Bienvenue! Or words to that effect…along with thought #1

Hello world! I’ve been talking to a few people about blogging and suchlike, and after about a year of trying to think of what to write, I’ve decided to make the leap and start writing, not that I’ve actually got very far on the “what-to-write” fiasco.

So, apologies in advance for anything uninteresting that gets put up on here, but I’ve decided to keep a journal over each week of any interesting observations (I’m a dedicated people-watcher) or things that I’ve heard that I might be able to blog some sort of semi-educated debate around.

For today – one of those “nothing is inspiring me, lest of all the ever-ascending pile of work to do” days - I’ll just say a quick word about the last time I ventured from my work into the living room and happened to pause by the television. On it, was the Channel 4 top 50 world-changing singles from the past however-many years. The one I happened to walk in on, was the Charity Single “Everybody Hurts” that was recorded in aid of the Haitian Earthquake, that I was surprised to learn only happened 3 years ago (it seems like ages). The video is heart-wrenching, and if there’s anyone that happens to read this that hasn’t seen it, or needs refreshing, stop now and go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts1HxVopG2k

It was one of those moments where I didn’t want to watch, but felt a sense of moral obligation to do so, because how we, in all our luxuries, can ever comprehend that kind of pain is beyond me. What really shocked me though, and this is only a little thing that perhaps would have gone unnoticed by many was that before the song had even finished, up comes the Channel 4 Music logo and we hear the voice of Nikki Minaj in an interview telling the world all about how her feud with co-American idol judge Mariah Carey is officially over. Well, I’m glad because I have been on the edge of my seat for days waiting for that news. For me, that 3 seconds of Haitian children crying and Nikki Minaj’s screeching overlap symbolized a lot of the way we, as a nation and a generation of young people, think at the moment. We all “think” that we’re being good people by watching and aww-ing, just as the media seem to think that they are fulfilling some sort of duty by showing these horrendous videos, but really, we can switch to caring about something else, just as quickly as the media can. I, personally, found it shocking how disregarding it seemed just to see that on television, and it made me think about just how few people around today are actually sincere in their sympathies, and who is just out to make money while making themselves feel good. We’re turning into a group of puppy-dogs who see media as a legitimate authority to justify our lack of regard, or even our level of ignorance, and forgetting what is actually important.

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This may all seem very cliche, but I promised “a thought” from today, and that just happened to be it.

Over and out.