going offline (mostly)

  On 10/21/2015 at 6:23 PM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 10/20/2015 at 7:44 PM, Nebraska said:

 

  On 10/20/2015 at 6:47 AM, joshuatx said:

what all did he say about ww2?

 

he said he was forced into it. he didn't like his time there and how it made him bitter and angry. the one thing he loved was his rifle which he still had. he stopped at one point from making the chilli to fetch it and show it to me. "this gun means a lot to me" he said. i wanted to ask him a lot of things (remember, he'd only ever had said 1 thing to me prior to this conversation in the span of 8 months) but i decided to let him speak in case i jinxed him back to silence. he mostly talked about his family who were now in some kind of disarray that had began after he'd come back from the war (it seemed like he blamed it on the war too). he never did introduce me to them, even though they all lived around us.

 

after he finished talking he gave me the chilli he'd been making, asked me what i thought, and went back to playing video games and didn't so much as even say goodbye when i left his house (and new mexico) for good. that was that

 

 

this just gets more and more fascinating

 

I'd always heard Native Americans, in general, serve frequently in the military, ironically considering the history of America's expansion in the West. in fact the first american female soldied killed in Iraq was a native american. not all tribes, some resisted but some had more than half of their men serve in WW2. I assume he was upset at being drafted.

i lived with the navajo nation just outside santa fe. a nation in a reservation is considered it's own country. members have dual citizenship: they're citizens of their nation and citizens of the united states. they have their own law enforcement and form of government.

the navajo were used in world war 2 to transmit code because their language was so obscure. also, different navajo from different regions of north america have different dialects.

gordon spoke about all the world war 2 stories with a lot of anger and you could tell this had jaded him greatly. when people from the nation would come to his door (no idea what they wanted. they'd just come, bang on the door- i'd go open it and they'd ask for him so i'd go fetch him from his computer) he'd get up with not so much as a word, go over, listen to them and either give them something or say a word or two and slam the door shut. i often wondered whether i had created some kind of tension or had come during a bad time. but i was never treated badly or even asked when i would be leaving. i was never asked for money or anything (although i bought groceries for the camper i was in, but nobody took anything).

now when i think about it, i realize, i have no idea what they thought of me.

sounds weird, how did you end up with that guy specifically?

  On 10/21/2015 at 7:01 PM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

 

  On 10/21/2015 at 12:59 AM, frankbooth said:

Wish I could quit but the job requires me being connected.

 

That said, deleted Facebook years ago. Deleted Twitter. No other social networks other than watmm which I visit here and there.

 

Deleted many apps. All that's left are a couple music and news apps on one page of my iPhone.

 

Don't have a computer except at work.

 

Have gone back to reading real books instead of kindle versions. Listen to vinyl when possible.

 

But I'm old and losing this war. I drive an SUV around LA that's higher up than most cars. I can see into them at stop lights at night and every driver is staring at their phones.

 

Just googled "long attention span" and the first page of results solely listed articles on short attention span, completely ignoring the fact I wrote the word "long". Like it doesn't exist.

 

We're getting that much closer to the matrix and it won't be stopped.

 

You understand that phones offer GPS to the driver correct?

 

Your answer makes you lok like you're addicted to you phone.

Good luck with the whole GPS app on your phone holding it at a junction thing sounds illegal and dangerous.

  On 10/21/2015 at 7:55 PM, caze said:

sounds weird, how did you end up with that guy specifically?

his wife invited me to move in

she worked at devargas mall selling chocolate fudge whilst i worked at the movie theater. i had just got kicked out of the youth hostel because i'd been late on weekly payments a few times and because the manager suspected my temporary stay was turning into something more permanent (she was right. she'd also been informed that i'd engaged in coitus with one of the girls at the front desk so i suppose i was a nuisance).

