Friday, April 20, 2012

Rememorandom

Portmanteau is one of my favorite words.  I mean, juxtaposition is pretty exciting and all, but it's just temporary.  Now making a portmanteau, that's a completely different beast.  Takes courage.  Effort.  Mayhap an Elven forge and someone with wit.

It's been a long while, so a history lesson is in order.  The term "Rememorandom" originated in high school.  I've always considered myself artistic, and I've always enjoyed dabbling with the many different muses.  In high school I wrote a lot of poems.  They were awful and angst-filled, and I tried to capture emotions that I didn't necessarily have.  (I was lucky, I suppose.)  I wrote all kinds of these things, filling up a 5 Star notebook*.  In my young mind, they were brilliant.  They were things T.S. Eliot would be proud of, or maybe Adam Duritz.  I even created a GeoCities website and posted them on there, putting them out there for all the world to see, cause I knew they were powerful.

Then I grew up.  I went to college.  I matured.  I lost some of my artistic side as I entered Engineering School.  Rather, I drifted from poetry into something else.  In 2005 I decided, on a whim, to start a blog. I don't know why.  For some reason the word "Rememorandom" came to mind, and I felt that it was a good choice to fit my personality and what I wanted to do with my blog.
Remember:  I've kept a journal for so long I can't remember when I started.  I decided to switch to a digital format, using the blog as the source.
Memorandum:  According to Wikipedia, a memorandum is "a note, document or other communication that helps the memory by recording events or observations on a topic, such as may be used in a business office."
Random:  Sometimes a tiger will eat an elephant.  Sometimes a basketball will sink.  Once, I found a quarter with my name on it and there was no room for me in the Days Inn.
In addition to these things, a more focused blog emerged.  I began writing book reviews for myself, just because I enjoyed it.  I loved to read, I loved to write, and I loved to recommend good books, so it soon turned into something more public.  Now I receive free books from a few publishing houses (though I'd love to get in with the Big Boys), and I occasionally accept them from indie authors.

In addition to reviewing, I began adding original fiction to the site.  No real goals other than simply sharing output and craving critiques.  Maybe one of these days I'll be good enough to get a book written or something, but until then, this is my method of choice.

I enjoy the blogging community.  Online relationships are stronger here than on Facebook or Twitter.  This is why I continue with Rememorandom.

Lastly, I always get a chuckle when other bloggers mention my blog.  Most people tend to misspell my blog's name, usually putting REMEMORANDUM as opposed to REMEMORANDOM.  That O is important.  Without it, the portmanteau is reduced to two words squashed together and the randomness of my blog disappears.  When it's included, though, that makes a world of a difference.  Never underestimate a good portmanteau.

6 comments:

Diz said...

Definitely something catharsis about blog writing.

I started the Freebie you mentioned, The American Book of the Dead. It could be my current brain situation, but I lost interest. Should I push forward?

David Wagner said...

Gahh! All this time I've been spelling it wrong! Quick, Dave, think of a clever ex post facto reason for doing it... um...

Well, Logan, I spell it with a U because I like yoU better!

There, how's that?

I'll make sure I fix it, sorry for not noticing before.

Dave

David Wagner said...

Hey, to get back at me, you should change my link to "My Little Corner of the Wurld"...

Pat Carroll Marcantel said...

While reading this post I became entranced thinking "We're related. My parents never told me I had another sibling." But then I reached the part where you're off to engineering school. Sigh. Rememorandom me and I'll Rememorandom you.

ibeeeg said...

Oh shoot! Have i misspelled your blog name? I don't think I have since I know I check your blog spelling almost religious whenever I write due to fear of misspelling it. If I have, my apologies.

Hey...I like Dave's reason for misspelling. Good one.

logankstewart said...

@Diz: Uhm, if you lost interest early on, you may struggle to get through the book. It just grows weirder and more surreal with each plot piece.

@Dave: No worries, friend. You're not the only one, and it's a legit mistake.

@Dave(x2): That's genios!

@Pat: Ha! Perhaps we're all children of a strange and wonderful set of parents. Thanks for stopping by.

@ibeeeg: Um, not that I can remember, so you're in the clear. (I keep a tally sheet with personal info on those misspellers, that way that I can track them down and point out the errors of their ways whenever I'm a multi-billionaire.)