In which I am a contrary old geezer

[katallison]

I am feeling rather aged and grumpy and out of swing with the hip kids today, for several reasons:

(a) I'm not doing the Yuletide Treasures/Obscure Fandoms thingie. For a variety of reasons, most of which have to do with my writing-brain's apparently implacable powers of resistance to doing anything to spec. There's a whole ancillary set of ponderings here (which I'm too tired to play out at length) about how fanfiction and the writing thereof often serves as a sort of social currency--writing a nice bit of smut to cheer someone up, or as a birthday present or return for a favor or something--and while I quite like it that people do that, it's not something I can really do myself. Because, ultimately? My writing is all about me me me me me, not that I necessarily like that fact, but I've learned that to pretend I function otherwise is fairly unproductive.

(b) Also, though I'm delighted everyone is getting to have great fun with scads o' new icons, and I'm enjoying seeing the results, I really am not a prolific icon person myself, and am perfectly content with my measly ten. I like having a single signature icon that I use on most occasions, and whipping out a few alternates only in particular situations or moods. Then too, making really good icons requires skills in compression, selection, and brevity--rather like writing haiku, or witty postcards--and that's never been my forte.

(c) Nix likewise on the audblog thing; a bunch of years ago I was doing an internship in a mental health clinic, and my supervisor was determined that I'd learn how to dictate my case notes instead of writing them, and I discovered how hellishly difficult it is for me to produce orderly, well-composed sentences when I'm simply talking into a machine. I ended up having to type out my notes, edit them, and *then* read them into the recorder, and that's what I'd have to do with an audblog entry, which would kind of defeat the purpose.

So you kids, y'all go on and enjoy yourselves, I'll just sit here on the front porch, rocking and clacking my dentures and taking a nip out of the brandy bottle from time to time.

Comments

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

I do that, too. Unfortunately, it seems to happen in the middle of conversations so I come off as being rather rude and kind of nuts.

Oops.

[katallison.livejournal.com]

Well, Jackie, of course you know you *are* kind of nuts, and I say that in the most affectionate way possible. *g* (And I reiterate, if that "Don't Worry, Be Happy" vid ever comes to pass, all the blame shall lie squarely in your lap.)