Category: Outside the Box

Non-mainstream thoughts and musings

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Brave New World

As I posted about previously, I’ve decided in my feeble attempts to remain modern, hip, and “relevent” I’m diving into trying WordPress’ new Gutenberg editor. There will be some things you might notice, like drop caps and such. You may see some spacing or paragraph types that look weird.

On my end, things look much different. There aren’t any controls to modify blocks, other than adding colors or external CSS classes… which means I would have to learn CSS to be able to make any use of these blocks.

There’s no “more” bar to insert, there’s no font options, no settings to modify. In essence, the editor has changed from a word processor to a graphic layout editor. And as I said, I’m a writer… not a coder. But I discover when you click the magic “+” button between blocks… holy cow, there’s everything!

Continue reading “Brave New World”
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Blog Woes (and Other First World Problems)

A big part of having a blog is writing stuff. And as a semi-serious writer, I don’t really have a lot of time to mess with stuff that’s gimmicky. I need something simple, effective, and trouble-free.

For writing blog posts, I normally would use the WordPress editor- until I discovered they recently replaced it with a piece of garbage something called the “Gutenberg Editor.” I’ll be honest: the new WordPress Gutenberg block editor is extremely frustrating and unintuitive for me. And I’m not alone. As for now, you can install a plugin that lets you revert back to the classic WordPress TinyMCE editor (why do I even have to manually install something for that??).

But the absolute worst part of this whole disaster is that WordPress admins and developers absolutely don’t care at all that everybody hates it. This alone is enough reason to give me pause.

Realistically, this is a huge PR disaster for Automattic. They have gotten so much negative press for this, they’d have to be blind not to realize this mandatory rollout was a huge mistake. It even caused their Accessibility lead developer to resign.

I’m not a web developer or a programmer- I’m a writer. I don’t do custom coded plugins, I don’t use custom media types, I don’t mess with CSS or PHP unless I have to, and even if I did, there are already plugins that handle all those functions.

I don’t use WordPress.com’s commercial products- I use the open-source software backend to run my self-hosted site. I feel like they should be free to develop whatever they want for paying clients as need be, but the backend should have been left alone. It’s painfully obvious they only were considering their commercial clients, and not the thousands of developers (running millions of sites) that use the backend in different ways. Even with thousands of pieces of feedback saying this was a bad idea, they went forward with it anyway.

However:

In an attempt to not sound like a whiny brat, I’m going to actually try to make something good out of this. I understand why WordPress.com changed their editor to compete with other layout-driven website designers like Wix. I understand that the old editor had issues. I know there needed to be improvement (even if I vehemently disagree with the direction they went).

So in order for me to fully use the Gutenberg editor, it will require me to learn what it can do, and why. Only then will I be able to give constructive feedback to hopefully make it better for people like me, who don’t care about all the developer stuff and just want to write.

Going forward, I will be documenting my foray into the Brave New World of blocks and web developing and all that stuff, even if only for me to be able to have a well-reasoned argument as to why I don’t like it. Who knows, I may even throw in a tutorial here and there as I learn how to use it.

But really, isn’t writing supposed to be fun and enjoyable? It kind of makes me wonder if WordPress was trying to make blogging more difficult. I don’t appreciate them trying to force me to become a developer (or having to pay someone else to). I just want to write.

We shall see: time will tell. The proof is in the pudding. And all that stuff.

(But I’m still a firm believer in “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”)

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The Drunk Monkey Mind

One of my daily struggles is trying to decide what creative pursuits I’ll spend my time on. And believe me when I say there’s no shortage of creative things the right side of my brain is telling me to do.

But just because I can do something doesn’t mean it’s necessary. In fact, more often than not, it takes time away from more important things I need to do.

Ultimately, this deals with my subconscious mind: what’s been called “The Drunk Monkey” mind. Most people’s subconscious mind operates in two modes: keeping you alive by avoiding danger, and keeping you alive by seeking out big game to hunt.

I heard a story about a young woman who was recently killed while standing around at a highway rest stop by a rogue flying 18-wheeler tire. Just standing there, and WHAM! Truck tire in the face. Dead. My subconscious- my “drunk monkey mind”- says “Great! Now every time you’re near a highway you have to look for flying tires.” It is desperately afraid of everything. This is the “avoiding danger” part of the monkey. It’s trying to keep me alive despite my best efforts to live. Continue reading “The Drunk Monkey Mind”

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Small Thinking, Small Focus

One of the things I’ve noticed recently is how myopic and narrow-minded people have become about everything. I mean, if you have an opinion about anything, someone out there wants to rake you over the coals for it. Don’t like animals? Someone hates you for that. Love animals? Someone else hates you for that. Doesn’t matter what you think, somebody is ready and willing to vehemently disagree.

