What’s in a name?
Ah yes. Tumblr, I find myself on thee. But how? And perhaps more importantly, why? What string of thoughts, decisions, and actions have led to this moment in which I find myself? Do you ever play that game, where you freeze yourself in a moment, and try to retrace your steps and find that you just keep going further and further back? Actions and reactions. It’s endless, really, though I suppose that can be said for just about any moment in life if you pull back far enough. But Tumblr.
You gotta start somewhere, so let’s start with the name - Sic Transit Charles. Two parts fancy pants Latin, one part yours truly. Naming this thing was a major hurdle, actually, and not something to casually bandy about or scoff at. Naming something is a challenge, like trying to strike a balance. So I stared at Tumblr’s sign-up page, my email address written, my password decided, my title… blank, nothing, zip. An empty space yet a crossroad of racing thoughts. Do I attempt to be witty, or should I aim for deep seriousness, with roll-your-eyes intellectual haughtiness on the side. How about bat-shit nonsensical to spite it all! Find me at 12y8518hfaos.tumblr.com, thank you very much! I was tempted by simplicity, perhaps the use of my initials, so very logical and practical. Spock might approve. Yet, a name for this kind of endeavor is a valuable opportunity to pay homage, and homaging is not to be wasted. Thus…
Sic Transit Charles. So Goes Charles. I’ll be upfront - I hardly know Latin, beyond its characteristics in modern English and its basis for Italian, and have no desire to pretend that I do. The sic transit comes from the episode title “Sic Transit Vir” in one of my dearest television shows, the sci-fi epic Babylon 5. Vir Cotto is a loveable, idealistic character prone to cringe-worthy levels of bumbling and awkwardness. Many others look down upon him, write him off, or simply don’t take him seriously. Yet he is one of the most courageous, centered, and responsible figures throughout the story. I love this character, and I relate to him dearly. Check one for homage.
There is a part two. So goes Charles is not far off from the noted, and oft repeated phrase in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 “So it goes.” So it goes. Used with irony, with a sort of gallow’s humor, when life gives out lemons, then drinks your lemonade, and all you can do is throw up your hands and laugh. So it goes. I like that, and lately I find myself in that kind of state. So it goes! So it goes. So. It. Goes. Sic Transit Charles. Two points for homage.
Thus I present to you the name of my Tumblr, or my blog, or whatever you call this. It’s a start.
