The Sickness of Constant Distraction

Even a cat with cancer will still chase a laser pointer.

I am probably a more horrible person having said that, but having cats and having had a cat with cancer I feel I can speak to this.

We do not have news channels anymore, we have opinion channels. We don't have newspapers anymore, we have opinion papers.

Whatever side you are on, we have a news channel for you and a news paper that conforms to your views. Step right up and be fed news and views which conform to your unique outlook upon the world. We don't inform you, we reinforce what you already think you know.

And we have our social media partners right alongside, each with their own tailored, carefully controlled point of view. What causes outrage there is going to be headlines tomorrow, and what will be in the headlines tomorrow will cause outrage the next day.

So where does the sick cat come in?

Like that laser pointer, each side distracts its audience with carefully chosen fluff stories and things tailor-made to distract and get our minds off of the headline we should honestly be angry about and demand change. Your typical news day, on both sides, goes like this:

First up is the 'breaking news outrage' story meant to get you angry and your blood pressure up a couple dozen points. Some politician said something stupid, or some scandal refuses to go away. The anchors hem and haw and tell you how incredibly awful this thing is, and  you are right there with them demanding blood and thinking 'this will be it'. This is something so bad that something has to be done, and you are probably right, if something was done this issue would probably go away and it would be solved. The world could move on. This something is so awful something needs to be done.

This is the sick cat.

We need to get it to the vet, to get some treatment, and to do something about this poor thing suffering. If something is done now-

And then bam, the news 'changes gears' and does a fluff piece. Something pulled from social media. Some athlete did something stupid. Some celebrity broke the Internet. Some nobody who cares anyways said something stupid on social media, and their social media partners hope you rush online right now to find out what. Here's a video you need to see. Here's something that will brighten your day pulled from a photo-sharing site. Cue the 'aww' sound effect!

The laser pointer.

We are distracted. The outrage is gone. On both sides you see this, they tease you with insane rantings and anger, and then they pull it away. Take your anger, if you still have any, and vent it on social media where nothing gets solved, thank you! At least social media will have your eyes for a while so you can respond to their advertisers, and then you can watch your flavor of news tomorrow to repeat the cycle.

Nothing gets done, the cat never gets taken to the vet, and tomorrow and the next week it is a new outrage followed by a new distraction. Those professing to keep you informed never want the outrage to be resolved, as they want to keep you outraged at a certain level and then pull it back so nothing gets done. Please come back tomorrow to get your view of the world reinforced, some anger fed to you, and no solutions acted upon.

We will even have plenty of paid talking heads that may or may not agree with you, but honestly they neither have the power to do anything or fix anything that we feed to you, day after day. They are just there to get you through the middle of the hour, fill in time, and argue like they have the power to get something but never will.

They are just paid to yell at each other for your entertainment.

Another distraction.

That's it.

We need to get the cat to the vet. I do not care about views and opinions anymore. I don't need anymore distractions. I know how I need to live and what I need to do. It frustrates me our sources of news are so biased and so beholden to the official line of each side. I pick through the news like I pick through garbage, just to find the few bits of truth that are facts and not opinions.

Because sooner or later, that cat will be so sick it won't chase.

I could end it there, but that is a negative ending to this without direction. To be hopeful, turn off shows which push views and opinion. Uninstall the 'news' apps from your phone that push viewpoints and not facts. Never watch those channels. Press those who can act for solutions. Act yourself and do your part for the issues and things in which you believe in. Vote. Make your voice heard. Never let those who would drag your outrage along get you into that addiction cycle of outrage and distraction.

Hold on to the issues in which you believe, and force others to do something.

Let yourself be heard.

Be that person who takes the cat to the vet.

Act.

Don't react.

Dear Internet, Your Internet Sucks

"Consider white-listing the site to help support us."

You know what, I am feeling very progressive and altruistic today, and I love the site and its content, so maybe I will white-list this one and take it off my ad-blocker.

WE HAVE DETECTED A VIRUS! CLICK HERE!

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THIS CRITICAL BROWSER UPDATE NOW.js!

