One Last Ridiculous Idea

Call me sentimental, but I like to look back sometimes and reflect on the past.

Long ago I learned that you can never go back home again. The past is in the past. Things change, and what’s left are only cherished memories. Life moves on. People grow. But as much as possible I try to be glad for the experience, instead of being sad about the loss.

As a result, you would think I would be better about taking pictures. But I’m not. And forget about scrapbooking. It’s just not in me. Growing up, we always had a drawer jam packed with family photos that were intended to go into albums. I don’t think that ever happened.

My own photographs are mainly of food. But there are some shots of kids, family, and cherished friends scattered about. However they are all trapped on devices, old dusty corners of the internet, and backup hard drives. These are the photo drawers of the modern age, where memories go to die.

Okay, that got dark pretty fast. I mention all of this, because there may be one last chance to save a memory of the golden age of Capital Region food blogs. But to do it, I’m going to need some help.

It’s not that blogs are dying, so much as it is that people are moving on to other things.

People who may have once chronicled their hobbies with words are now producing content in the form of pictures, audio, and video. Instagram, podcasts, and YouTube channels are the new hot things. Personally, I’m just not into them. What can I tell you, I’m old fashioned.

One of my favorite regional food blogs was the Ridiculous Food Society of Upstate New York. And while I never met the mysterious Mr. Dave, those who read his words really had a sense for the guy and his deep deep love of the region and its culture. He and I were at different ends of an ideological spectrum.

I really thought despite its mediocrity the Capital Region could be great.
He thought it was pretty damn great already, because of its mediocrity.

A good example of this was his love of comb-bound church cookbooks, and the treasure trove of recipes that were a reflection of simpler times with more modest tastes. There was no irony in any of this. He did not love it because it was anachronistic. His love was based on the sense of time, place, and history the recipes conveyed. Or at least, that has been my reading of his position. Surely, Mr. Dave will say I’ve been overthinking this once again, and the truth is something much simpler and far less fussy.

Anyway, once again, The Ridiculous Food Society has been taken down. And this time I don’t think it’s coming back. At least in an electronic form.

This is where I need your help.

Before Mr. Dave changes his mind, he seems to have bought into an idea proposed by @Bullmooser12 which was to produce a “printing of ‘the best of the ridiculous food, blog’ but the books would need to be spiral bound, and surreptitiously blended into the gorp of church rummage sales.”

So what I’m looking for is a volunteer editor and graphic designer who have the time and the inclination to make this happen.

Mr. Dave himself wants nothing to do with it. But he does seem willing to provide someone with the digital assets. The idea is that it’s not going to exist on the internet anymore. And that sales of the book should benefit some local cause. He suggested Albany Society but maybe you have other suggestions.

As soon as I heard this idea, I realized it had to happen. Mostly because I would pay cash money for such a treasure trove of past Ridiculous Food Society of Upstate New York posts, especially in the form in which they were truly meant to be enjoyed… even if Mr. Dave didn’t realize it at the time.

Who’s with me?