We are here, sitting sad in a corner. I feel this so deeply. Last year, I gave up photography, writing, and podcasting because I felt like I was wasting my time. Now, I am back in school to retool and pay my bills. It makes me sad to see 1984 coming to fruition; only the weirdos see it. I miss the 80s and 90s and the joy of it all. We truly had THE best years of this Country's life. Now, to stay above the depression. Headphones on. Sigh.
from my non-lofty perch of weird Black 66 yo...yup, 80s/90s was an amazing musical time, even for someone like me whose first 45 was the Jackson 5 'I Want You Back', whose internal monologue rolls with 'Ball of Confusion', Sly Stone and the Dells and later the Moody Blues and Warren Zevon and the Allman Bros and the Eagles (yeah, I know, don't care, they had some tunes), who danced around my lace-curtain Black lower middle class living room to Classical Gas played on the huge old wooden stereo console, who ran away to the East Village to fall in love with the Patti Smith Group and the Bad Brains and so on... - I guess my point is, you're right, the algos' rithm is not for us. but the options are growing. it takes more time and energy and effort and will. sometimes I don't have the motivation. but when I do, I am always rewarded with ineffable weird...
I wrote an essay for a difficult-to-define project during quarantine with some fellow activists and community organizers about re-decentralizing the Internet written very much in the spirit of this, though no explicitly so.
A true grassroots people-powered “social” media will emerge someday and we’re closer to it than we imagine. I even made it a plot point in my novel I believe so deeply in it.
Wow! This wakens something within me. I’m a writer, a late-diagnosed autistic adult, and a weirdo. I don’t write for the algorithm or for money, but I would say I have a way with words and a wild imagination. I would welcome connections with other weirdos like me; so far, though, it seems I’m too much of a weirdo—even for weirdos.
Us weirdos are wearing a cloak of invisibility - by choice.
Lately I’ve been thinking … Is it just me, or has anyone else realised that Substack is what blogging used to be in 2000? How quickly our brains have been numbed, dumbed and addicted to the fast scroll, or swipe 😘
Aldous Huxley called it a Brave New World. I think it takes more bravery to stay out of it.
Ah! You're the second one to say this (see Louise's comment). I'm getting the vibe that this feels a lot like the old blogging days and I'm here for it. :)
We are here, sitting sad in a corner. I feel this so deeply. Last year, I gave up photography, writing, and podcasting because I felt like I was wasting my time. Now, I am back in school to retool and pay my bills. It makes me sad to see 1984 coming to fruition; only the weirdos see it. I miss the 80s and 90s and the joy of it all. We truly had THE best years of this Country's life. Now, to stay above the depression. Headphones on. Sigh.
I empathize with this deeply! 💙
"We took for granted how good we had it because you had to be great to get a tape in a kid’s hands."
We sure did, didn't we? I'm not sure how I feel about getting older, but I sure am grateful to have been alive during that era of music.
We had it so good! Rock, alternative, grunge, hip hop. Sigh.
Felicia, I saw your great title and immediately felt compelled to lift my hand up: "Here, I'm heeeere!" *waves frantically*
I find Substack is really great for finding fellow weirdos, so hopefully this is part of the solution.
I hope so :) I thought Medium was it, but it devolved into a race to the bottom. sadly.
Yeah, I like Medium but at least right now, Substack is more my crowd. I'm really glad I moved here.
from my non-lofty perch of weird Black 66 yo...yup, 80s/90s was an amazing musical time, even for someone like me whose first 45 was the Jackson 5 'I Want You Back', whose internal monologue rolls with 'Ball of Confusion', Sly Stone and the Dells and later the Moody Blues and Warren Zevon and the Allman Bros and the Eagles (yeah, I know, don't care, they had some tunes), who danced around my lace-curtain Black lower middle class living room to Classical Gas played on the huge old wooden stereo console, who ran away to the East Village to fall in love with the Patti Smith Group and the Bad Brains and so on... - I guess my point is, you're right, the algos' rithm is not for us. but the options are growing. it takes more time and energy and effort and will. sometimes I don't have the motivation. but when I do, I am always rewarded with ineffable weird...
I wrote an essay for a difficult-to-define project during quarantine with some fellow activists and community organizers about re-decentralizing the Internet written very much in the spirit of this, though no explicitly so.
A true grassroots people-powered “social” media will emerge someday and we’re closer to it than we imagine. I even made it a plot point in my novel I believe so deeply in it.
That sounds wonderful!
Wow! This wakens something within me. I’m a writer, a late-diagnosed autistic adult, and a weirdo. I don’t write for the algorithm or for money, but I would say I have a way with words and a wild imagination. I would welcome connections with other weirdos like me; so far, though, it seems I’m too much of a weirdo—even for weirdos.
Us weirdos are wearing a cloak of invisibility - by choice.
Lately I’ve been thinking … Is it just me, or has anyone else realised that Substack is what blogging used to be in 2000? How quickly our brains have been numbed, dumbed and addicted to the fast scroll, or swipe 😘
Aldous Huxley called it a Brave New World. I think it takes more bravery to stay out of it.
Thanks Felicia for helping me feel less alone.
Ah! You're the second one to say this (see Louise's comment). I'm getting the vibe that this feels a lot like the old blogging days and I'm here for it. :)