Dreamwidth account!

[merimask]

Thanks to the wonderful kelkyag  , I now have a dreamwidth account!  Yay! 

It's all shiny and new in there.  I'm still figuring things out.  I did manage to import all my LJ entries though, so that's good because I definitely wanted a backup for all this WORK I've done here over the years.  Holy cow...hours and countless hours of writing, it's incredible really when you think about it.

So I made a new icon just for the occasion.   Change is good.

In other news; Charlotte had another rugby game on Sunday and this time I was there to document!  With the camera!  And they won!  All good things.  I warned her that it would all be in my LJ, and so it shall...but I still have to upload the photos into my photobucket account.  That's going to take time 'cause I want to crop everything & make it pretty, and I got distracted by the Dreamwidth Shiny.

Speaking of which; if you have a dreamwidth account too, go ahead & add me as a friend!  & let me know so's I can add you back.  I'm a little clueless in there.   As ever, I am "merimask".  I came up with that name on a whim, SO many years ago.  It was my very first e-mail address, created the first time I ever used a computer, and it's served me well.  I remember I created it with an eye towards picking something that not only characterized who I was but also what I did, and at the time I know I had it in the back of my head; "this will be a great name for my business, if I ever have a business". 

And now I do!  And so it is.
 

Comments

Right Then

[madshutterbug.livejournal.com]

If some mad shutterbug shows up there...

Re: Right Then

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Gotcha! I added you too. ^_^ Slowly figuring things out in there...

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I don't really know why there's this sudden Dreamwidth trend...three of my flist opened accounts there within the past 2-3 days. For me, it would just be another place to be ignored. -_- I used to have so much fun on LJ, but basically now I might as well just email you once a week and have done, since you're basically the ONLY person reading/commenting. (People always say 'I know I don't comment, but I always read!' but I actually *hate* that. I don't care if you read, if you don't comment. What good does it do me? It's like talking and talking and talking and having the person you're talking to just stare at you blankly the whole time and then get up and walk away at the end as if they hadn't heard a word, or simply didn't care enough to respond.) In the past month I've made about 10 entries. How many people have commented? Let's see...1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 0.

Bleah. So...Dreamwidth holds no interest for me. I'm finding it hard to come up with a reason to continue posting on LJ when it's basically come down to me and one person (you) with no back-and-forth going on at all.

I guess after all these years we just don't have anything to say to each other any more because our entries always contain the same general stuff. I can think of each person on my flist and name about half a dozen topics that make up all they ever post about, myself included...and after a while you run out of things to say. I guess I can't complain since I have to same problem too, but...it leaves me totally uninterested in dreamwidth, since the journal I already have friends at is totally dead.

I take my internet life about as seriously as my real life, so it's actually rather upsetting. But I know most people don't feel that way. As Rumi once said, "It's just LJ." (Except it isn't, to me. LJ is the same as real life.)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

No, I totally get what you're saying. LJ is real life to me too. After all, I've made real friends here & met alot of my LJ friends IRL so, I think it counts.

Most days, this is all the social interaction I get, too. So...yeah. Very important.

Dreamwidth is apparently a sort of LJ spinoff, made by people who used to work for LJ but don't anymore because of all the censorship blah-blah kafuffle (which POed a lot of people & I don't blame them). I think it's a good idea in case anything ever happens to LJ. I mean, I've documented my LIFE in here. I'd hate to lose all that time and effort.

Also, don't leave LJ! I DO read your entries & yeah, we could just e-mail but the pictures and the public record is a nice thing to have in a visible space. Also, it's good for your business. Also, I'd miss you. ^_^

[kelkyag]

I can't speak for your readers at all, but for me, posts from folks far away from me who I rarely if ever see ... or for that matter from folks near me who I rarely see because I'm on a weird shift ... are much appreciated just for the value of staying in touch & aware of what's going on in their lives. I don't necessarily have much to say that's more coherent than enthusiasm or sympathy, so I often don't comment -- I figure my random update posts that garner no replies are my half of that conversation. Still, yes, sometimes it feels like throwing things into the void.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

That's a nice way to look at it...unfortunately I just don't feel that way about it. It frustrates me the same way it frustrates me when I send my best friend a long email, asking her all kinds of questions about her life...how is the baby, hubby...did she change jobs...how is WW going...etc...and she sends back an email that answers not a single question and reads almost like she didn't get my email at all. Just hearing from someone and *thinking* I may have been heard in return...it gives me no satisfaction. There has to be discussion, or for me it's just not worth it.

