Let’s Get REAL

We take tangibility for granted.

In this digital age–in this fast-paced world of electronic interaction–reality tends to get lost. We’re so used to holding a glowing slab in our hands–a slab that contains all of our friends, memories, and future plans–that we forget what it actually means to hold on to something real.

We are far too comfortable with the incorporeal.

We are far too used to letting our lives be cataloged in a digital, timeless, non-physical space.

In my experience…

DVDs are more fun than digital copies. When, as a society, did we agree that it wasn’t cool anymore to have a fun menu for a movie? To have creative displays for “play movie,” “scene select,” “bloopers,” etc.?

The whole thing used to be an experience. The whole thing used to be artistic. I think we’ve really sacrificed experience for practicality, and it’s doing more harm than good. We’re so concerned with having hundreds of options to choose from that we’ve taken all the fun out of it.

Do we really need hundreds of movies at our fingertips? Maybe we left Blockbuster behind too soon. We’re losing our ability to be selective. And maybe that’s considered a bad word, “selective.”

But when we have endless options, our decisions don’t really seem to matter as much. To quote one of my favorite animated villains: “when everyone’s super, no one is.”

When all your movies and photos are readily available, how much of it really matters? How do you filter out the important stuff from the unimportant stuff?

Holding memories

I love Polaroid pictures. There’s something special about flipping through photos in a book. Turning memories with the pages. Holding them in your hands. For me, it reminds me that things happened. They happened here in the real world, and they’re not just pixels on a screen.

And don’t get me wrong: I love being able to take photos with my phone. But there’s something special that happens when I take out my Polaroid camera. I start being more careful about what I take photos of. I start thinking about what memories are special enough to capture. I don’t want to waste my film. I suddenly have a renewed love for being intentional.

More areas of life need that renewed love for intentionality.

More memories need to be realized and recorded offline. More movies should be kept as DVDs.

More art should be held.

Rise of the magazine!

Physical media is dying. And it makes me sad. But here’s the thing about physical media: you can always do it yourself!

I’m working on a print literary magazine. You might’ve known that already. Either way, it’s gonna be great! It’s gonna be real, and it’s gonna be pretty.

And short story submissions are gonna close soon!