when i got to the mall, gordon's wife (who'd always come to the theater to get a free coke or slushy or buy some candy) noticed i looked miserable. i told her my predicament, that i had 2 days to find somewhere to live, and she immediately said "you can come live with me. i live on the rez"

she didn't mention gordon or her status (she wasn't the main wife) or how i couldn't be there if she and gordon weren't there. nobody told me i couldn't buy stuff on the rez either. i went one day to the grocery store and the guy at the front desk started to laugh at me. "this is native only. i'll let you get it this time, but you should go to town for groceries" too bad. it was super cheap.

one time i went to this party a few houses away (for those that don't know, a rez is basically like a VERY huge farm, then you have houses scattered around the area and there are some common places you can gather including a police station and village hall etc) anyway, i go to this party and at first i'm the only guy there. it's a mom, about 6 daughters and me. they're all falling down drunk. then they bust out the weed and we start to smoke some weed. all the time they're asking me questions about girlfriends and random shit. suddenly all these guys show up (like 5 native guys). at this point, my paranoia jumps to 10,000 and i'm thinking "these guys are going to kill me" because they aren't talking to me, they are only talking in navajo.

after a little while, two of the guys left and the other 3 went inside to watch tv. "who is that?" oh that's our cousins and some friends. they thought you look goofy when you're high.

i spent the rest of the night partying with the mom and her daughters. next morning i could tell gordon and his wife knew. it's like if you did something, even take a shit, everyone knew. like everyone on the rez was somehow connected. they didn't say a word to me that entire morning or evening. i thought i was done for sure, but after a day, things went back to normal. nothing was ever mentioned, but i decided from then on to do all my partying somewhere else

  On 10/21/2015 at 7:38 PM, Nebraska said:

the navajo were used in world war 2 to transmit code because their language was so obscure. also, different navajo from different regions of north america have different dialects.

 

gordon spoke about all the world war 2 stories with a lot of anger and you could tell this had jaded him greatly. when people from the nation would come to his door (no idea what they wanted. they'd just come, bang on the door- i'd go open it and they'd ask for him so i'd go fetch him from his computer) he'd get up with not so much as a word, go over, listen to them and either give them something or say a word or two and slam the door shut. i often wondered whether i had created some kind of tension or had come during a bad time. but i was never treated badly or even asked when i would be leaving. i was never asked for money or anything (although i bought groceries for the camper i was in, but nobody took anything).

yeah i am familiar with the windtalkers

his experience reminds me of this song

^^ lol. interesting song. when i got out the desert and returned to urban infestation, i told my parents my time in santa fe was like this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w6xoiCJ_5w

  On 10/21/2015 at 8:09 PM, fenton said:

 

  On 10/21/2015 at 7:01 PM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

 

  On 10/21/2015 at 12:59 AM, frankbooth said:

Wish I could quit but the job requires me being connected.

 

That said, deleted Facebook years ago. Deleted Twitter. No other social networks other than watmm which I visit here and there.

 

Deleted many apps. All that's left are a couple music and news apps on one page of my iPhone.

 

Don't have a computer except at work.

 

Have gone back to reading real books instead of kindle versions. Listen to vinyl when possible.

 

But I'm old and losing this war. I drive an SUV around LA that's higher up than most cars. I can see into them at stop lights at night and every driver is staring at their phones.

 

Just googled "long attention span" and the first page of results solely listed articles on short attention span, completely ignoring the fact I wrote the word "long". Like it doesn't exist.

 

We're getting that much closer to the matrix and it won't be stopped.

 

You understand that phones offer GPS to the driver correct?

 

 

Your answer makes you lok like you're addicted to you phone.

 

Good luck with the whole GPS app on your phone holding it at a junction thing sounds illegal and dangerous.

 

addicted? I don't know. The real definition of an addiction is that it's negatively disruptive to your life. I don't feel that any technology other maybe video games are negatively disruptive for me. The benefits of technology are endless if you use it productively. I don't often use my phone in the car for anything but GPS, but I do regularly have it open and I hold it in intermittently while I'm navigating the city.

  On 10/21/2015 at 12:59 AM, frankbooth said:

Wish I could quit but the job requires me being connected.

 

That said, deleted Facebook years ago. Deleted Twitter. No other social networks other than watmm which I visit here and there.

