 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| UNDER 18? GO PLAY IN A SANDBOX! HOUSE RULES: BE NICE OR LEAVE. |
| LANTZBYTES IS COPYRIGHT - LANTZ CALDWELL 2000-2010 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - PAGE UPDATED: 03.09.10 |
| LantzBytes art, photography, cool stuff & designs that snap |
| HOME |
For quite sometime I have been wanting to do an edition that evolves around stories. When I was a kid growing up in rural Indiana farmers would sit on a bench outside aunt Jo and uncle Ralph's little general store, just like in the old TV series Mayberry, and tell wonderful stories about "the big one that got away". When it got cold they would move inside and tell stories around a sizzling hot pot belly stove. These are some of the most memorable and educational times of my life, and I would not trade them for anything. Looking back, in all honesty, I learned more about life and America listening to the old farmer stories than I ever did in the God awful rural farm schools I was forced to attend. Fast forward fifty years and even with all of these fancy gadgets and gizmos, I have noticed people are communicating less than ever. The personal computer and Internet information highway (invented by Bill Clinton and Al Gore) (NOT!) was hyped as the great communicator. In reality, it is a scientific fact that just the opposite has happened, people are more introverted than ever. One of my favorite technology rants, cell phones, offer even less in terms of communication and substance. There is a lot of mindless chatter on cell phones, and that is precisely where it begins and ends. Try to imagine the Greek philos- opher Socrates, of the greatest minds in history, at 7-11 and standing in front of the Cheetos on a cell phone trying to get his message across. That obviously did not happen, Socrates sat on a bench and told stories, just like the farmers did when I was a kid. One of the biggest things that has gone missing in "modern society" is families do not eat together anymore. Again, when I was a kid we all sat down at the table at the same time every evening and ate "supper". This was family time, everyday, seven days a week. There were no I-Pods, no TV, no texting and absolutely no distractions. Just good food, family and open communication. Hell man, even cavemen figured out it was important to eat together. I am beginning to wonder if "technology" is actually making people dumber, as opposed to smarter. Ponder this, thanks to spell check it is rare to find anyone that can spell. Ask a retail "sales associate" to count back your change and nine out of ten of them will not be able to do it. In fact, "sales associates" can't even sell anything if the computer "system" is down. This is good, I had a student tell me, "Why should I have to go to college when I have a computer"? I fired back, "What do you do when the computer does not work"? The kid was at a complete loss on what to say. A college student and no one ever asked him that simple, logical, question. I just looked at him and thought to myself, this kid, a product of the public education system, is a talking cucumber with arms and legs. If he had a thought, it would die of loneliness. I often tell students something my grandfather told me, "Your head is more than a hat rack". I expound on this by add- ing, "If you are going to survive in the real world you will have to reinvent yourself throughout your career". What the I-Pod generation fails to realize is that "technology" they learn as freshmen will be obsolete by the time they graduate. I never thought I would say this, but these kids don't get it. In the real world....THE ROCKS GO WITH THE FARM. |
Try to fathom this, the greatest documents, books and discoveries in history were created in longhand. The typewriter was not invented until 1868. "Personal computers" were not available to the public until 1969. Computers as we know them now came years later. The Internet was officially implemented in 1982. The first "mobile" telephone was invented in 1973. Cell phones as we know them now came years later. Karl Friedrich Benz invented the car in 1885. Most Americans think Henry Ford invented the car. The first photograph, which literally changed the world, had an eight hour exposure. Texas Instruments invented the digital camera in 1970. Digital cameras as we know them now came years later. (Please see LINKS for details on technology) For all of you high tech gadget and gizmo snobs here is the deal, Moses did not get a text message from God. Einstein did not use a Netbook, he used a notebook. In fact, Einstein did not know his telephone number. He told a reporter that made fun of him for not knowing his telephone number, "Why should I memorize a number that is available in a book". Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), whom according to scientists and historians was the smartest person to ever walk the planet, did not have photo shop. The greatest author in American history, Mark Twain, wrote everything in longhand even though typewriters were available. He believed that writing in longhand was crucial to the creative writing process. For the Christian masses a news flash, Jesus Christ did not have a Blackberry nor did he Twitter. Jesus was my kind of guy. He was a master craftsman, drank cheap wine, hung out with prostitutes and walked around and told stories. CONTINUED ON BYTES 1 |
|
It is hard to believe, I have been squeezing out LantzBytes for over ten years. This is how LantzBytes came about and evolved over the years. I was doing my art grifter thing in Atlanta (in the arts the name of the game is have resume will travel) and my best friend kept telling me, "You need to get on the computer". He is usually right (don't tell him that). Not being computer literate is difficult to comprehend these days, but I went to college in BC (before computers). My roommate in Atlanta had a pristine McMansion in the burbs, where they bulldoze down the trees and name the streets after them, thus having a messy studio was out of the question. My roommate picked up on how frustrated I was not being able to make art and gave me an antiquated Cannon word processor. I set up a folding table in the garage and started working on my other creative outlet, writing. This is funny, I wrote two books in traffic jams in Atlanta. I got the word processor down and moved on to renting a computer at Kinkos, which is outrageously expensive. I found the first thing I published on the Internet recently. The piece was dated 1998, and back then I called my mad ramblings Lantz Sightings. Trying to learn the magic robot (computer) on my own was frustrating and very time consuming, so I decided to take a course at a technical college. I took a TEN week course for $35 bucks! That was the best $35 bucks I have ever spent. I saved money, read everything I could get my hands on, shopped around for a year (it pays to shop in America), and in 2002 I bought my first state-of-the-arts computer system for my business. I got into website design shortly thereafter and I have been banging out LantzBytes every since. You are going to notice several changes with this edition. In the past I researched, designed and published twelve to fourteen editions a year. That is pretty crazy, but experimenting and designing a website on a hectic schedule was the most expedient way to learn all of this computer technology. I have decided to publish fewer editions a year and focus on producing more of my original work, both visual and writing, for the site. In the past I posted dozens of art related sites, and frankly, that is a logistical pain in the butt. I once again thank major contributors that send me wonderfully insane stuff on a regular basis. The funny stuff that makes me spit coffee all over my studio. You folks are the spark plug of LantzBytes. Keep em coming! Lantz 2010 |
Christina's New World
