Well folks, itās my 26th day writing the blog and I cannot wait for a break on Tuesday night, this has been fun but it is a melt. As we come to the end of November weāre sitting at $1,673 of our $1,750 target goal so, just in case you havenāt donated yet, everything is appreciated.
I was watching a YouTube video about some fella who lives in caves outside of Moab, Utah, he lives completely free of money, he scavenges food, uses the homeless shelter showers and the public library for internet access. The whole idea is that humans live outside of nature, animals donāt indulge as much as us, we are the only large species who donāt have to scavenge or hunt. This guy believes that you can lead a happier life without money, because in normal life we rely too heavily on money for security, his argument being that he doesnāt need anything for security because he lives outside. I mean, whatever man, if thatās what floats your boat then brilliant. That is definitely not my cup of tea though, I donāt fancy raising a family in a cave to be honest.
The modern human experience is entirely about comfort, that is the truth of the matter. We make food more convenient to consume, we make clothes more comfortable, internet acces gets quicker, cars come with heated steering wheels and we now carry a camera, phone, computer, MP3 and video player and we carry it everywhere. We also all have one and they become less and less expensive every year as technology gets cast aside. Thatās part of why the planet is so fucked, for us to have the most comfortable and convenient life everything else has to suffer. We have lost so many skills too, how much engineering and craftsmanship has been lost with dead generations? Probably more than bears thinking about, weāll never be able to get back those lost skills too, slightly depressing. I think we have probably lost far more than weāve realised, we have been so excited with new technological advancements that we completely forgot to preserve the technology that already existed. If I had one wish it would be for time travel, do you know how much I would give to be able to go back and relive past events? All of myself, perhaps itās a good thing time travel is impossible actually. Seriously though, can you imagine travelling back to Belfast in the 1800s and just dandering about? Itās a strange thought but I first imagined being really smart in comparison to people in the 1800s, how naive? We have a better understanding of the world now yes, but if you travelled back to a time where their understanding is different then none of your knowledge matters. If you really think about it, my naive thought that I would be considered really intelligent for the 1800s, is the exact same as me saying Iād be considered intelligent in North Korea because of my exposure to facts and information, in reality, nobody from North Korea would believe me or give a shit, so it doesnāt matter.
Whilst we are talking about lost skills, here’s another crazy thought for you, we have no idea what people sounded like before 1860. Thatās the year of the first recorded human voice, it was some guy from France and the recording actually does sound pretty spooky. Itās so strange to think of how many things have happened throughout history that havenāt been recorded, whereas today we record everything. If it isnāt being recorded for TV, itās being recorded for YouTube and if itās not for YouTube then itās for Facebook. I was watching a documentary last week and this bloke was holding a talk at a convention, anyway he said something really controversial, then injected himself with some experimental drug that he was trying to flog. Now, what do you think everyone did? You guessed it, phones out and cameras rolling. I mean, as if the fucking 4K broadcast camera wasnāt enough, these people all needed their own personal videos to post to their own social media so they can get their own likes. How can you argue that people donāt live for gratification from social media? The behaviours of the vast majority of the current generation seem to suggest otherwise.
Don’t know how I got onto that from not knowing what humans historically sound like to be honest. I’m definitely just over writing these blogs if I can just confide in you for a second, it’s such a drag, every single day knowing you have to write 1,000 words, it’s hard to relax until it’s written. I definitely don’t use my time efficiently and I do procrastinate a fuck tonne but who doesn’t? Plus, I haven’t actually missed a day yet which is pretty impressive to be honest, I’m sure if I took a poll probably 80% of people would have thought I’d miss one, too bad suckers. I’m not missing a day if it’s the last thing I do. That said, in these closing days I fear the quality of my blogs may decrease as I become more and more disillusioned with my own challenge. Forgive me, I’m still happy I’ve manifested the idea, I’m still super proud of my mates for doing it, I’m so proud of my family and friends that donated and I appreciate all the support people have given me. I set out with the aim of raising money to improve the world ever so slightly, whilst improving my writing. This has done so much more than just improve my writing, it’s proven to me that I can do whatever I set my mind to, I know that phrase is famously overused but it’s true, if I want to do something I now know I can. My confidence has grown whilst I’ve become more and more aware of my position in the world – useless 20 year old from Lisburn who likes to talk shite and make people smile.
That’s 1,000 words, forgive me for doing the bare minimum, over the weekend I’ll release two bangers.
Marshall's Law 