I’m not sure why, but I’m having a hard time writing about my newest adventure. It’s not totally coherent yet, but I think now is the time to identify it. It started with the realization that I watch way too much television. Within the past year or so, I’ve come to see that my creative impulses, motivation for hobbies and tackling new projects dialed down to next to nothing. As I thought about why, I kept coming back to hours and hours spent watching repeat after repeat on the TV. There are a lot of factors but at the end of the day, those factors amount to excuses for not being the person that I want to be.

We didn’t have a television when I was really young, and as I got older, we might have had a TV but never cable or much in the way of movies. I have a suspicion that the feeling of “lack” when I was young might have fueled a reaction to over-indulge as an adult, but it could just be that the physical act of watching a cathode ray tube has effected my brain the way it has so many others. I feel powerless to change my behavior–my apartment building has free cable so simply unplugging the box isn’t enough of a barrier to keep me from watching.

To break the cycle, modify my behavior and hopefully recover pieces of myself I’ve misplaced, I’m getting rid of my television entirely. Yesterday, I completely moved all of my furniture around so that the arrangement of my apartment is no longer centered around a television and the box itself is moving on to a new owner. The funny thing is that right away, I felt a difference! There was a quietness in my place as my mind had to adjust to the silence, the new arrangement of the furniture and the excitement of embarking on a new journey. I made myself a lovely lentil dal and found a KGSR Broadcast Volume to listen to. It was kind of heavenly for a couple of hours.

Anyways, I share this because I have a feeling it is going to greatly influence my blog. I’m going to watch movies at the theater and perhaps on my laptop in a pinch. Since there is plenty of TV programs available online, we’ll see if I start to do more internet viewing. Which of my hobbies will I resurrect? We shall see. My list is long, I wonder how much I can get accomplished in a day if the day isn’t broken up by several hours of television.

I had the pleasure of attending a Goran Bregovic concert this past week. It was one of the best concerts I’ve been to in a while! The music is so freakin’ happy, you can’t help but dance. The slower, poignant songs allowed us a moment to catch our breaths. From the Bass Concert Hall website description of the concert:

Balkan music icon and acclaimed film composer Goran Bregovic celebrates the music of Europe’s Gypsy tradition. Goran brings his 20-piece Wedding and Funeral Orchestra to the Bass Concert Hall stage on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 for one of a handful of concerts in the United States this year. This spectacular Orchestra includes a Serbian brass band, string ensemble, and choir. This is certain to be one of the most talked about world music events for years to come!

I don’t even think this video does them justice. If you see the concert near you, GO! You will have a fantastic time!

I haven’t had many great loves in my life but I have had a few minor loves. And while usually I don’t talk much about my personal life here, as seems to happen for those of us who watch movies for a living, my life has crossed into the world of fiction through a story called Once by John Carney.