The Downward Spiral Diary

"I try not to judge other people's lifestyles too much and I ask the same. I work in the web design biz on adult websites and do phone domination (slightly more interesting then phone sex) at night. I am a writer, trying to find her voice. I live in a city that likes to take our hopes and dreams and use them against you."

That is quite possibly the perfect quote to start off this, the second installment of "City of Angels." We told you that it was perilous, and you mocked us. Now more tales from the la la land.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

The Downward Spiral Diary is rough reading, it's a keel turned on its jagged edge, the ship running ashore on a coral reef in deep grating blows. Some of the writing is 'rough shod' and further complicated by the lack of a 'cast' type page, at least one that is easy to find. A little patience and some thorough reading will allow you to root past these inconsistencies and find some interesting (if bizarre) reading:

March 30, 1999:

"If you are under the age of 18, if you are accessing Danni's Hard Drive from a locale that prohibits the viewing of nudity, or if you find pictures of naked women offensive, TURN BACK NOW. Danni's Hard Drive contains copyrighted and trademarked materials that are made available to customers of, and visitors to, Danni's Hard Drive subject to the Terms of Use."

Rubberduck

RubberDuckieEnthusiast or student driven to insanity? You decide. If you, however, can't get past the 'duckspeak,' you are not going to be able to parse the rest of Rubberduck. We'll put our nickel on your ability to jive with it, so let's get quacking.

Past Quacks, with three months of entries, Quack of the Day, and Recent Quacks (about five to six in this category), cast page and bio. The full meal (no duck meat) platter.

"Various scribbles written throughout the day: 3:25 p.m. (end of lab practicum) -- Cyclic depression. I am in the lowest level possible. I thought I heard someone calling my name for so many times today. I turned around and there wasn't anybody I knew. BAD practicum. Poor judgment. Lack of studying. Lack of sleep. Procrastinate too much. Homesick. Angry, bored and disappointed. Half suicidal... not enough guts Good.

One last quote from our dearest lab instructor, 'When I am watching people taking the test, I got bored, and very hungry.'"

Most of the writings in Rubberduck center around campus life (mostly prattles about the adventures of a second year college junior) but there is the odd entry describing something more.

"They bought me flower for secretary day, Canterbury Heather. It has tiny purple coloured fat bell shaped flowers. When you touched the flower, it's almost papery like. Tiny green leaves but the back of it is whitish. Hairy stems and leaves. It doesn't look as weird as I described it... I am just a poor describer. Never play win loose or draw with me, or worse... never EVER play Taboo with me."

Shine v2.0

404. Page Not Found.

Stare at this one for a while, and pretend it's one of those 'Magic Eye' 3-D puzzles. Unfortunately, AOL's 404 page doesn't really make for a hypnotizing or even religiously enlightening experience. Read further down this page instead.

A Journal of My Mid-Life Crisis

"I don't know what prompted me to read the obituaries. I don't pick up The Jewish Journal every week and, when I do, it's mostly for the calendar and for the personals . . while I don't read them often, I do sometimes glance through, looking mostly at the ages of the deceased. My excuse for this is that I am looking to prove to myself that Jews are long-lived."

Miriam's corner of e-space juxtaposes nicely against the previous highlights of this OnCommon. Miriam writes every Sunday more or less, and has been faithfully doing so, fast building up an archive that can be enjoyably perused for hours. There are several archives, each in different directories. Although the first time reader may find this annoying, it is easy to maneuver around with a modicum of patience and a little tact.

Miriam's writing is dry, but full of personal insight and thought. Thought that is mature and unrestricted, thought that instantly signifies what good journal writing or diary keeping represents. It is whole, expressed in long uninterrupted streams of expression that search the author's psyche and prompt the reader to ask of themselves important personal questions.

This Mid-Life Crisis may be more of a "Happy Journaling Accident." Accidents are nice. People passing by always stop to watch.

"There are a lot of ugly buildings in the U.K.. Westminster Cathedral commits a dual sin of being both ugly and not being visible for miles around. Bad architecture should at least make a good landmark!"

Next:

City of Angels, Part III. If you are a journalist residing in L.A., please consider sending in your URL for consideration in the conclusion of our examination of the writings of L.A. journalers. All submissions will be carefully considered.

And next? Who knows! If you have an idea that you are burning to see in OnCommon, please submit it using the link above.