 

Deleted many apps. All that's left are a couple music and news apps on one page of my iPhone.

 

Don't have a computer except at work.

 

Have gone back to reading real books instead of kindle versions. Listen to vinyl when possible.

 

But I'm old and losing this war. I drive an SUV around LA that's higher up than most cars. I can see into them at stop lights at night and every driver is staring at their phones.

 

Just googled "long attention span" and the first page of results solely listed articles on short attention span, completely ignoring the fact I wrote the word "long". Like it doesn't exist.

 

We're getting that much closer to the matrix and it won't be stopped.

lol?

edit: nm shitpost

  On 10/21/2015 at 10:04 PM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

 

  On 10/21/2015 at 8:09 PM, fenton said:

 

  On 10/21/2015 at 7:01 PM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

 

  On 10/21/2015 at 12:59 AM, frankbooth said:

Wish I could quit but the job requires me being connected.

 

That said, deleted Facebook years ago. Deleted Twitter. No other social networks other than watmm which I visit here and there.

 

Deleted many apps. All that's left are a couple music and news apps on one page of my iPhone.

 

Don't have a computer except at work.

 

Have gone back to reading real books instead of kindle versions. Listen to vinyl when possible.

 

But I'm old and losing this war. I drive an SUV around LA that's higher up than most cars. I can see into them at stop lights at night and every driver is staring at their phones.

 

Just googled "long attention span" and the first page of results solely listed articles on short attention span, completely ignoring the fact I wrote the word "long". Like it doesn't exist.

 

We're getting that much closer to the matrix and it won't be stopped.

 

You understand that phones offer GPS to the driver correct?

 

 

Your answer makes you lok like you're addicted to you phone.

 

Good luck with the whole GPS app on your phone holding it at a junction thing sounds illegal and dangerous.

 

 

addicted? I don't know. The real definition of an addiction is that it's negatively disruptive to your life. I don't feel that any technology other maybe video games are negatively disruptive for me. The benefits of technology are endless if you use it productively. I don't often use my phone in the car for anything but GPS, but I do regularly have it open and I hold it in intermittently while I'm navigating the city.

 

I still use a dumb phone. It can connect to the internet for simple things, but I don't have a data plan for it.

I'm going to be slowing giving this a shot. Taking a break from twitter, FB and maybe even here soon. Hopefully for at least a few weeks, ideally until 2016 kicks off.

  On 11/17/2015 at 1:46 AM, joshuatx said:

I'm going to be slowing giving this a shot. Taking a break from twitter, FB and maybe even here soon. Hopefully for at least a few weeks, ideally until 2016 kicks off.

no don't leaf us ;_;

  On 10/19/2015 at 5:27 PM, joshuatx said:

Has anyone here simply quit the internet? Or at least gone so cold turkey that you only and check email and a handful of other quick, pragmatic things.

 

I've been less and less active on FB and twitter but I still find myself farting around on reddit or some other topical site asking myself "why am I sitting here wasting time?" or feeling like I'm superficially projecting my artistic interests and leanings by just browsing other peoples (oft recycled or re-posted) art and culture.

 

The other factor is pure nostalgia / reflection on my personal past and society's past. I miss the more detached time I had offline or by myself. I'm kind of a holdout - hell I didn't even have a smartphone until late last year. Sometimes I just like to sit and think, or listen to music or watch a movie without feeling like I have to broadcast it to the world. I like driving sometimes so I can do this. But the pondering thing especially, I really miss doing that as often I used to. I really don't like people who are the opposite. Louis CK touches on it here.

 

...or maybe I just miss web 1.0 internet - back when you would have a 1 on 1 interaction with the internet or people via chat. I feel like instead of making my own little substantive online presence and music and art I dick around via comments and sharing existing stuff. I used to get more obsessed and passionate about certain music and art that way than I do now, or at least I felt I did, than simply clicking around now. Hell that's how I found WATMM after all.

 

Anyway, just curious if anyone has had the same dilemma.

