the problem with the internet is that you actually have to remember all those passwords.

The awesome things about it are blogs or magazines filled with humor, recipe blogs, and photography blogs. On its best days, the internet really sparks my creativity and makes me want to find a way to create something poetic, profound, or playful (or alliterated).

Today I fulfilled the playful imperative by brainstorming with Dan Custer, following up on the genius of Brandie Stonge, who invited Peary Manilow to tour the Office of Marketing and Public Relations.

As artists and writers, that’s what we need more of, every day — sites that spark something, that give us a new view into ways to spark our readers or viewers to interest, new ways to approach puns, topics of conversation with other sides.

It’s a good point for the internet, to balance against this article, which makes the claim that the internet is stunting our brains. The author of the article is speaking about our growing inability to read long things deeply and thoughtfully due to the way the internet is structured. (You’ll notice that he makes this point within an extremely long article. Preaching to the choir, as it were — people who already value reading long pieces deeply.) I think it’s a deeper issue than that, though. Rather than changing the way we read (although it might do that, too) the internet simply creates many, many distractions from meditation and contemplation.

You know, being able to take time to watch the sun setting, or the rain, and think about it without feeling impatient, without feeling like you need to rush off and click on the next link. As much as it feels odd to me, I am sort of appreciating that the house I’m house-sitting this month does not have internet. I spend more time outside, more time playing with the cat.

So as an artist, the tricky balance to seek after is possibly, “how do I keep the inspiration, variety, humor, and portent that can be found in places like the internet and yet still spend time in contemplation and immersion in the present moment?”

Maybe?

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