April 28, 1997

What's a Oblivion?

"What's a Oblivion?"

--random X'er on ISCA


For some reason, I get a lot of questions about why I chose the name Oblivion. In case you do not have a firm grasp of the English language, like the fellow who asked me the above question, my dictionary said "a oblivion" is:

n. 1. The condition of being completely forgotten. 2. Forgetfulness.

My German Dictionary has this to say about oblivion:

Vergessen (heit f).

I chose the name for a few different reasons, including:

  • It fit my mood at the time, based on meaning 1, above, due to my recent move to the boonies of Wisconsin.
  • It is a cool sounding word.
  • In a quote I really liked, but have since lost, S. T. Coleridge used the word "oblivion" to euphamize laudanum, a tincture of opium, which he was addicted to. The quote described the potion as "drops of oblivion." I wish I could remember more of it, or at least find the source, because the language was beautiful. Yeah, it's an opium reference. No, I don't shoot heroin.
  • While sharing the above passage with a friend, for some reason he blurted out, "Oblivion chip cookies!" I found the phrase and the concept to be incredibly funny. So that further endeared the word to me.
  • In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Riff Raff and the audience have the following exchange which I find amusing:

    Riff: Say good bye to all of this. . . .
    Aud.: Good bye, All This!!!
    Riff: And hello, to oblivion.
    Aud.: Hi, Oblivion, how's the wife and kids? Your wife, my kids!


  • Finally, as Spangler explains his choice of the Sta-Puft(tm) marshmallow man to Vinkman in Ghostbusters, "It just popped in there."
Posted by oblivion at April 28, 1997 04:46 PM
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