mindstalk: (Default)
mindstalk ([personal profile] mindstalk) wrote2018-05-28 11:37 am

diary thoughts

Etymology from Wikipedia:

'The word diary comes from the Latin diarium ("daily allowance," from dies "day").[1] The word journal comes from the same root (diurnus "of the day") through Old French jurnal (modern French for day is jour).[2]'

Heh.

Logging is very different in origin, from the logbook on a ship, that records the ship's speed, as measured by throwing a log overboard.

There's debate as to what to call various things. Some say a diary is a daily record of your life, while your journal is more personal thoughts and ideas. I'd have said a diary is more personal, while a journal is more specific, like a scientific or writing journal. The show "Roswell" had one precious line for me, from a scientist-wannabe girl:

"I keep this diary, or really more of a journal, because journals are what scientists call their diaries."

I ostensibly kept a diary as a kid, but the entries were very sparse and minimal. I re-read it last year and was not particularly enlightened. Late in college I started writing down the books I read, and my expenses, and the former grew into a general life log. More of an event-record log or journal than an emotional reflections diary, though some of those.

The Diary of Anne Frank probably influenced what I thought a diary should be, and I've never kept up such a "Dear Diary" format, though it's tempting to practice writing "real letters" more than the abbreviated sentences of my log. Re-reading recently, I am in awe of her foresight in doing an initial infodump of her life and the people in it.

Logging or journaling seems to come naturally to me now. I kept a log at my old full-time job, and keep one at my current job. I took notes during various RPGs I've played in, one set of which I made public which helped the GM and other players.

I read about bullet journals recently, and it seemed like a neat idea which isn't very relevant because I do everything electronically now. Don't need a page index when you don't have pages and can just search for things. Some of the bulleting ideas could be useful; I already have a couple of my own.

I asked on Facebook recently, and only two friends spoke up about keeping a diary. I wondered later if Facebook itself, or Twitter or Instagram, acts as a diary for various people. Though for me privacy was always a key aspect, so such an attitude doesn't come naturally; posts are about reaching an audience as much or more than musing or recording. My travel posts are an exception -- long record of stuff, little privacy needed, showing off -- where my private log just contains links to my LJ posts.

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