December 9, 2009
Dear Clusterflock
Do you ever get sick of the internet?
I am having one of those malcontent phases where everything just seems like a riff (or rip) off of something else I have read/watched/done. I feel pretty much the same about literature and film. I desperately want something fresh.
(This is where you yell at me to stop complaining, tell me to get off my ass, and make something fresh.)
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Hey. Stop complaining, get off your ass and make something fresh.
Aren’t you working on a book?
Well, yes.
Andrew, quit yer dadblasted bellyaching.
Do like I done yesterday. Or something like.
I met my friend down at the junkyard at the edge of his family’s farm and shot still and moving pictures of big dead machines rusting in the snow.
And in the middle of the night I had an inspiration: use the junkyard as the principal setting for another project that has been percolating.
There. You see? It’s easy.
This, perhaps, is a symptom of internet access at work? Spend a day or two playing with dogs. You’ll feel better.
I think there are peaks and troughs. But I definitely know the feeling. Ride it out and push.
Spend more time offline. I associate being online for longer periods of time with work, since I’m a freelance writer. Walk the dog, go for bike rides, go running, read a good book.
But yeah, I get sick of the internet. Constantly needing to read my feeds. And emails. I’ve grown to hate checking my Gmail. I no longer have an open window, I just check it a few times a day, and I don’t want an email notifier!
Email = work or editors hassling you.
I have nothing original to add here, which is fitting, but I will say that for months I’ve been feeling the way you are, Andrew. I was blaming the fact that my job requires the use of the Internet, but lately I’ve resolved the problem by having a better life away from it.
That reads like the Internet makes me have a poor life. I didn’t mean that. I meant, I’ve been taking steps to be happier outside the realm of the Internet, which has made that feeling of boredom go away. Better?
I’m gonna actually go a different direction here:
No.
Or: You’re wrong.
Which is to say: There are fresh things out there. I promise.
I say this because of what you said about literature and film. I’m a bit of a film buff (and a book buff and an Internet buff, but never mind about that for this discussion), as you probably already know. There was a point a few years ago when I really started to feel like I was running out of movies I was really interested in (which seems silly to even say at this point). But then, by accident, I discovered Otto Preminger. And from there I discovered Howard Hawks. And from there I discovered Cary Grant. And rediscovered Jimmy Stewart. And Hitchcock. And Billy Wilder. And Sidney Lumet. And Jack Lemmon. And on and on.
The point is: Just give it a minute, and all of a sudden you’ll find some whole new thing you’d been putting off or ignoring or avoiding or something. Some whole new fresh thing that was right there staring you in the face, poking you in the nose.
Really. Just give it a minute.
(And while the seconds tick away, go make something, you lazy sack of crap.)
This reminds me of how good Clusterflockstock was.
Also: The desire for something fresh never goes away–unless you get depressed and nothing seems to matter anymore. If the “fresh” appeared at every moment, it would still find us looking for something else. Lots of very good advice in this thread. I’m damn sure ready for the perspective dogs can bring to everything. Also–find a very long and steep road, get a bicycle, and pedal hard in the down direction until the speed scares the shit out of you.
I guess the Internet stops us having to work hard for what we want – you know, the pleasure that one can get from physical activity – the fact that so much new stuff is there 24/7 sort of plays tricks with our heads and we end up feeling stale and yet the whole thing is still a wonder. I guess balance is what it’s all about – not just here but with our lives generally – too much of a good thing and all that shit – the same as how a Friday evening can feel so sweet just because of the 5 days that precede it.
I have no idea what I’m trying to say, but, you know what I’m trying to say!
I have that same feeling but I’m not quite that optimistic. I think things ARE getting tired. We’ve seen so much. I do agree on the fact that disconnecting might be a great idea.
Geez, Andrew. There are malcontent posts like yours all over the Internet.
True, but how many of them end with the parenthetical I did?
I’m not sure. The other ones all had pictures of Tiger Woods and his alleged mistresses so I just clicked on through.