Fin
I’m going to assume that my coauthors and readers will agree that Fantastiko has, unfortunately, lost much of its momentum over the last month or two. So, I’m going to do myself a favor—for piece of mind and sense of closure—by shutting it down.
It’s easy to take this blog too seriously and also to unfairly dismiss its usefulness. For my own benefit, let me take a moment to justify its existence and to review our efforts.
Originally, Fantastiko was published as a platform to help us all get through the election aftermath. I only want to speak for myself here, so I’ll just say that it did a hell of a lot, for me, to accomplish this goal. It served its purpose: to provide a cathartic, responsible, and knowledgeable forum for social commentary. Spending hours articulating arguments that are usually found swimming aimlessly in the dangerous waters of political thought was necessary, constructive, and surprisingly enjoyable. I had a good time. I must admit that my views have changed on some things. On others, I find myself feeling even more enthusiastic to fight for than ever before. The exercise of publishing ideas really forces us to think about what we’re thinking—to think critically and honestly in an exceptional manner. This is a good thing and I thank everyone for participating, whether you posted every day or just read along.
By the way, I’m surprised by how much response I’ve seen over the past six months. Some readers visited for short periods, coming and going sporadically, and some stuck it out while commenting on just about every post (hats off to Chris, JB, Guille and the other regulars). I know that many of you, especially the Bozzolos, read regularly without posting, which has not gone unnoticed and unappreciated.
I hope to see some of you become bloggers some day. I’m going to leave Fantastiko up until the Blogger Gods take it down. If you get bored, take a trip back in time and skim over the 57 topics at your leisure. Alex's blog is alive and well, continuing to allow for personal reflection and lively debate. You will certainly see me there.
In the end, I can’t express enough how good this project made me feel. Despite its limited audience and complete lack of exposure outside of Google, a few links (thanks to Alex and MKD), and word-of-mouth (thanks to everyone for sharing the site with others), it made me feel empowered in a time when I usually find myself feeling somewhat vulnerable. I’m breaking into a new career in public policy these days. I sometimes find myself feeling a bit out of my element when I’m in public policy discussions, but this project helped me build confidence. I’m on my way to DC this summer and I have you all to thank for helping me get there.
But that’s not really the point. The point is we did what we meant to do. We managed to hold an interesting and valuable conversation. I think we showed ourselves that it can be done and that it’s worth doing.
Take care,
Nan
posted by The Decider @ 10:37 AM
7 Comments:
Oh man! That's too bad, but understandable. I feel largely responsible for its demise, since, as a contributor, I didn't do much real posting.
You're right, Nan: Fantastiko definitely served (me, at least) as an outlet for the articulation of thoughts that would have otherwise not been fully investigated and just festered. Calling Bush a wet fart, among other things, in venue that ANYONE can read was exhilirating! However, to be honest, it was for that same reason--the generally unknown audience--that I had a hard time mustering the courage to post more often. I guess my 'stage fright' translated here, which is too bad--something I need to overcome!
"Wasn't it so deliciooouuuus?
Wasn't oh so serioso-kay."
--Hernan Bozzolo
Clap. Clap. Clap.
I'm not clapping it out. I clap because I cry.
Man!!! I feel responsible since it was because of people like me that Fantastiko is reaching its "Fin". Although I managed to read it regularly, though not so much in the last few weeks, I really didn't do quite well in the posting comments arena. Sorry, Nan et al. if this came across as lack of interest, because trust me, it was not. Every time I clicked on Fantastiko, I left the site more and more amazed at the level, the intensity and the overall quality of the postings. In addition, it made me feel proud of all of you (mostly my children) and the tremendous communicating ability as well as the clarity of thoughts and opinions. I have to also add that you all managed to touch many topics, all of great controversy. You all showed to be extremely informed and of course, educated. But especially, you were all very respectful of everybody’s opinions. Congratulations to everybody. You gained my undivided respect and because of that, I salute you!
Nan, this was a great idea. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Mom
Nan-
I'm sad you are shutting down Fantastiko, but glad you are coming to DC. We usually do a party around Memorial day. It's my son Max's birthday, but we usualy invite family and friends and make it a barbeque.
Two years ago we got JB to do a shot of tequila. Can you say "Cheap Date?"
In any case, it has been fun shooting the breeze, bull, and more than a little excrement with you here. I'm looking forward to meeting you in person.
You are always welcome to come over and damage my wine rack.
-Chris
As a rare contributor and frequent reader myself, I agree that Fantastiko was a worthwhile experiment.
For my part, it was an exercise in two things: hearing and developing arguments that I've felt lately but haven't been able to articulate nearly as well as has been done here, and second, to hear from readers I disagreed with but whose thoughts and experience were often too developed and well spoken to be dismissed easily, the way I normally do.
Minds may not have been changed dramatically on the issues we discussed here, but it was certainly a special kind of dialogue; I can't help but think that if more of our fellow citizens were expressing themselves and being given the chance to consider other opinions as earnestly as has been done here, (rather than the usual flame-throwing) we might eventually stem some of the line-drawing divisiveness that's come to define politics and public discourse at the moment in this country. We'll never know, I suppose.
Lastly, I'd like to express my gratitude to Nan for sustaining the action here as long and as well as he has. What a champ. When blogs have become a quaint relic in the history of our times, by gosh, you'll be able to tell your children that you were there, where the action was.
I look forward to having more of these discussions elsewhere in the blogosphere and even in "real life".
Thanks everyone.
I think Congress should intervene and declare the demise of Fantastiko unconstitutional. Having earned some Fantastiko reputation as 'the thread killer' (just see how many topics died a sudden death after a Guille posting!), I DEMAND further opportunities for us, the unheard majority, to express our views and thoughts...Please, Nan, reconsider! I'm still dealing with the Beatles split, premature, sudden, sooo wrong, and now THIS??
Anyway, you all did an amazing job but I'm sure that this is not the end. The same way that the election prompted you to start this forum, I have the feeling that future events will give you even more reason to restart Fantastiko...
Guille
...after a few days of Fantastiko's demise...I still come back hoping to find this place active again...Anybody home? No?....So that's it? Really?
:(
Guille
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