A Year Under the Bulb: 2019 in Review

Posted on December 25, 2019 by bulb

And so, 1998+1 has come and gone. The first official year of Somnolescent. The first year out on our own, our own hosting, in our own group. People came, people left, projects were started, and love blossomed.

2019 was a year of change, of growth, and of optimistic unease. It was the start of us as Somnolians realizing what we had and what we didn’t need. It was the year of itemizing fears and coming to terms with realities. (You might say it sounds dramatic and pretentious, but so is life.)

Don’t worry, though. We got a lot done that people outside the group can enjoy too. If you missed anything, it’s more than likely here. Continue reading →

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A Year Under the Bulb: Origins

Posted on December 20, 2019 by mariteaux

In all the chaos surrounding Somnolescent, lurkers, and people peeking in at our operation, I realized I’ve never fully told the story of Somnolescent leading up to its formal inception on this day last year. Believe it or not, the name Somnolescent stretches a long, long way back, all the way back to 2011 or so, and it’s been a tale of abuse, betrayals, and triumphs ever since. I kinda wish I was joking.

Should I be sharing some of this? Who knows, but I’ll do it anyway. If you’ll allow me a few paragraphs to ramble, I present the official, messy, canon history of Somnolescent as it well and truly happened. Continue reading →

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caby rambles, as requested by a badger boy

Posted on December 19, 2019 by caby

Wanted to write something for the big event, and after like 3 attempts, I decided I should probably quit rambling about vague nonsense and instead concentrate a bit more on how Somnolescent has helped me kick a seriously unhealthy issue of mine. Continue reading →

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Reflections (and Reveries)

Posted on December 14, 2019 by dotcomboom

It’s your local four-portraited lad, dcb. I’ve been here for a full year now, and it’s time to reflect a bit. Continue reading →

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Borb comes to ramble about things

Posted on December 9, 2019 by borb

Hey, its Borb! Your local hyperactive, alien gremlin!

Were steadily approaching the anniversary of, not just the site network, but the anniversary of the group coming together properly as a whole! As I’m considered a senior member, I figured I’d give my input on this special occasion by telling ya’ll a story. I’m gonna do my best to not kill any souls who dare to read this segment by not talking for too long about each topic. Continue reading →

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Emergency WordPress Migration Completed!

Posted on December 9, 2019 by mariteaux

Like the 24-hour flu, Letters from Somnolescent recently underwent its own 24-hour bit of chaos and peril after Nucleus (our old CMS) decided to test my patience. I planned to migrate us to WordPress next year, but given the circumstances, I couldn’t risk people not being able to log in.

If you’re reading this, it’s already complete. We’re on WordPress. Continue reading →

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A Year Under the Bulb: An Ode to DreamHost

Posted on December 6, 2019 by mariteaux

As you might be aware, when Somnolescent first got a web presence, it did so under a little site called Neocities. (No link, doesn’t deserve it.) As casual web hosting, it’s…fine. It’s hard to get excited about its lack of features, its style-over-substance presentation, how broken it really is, the abysmal Supporter’s plan, and especially its community, but for just getting a website online, it’s okay.

For our needs, Neocities wasn’t about to satisfy. We needed something sturdier, something with a better featureset, better support, and people who give a shit at the helm. The search didn’t last long, and the choice for us was pretty clear: only DreamHost would do. And we love it.

Over the past year, we’ve had nothing but good things to say about DreamHost. It’s been able to support nearly every little venture and idea we’ve had so far, and we’ve had many. Frankly, for what we get, it makes Supporter’s look like a ripoff. Come, as I rave about getting far more than you pay for. Continue reading →

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11/30 – Inspiration (or Self-Defeat)

Posted on November 30, 2019 by bulb

It’s been slower around here leading up to the holidays, but still worth getting a small recap out the door before the rush of blog posts lined up in December. Oh, and we gotta talk about that… Continue reading →

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End it Someday: Looking Back on With the Lights Out

Posted on November 23, 2019 by mariteaux
With the Lights Out

It’s been 25 years, 7 months, and 19 days since the death of Kurt Cobain. You might remember him as the singer and guitarist for Nirvana, who later ended up trying pellet-flavored Pez in his greenhouse. He’s pretty much been canonized as the last great rockstar, and eh—I don’t care. I love Nirvana, but I don’t care.

It’s also been 15 years since a little three-CD-one-DVD Nirvana treasure trove of B-sides, live tapes, and rehearsals came into the world. With the Lights Out was the first official look into the home demos and leftovers that went into producing Nirvana’s three proper records. It’s a fascinating little document with a lot of history—and a lot of flaws.

Join me as I ramble about my history with the boxset, its highs, its lows, and where I think it sits in the Greater Nirvana Canon as a Sacred Text or something. Continue reading →

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How the Goldfish Man Changed My Life

Posted on November 2, 2019 by mariteaux
The day I swapped my album for two goldfish

My stepmom had a bookshelf CD collection when I was little. Young spergs have active imaginations, and I was no exception; album art was everything to me at 5. I probably spent more time staring at the cracked out, surrealist album covers and being confused, fascinated, and terrified than I did listening to anything at that age. (Redman’s Malpractice, whose blobbily-proportioned cover guy is still unsettling to look at, is a prime example of the weirdness I found in there.)

Of course, I knew just enough about CDs to know what they were for, and just enough about our family’s Athlon-based Windows XP machine to be able to listen to the odd album or two. Somewhere down the line, Counting Crows’ This Desert Life fell into my lap. It was bound to catch my attention; it had a man with a fishbowl for a head on the cover, how could it not? What wasn’t bound to happen was how important the album would become to me; in fact, it’s the first album I ever truly loved.

That album turns 20 today, and I’m feeling sentimental. No one else is looking back on it, so I’m going to. Continue reading →

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