It's fairly juvenile of me to feel this way, but I was pretty amused to see this in his footer:
"Did you know you can write your own about section just like this one? It's really easy. Head into the the Titan Options menu and check out the footer section. Type some stuff in the box, click save, and your new about section shows up in the footer.
Wondering about those Flickr photos on the right?
We didn't take them, they are a random sampling of the most popular photos on Flickr with the tag 'nature'. All rights are reserved to the original copyright holders where applicable."
Using an off-the-shelf wordpress theme in service of protesting an off-the-shelf life. And at the same time randomly sampling other people's actual creative work.
Though I feel this piece shines a useful light on the harmful nature of certain aspects of the culture promoted in commercial media, this is different from how real people live their lives, ignoring the individually empowering influence of the internet, along with other forms of decentralized communication. While the piece helpfully defines the motivations of various commercial entities marketing their products to us, it seems to discount the value of those services as sources of inspiration (if not convenience) to us, and to understate the individual will and ability to oppose the detrimental aspects of this culture.
It would be easy to spend a week-day at home watching daytime television, and come away from it with the impression that our culture is toxic, but that would be exaggerating the accuracy of this supposed window into our culture. Reality is much more complex.
If people want to cook, they can cook. There's plenty of raw ingredients at the supermarket, and no shortage of cookery TV programs, books, magazines and websites.
Similarly, you can find a great deal of resources on all sorts of activities. Want to catch a fish? Learn a musical instrument? Write a novel? At no point in the whole of human history has it been easier to learn a new skill.
And it's not like these cookery programs are put on to an empty audience. If no-one was buying all these books and magazines and watching these TV programs, they'd stop being produced.
So it's not that people aren't doing things; it's that they are being selective about what they do, because modern life allows them to be selective. People are free to buy the things they don't want to spend time making, and instead use their time to do the things they want to do.
And this is GREAT. No, I'll never be great at a musical instrument because I don't want to take the time to do it. But other people will be, and the music they make will be much better than anything a bunch of dilettantes sitting in a park can strum together with their three guitars and a bongo.
Dude, somebody needs to go see a psychologist, and possibly get on some anti-psychotics to deal with their rampant inner critic.
You want free hobbies? Become a writer. Code web apps. Borrow books from the library and read them. Volunteer at a homeless shelter. Go bird watching. Learn how to sing.
nothing is stopping you from trying new things
Just cause someone, or even a lot of people are trying to sell you things, doesn't mean you have to buy it.
I'm not anti-business. I think businesses are important, I think getting paid is important, and I think creating products that help people is good. Read a little deeper.
From their homepage: "SproutRobot tells you when to plant & sends you seeds." So it's helping you to garden, not taking control away from you.
They're heirloom seeds too, rather than hybrids, so you can let some of your plants go to seed and replant next season. Again, it's not taking control away.
I found the post well written, compelling, and constructively disruptive. I think compared to most of the commenters here I read it as an account of what's broken, not the suggestion that the author has sorted out and is living with some conveniently, individually-applyable solutions... frankly, the solutions would all require some communal consensus, and the reactions here bring me little comfort that it's coming. Bummer.
I agree with the article. The safe, high-status choice in white American suburbs today always seems to involve spending money. Making clothes yourself has become rare. Little food is made from scratch, let alone beer and wine. Live bands are being strangled by DJs.
However, I see a lot of interest in doing it yourself among young people here in New York City. There's a phenomenon of individual cooks selling out of their home kitchens. Theater and live music is far from dying.
The Burning Man Festival is another exhibit of a nice countertrend. There, you feel like an asshole if you don't get directly involved in creating, performing, contributing, taking action. Selling to the public is not permitted at all.
I sleep on the floor. Own no furniture. Own no car. We cook a lot from scratch and are making up our own recipes. Why? Because doctors told me "people like you don't get well" and we don't agree with that sentiment. So homegrown recipes are required to effectively implement our homegrown health solution.
If you live like this article describes (and are over age 18), you do so by choice. And whose fault is that?
(Though, yes, I have canned Wordpress themes on my sites. I am trying to move towards putting up more content and coding everything by hand has been an obstacle to that. Nor do I have the money to get something custom.)
23 comments
[ 8.7 ms ] story [ 162 ms ] thread"Did you know you can write your own about section just like this one? It's really easy. Head into the the Titan Options menu and check out the footer section. Type some stuff in the box, click save, and your new about section shows up in the footer.
Wondering about those Flickr photos on the right?
We didn't take them, they are a random sampling of the most popular photos on Flickr with the tag 'nature'. All rights are reserved to the original copyright holders where applicable."
Using an off-the-shelf wordpress theme in service of protesting an off-the-shelf life. And at the same time randomly sampling other people's actual creative work.
Yes I do, and no I'm not.
> But you have to drive to Target to get one.
No I don't, I can walk.
> Oh and while you’re don’t you want to buy some other things? …
Because I'm just here to buy a card, ok?
Seriously, man. You can opt out.
edit: Or you can spend money to watch movies instead of - gasp, toxicity! - making your own: http://snowedin.net/blog/2011/01/02/favorite-films-2008-2010...
Advanced.
It would be easy to spend a week-day at home watching daytime television, and come away from it with the impression that our culture is toxic, but that would be exaggerating the accuracy of this supposed window into our culture. Reality is much more complex.
Similarly, you can find a great deal of resources on all sorts of activities. Want to catch a fish? Learn a musical instrument? Write a novel? At no point in the whole of human history has it been easier to learn a new skill.
And it's not like these cookery programs are put on to an empty audience. If no-one was buying all these books and magazines and watching these TV programs, they'd stop being produced.
So it's not that people aren't doing things; it's that they are being selective about what they do, because modern life allows them to be selective. People are free to buy the things they don't want to spend time making, and instead use their time to do the things they want to do.
You want free hobbies? Become a writer. Code web apps. Borrow books from the library and read them. Volunteer at a homeless shelter. Go bird watching. Learn how to sing.
nothing is stopping you from trying new things
Just cause someone, or even a lot of people are trying to sell you things, doesn't mean you have to buy it.
Want to start a vegetable garden? That starts at $20/year and goes up from there. Can we say hypocrite?
They're heirloom seeds too, rather than hybrids, so you can let some of your plants go to seed and replant next season. Again, it's not taking control away.
However, I see a lot of interest in doing it yourself among young people here in New York City. There's a phenomenon of individual cooks selling out of their home kitchens. Theater and live music is far from dying.
The Burning Man Festival is another exhibit of a nice countertrend. There, you feel like an asshole if you don't get directly involved in creating, performing, contributing, taking action. Selling to the public is not permitted at all.
I sleep on the floor. Own no furniture. Own no car. We cook a lot from scratch and are making up our own recipes. Why? Because doctors told me "people like you don't get well" and we don't agree with that sentiment. So homegrown recipes are required to effectively implement our homegrown health solution.
If you live like this article describes (and are over age 18), you do so by choice. And whose fault is that?
(Though, yes, I have canned Wordpress themes on my sites. I am trying to move towards putting up more content and coding everything by hand has been an obstacle to that. Nor do I have the money to get something custom.)