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I started writing a simple blog post that was just a clip from a podcast that I liked. Then I searched my blog for a word and that led down the rabbit hole. A draft on pacifism from 2003. Another draft that is a copy of an article now only available on the wayback machine. Another article by the same author on the same site but that is still on the original domain. But the site has been squatted and looted by cannabis SEOers...
There are all these articles on CBD and THC with author attributions of famous internet people of the '00s and '10s. I assume they had articles on the original site. How did these spammers get control of the site, including the original content? I found the original creator of the site, it's on his LinkedIn, according to that he ran it for 16 years. Did he sell it? Has it changed hands, lost in corporate shuffles until landing at an SEO farm with a cannabis lobby client?
I think I found the author of that post I'd saved, but only on LinkedIn. It took some triangulation. He wrote some cool stuff in the '00s, but now it's mostly gone. That reminded me of my friend that also disappeared himself from the Internet in 2008. Now he's mostly disappeared from IRL as well, or at least from my real life. Maybe he just has new friends.
I went and read some of his old posts on the wayback machine. I saw my site in his blogroll, my band in his link list. His posts were prescient, thoughtful, informed, they felt important. Now they're only on that archive. I don't know how the thinking they represented has changed in the years since 2008, really. We've talked and hung out with increased irregularity since, now about 1x a year. I'm afraid maybe not again, as my more recent messages have seemingly not been received.
He posted some back then about selling out, having no viable path towards the ascetic writer's life he aspired towards. He made a lot of money in these intervening 2 decades. I don't think he has to work anymore, although like most things those kinds of details are kept secret.
Anyway, the rabbit hole was all very nostalgic and sad in a pathological way. These emotional journeys back through these archives are much more common in my experience than the intellectual, enlightening variety.
Now you can join the ranks of the illustrious
In history's great dark hall of fame
All our greatest killers were industrious
At least the ones that we all know by name
But you can reach the top of your profession
If you become the leader of the land
For murder is the sport of the elected
And you don't need to lift a finger of your hand
It's not every day your friend sends you a photo that is a selfie taken by Steve Vai, where your friend is standing between Steve and Tony Levin, with Danny Carey and Adrian Belew next to Tony.
Then again, I don't have many professional musician friends who have the clout to get invited backstage during the BEAT tour.
Delmar O'Donnell: But how'd he know about the treasure?
Ulysses Everett McGill: The blind are reputed to possess sensitivities compensating for their lack of sight, even to the point of developing paranormal psychic powers. Now, clearly seeing into the future would fall neatly into that category; it's not so surprising then that an organism deprived of its earthly vision...
Pete: He said we wouldn't get it. He said we wouldn't get the treasure we seek on account of our obstacles...