 WINDOWS UPDATE NEEDS PERMISSION TO RUN A CRITICAL FILE!

You know what, fuck this. Fuck ads. Fuck me for trusting your site. Every time I try to help out, I get screwed while random and uncontrolled ad-networks randomly try to deliver malware to my computer.

Ad-revenue is really, really important, and I like to read them every once and a while and check out the things in them I am interested in. Ads serve a valid purpose in life, and they also help pay people for the hard work they put into blogs and review sites. Ads help support the things I do.

But lately?

No. I block ads like I block viruses, because within five minutes of white-listing a site I get attacked by one of their "partners." Just for trying to be nice and help out, you know, a be a part of the ecosystem thing.

Because ads help pay for my time when I write blog posts, and even someone seeing an ad helps support some of the things I do. But now, I am one of the blockers, and it scares me because it means the traditional ad-supported model of delivering free content is breaking down. People won't be able to share as much, the good stuff will be locked up behind paywalls, and the walled gardens of social media become the safe spaces where content is created and shared.

Which means we all lose because most social media is one of the most restrictive, regressive, censored, and anti-free speech zones ever created. Want to share a nude photograph, a mature book, or something which is defined as 'adult content'? Good luck with those filters and ever being seen in search. And even better luck running ads or boosting your posts for that 'adult content' that no one wants to see, and in most places will be reported and taken down by lynch-mobs of those easily offended.

So Internet, get your shit together. Ads do not need to run Javascript in my browser. I remember the days when an image and a link were good enough.

Fix this or I keep blocking everything.

I won't see ads, nor will I see things which may interest me. I won't be a part of the paying ecosystem for free content. Because I can't, my security is more important to me than giving my page view a fractional cent to the content creator. I know this will cause sites to close and fold up shop, but so be it. My security is more important to me than ad-supported free content and the things in which I enjoy. I can live without it and get by, trust me.

Maybe I will go back to reading books.

Offline.

And don't ever bug me to white-list your site, and then three minutes later let a partner I know you have no responsibility for deliver malware to me. You do have a responsibility to know who you are dealing with and what ads they are delivering to your visitors.

And especially the ones who trusted you enough to go through all the steps to white-list your site.

Dear Internet, fix your shit. Dear browser companies, fix these malware delivery routes and auto-download functions. Dear OS companies, fix your shit. Dear ad-networks, if you allow malware on your ad-networks, I certainly won't see any of the ads you serve - because I will be blocking them all. Good luck with that business model of attacking your best customers, all of you.

And the part that hurts the most is that the ad-supported system was one I believed in. I bought into the hype. I thought I could support my 'free' content with ad-supported revenue. Well, it is not going to work if ad-blockers are as needed as virus scanners, and everyone blocks everything by default. I am seriously reconsidering this whole 'free content' thing.

And I don't blame people that use ad blockers at all, because I am one of them.

I feel this is really a situation where we all lose.

Turning Tears into Human Rights

I miss the 1980's, I really do. We had cool things like this:

Thank you, Artists Against Apartheid.

For those of you new to this, that is a group of music artists coming together to protest the long-gone and thankfully-buried system of Apartheid, and tell the world they aren't going to play a resort in the 1980's under that regime. Today, South Africa (and Sun City) have changed remarkably for the better, and it is an example of how things can change given positive social activism and groups of people on both sides who want to do the right thing. I like to think the pressure applied by this video, along with the heroic efforts of social activists and progressive politicians who had the courage to stand up and do say "this is wrong" had something to do with this change.

Today's music artists? Frankly, by comparison, they are a bunch of do-nothing, money-grabbing pussies.

We have a situation today which parallels the injustice of Apartheid, the state-sanctioned criminalization and execution of homosexuals and transgendered people. We have seen these hateful forces visit our shores recently, targeting a group of people who choose to express love just for how they wish to love. This isn't just limited to one religion or belief system, as there are many countries which persecute gays for how they wish to express freedom and love. This is a world-wide problem across many countries, religions, and continents.

