Nice post. I guess that is why I like driving a big (18 wheels) truck rather than my Kia with its automatic transmission. I prefer manual transmissions, but the view from a truck is such that not only does one feel each bump one can see more than the vehicle in front or the guide rails. Well, truck driving went with college except for a few rare instances. I still prefer manual transmissions. And Apple devices. Maybe that is why I like typewriters and my one per quarter acquisition limit has been exceeded by 15 machines!
I agree. Sometimes you need a moment to pause for a moment to process what you have just heard or experienced. In a life devoid of "seams" we transition from one event to the next without taking time to learn from what happened. We begin to coast thru life and growth ceases.
You have really hit on something very fundamental, Richard, with this quest for SEAMLESS living.
When our quest for smoothness gets honed to the point where there is NO resistance, our attention seems to flag, and then we doze.
NO WONDER we then turn around and try to jangle the senses with the increasing pace of our lives!
When I first saw the title of this post, I looked forward to it with great anticipation.
I drank in each and every typed word of this typecast and I treasured each and every mistype, strikeouts, the choice of words per line -- EVERYTHING that is not cut-and-dried, justified print, and I reveled in the seamyness of life.
I agree, having some resistance and feeling the traction in life is something I HAVE to have to feel like I am living.
Whether its typewriters, driving a manual or mowing my yard with a reel push mower...the effort I feel I make to complete a task with these types of tools are both entertaining while engaged in activity AND when finished, lets me better appreciate my accomplishment.
Specifically speaking on the subject of "pervasive" music, I used to be one of those people who had music going on 24-7 around the house (fitting, as I was a musician and DJ). But, as I hit 40, I found that I started to value silence a lot more than pervasive music, no matter how much I loved the music (and I still love the music). Nowadays, I almost never have music on in the house or the car while driving - unless I specifically want to spend a few hours just listening or doing a mix.
I guess the thing that changed is I started treating music as a thing to be enjoyed by itself, not in conjunction with multitasking daily tasks. In a sense, I re-applied the seam between life and music.
It kind of reminds me of superheated water, by the way. If water is heated ina seamless container with no flaws, it doesn't boild because there is nothing for the bubbles to "latch" onto. No matter how hot, the water stays placid.
Until, that is, that is gets disturbed in the slighestest, whereupon it explodes.
Let us hope that our own seamless experiences don't have the same results!
This reply is a little late, but I completely agree. Seamlessness may work for some things, but there are things that we don't want to be smooth and perfect. I love typewriters so much because they really do make me work more for the written word, pay attention, listen to the clackety-clack of keys against platen. While I do love the smooth easy touch of an Alphasmart Neo (one of the lightest keyboards in terms of touch I've ever used), it doesn't always drive me to write the way a typewriter does. One starts going from one thing to the next without knowing how or why. That isn't always good.
Nice post. I guess that is why I like driving a big (18 wheels) truck rather than my Kia with its automatic transmission. I prefer manual transmissions, but the view from a truck is such that not only does one feel each bump one can see more than the vehicle in front or the guide rails. Well, truck driving went with college except for a few rare instances. I still prefer manual transmissions. And Apple devices. Maybe that is why I like typewriters and my one per quarter acquisition limit has been exceeded by 15 machines!
ReplyDeleteI agree. Sometimes you need a moment to pause for a moment to process what you have just heard or experienced. In a life devoid of "seams" we transition from one event to the next without taking time to learn from what happened. We begin to coast thru life and growth ceases.
ReplyDeleteYou have really hit on something very fundamental, Richard, with this quest for SEAMLESS living.
ReplyDeleteWhen our quest for smoothness gets honed to the point where there is NO resistance, our attention seems to flag, and then we doze.
NO WONDER we then turn around and try to jangle the senses with the increasing pace of our lives!
When I first saw the title of this post, I looked forward to it with great anticipation.
I drank in each and every typed word of this typecast and I treasured each and every mistype, strikeouts, the choice of words per line -- EVERYTHING that is not cut-and-dried, justified print, and I reveled in the seamyness of life.
I agree, having some resistance and feeling the traction in life is something I HAVE to have to feel like I am living.
ReplyDeleteWhether its typewriters, driving a manual or mowing my yard with a reel push mower...the effort I feel I make to complete a task with these types of tools are both entertaining while engaged in activity AND when finished, lets me better appreciate my accomplishment.
Specifically speaking on the subject of "pervasive" music, I used to be one of those people who had music going on 24-7 around the house (fitting, as I was a musician and DJ). But, as I hit 40, I found that I started to value silence a lot more than pervasive music, no matter how much I loved the music (and I still love the music). Nowadays, I almost never have music on in the house or the car while driving - unless I specifically want to spend a few hours just listening or doing a mix.
ReplyDeleteI guess the thing that changed is I started treating music as a thing to be enjoyed by itself, not in conjunction with multitasking daily tasks. In a sense, I re-applied the seam between life and music.
Well put. Here's to abrupt transitions and single minded foci :-)
ReplyDeleteYikes. Well put.
ReplyDeleteIt kind of reminds me of superheated water, by the way. If water is heated ina seamless container with no flaws, it doesn't boild because there is nothing for the bubbles to "latch" onto. No matter how hot, the water stays placid.
Until, that is, that is gets disturbed in the slighestest, whereupon it explodes.
Let us hope that our own seamless experiences don't have the same results!
This reply is a little late, but I completely agree. Seamlessness may work for some things, but there are things that we don't want to be smooth and perfect. I love typewriters so much because they really do make me work more for the written word, pay attention, listen to the clackety-clack of keys against platen. While I do love the smooth easy touch of an Alphasmart Neo (one of the lightest keyboards in terms of touch I've ever used), it doesn't always drive me to write the way a typewriter does. One starts going from one thing to the next without knowing how or why. That isn't always good.
ReplyDelete