a journal as a way to keep track of my development as a person. It's also fun to refer back to past states for the sake of nostalgia, but the over,arcing story of my own life is what I'm most interested in when I do it.
With that said, here is another installment of my own personal nostalgic reflection.
Ten years ago yesterday, I went to see Reel Big Fish at the AHoB. I miss the old lineup. I miss when they were one of my favorite bands, but it was probably over for me in 2004 anyway and I just refused to quit.
I remember taking my sister to this show. She was going on 15. I was so proud of her for pushing her way up to the front to watch Dan, her favorite Fish. For her birthday that following week, I popped her Rocky Horror cherry with the Midnight Insanity shadow cast. Next week she's going to spend her 25th birthday with her baby boy. I can't believe my baby sister is a mother now. So much so that I can't describe in words how it makes me feel.
Anyway.
Rx Bandits was one of the opening bands, and it was my first time seeing them live -- and Cam's first time hearing them, period. We're going to see them next month. They are definitely a band that grew with me. I am so proud of them. And I'm so proud of us -- Cameron and I will be celebrating ten years of togetherness in August. Get married? Of course, soon as we get our money right. I should crowd-fund my wedding.
But ya know, ten years ago today we weren't a thing yet. There was still plenty of dust needing to settle, and the now-legendary summer of 2004 still had a few waves of bullshit to wash over us. Rifts steadily widening, doubts and insecurities playing out, all of us facing at least one too many possibilities regarding our future, never mind our tumultuous and rapidly evolving social lives.
More of us were getting cars and licenses and sources of disposable income, and we had the wild freedom of kids finally entering the realm of less-policed behavior. Those were fun times to be alive, even if being so alive meant feeling so much sensation (pain and love being two particularly difficult sensations to feel silently).
I wonder, what are kids doing now to cope with the mess of life, the way we used to use LJ and (to a lesser extent, at least for me) MySpace? Are kids these days really angsting on FB? Tumblr? Is it supportive enough an environment, I wonder? Is it dangerous -- not in terms of perverts and scams, but developmentally? I can't even fathom what it must be like to grow up in such a scrutinized digital atmosphere. I hope it makes them stronger and smarter. My nephews are inheriting that world, after all.
Spoken like a true old person.
As predicted, I haven't written in here since the Annual Survey. Seven months and not even so much as a cursory glance at this bitch. I really do miss the way it was here, ya know. Entries very real and confessional, contained within parameters that are strictly opt-in for those who are down to read those confessionals. No dramatic tagging, thrusting each other into a feed of strangers' uninvited commentary. Simple locks and blocks. And no fucking algorithms to determine what content you get to see!
Facebook is a god awful bore at its most harmless. But if you're into that, hit me up and add me if we're not already friends. Just be warned that,my FB presence is heavily curated; I'm only really present in the form of occasional likes and comments. I don't post much to my own page because I've been too cautious of the site and its insidious ways. As well it should be. Don't you know what they're trying to do to you? My hormones already do a fine job of manipulating my feelings, thanks. And the attempts to get me to report brand loyalty to sponsors is not welcome either.
Well, there's that and there's also being embarrassed for the people who make absolute fools of themselves by saying ignorant things and/or getting mixed up in FB debates. It's worse out there than a forum/LJ flame-off because now all your friends and family have to deal with how stupid or mean you are. Or, like in the case of many I've known and consequently unfriended, people have no idea how different it is to communicate online versus in person. It's like all intuitive abilities to empathize, to be polite, to consider feelings or even be open to other viewpoints are washed away in the torrential streams of keyboard rage. It's like, "c'mon dude, this isn't some random troll on YouTube, this is your friend."
At yet some still have the nerve to believe they're not any different online from their IRL selves. If there is no distinctions, then blessed be are we who only need to click once or twice to remove you. Bye, Felicia!
However, the LJ world is deafening in its silence. Tumblr is where teens and fans congregate now, in a system similarly operating on unnecessarily spreading your ideals through the chain of reblogs. It's different, yes, but I still yearn for a journaling community like this one used to be. Nothing was done "for the notes" then. Comments, maybe, but only to fulfill personal satisfaction or re-establish connections with your friends (not followers), and not to garner sitewide respect.
But I like Tumblr. It's funny. It's just not what I'm looking for as far as a journal community goes.
So instead I've found myself more withdrawn online. I'm not hungry for internet notoriety, and it seems like the whole thing about social media is that we all want internet fame. Otherwise what's the point of half the shit people post online? That's why there are likes and shares attached to everything. That's why people force memes and post a billion tags on Instagram. God. I just want to swim and the water is full of -- well, not sharks -- oh, I mean SHIT. The water isn't therapeutic anymore.
I still blog, and I think I've mentioned it before here, but it's a locked-up Blogspot that I do just for ny own sanity. I greatly value keeping a journal as a way to keep track of my development as a person. It's also fun to refer back to past states for the sake of nostalgia, but the over,arcing story of my own life is what I'm most interested in when I do it.
With that said, here is another installment of my own personal nostalgic reflection.
Ten years ago yesterday, I went to see Reel Big Fish at the AHoB. I miss the old lineup. I miss when they were one of my favorite bands, but it was probably over for me in 2004 anyway and I just refused to quit.
I remember taking my sister to this show. She was going on 15. I was so proud of her for pushing her way up to the front to watch Dan, her favorite Fish. For her birthday that following week, I popped her Rocky Horror cherry with the Midnight Insanity shadow cast. Next week she's going to spend her 25th birthday with her baby boy. I can't believe my baby sister is a mother now. So much so that I can't describe in words how it makes me feel.
Anyway.
Rx Bandits was one of the opening bands, and it was my first time seeing them live -- and Cam's first time hearing them, period. We're going to see them next month. They are definitely a band that grew with me. I am so proud of them. And I'm so proud of us -- Cameron and I will be celebrating ten years of togetherness in August. Get married? Of course, soon as we get our money right. I should crowd-fund my wedding.
But ya know, ten years ago today we weren't a thing yet. There was still plenty of dust needing to settle, and the now-legendary summer of 2004 still had a few waves of bullshit to wash over us. Rifts steadily widening, doubts and insecurities playing out, all of us facing at least one too many possibilities regarding our future, never mind our tumultuous and rapidly evolving social lives.
More of us were getting cars and licenses and sources of disposable income, and we had the wild freedom of kids finally entering the realm of less-policed behavior. Those were fun times to be alive, even if being so alive meant feeling so much sensation (pain and love being two particularly difficult sensations to feel silently).
I wonder, what are kids doing now to cope with the mess of life, the way we used to use LJ and (to a lesser extent, at least for me) MySpace? Are kids these days really angsting on FB? Tumblr? Is it supportive enough an environment, I wonder? Is it dangerous -- not in terms of perverts and scams, but developmentally? I can't even fathom what it must be like to grow up in such a scrutinized digital atmosphere. I hope it makes them stronger and smarter. My nephews are inheriting that world, after all.
Spoken like a true old person.