The Internet Buffet! All You Can Over-Eat!

Posted byBenPosted inLife

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This is self-art-therapy. All that’s missing from the image above, is my own arm reaching up to operate the pump! Because I’ve only got myself to blame for my recent Youtube indigestion!

The Net is so immense, such a vast all-you-can-eat buffet these days that I really have to take care when I sit down in front of a screen. First, years back, I managed to kick Twitter, fed up with it sending me all over the place for half an hour every time I checked in. Then Facebook, which tipped me over the edge when the autoplaying videos got added, but Youtube? I thought I was safe there!

No! With my new interest in guitar playing I now have twenty seven quintillion 2 to 15 minute videos to watch! Want to learn a Simon and Garfunkel song? Here are 423 people to show you how! Want to find out about a new amp you want to buy? 735 reviews are ready to watch right now!

And I sit and watch them all, and stuff myself ’til I’m dizzy and nauseous and swear I’ll never do it again… until the following morning! But I’m learning, slowly. This human body isn’t up to opening the great Internet Tap and sitting thirstily underneath, senses wide open, gorging and gorging.

So here’s to internet self-control, to ‘consumo responsable’ as it says on bottles of booze in Spain. The internet is incredible. In the right doses. These days, I’m better off outside.

8 thoughts on “The Internet Buffet! All You Can Over-Eat!”

  1. A person born today with average life span is expected to spend at least 23 years!! in front of a screen of some kind. Too much.
    More art, more sport, more walks needed.
    Carlos N.
    Canada-USA

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  2. What a wonderful post!

    I agree completely. The Internet is great in small doses but I prefer to be outside enjoying nature.

    I lived in England for a couple of years (in another lifetime) and sadly never made it to Spain.

    I don’t comment often but I just want to say thank you for your posts. They have brightened many days.

    ¡Gracias y tenga un excelente dia!

    U.S.A. – Alabama

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  3. Learning a guitar song, you only need the chords and lyrics not the video. If the song has difficult chords you may want to shelve it for now. Then do your own arrangement with simple strums and maybe some alternate bass strums with your thumb. I hope that makes sense. Before internet we had to purchase songbooks or figure it out by ear. You may find you have some talent for arranging. HARD SUN by Eddie Vedder from the film INTO THE WILD is a simple one that I am working on now. It is a cover of a Canadian artist called Indio. That film may resonate with you also.

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    1. Thanks Patrick, I totally agree, I’m doing simpler versions of songs I love now. I have seen that film and really loved it – the book is terrific too – and I love the Eddie Vedder soundtrack. I’ll check out Hard Sun again. There is one called Society which is great too on the same album.

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  4. Hi Ben… I find it’s ostly it’s just better to play the guitar and listen to your own way… But when it comes to learning I usually get a DVD of a particular teacher that I like and immerse myself mindfully in their techniques and style of playing ,absorbing the lessons, which are broken into manageable chunks and become progressively more challenging. I recommend the’homespun’ website and if you like folk or blues music then why not try Happy Traums ‘easy steps to acoustic blues’ or ‘first steps to fingerpickin.’ You have to perservere but with patience they really open up doors and help you on the path to exploring your own way. After all one of the first steps to mastery is finding the best teacher and surrendering yourself to him or her. I moved to Spain a few years back and did the same thing with your podcasts and made gains I didn’t think were possible. I’m now doing the same with my native Irish language. I’d also like to recommend to powerful and beautiful books that I think would help you on your journey, if you haven’t yet read them. Mastery by George Leonard and Zen Guitar by Philip Toshido. And to finish with a word of advice from Woody Guthrie ‘Take it easy, but take it.’

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    1. Thanks for your comment John, I think you are right, it’s best to surrender to one good teacher at a time. At the moment I’m immersed in the Justinguitar.com method and it’s served me amazingly well so far, so I’ll finish that course before getting too distracted again. I’ll definitely check out Happy Traum later though, he looks very good after a quick glance now.

      I have Zen Guitar! It reminds me to slow down! But I don’t have Mastery, so shall add that to my reading list 🙂 Finally, what a great Woody Guthrie quote!

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