Just so I can get it on record, I fully expect to be completely and utterly crushed by the results of Sunday's telecast (host's performance aside):
- 'Bridesmaids' will get completely overlooked in the Best Original Screenplay category
- Brad Pitt will get serious consideration if not complete validation for his "performance" in 'Money Ball' - completely negating his incredible portrayal in 'Tree of Life'
- 'Tree of Life' will not win a single award
- All of this will sadly reinforce the notion that I have felt for decades that I don't either understand or belong in our current cultural stream
- I will be faced with an even greater burden to explain my fealty and devotion to 'Tree of Life' - a duty i will gladly embrace
Oh, and there will be something like 1 hour of telecast for every 30 minutes of commercials, and it will be a glorious pageant of consumption and excess.
God bless us. Everyone.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Too busy or not too busy
It seems we have no time these days. No time to work on the things we have to work on, and no time to work on the things we want to work on. I constantly hear from people when asked how they are doing, and invariably the way people describe their manner is that they are very busy (sadly, when i am not willing to offer any substance to my own moods, i find myself saying the same things). And yet, what are our hours filled with that has us so busy? Duties? Work responsibilities? Rigamarole?
I find it hard to believe that we are as busy as we seem to lead others to believe that we are. I say this with the notion that i myself have less hours for my own leisure, but am i - or anyone for that matter - really "busy?"
We have time for:
- Complaints
- Judgments
- Acquisition of "things"
- Covetry
- Procrastination
What we don't have time for:
- Others
- Charity
- Problems/matters bigger than ourselves
- Simple, mindless acts of beauty
One of the things i've been exposed to more in this time since i went full-time with my non-profit is the state of our New York City public schools. I have been often appalled, depressed and frustrated with our schools. There are so many children that are bounced around like pinballs between the various bumpers we have erected on their way to being educated - only to be slapped back into the system by the flipper paddles we call standardized tests. And yet, the thing that seems to come blasting into my ears are the simple ways things could be improved. Most of what I see as struggles in our schools can be solved if every adult New Yorker spent at least six hours a month volunteering at their local school. They could pick up trash, wash desks, straighten up shelves, escort children between classes, read some stories aloud - really contribute in any number of ways to help our schools feel more a part of the communities, rather than allowing them to exist apart from our communities.
I understand that everyone is busy. There are stark realities to this claim. But i have to wonder if we'd feel less busy should we allow ourselves to give more of our time to our communities. I know that people need time to debrief and decompress, but i wonder if that need feels so urgent because we don't have ENOUGH fulfilling rewards. If instead our free time is occupied by meaningless drivel that we falsely believe will allow us to alleviate the stress of our daily lives. We rush around to try to provide us sanctuary from the hardship of living in this modern society, when perhaps we should dedicate more of ourselves to our communities and each other.
I really would like people to evaluate the amount of time they spend focusing on truly unimportant things, and ask themselves if they wouldn't feel more satisfaction if they spent this time dedicated to causes greater than their individual pursuits.
Or maybe we are just really busy. Really busy with being in a hurry to someday catch up with living.
I find it hard to believe that we are as busy as we seem to lead others to believe that we are. I say this with the notion that i myself have less hours for my own leisure, but am i - or anyone for that matter - really "busy?"
We have time for:
- Complaints
- Judgments
- Acquisition of "things"
- Covetry
- Procrastination
What we don't have time for:
- Others
- Charity
- Problems/matters bigger than ourselves
- Simple, mindless acts of beauty
One of the things i've been exposed to more in this time since i went full-time with my non-profit is the state of our New York City public schools. I have been often appalled, depressed and frustrated with our schools. There are so many children that are bounced around like pinballs between the various bumpers we have erected on their way to being educated - only to be slapped back into the system by the flipper paddles we call standardized tests. And yet, the thing that seems to come blasting into my ears are the simple ways things could be improved. Most of what I see as struggles in our schools can be solved if every adult New Yorker spent at least six hours a month volunteering at their local school. They could pick up trash, wash desks, straighten up shelves, escort children between classes, read some stories aloud - really contribute in any number of ways to help our schools feel more a part of the communities, rather than allowing them to exist apart from our communities.
I understand that everyone is busy. There are stark realities to this claim. But i have to wonder if we'd feel less busy should we allow ourselves to give more of our time to our communities. I know that people need time to debrief and decompress, but i wonder if that need feels so urgent because we don't have ENOUGH fulfilling rewards. If instead our free time is occupied by meaningless drivel that we falsely believe will allow us to alleviate the stress of our daily lives. We rush around to try to provide us sanctuary from the hardship of living in this modern society, when perhaps we should dedicate more of ourselves to our communities and each other.
