May 16, 2008: Will and the Internets
Yes, it has been awhile since I've posted. I hope you've been keeping busy in the meantime with reading rabid political arguments, ogling car crashes, and downloading porn. Or, because you're my friends, I rather hope not.
Every so often, I have to retreat from the Internet because it is such an aching hole of stupidity and want--the perfect medium for a society that much prefers to talk than listen these days. We live in a scary world where opinions about the news matter more than the news, where we feel compelled to comment with faux authority on matters we know nothing about.
(My favorite examples, by the way, are the polls they run during true crime shows on A&E asking for public opinion on legal issues: "Do you think hearsay evidence should be admissible against scary-looking guys who are probably guilty?")
So sometimes I disappear for awhile, not wanting to contribute to the cacophony of lunacy. You've already noticed that I rarely care what most people think, but you may be surprised to learn that sometimes I don't care much about what I think, either. Certainly not enough to inflict it on you.
Unfortunately, intermittent reinforcement has addicted me to the Web because, hey, maybe this NEXT page will be cool and intelligent. The pathetic few that actually are keep me browsing through the millions that aren't, probably including my own.
So I always come back, damn it. Much as I'd like to have that cabin near Walden Pond, it'd probably have to have Wi-Fi.