Where are those who stand up and refuse to play these places? Where are the sanctions? Where are the calls to boycott companies, to limit trade, and to shut down banking with states with anti-homosexual policies? Where are the bills allowing homosexuals persecuted in these countries to apply for asylum here, in the land of the tolerant and free? Where are the open arms? Where is the outrage?

Where?

...

I hear silence.

I see nothing.

I see artists playing in these places. Silent. Taking the money and saying thank you.

Thank you for persecuting homosexuals, and remember to buy my record! Please go on with the executions and imprisonment. Let's do a concert! Where's my check again?

Just like Apartheid, silence equals support. Supporting companies who do business with them means support. Supporting politicians who say and do nothing for years means support.

There are no excuses here.

Your silence is damning.

As a consumer, I have a choice of who I do business with. Companies and artists who support such policies and regimes should be called out. Even if nothing changes, at every time we deal with such places they should be reminded that they are outside the accepted behaviors of the civilized world, and we should demand progress, step by step. Even if we don't get artists and politicians to speak up, the grassroots can shame those who shame us with their support of these policies.

Shame.

Shame on you.

We have forgotten the power of these words.

It starts with us. It always does. We remember those who stood silent for too long while this injustice happened. We remember those who wore our cause on their sleeve just to get a couple votes, and then did nothing when they had real power to make change. We understand, you are powerless, beholden, and afraid. When the time comes, we will not pull that lever and vote for you. When the time comes, we will be a more educated consumer and not buy products which come from these places or companies that do business with them. When the time comes, we shall question why you performed in a place that persecutes people for who they love, and maybe we won't buy that next album of yours.

Your silence signifies your support.

The grassroots will stand up here, and do the right thing. Change is possible. If a hateful system like Apartheid can be replaced with something better which brings equality and fairness to all, I have hope in this world. I have hope in the voices which cry out for justice and equality. I have hope for the people that live in these places to join a more accepting, free, loving, and peaceful world. I feel it is a war that can be won without violence or hatred, without insulting someone else on social media, or one bomb dropped or one bullet fired.

It just requires one word, no, to be said again and again. It requires our money not to be spent with supporters of these policies. It requires representatives who do more than just talk.

But it starts with one person saying, "I have a choice."

And that person is you.

Fly Away Dove, Fly Away

Love is what makes it so hard.

But it also makes it so special.

It is hard letting go of the things we love. The things which bring us happiness. The things which have become a part of us. The shock of them leaving us tears our hearts out, and it makes us pause.

It makes us face our own mortality.

No matter how great, how central, or even if something which we bring into our lives sits on the periphery yet is still loved - it is a part of us.

And when we lose a part of us?

It hurts.

It takes away something we thought certain, thought we would have forever, and something which we always took for granted. Things we love shall always be here, right?

Right?

And the silence of that certain answer in the negative gives us a chill.

The things we love will always go away.

For that is what makes them so special.

And they shall always be a part of us. Forever until our passings.

U shall always be a part of ME.

This world shall always be a more beautiful place because of U.

Goodbye, my Prince.

Fly away, dove.

Fly away.

Stop Writing for Yourself?

From the following article, check it out:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/03/21/donald-trump-will-win-in-a-landslide-the-mind-behind-dilbert-explains-why/

“This was a trick I learned from Bil Keane,” the late creator of “Family Circus,” Adams tells Comic Riffs. “He basically taught me to stop writing for myself, which I realized I had been doing — writing a comic that I wanted to read.”

This is a fascinating article from Scott Adams on the Trump phenomenon, and I would like to keep politics out of this discussion and instead focus on the above quote and Adams' pivot from writing "something for himself" to "writing for an audience" and then him finding success.

It is an amazing quote, and also a deeply disheartening one as well.

It is also one that seems plainly obvious.

To find success, must we abandon what we love? I would feel this is the truth, as 'commercial writing' for established genres and groups of readers walks a well-trodden and used path - it is easy to find readers in green pastures. But there is a deeper question here, even if we choose to write for an established genre, must we give up the things we like to write for the formulas and standard conventions of a genre?

