In recent weeks, since quitting most social media, I guess I’ve become a bit of an ostrich when it comes to following contemporary events and news, but I don’t really care. I don’t have one of those fancy color televisions or cable, I don’t pay attention to the television news. I do occasionally turn on my transistor radio to catch up what they are saying on NPR News, follow some of the political podcasts, but I am not caught up in the 24 hour news-cycle like so many others are today.
I’m not totally cut off from them media. I do read the newspapers and trade publications as part of my job, but I’m not somebody who does it recreationally. I check NPR.org a few times a day and often read the trending article in Mozilla Firefox’s Pocket. But I don’t spend endless hours going down that rat hole — but sometimes there are interesting essays out there to review. But not all the time, as I lack Internet access at home.
Listening to Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Malvina Reynolds, John Denver, and generally music recorded a half century ago, further isolates myself from the modernity I find so distasteful. I’m cynical, and I don’t like modernity. While I use a contemporary laptop, with modern versions of web browsers, Quantum GIS, and other security updates, I like my XFCE Window Manager, which in-style hasn’t changed in 25 years — and using easy-to-use terminal apps for my purposes.
I walk or take public transit around town, rather then motoring. I like my big jacked up truck, but I really hate motoring, especially in locations with speed restrictions and traffic lights. I spend my weekends in summer months in the wilderness, although I do like having electricity, my truck camper, propane camp stove, and my propane heater in the cold weather. But I don’t do campgrounds, except when there is no other option. And I doubt I would ever stay in a motel, unless there was absolutely no other option.
Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I don’t like direction of contemporary society with colorful screens and ‘modern’ ways of living.
