Like most folks, I love books, movies, TV, music, games and sports. I have
become a bit disenchanted with modern trends in all 6 of those categories, but,
there is no reason to abandon those pastimes.
I am not by nature a very nostalgic person , but I recognise quality. I
find present day entertainment lacking in quality but, I tend to think of this
as, at most, an annouing trend. By examining the past, I believe we can find a
way out of the current sludge that we are fed by the various media and start
something of a new era, one not clinging to the past, but rooted there,
Human society is created by building on the past, adapting it to aquired
knowledge and producing a synthesis. We seem to currently be trying to
completely abandon all past value in an effort to create some kind of new
techno-society. In a sense, that is succeeding, but it does not lead to a new
beauty, a new quality. Instead, we are creating some sort of mechanical world.
The Singularity that people like Ray Kurtzweil babble about may be near and if
it is, count me out.
I like entertainment that stresses humanity. The books of Twain and Poe and
Dickens, the music of Robert Johnson and Bob Dylan, the movies of John Ford and
Robert Altman. I like games where people interact directly with each other, not
through game consoles. I like sports where skills other than raw power are
valued.
In this blog, I am going to give into nostalgia, a bit, in order to remind
folks that there was a time when humans and their stories were of the greatest
value. Those of my era may find some pleasure in remembering some of the things
I will mention. Those younger may be inspired to look at the past. I hope so
because I would hate to see so much of value, so much beauty, lost.
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