Day 145 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

ANNOUNCEMENT

 

1. I am a believer in the never ending process of learning. In that cause I would like to put out an invitation to poets living in the Ventura, California area. Wednesday nights, for the next four weeks, at 7 PM in Ventura at the Vita Art Center, 432 North Ventura Avenue, there will be an ongoing poetry workshop. This is a great opportunity to sharpen your craft and gather with other writers in the pursuit of excellence.

 

 

IS IT JUST BIG BROTHER OR ARE WE BECOMING OUR VERY OWN VERSION OF THE "THOUGHT POLICE"?

 

Where Are You When We Need You, George Orwell?

 

 

I can get off on something of a tear when I start dealing with the non-confrontational aspect of today's arts communities - the constant denial that there is such a thing as "BAD" art and that it should be pointed out as such. Most of this is masked in the security of group-think. In this behavior, people will band together in enclaves which share a particular style, genre, subject, agenda (and don't we just have a love affair with that pity-pot mentality)! Whatever the cause celebre is, it is then promulgated quickly across the strata and becomes a bastion from which to hurl derision at anyone who might question the validity of any particular  position.

 

Not being a wallflower by anybody's definition, I am more than willing to storm the walls and set fire to the altar within. Then, like the Romans in Carthage, I would love to plough under the ruins and sow salt on that particular piece of ground so nothing ever takes seed again. In today's environment, this can seem like a Quixotic crusade, tilting at windmills and, occasionally, finding myself flat on my ass through sheer weight of numbers.

 

That's why I appreciate it when I find another voice in this fucking vast Siberia of the soul. This time it is in the person of Maria Konnikova, who posted a thoughtful, and incisive piece on The Big Think. To save you having to dig around for it, here's the link to the specific page: The Pervasive Threat Of Conformity. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

 

 

In the meantime, the in between time...live, love, write.

 

 

Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.

 

 

Tomorrow,

 

Dane F. Baylis

Author.