“He that increaseth wisdom, increaseth sorrow“ -Robert Burton
Last night, I had a small opportunity to meet with an old friend for drinks. Old friend makes it sound like there was a time of estrangement… I mean, I guess there technically was, but in the long-arc of history it doesn’t feel that way. He’s just a good old friend. He once mentioned that the saga of me obtaining a Macbook Pro was the longest running arc on my blog. Well, I think he probably earns the title of longest running friend to be mentioned on this blog.
Among things discussed was both of our penchants for long, really indulgent nostalgia trips. I mused about my own experiences and how I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t actually a good thing. He has a term for this for himself: Terminal Nostalgia. I love it and will take it for my own.
We didn’t actually discuss what was meant by Terminal… but I took it to mean the same way you mean Terminally Ill: an affliction of so great a strength that it will eventually kill you. My friend implied that when he “trips”, he tends to only focus on the good ole times. I guess if indulged in too hard and for too long, it threatens real damage to life in the here and now. He specifically takes time to also remember the bad times. I think this is the prescribed antidote/treatment.
I definitely identify with the above to an extent. I certainly understand it. It actually makes me feel a little better about this whole revive and restore my blog project… Yes, it absolutely will fuel terminal nostalgia for probably as long as it exists, but it also captures a pretty round experience, the good and bad times.
Speaking of blogs, we did that too. He mentioned how blogging like we used to really functioned as a kind of pre-social media. Except the tone and conceit were different. Blog posts have a Dear Diary/Dear Reader form and tone, which presents a very different kind of experience, both to the writer and the reader. Current social media has a more “THIS-JUST-IN! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!” tone to it.
Wow, i’m just stealing all my friend’s ideas and regurgitating them all right here as content for my blog post. Aw yeah, this is feeling real nostalgic now!
I’m doing this though because I agree with it all. I like this long form, even if the very act is essentially a kind of nostalgia trip in and of itself. If other friends of mine blogged like the old days, I would absolutely read and comment. This feel way more intimate, more real. Though I recognize that the “reality” of this medium is a bit of an illusion, as all things online are curated.
If everything is pageantry, I enjoy this play more than a tweet, an insta story or a Facebook status update.
Last night, I had a small opportunity to meet with an old friend for drinks. Old friend makes it sound like there was a time of estrangement… I mean, I guess there technically was, but in the long-arc of history it doesn’t feel that way. He’s just a good old friend. He once mentioned that the saga of me obtaining a Macbook Pro was the longest running arc on my blog. Well, I think he probably earns the title of longest running friend to be mentioned on this blog.
Among things discussed was both of our penchants for long, really indulgent nostalgia trips. I mused about my own experiences and how I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t actually a good thing. He has a term for this for himself: Terminal Nostalgia. I love it and will take it for my own.
We didn’t actually discuss what was meant by Terminal… but I took it to mean the same way you mean Terminally Ill: an affliction of so great a strength that it will eventually kill you. My friend implied that when he “trips”, he tends to only focus on the good ole times. I guess if indulged in too hard and for too long, it threatens real damage to life in the here and now. He specifically takes time to also remember the bad times. I think this is the prescribed antidote/treatment.
I definitely identify with the above to an extent. I certainly understand it. It actually makes me feel a little better about this whole revive and restore my blog project… Yes, it absolutely will fuel terminal nostalgia for probably as long as it exists, but it also captures a pretty round experience, the good and bad times.
Speaking of blogs, we did that too. He mentioned how blogging like we used to really functioned as a kind of pre-social media. Except the tone and conceit were different. Blog posts have a Dear Diary/Dear Reader form and tone, which presents a very different kind of experience, both to the writer and the reader. Current social media has a more “THIS-JUST-IN! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!” tone to it.
Wow, i’m just stealing all my friend’s ideas and regurgitating them all right here as content for my blog post. Aw yeah, this is feeling real nostalgic now!
I’m doing this though because I agree with it all. I like this long form, even if the very act is essentially a kind of nostalgia trip in and of itself. If other friends of mine blogged like the old days, I would absolutely read and comment. This feel way more intimate, more real. Though I recognize that the “reality” of this medium is a bit of an illusion, as all things online are curated.
If everything is pageantry, I enjoy this play more than a tweet, an insta story or a Facebook status update.
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