Written Word == Dead

Why the fuck do I write this thing? Maybe three people out there read it. I guess four if you count myself. Does anyone really care about the things I say? Fuck, most of the time you people only read it because as soon as you pop on AIM I hit you with "GO READ MY BLOG" like I'm some attention whore. No more of that. If you want to know what's going through my mind, you can check on it yourself. I'll leave the link in my profile, but that's about all I'll do. I guess I'll try and maintain a semi regular schedule, or at least promise to put up a post once a week at the very least, so you can check it on Tuesday's or something when you've got nothing else to do.

Seriously, though, part of the reason no one cares about my blog is because quite frankly the written word as it's own medium is dying out. My own handwriting is proof enough of that. As soon as I get a scanner, I'll let you all see it for yourselves. But lets face it, not enough people really read any more. I'll admit, I'm one of them, I don't read nearly as much as I should. Which, if you think about it, is a crying shame. I used to LOVE to read. True enough, I'd mostly read Star Wars or other science fiction books, but I was at least doing something that didn't involve a cathode ray tube or liquid crystal display. And more often than not, I'd do it in silence, letting my internal narrator and my own imagined sound effects fill in the quiet as I read. It was edifying, I suppose. A good experience. Now adays, if you let me loose in the local Barnse and Nobles, I make a b-line (bee line?) Straight for the manga section. Yep, the only books I read now adays are the ones with pictures. It's pathetic. I read more intellectually challenging stuff back in the fifth grade.

Ah, those were the days. I was the only kid in my class who got in trouble for reading in school. Not for reading porn or anything dirty. Though I have very fond memories of reading a book in third grade that was aimed at adult readers (not that it had adult content, but that it was simply aimed towards non-kids; it had a highschool and over reading level). Anyway, it was a book of science fiction stories involving dinosaurs. Like any other red blooded american kid in the early ninties, I was FACINATED by dinosaurs, so I got Mom to order me the book from her science fiction book club. Anyway, so there I am, reading this absolutely HUGE hardcover book with a dinosaur on the cover (and for the life of me, I can't remember or imagine what the other kids were reading at that time) when a curious combination of letters appeared on the page. "Shit," the book said. This was not a particularly vulgar book, mind you, and the situation being discribed was a perfectly appropriate place to put the swear word. But being a third grader, I couldn't help but nudge the kid next to me: "Hey, look, my book says 'shit'!" This right young fellow, in turn, alerted my teacher. She came over, gave the book a good looking at, gave ME a good looking at, and determined that it was okay for me to read it. Yay for being the smart kid, eh?

Other times I remember being caught reading the Lord of the Rings in class, after the first movie had come out. I still need to finish that, by the way. The amazing part of this, though, is that I really only read during class. I wouldn't read outside of class, so my progress was rather meager. Coupled with the fact that despite being rather smart, I'm not the fastest reader ever. I know this, but most other people assume that because I'm smart, I must also be a fast reader. I'll admit, the two appear naturally together in my head as well. Ah well.

Now, though, the time of books is dwindling. The concept of eBooks, while a good one (basically a portable screen / hard drive for reading text files on), is trounced by the following gaping flaw: IF I HAVE WHAT BASICALLY AMOUNTS TO A COMPUTER WITH ME, WHY AM I READING ON IT INSTEAD OF PLAYING GAMES OR WATCHING VIDEO? (That probably shouldn't all be in caps, but I'm too lazy to go back and fix it.) Given the choice, I've got to go with the video for my airline storytelling, if I'm going to the trouble of having electronics. If I want to read, books work fine for me. Is the thing really worth the extra trouble as opposed to just packing the books? I suppose if you're a book reviewer and need to read like fifty books in a week, and commute a lot to boot, then sure, such a device could be useful, but for the general public, its no good.

Anyway, the reason books are dying out is because more visual mediums are so much more accessable to the general public. Given the choice between paying five or so bucks for a paperback copy of the Borne Supremacy, or paying six or so for a movie ticket to SEE the movie, and in a good deal less time than the book would have taken, the average person is going to watch the movie. Personally, I went out and bought the books to read, though I haven't started on them yet, but I hadn't even HEARD of the story before the movies came out, and if it hadn't been a half interesting story, I probably wouldn't have bought the books, either. How many people out there had never even heard the name Asimov before Will Smiths face started appearing on his book? Would Jurassic Park have been a best seller without an accomanying movie? Or ANY book by Tom Clancy or Michael Crichton(sp)?

And the troubling thing is I have great stories I want to get out. You've read my detective stories, right? If not, scroll down and read them when you finish this. Or search the Archives. Maybe I'll edit link them later, I'm too lazy now. I need to finish my third story, too, but then again, what's the point? Will anyone read it? Nope. Not really. No one is going to proclaim me the next great... fuck, I can't even think of a famous comic short story writer before me. Shows you how much the world cares about writers, huh? If it hasn't been made into a movie or TV show, no one cares about it. This is why I was contemplating doing a web-manga all those months back. The trouble is, I've got what I think is an okay story idea, but no artist to draw my ideas, and definitely no artistic talent of my own to draw them. My single greatest artistic achievement, I think, was turning this into this. Sigh. Do you think I should practice? Get lessons? Go out and become an artist so I can bring you my sub-par story idea? BUY A MAC!? (No, never! One button is not enough...) Anyway, I dunno. Hey, anyone out there with decent artistic abilities but nothing to draw (and a scanner, I'd hope), gimme a ping. I'll send you some story ideas, you can tell me what you thing, etc. It'll be great fun.

Anyway, from the world of the written to the land of three readers, so long.