Control vs. Empowerment

A friend recently posted a fascinating article on his facebook page - "Media Morphosis: How the internet will devour, transform, or destroy your favorite medium." He made the point that old guard media companies are dying by the wayside and he questioned: "What will take their place?"

My abbreviated response went something like this:

Time will tell, and considering the exponentially rapid pace at which our media now develops, we won't have to wait long to find out. In my opinion, the signs of change point toward more democratic, accessible, user-generated media. I loved this article and I agree with most of it. What bugged me was the frequent assertion that commercially viable media is the only media worthy of attention and capable of evolution.

"...the rhetoric is mostly of the nonproductive "But I like it!" and "It's good for society!" variety, with not enough thought given to whether these media are commercially viable." Thumbs down. I don't think those arguments of value are nonproductive. Not in the least. I'm not going to launch a tirade against capitalism, but I will say that, commercially viable or not, I vote that democratic, accessible, user-generated media will win out.


My unabridged version includes this rambling thought:

I posted previously about the global shift we're in the midst of, a shift to a more accessible, egalitarian society. Along those lines, in specifically discussing the potential demise of big-budget studio movies, the article states: "The specific, rarefied animal that is the gigantic film spectacle demands a technological reality that has ceased to exist -- just enough technology to distribute the films everywhere, but not so much technology that the audience gets to overrule your distribution decisions."

In other words, it used to be the case that a big studio controlled how and where and when and what movies you watch. Sound familiar? It used to be the case that the news was on at 5:00pm, the prime-time line up started just after dinner, and if you wanted to see that week's episode of Sitcom X, you were sitting in front of the tv at that time. Now? This could not be further from the truth.

This micro example of how we access television programs can be extrapolated into a macro discussion of power shifting in every way possible. People are taking ownership of their world, their communities, their tv viewing... Think I'm crazy or think I'm spot on, but I see our shifting media consumption as a much larger paradigm shift in our collective conscience. A shift to understanding our ecological impact. A shift to taking back control from monopolistic companies. A shift to empowering people who have been systemically disenfranchised from media in the past. Power is no longer held by the privileged few. The media venues that figure that out - the politicians who figure that out, the companies that figure that out, etc. - will be the those that we're still talking about 10 years from now.

par⋅a⋅digm | serving as a pattern

Recently a Sam Greenfield article appeared on Huffington Post: "Is That All You Have, Limbaugh?"

I don't remember the details of Limbaugh's tirade referenced in the article, and I don't actually care. What I do care about is the point Greenfield makes that the tired paradigm of fear and anger is on. its. way. out.

I've been feeling this shift coming for years now, and I am only one of millions of people who sense it. It's like we're hitting a giant reset button and changing our collective mind. Some people can instinctively hear, see, and even feel the difference between fear-based politics, fear-based advertising, fear-based motivation, a reactionary worldview...and the contrasting proactive, positive way of explaining the world. Some people cannot. Some people get defensive, some people get confused, some people get flat out angry. That's fine. If they can't make the distinction, that's fine. The shift is coming regardless.

The election of Barack Obama, particularly considering how he ran his groundbreaking community-based campaign, is one manifestation of this shift to a proactive worldview. Other manifestations include the near-failure of global capitalism, the fact that the internet is rapidly democratizing media, (more of my thoughts on media found here), people are beginning to care about how we treat our planet, and so much more. In other words - every day people, not exclusively those who have traditionally held power, are now empowered to define their own reality, make their own choices, create the world as they want it to be.

An article by Kari Henley - "Community is Our New Deal" - explains this shift. "...the winds of change are swinging away from fear and consumerism to regeneration and commonality. Our country has been asleep in a divisive rat race, and the time to cast away hedonism and embrace greater good for all is at hand. We are ready and yearning for it. Demonstrating the simplicity and power of community has been absent from our leaders for so long." (read more...) It's like taking the red pill and being ejected from the matrix. As soon as you identify the distinction between reactive and proactive worldviews, you see the chasm widening and there's no going back.

Thankfully.

Who needs porn when there are online trunk shows?

Dear Fellow Lovers of Lovely Things,

Say "hello" to vintage sari throws, Argentine wool runners, Turkish hammam towels, Mexican bedspreads, hadenga cushions, suzanis, mohair throws, cowhides, hemp linen pillows, Ethiopian blankets, arabesque tea glasses, Turkish pendant lamp, michoacán platters, Moroccan poufs, Chilean ox horn spoons...

I need a moment to compose myself.

Laura Aviva curates a series of online trunk shows selling all things exotic and delicious for your home. Each show has a new theme. Right now, for instance, the theme is object and textile.

I click and scroll and surf and lust after these treasures...waiting for the day I have $800 lying around, just waiting to be exchanged for a new bedspread.

Think Global. Map Local.

"...a participatory mapmaking platform that bridges the gap between awareness and action." Just when you thought Google Maps couldn't get any cooler, the community-minded programmers at Open Green Map created a wiki-style interface that let's you map resources relating to sustainability, nature, culture, etc. Think city parks, local businesses, non-profit and human services organizations, museums, etc.

Stuff like this really turns me on. By "stuff" I mean to say any venture related to organizing communities. There are immediate applications for Open Green Maps in my current job, but there are also implications for future plans I'm concocting. There's currently no map for Salt Lake City, let alone my hipster Sugarhouse neighborhood.

Hmmmmm...

I prefer the lights off

From the Earth Hour website:

"Earth Hour 2009 is set to switch off the globe. Already 538 cities in 75 countries, which is double the number of countries that participated in 2008, are committed. With hundreds more cities expected to sign up to switch off in the coming months, Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change."

