Distractions. Why can I see them now?
I got the TV about five feet away from my computer monitor. It's off now, but just a few moments ago, it had Family Guy on.
I could be entertained by that show for awhile, any good show for that matter, but for entertainment purposes forever? Do I just sit and watch as the world goes by as I sit at home and see things I could be doing?
For sure, I'm not the type to perform a Jackass stunt, but I mean how can one be entertained or truly depend on an artificial medium to stimulate brain activity for such a long time? Am I just looking to be easily pleased by 'artificially' being 'there' and seeing sights I normally would not be able to see because I'm 'limited'*?
For example: 24. Excellent show for its story presentation and the feeling of urgency. That every decision has a consequence and that every second counts for everyone involved. Good lesson to be had there.
However, is it absolutely necessary to watch this show? It has a great hold, but when one of my friend's comes up to me and says, "Yo, how could you have missed that?! It was freakin' amazing!" and goes on a rant for about twenty minutes talking about the show, I'm like "Okay, so what did it teach you?"
"Don't fuck with Jack Bauer." True statement. However, Jack Bauer does not exist in our area, he is not a part of the community, and he is not teaching me how to correctly do sentential logic trees in my class.
Of coarse, there is something some would say:
"Look, I'm looking to be entertained. What's wrong with that?"
Nothing wrong but does that mean you have to endure the pointless drivel that shows up on TV and swallow it whole like gospel? That you've got to be on every Judge case, every troubled Teens problems, every Soap Opera, every Sports Game that comes on... when you could be using your skills for something greater for humanity?
Then you've got the Internet. How many of us go on the internet, looking up random stuff that helps with our own individual knowledge and skills? How many of us could be learning a new language, building up a new power source, developing natural survival techniques, find out how a light bulb works, etc. but instead, we're looking up what a certain celebrity is doing, what game is coming out, what kind of new porn is out, what drama will unfold next season on ... etc.
A lot of what I'm saying is coming off as a rant and I'm sorry if it sounds off the wall without solid foundations to support it. Honestly, even by reading over what I'm reading and posting on this blog, it feels like I'm just adding more fuel to the ADD fire, heh.
I'm figuring this out as that once you adopt this artificial view to satiate the mind, the mind begins to drift and soon, it is not wanting to live in the 'real world'. It is too bleak, too 'realistic', all the characters are boring or too stubborn to understand what you want. Life is out of your hands. Creativity and spontaneity are driven out like outcasts, because with the 'established storylines' unfolding from a story, from a mythology, from anything really...
Well, when you expect something, you know it will happen. Knowing is power. Humans drive on that knowing. Of predicting. These stories of seeing the same kinds of people, the same kinds of stories, the same kinds of ideologies... they are safe for us.
Watching or using the internet for these areas give us a sense of control, a step out of our own bodies to view the world in the eyes of a spiritual being from above saying, "Whoa, what is going on here?"
But it's a lie, folks. Even I'm trying to get myself to believe that it is all a lie.
And the Truth shall set us all free**.
*: Use of quotation marks is a bit much, but for now, it's the way I'm going to make my point.
**: Being abstinent for a week can do much to your mind. This is a warning to those who give it a try.
I got the TV about five feet away from my computer monitor. It's off now, but just a few moments ago, it had Family Guy on.
I could be entertained by that show for awhile, any good show for that matter, but for entertainment purposes forever? Do I just sit and watch as the world goes by as I sit at home and see things I could be doing?
For sure, I'm not the type to perform a Jackass stunt, but I mean how can one be entertained or truly depend on an artificial medium to stimulate brain activity for such a long time? Am I just looking to be easily pleased by 'artificially' being 'there' and seeing sights I normally would not be able to see because I'm 'limited'*?
For example: 24. Excellent show for its story presentation and the feeling of urgency. That every decision has a consequence and that every second counts for everyone involved. Good lesson to be had there.
However, is it absolutely necessary to watch this show? It has a great hold, but when one of my friend's comes up to me and says, "Yo, how could you have missed that?! It was freakin' amazing!" and goes on a rant for about twenty minutes talking about the show, I'm like "Okay, so what did it teach you?"
"Don't fuck with Jack Bauer." True statement. However, Jack Bauer does not exist in our area, he is not a part of the community, and he is not teaching me how to correctly do sentential logic trees in my class.
Of coarse, there is something some would say:
"Look, I'm looking to be entertained. What's wrong with that?"
Nothing wrong but does that mean you have to endure the pointless drivel that shows up on TV and swallow it whole like gospel? That you've got to be on every Judge case, every troubled Teens problems, every Soap Opera, every Sports Game that comes on... when you could be using your skills for something greater for humanity?
Then you've got the Internet. How many of us go on the internet, looking up random stuff that helps with our own individual knowledge and skills? How many of us could be learning a new language, building up a new power source, developing natural survival techniques, find out how a light bulb works, etc. but instead, we're looking up what a certain celebrity is doing, what game is coming out, what kind of new porn is out, what drama will unfold next season on ... etc.
A lot of what I'm saying is coming off as a rant and I'm sorry if it sounds off the wall without solid foundations to support it. Honestly, even by reading over what I'm reading and posting on this blog, it feels like I'm just adding more fuel to the ADD fire, heh.
I'm figuring this out as that once you adopt this artificial view to satiate the mind, the mind begins to drift and soon, it is not wanting to live in the 'real world'. It is too bleak, too 'realistic', all the characters are boring or too stubborn to understand what you want. Life is out of your hands. Creativity and spontaneity are driven out like outcasts, because with the 'established storylines' unfolding from a story, from a mythology, from anything really...
Well, when you expect something, you know it will happen. Knowing is power. Humans drive on that knowing. Of predicting. These stories of seeing the same kinds of people, the same kinds of stories, the same kinds of ideologies... they are safe for us.
Watching or using the internet for these areas give us a sense of control, a step out of our own bodies to view the world in the eyes of a spiritual being from above saying, "Whoa, what is going on here?"
But it's a lie, folks. Even I'm trying to get myself to believe that it is all a lie.
And the Truth shall set us all free**.
*: Use of quotation marks is a bit much, but for now, it's the way I'm going to make my point.
**: Being abstinent for a week can do much to your mind. This is a warning to those who give it a try.
I feel that media as of late is doing its best to assuage societal concerns, while at the same time, perpetuating them. It's a double edged sword, catch-22 if you will. A curse of the information age. I suppose things have always been like this, however.