Christian. Nerd. Peacemaker. Aspiring ascetic. Xennial.
I started watching Twitch again after taking a break for 7 weeks. It's only been a few days, but I think it's causing me to slip back into old thought patterns and habits. I need to cut way back and limit myself to specific streams and times. Or stop watching altogether.
One of the things that I have enjoyed about taking my first Lenten journey this year is rediscovering my love of writing.
As part of my continuing efforts to align what I'm doing on Twitch with my values and purpose, I have renamed my Twitch stream/account from “Newfangled_” to “PositiveNotes”. You can tune in at https://twitch.tv/positivenotes
I posted about this on the The Newfangled Gazette if you'd like a more detailed explanation, but I thought I'd share a post here, since this blog is where all future updates related to my broadcasting endeavors will be posted.
I seem to vaguely recall having a print newspaper subscription in the early years of my marriage (it's our 20th anniversary this summer). I think it was just a Sunday-paper-only subscription mainly for the coupon section. And the comics, of course. But we eventually cancelled our newspaper subscription like most everyone else, because why pay for a clunky print paper when you can just check the news for free via the Internet any time you want? Well, things have changed a lot since then. I've changed a lot. And I've felt for a few years now that I'd rather get my news via good old-fashioned newspaper again for a number of reasons.
If you've read my previous blog posts, you know that I have long been concerned about the effect modern technology – especially smartphones – has had on me and on humanity in general. I have written about doing media fasts, cutting back my technology use, privacy and security, making sure you use your technology intentionally and that it doesn't use you, and other related topics. Well, I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that over the past 18 months, I have been “off the wagon” when it comes to technology addiction. But for a few weeks now I've been trying something that is helping me snap out of it (again). And I need to share my experience if only to show solidarity with others who are going through this same thing.
I have spun up a separate blog for my Newfangled project!
Check out blog.newfangled.live and subscribe via email or add it to your RSS reader if you feel so inclined!
Your support is so appreciated. I have some fun ideas and plans for the future.
You may have noticed my writing was pretty much non-existent in 2023. In recent months, I have found a new creative outlet in a rediscovered passion: music. Specifically, collecting physical media – vinyl, CDs, and cassettes – and playing music from my collection on live video streams on Twitch.tv.
I also have been playing musical instruments – Irish whistle, Native American flute, and recorder – live on-stream.
Feel free to check out newfangled.live, my new website for this project. Or you can go directly to my Twitch page and follow me there.
My first stream was in September 2023 (on Labor Day) and I have been streaming several times a week since then. It has been an amazing experience so far, and I plan to continue and evolve this endeavor for the foreseeable future.
I may eventually start a blog related to this new project and will make sure to post about it if and when I do.
I have long had a love-hate relationship with technology. I love what digital devices empower us to do, but I hate that it's so easy to abuse or be abused by others through those same devices.
Today I had an experience that reaffirmed my appreciation for smartphones. In my church, adults and youth are given responsibility to look after and help other individuals and families in our community. We call this “ministering.” My 16-year-old son and I are ministering companions and we have the opportunity to minister to four different households.
I have caught myself slipping. Picking up the smartphone out of pure habit to cycle through apps and websites. Grabbing the laptop to tinker or look something up on the web or whatever. I keep removing apps, using website blockers, etc. I just reinstall apps, pause website blockers, etc. But the impulse remains. There is a deeply ingrained urge, a need to stare at a screen – any screen. For any reason or no reason at all.
For the past 8 months I have been using the Day One app to keep a digital journal. It's a fantastic app with a lot of neat features. They even recently released a web app to allow you to create journal entries using a browser. Even so, I'm thinking about keeping a journal by hand again.