Couch Potatoe'd

"Whad'ya doing boy," my grandfather asked as he walked through the front door, "watchin' the 'idot-box"? Those words, to this day stick clear in my mind. As I get older they have a deeper meaning to me, especially now that I have children. What has the invention of the television done for us, as a society? Where is it going in the future? Can we get away from it's addictive pull?

 

I'm not the greatest fan of the television. I spend almost no time in front of its hypnotic array of pixelate motion. I can't talk about the latest sitcoms or who did what on any of the reality TV shows. I don't know which team won last nights game or who's going to what playoff. I have spent 3.5 hours watching something on the TV in the last 30 days, period.

 

I completely understand the draw. Sitcoms can be entertaining, sports are fun to watch and reality TV...well, I can't say much about it...I'm not a fan. When I was growing up I wasn't allowed to sit in front of the television and waste hours at a time. I was always outside or reading. I was a big fan of the "choose-your-own-adventure" type books. I was active, I played sports and ran through the woods and explored and had an imagination. As I got older I fell in with the video game crowd and spent incalcuable hours racked up on video games...another addictive activity. If I had the hours spent playing video game invested in the classics or learning a foreign language, I'd probably be a Rhodes Scholar or fluent in something besides English. It's sad really, looking back on it.

 

Even a few years back I was "hooked" on a video game that I could not break away from. I spent too much time sitting at my computer hacking away at images of creatures and collecting imaginary gold. What the hell was I thinking? The worst part of the game though was you could input a command into the game that would show you the hours spent playing the game. What a way to punch someone in the gut. I went back recently and did so, just for sh*t's and giggles...my reaction was shock! Over one-quarter of a year had been spent sitting and clicking buttons on the keyboard. Pure unproductive time wasted all for entertainment. What was I thinking?

 

I wasn't, and that was part of the problem. I was allowing my mind to slip into oblivion and become mush. The body was to follow. I became lazy, physically and mentally. I didn't want to "do" anything. Running was out of the question, I had no endurance. Weight-lifting? Hell no, I had a dungeon to explore...lol. What a fool I was! Then there is the impact on the marriage. When you have a wife who wouldn't mind living without electricty, explaining why spending all night on a "dungeon-raid" is important becomes quite a challenge.

 

Thankfully, I was able to pull myself away from this and put forth my efforts elsewhere. I look and listen to co-workers and at fellow citizens when I'm out and wonder what is it going to take to get "us" away from the screen? We, as a nation, are larger (obese) than any other nation in the world. Our diets' are made up of processed foods and sugar. We sit more than we sleep and the notion of being active is a fantasy. We idolize fictional characters because we don't know of any real ones. I won't get into idolizing athletes, that is a subject that could create a lot of controversy.

 

I look back and remember my grandfather who was alway fit. I don't remember, even in his 70's, him having a belly. He was either working with his hands or reading. The only TV he watched was the 6 o'clock news. He was also well educated. For a man who did not get past the 8th grade he could tlak about anything from quantum physics to opinions on what stock to buy to history. He self-educated and would carry on conversation with others in rhetorical discourse to improve his knowledge and share what he knew with others. Though a hard man to understand then I have a man with few emotions, he is someone I look on with admiration.

 

Reading is now one of my greatest past-times and something I am desperately trying to pass on to my children. They are at the learning to read stage of life and I hope to plant the seed early. They don't watch much TV now, my wife and I won't let them. I hope they never get caught up in the lifestyle of vegetating on the couch...being a "couch-potato."

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A Change in Life

My desire for "small" things has been prevalent throughout my life.  I enjoy small notebooks, small gadgets and even small cars...even though I own a pickup truck.  Lately I am taking notice to a branch off this "thought-tree", minimal.  I've read blogs about minimalism and the lifestyle attached to this trending way but, never completely embraced it.  I had used the excuse of financial and family to keep myself from pursuing the notion.  I've come to terms with the word, MINIMALISM, and now believe there to be a greater meaning behind it.  

It is not just a word but, a philosophical way.  To live a happy and productive life with as little as possible.  Not just physical possessions but, everything...  I have also come to associate minimal with quality.  If I'm going to have "minimal" friends they will the upstanding individuals who complement my person and share my values.  I'm not going to just hang out with people just to not be alone.  If I am going to carry a journal it is going to be a well thought out purchase...in fact all of my purchases will be well thought out.  Not just an impulse purchase as I walk through a store.

I'll probably never be one of those people who writes about how I only own 100 things but, I am planning on only owning what I need or truly want in life.

Minimal

Few In Number:  It means I'm not going to have a hundred T-shirts in my closet when I know full well that I'll only be wearing a few consistently.  It is just my opinion but, few of us rarley wear everything in our closets before re-wearing something.  How many shirts have remained sitting in a drawer waiting to be worn?  There is no need to "stock up" on items that are readily available at any time.  Amazon.com is always open.

