Post 101 - or, what scares me about the internet.

Remember my 50th post, where I talked briefly about what brought me back to blogging?

Well now I've reached Post 101, and have decided it seems apt to go in the other direction, and briefly discuss what draws me away from the internet.

The answer can actually be found way back in the first post I ever created here, although I also hint at the element of optimist I talked about last time: narcissism. Why would anyone want to read what I think about stuff? Why would I want to send it out into the ether of the internet when I have a perfectly good private, handwritten journal - and have been keeping one for over a decade, for that matter? This is something I still question on a regular basis, and as my first post suggests, I have opted for using this as a space to collect and showcase things that inspire me. I mentioned in another, maybe more personal, post about memorials in Cape Town a different reason for keeping up this blog - as a space simply for aesthetics, and for the apparently superficial (at least, in opposition to my studies).

Still, this phenomenon of "oversharing" is something that irks me - and I feel its unique to our generation. This is illustrated most prominently in that notorious vortex of time wasting, facebook - which isn't all bad, but I'm generally at least very ambivalent towards it. My social media antipathy is a whole other story... So I'll keep my promise and keep it brief.

(Small aside - my compulsion to keep things brief is something that irks me about the internet as I feel it's contributed to the current culture of short attention spans).

Why do we feel compelled to keep projecting our lives onto computer screens? And is it always healthy? I don't have conclusive answers to these questions. Like last time I'll close with a song (with a hint of irony) and return to my enormous amounts of work.

The Damned - Strawberries - I Think I'm Wonderful

Halfway to a Hundred; some musings on blogging.

Here I am, at my 50th post on this humble blog.

I thought I'd take a moment to overcome my ambivalence about the internet, and think about why I "came back" to blogging. I made this blogger account in 2007 - and am unashamed to say it was entirely with the purpose of writing to Jade Puget from AFI to tell him how much their Milan concert in May of that year meant to me... Oh, my, to be 17 again (as a short aside, AFI still have a hold on my heart).

So, I came to blogger through music, and then swiftly forgot I had even created this account.

I only rediscovered it when, while listening to Pentagram and reading about the band, I stumbled across the blog of lead singer Bobby Liebling's wife, Hallie Liebling: Halcoholic. I swiftly became addicted, and through Hallie's awesome stylings, I discovered J. L. Schnabel's Bloodmilk Jewelry, and subsequently the amazing etsy. These were the two blogs that "opened up" blogging to me, so to speak - sending me in the direction of so much creativity. So, in a sense, I "came back" to blogger through music, too.

I can often become rather cynical about the internet - and especially social networking - for all the narcissism and and egotism it can engender. However, over the past few months I've come to discover a much more appealing side of it - as a place where people share their artistic output and inspirations, and as a space for positivity rather than put-downs, and sharing of inspirations rather than "oversharing."

To a certain extent, this blog hasn't progressed much since my first post - I'm still treating it as "a place to collect the things that make me think." It doesn't really have a specific direction and doesn't fall under any particular category, but nonetheless, it has grown.

I think I will close this (hopefully not too incoherent) ramble with the bands that indirectly brought me here, and then back again.

AFI - The Art of Drowning - Wester

Pentagram - Relentless - Sinister

Paradoxale.

Of course, I'm about a year late in discovering this. But as usual two factors apply: 1- am generally not a (conscious?) follower of trends 2- I do not usually have €19 to spend on nailpolish. In fact, I question whether anybody should ever spend that much on nailpolish, and am rather disturbed that I did so. This colour almost makes me change my mind.

The picture below makes it look very purple, but it's actually more of a muted grey-brown, shot through with purple shimmer that shows up when you move your fingers, and most strongly in bright sunlight.

The first image from Cafe Makeup gives a better impression of what it's actually like to wear this, but I think part of its beauty is that it simply doesn't photograph loyally and is very distinctive. Both murky and shimmery.

narcissistic |ˌnärsəˈsistik| |ˈˈnɑrsəˈsɪstɪk| |-ˈsɪstɪk|

Because to a certain extent, aren't all blogs?

A projection onto a screen of what we would like to be recognised for.

Or perhaps, in a less cynical light, a place to collect the things that make us think.