[kelkyag]

Unanswered email is vastly more frustrating than unanswered posts, especially if I asked specific questions. (That was not just idle chatter, I actually wanted to know the answers! This is a pet peeve of mine with a specific person or two ...) I'm so bad about keeping in touch myself, though, even though I *remember* people, that it feels unfair for me to be cranky at other people for doing about the same.

I think I'm aiming lower than you are, too, and still not hitting it.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I have finally given up replying to my friend's emails as promptly as I used to...it has NO effect on how soon she'll reply. However, I used to be SUPER attentive to my correspondence. I'd email her substantial emails every other day. I put a lot of effort into it and I still do, with anyone who gives me any return on that effort.

But my LJ friends I ONLY talk to on LJ, so posts that go ignored are no different to me than emails that go ignored. They are the only form of communication I have with people I consider friends, so if they consistenly don't reply, well... *shrug* Sure I understand why they don't, but as I said (perhaps to drriftwood rather than you, though) I don't care what the excuse is. At all. Even if I understand, it still leaves me in the same situation, and if the situation is just going to continue, I'm going to stop trying, because I'm getting nothing for my effort.

There's also the problem that I easily grow disconnected from people that I don't see/talk to often. I try really hard to stay in contact for that reason, but if people won't meet me half way, I just give them up...because after a while, I don't feel anything for them, any more...they feel like strangers, and strangers who ignore me, so... *shrug* That's just the way it is, for me.

I'm going to make an entry about it in my own LJ soon and then make a last ditch attempt to get people talking about new stuff or posting in new ways, to revive the activity on my Flist for everyone...and if that doesn't work I'll probably just post general updates once a month and not bother with LJ other than that, except to check Meri's, most likely.

[kelkyag]

On the speed of replies -- there's only so quickly I come up with more to say, even with people with whom I have a very low threshhold for 'things worthy of mention'. Or perhaps that's 'I resemble that remark' -- on both sides with different people.

It looks like you've gotten some enthusiastic responses to your "New formats, new content" plan -- I'm curious to see how that works out. Fabulous flowers for your gothic garden image -- bleeding heart is one I'm fond of, though I rarely remember the white ones.

... it's an interestingly effective nudge even though I *know* I'm not the intended audience.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

White ones are more Gothic...but I'd probably use a few of the pink ones, too, since pink is not actually, er...un-Gothic. Yellow, now. Yellow is about as un-Gothic as you can get. I was a little appalled when I tried to look up Gothic gardens on Google and got a pitiful return of images...and many of them contained red and orange flowers all willy-nilly. Perhaps they were referring to Gothic as an era rather than an artistic movement (or however it ought to be classified)?

I can always write a long email to my best. We always talk about the same stuff but it doesn't matter...we just want to talk to each other, even if we're only repeating ourselves. :) (She's a slow responder who doesn't answer questions but I still love her!)

[kelkyag]

Is some bright color out of place in gothic architecture? It's not a subject I know well, but I'm used to thinking of wildly colored stained glass windows as one of its features, livening up all that grey stone, and I assumed you meant architecture rather than modern fashion when translating to a garden. All the green of a garden doesn't fit my notion for the fashion at all ... though that could be a fine excuse for lots of plants with purple or red leaves. Ivy and moss work either way. Ancient half-dead trees ...

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I wasn't speaking of architecture but the general modern movement, 'Gothic' more broadly...I don't feel that "Gothic" can be limited to fashion (ie: clothing)...it's a lifestyle. It's a writing style, an art style...to me "Gothic", other than the old style of architecture (I actually lived in one of the four neo-Gothic cities in the world...Ottawa. It still surprises me a bit...I think the only thing that really qualifies are the Parliament buildings and the Chateau. I don't know what the other three cities are, actually, I just remember Ottawa was listed as one of only four of that type.)

