Picnik

Fun at http://www.picnik.com/.

lostnovel
Originally uploaded by lostnovel

Dusty Books and a Cup of Coffee

I like old, dusty books. I like the feel of one when I pull it from a shelf as if I am reaching into the past and pulling a forgotten century from history's bookcase. I like to learn in a myriad of ways, but I still like a good book and a cup of coffee, pen and paper, and a quiet room far from the randomness that scurries along the concrete just beneath our collective window.

Flickr part 2

I did this at http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/. I still find

My creation
Originally uploaded by lostnovel

flickr to be quite cumbersome (see entry below).

Flickr: Don't judge a book by its cover...

...or people for that matter.

lostnovel
Originally uploaded by lostnovel

Okay we're talking about flickr. Sounds great. Looks great. Works great? Not in my opinion. Don't like it. Not user friendly.

But my biggest issue lies elsewhere (I sense a rant). Call me a jerk, but I have no interest in looking at everyone else's pictures. I prefer to keep my own pictures private. I am not anyone else's business nor are my pictures anyone else's business. As for other people's pictures: Why in the world would I want to browse pictures people have placed on flickr (or any social pics site)? Do I care to see 20 different people's pictures of their dogs in various outfits? Or 10 different people who have tagged their pics "bad hair day"? I just don't get it. This whole movement towards group projects and "everyone look at me" bogs the net with blogs and pics of themselves which reeks of mediocrity! Can no one do anything on their own anymore? Or is it that as we move away from family structure, we are conceding that we are more and more alone, and therefore desperately reaching out to everyone, anyone for attention? Wasn't there a time when such attention was earned or deserved? Don't get me wrong, I believe in everyone having worth. I respect life. I do not believe that anyone is better than anyone else. I am not trying to downplay anyone's worth or insult anyone. I just don't understand why so many people think they need to be known to the entire world. Will this somehow give them worth? Sorry for the rant, but the world's values today scare me and sometimes appall me. Reality TV, athletes as role models, plastic surgery, etc. Are these the things we value? What has happened to inner peace, quiet confidence, and humility? What has happened to integrity? What has happened to us all?

InterNet, Safety Net?

Internet safety. Internet, a recent (relatively speaking) word added to the lexicon. Derived from network? Net + work. Or simply inter- + net. Inter-, prefix meaning 1. between, amidst (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inter (inter-)). Net, 1. an open-meshed fabric twisted, knotted, or woven together at regular intervals OR 2. an entrapping device or situation (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/net). Maybe it is a little of both. Still I doubt very seriously that the Internet will ever catch my fall which reminds me it does have another name--web. I don't know about you, but in the real world, I tend to stay as far away as possible from anything that constructs one of those.

What's in a name?

Blog. Sounds a lot like "blah" with a "g" on the end. But what's in a name? According to Shakespeare, not much, but other authors have thought otherwise. Many of Ursula K. Le Guin's books focus on the importance of naming things or knowing a thing's true name. Anyway, I don't think that the combination of "web" and "log" was a successful merger, but it has stuck. Still, I suppose it is better than wiary (web diary) or wournal. Who knows? Considering the "blah" quality of some of the blogs out there, it may very well be aptly named.

Just an aside: If it were not for freedom of speech, I think the vast majority of books should be burned; not for content but the lack of.