It is deeper than holding your finger to the wind and saying, "Oh, this seems popular, now I will write YA books!" It is saying, "My thoughts are less important than the standard conventions of the genre."

In essence, Adams may be making that argument. He writes Dilbert to address the woes and hard life of office drudgery, and those struggles have deep meaning to his comic's readers. He brings a new perspective to the struggle, it is certain, and also a unique brand of irony and humor. Also, in a three-panel comic there isn't much room for expression, so he has to boil a joke down to the essence, but the feeling seems to be still there.

He starts with a premise and best tries to express the irony of that state.

He is not trying to come up with characters with diverse backstories and histories, all of his characters are stereotypes to deliver the painfully obvious punchline. If I wrote a similar comic for myself, I would fill it full of interesting stories, plots, and other elements that would give me great joy to follow along with - with me being an insider and knowing the meanings and punch-lines ahead of time, of course. Re-reading my masterpiece would give me great joy, because I could marvel at my ingenious nature and creativity.

But that doesn't appeal to a wider audience. Most people just don't get it.

If you write about the familiar, you are instantly more accessible.

If you write for yourself, you are shrinking your audience to yourself.

There is still wiggle room here to be individualistic, I suppose. Adams' humor is a unique brand, and he can setup and deliver a joke in the space the size of a credit card. That takes a lot of skill, and yet it still feels like his humor is unique, identifiable, and individualistic. I suppose when you do write for an audience, what you bring to the table is a unique way of looking at the material and expressing yourself within these limits. The required pieces must still be present, the genre conventions, the feeling, and the tone - but your way of expressing them is what makes you special.

It is an interesting statement and strategy for producing creative works, not to "write for yourself" yet still produce something that is individualistic and unique, with a  perspective and voice that appeals to the established fans of the genre, as in this case, office humor.

It is also an interesting statement in the practice of "writing for yourself" and setting expectations for that practice. We all think we are geniuses, yet many times, the world doesn't seem to think so at all. Our brilliance only shines when we illuminate something with it; and in this case, Adams' brilliance shined when he turned his spotlight of humor on the world of cubicle politics and office life.

Those Things

Those things you do.

Life, wandering through it, thinking about plans, having none, and moving on.

Those things.

Wondering. Working hard. Not working hard. The pointless existence of meandering, all while listening to everyone and no one at the same time. Wondering why. Living in that state.

Setbacks. Things to do. Concern, worry, and anxious moments for no real reason at all.

Those things.

It is all right, yet it is not. It is just the procedure and march of things we don't want to do that we fear. It is less a fear than a something we want to reject and walk away from. How life has gotten too complex, and how things never turned out quite the way we wanted.

Yet in those moments we find ourselves, lost yet found, restless yet comfortable, and where we want to be in a place we never chose to. Watching the slow spin of a world out of control, yet not caring about any of it.

And tomorrow, more of those things to do.

Those things which we do, the bare minimum needed to progress through life, one day after the other.

Anticipated, yet expected. Hated but we shall happily do them again and again.

Until an unexpected moment interrupts us.

And those things we reviled, we miss. That drudgery, those chores, that way of life.

We miss them because they were the unwelcome normal we had become accustomed to.

And for all of our dislike of that routine, it is the very thing we miss.

Hope

Let it renew inside you.

Let it flow forth like crystal-clear water in a spring.

Let it gently guide you down the river of life.

It is something which you must bring into your heart, hope, and with it sustain and nurture your very being. It shall be like blood to you, this hope, and it shall carry every breath you make to every fiber of your being. Hope shall be that which gives you the energy to live.

To love what you do.

To be the best you are.

It is difficult at times, finding this power. It seems to elude us like the passing of a stray breeze, we feel it at random moments, yet we are unable to capture it and harness its power. We seek to feel it again, ever waiting in one place for this gentle force to push on us again.

But I have found a way we can turn hope on at will, to instantly find the power of the wind, to feel it against our skin, and to bring this wondrous energy back into our lives.

On a still day, the only way to feel the wind is to put one foot in front of another and walk.

In the still moments of your life, the only way to feel hope is to move forward and live.