Um, anyway, where was I? *reads* To me, Gothic means bringing out the beauty in things normally not considered beautiful. Dark things, unpleasant things. I'm not a Goth, that's for sure, but I do like the style, though for personal style (clothing, make-up, etc) I couldn't do it except as a joke. But I love the idea of continuing that style from the many areas it has spread to right into the garden. Black flowers, moonlight, old things...reminiscent of a vampire's castle, perhaps, where even the garden is always waiting for night. (I'm actually a daytime person...but like I said, I really do appreciate the aesthetic value.)

As for green, when it comes to plants, green is as neutral as brown or grey, so to my mind it fits *any* style, including Gothic. Though I'd like darker greens and white leaves and blue-ish ones...and of course coleus would be great...red and purple and so on. But yeah, I've got no issue with green in a Gothic garden; I see it as neutral.

[kelkyag]

Sense! I was picturing something totally different.

Green is perhaps my favorite color, and it's the one that leaps out at me as missing when there are many colors together but it's not there, which nothing else does. So even when it's the expected not-very-exciting background color, I'd have a hard time seeing it as neutral.

On the other hand, plants make an excellent contrast with things that are dead, decaying, or crumbling ...

Sketches. Maybe. After the weekend.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Oh, PS: You're up as early as me! Very unusual. But mainly...feel free to come participate, or just lurk and take the idea over to your own journal to participate, whichever you like. :) Only three of my ideas are actually about style/posting format. The other 30+ are content prompts.

[kelkyag]

I'm actually up late. I work second shift, and am often up until dawn depending on the season. (I keep saying I want to dayshift so that I can interact with the rest of the world more, but my follow-through has been poor.)

You've made the whole list already? I'm most curious.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Actually I had written a much longer comment that suggested that probably the only people up at the same time as me were ones who were up LATE rather than EARLY...but then I looked at your comment again, thought I might have misunderstood it, and erased the comment and went for something shorter/simpler. Lol. (I am exhausted this morning. I tried to reply to comments from last night on my LJ but I should have done it last night...they ended up coming out all flat this morning because I couldn't remember where I'd put my sense of humour. Turns out it was in the corner under the laundry and I still can't use it because now it's being washed.)

You see what happens when I internet when I'm tired?

EDIT: Oops, sorry. Yes. Made the list yesterday...will put it up today or tomorrow. :)

[drriftwood.livejournal.com]

Even though I am not on your flist now- I *have* to reply, just because I'm probably one of the people who has said "I know I don't comment but I always read". When I said that to you- I was referring to the one month that I was in India (in December) - I used to be super busy but made it a point to atleast skim through the posts on LJ to make sure everybody was ok etc. I always meant to comment but didn't always have the time (I did try to catch up on commenting once I got back) Ofcourse, I understand how you feel when people don't comment- It is sort of frustrating..I barely post and have very few on my flist, but even when I do post- not everybody on my flist comments- so I do know that feeling- you want your 'sounding boards' to say something back..lol (Oh and I totally get the LJ is real life thing- most of my social interaction is online too..)

Anyway- have fun when you visit with Meri!! (I am sure you will- meri is a suuper host!!!)

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I definitely wasn't thinking of you when I made this comment; I don't remember you saying that. Basically *everyone* who doesn't comment very often on my LJ has said that to me.

But the basic thing is...it doesn't matter why they don't comment. It doesn't matter how good their excuse is. I don't want to hear 'I don't comment, but I read.' Just as I said, when I hear that, all I can think of is talking to a person who just stares at me and never replies, no matter how much I want them to. It doesn't matter WHY they don't reply, it only matters that they don't. Especially when it's gotten to the point that only a single member of your flist can be called anything close to a regular commenter.

But yeah, I didn't have you in mind when I made this comment. It's systemic. LJ-wide. I'm not even talking about only my own journal...I find everyone's comments have gone down, almost. But I've been on LJ for four years...it seems like everyone is unable to think of anything to say that they haven't said before, forgetting that we repeat ourselves all the time in real life and people tend to be happy to have the same conversations over again in any case.