But where did this come from? I’m old enough that I can remember things weren’t always this way. Why is everyone suddenly enraged about the stupidest little things? Why aren’t people’s well-established opinions respected at all any more? Why does anyone else even care what I eat, or wear, or think?

Simply put, I think it’s because people have been trained to hyperfocus their anger. The current generation is the product of decades of targeted marketing, social media, and manufactured outrage. They think small. Their focus is small.

I think what’s happened is that when people realized that the World’s problems were bigger than they could handle, they hyper-focused on one thing they would become champions for. And they will defend it to the death. Continue reading “Small Thinking, Small Focus”

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Where Is Your Joy?

Sometimes I  grow weary of writing about the same things over and over. But that’s what I know.

I don’t really want to spend all my time writing about current events or politics, because honestly, I don’t care. I only watch enough to prepare myself. No amount of shouting from the rooftops will prevent the coming societal breakdown, if there is one in my lifetime.

I mostly write about creative pursuits, because I’m a creative kind of guy. So where does that leave me when I’m not really working on any specific creative projects?

Well, I’ve had some really good discussions lately with a younger friend and aspiring writer. We’ve spent some time going through plot structure, motivations, story mechanics, and all sorts of interesting things. And it’s kind of gotten me interested in writing fiction again. And there’s no end of half-completed stories I could work on.

I’ve also been inspired to make ambient guitar music by Bill of Chords of Orion (I highly recommend his Youtube channel, he’s the Bob Ross of guitar). He issued a challenge to make a simple, 5-song EP using whatever you have laying around. I’ve really been intrigued by this, and I want to give it a shot.

Both of these projects would require a dedication of time, which I am perilously short on. And there’s so many other things I want to do- which is always the case- and so I have to choose what gets done and what doesn’t. An exercise routine also needs to go in that mix.

I think for starters, making a 5-song ambient guitar EP would be the fastest and easiest. I could complete this in a couple of weeks. It wouldn’t be spectacular of course, but would be enough of a challenge to get my feet wet.

The book ideas, though, will require much more time. World-building, character and plot development, and actually writing it should take several months, at best.

Do I want to dedicate an entire year of free time to writing, editing, and publishing another book? I guess that depends on what I hope to get out of it. For me to make any money at it would require immediately writing another one- and then another one after that. Almost nobody makes a career out of writing a single book. So if I were doing it for any other reason than “I just want to” it would mean years of dedicating myself to writing. And as much of a challenge as that would be, I’m not sure I’d be up for it.

Of course, if I spent that same amount of time making an album instead, who knows what it would be like? Probably decent, but what would the creative process look like?

The Process of Finding Joy

Ultimately, I could do either one. I’m perfectly capable of writing another book or making an album. But which one would bring me more joy and life?

I think for me, making music is something that I’m not only good at, but I’m also passionate about. And as I’ve written about recently, instead of submerging myself in Contemporary worship music, I should be singing my own song to God. Which means I need to start writing down some of the many song ideas I’ve had over the last 20 years.

Can I shape them into some kind of music that satisfies me? Would anyone else like it? I don’t know, but I have an itch I need to scratch.

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The Nine Laws: Part Seven

If you haven’t read my previous installments on The Nine Laws, you can start here. In essence, I’ve read through The Nine Laws by Ivan Throne, and I decided that the book was interesting and impacting enough that I should go into a detailed breakdown of each law, and expound my opinion on how it relates to Christianity.

Today we’re going to examine the Seventh Law: Power.

If you haven’t read The Nine Laws (and I’d recommend you do), Mr. Throne explains the division and unity of Thought, Word, and Deed. He explains how ultimate purpose can be achieved when all three of these are in harmony.

On a more traditional philosophical level, these roughly correlate to Spirit, Mind, and Body. And as created beings, we are uniquely spiritual, in the sense that animals do not have Divine Purpose; they simply follow programming. Humans alone posses the faculties to connect with the Divine.

