The Well Has Run Dry

Sing me a new song. Tell me a new tale. Read me some new words.

You really don’t have my attention.

I can’t remember the last time I did a double-take so I could marvel at some creative genius. I haven’t enjoyed a thoughtful, introspective television program since HBO’s ‘Six Feet Under’ ended (alright, The Sopranos was pretty good too, but more on an educational than creative level). I can’t count how many song remakes and remixes I’ve heard on the radio in the last five years – but I know when I hear an electric guitar rocking out a ‘new’ version of Cindy Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’ we are in a very bad place.

Call me cynical, call me jaded, but I believe that humanity has bled creativity dry and is now trying to pass off its recycled plasma as ‘the real deal’. In an age where scientists can clone life itself, writers and artists are doing a similar thing – cannibalizing each other’s past creations and infusing them with a slight twist, then pawning them off as ‘better than the original’.

Want to know the real reason behind the Reality TV craze? It’s a lot easier to just tape a lot of people being stupid on their own for entertainment than it is to think and create quality writing. Making fun of people never gets old (come on, you know the best part of ‘American Idol’ is when they show those terrible auditions…); laughing at people who hurt themselves never gets old (I think that’s the ONLY reason America’s Funniest Home Videos survives); and watching other people’s dreams get crushed so you feel better about your own failures is absolutely timeless.

But what about the children? How do they fare while we wade through the shallow pools presented to us? Surely there must be better things for the generations to come!

Well, at the ripe old age of 26, I remember a few things very distinctly – Ninja Turtles, He-Man, Strawberry Shortcake, Speed Racer, Transformers, Ghostbusters, and Alvin and the Chipmunks. I had the shirts. I had the backpacks. I had the puffy scratch-n-sniff stickers. And…wowee-zowee! It seems that I am buying these very same characters on t-shirts and backpacks for the younguns in the family every holiday! Oh yes, Alvin has a hoodie now, and the coloring in the new Ninja Turtles episodes is a lot more vibrant and crisp, but…c’mon. If I was only seeing these things in a Hot Topic, I’d most likely just chalk it all up to the 25-year-old emo kids still living at home desperately clinging to their childhoods.

But we know better.

I am not a creative person. Perhaps it may seem hypocritical for me to be sniping about these things here, since I don’t have the ability to do any better myself. However, my occupation is not creativity – I don’t get paid to have good ideas. I do pay for cable, DVDs, MP3s and books though, and as of late I really question whether or not I am getting my monies worth.

Even more importantly, I question how many of these modern artists have genuine talent or respect for the intelligence of the people paying into them. Perhaps they really don’t need to, because there are enough stupid people in the world with lots of money.

Just watch a reality show.

In Your Homes, In Your Heads

Hosea 4:6 – My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Slowly the veil is being lifted on all the government’s dirty little secrets. We can recognize secret handshakes. We know the real reason behind particular ‘laws’. We know that they are in our homes. Some of us are clever enough to put the pieces together and look at how the scraps all come together in ‘the big picture’.

What is already done cannot be undone. To rage and rally against the past is as useful as pissing against the wind. Events have been set into motion that can’t be stopped, even at the cost of your life. So now is not a time for rage and indignation. Now is a time for decisions – what can I do with what is left?  How can I salvage my little piece of the world? How can I help others?

The key to successfully moving forward is to leap backwards.

We, humans, were not always living as we do now. The ‘information age’, the ‘look at me’ generation, the instant gratifications and communications. The things we have been coaxed into depending on are the things that ensnare us. Your cell phone tracks you. Your internet surfing profiles you. Your grocery store ‘club card’ gathers information on how to best poison you. Your passport traces you. Your vehicle tracks you. Cash is becoming obsolete because plastic leaves a paper trail that is far superior.

The key to living in these times with some measure of privacy is to stay off of the ‘grid’ as much as possible. Keep your cell phone off unless you are using it at that moment (and if you can get away without having one at all, that is even better). Try to be old-fashioned about your purchases – save up and pay cash whenever possible rather than charging. Speak face-to-face whenever possible rather than sending e-mails or making calls. Utilize public transit if you can. Shake up your schedule – don’t go to the gym at the same time, same days of the week. Don’t purchase pre-built computers such as offered by DELL and HP – buy the components and build it yourself (or, have a trusted friend put it together for you if you can’t do it yourself). Never leave webcams or mics connected to your PC unless they are in use. Keep your television/stereos off unless they are in use. Use your vehicle only when absolutely necessary (this will also help with the awful prices of fuel). Protect yourself from the garbage that is put in your foods by eating as simple as possible – buy your base ingredients and make as many things from scratch as you can. Try to avoid getting caught up in the public medical system – keep your body fit and healthy so only serious illness or injury will bring you down. Contact old relatives and ask them about home remedies they used to use years ago and implement them into your household (90% of sicknesses can actually be fought with readily-available components rather than prescriptions).

Self-sufficiency should be the goal of anyone looking to live a peaceful life that isn’t held ransom by the elite few. As it is a ‘goal’, don’t feel bad if you are not there yet, or not even close to it. It’s something to work towards as you get through life as it is now.

Learning how people used to live before we entered the digital age is key. The very thought of living simple and ‘backwards’ like that is repulsive to many, or overwhelming. The powers that be don’t have adequate contingency plans for people who think that way or choose to live that way. They can’t keep tabs on simple people. They can’t trace them.

There is still so much to learn.

The Still Life

I didn’t know what else to title this first entry. I wanted something witty and clever, something to really grab everyone’s attention and make them take notice – but then I decided that that’s not what this is about. This world is screaming to get your attention with neon lights, billboards, loud music and flashy magazines. I don’t want to add to that noise.

 

If anything, I want to turn down the volume. I want to sit with you in a quiet place, share a pot of green tea, and speak in hushed tones. I want to pause and think before I give answers, and I want to answer as simply as possible. If I have nothing meaningful to say, then I want to share companionable silence.

 

I want the chaos to stop. I want the waters to be calm and smooth like glass.

 

There’s more to life than what we are seeing and feeling. And I’m finding more and more every day that those invisible things are what matter most.