elisi | Misc.

Have spent the best part of the evening geeking out with Miss M. Have introduced her to March Madness (<-prelims), which she thought was an AMAZING idea, and then we found the BEST EVER SOKKA. His FAAAAAAAAACE! (Bonus ADORABLE Aang.)

Also I have finally worked out that Dreamwidth is Welwyn_Garden_City. This is both its strength and the reason I can't take to it. I love my neighbourhood where I've been for years (my first home!), nevermind the fact that for every step forwards, the infrastructure also takes a step back, and that the architecture is going downhill and that the public transport is expensive and rubbish. I'm obvoiusly going to end up like one of those people in a tiny house between two skyscrapers. And people will say 'Come to Welwyn Garden City, it's so nice!' and I'll say that I'm getting used to the crime. Plus, the inner city is more interesting, and it's where all my friends live... (I'll still moan about all the issues, mind you. But then I live in England, so that's just a normal part of life. Most things are rubbish, but we're used to that. Besides, it's OLD and it's OURS.)

Cue Buffy 'verse example:

I shall copy a bit of 'Buffy Summer's Diary' ("Older and Far Away" in diary form, if Buffy actually sounded like Bridget Jones.) The relevant part:

Immediately Xander and Anya revealed they had set me up with some Xander-friend. Gah! Had they never heard of self-sufficient woman of substance not needing men?

[...]

Was about to be Good Friend and inquire further about the status of her heartbreak, when Vile Spike appeared at the back door, beer under his arm and wrinkly demon Clem in tow. He looked so...Spike, all panthery and lean and v. dangerous and sexy. He was behaving like a regular guy, however, which I found desperately unfair, making it almost impossible to toss him out into the night like he deserved.

I didn't even get to try, either, because Xander brought in Normal Richard at that point. I had to go figure out parking, Xander becoming an immediate incompetent for the sake of his ploy. Normal Richard pleasant and rather beige, like tapioca pudding or similar.

DW is Normal Richard.

LJ is Spike.

I know he's bad for me, but... I have feelings for him. He's been around for a long time, and I do believe that he might turn out good in the end. I have no feelings for tapioca pudding. There is probably more to tapioca pudding than I'm giving it credit for, but...

(Please don't point out that LJ is now run by Corporate Evil. I'll throw W&H at you. Mmmm, Lilah.)

You know, I don't think I've ever used my 'quixotic' mood before. But for once it feels relevant. Oh LJ...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah, redirected by you to this conversation. All good points, except ... how does one turn a fake city into a real city?

With time. And people coming in and making it real, and developing neighborhoods, and giving it quirks. All cities need to really live is time and people - and all of a sudden, they're breathing and sighing and crying and snarling and loving and being far more interesting than one would have thought when all the earnest city planners were going on about bingo nights and garden walks.

If the people don't come and work with the city, the poor thing can't live, can't be rescued from the city planners.

And even then, it's amazing the kind of shadows that even the most well-designed boxy house can throw at sunset.

I notice a divergence in the analogies and similes and such that we use. You tend to compare LJ and DW to a person, while I tend to compare it to a place where people can be. I'm not sure if that points to a difference or not. Hmmm. My, it's good to think about, though!

Anyhow, the point for me is that places need people to become interesting. If they don't have people, the poor things won't ever become more interesting. (And here I see I'm turning my "place" analogy into a "person" analogy. Thus, the curse of the animist raises its head again. Heh.)

Also? Tapioca, as I mentioned to

promethia_tenk below, is frakkin' awesome!!!!

I notice a divergence in the analogies and similes and such that we use. You tend to compare LJ and DW to a person, while I tend to compare it to a place where people can be. I'm not sure if that points to a difference or not. Hmmm. My, it's good to think about, though!
Oh the people thing was just for fun - and to help explain my emotional attachment. Overall I very much see LJ as a town. LJs are houses, and you compose your own street by friending people.

All cities need to really live is time and people - and all of a sudden, they're breathing and sighing and crying and snarling and loving and being far more interesting than one would have thought when all the earnest city planners were going on about bingo nights and garden walks.
I definitely get your point. I just... don't want to move. I don't mind going across to the new town, but the sheer amount of work that's gone into my house is not something that can be transferred. Even if LJ does in time become completely unusable, DW will only ever be a copy. A nicer copy than the original, but a copy nonetheless. (Although it must be said that DW is very, very young. LJ at a similar point in time was small, friendly, had no ads and had just gone past the stage where you needed an invite code. DW might very well go down the LJ route... /cynical)

Anyway,

promethia_tenk reckons that the impulse to up sticks & look for something better might be an American thing... *points to icon*

(I have no idea if any of this makes sense btw. My head is in a funny place.)

I think it does ultimately come down to the sort of impulses you've talked about, the ones you feel. And, again ultimately, one goes with one's impulses. It's been rewarding to talk about, though, because it helps me better understand my own reasons and thought about not only LJ vs DW but what goes into creating community.

Anyway, promethia_tenk reckons that the impulse to up sticks & look for something better might be an American thing... *points to icon*

Perhaps she's right (although in my case, since I'm a Canadian who moved to the US because of an unstoppable impulse to be closer to the friends I'd met through science fiction fandom, I'd suggest that perhaps it's a Western Hemisphere thing. Heh.)

And I love that icon. Because the Brigadier wins at everything.

I think it does ultimately come down to the sort of impulses you've talked about, the ones you feel. And, again ultimately, one goes with one's impulses. It's been rewarding to talk about, though, because it helps me better understand my own reasons and thought about not only LJ vs DW but what goes into creating community.
Same here. :)

Perhaps she's right (although in my case, since I'm a Canadian who moved to the US because of an unstoppable impulse to be closer to the friends I'd met through science fiction fandom, I'd suggest that perhaps it's a Western Hemisphere thing. Heh.)
I'm descended from Vikings (born Danish, specifically). And now live in England. So... I dunno. I'm just comfortable with everything being a thousand years old? (Actually, someone observed that the US vs. UK split in worldview is very neatly illustrated in their main sci fi shows - wagon train to the stars (Star Trek) vs. scion of Empire travels through the universe (Doctor Who). There's definitely something there.

And I love that icon. Because the Brigadier wins at everything.
And so does his daughter. :)

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