I feel like im reading my thoughts.. 100% with you man. I think its safe to say many of us, at least myself, are internet addicts.

Id also love the will power to be able to scale back and approach the net in moderation so i can have a more appreciative perspective of the things i discuss/ discover on it / use it for.

i only started using the internet more when the soundclown shit began, when this ends so will my internet exploration.

will not miss anything as i don't have any real friends so i have no need for pretend ones i will never meet

being incapacitated for well over a year has forced my hand with the internet, but fk facefuck & twatter....... their very existence is the work of the devil & i can relate to Fenton's statement of mistrust if yer perceived wrongly for not using those specific outlets

it works both ways - just b4 i met the missus i spent 3hrs with a woman post-shag while she scrawled thru various facefuck feeds, if it hadnt been for her predilection for anal sex i might've intervened......

for research, music & dloads i'll rummage around, everything else can bugger off

I took a whole year off FB recently, it was like turning off a loud radio tuned to static in my house. I can't believe I've gone back on there and gotten so addicted again.

Logged in today, and the first 5 posts are started similarly "It's time I said something about the recent tradegy in Paris..." > I don't don't actually know anyone living in France. Next 5 posts are sharing of articles on the exact same subject. All different people.

Then there's the ex band-mate who always posts pictures of the bacon he is cooking. Argh. I n e e d help.

  On 11/19/2015 at 9:16 AM, Haste said:

Then there's the ex band-mate who always posts pictures of the bacon he is cooking. Argh. I n e e d help.

Is there no end to this islamophobia?

  On 10/20/2015 at 2:48 PM, caze said:

No, learning everything I can about the Beaker Culture should not be on today's list of priorities.

I knew, without clicking the spoiler, that that was exactly what you were going to post, lol.

Been trying to approach the internet with a modicum of discipline lately and keep the auld social media to a minimum (I need it for work, unfortunately), if nothing else only having one tab open at a time helps keep a handle on it, unless one's for music in the background or whatever. If I'm reading something I try and read it the way I would offline, as in, finish a chapter before I go off clicking on other shit, try and bring some sort of awareness to my webz use. It's a fucking awesome resource but I do reckon it's best combined with a wee bit of discipline.

*posts minions memes on fb*

Sometimes I find it weird that so many people on WATMM are alike, I am no exception. It makes sense, it is no coincidence that we listen to IDM and are in general introverted.

For a random example, if we polled watmm I bet most would at least more than like Bladerunner or Ghost in the Shell as random examples.

It is no coincidence.

Yet if you 'polled' random people, head scratching would commence, or indifference, or they haven't seen either, yet I bet most frequent WATMMers have seen both.

By the way I've went offline several times too, I also as someone else said got rid of my FB account and now have an incognito account for my music.

I've tried to go offline permanently (but it doesn't work for too long). I think the healthiest/easiest way to tone down the computer use would be to already have other hobbies or plans in place before you do. Unfortunatly for me the bulk of my music making is on a computer, programming is on my computer, my 'TV' watching is on my computer, etc. Whenever I have a good excuse to use money on hardware I am probably going to do it. NOT because of the analog warmth, but because it's not in front of a computer. It's funner having a room dedicated to music making than a spot in a room where your computer is.

In the very least I want to get another computer that doesn't have access to the internet where I do nothing but make music.

That said I would in the very least try to tone down the activities on the computer which are a 'waste' of time such as FB or something.. Sometimes you need to zone out a bit, but daily? no

Facebook just deleted my account, so I guess I'm free of that evil

https://www.messenger.com/is facebook messenger without facebook if anybody wants to get rid of facebook but still likes to stay in touch with friends

  On 11/24/2015 at 7:40 PM, drillkicker said:

Facebook just deleted my account, so I guess I'm free of that evil

  On 11/25/2015 at 8:44 AM, o00o said:

https://www.messenger.com/is facebook messenger without facebook if anybody wants to get rid of facebook but still likes to stay in touch with friends

omg, thank you. this is exactly what i've been looking for