Enjoy.

This is just one of the many reasons why I hate using the Tumblr dashboard.

(h/t to Ryan for demonstrating this so perfectly)

Also, bacon.

I went completely off the grid for a full five days – no web, no blogs, no Twitter, no Flickr, not even television. It was glorious in its own way, as I was able to return to the media maelstrom with fresh eyes and a somewhat fresh mind. And you know what? The vast majority of content out there is complete crap. Shocking, I know.

This shouldn’t come as a revelation to any of you, seeing as you’re all sophisticated creative types who are talented and experienced in sorting the good stuff from the ick. But try taking a break from it all for even a couple of days, and when you return, you’ll see what I mean.

My point is that I came to realize how much time I spend sorting the good content from the crap, and the relevant good from the good, and the interesting relevant good from the relevant good, and so on. And that’s just within the scope of the stuff put out by my friends, colleagues, connections, etc. It’s staggering.

It all makes me want to work harder to be a better online media consumer, and producer. I’d love to be able to read every post on every one of my friend’s blogs and Tumblrs and whatnot, but I just can’t. And I know you can’t either. So while I’m going to cut down on the amount of content I immerse myself in and comment on, I’ll also pledge to work harder at producing slightly less but much better content of my own. Deal?

Except inasmuch as it can help move aside barriers to finishing the projects that you claim matter to you, “productivity” is often a sprawling ghetto of well-marketed nonsense for people who really just need a ritalin and a hug. So, for myself, random tips and lists that aren’t anchored to solving a real-world problem for a smart but flawed adult with a mind are dead to me. Pour a forty on ‘em.

I must admit that I haven’t been reading 43f much¹ over the past couple of months, precisely for the reasons that Merlin himself states in his post; namely the feeling that “productivity pr0n” had become a renegade force of nature, imploding into a time-sucking singularity of such gravitational power that it threatened to pull all real creative work into its accretion disk, where it would spin around for all eternity².

That’s not to be construed as a knock on Merlin.  Quite the contrary – it’s astounding how he managed to outline his change of gears with such candor and clarity.  Merlin’s content has been the basis for much of my own efforts to understand, control, and master the information cloud that surrounds me, especially over the past six months.  It’s a constant struggle to keep my energy level where it needs to be in order to do the real creative work that sustains me.  While I rely on my online connections to fill my constant need for raw input and intellectual challenge, too often it’s the equivalent of junk food; spending 20 minutes sifting through a comment thread on a favorite blog just to find one worthwhile contribution often feels like eating a Big Mac and then wanting to sleep the rest of the day away.

It’s reopened my eyes to how much time I devote to things that don’t help me move forward, and seeking validation from people who don’t matter³.  And it’s also got me thinking about the direction of my own site, and who I’m trying to please with it.

I want to thank Josh again for guest posting last week, and hope that you’ll all take the opportunity to pester him into writing his own damn blog, despite his constant whining about how he doesn’t have time because “I have a job,” and “my wife is having twins and she’s making me run to the store every six minutes for lime Jell-O and Kraft Cheese Singles”.  Also, give him a follow on the Twitter, or he’ll pout.

Regular posting should resume tomorrow.  Thanks for playing nice while I was away.

So with that, I’m going to have a guest contributor for the first time on ddc. For the next couple of days, I’m handing over the keys to the hirsute and talented Josh Hopkins.

When you can, please visit his own site. You can also find him on the Twitter. Just try not to stare at his eye patch. He’s very sensitive about that.

1. Blogging has obviously not been a priority for me this week.  I’ve been in a completely reactive work mode, plus getting ready for vacation.  I hate to go more than a couple of days without content for you, so sorry about that.
2. I’m leaving for vacation tomorrow – a well-earned week at the Jersey Shore as a last hurrah for summer.  Though considering I can’t sit still for ten minutes without a pen or a mouse in my hand, it will likely be a working vacation to some extent.  I’ll blog if anything interesting comes up, and of course I’ll be Tweeting.  Probably from my iPhone at the beach.  A daily Twitpic of my toes in the sand is likely, just to rub it in for all of you wage slaves.  I won’t be regularly reading email, but I will be checking my “super secret” address often if you already have it.
3. Most of the week will be spent getting the first chapter of Mr. Abernathy ready for the 10/1 publication date.  I’m really excited about this project, and I hope that you all will read it and help me pimp it out to as large an audience as possible.
4. I’ll also be thinking about Project Evidence this week – another work in progress in tandem with a brilliant writer and artist that I’m thrilled to be collaborating with.  More to follow on that.
5. In the meantime, if you’re bored and want something to read or look at, you can sift through my pretty pictures at Flickr, or go read one of my favorite blogs.

Have a great week, and be nice to one another.

It’s going to be rather sparse in here to start, because I just couldn’t manage to easily export 4 years of blog content out of Movable Type and import it into the new blog without getting frustrated and wanting to throw things.  Big, heavy things.

So maybe in the near future I’ll just do export/import in small batches, but until then, this is the starting place.