Saturday, August 5, 2023

Wasted on the Way

 

I've been toying with the idea of starting up my blog again.

I stopped writing it in 2018 when I felt I had simply run out of ideas.  I was a little tired of writing about the fictionalized me - even though I like him a lot better than I like the real me - and I didn't seem to be able to hit the right notes to write modern day conceptual humor anymore.  

Simply put, millennials had taken over the hipper humor sites like McSweeneys and Slackjaw, and their humor is somewhat different than mine.  I like what they do but I just cannot match the comedic perceptions they seem to be able to so effortlessly toss off. 

Just take a look at the titles of a few of the posts on McSweeneys this morning: 

CAPTAIN AHAB’S THIRD HOUR PLAYING THE CLAW MACHINE AT DAVE & BUSTER’S


THIS SUMMER, I’M GONNA TOTALLY BANG EMILY DICKINSON 


I'M A FOUR YEAR OLD ON PREDNISONE, AND I'M ABOUT TO BENCH PRESS THIS POWER WHEELS



And me, folks, remember I grew up in an era when people thought Milton Berle wearing a dress was hilarious. 

Even though I think I wouldn't mind banging Emily Dickinson.


So I stopped writing humor and basically spent my time watching cable news and drooling over the numerous hot women reporting the news on CNN and MSNBC. 

OMG, look at Natasha Bertrand!

And me, folks, remember I grew up in an era when people thought the hottest babe on television news was Walter Cronkite.

But  some time has passed, and I have grown ever more acutely aware of some rather unpleasant realities:

There are so many things I didn't do, didn't say, didn't follow through on, and so on and so forth.  There's a lot more "didn'ts" than "dids."

You can't fix nothin' in the past.

Regret is a bitch. And in my case an army of bitches.

Yep, I am older now and there is so much time to make up everywhere I turn, time I have wasted on the way



So,  maybe I start writing again.  Ain't gonna cure any of the above but can't hurt.

But what about the name of this blog: Nouveau Old, Formerly Cute?

Actually I kind of dislike the name because it seems rather corny and overly cutesy to me these days and it sure isn't relevant for someone for whom 70 is in the rear view mirror and liver spots are their most distinguishing features.  But it's what I started with and I guess I'll keep it.

And maybe one day I'll write a post like:

 on bloomsday in 2023 i had an epiphany and now i'm living in the last chapter of james joyce's ulysses and all i can say is "yes i said yes i will yes!"


 

Nah, not millennial enough.

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

What about calling it "Liver Spots?" Something that tells you right away that you'll get fearless humor about aging and self deprication regularly woven into the mix?

Perry Block said...

I thought about that title but some guy named "Russell Gayer" already took it.

Anonymous said...

I had a crush on your fictional self back in the day. Write on! “Who cares if anyone is reading”, she’s says sheepishly while not writing in her blog. I for one, would like your blog self to finally get laid. You can make that shit up. And Russell and I will always read and abuse you. T

Perry Block said...

I would like my REAL self to get laid. But maybe the fictional self will. And if you still have a crush on me and have big boobs, maybe it will be with you.

Anonymous said...

See, you can still write humorously. That’s hilarious. Never happening but still … very funny. (.) (.)

Perry Block said...

Maybe that's true but I'm not sure there's much of an audience for what I can write. then again, maybe it doesn't really matter.

Perry Block said...

Didn't get the "boobs" emoticon until now, believe it or not. Now THAT'S funny!