I really would like people to evaluate the amount of time they spend focusing on truly unimportant things, and ask themselves if they wouldn't feel more satisfaction if they spent this time dedicated to causes greater than their individual pursuits.
Or maybe we are just really busy. Really busy with being in a hurry to someday catch up with living.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
They're sure smart
I'm surrounded by very intelligent people. So intelligent, that frequently I feel completely out of my league. The number of folks who have advanced degrees, masters, doctorates, law degrees is paralyzing sometimes. It causes me to wonder if I am limited in what I'm able to achieve because I do not hold the same educational pedigree as most folks I know.
And yet, how many of these immensely intelligent people dedicate their lives to the betterment of the lives of others?
I read an article recently about the ways in which YouTube has altered advertising, that it has caused a fracture in a once well-mannered, centralized system. Where once before you had three television networks dominating the airwaves, and they were thus able to wield significant power over the advertising industry, now it is a free-for-all - an orgy of advertising messages. Instead of fewer messages and more spaces of silent reflection, we are instead bombarded, inundated and allowed no rest. The finest minds of our time, instead of expending the majority of their energy attempting to solve the world's ills, exert all of their attention on figuring out ever more innovative ways to market junk to us.
I can't express how distressed this has me. It boils my blood to think that so much attention and care is put into figuring out ways we can create marketing campaigns to manipulate the masses into perpetually endless consumption. I am a self-ascribed, unhealthy obsessive about World War II. I frequently contemplate the sacrifice that was made by everyone in that period of time, both victors and the defeated. From the rationing to the tireless homestead manufacturing, and all the way to the ultimate sacrifice asked of both soldier and unfortunate crossfire-caught civilian. Millions were slaughtered. Millions. And so many of them were asked to accept that this could be their fate, and still they persisted. Some might say these were not very smart decisions. And some might say that a more intelligent mindset would've done everything it could to avoid the war. Yet, I also wonder if the millions who gave their lives for a cause they believed in (or were forced to endure), would be able to stomach how much sacrilege has been committed against their sacrifice.
Would they have put their lives on the line if they'd known that so much of our daily energy was spent trying to figure out how to convince our neighbor to buy the latest crap? Or would they have considered that the sacrifice, like the trinkets we buy, wasn't worth it?
And yet, how many of these immensely intelligent people dedicate their lives to the betterment of the lives of others?
I read an article recently about the ways in which YouTube has altered advertising, that it has caused a fracture in a once well-mannered, centralized system. Where once before you had three television networks dominating the airwaves, and they were thus able to wield significant power over the advertising industry, now it is a free-for-all - an orgy of advertising messages. Instead of fewer messages and more spaces of silent reflection, we are instead bombarded, inundated and allowed no rest. The finest minds of our time, instead of expending the majority of their energy attempting to solve the world's ills, exert all of their attention on figuring out ever more innovative ways to market junk to us.
I can't express how distressed this has me. It boils my blood to think that so much attention and care is put into figuring out ways we can create marketing campaigns to manipulate the masses into perpetually endless consumption. I am a self-ascribed, unhealthy obsessive about World War II. I frequently contemplate the sacrifice that was made by everyone in that period of time, both victors and the defeated. From the rationing to the tireless homestead manufacturing, and all the way to the ultimate sacrifice asked of both soldier and unfortunate crossfire-caught civilian. Millions were slaughtered. Millions. And so many of them were asked to accept that this could be their fate, and still they persisted. Some might say these were not very smart decisions. And some might say that a more intelligent mindset would've done everything it could to avoid the war. Yet, I also wonder if the millions who gave their lives for a cause they believed in (or were forced to endure), would be able to stomach how much sacrilege has been committed against their sacrifice.
Would they have put their lives on the line if they'd known that so much of our daily energy was spent trying to figure out how to convince our neighbor to buy the latest crap? Or would they have considered that the sacrifice, like the trinkets we buy, wasn't worth it?
Monday, January 16, 2012
The thesis
There is so much potential out there for greatness and achievements that transcend our own personal and selfish aims.
Despite this potential, people continue to struggle. Poverty still exists. Hunger is an ever present reality. And these are just the large scale problems. Folks are still rude, self-centered, inconsiderate and hateful.
After all that we as a species have accomplished, why aren't we better?
Despite this potential, people continue to struggle. Poverty still exists. Hunger is an ever present reality. And these are just the large scale problems. Folks are still rude, self-centered, inconsiderate and hateful.
After all that we as a species have accomplished, why aren't we better?
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