The River: it's not just a tag anymore.

[mdlbear]

Somehow the River has transmogrified itself from a series of introspective LJ posts into a Project. I have a directory with a handful of draft posts in progress in it, a to.do file with half-a-dozen more ideas, and an archive with some 20K words worth of posts in it (since the end of May, and not particularly complete at that; a quick check with wget and wc gets more like 40K, but that's an overestimate because many posts with the tag are only partially on-topic).

It occupies at least as much of my time and attention as filk music does these days. I'm starting to think of a wiki, and possibly even a book. (A Year on the River?) ETA: Before you ask: Yes, I would protect your privacy and other rights if I copied The River to some other medium: comments would stay behind, and names and userIDs would be turned into something else. Anything filtered would be very heavily edited. I may be crazy, but...

I apologize in advance.

Comments

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

The River posts are fascinating and enthralling and insightful and sometimes turn things in my own head upside down. I don't comment much because I'm not at the point you are on the "I can talk about this in public" scale. But certainly don't apologize!

[mdlbear]

Thanks. Mostly I'm apologizing to my few remaining readers who miss my computer- and music- geekery.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

I enjoy all your posts, so post away. This is Your Journal, we're just here for the ride. If you turn it into something more concrete, that would be interesting. This is supposed to be a place where creativity can take root.

[mdlbear]

On second thought, I'm also apologizing to my family, for the time it's taking away from other important projects.

[maellenkleth]

hugga. What you are doing here is important!

[mdlbear]

*hugs* and greetings!

Thanks!

[mdlbear]

Important to me, certainly, and some other people seem to find it useful. It's certainly absorbing, and a great deal of fun.

Now that I think of it, it's an odd sort of fun that involves stretching my boundaries and facing myself in dark places. But it seems to be my kind of fun.

[carmiel.livejournal.com]

The book idea sounds good. It would be a thought provoking entertaining read. Let me know if you go that route. I'd want one.

[mdlbear]

Thanks! It's sounding more and more likely based on comments...

[brmj.livejournal.com]

I'd buy a (reasonably priced) copy.

[mdlbear]

Thanks. It'll almost certainly be CC licensed, so you'd be able to get it online if paper's too expensive.

By the way, how did you run across my LJ?

[brmj.livejournal.com]

I should have figured on the cc license, given my experience with your songs. Still, I like to support people who are willing to use that sort of license when I can, so I hope to buy a copy. I'm a student, but I should be able to afford it.

As for how I found your LJ, I'm not sure. I've been lurking here for a while, but I will try and reconstruct the chain of events as best I can.

First, when I was first discovering filk about a year or so ago, a Google search led me to some of your songs. I liked them and eventually bought your CD at OVFF last year. I think I ran into you in the dealer's room, actually. I mentioned that I had enjoyed your CD and you behaved in a way that I interpreted as kind of odd and rude at the time. Your river posts have done a really good job suggesting what was really going on, but that is a bit off topic. Anyway, at some point I went back to your website to see if you had any new songs, ended up looking around a bit and following a few links, and eventually ended up here. It looked interesting, so I've been reading it ever since, at first mostly because of overlapping areas of geekiness (free software, SF, filk and space exploration), but increasingly because I find it interesting in general.

[mdlbear]

Sorry about the oddness/rudeness -- I must have been distracted or something.

Anyway, welcome. What are you studying?

[brmj.livejournal.com]

I haven't selected a major yet, but I am looking at a computer science and physics duel major. Technically I am a high school senior but for all practical purposes I am a college freshman. I am in a program called PSEO, which basically means I take all my classes at local colleges.

[brmj.livejournal.com]

About the oddness/rudeness: If I remember correctly, you were a bit distracted. I think maybe you were reading something, but I'm not sure.

[tibicina.livejournal.com]

I think it would be interesting. And I don't think I'd mind you using any of my comments if you wanted to(though I might want to read it first).

Perhaps if you find you do want to use comments or concepts from some people, have them on your proofing list. I do like your original posts, but I think sometimes there is some interesting and valuable stuff in the comments, too. Just as another way to do it which protects people's privacy as much as they want it protected.

[mdlbear]

Thanks! There will be some kind of collaborative editing process, when/if it gets to that point.

[chaoswolf]

I'd help! I'm a writer!

[mdlbear]

You can help with editing, website, etc.; plenty of that to go around.

[katster.livejournal.com]

Go for it. I'm found the posts interesting and a bit helpful, even though I'm at a different phase in my journey.

-kat