• Tag Archives mental health

  • Information Diet

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs
    information

    Information Diet:

    One of the things we’ve been reviewing around here is our intake of information from our interaction with the Web.

    I’m old-fashioned and struggle with everything having to be on a screen–whether for work or play–so to help myself, I’ve entered Mostly Broadcast Mode when it comes to social media. This has cut down on the chatter and done wonders for my mental health. I also get my news directly from the source via a few news apps I have on my computer phone. Other sources of incoming data come from a good old-fashioned newspaper focusing on local news. For websites, I have an app on the computer phone called Read (which I discuss here) and it’s a way to log the websites and blogs I regularly visit and be notified when a new post shows up. Most of them I can read directly on the Read app, which then eliminates the urge to surf the Web.

    The idea here is to stay informed while also watching my Web time so I can spend more time making things for you guys.

    Yes, the irony of having a blog (on a screen) and a webcomic (on a screen) and a YouTube channel (on a screen) doesn’t escape me. I’m just doing my best to adjust to the Digital Frontier as best I can after having taken some time away from it.

    I’m finding the older I get, the harder I find change, but I also realize I need to embrace change to some degree in order for this whole multimedia A.P. Fuchs experiment to work.

    Like I’ve been saying lately, one thing at a time.

    Onward.


    📂This entry was posted in Life Stuff 📎and tagged

  • The Magic of Blogging – An Invitation

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The magic of blogging . . .

    Once more I’ll state my belief that blogging is not dead, just misplaced. In a world of quick social media posts and soundbites, it’s easy to forget the Web is loaded with websites chock full of information, entertainment, and news. Many folks are dissatisfied with the way social media has gone and how it affects their mental health and overall well being, so I encourage you this coming week to spend time web surfing to see what you’ll find. Check out articles you’ve been meaning to read, creator websites you’ve been meaning to go to, topics you’ve been meaning to investigate.

    As an invitation from me, please take a moment and explore this blog. There is a lot here by way of free entertainment and free information. A decent portion of my creative output is spent giving readers things for free and I want you to take advantage of it so you can get to know me as a creator. On this site alone you have access to numerous articles, artwork, movie and book reviews, links to other creators, and more. This blog–the magic of blogging–is my way of getting information and entertainment to you in a way social media doesn’t let me. This blog is my house and you’re welcome to stay here and put your feet up for a while.

    On a personal note, I’m enjoying blogging five days a week. It’s an opportunity to share ideas and information with the world on a platform that is my own. I’ve always believed writing is about honesty and that any creator needs to live and express themselves honestly without fear of what other people think. There are enough clones in this world and part of the role of the arts–when handled without pretension–is to speak to the human condition and portray things as they are uncut and uncensored. This role also falls on the creator and not just their work. The idea of art being about self-expression (that is, the work created) but not the artist themselves being self-expressive is a contradiction. I’m not saying an artist needs to put their whole selves on the display for the world to see, but I am saying that–and I’ve seen this countless times over–it’s a disservice to the reader or viewer for the artist to put across one message with their work but then muddle that honesty by playing to the public and telling the public what they want to hear instead of being truthful in whatever is being expressed.

    The magic of blogging is that a blog is one way for a person to express themselves honestly. Sure, some folks might not like what they read. Others will be all over it. The point is that the expression was made and, frankly, these expressions will be all that’s left of us after we leave this world. I’d rather leave bits of my true self behind than an illusion for the public.

    This is my approach and arguments can be made against it being the right one. What I do know is that my blogging and what I blog about works for me both professionally and personally. And that’s really the trick, isn’t it? Finding out what works for you? The only way to do that is to experiment and play around and find your groove. Only then will you, too, discover the magic of blogging.

    Get to it.


    📂This entry was posted in Blogging 📎and tagged

  • On the World of Web Broadcasting

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    I’ve been off-line for the most part during the 2019 Broadcast Mode season and have noticed massive improvements in my mood and mental health. The exposure to the toxicity of the mainstream social feeds had brought me low, so much so I was physically not feeling well. Recently, I came across this photo series in which the photographer removed the electronics from our hands to show us the lonely world we’re creating and it further cemented my thinking of us having lost our balance when it comes between living life on-line and off-.

    View it here.

    Back when I first started in this business, 98% of my computer time was spent writing. The other 2% was periodically updating my website and checking in on a message board called Shocklines. Even if I was following a conversation thread, most often I didn’t keep going back for updates. Those would wait until the next day to see where the conversation went. And people were polite for the most part and keyboard warrioring wasn’t really a thing. It was about lifting each other up instead of whining and complaining and tearing each other down.

    We need to get back to that in our on-line behaviors. We also need to find balance.

    It’s gone too far.

    I’m thrilled about being in Broadcast Mode. Life is so much easier. Work is so much easier. Everything is just, simply, better.


    📂This entry was posted in Public Journal Web Stuff 📎and tagged