the lovers, the dreamers, and you

People read this stuff...

It has been funny, but on several occasions I will run into somebody or receive a random comment about this blog from a person that I have not seen or heard from in a long time.  And when this happens I almost always feel the same sensation.. It is a combination of intrigue, surprise, humility, and some element of value.

Kind of like...

"yeah I baked that cake and put it out for everyone to taste, but I didn't even know you were coming to the party..."

It could be argued that truly great writers would continue writing even if there was nobody to read their work.. although I would argue that the value of a writers work comes not by the mere combination of ink to paper but when these symbols take meaning and are processed by the outside observers, the readers.

I wouldn't consider myself to be a great writer, just somebody with a few thoughts that might be worth sharing about my perspectives and ponderings.  Also, I would probably keep on writing even if nobody was reading this stuff, but the fact that I know people do read it encourages me to continue writing, and to be more intentional about keeping my writings fresh and hopefully interesting, if not bizarre enough to at least draw a smile out from the reader.

Of what value is your expression if there is nobody to interpret it?  How great is it to bake the best cookies in the world but to dare not share them with anyone else for fear they will be criticized, or to write a song that will never be heard?


Could it be that when we produce out of selflessness, in whatever our gifting, we actually contribute more to the greater community by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable?  loaded question, but I think so.

I don't thing that this blog is any great creation, but I have found it to be a healthy place for me to process my thoughts and present them to a community that might also be challenged in some form and hopefully responds with thoughts and opinions of their own.

I'll bet that some of you have talents far greater than any of mine and you have held them close to yourself for fear of criticism, rejection, or something else,  and that they are being suffocated by these hesitations.

They need to breathe.  The longer they have been without breath the more those talents will need to be developed. but they are there... and they are waiting.

recycled culture: the sin of skinny jeans

I am not sure how this happened. but it did.

At some point it seems that instead of continuing to create and develop a unique and original culture we just decided to take the things that "worked" in the past and reuse them in a modern day setting.... while I approve of some of this cultural carry-over, there is an extensive list of things that have become zombified only to attach itself to the youth of the day like some kind of flesh eating virus.

Some things withstand the test of time....

- classical music
- classic rock
- most fashion from the 1960's
- good food and drink
- motorcycles
- three piece suits
-  etc, etc, etc

and the list continues..

Then there is Recycled Culture which includes things were at some point dead and then raised from what should have been their eternal slumber...

- skinny jeans
- most fashion from the 1980's and early 90's

and more importantly, there is a sub-category of recycled culture that includes:

- movie re-makes
- books made into movies
- the 3-5 part movie series
- cover songs
- chain restaurants & coffee shops

basically anything that has become an acceptable substitute for originality and innovation, not in and of themselves bad.. until they begin defining the culture they are in.

This is the main difference between things that have persisted and things that have been recycled.  The things that have persisted stand on their own as great pieces of our culture.  They need no modification in order to remain beautiful and innovative... the Mona Lisa does not need a boob job.

Recycled culture declares Mona Lisa not relevant enough and instead of creating a new piece of art to represent the times, she is instead photoshopped and airbrushed until deemed appropriate.  Or else she is declared good as is, and cheap copies of her are made and circulated to the masses taking away from her uniqueness and beauty... but at such an affordable price!

boy bands were created, Starbucks and Caribous arrived on ever corner, the karate kid is now instructed by Jackie Chan, skinny jeans are worshiped by kids born in 1997, and we already know how the story ends long before the credits are rolling....

Why is this important?  We are becoming a culture.. a generation...  that is being defined by cheap remakes of original beauty.  We are limiting our potential by remaining entrenched in a recycled culture, and if this remains satisfactory it will likely become a cycle that is even more difficult to break free from in the future.  We embrace familiarity through cheap imitation and call it something new and in doing so convince ourselves that we are moving and creating when, really, we are feeding our laziness and comfort.  Why get up and move when we can pay to have the world move around us?

... or at least appear as though it is.