#nerdstink

[nondescriptman]

Reflections of 2016

It is improper grammar to start a sentence with a number so this sentence is here instead to remind you that 2016 was a tumultuous year full of celebrity deaths, right up to the end. (Carrie Fisher, her mother Debbie Reynolds, and Tyrus Wong, artist for Bambi) It was a downhill slide into the widely publicized deaths after David Bowie in early January 2016. Harambe seemed to break the camel’s back and Trump’s win over Hillary Clinton was a phenomenal end to civilization as we know it.

There were some great things about 2016 too. I finished my Master’s. I think I got over my anger and insecurities, finally - although I am insecure that they are actually gone or if I just hid them with more distractions. I lost 10lbs in the last 2 months of 2016, at the height of the season of indulgence! But really, that end to the Masters probably means I won’t be writing much about my feelings about the books I read. I should, though. Perhaps that will be my 2017 resolution: to continue to write my thoughts and feelings with the books I will still read. It will be a way to keep up with the Reason and Passion project that this Master’s program has started within me.

So I am in the process of re-reading a book right now. It is Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. I am not sure how I feel about it a second time. I am quite annoyed at the way the neo-Victorians speak. It is too “mi’lady” like. Instead of thinking of the characters as having stronger moral character and politeness, I find their round about conversation to get in the way of the conversation. It is a part of me that I find I need improving so to read characters who are acting in the way I dislike about myself is difficult. I also really get a bad “nerd-stink” vibe from the neo-Victorians. I might remember that Hacksworth eventually become a patchouli-smelling hippie in Cascadia but that could be a different book too. Maybe Stephenson wants us to dislike the neo-Victorians. It is clear that the protagonist is Nell, who learns through the Primer, to be a strong direct queen?

I think the steampunk sub-culture isn’t for me, that’s all. Still, I want to read about Nell’s adventures again. I want to see if I can pick up little tidbits like Hacksworth was able to pick up Wordsworth through Finkle-McGraw’s recitation of poetry. I actually haven’t read Wordsworth. I will add that to my list of new things to read.