Empty Cage

Lately I have been wanting to write. Like, a lot, more than usual.

Normally I take out this kind of inclination on a writing forum I am a (disturbingly) active member on, but recently I have been a little reluctant to post there, possibly because current ideas are going vastly beyond the scope of the boards and I really don’t want them to have to deal with me. Besides which, I have a certain level of power there and so I feel more responsible for peacekeeping than enjoying myself.

But that, my beloved audience, in neither here nor there. The problem is the usual one, I want to write and then I suffer author’s ADD and cannot write anything that makes sense.

I have always had a lot of trouble focusing my writing into that razor point that fiction demands. I write vignettes like a fiend, and have had many a haiku phase (despite the fact that I am incapable of writing poetry that doesn’t make me embarrassed to show my face after a few months) but writing anything longer than four or five pages and I lose steam and/or inspiration. It’s maddening, though I suppose the alternative is almost as bad. I mean, god, I do not want to be one of those twenty-somethings with a novel. Honestly, I’m a philosopher. But I’m also a writer and it’s weird that despite the volume of writing I do not of it ever amounts to anything.

I have, for the past year become a raving Bret Easton Ellis fan, and I feel like his writing style is where mine would go if I earned my Attention Span Girl Guide Merit Badge. Sort of incoherent and scary because its dishevelled. My mother (yes internet, she also thinks I’m cool) has often told me my best writing is blog-style writing. This from the hip informality I’m currently taking now, yes, right this very second. And she may be on to something, my so called “polished” writing gets this really plastic feel to it.

Or, not even, what’s a goth word for plastic? Uhm… vinyl? Whatever, its this fake macabre stuff that every half assed eye liner wearing bugger vomits out when she’s feeling her emo tears getting heavy. I lose my charm when I don’t just vomit this stuff out as I go. Charm of course being that rough, snarly sort of personality that draws everyone to me. It’s why maybe if I wasn’t so disdainful maybe journalism would accept me for who I am.

Still no layout on this place. Hurrrrr.

I blame the busy semester, but keeping websites up to date seems to be difficult to keep sort of promises.

Of course what I’m talking about is the migration of cheap trendies from their Macbooks and lattes to their grande cappuccinos and Ubuntu. It’s not like this is something I have a problem with, or that prevents me sleeping at night, but I find it an interesting little social experiment, and really, I want to blog about weirdo Linux culture to mark my first real day on Linux.com.

Mac has really come a long way. From being the sorry company that created the Pippin in hopes that we would somehow be able to force fun out of that little box to this supergiant that markets cool in a terrifyingly effective manner many of us can only stand in awe of it in some ways. I wish myself and my bulky HP could sit in Starbucks and look as awesome. Alas, we are not sleek and streamlined, and so we look like what we are — huge nerds who want a cheap coffee and free Wifi. (Cheap coffee perhaps less at Starbucks).

And being a university student in a Philosophy/Computer Science double major I see more than my share of tight pant wearing, American Apparel stalking artsie hipsters to give me dramatic (traumatic) insight into their culture. And what they want is something edgy and ‘different’ and they have found a new god at Canonical. After all, what kind of self respecting student can afford a Macbook — I can hardly afford the noodle cups that keep me alive.

The interesting movement in this trend is that is a whole influx of un-computer-savvy people all suddenly migrating into the world of Linux. A land of command lines and thirty new and special ways to render your computer completely unusable. Thankfully the Ubuntu community is solid gold when it comes to the dreaded combo of ‘Linux’ and ‘people skills’. I find it truly awe inspiring.

Obviously, as far as the freedom community is concerned this is a blessing, we’ve stopped being completely hidden behind Mac and Windows and are starting to see the light, however, I am curious as to how this is going to affect the development of Linux software. Could it be with new people who ‘just want it to effing work’ that there will be more attention paid to desktop software running effectively? Things like syncing music collections, and playing DVDs becoming more streamlined?

Really, I only ask this because an acquaintance of mine who just decided to install Ubuntu on his laptop, and kiss Windows ‘good bye’ asked me what it’s going to take to get an office suite with a decent spell checker… uh oh.