Quality:  Of the items i do own, of the relations I do keep, of the foods I eat, & even the workouts I perform each will be well chosen and deeply thought out for it's part in my life.  Why lift weights if there is no thought behind the workout?  Why eat foods that are not beneficial or have some significant meaning, i.e. snacking on chips?  Even with something as arbitrary as a notebook I spend a month or so researching different notebooks for paper quality, size, functionability and durability.  I was in search of a journal that I could keep and later pass down to my children.  I ended with the Traveler's Notebook by Midori.  

Purpose:  Each and every thing in my life has a purpose and significance.  Whether it be a tool or a pen or a pet each has a specific reason to be in my life.  I can't tell you how much I've purchased in my life that when I look back on it I have no idea what I must've been thinking.  Choose wisely.

Books will be my anti-minimal item.  I, like Thomas Jefferson, cannot live without books.  Even though I am very much a proponent of the technological age I can not get past owning the physical book.  There is something in the texture and feel of a book that adds quality to the read.  The emotional attachment to teh physical item is something I cannot get past.

Though I am a proponent of the physical book I do feel there is a place for the ebook in my life.  These are the fiction novels and the like, books that require very little thought to be placed in them when read.  That is not to say they are not cerebrally stimulating, but they are not something I'll sit down for hours with and search for the meaning behind the words.  The books are more entertainment than what I would consider scholarly prose.  I am probably showing my byass here and I mean not to offend, and perhaps it is a sign of my inability more than the text.  

I do own an iPad and read quite a bit from it, thanks to the Kindle & iBooks apps and of course Project Gutenberg.  There are however, many books which I want to "last forever".  Books such as Homer's Iliad and Odessy, the work of John Locke and Becoming Jefferson's People by Clay S. Jenkinson.  There is something about a classical piece of work that just cannot be represented in any other way.  It the difference of looking at the Mona Lisa on an iPad compared to standing before the real deal.  In my opinion.  The physical object is something we can one day be pass down and in the tragic event our technology is taken from us they will still be able to be read.  

I'm not about going to extremes but, I do want to make a significant impact in my life of shedding away the waste.  I own way to much, "junk" and useless, unused stuff.  Why keep what won't be utilized by myself.  Like lying on a beach fully clothed in a winter parka, snow boots, hat and scarf...I will shed the unneeded and unused.  My life will be mine and everything in it will have been chosen for a reason, not just gathered so I can say, "Oh I have one of those."

There & Back Again

Too much time has passed since writing in this blog.  Though I haven't given up writing I have done so in more archaic ways...the pen and paper.  My decision to take pen to paper was made after re-reading the book, "The Future Does Not Compute: Transcending the Machines in Our Midst" by Stephen L. Talbott.  I read the book in college and was intrigued with it then and after reading it I am more so intrigued.   Far too often do I read a book and place it back on the shelf only to be forgotten.  For the past year I've been doing a great deal of study on classic education and becoming a more scholarly and well read citizen.
My hope is to pass on to my children the passion I have for books and writing.  I want to raise well educated and well read men who are able to discern reality from the fiction spewing forth from the media today.  When the most talked about subjects are who's sleeping with whom and what the latest reality TV show is doing, I sit and think to myself what happened to the quality of conversation and sitting down with a well written book that contained substance?
I am not against TV or movies or even fiction.  I enjoy each but, in moderation.  I think I watch about 6 hours of television a month and perhaps go to see 6 - 8 movies a year.  It is difficult to give an accurate count of the fiction I read because I read a lot.  I have anywhere from 2 - 4 books going at a time.  I have practiced speed reading and am now able to read at 700 words / minute with the same comprehension I had when subvocalizing everything...about 300 words / minute.  Because of this I am reading a great deal more.
My focus has been the study of the Founding Fathers of our country, particularly Thomas Jefferson.  Though I admit he was a man of many faults and hypocrasies, he was also one of the most well educated and literate men who helped shape this country.  His personal habits and quirks helped guide not only himself but, many others in thier influence of America.
My plan is to share my discoveries and thoughts as I venture into the minds of the greatest works in history.  The literature I have studied over the past year has changed who I am significantly and for this I am greatful.   Currently I am reading "Becoming Jefferson's People: Re-Inventing the American Republic in the Twenty-first Century" by Clay S. Jenkinson, whom I have become a great admirer of.
My excursions into the woodlands of central PA haven't been put behind either in my quest for education.  I actually spend more time outdoors than ever before.  Reading to the background of birds and wildlife gives a peaceful backdrop to the words I am digesting.  I have the capacity to retain more when I read outside than at a desk in my home.  I will do my dilegence to write more and more often.
For now read, live and enjoy.