There is something really peaceful about stopping, stopping it all, for a full hour. Shut off the lights, computer, television, phone...

I'm in.

Dance Dance Science Revolution

This. Is. Fantastic.

John Bohannon, writer for Science Magazine, had the genius idea to ask scientists to interpret their research as modern dance. He notes that there is "...no shortage of scientists willing to dance their research..." There is something so magical and charming about this.

Read this article if you're interested in the full story, but you should at least watch the video embedded in the article. The video has a great narration.

I so love the idea of dancing scientists.

Blame facebook & del.icio.us

Yes, there is unrelenting stress at work. Yes, it's been a long, blah winter. Yadda yadda yadda...and then...

In part I blame my blogging negligence on facebook. In direct correlation to my discovery of "posted items" aka "links" on my facebook wall, my blogging frequency dropped pretty much off the radar.

Then I discovered del.icio.us and it rocked my world. I've figured out how to link my del.icio.us bookmarks to this blog (see the sidebar menu), but that is a poor, poor excuse for blogging.

I want to blog. I really do. I want to ramble on with unsolicited opinions and post editorial tid bits about all the random stuff I'm reading, seeing, doing, hearing, et.al. I'm quite certain that some geek out there in cyberland has created an interface that would let me bookmark on del.icio.us, spam my facebook wall, and post to this blog all from one central program. If anyone knows of such a platform, please let me know.

In the meantime, I need to be better about posting. I need to be better about pulling particularly interested tid bits onto this site and, as I said, rambling on and editorializing. Most of these posts will end up in the new "while surfing around" label.

What is it that they say about good intentions?

...the crowd went wild!!

Go on. Create your own band and debut album. You know you want to. I loved it so much I created two.

(1) Go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The title of the first Wikipedia article that shows up is the name of your new band.

(2) Go to: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last 3-5 words of the last quote on the page is the title of your debut album.

(3) Go to: http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days

The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

(4) Use whatever editing program you prefer and put it all together to make your album cover.

slowly but surely

Dear Internet,

I'm slowly starting to get back into my creative groove. I've processed a few more vacation photos and posted my favorites on madeleines written with light.

Love,

me

RESET.

I know. I know. I haven't been paying enough attention to you and you're ready to break up with me. I didn't post any sort of momentous goal-setting, new-leaf-turning, happy-2009-themed post. The inauguration I've been waiting and working eight years for came and went withOUT a slew of ecstatic rambles. I have 1,500+ photos waiting to be processed from both my California vacay and my recent trip to Atlanta. My iBook has crashed with a full hard drive and, despite my attempts at off-loading to an external drive, I've yet to own the reality of needing an entirely new laptop (that...ahem...I can't exactly afford).

Folks, I'm in a creative funk. I haven't even begun to process my photos because the whole system runs at an annoying snails pace, what with it being overly full and all. I've really missed it. I've sincerely missed tinkering with my pics and chatting with the internets. Is my lack of blogging causing this funk or is this funk causing my lack of blogging. What the hell ever. The point is that I finally broke down tonight and braved the uncooperative computer. I only managed to crank out a few edits before I felt it necessary to wax poetic on circadian rhythms......

I am not a morning person. It's just not my thing. I have incredible respect for people who beat the sun in a race toward our day, but I'm more likely to be the night owl wide awake at 3:30am. I have, at various points throughout my life, tried with conscious intention to become a morning person. I really do turn on to the idea of having my own secret space before the chaotic world whirs to life around me...but I assure you that I turn off as soon as my alarm blares.

All of that to say, I know I've truly checked into a vacation when my circadian rhythm resets. I know I've truly checked in when I am up every morning with (or before) the sun, feeling fine, plenty of energy, happy to be there, even feeling creative as I snap hundreds of photographs of this that and the other thing. It takes a while for my stressed out system to reset, but once it does, it's magic. I think that's of the most beautiful concepts in the whole world: our inherent circadian rhythm (and not just because I hear Michael Stipes soothing voice singing every time I feel the phrase roll off my tongue). The academic in me cringes at the thought of citing Wiki, but I'm about to cite Wiki nonetheless. Should you not enjoy my description of the circadian phenomenon, read more here.

Circadian rhythm, very simply, refers to the sleep-wake cycle that all life forms complete in roughly 24 hours. Have you seen flowers that open and close, leaves that turn in on themselves then fan wide open, tides that ebb and flow like clockwork, animals that sleep and wake with only the cues of the moon and sun...? Then you get the idea. Many humans, though certainly not all, have managed to screw up our most basic, instinctual rhythm with unnatural light, stress, bad habits, etc. We medicate, we try yoga, we join three different gyms, we journal, we pay therapists to listen to our angst...and guess what? All we really need is the sincere chance to reset.

Reset. Not rewind. Not pause. Full. Complete. Total. Reset. The level of stress with which I enter a vacation dictates how long it will take my system to reset, but I do always manage to reset (usually just in time to go home and screw it up again...). My most vivid memory of this powerful shift in rhythm was in Kaua'i with my girlfriends. I have never felt that grounded in my entire life and I have never felt that grounded since. We woke up when the sun came up. It didn't matter what time it was. We went to bed when the sun went down. It didn't matter what time it was. We floated about in the ocean all day and, particularly for women (don't get me started), there is no force on earth with greater healing power than the tides. I very nearly approached this same nirvana during my recent California vacation. By the last half of my trip, I felt the sun rise over and over and over. It was magical. It was healing. It was exactly what I needed. It's now a distant memory and I would give anything to find it again.