Since the Seventh Law is Power, we’ll address power in each of these three areas, as they are separate yet related. In our Dark Triad traits, Power manifests itself as:

Narcissism: Prerogative arises from possession.​
Machiavellianism: Subtle tendrition arises from the core.​
Psychopathy: Absence of ego in the cutting through.​

Note: When Mr. Throne speaks of the Dark Triad, he’s referring to them in the purest sense. We often see them used for selfish reasons, which is caused when one or more of the traits are abused or allowed to interact without restraint. However, most of the greatest men in history displayed all three of these traits prominently. It stands to reason that when used in the right proportions, for the right purpose, they are a maelstrom of natural force to be reckoned with. This is the goal Mr. Throne encourages us to attain: achieving our purpose using the Dark World’s own laws against itself. And the only way to do that is by understanding how the laws work.

We’ll work through the analysis of Power exhibited through Thought, Word, and Deed, because the Spiritual aspect of it, while being the least understood, is the most important. I want to make sure we address it fully.

Jesus touches on this idea (and a few others) in Luke 14: Continue reading “The Nine Laws: Part Seven”

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Supporting Bad Theology

In the last year or two, God has opened my eyes to a LOT of false teaching that goes on in the church today. (By “church” I mean the Christian church in whole- not a specific denomination.)

Suddenly realizing that you’re surrounded by false self-proclaimed “prophets” is not something you take lightly. And it’s not light conversation to bring up over coffee.

But like it or not, there is a rash of bad (and straight-up false) teaching being propagated all around you at this very moment. At best, it’s misguided. At worst, it’s heresy. And what’s more, these churches/teachers/pastors/celebrities/leaders are spreading their influence of bad theology everywhere they can. In fact, that’s a major part of their modus operandi.

“So what’s the big deal?” you’re probably wondering. “Why does that matter to me? I don’t watch them, so I don’t listen to their theology.”

Well, in fact you probably do, without even realizing it. I know I was. Continue reading “Supporting Bad Theology”

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The Nine Laws: Part Six

If you haven’t read my previous installments and review of Ivan Throne’s The Nine Laws, you can begin by clicking here.

Today, we’re going to discuss a very interesting topic. And it will be long.

The Sixth Law is Freedom.

“Freedom” for the Christian is a juxtaposition. We are indeed free from bondage of sin, free from our old Dark Worldly natures. We are free in ways that most people aren’t. We are free in the eternal sense. In a spiritual sense.

But of course, that comes at the price of our entire lives. When we submit our lives to God, we no longer belong to ourselves.

So what does “freedom” mean to the believer? What did that look like in Jesus’ life?

This is an issue I really struggled with as a new believer. I didn’t really want to give up control of my life. I wanted freedom, but on my own terms! Which as anybody knows, doesn’t normally work out that well. Just saying “I’m free!” doesn’t make it so.

So how do we reconcile this?

Let’s define what we mean by “Freedom” from both a Nine Laws perspective and a Christian perspective. Then we’ll compare them and see if they’re compatible. And if so, we’ll explore how that works. Continue reading “The Nine Laws: Part Six”

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Navigating The Manosphere

“Manosphere” may not be a term you’ve heard used often, if at all. It is, essentially, a group of websites and blogs directed towards men:

Manosphere- The name given to a loose and informal network of blogs, forums and websites, with internet commentators focusing on issues relating to men and masculinity, as a male counterpart to feminism or in opposition to it.

The problem with grouping such a variety of websites under a single moniker is of course, there are many different opinions on what constitutes “masculine” behavior. You have everything from The Art Of Manliness (which is very broad and general) to very misogynistic PUA (Pick-Up Artist) websites, and all sorts of others in between.

There are plenty of websites that give bad advice about money, politics, relationships, and so forth, but for some reason, masculinity-related sites are frequently targeted for criticism, and I think it’s directly tied in to society’s increasingly twisted views on normalcy and masculinity as a whole.

So what should you do if you’re a man looking for advice on how to improve specific areas in your life? Here’s a couple of guidelines to help you navigate the iceberg-littered sea to manhood. Continue reading “Navigating The Manosphere”

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I Want To Be Better But I Can’t

“Poor Tomato. He wishes he could sing strong and sweet like the cucumber; but he can’t! He can’t even whistle!”

Have you ever felt like you wanted to become a better person, but simply couldn’t? Have you ever wanted to accomplish something big, and then realized that you didn’t have the resources to make it happen?

Have you ever gone so far as to say to yourself “I probably shouldn’t even try this”?

If this has happened to you (as it’s happened to me numerous times) you may feel like giving up on everything, and Netflix binging until you feel better about life in general.

That doesn’t work. But I can tell you what does work: looking to something stronger than yourself. Continue reading “I Want To Be Better But I Can’t”