For starters, I deactivated my Facebook a couple of months ago. I haven't regretted it. I didn't "advertise" the fact I was leaving it, I just did it (and I'm sure no one really noticed I was gone). Social networking isn't for me. I'm not the least bit interested in reconnecting with former classmates, past co-workers, etc. If someone is not currently part of my life there's probably a very good reason for that. Ironically, the handful of people from my past that I wouldn't mind staying in touch with don't use Facebook. Also, the minutia of my acquaintances lives frankly doesn't interest me. Constant status updates about every mundane little thing they're doing (the fact they enjoy coffee or that they changed their socks today) annoy me. I really prefer to keep at arm's length with a lot of people. And I really question the need for virtual "approval" from people. My mood has much improved since deactivating Facebook, and my productivity/creativity has probably doubled.
Obviously I've been following the final season of "Lost". Absolutely one of the best written and most ambitious shows on television ever. That's no exaggeration. If you haven't been following it you're really missing out (but you've got to watch it from the beginning -- in order!!!) Damn, I'm gonna miss this when it's gone.
Back in my university days I was very into jazz music. Not "modern" jazz; I mean mostly swing from the 30s and 40s. Lately I've been rekindling my love of old jazz. Recently I got some CDs to replace some of my old worn-out cassettes (this "Okeh" Duke Ellington double cassette set used to be a particular favourite of mine). I feel like there's a time & a place for certain music, sometimes it feels like putting on a comfortable old pair of slippers. I've been nagging Chris to help me do an electronic "jazz" album (old style jazz/swing/scat inspired tunes done all on synths with some triphop beats), and I hope to do some Duke Ellington covers. I'm not sure he exactly shares my vision yet. :) Ok its not everyone's cup of tea... but if it ever gets done it will be awesome -- trust me on this.
Recently I picked up an ultra cheap SD camcorder, similar to this one and I've been making videos. The image quality is pretty poor... but I guess that's part of it's charm. I have lots of ideas of future videos I want to make -- the only thing slowing me down is my lack of skill! Keep checking YouTube for updates.I won't mention any books or movies here yet -- I'll save them for upcoming reviews. Suffice to say I've been running the gamut from awesome to WTF lately...
Stay tuned!
YAAAY! You're back! I agree that FB is a large time-sink... I'm trying to wean myself off gradually. Can't wait to see your next sketch and video posts!!
ReplyDeleteGood to have you back! :)
ReplyDeleteI think I actually noticed that you had left Facebook. I totally get everything you said about it. Lately, I've been enjoying it, but I certainly agree that it can be very frustrating. What I find odd is that more than half of my "friends" are people I have not seen in years, or people that I have never met at all. Weird. I tend to have a very love-hate relationship with Facebook. Most of my posts tend to be about my interests....unlike most folks, I don't really like to tell people what I'm doing or where I'm going. I think in this digital age, sometimes people just know too damn much about each other. Sometimes I think we're all getting a bit too "connected". :)
I think social networking is good for (a) maintaining long distance relationships or (b) marketing -- whether the commodity you're trying to sell is a band, a product or yourself. But what it's generally used for seems to be substituting meaningful communication with just tossing around mundane remarks and web links at each another. Wall posts start to feel like a game of "look at me"! It's strange & sad that one can have hundreds of "virtual friends" and still feel like you're speaking to an empty room.
ReplyDeleteAh, who am I kidding? Really, I'm just bitter that FB just reminds me of how unpopular I truly am. :)
Social networking is the way of the future, though. I expect a time when everything we do on the internet(email, blogs, video sharing, shopping, etc) will be done exclusively via one monopoly site.