Analogue to Another Age

I was struck last night by the irony in the way I use technology. I have the beefiest, brawniest, most cutting edgiest computer on the market. I have access to a bandwidth so broad that the U.S. Army would literally have killed for this kind of information potential 30 years ago. I have access to an entire invisible world of modern digital communication and the transfer of nonspoken, visual ideas. And how am I utilizing this modern wealth of resources? I download and listen to old radio programs.

That's right, I sit in my den with a fire going and stare blankly into static nothing, caring about only one sense... hearing. I'm using the best in home computing to recreate the entertainment past time of a century prior. The radio story. Isn't that odd? My computer has allowed me to become all Norman Rockwelly.

But it doesn't end there. Besides listening to the talkies, I'm watching 25-year-old PBS documentaries, Hitchcock, Fellini, decade old sketch comedy. I'm completely rejecting today's media with the help of an almost futuristic medium. I mean, look at this blog. It's just a blown out of proportion journal. A diary. I've never kept a journal in my life. It seemed so old fashion. But here, thanks to my computer, I've taken to the centuries old practice of writing down my daily thoughts. Why?

And today I came across a gadget, really I guess a toy, that allows you to take worthless CDs, like those countless free AOL updates that are normally only noticed on the short trip between the mailbox to the trash can, and record on them. I mean record the like Edison meant record. Nothing digital about it. With a sewing needle, a little motor and a megaphone you can put your voice onto a CD, sans ones or zeros. Direct connect. The sound quality admittedly sucks, but the second I saw it, I needed it. I thought to myself, "finally, I've got a use for AOL." This is the tangable example of this whole personal trend I'm talking about. Using the newest tech to replicate the out of date mech.

I don't think it's just me, however. There seems to be a gravitation in invention to replicate old ideas. We don't necessarily use technology to do all new things, just the same old ones faster and better. Like solitaire without shuffling. The line between my digital world and my analog world is becoming increasingly blurred. Anyway, I cant wait until I can try out my new record player. It's called a Gramophone and it's on its way from Japan as we speak.. I speak.. type... as I type. See the confusion? I'll let you know how it works...