The Fix

  
Lake Locarno, Switzerland, August 2006 

Instant gratification is difficult to resist. The ease of a passing along photos from a digital camera … the print-ready document typed on a laptop… these are conveniences we take for granted.

Today as I was purchasing 120mm film for my Holga, I wondered for a moment why I should bother to do so. It’s possible to fake Holga-type effects with Photoshop in a fairly convincing way. Then I realized that for me choosing a ‘tool’ for creative projects is not about the  end result or the quality — it’s about the process. Grasping the big plastic Holga, or my the awkward box camera, puts me in a different frame of mind, fires different associations or creates a certain mood. It makes me feel different than my digital camera does, so I take different kinds of photos. Sometimes, it’s a simple photograph which I might think was boring if it were framed with my digital camera. But with only 10 or 12 frames per 120mm film, I choose my shots carefully– and sometimes that means choosing simply, or just differently.

It’s the same with writing with a pen in a small notebook– little notes, conversations overheard, or fragments of poems as they come to you. it’s a different experience than sitting down at the computer.

I don’t think I’ll ever go all-analogue again, but now and then, I still choose to take the slow train.

I have to reluctantly admit reluctantly that I spend more time than is healthy reading a bunch of websites that really aren’t all that important. It’s become compulsive, honed through years of habit. In itself it’s not destructive, but right now, it’s not where I need to be. I’m not the only one to experience this internet overload situation. In fact, we both came to this conclusion at about the same time, and she started a blog to track her progress in shaking the habit. Sites that I visit daily, many many times: 

- work e-mail account
- another e-mail account (don’t ask, groan)
- old Hotmail account (for poeple who forget I’ve switched)
- Fairfax-Avenue.com (Jon Brion)
- Flickr
- MySpace
- digg
- LastFM
- CBC.ca

There are more than I go to  more sporadically, but a few times a week nonetheless:
- Emusic
- 43 Things
- Lifehacker
- YouTube
- a few Blogs of people I don’t know or rarely talk to
- music critics’ columns

I know that I’m an incredibly efficient worker when I want to be. I just need a reason to work! So for now I will pretend to have that reason, and try to curb my fruitless online activity. First victims: Flickr, MySpace and yankeeracers.  Next up… the blogs.  Stay tuned!