I’ve Heard More Than Enough

I was in the “studio” until 2:30 AM last night, only to wake up around 7:30 AM. I got those deep dark circles under my eyes like Charlie Sheen in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, only better. Worse? Yes, I guess worse.

So far, my efforts in the studio haven’t come to much. While the lack of viable artifacts is frustrating, I do enjoy the process. In that light, I suppose this is where one would traditionally begin experimenting with different types of processes: chance operations, erasure drawings, and so forth.

I should have more time for such experiments. I’ve decided to further reduce my use of the internet for the next few months or so. I already avoid social media, but I hope to mostly stop following the news, avoid aggregator sites, and dial back my passive YouTube¹ consumption significantly. I’m not undertaking a total current-events blackout, but I want to keep it to a minimum.

It’s a mental health thing. I believe the non-stop consumption and discussion of politically charged content and media is making everyone insane. It’s definitely driving me nuts. For my part, I’d like to spend some time not knowing what any of y’all are talking about. I figure most people don’t actually know what they’re talking about anyway, so why should I bother keeping up with all the Gish galloping?

I’m not suggesting we all bury our heads in the sand, but there are only so many waking moments in a day, and it’s not healthy to spend all of them angry and worried about whatever you just saw on the World Wide Web there.

Watch "The Kinks — 20th Century Man" on YouTube

Footnotes

1. I recently made the mistake of going down a rabbit hole of YouTube manosphere recommendations. I watched five different alpha males tell me how life works, invariably filmed on an iPhone in the front seat of their car. I’ll be mashing that Don’t recommend channel button for years to come. ↩