I've never read a.c., but large numbers of my friends have been regulars at one time or another.
And I am a fan of the books, and intend, at some point, to open a bar that would be something like that in reality.
And so I've been trying to pay a lot of attention to what a.c. does right, and what they do very, very wrong.
I'm starting to come to the conclusion that, while strong expression of strong emotion can be cathartic for a while, after a point, it simply reinforces the emotion, instead of releasing it. This is why many religious traditions have concepts of "mourning periods" -- you get THIS long to express your emotion strongly, and then, after that, it's unseemly to still be in INTENSE mourning.
From what I've picked up -- and this is all second hand or worse -- a.c. appears to be real good at the "expressing emotions" part, and real bad at the "ending the mourning period" part.
That means that you never resolve anything, and you just build up more and more free-floating angst, until the entire Bar collapses under its weight. Repeatedly.
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And I am a fan of the books, and intend, at some point, to open a bar that would be something like that in reality.
And so I've been trying to pay a lot of attention to what a.c. does right, and what they do very, very wrong.
I'm starting to come to the conclusion that, while strong expression of strong emotion can be cathartic for a while, after a point, it simply reinforces the emotion, instead of releasing it. This is why many religious traditions have concepts of "mourning periods" -- you get THIS long to express your emotion strongly, and then, after that, it's unseemly to still be in INTENSE mourning.
From what I've picked up -- and this is all second hand or worse -- a.c. appears to be real good at the "expressing emotions" part, and real bad at the "ending the mourning period" part.
That means that you never resolve anything, and you just build up more and more free-floating angst, until the entire Bar collapses under its weight. Repeatedly.