mainstream chic

Yes, I admit it. I do actually enjoy listening to and watching what some people consider "shlock". I've been told that a great deal of my favourite workout music was listed on someone's list of the Worst Songs Ever. I liked the Charlies' Angels movies (well, the first one). I sometimes really do prefer Kraft Dinner over a fancier meal. I like ABBA. I liked Titanic.

What the heck is so wrong with being "mainstream"? Of course it's good to not be a lemming, to be true to oneself. But y'know, I'm not going to pretend to like an eclectic artsy movie just because it's supposed to be Good if I truly don't like it, just to be seen as cool or chic or different.

When someone tells me a song I like is No. 1 on someone's Worst Songs Ever list, do they expect me to hit my head in amazement and exclaim, "Dear lord! Then I suddenly don't like this song after all!"

And if I come out of a so-called schlocky movie having thoroughly enjoyed myself and feeling great, who CARES if the critics hated it? I don't mind balanced discussion afterward (I know some of my friends didn't like the Lord of the Rings movies as much as I did, for example), but I get ticked off if someone aggressively tries to convince me that I shouldn't have enjoyed myself so much; it seems petty and sour grape-ish to me, somehow.

Sometimes I think people get so hung up over being different from the mainstream that they shortchange themselves, assuming that just because something's popular it becomes less worthy.

Ironically, being mainstream is so out-of-fashion these days that it's almost on the verge of being chic.

The thought of which makes my head hurt, so maybe I'll end my mini-rant here. Time for some more cold drugs, I think... (says Debbie brightly)

(By the way, although this Blathering was inspired by JeffK's comment in Blatherchat, it is not directed at him. I've been wanting to post on this topic for a while.)

April 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

multitasking

Thanks to those who have been patiently waiting for their custom-made LJ user icons since last year. I am still gradually working my way through the list of those who signed up. I estimate I've drawn about 70 so far; I should probably collect these and display them all somewhere for fun sometime. Feel free to add your name to the list even if there are more than 50 people listed, but read my preamble in that entry first, and be warned it may take a LONG time (esp. if you want a cartoon portrait), and I reserve the right to decide at anytime that I'm no longer doing them.

Re: yesterday's Blathering. Have to admit I was surprised at how many of you out there had no cable tv, or were purposely keeping the television off more often than not. I had figured that we (and our friends Rand and Parki) were the only mutants. :-)

One difference I'm noticing already is the quiet. Jeff and I were slipping into the tendency to leave the television on as a sort of media wallpaper while we were doing other things in the evening. I'm trying to be careful not to adopt the same habit with radio.

The pressure to multitask seems to be a growing trend. Why focus on only one thing when you can do three? Or better yet, five? Back in my Inkspot days, I used to pride myself on my multitasking abilities. Maximum use of time, I figured, 12 hours a day, weekends too! I not only could handle the juggling of all those china plates with ease, I thrived on it. If I wasn't multitasking, I was unhappy. Restless, irritable, fidgety. Read a book for pleasure? No time!

That's changed. I get far more pleasure now in focussing on one task at a time, and also value my relaxation time all that more. I've found this also affects my preferences for interacting with people; if given a choice, I'd opt for a one-on-one conversation with someone I like rather than multiple conversations in a crowd.

For me, it's part of the whole "embrace life fully" philosophy. Though it's sometimes fun to have a tasting of a zillion interesting dishes, I find it far more satisfying to decide on a one main dish and enjoy it at leisure.

Funny how everything comes down to food in the end, isn't it?

:-)

January 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments