Today's post is an expansion of my post at my other blog -- The List of Lost Things -- and is an all Youtube posting.  And I have a ton of opinions when it comes to this subject.

You see, I am a firm believer in the fact that the internet will soon replace television as we used to know it.  Not necessarily to the point where we don't have a family TV in the den, but it will be unrecognizable to our parents generation.  It has already changed the way we watch TV and what content the big three decide to air.  

I can remember working for a television studio a few years ago and the discussion was wether or not we would post our shows to the web. Now, it is not even a second thought.  Our shows can be accessed 24/7 and as often as the viewer wants.  Videos could be embedded in viewer's websites or emailed to friends and family.

Youtube was the catalyst for all of this.  A few years ago, no one believed that the internet would become too much more than a place to get your news, maybe a little shopping and possibly as a replacement for the family encyclopedia set.  Now, most of the younger generation would rather be in front of their laptop screen and on Youtube than in front of the boob-tube.  

I can see why.

Not only is it everything TV is and can be, but it is also something TV could never be -- a community.  A place where you can interact, say something about what you're watching and actually have that producer talk back to you and incorporate those changes.  A place where we decide what makes it and what doesn't and although it is somewhat censored, TV is a hardcore prude by comparison.  

Some people worry about our youth and a loss of communication that they see happening.  The truth is that although it is unrecognizable to older generations, they are communicating -- and at rates we could never imagine.  The fact is that they are constantly connected to each other.  This connection is erasing some lines our generations struggled to get past, too.  Bias and prejudices kids these days are already over.  Hell, my own children's friends list looks like an invitation to a UN afterparty.  

The don't see the world the way I did.  

I grew up during the Cold War and believed that Russians (or anyone else on the other side of the world) were nothing like me and my friends.  It took a lifetime career in the Army and traveling around the world to get me to understand something my children already know and that their children will surely take for granted -- we are all the same.

Sure we have differences, but those are the little things.  The internet and Youtube are part of what make this an undeniable fact to our children's generation and I think the future will be better for it.  It shows that we all share our interests, our fears and our happiness.  

With so many things to choose from, I think that in the long run we will recognize this as Youtube's greatest contribution.

I am a complete e-bay junkie.  Wait, let me rephrase that: I am a complete used book junkie -- ebay is just the pusher.  I scour ebay for books the way daytraders tear through stock information (with about the same fervor and sense of immediacy, too).  It disturbs me but not nearly enough for me to taper and pass up a good deal. 

What kind of books?

These days, mostly graphic novels sets like the 19 "Acme Novelty Library" books from the incomprable Chris Ware (of which I recently aquired the last one to complete my set). 

The heartbreaking "Don't Go Where I Can't Follow" by Anders Nilsen, a beautiful example of why I feel that graphic novels are one of the last pure, original and eclectic mediums left in pop culture.

"The Three Shadows" by Cyril Pedrosa, one of my favorite in a long time (that is saying alot!) that tackles the difficult subject matter of losing a child with an incredible grace. 

Or maybe the batshit crazy "SCUD: The Disposable Assasin"  by the insane Rob Schrab. 

I have also picked up some awesome coffee table art books, books that I once checked out and that left an impression on me, and stuff that just looked cool and interesting.  I am always interested in what someone recommends in  a conversation -- the absolute best when you're looking for something new.

So now, I want to know...what are you reading?

I twitter here and there, but have decided to start posting a daily haiku to twitter.  I really enjoy the fact that haiku is a very specific box... a very particular form.  Yet, there are so many ways to do it.  I also like the brevity of it.  It brings focus, and so does the limitation of 140 characters on twitter.  It seems like a good marriage of format and material: http://twitter.com/saintends

I finally picked up a pencil and sat down at my table with the goal of new work. This is also my first entry into my Sketch-A-Day gallery. I started of with a slight idea of the box and swirl patterns around the outside. As it progressed, I began to think of Mike Mignola's incredible work and decided to draw a skull in homage. The skull led to the idea of the scene in Shakespeare which evolved into the skull looking upon another skull along with the quote ( you provide your own interpretation). I have it in my head to do a watercolor wash with this. If you look closely you can see my notes for color written around the drawing. I am eager to see where this goes...

This is my first entry into my photo-a-day. I like the candid moments of my wife invoved in her daily routine. I am sure she hates me walking around and snapping photos but she should have known what was sure to follow when she bought it for me as a gift!!

Wow... It has been a really, really long time since I updated here. To say that some things have changed would be major understatement.

I now live in Seoul, South Korea as I have for the last 5 years. In that time I have been divorced, a single father, a searching soul, remarried, a director of a nightly news program, a world traveler, a graphic artist for the military, a happy foreigner, a photographer to a General and a homesick prodigal son.

I think that I am back to blogging for a little while -- I even think that I will begin the sketch-a-day and photo-a day challenges to inspire my dormant creative demons. Maybe even tweet some haikus. Who knows?

What I do know is that it is good to be back. If anyone out there ever reads this, drop me a line and let me know. Anyone that knows me KNOWS that I love a good back-and-forth.

Be good to each other...

~Nicholas

Nothing To Report......
It has been a pretty mellow and unaffected week [or so] around here. I have actually been spending more time reading blogs than contributing to my own. Someone i know once told me that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason [now that i think of it, i probably saw it on TV somewhere....] I guess that doesn't quite translate into this situation but you get the gist...

I have read one or two blogs that i really dig. I added one of them to my links. I plan on going back to check on it from time to time. It left me with a smile on my face. Not much seems to do that anymore so I'm sure that I'll be back there soon.

If you have some how stumbled onto my blog, and liked any of it and if you have a free minute or two, wander on over to my site and check it out. I have some of my art, my poetry, and this blog on it, too. If you do check it out, do me a favor and leave a little something on my discussion board and let me know what you though of it all....

well it is past my bed time [and i am actually a little tired] so i'll catch you around the way......

Where, oh where, has my little Saint gone.....
It is amazing how much a person can feel disconnected to the rest of the world, only because their internet service was down.

It has only been like maybe 2 days, 3 days tops, since I had last been online and i have never felt less a part of the "global village" than at that moment. More and more everyday, the internet is becoming a part of who we are; just as much a part of who we are, as a society, as our books, radio, and even television. It blows my mind to think of the Internet 10 years down the road when my kids will be teenagers...

Already, at only the ages of 3 and 5, my son and daughter get around their favorite sites [closely supervised by my wife and I, of course] with a flair and dexterity that I didn't show till probably High School. I realize that this is life for them; life in the age of computers. I am still young, only 27, but I remember a time when there were no computers, maybe one if your school was lucky, in the whole school. Now, my son's daycare class has at least two. For 3 year old users. Won't be long before there is one on every desk. As much a part of elementary school life as big chief note pads and metal lunchboxes were for us.

But does all this worry me? Not in the least. I believe that this is all a big part in the evolution of humanity as a society; bringing us all closer together in a way that the world has never experienced before. What might seem as a cold and impersonal means of communication has put a more human face on the rest of the world than any other communication tool before it. For the first time in history, it is just as easy to be talking to someone from across the world as it is to be talking to someone down the street. And you know what we all are realizing? that no matter if you are white, brown, american, asian or european that we are all, for the most part the same; same fears, same dreams, and same hopes for the future.

What about all the porn and other wastes that you find in every corner of the internet?

They are just as much a part of who we are as all the good that is there; we can find the negative in anything we look for. But if we all will make just a little effort to see the good that is there, it just might set us all free....

What if we have it all wrong.....?
I sit around wondering about the strangest things sometimes. Crazy religous things. End of life as we know it kinds of things.

Sometimes I wonder if God was talking about his relationship with Lucifer in the Story of the Return of the Prodigal Son......

I wonder [this is a totally christian perspective] if while most of us are sitting around waiting for a huge cataclysmic event to harken the beggining of Armageddon, if it has not already been happening for a while now. Almost like when the Jews of Christ's time expected their savior to come in brandishing a sword atop a white horse to save their flesh; a powerful king, but instead recieved the poor son of a carpenter only trying to save their souls. Maybe, while we have been waiting for the no-holds-barred, knockdown fight for our flesh to start and shatter the world around us, the fight for our souls has long been under way....

I sometimes think that if God doesn't spank America soon for our behavior, that he may owe Soddom & Gammorah an apology...

I read this really interesting article about the relationship between Christ and Judas. It proposed that maybe Judas didn't "betray" Jesus, the two being the closest of friends among the other apostles; instead Christ knowing he had to confront the ruling authorities, asked Judas [the usual pronouncer of their entrance to city authorities] to report his coming. It also had an explanation for the giving of the money [50 silver pieces] as well. Makes one wonder, and is interesting as hell if nothing else...

I believe that the Bible and Science are the ultimate compliments of each other; not two opposing sides as some might believe. I believe that Science is man's understanding of the things that were layed out, by someone other than us for sure, a long time ago. Alot of these things recorded in the very basic language of the Bible.

Like what, you might ask?

Well, the taking of blood, for one [at that time mainly cooked as food] With the leaps and bounds of science we now know that blood is a huge carrier of the a myriad of things that might be bad for us. But how do you explain this thousands of years ago with the state of science or even with man's understanding of such things almost non-existent? Like any parent might to a young child, Do this because I told you. As we grow older we understand and realize the reasons behind "because I said so"; was for our own welfares. Now so, for us as a "maturing" species, enlightenment slowly coming to us, too......

Evolution happens...no two ways about it. Although no one has ever seen a monkey become a man, that is a simplistic approach to Darwin; it may not be shown to us that extreme but it is there, nonetheless. We are bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter by design than people even just a few generations earlier than ours. For example, as a High School 800 meter runner in track, the times I ran would have been competitive, maybe even snagging me a gold medal, in the early 1900's Olympic games.We are programmed to adapt...that is the beauty of our design; our brilliance, and the ultimate testement to a higher creator.

My favorite painting of all time is religious in nature....The Taking of Christ by Michelangelo Caravaggio [interesting story behind this painting too...check it out sometime]

Never be afraid to question everything...it isn't disrespectful, but rather a sign of wanting to know and understand the Truth of something. Not settling for the " I told you so", but enlightening yourselves to the why behind it; Eventually leading to the answer we all seek.....