4 ms·

They tell us what it was like to be there. Personal memories can be made in innumerable ways. The absence of tickets doesn't mean memories, or physical represe

by dfxm12 2y ago

They tell us what it was like to be there. Personal memories can be made in innumerable ways. The absence of tickets doesn't mean memories, or physical representations of memories, are going away. As for academic interest, I have to imagine there's a digital repository of playbills or the information therein somewhere that's easily searchable. After all, these types of resources exist for other performances like pro wrestling and mixed martial arts in the form of cagematch & sherdog. I may not have my ticket stub from my first match, but I can still look it up by venue, year and the matches I remember. I can find contemporary news reports and reviews. This can be supplemented with web forum discussions and other social media, blogs, etc. people crave this type of discussion, documentation and artifacts that prove their fandom. I don't think they care about the medium.

chrisbrandow 2y ago
When my grandmother died, she had a little box of programs, a couple letters, and a few little clippings of newspaper items. It was such a special thing to discover. I can’t rule out that digitizing everything makes such moments impossible, particularly with photo albums, but there is memory contained in physical objects that is not the same as just taking some time to remember.
- dfxm12 2y ago
  Yes, when I wrote "personal memories can be made in innumerable ways" & "I don't think they care about the medium", this is what I meant. Tickets, specifically, aren't unique in this regard, and the absence of tickets doesn't imply the absence of physical objects to contain memories.
Dalewyn 2y ago
Something I've noticed is I just don't produce or collect "I was here" type memorabillia, compared to people from older generations like my parents. Photos and videos? Nope, I don't even have a camera aside from the one in my phone, and the stuff in there are so forgettable I don't even know what's in there. Postcards, hats, shirts, and other "I was here." tourists' goods? Nope. I stopped buying them when I noticed they all just end up stuffed under nine layers of my closet's hell never to see daylight again. Waste of my money. Tickets and other "I paid money to be here." artifacts? Thrown out in the trash asap. See above; waste of space. In stark contrast, I do buy and collect things that enrich my present day. Books pertaining to my interests to line my shelves, hardware and software to satisfy my computing itch, and so on. Whoever has the unfortunate privilege of cleaning up my affairs (I have no children nor a spouse and don't plan on it) will unfortunately have no idea where the fuck I've been, but honestly I don't think I could care. I just don't see value in memorializing my past. I don't know if that's good or sad, but I certainly couldn't care less.
- dfxm12 2y ago
  In my experience, it's not a generational thing, but a personal thing. The best things to buy check both "memorabilia" and "enrich my present day" boxes. If I'm going to get an album, I might as well get it at the show. If there's a new book you want, check if there's a signing, etc. I usually give books to the thrift store after I've read them, but I'll hold on to the copy of John Hodgeman's More Information Than You Require because of the experience of getting it inscribed at a meet & greet.

by dfxm12 2y ago

chrisbrandow 2y ago

When my grandmother died, she had a little box of programs, a couple letters, and a few little clippings of newspaper items. It was such a special thing to discover. I can’t rule out that digitizing everything makes such moments impossible, particularly with photo albums, but there is memory contained in physical objects that is not the same as just taking some time to remember.

dfxm12 2y ago
Yes, when I wrote "personal memories can be made in innumerable ways" & "I don't think they care about the medium", this is what I meant. Tickets, specifically, aren't unique in this regard, and the absence of tickets doesn't imply the absence of physical objects to contain memories.

Dalewyn 2y ago

Something I've noticed is I just don't produce or collect "I was here" type memorabillia, compared to people from older generations like my parents. Photos and videos? Nope, I don't even have a camera aside from the one in my phone, and the stuff in there are so forgettable I don't even know what's in there. Postcards, hats, shirts, and other "I was here." tourists' goods? Nope. I stopped buying them when I noticed they all just end up stuffed under nine layers of my closet's hell never to see daylight again. Waste of my money. Tickets and other "I paid money to be here." artifacts? Thrown out in the trash asap. See above; waste of space. In stark contrast, I do buy and collect things that enrich my present day. Books pertaining to my interests to line my shelves, hardware and software to satisfy my computing itch, and so on. Whoever has the unfortunate privilege of cleaning up my affairs (I have no children nor a spouse and don't plan on it) will unfortunately have no idea where the fuck I've been, but honestly I don't think I could care. I just don't see value in memorializing my past. I don't know if that's good or sad, but I certainly couldn't care less.

dfxm12 2y ago
In my experience, it's not a generational thing, but a personal thing. The best things to buy check both "memorabilia" and "enrich my present day" boxes. If I'm going to get an album, I might as well get it at the show. If there's a new book you want, check if there's a signing, etc. I usually give books to the thrift store after I've read them, but I'll hold on to the copy of John Hodgeman's More Information Than You Require because of the experience of getting it inscribed at a meet & greet.