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It's death

jesseduffield.com

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Re: It's death

#31

Post by jimmaswell »

freetime2 wrote: post #14

This story has a strong "life sucks then you die" vibe going for it. And the afterlife also sucks apparently (although I don't personally believe in an afterlife). Hopelessness and injustice seem to be the current zeitgeist - at least for anyone who spends a lot of time online. And I get it, there's plenty to be unhappy about. But my counter-argument is that it's possible to do things in life that you're proud of. An…

> why aren't there more people pursuing alternative lifestyles? Similar to the 60s counterculture.

I think the brony and furry community count for some examples. Brony community has been a major counter-culture since its inception and I truly believe it's had a measurable impact on gender norms and some other areas. Many of us see it as something of a lifestyle where it dominates the spaces we primarily engage in etc.

Furry is even bigger and easier to argue as a popular counterculture lifestyle, and growing all the time (record convention attendance every year).

They're also places where some other things like polyamory are more common, and much more LGBT/etc inclusive than average (which is less of a statement now, but they were both far ahead of the curve on that years ago), refreshingly sex-positive (at least the parts of the communities I identify with).

Personally all of those things apply to me and I love being a part of those communities. Brony community has been a hugely important thing in my life since high school and working on game development there was a big jumpstart on experience working in a team/technical experience. Furry I only started exploring more a few years ago but I've made a lot of great friends and met my current partners there too.

Brony's a consistent core of lifetime holdouts like me and a steady trickle of new people at this point, and furry's growing faster all the time - even the little bonfire meetup at a nature preserve I like to go to had a record smashing attendance on opening day this year.

Re: It's death

#32

Post by SoftTalker »

Yen wrote: post #18
avilay wrote: post #4

Can a kind soul write down their interpretation of the story? I didn't quite get it. [Edit]: Thanks for all the explanations!

I'm reminded of the lyrics from Pink Floyd's Time: "And then one day you find Ten years have got behind you no one told you when to run you missed the starting gun" The longer you live, the more tiny little mistakes you make. Things that at the time you could have done better, if you'd known, if you'd been a bit more careful. And these weigh on you, emotionally, pretty consistently. And while it's pretty absurd, in t…

I've accomplished nothing of note ever. Most people don't. They just live their lives, trying to get by as best they can.

Re: It's death

#33

Post by jadar »

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Re: It's death

#34

Post by chopete3 »

These kind of write-ups always try to bring one into their real world senses.

Few interesting observations

>> Ten years gone for the sake of picking a Netflix show Thats just Netflix. With kids 18 years go by just like that.

>> Nobody gets it all right. You’re born, and then you go through life making the choices that you think are the best given the information

This is said numerous times but can give wrong interpretation. Choices are what make the life. Life and choices are not parallel tracks.

Re: It's death

#35

Post by freetime2 »

jimmaswell wrote: post #31
freetime2 wrote: post #14

This story has a strong "life sucks then you die" vibe going for it. And the afterlife also sucks apparently (although I don't personally believe in an afterlife). Hopelessness and injustice seem to be the current zeitgeist - at least for anyone who spends a lot of time online. And I get it, there's plenty to be unhappy about. But my counter-argument is that it's possible to do things in life that you're proud of. An…

> why aren't there more people pursuing alternative lifestyles? Similar to the 60s counterculture. I think the brony and furry community count for some examples. Brony community has been a major counter-culture since its inception and I truly believe it's had a measurable impact on gender norms and some other areas. Many of us see it as something of a lifestyle where it dominates the spaces we primarily engage in etc…

While brony and furry weren't exactly what I had in mind, I think you're 100% correct. And also a great example of finding happiness in simple places. Whatever gets your juices flowing (figuratively speaking).

Re: It's death

#36

Post by ed_mercer »

canyp wrote: post #29
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to say it will be similar to the experience prior to birth / conception, ie. we were nothing, and to nothing we shall return. It's a scary feeling if you can grasp it. Grasping non-existence from within existence is difficult, I've consciously tried to do it and succeeded a couple of times, but it's fleeting and both times it affected my breathing and heart rate in a similar way to fear or panic or pain.

I go through that exercise of visualizing the void and it is fascinating and terrifying at the same time, especially if you do it before going to sleep. That being said, you can't just assume that existence is bounded by your living memories. You might as well have been everything instead of nothing prior to being spawned and you just don't remember it.

I've always wondered why doing it before sleep amplifies the anxiety

Re: It's death

#37

Post by kunai »

jimmaswell wrote: post #31
freetime2 wrote: post #14

This story has a strong "life sucks then you die" vibe going for it. And the afterlife also sucks apparently (although I don't personally believe in an afterlife). Hopelessness and injustice seem to be the current zeitgeist - at least for anyone who spends a lot of time online. And I get it, there's plenty to be unhappy about. But my counter-argument is that it's possible to do things in life that you're proud of. An…

> why aren't there more people pursuing alternative lifestyles? Similar to the 60s counterculture. I think the brony and furry community count for some examples. Brony community has been a major counter-culture since its inception and I truly believe it's had a measurable impact on gender norms and some other areas. Many of us see it as something of a lifestyle where it dominates the spaces we primarily engage in etc…

I thought bronyism sort of died out and that the furry community sort of subsumed it.

I'd also add that I think the increased self-ID of young people in the LGBTQ community is in and of itself sort of a means to access a sort of alternative lifestyle. Many of these people live somewhat hedonistic, bohemian, artsy lifestyles that disregard traditional notions of success or traditional standards and mores in relationships and love.

Re: It's death

#38

Post by Shellban »

jadar wrote: post #33

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Ecclesiastes is an interesting one. It goes chapter by chapter, trying to find meaning in life through process of elimination, trying education, hedonism, labor, and wealth. While some things (usually wisdom) bring about more joy in the interim, he declares that they all will lose their charm rather quickly. In the end, all joy from these will leave us before death. Solomon's last hope for fulfillment lies in the eternal and supernatural.

Re: It's death

#39

Post by albatross79 »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #27
smnplk wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And the afterlife also sucks apparently (although I don't personally believe in an afterlife). Why don't you believe in the experience after dying ?

I'm going to say it will be similar to the experience prior to birth / conception, ie. we were nothing, and to nothing we shall return. It's a scary feeling if you can grasp it. Grasping non-existence from within existence is difficult, I've consciously tried to do it and succeeded a couple of times, but it's fleeting and both times it affected my breathing and heart rate in a similar way to fear or panic or pain.

It's very easy to grasp, do you remember what it was like before your first memory? No? That's what it's like.

Re: It's death

#40

Post by aklemm »

hankbond wrote: post #9

I don't really get it, but still kind of liked it? I enjoyed the abstractness of the story and the disjointedness of the time aspects. I don't disagree with the salience of the point Death made but it kind of felt like an exposition dump in a movie. Not that I'm a good writer (or reader tbh) but I think focusing more on the first kind of writing and less on the second would have connected more with me.

It seems like a gem to me. For those who don’t “get it” just think about what it evokes and follow those thoughts. That’s all there is to it.
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